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Exclusive Interview: Jonathan Kind and Jeff Thomakos of Inspired Acting Company's 'God of Carnage' · The BSB Podcast

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  What starts as a simple meeting between two sets of parents quickly turns into
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  a hilarious and increasingly chaotic battle of egos in God of Carnage.
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  with its sharp dialogue, uncomfortable truths,
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  and wonderfully messy characters,
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  the play explores just how quickly civilized behavior can disappear when tempers
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  flare.
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  and today we're talking with Jonathan Kind and Jeff Thomakos from Inspired Acting
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  Company's production of this play.
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  Thank you so much for being here.
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  Thanks for having us.
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  Thanks for having us.
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  So this is an incredibly hilarious show,
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  it sounds like. And John, what kind of drew you to wanting to direct God of Carnage?
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  Honestly, I've kind of always been drawn to conflict,
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  for better or worse. ~ I grew up
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  Okay.
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  in a a big family. I'm the youngest of seven,
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  and I've got dozens of nieces and nephews,
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  and we all grew up pretty much on top of each other,
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  and as such, conflict happens.
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  We're all fairly
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  Sure.
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  spirited people, so I grew up watching that,
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  very engaged in that, and being the youngest,
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  I got to
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  Do a lot of observing, watching for all of those little cues that people have right
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  before the conflict really kicks into high gear.
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  So I've kind of always been drawn to that.
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  Absolutely. And Jeff, for you,
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  what was kind of the standing out about this play as you were,
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  you know, as you were kind of going into it,
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  but also what was your kind of initial reaction when you were offered
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  the role of Michael?
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  Well, ~ as artistic director, ~ I have the option to offer the role to myself.
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  So that's
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  I mean makes it easy, right?
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  although ~ w what you know,
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  I s I said I really like to do this play.
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  this is ~ this is such a fun play.
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  It's an actor's play. I I felt like ~ this
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  fit our you know,
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  our ~ the inspired acting companies like
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  reason for being around very well,
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  ~ highlights actors. At the same time,
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  it's extremely funny and it's extremely thoughtful.
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  So I thought this is the perfect play for us to open a season four with.
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  And, you know, I I I said to John,
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  I said, I don't know which role I'm better for.
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  Why don't you why don't I attend callbacks and you decide which role I can have?
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  So so it wasn't a matter of not getting cast.
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  It was a matter of John deciding which role I was better for.
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  And he decided it was Michael and
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  And I I I can't say that I don't agree.
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  I I I think I'm a Michael.
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  So I guess how would you kind of describe Michael when we first meet him
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  ~ in the show? And then how would you say his perception changes as
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  you kind of progress through the play?
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  ~ Michael is a guy who really likes to feel like he's in control.
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  ~ he has ~ he has ~ his idea of himself as someone
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  who tries to make things better,
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  to control a room, to make sure everybody is happy.
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  And really, in reality, he doesn't have any control whatsoever,
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  which ~ which is not that different from being an artistic director,
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  to tell you the truth. But
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  Sure.
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  but but it is
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  he's he's just one of these characters who who ~ his his life
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  is really controlled by his wife and his wife really runs the marriage
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  and kind of runs him and and he ~ as we go through the play he he starts
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  to rebel against that idea and ~ it turns into something kind
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  of crazy for him especially as pertains a particular hamster.
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  Right. I it's cool though that you were able to kind of see J I mean Jonathan,
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  you were able to see this character for Jeff making sense.
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  What was it about Michael that made it feel like Jeff was the right
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  fit for this character?
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  You know, in our initial conversations,
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  I we kinda I went back and forth a little bit,
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  like, okay, I could s I could see him doing either role prior to auditions.
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  And going in, he d was far and away the best Michael that with that auditioned.
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  And it made my choice very easy and have no weird feelings about having
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  him be artistic director and playing one of the
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  lead characters in the show. He's just he's at times Michael can
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  be very good hearted and then immediately flip on a dime and become bombastic.
