WHAT:  St. Louis Actors’ Studio concludes its fifth season, themed Law and Order, with the Ken Kesey classic: “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”  McMurphy, a man with several assault convictions to his name, finds himself in jail once again.  Rather than spend his time in jail, he convinces the guards that he’s crazy enough to need psychiatric care and is sent to a hospital. He fits in frighteningly well, and his different point of view actually begins to cause some of the patients to progress. Nurse Ratched (Quinlan) becomes his personal cross to bear as his resistance to the hospital routine gets on her nerves.

Directed by Bobby Miller, “Cuckoo’s Nest ” will feature the following cast:
Nurse Ratched-Kathleen Quinlan*
McMurphy-Michael James Reed*
Nurse Flynn-Rachel Fenton
Scanlon-Charlie Barron
Harding-William Roth
Ruckley-David Wassilak
Billy B.-Denmark Laine
Dr. Spivey-Gary Barker*
Chief Bromden-Garrett Bergfeld
Cheswick-Christopher Harris*
Martini-Terry Meadow*
Turkle-J. Samuel Davis*
Aide William-Bob Mitchell
Aide Warren-Carl Overly
Candy-Leah Berry*
Sandra-Jessica Laney
(*Member of Actors’ Equity Association)

St. Louis Actors’ Studio (STLAS) strives to bring a fresh vision to theatre in St. Louis. Housed in The Gaslight Theater, a historic Gaslight Square, STLAS is committed to bringing engaging theatrical experiences to our community of actors, writers, producers, filmmakers and all patrons of the arts; and to provide a strong ensemble environment to foster learning and artistic expression.

WHEN:  ONE WEEK ONLY! June. 12, through Sunday, June 17, 2012
Evening Performances - Tuesday - Saturday at 8 p.m, Sunday 7pm
Matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.

WHERE:  The Orpheum Theater
416 N 9th Street
St. Louis, MO  63101

TICKETS:       $25-$65
Individual tickets are available for purchase through Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers or Charge by Phone at
1-800-982-2787. Tickets will also be available at the theater box office one hour prior to performances.

Judith Newmark for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch/stltoday.com

Dennis Corcoran for kdhx.org

Andrea Braun for The Vital Voice/thevitalvoice.com

Andrea Torrence for St. Louis Theatre Snob

Mark Bretz for The Ladue News/laudenews.com

JC Krajicek, Palmer Park, Outstanding Costume Design
Emily Baker, Just Desserts, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Play
John Pierson, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play

Our friends at the STL Beacon have the full list here.

St. Louis Actors’ Studio Plans New Season

And then there’s the play!

For more information, contact: 314.289.4194.

Share with us the challenges and joys of playing the villain. I was particularly grateful for the opportunity to play Henri for two reasons: First, I usually play loveable rabbis, grandfathers with dementia, or kings who die, so it was great tapping into “the dark side” for a change.  Second, I was in two productions of “Angels” in California before coming to St. Louis, first playing Joseph, and then Felix. Since then, I’ve wanted to complete the trifecta, as it were, of the roles I could do in this show – although I’m not averse to having a go as a cross-dressing Madame Parole.

Your character gets to engage in some spirited scenes, particularly, with Larry Dell’s Felix Ducotel, and Whit Reichert’s Joseph. Talk a bit, if you would, about working with those two, in particular. And the wider cast, as well. What makes doing a show enjoyable for me is working with a talented director and – most importantly – talented actors.  I have had a great time with this group, Some I have worked with in previous shows: Teresa, Casey, Penny, and Emily. Getting to know and work with Whit, Larry, Garrett, and Danny was a joy.  Having enjoyed Whit and Larry in shows I’ve seen, it was a treat to play the scenes with them in “Angels.”

At the risk of being cliche, how long into the rehearsal did you feel as one with your less-than-lovable Henri Trochard? I think it was during the first week of rehearsals, when I realized that, in order to make Henri’s demise completely unmourned, I had to make him utterly unlovable, with no redeeming qualities. Elizabeth was helpful in leading me to that.

In one of her pre-production blog postings, your director for My Three Angels, Elizabeth Helman, talked about relating your characters to birds. You were the black vulture, described as: “Henri is unarguably the villain of the play and can be easily personified by the Black Vulture. He lurks around corners waiting to scavenge the remains of the family. He has a very imposing, almost reptilian presence to him.”  Thoughts on that comparison? Well, he looked like a vulture, but I think he was some exotic, never-heard-of-before scavenger from Africa.  At any rate, his sinister appearance clued me in to what Elizabeth had conceptualized  as Henri’s role in the show.  It helped.

