Latest / The BSB Podcast / Exclusive Interview: Sara Grice and Kevin Starnes of Nicely Theatre Group's 'Oliver!'
Transcript
- 0:00Nicely Theater Group is preparing for their production of Oliver.
- 0:02And today we're talking with two of the cast members,
- 0:04Sara Grice and Kevin Starnes. Thank you both for being here.
- 0:07Thank you, Brian. Thanks for having us.
- 0:07Thanks for having us.
- 0:10So Kevin, you're currently about two weeks out from opening night.
- 0:12How are you feeling about it so far?
- 0:16it's it's been an adventure. ~ you know,
- 0:19Yeah.
- 0:21I it's I was not actually that familiar with Oliver ~ before
- 0:26I got cast in the show. ~ and so it's been really,
- 0:31really great just watching everything come together,
- 0:34watching the child actors especially.
- 0:36~ and then because my part is so intertwined with Sara's
- 0:43we've had to do a lot of work to kind of get our chemistry together and whatnot.
- 0:47So that's and that's been really rewarding because I think that
- 0:50our scenes are really intense and need that chemistry.
- 0:55Sara, were you familiar with Oliver before auditioning or were you also kinda
- 0:59in the same boat?
- 1:00You know, I was semi familiar with Oliver.
- 1:04~ always knew Nancy's got a big song called As Long as He Needs Me.
- 1:09So I've always been familiar with that.
- 1:11knew some of the like the beginning parts with the kids,
- 1:15but I didn't know like the full story.
- 1:17Mm-hmm.
- 1:17~ didn't realize it was as dark as it is,
- 1:21'cause you kinda think a lot of kids it's gonna be a friendly,
- 1:24happy musical. ~ but it's it's pretty dark.
- 1:26Sure.
- 1:28~ so
- 1:30Getting to sit now that we're running the whole show and actually seeing
- 1:35the scenes progress and seeing the other characters come in and the parts that they
- 1:40play in the story. ~ I really have fallen kind of in love with the musical,
- 1:45~ more so than I had when I auditioned.
- 1:49~ but Nancy's kind of always been like a bucket list.
- 1:52~ so that kind of drew me to it.
- 1:54But I'm absolutely just having the time in my life.
- 1:57And like Kevin said, getting, you know,
- 1:59to work with
- 2:00with actors like Kevin, like some of the other ~ you know,
- 2:03people in this show, and really learning to form those bonds,
- 2:08it really kinda even just takes how much you like a show to the next level.
- 2:14I have to say Kevin, I was very similar to you where I didn't know much about when
- 2:17I was researching for this, I was like,
- 2:18I don't know much about this. I had to contact my business partner and be like,
- 2:20Hey, yo, you know a lot of musical theater.
- 2:23What is going on with Oliver? And so for those who maybe aren't familiar,
- 2:27I was wondering if you could kind of tell us a little bit about what's happening
- 2:30in the story.
- 2:31this is a this is a show that like I've known some of the music too,
- 2:35and I think that's gonna be familiar to a lot of people.
- 2:38I mean, I don't know many people that don't know Food,
- 2:41Glorious Food, ~ if for no other reason than the Ice Age movies.
- 2:45and you know, there ~ I've
- 2:48You know, I've learned some of the other songs just from my experience
- 2:51in choir when I was younger and whatnot.
- 2:54And I you know, all the memes of Oliver himself going,
- 2:56please can I have some more. So,
- 2:59you know, it's i I kind of when I when I first kind of went through the script,
- 3:05the whole time I was thinking this is like the darkest possible version
- 3:09of Annie I have ever seen. Like Sara was saying,
- 3:11it's a very dark show, which I think is gonna surprise a lot of people.
- 3:15You know, O Oliver is an orphan,
- 3:17he's at an orphanage, he's being forced to,
- 3:20you know, do work, not being fed much.
- 3:22But it's not like there's some comedic elements in that setting,
- 3:28but it's not like, you know, it's not as comedic as it would be,
- 3:32you know, not to keep harping on Annie,
- 3:34but it's not like that at all.
- 3:36And it's the rest of that story i is the rest of that is like to
- 3:41an extreme where like Oliver gets sold into labor.
- 3:45And he eventually escapes from that.