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  It it the range that Jeff shows in this show,
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  I think it's a not only is he a boon to have on stage as an actor,
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  but I I think it's a a good role for him to just stretch his acting legs
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  When you're talking about how you go from almost orderly to very bombastic,
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  you know, this show does take,
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  you know, what is a civilized conversation in between two sets
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  of parents specifically and it quickly unravels.
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  As a director, how do you kind of approach that gradual escalation,
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  ~ that's within the show?
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  Yeah, we we did a lot of environmental work early on,
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  specifically utilizing ~ LeBan techniques and really looking at
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  the different ways that people move and how that informs everything else that
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  they're doing. So whether you are starting off in the very controlled glide where
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  you know exactly what's happening,
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  that polite poise of like almost a tea party to slowly as things tear away.
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  You try to hold on to that control,
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  try to not let the cracks completely devolve into a shattering,
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  and then you get to the point where it has shattered and you are lashing
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  out at everyone and everything around you.
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  mean
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  it's so there's kinda beauty in that I would imagine,
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  especially a as an actor, Jeff.
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  What is it kind of like to be in a role where you do have to go from that control
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  level to just almost so expansive with your emotions?
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  my gosh, it's so fun. I mean, isn't that the reason why we're doing this
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  in the first place? You know, it's it's it's ~ it's great.
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  You know, I always say better on stage than off.
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  And and to experience those kind of feelings and and to to go to
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  the places that Michael ha and frankly everybody has to go to
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  Yes.
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  ~ during the course of this play.
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  It's just it's just an actor's playground.
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  which is funny because the the set is very similar to a playground anyway.
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  So
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  You know, I feel like ~ I I've I haven't had this much fun on stage in a while.
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  And it's the perfect backdrop,
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  you know, 'cause like when you're talking about like the the l losing
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  of decorum almost as you're going along,
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  Mm-hmm.
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  that does feel almost stepping back into like that childlike air world
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  of like a playscape or you know,
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  or like a being outside on the playground.
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  Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
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  Now,
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  when it comes to Michael specifically,
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  do you feel like there was something obvious about him that
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  you discover throughout the process of of bringing him to the stage that maybe
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  wasn't apparent at first?
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  well, you know, there's something very street about him.
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  ~ you know, this the i the American version of this play,
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  even though it it was originally a French play,
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  ~ takes place in Brooklyn,
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  Brooklyn, New York. And they mentioned specific parks in Brooklyn sp you know,
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  by name. And ~ as as I was working on it,
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  I was like, no, this this guy has to be like a street guy.
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  He's gotta be from New York.
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  And he's gotta l have lived on the street.
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  That's not something I didn't really I didn't really get until I
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  I really started digging into him and this the ~ the the New York dialect sort
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  of came to me as I was doing it and I was
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  Sure.
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  like, it just it just feels right just to just to have this guy who's who's just
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  a just a a guy from the street.
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  And so it's been a lot of fun playing with that.
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  ~ and and yeah, his his feeling of he he's a very willing guy,
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  but you know, he he he's everything he does is like he's he wants this to happen,
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  he wants this to happen, but he can never quite make it happen.
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  It's really not he's not in the driver's seat,
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  no matter how much he thinks he is.
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  And is that part of the conflict that really arises with him and his wife?
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  Yeah, it you know, ~ I'm gonna say that it it it starts with ~ with
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  a conversation about ~ their their daughter's hamster and ~ devolves from there.
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  And you'll have to see the play to figure out what happens to that hamster.
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  But let me tell you, if ~ if there's any hamster advocacy groups that wanna come
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  to the show, they might have a problem with Michael.
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  Okay,
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  that's a good tease. That's a good tease.
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  so John, what one of the things about this show too is that it's it's very
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  it there's a lot of humor. Even though we're kind of maybe seeing a
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  a conflict arise and there's a lot going on,
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  it is really funny. So how do you kind of balance what the characters
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  are saying and doing with the humor?