Not intending this to be flip, in the least, but your character’s time is largely seen-and-heard during one act, one that’s quite busy for your role. As an actor, how you do treat your time during the other two acts? Shhh! Not so loud about my being in only one of the three acts.  They might cut my pay. What I do before and after my stint – after going over lines, which I always do –  is solve crossword puzzles and read.  I’m currently reading a great book about the assassination of James Garfield, a President about whom I knew very little..

There is a chicken involved in the show and you indicated that there was some talk on Robert van Dillen’s part about using a live chicken, which was scothed. Have you ever worked with live animals in any production? If so, how’d that go? Are chicken actors especially difficult? There was talk with Robert about using a live chicken and Elizabeth and I joked about it for about a minute!  The chicken is only on stage for a couple of seconds, so it wasn’t really necessary.  I have never worked with live animals in any productions and I don’t think I ever want to!  I don’t know much about chickens and I don’t think I’ve ever really been around chickens, but I imagine they are very willful and stubborn animals who probably would not take direction very well!

As the person running live sound this time around, talk if you would, about the technical aspects of the show, relating to lights, sound, etc. I have run sound on a few shows with Actors’ Studio, with so little space in the booth and so few cues it’s more comfortable when you can get by with only two people up there.  Our Set Designer, Cristie Johnston, has done an amazing job creating the Ducotel home in Cayenne in such detail, from the vibrant colors on the walls to the wood floor to the palm fronds on the roof.  Steve Miller has created some beautiful moments with lighting to accentuate Cristie’s set.  Robin Weatherall has found a perfect mix of Christmas music played on the harmonica and classical French music to create the wonderful world of Cayenne at Christmas-time.  The detail in Teresa’s costumes for the convicts really accentuate the age of the character and the amount of time each character has spent in prison, which contrasts greatly with the bright pastel colors of Marie Louise’s dresses.

Obviously, you frequently work with Milton Zoth as the director on STLAS shows. How’s your experience been in working with Dr. Elizabeth Helman for this production? Perhaps you could also discuss the actors working this show and how they’ve impressed you through the rehearsal process, to date? Elizabeth is so much fun to work with, she’s so spunky and energetic and that has definitely transferred to the cast and crew.  Actors always impressed me during the rehearsal process, I have no idea how they do what they do and they do it so well!  I love watching actors go through the rehearsal process, as they work through their characters and their lines, figuring out who they are, why they are doing and saying things, creating and bringing these characters to life.

In overall terms, what kind of experience will people get from this production? Similarly, as someone seeing it come together from scratch, what’s struck you as interesting or unique about the rehearsals and pre-production? It’s so hard to believe that we have come so far and created an amazing show with only three weeks of rehearsals!  Everyone has worked really hard to pull this whole show together.  I hope people will have a good experience seeing this show!  It’s so funny and heart-warming and dark all at the same time.  It’s definitely a different kind of Christmas show that you don’t normally see.

As asked of Garrett Bergfeld, please discuss the evident chemistry between the three convicts of the show’s cast: yourself, Garrett (Jules) and Dan Mueller (Alfred). They are together for safety, comfort and security. None of them are your typical criminals. They share common backgrounds.

And also as asked of him, what did you know about the play, prior to reading for your role? And was this the role you initially were interested in pursuing? I was only slightly, familiar with the movie version. I had never read the play. I had no character in mind when I auditioned for the play. But Joseph is a wonderful part and I could not be happier doing it.

The friendly confines of the Gaslight Theater stage are really filled with this production, particularly in the scenes when a good number of you are all onstage together. It’s a fun set to peer at from the audience, but could you tell us about the onstage view, particularly from your rooftop perch? It is crowded at times and that makes movement very challenging. I don’t really look at the audience.

Some early reviews have discussed this production’s old-fashioned-holiday-fare vibe. What about it, for you, gives it such charm and amusement? It is surprising, I think, how much you root for the convicts to be able to help the family. It is a different kind of Christmas story.