- 3:47And then, like, the kind of the saving grace of that for him is falling
- 3:52in in line with a bunch of child thieves,
- 3:56which you know is is just kind of just this weird thing to say out loud
- 4:01now that I'm hearing myself say it.
- 4:03and there's this relationship that forms between him and Fagan,
- 4:09who's the adult ringleader of the child thieves.
- 4:13And it's it's great to watch Fagan's character evolve because of basically Oliver.
- 4:19Oliver is like almost like this force of good that changes everyone around him.
- 4:25And you know, and then my character comes in as a huge antagonist,
- 4:32and there's this dynamic between Nancy and Oliver that fundamentally changes
- 4:39my character's relationship with Nancy.
- 4:42~ up until the end where it just it boils down to this huge very final scene
- 4:49and where Oliver and Fagan get a happy ending and we'll leave
- 4:56it at that without spoiling too much.
- 4:59Ha
- 4:59ha ha
- 4:59Absolutely. And Sara, you know,
- 5:01when you talked about the the the kind of darkness of the show,
- 5:04there's a little bit of darkness,
- 5:05that is quite heavy, you know,
- 5:08what Kevin's kind of describing there.
- 5:10How do you feel like Oliver really does kind of balance that light aspect
- 5:14~ throughout the show?
- 5:16Yeah, ~ definitely. There's I and I I actually when I got this part I went back
- 5:22and I started I I read the actual novel because it is based on Oliver Twist written
- 5:26by Charles Dickens. And you know,
- 5:29Oliver he is like Kevin said, he's kind of like this source of good.
- 5:34Like there's just this sweet innocence about him from the very beginning.
- 5:39Like him straight out going up to,
- 5:41you know, the guy that
- 5:43runs the the orphanage essentially or the workhouse that he's living
- 5:47in and is asking for more food.
- 5:50He's kind of you know, the kids kinda egg him on to see how that responds and,
- 5:54you know, he's just constant there's just this sweet light about him.
- 5:59And even from the moment he meets my character,
- 6:01like the first thing he does is he bows.
- 6:04He bows to me. So the everybody kind of wonders where this is coming from from
- 6:10an orphan. What, you know, what
- 6:13is it in him that makes him kind of this little gentleman.
- 6:16~ so you really learn to love Oliver sh straight off the get go.
- 6:22You just want you want more for him.
- 6:24You want better from him. ~ and I think that's something that resonates with
- 6:29my character, ~ who, you know,
- 6:32for lack of a better word, has kind of been on the streets and she
- 6:38was in Fagan's gang and she was thieving and now she's a little older.
- 6:42So
- 6:42She's probably doing some other things.
- 6:45and she's had a really rough life.
- 6:47So she meets this young man, and all of a sudden she's like,
- 6:50I don't want this for him. And so she kind of s is
- 6:56the one that's really pushing for him to come out and get his happy ending
- 7:01at the end, even at, you know,
- 7:03some expenses that again we will we will leave to those who come see the show.
- 7:09For sure. Absolutely. ~ and so Kevin,
- 7:12you are playing, like you said,
- 7:13the protagonist. You're playing ~ Bill,
- 7:15but who do you feel like Bill is to you?
- 7:17Or like how has maybe your relationship with him changed since kind
- 7:21of taking on this role?
- 7:23you know, I've ~ in kind of researching the role because it's
- 7:31the script is very much like,
- 7:34you know, Bill enters a scene,
- 7:36everyone is scared of him, and then Bill loses his temper at something.
- 7:41And it's to try to make a villain more than just
- 7:48that is really been the challenge of this role.
- 7:51And you know, something that I've kind of I've kind of held to throughout,
- 7:55you know, many years of theater and opera and whatnot is that
- 8:00the best villains don't know they're villains.
- 8:03They think they're doing something right.
- 8:05And so it's, you know, it's been kind of figuring out,
- 8:10you know, why it what is his relationship with all these people?
- 8:14Why is he the way that he is? Is he really
- 8:19that bad or is he living off of just his reputation,
- 8:22that sort of a thing. And so it's been it's been kind of walking this fine
- 8:29line between showing, yes, that Bill is capable of all these horrible things,
- 8:35but not making it his soul defining characteristic so that when it does happen,
- 8:41it's that much more impactful and hopefully terrifying.
- 8:45Because that's what I'm going for.
