Spending two hours with Jim Brochu, I stepped into the life of legend actor Zero Mostel.
Jim Brochu as Mostel
In the show Zero Hour, Brochu plays Mostel, a Jewish actor who survived the McCarthy Era. Mostel, famously known for his role as Tevye in the original Broadway cast of Fiddler on the Roof was revealed in his telling of his experience with the rampant segregation and exclusion of the 1950’s. The experience was not uncommon: it was a dark time for many Jewish actors when “the blacklist” sent many to prison for their communist affiliations and jeopardized their careers. Political and personal, Brochu tells the story of fame through the lens of someone who has risen, fallen and risen again.
I greeted a pixelated smile over a Skype call at 6pm on February 8th. Brady VanVaerenbergh, an actor hailing from Chatham, ON, is currently overseas with a German production of Grease. This is Brady’s second time with the show and I’ve asked him to share his tips and tricks with us on how to survive being part of a touring production.
Where are you right now?
I’m in Dussedolrf, Germany. Our show is being performed in the Musical Dome in Cologne so we have to commute to the show every day.
How many cities have you gone to so far?
This is our second city on the tour out of seventeen cities. Next stop is Brauncshwieg, a few cities beyond that is Vienna, a few beyond that is Frankfurt and a few beyond that is Zurich. We really get to see a lot.
You were offered a part last year in Grease in October? How did you feel when you had to pick up and leave for a new country?
It was crazy because the whole thing happened so fast. I got a message from the show’s choreographer, Melissa Williams, and she told me that one of her ensemble guys had to drop out and asked “Do you want to come to Germany and perform Grease?”
“Um, Yes!”
I got a call from the producer and after a few phone calls back and forth, he said “We can use you. When can you be here?” I naturally responded with, “Whenever you need me.”. So he said ” Great. Can you be here tomorrow?” And I said yes. I called my parents right away and explained that I needed them to come to St. Catherines to help me pack and to drive me to the airport.
What was it like being in a new city?
Well, my first experience wasn’t the most pleasant of my memories. I had gotten so lost in the airport because that was the first time I had ever been on a plane, let alone been to Europe. I eventually got my luggage and hopped in the first cab I saw. I informed the driver of where I needed to go but he couldn’t punch the address into his GPS and he couldn’t speak a lick of English. I was sweating. I ended up having to pay him six euros just to take my bags out of the trunk so I could hail a different cab. I was on the side of the road and I could have been anywhere. And that was how I got acquainted with Germany.
How did you get accustom to the culture?
The cast of Grease all spoke English and they we so helpful. They taught us phrases that allowed us to get around the city. If you can say thank you and excuse me, you can get anywhere.
How did you deal with being away from home eight months?
The whole tour was really overwhelming for me at first because rehearsals were so intense. We had we rehearsals all day and by the time we got back to our hotels we were exhausted. But having the right technologies helped me to adjust quite well. Being able to communicate with friends and family back home through Skype and email made things a lot easier for me. Of course, it was still hard but at least I had that.
How does this year’s tour differ from last year’s?
The show has almost an entirely new cast with the exception of three people and they are all so great. So it feels a lot different in that regard. I find knowing the show already made rehearsals a lot easier. Don’t get me wrong, they still make me sweat but now i know what to expect. It’s not so overwhelming and I’m enjoying myself more.
Name 5 things you can’t be without on this tour.
Coffee. I brought a ton of Starbucks and Tim Horton’s with me this year. My Kindle E-reader which fills a lot of my down time. My laptop, deodorant, and pictures and cards from home.
In this production you understudy for a couple of roles. You are 1st understudy for Eugene and 1st understudy for Doody. Tell us about having to learn three different parts.
Understudying is really new for me. The most important thing is to keep the character consistent but to make it your own. The other actors are very different physically so it’s interesting to learn their movements because it’s something I would never naturally think of.
It’s a really fun experience. It can get quite confusing though so I have to be on my game. Each track is so similar on stage but they are all subtly different. Every time I’m on stage as ensemble, Eugene and Doody are on stage too. I make sure to take a lot of notes which are very clearly written out. I constantly review them before every show, especially when I’m about to play Doody. I can track Eugene in my sleep now.
Actually speaking of which, My roommate had once informed me that he overheard me clapping and doing the hand jive in my sleep. I have no recollection of it but that’s just one example of how natural the show becomes after a while. Being able to play different characters on stage really keeps the show alive for me. I can be someone new every night.
What advice do you have for actors about to go tour?
One of the hardest things is the travelling itself. Being on a bus for five hours really makes me feel like, “Mom, Dad. Seriously, are we there yet?” Also getting accustom to every theatre and every backstage area proves to be quite the challenge as well. But being on tour is actually a ton of fun. You get paid to see new things and places. The set stays the same but every audience is different and that makes it fresh every time.
This is always an exciting time for me. I’ve found that since Dancap Productions stepped into Toronto’s life 5 years ago, Mirvish has been working extra hard in order to bring the most anticipated shows to Toronto. And they have hit a home run once again, promising an extremely exciting line up of shows.
On Monday, Mirvish announced it’s 2012/2013 season at the Ed Mirvish Theatre (formerly known as the Canon), where a surprised audience greeted Tony Danza. The star of the famous sitcom Who’s the Boss? announced that he will be playing Tommy Korman in the world premiere of Honeymoon in Vegas.
The season is lead by Backbeat, a show that chronicles the birth of the Beatles, which is followed by La Cage aux Folles starring George Hamilton as the nightclub owner and Christopher Sieber as his partner.
I may be the most excited for their third show in line, Sister Act the musical. We all know the movie, and the musical is just as heart warming. Nominated for best musical last year, the show really impressed Broadway theatre-goers with not only an extremely talented cast, but by their original score. It’s so hard to find a musical these days, especially those based off movies, that have original music. So good on ya, sister.