This will be a long answer:  To begin, you have to understand that I am primarily a left-brained scientist with a minimal amount of right-brained, artistic creativity.  But the fact is that I’ve been doing stage work for about 44 years now.  At one point I was doing four or five shows a year. In the 1980’s I was fortunate enough to get to do the role of Hamlet for St. Louis Shakespeare.  I regard Hamlet as the ultimate role for an actor and seriously considered quitting the stage after that.  But then the following year they offered me the role of Macbeth and subsequently many other challenging roles.  By the start of this 21st century, I had been lucky enough to do over 75 roles.  I was getting older and the offers for challenging roles became fewer and fewer.  Plus it seemed that I just wasn’t enjoying the process as much as I once had.  It became harder and harder to “get up” for a performance.  By 2006 I had pretty much given it up but then I auditioned for and was cast as Henry in Lion in Winter; a part I had always wanted to play.  I figured that was a great role to go out on.  Fast forward 5 years to 2011.  I’m 61.  My only daughter who lives in Dallas has just gotten married.  Both my parents have passed away and I have no other close relatives.  I live alone and the only positive aspects in my life are my tennis and teaching at Webster University.  In other words I needed another source of amusement.  So I auditioned and lucked out again.

2) How familiar were you with this play (and/or the affiliated movie) prior to your reading for the part?  What caught your attention when first reading the script?

I had never heard of the play or the movie prior to auditions.  In fact I came primarily to audition for Nuts.  But once I was given a chance to read for Jules in My Three Angels, I felt an immediate report with the character.  I was very excited when I was told I got the part and that I would be working with Whit.

3) Discuss the working relationship between the three convicts, if you would. From the audience’s perspective, it appears the three of you share a great deal of chemistry onstage. Perhaps you could tell us how that comes to be?

As I read over the play after auditions, I really began to appreciate the role of Jules.  Initially I felt that he was the unofficial leader of the trio.  But as rehearsals progressed it be came apparent the Whit’s character of Joseph was at least equal to Jules and maybe even a bit dominant over him at times.  This relationship is sometimes suggested by the script but more influential was the talent that Whit brought to the character.  It became a challenge to keep up with his creativity.  As we went into dress rehearsals, I looked at the Joseph/Jules relationship as a kind of long term marriage between partners of opposite sensibilities.  Joseph has taught Jules to how to role play as a source of amusement during their incarceration.  Jules can reign in Joseph when his schemes become too far fetched or dangerous.  Each has grown accustomed to & respectful of the other.  But neither is above a little good natured taunting.

Jules’ relationship with Alfred was obvious from the start.  Jules has taken Alfred in under his wing and is “playing father to the child (he) never had.”  For me that relationship has grown & matured throughout the rehearsal process.  While there are many times when Jules is a little harsh on Alfred, there are moments of tenderness and compassion as well.

As far as “chemistry” . . . I can’t answer as to how that happens . . . I doubt that anyone can.  I can tell you that I greatly admire and respect Whit both as an actor on stage and a person off stage.  He is a true talent as well as a gentle soul.  And with Danny . . . well, we seem to have developed the same father/son-like relationship off stage that we were aiming for on stage.

4) You get to work, briefly, with a prop chicken, though there’s a rumor that Robert van Dillen was advocating for a real bird in the cast. Any thoughts on that possibility? And/or on your current, stuffed cast mate?

Working with a real chicken would have been an interesting prospect . . . about as interesting as working on stage with a real child.  My main concern would have been what do we do with a real chicken off stage and between shows?  The only thing that concerns me about the stuffed chicken is whether or not the recorded chicken sounds work for the audience.  On stage I can’t tell.  During rehearsals I was doing all the clucking myself.  I thought I got pretty good at it but they went with the recording.  What I really would have liked to have seen is an actual snake used for Adolphe.

5) Looking back on the rehearsal process and opening weekend, what aspects of the production strike you as having come the furthest since your initial day together, as cast and crew? And where do you see room for continued growth and change with two weekends to go?

The rehearsal process for this production has been short and eventful, yet surprisingly smooth.  Things seemed to fall into place very quickly . . . a testament to everyone involved.  So generally speaking it’s been a collective effort to get to where we are now and to pick a particular aspect that evolved more than another is not easy.  I guess for me what changed most from what I initially planned was Jules’ attitude toward Paul.  As to the future, the challenge is to not become complacent and paint the same, exact portrait every performance, and yet to stay within the basic parameters that we have established.  I try to find new things each performance but I’m sure that 6 months from now I’ll be in the shower thinking about the play and suddenly realize, “Damn!  I should have done it this way!”