- 8:47Ha ha
- 8:48So it's it's been it's it's been really it's been really interesting,
- 8:51~ you know, is when I for years I I've been kind of the funny guy.
- 8:56The past year suddenly villains have been thrown at me.
- 9:01I'm like, Okay, this is a huge switch for me,
- 9:03but it's it's been it's been a heck of a journey so far.
- 9:07I mean it's it has to be really cool as an actor to be able to kind of switch
- 9:10it up and try something like that.
- 9:11But also I love that you're trying to make him not two dimensional.
- 9:15You're trying to find the like the whole person within that.
- 9:18What's kind of that process for you then to find that whole person of like
- 9:22who Bill is kind of through I know you're doing some research
- 9:25you mentioned and stuff, but like how do you find him within the words that
- 9:28are on the page?
- 9:31so my opening song ~ right off the bat is called My Name.
- 9:36And all of the essentially the entire song is everyone gets terrified once they hear
- 9:42my name. My name is so terrifying that no one will even speak it.
- 9:46And so right off the bat,
- 9:49I'm thinking, have I ever done any of these horrible things?
- 9:52Or has this just been the rumor mill and I have gone with it?
- 9:55You know? And so then
- 9:58It becomes what does it look like if I'm not really that guy?
- 10:02If I'm just the reputation? What do I do to convince people that
- 10:05the reputation is real? And so there's this slow build to
- 10:10the point where I actually have to live up to it.
- 10:14And is that scary for me?
- 10:17Is it just a moment where it happens and I suddenly like,
- 10:21God, I finally crossed that line?
- 10:23It you know, and so it's it's been a lot of putting him in situations.
- 10:28Of what would this look like if the whole legend isn't real?
- 10:32And then from there, just kind of going through like the mannerisms.
- 10:33Sure.
- 10:37I'm I'm someone that when I am d you know,
- 10:40getting into the character, I have to develop the physicality of it first
- 10:45to really make it real. And so it's like,
- 10:49you know, it's it's finding the walk.
- 10:51Does he have does he have a swagger?
- 10:54Is the swagger real? Is it manufactured?
- 10:56Is it, you know, there's
- 10:58~ little things by how I interact with Nancy,
- 11:02how I interact with ~ Fagan. Do am I jealous of Oliver because suddenly
- 11:09everyone is finding out that like,
- 11:11wow, we can be a good person and still have good things happen to us.
- 11:15Whereas I'm the guy that's saying no,
- 11:17we have to be terrible. We have to instill fear.
- 11:19And so it it's been kind of putting all those situations around and playing with
- 11:24it and going, what would this look like?
- 11:26Wow, okay. I love that. I I you don't usually see like I love this play of like,
- 11:33did he like are they just rumors?
- 11:35Because I think that a lot of the times we see villains who they
- 11:38do all those horrible things and they do live up to the reputation.
- 11:41But the I s this idea that maybe you don't,
- 11:43and then as a psychologist, I it's always interesting when you
- 11:46see somebody have something kind of thrust upon you and then it's not exactly true.
- 11:50And do you fulfill that role? Do you do it do you fulfill that role well or do
- 11:55It does is it kind of scary or daunting and so again that adds that
- 11:58the kind of layer and depth to Bill.
- 12:01Yeah, that's that's really ~ I I think r really kind of like the
- 12:07the motivation for me is to try to do this in a way that hasn't
- 12:12me maybe necessarily been done before.
- 12:13and isn't just, okay,
- 12:17here's the bad guy, let's do bad guy stuff.
- 12:19Yeah.
- 12:19Sure.
- 12:20I just have to say, in you know,
- 12:23just to kind of feed off of Kevin's question,
- 12:25in him developing that point of view,
- 12:29it really helped me because there has to be a reason why Nancy loves him so much.
- 12:35He can't just be this awful, terrible person 24-7.
- 12:36Mm-hmm.
- 12:36Okay.
- 12:41There's gotta be a reason, and she even says it,
- 12:44you know.
- 12:45This is this is just the this is who he is.
- 12:47This is who he thinks he has to be.
- 12:50Sure. I love that though too though,
- 12:52that because you're right, there does have to be a reason.
- 12:53And like if he's just an awful guy,
- 12:54Mm-hmm.
- 12:54Mm-hmm.