Click below to see a performance of ‘Raise your Voice’ from Sister Act the Musical at the Tony Awards.
After that comes Danza’s shining production of Honeymoon in Vegas, proceeded by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most recent show The Wizard of Oz. Mirvish is also in the works with a Theatre 20 production, Bloodless, which will be Colm Wilkinson’s directorial debut. Flashdance, based after the 1983 hit will have it’s North American debut in Toronto and will feature songs such as What a Feeling and She’s a Maniac.
But the most anticipated show has to be The Book of Mormon. Written by South Park’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the show took home nine Tony awards including best musical last June. Not to mention that the show has been completely sold out for months and months and has no sign of stopping. So get your tickets now and support Toronto’s theatres.
– Erin
Click below to watch Book of Mormon’s Andrew Rannels perform ‘I Believe’ at the Tony’s:
I’m sitting with Caleb McMullen and Gaby Grice, the producers of Patrick Marber’s Closer, with the undeniably delicious scent of pad thai and spring rolls wafting through the air. While chatting and scarfing down Thai food, I can’t help but notice how extremely exhausted the two look. They managed to squeeze in time for an interview in between shopping for costumes and putting together props for their upcoming show. Though the dark circles under their eyes may be larger than the average person’s, so are their grins. Discussing this project with them still gets them excited even after hours and hours of arduous rehearsals.
Why did you want to produce Closer?
G: Well to be honest, it was a play that I completely fell in love with. I read it in third year and I immediately knew that I wanted to put it on. It’s an easier show to produce with there being only four people in the cast. It doesn’t need an extravagant set, the characters are amazing and I could think of so many actors who would be great for the roles.
C: It actually took me a while to sign on to this project. I had just finished producing Wolfboy a few months before Gaby came to me with Closer and it just seemed like a daunting task. It took me around six months to say yes.
G: I don’t remember hounding you that much.
C: Oh you did. You would come to me every few months or so asking me if I wanted to do it. Finally you said that you were going to do it with or without me and that really lit a fire under my butt.
G: I’m so happy you did. I don’t think I could have done this without you.
Caleb, what is it like being a director and a producer?
C: It’s really difficult because I wear so many hats that I’m the only resource I have to get things done. I’ll be working on a variety of things throughout the day, then I’ll light up a cigarette, sit in my directors chair at rehearsal for 4 to 5 hours, and then go back to working on whatever needs to be done. I’ve lost around 15 pounds putting this show on.
G: I hate you.
C: I treat myself as an employee of Mnemonic Theatre Productions and my hours are from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep. As my own boss, I set deadlines and parameters for myself. I have this list of things that need to be accomplished before the show goes up and every day I work a little bit on every one until they are 100% complete. My last bullet on my list is “produce and direct Closer.” And on February 4th, after the curtain falls, I get to check that off my list. And that’s my reward.
Your theatrical trailer for Closer looks awesome. How did you decide to create that?
C: We wanted to market the show in a new and interesting way. We also wanted it to be professionally done so I went to my friend Alex Josselyn, who is brilliant. It took us two days to film that.
G: And we’re talking 14 hour days.
C: Yes. But it was actually a really good time on set. Everyone was so cooperative and professional. And Alex let me come in while he was editing incase I wanted to put my two cents in. And I’m so happy with how it came out.
Watch the theatrical trailer below:
What advice do you have for people who want to produce their own work?
G: You really have to love what you’re doing. You have to be willing to sweat, bleed and cry for it. If you’re not going to love the show after a month or so in, you’re fucked.
C: You’re so fucked.
G: You also need to know what you’re good at and what you’re not. Know your limitations. I knew I needed someone to compliment me and Caleb is definitely good at the things I can’t do. I knew that I was willing to put my time, money and passion into this project but I knew I couldn’t do it alone. Know your scale. Know what you’re capable of but respect what’s not possible at the time.
What do you want people to take away from the show?
G: I really think people are going to relate to the show. Patrick Marber is a genius. It doesn’t matter what experiences you’ve had. There are really bold things said and done in this play, and I know people will walk away saying that they have at least thought about doing or saying those things before. It’s really interesting because all of the actors have completely different relationship statuses. There are actors who are single, in a relationship, gay, married but it doesn’t matter. We all feel connected to the thoughts and words of these characters because they are so true. And I want the audience to feel the same way, and I think they will.
C: I want audiences to recognize that independent theatre companies are capable of producing high quality theatre. I truly believe, and am willing to say, that Closer will be an incredible production. As a producer, I strive to make a theatrical experience that cost $25 a ticket feel like it should have cost $100 a ticket. That’s why it was important to us to make a really professional trailer as well. I want people to walk away from the show with a new expectation from small, independent theatre companies.
What have you learned from being a part of this show?
G: I’ve grown so much as an actor with this show. I’m so happy I did [Hart House’s] Lysistrata when I did, but I only grew so much because I had played roles like that before. This show really took me out of my comfort zone and I had to experience a lot of new things. I learned that I can be a dramatic character. I don’t want to pigeonhole myself and I don’t want other people to pigeonhole me either.
C: I’ve learned that I want to be an artistic directer. I really feel like I want to spend the rest of my life creating new projects.
Closer runs from February 1st – 4th at the Winchester Street Theatre. For tickets and more info visit www.mnemonictheatre.com/closer
Read another interview with and about Gaby in our Actor Profiles
Gaby Grice joins us In the Greenroom for an interview about theatre in Toronto and her upcoming show, Patrick Marber’s Closer. The show Runs from February 1st-4th at the Winchester street Theatre. Click hereto read her actor profile.
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