- 12:56why would Nancy love him, you know?
- 12:57Right. ~
- 12:58So but you had mentioned,
- 12:58Yeah. Yeah.
- 13:01Sara that Nancy is is a dream,
- 13:03kind of like a dream role for you.
- 13:05What is it what is it about Nancy that you've just kind of been drawn to?
- 13:05Yeah.
- 13:10~ I mean, as a vocalist,
- 13:14you know, I tend to get drawn to shows where there's like this
- 13:18big like eleven o'clock number.
- 13:19~ you know, but I mean as long as he he needs me as like one of the most like iconic
- 13:24musical theater songs out there.
- 13:26But beyond that, I tend to connect with these characters
- 13:32who are struggling with their own personal identity a lot.
- 13:36it just seems to kind of be a
- 13:37Sure.
- 13:40constant in the roles that I've played in my in my acting history,
- 13:45~ where I tend to struggle to be kind of that rough around the edges person with
- 13:50the heart of gold. ~ so I just I I love the joy that Nancy brings
- 13:51Okay.
- 13:57to the show. and I love how like Dickens put it,
- 14:01I read a I read a whole like
- 14:04you know, somebody did like a whole like thesis on this sh this storyline
- 14:08and Nancy and even Dickens himself said it that Nancy truly is the heart
- 14:14and light of the show. She is someone that has found positivity regardless
- 14:16Yeah.
- 14:16Okay.
- 14:20of her situation. ~ and I feel like I'm very much like that in my own personal life.
- 14:26~ so I think that's probably one of the biggest things that drew me to this role.
- 14:32~
- 14:34And it's just it's been really special to get to understand her a little
- 14:38bit more on a different depth.
- 14:40Was there something about her that you learnt like that felt different once
- 14:43you started to kind of embody her?
- 14:45it's interesting that you asked that because the other night,
- 14:48~ I had like gotten a text message in between act one and act two and
- 14:53all of a sudden I turned to ~ one of the other actors who plays Bet in
- 14:57the show and I looked at her and I was like,
- 14:58~ okay, I gotta it's happy,
- 15:00Yeah.
- 15:01happy, happy. There's just something about Nancy,
- 15:04like the moment I step into her shoes,
- 15:06everything else melts away and she just
- 15:10is and that's something that I have to,
- 15:12you know, thank Mitch Master, our wonderful director too,
- 15:15is any any time like he'll have a note for me and he's just like
- 15:20but you just become Nancy the second you step into her world.
- 15:25~ so it's it's just been a completely different experience for me getting
- 15:32to play this part.
- 15:34It's ki it's kind of awesome though that it feels like it's I don't want
- 15:38to say easy because I know that's not easy,
- 15:39but like to to become Nancy, there feels like there's an ease to that.
- 15:42Yeah, sadly it's hard that, you know,
- 15:44I can easily become someone who is in a ~ abusive relationship.
- 15:52But when you talk about the positivity,
- 15:52~
- 15:53you're kind of also describing of,
- 15:55you know, the you're still finding positive in her,
- 15:58even though that's kind of like the situation that she's in.
- 15:59So, you know, it sounds like you're focusing on on the positive aspect of
- 16:03it and not maybe on the negative aspect of that character and her relationships.
- 16:04Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And I bring a lot
- 16:07of myself to that 'cause I do tend to be someone who is positive even
- 16:11in the darkest situation.
- 16:13Positivity is important, especially in today's day and age.
- 16:16so I did get to see you last year ~ in ~ Fiddler on the Roof,
- 16:19and I've seen you in a few other productions.
- 16:21But how do you feel like maybe your process for developing this character
- 16:24is different than some of your your past characters that you've done?
- 16:29so with Fiddler on the Roof, obviously that was a that is my
- 16:33all time favorite musical, I will be honest.
- 16:35~ it's something I grew up with.
- 16:36So Tzeitel again, I kinda grew up with her.
- 16:40So I kinda knew her nuances just from,
- 16:43you know, watching the movie growing up and I played in the pit orchestra
- 16:47in high school for the show and I've seen so many versions of it.
- 16:51For Oliver
- 16:53I hadn't even really watched the movie until I got cast in this show.
- 16:56Okay.
- 16:57I hadn't seen any previous productions.
- 16:59So where I feel I am with Nancy and where I've kind of
- 17:05sat down is I've really had to take the time to understand her.
- 17:09I've had to sit and I've written like notes out in a journal creating
- 17:15her backstory. Who is she? Where did she come from?
- 17:19Why did she wind up?
- 17:21with Fagan? Why has she stayed with Fagan?
- 17:24Why, you know, does she not get out of this relationship with Bill?
- 17:28And I've had to sit and ask those questions.
- 17:30~ I've also had to really I've always also really taken the time to
- 17:34sit down and break down her songs one by one,
- 17:36line by line, and like what's going through her head at this point.
- 17:40~ so not that I haven't dug deep into characters before,
- 17:45~ but I recently got into a scene study class as well.
- 17:49So that kind of like
- 17:51gave me even more like knowledge and understanding of how to truly break down
- 17:55a character in a scene. it's just something that I've worked hard
- 18:01at with this character. So she just she feels different than the others.
- 18:05I was gonna say she feels like you you're taking her like even like
- 18:07a step deeper than you have with ~ your other characters.
- 18:11Yeah. Yeah. I've trying to give her the time she deserves.
- 18:13So
- 18:15So when we're talking about the songs,
- 18:16obviously, you know, this is a song that Kevin you mentioned that people
- 18:19are gonna know the music or will know some of the music.
- 18:22But what music do you feel or like what songs do you feel like are some
- 18:25of your favorites to perform or even some favorites from the production that
- 18:28you just love to hear every single night?
- 18:30For me, honestly, I could listen to ~ any of Fagan's numbers
- 18:37all night. ~ be because,
- 18:41you know, Patrick is got he is such a wonderful actor and he really embodies
- 18:48the role to begin with, but his chemistry with the child actors is it
- 18:53it is just wonderful. They all adore each other and it's very,
- 18:58very ~
- 19:00obvious and the the energy is just different when those scenes are happening.
- 19:06And and part of it is is just it has to be.
- 19:08When you have that many that many children on stage,
- 19:11you have to have that level of energy.
- 19:14And any elementary school teacher will tell you that.
- 19:16~ that you just there's there's a level of energy you have to keep
- 19:20and in his ~ what's his first number
- 19:26Not not reviewing the situation,
- 19:28but his first number with the kids,
- 19:30Gotta Pick a Pocket. my god. So good,
- 19:30Pick a pocket. Pick a pocket. Yeah.
- 19:33so good. Yeah. ~ and then the other one that I'm pretty sure
- 19:39my entire family is sick of at this point because I keep singing it,
- 19:42is Nancy's opening of act two,
- 19:46the Oom-Pah-Pah number. It is just a
- 19:50Wonderfully catchy drinking song.
- 19:53And it's just, it's, it's everything a drinking song needs to be.
- 19:58It's catchy. It's got a good hook.
- 20:00It's repetitive. Everyone in on the stage knows the lyrics because they're in a pub.
- 20:05They're all singing along. It's just,
- 20:07it's so fun. And the choreography that has been set to that number is just,
- 20:12I think that's the one that's going to have the audience really kind
- 20:16of tapping their feet and humming along to.
- 20:20That is awesome. ~ Sara, how about for you?
- 20:20I hope so.
- 20:22Which numbers are really some of your favorites from this production?
- 20:27so from this one, ~ I mean,
- 20:30I always have loved ~ I do anything.
- 20:34~ you know, a lot of people think of consider yourself and it gets catchy
- 20:39and it gets stuck in your head,
- 20:40but Cecily Gamara, who plays our dodger,
- 20:44is just the most captivating nine-year-old I have ever met in my life.
- 20:47And I think that song is just going to I mean
- 20:54the audience is just gonna eat her up.
- 20:56~ she's so so incredible. So I love that one.
- 21:00And again, that's a song that I get to connect with all of the kids during.
- 21:03~ so that makes it really fun as well.
- 21:06but a song that I wasn't familiar with that I just I just died laughing
- 21:12the other night is the Sourberries have a song called That's Your Funeral.
- 21:16And the two actors, ~ Jared Bugby and Jennifer Horne,
- 21:19Yeah.
- 21:22are so brilliant. ~
- 21:25With this twisted dark song, because they're undertakers,
- 21:29~ I think people are gonna leave kind of singing a song that they don't know,
- 21:34Yeah.
- 21:35~ which I love because that's the most fun about musicals is finding songs that
- 21:42you s keep humming on your way out that maybe you didn't know.
- 21:45Cause I think a lot of people know pick-a-pocket.
- 21:48I think a lot of people will hum,
- 21:50consider yourself. I find myself night after night going to bed singing
- 21:55a song called
- 21:55Who will buy? ~ there's a quartet in the beginning of it with four
- 22:00of our ensemble members and it is probably the most beautiful singing
- 22:04~ you will hear the entire night to these this four part harmony.
- 22:07Mm-hmm.
- 22:09It's just it's incredible.
- 22:10It's so awesome. So with a show like this,
- 22:13with the darker themes as well and a little bit of light,
- 22:16obviously we have things that maybe are themes or things that resonate
- 22:20the most with us from this production.
- 22:21Kevin, what do you feel like is the theme that maybe resonates the most with you?
- 22:29it really I I think that the thing that I come away come away with from this show
- 22:34the most is just no matter the situation,
- 22:38there is always hope for something better.
- 22:42~ whether it's Oliver hoping for a better life because of the lot that
- 22:47he got stuck with, or it's Nancy coming
- 22:53to realize or struggling with.
- 22:55She could be in a better spot than where she is.
- 22:59~ Fagan having this moral dilemma over what he's
- 23:05what his I mean, he's he's running a criminal criminal enterprise.
- 23:08Let's let's not candy goat it.
- 23:10but ~ you know, he's he he has moments where he's really struggling with that.
- 23:10Yeah.
- 23:16And I I think that that really at the core of the show,
- 23:19if I could sum the whole thing up,
- 23:20it's it's hope. And even
- 23:24You know, I I mean, even Bill to a point,
- 23:27it's, you know, there's this he's got his whole
- 23:33his whole reputation, his whole existence is based on this this image
- 23:40that he's projecting of strength and fear.
- 23:43And Oliver comes in and damages all of that.
- 23:47And
- 23:49There's there's a lot of I think there's a lot of struggle on how do I battle that.
- 23:55Do I and it unfortunately Bill keeps making the choice of it's clearly more strength
- 24:01and fear and it backfires every time.
- 24:05So it's ~ I think that that is kind of like the overarching theme that
- 24:10I think that really drives the show.
- 24:13Sara, how about for you? What do you feel like kind of resonates the most with you?
- 24:18I mean, not to, you know, steal his answer,
- 24:21but ~ I really, you know, it it seriously what Kevin said
- 24:26is there is straight across the board ~ you know this this this
- 24:33hope ~ throughout the story. Especially,
- 24:36you know, you meet Oliver and I think from the very beginning everybody
- 24:41in the audience is going to hope for him to find a better life than what he's been
- 24:47dealt.
- 24:48You know, then you meet Nancy and it's like she talks about it and
- 24:51she even talks about, you know,
- 24:53how it's not gonna be for me, but then she meets Oliver and she's all
- 24:58of a sudden like, you know, hoping for more for this child than the hand that she's
- 25:03been dealt. ~ you know, I think you even see it with Fagan and the way he reacts to,
- 25:10you know, some of the things he has.
- 25:12~ you know, he hides his jewels and and he kinda looks at them and it's it's almost
- 25:17like this
- 25:18underlying hope that, you know,
- 25:20he he could have had more. ~ so that just kind of,
- 25:24you know, I I truly believe that that's kind of like the under the
- 25:29the whole like theme of the entire show and even a little bit about sacrifice.
- 25:34~ which again I don't want to give anything away,
- 25:37but there's, you know, there's a sense of sacrifice for the situation
- 25:43to hope that this young man gets a better life.
- 25:45Both of those are beautiful answers.
- 25:46And I just want to thank you both for being here.
- 25:48And again, we are excited for Oliver to arrive.
- 25:50~ but thanks for c coming on and chatting with us.
- 25:53it's been such a pleasure.
- 25:55Absolutely. Thank you so much for having us.
- 25:57This has been fun.
- 25:58Yeah, thanks, Brian.
- 26:01Oliver runs at Nicely Theatre Group for two weekends beginning
- 26:04on july seventeenth and closing on the twenty sixth.
- 26:06So get your tickets now and we'll see you at the show.