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  'Cause sometimes there's un there's uncomfortable moments between some
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  of these characters.
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  yeah, there's there's a lot of uncomfortable moments between the characters.
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  But that element of sort of Schadenfreud of getting to watch that unfold
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  and that uncomfort happen to other people and you be able to have that safe space
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  between you and that conflict,
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  it allows you to to relish in that a little bit.
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  And as an audience member, being able to sit there and look at the person that
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  you came to see the show with and say,
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  you know, I can see you doing something like that.
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  I it those awkward moments are just so human as well.
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  It really allows the audience to see themselves in bits and pieces of each
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  one of the characters. Whether we're talking about Michael's bombast
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  or the the pedestal that Veronica tries to hold herself up on,
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  or the person who likes to push people's buttons that we get out of Alan.
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  And you know, I think that another interesting aspect too is that when
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  you look at it, ~ something that I've noticed that inspired acting company does
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  really well is small, intimate plays.
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  There's only four people on stage.
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  There's only four people kind of interacting.
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  It's a very intimate story that you're telling,
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  or at least the audience gets to be very intimate in that space.
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  So, how do you feel like only having four people on stage maybe impacted
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  or affected the way you approach directing a production?
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  Honestly, not only are there only four people on stage,
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  those four people are on stage almost consistently the entirety of the show.
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  There's a couple quick exits here and there,
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  ~ a very short section where we get to see Michael and Veronica talking
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  in their own home not being observed.
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  But that even came into not just how we directed it,
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  but how myself and our scenic designer Joel Frazy came up with the concept
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  for the set. We wanted these characters to be pretty much on top of each other.
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  So that brought us to the idea of the the arena.
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  And then we started tying in some more of those those childhood elements,
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  and we ended up on a sandbox. So that's like the the central portion of
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  our set is very reminiscent of a sandbox.
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  And we get all of those little conflicts that come out from them being
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  on top of each other, from all of those conflicts being forced to a head
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  and having that both the balance of the
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  the childhood elements as well as the society's pressures
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  to to be polite and proper.
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  Absolutely.
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  I mean, it's such a great ~ kind of ~ juxtaposition between the two things
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  of like being the adult and also the inner child that's still kind of there
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  and what that that the primal emotions are doing,
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  ~ in a situation such as this.
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  Now, for Jeff, for you in a situation where there's only four of you on stage
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  as an actor, like that has to be both exciting and maybe a little
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  ~ nervousness 'cause there's only four of you and you're on the stage
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  at all the times. What's it kind of like to be on stage?
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  With only three other people.
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  ~ just ~ it's it's I can't I can't express it to you,
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  Brian. It's just a delight. ~ you know,
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  this is this is why I do this and ~ you know,
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  you're always in it. You're all I mean,
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  it's really ~ four one person shows at the same time.
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  ~ that that's how would I would describe this particular play.
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  It's n there's no there's no lead.
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  Everybody has their arc. Everybody is going through it.
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  ~ the audience can can pick any particular character and just watch them throughout
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  the whole show and see this entire journey that they are taking.
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  And and ~ you know, that kind of give and take,
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  that that that being on stage,
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  r receiving ~ from your scene partners and giving to the scene partners.
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  I mean they're
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  There for me, there is no greater joy in acting than that.
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  And ~ you know, putting on the artistic director hat for a minute,
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  I can say that, you know, that's one of the benefits of coming to
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  see our shows anyway. You know,
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  a lot of people have already said it's like watching a show in someone's living room
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  or a 99 seat black box, you're surrounded on three sides.
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  And in this case, you're definitely on three sides,
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  you're definitely in their living room.
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  ~ and you get to watch people
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  behave absolutely horrible and you don't have to do anything about it.
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  You can just watch it and and enjoy it and and not worry about any of
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  it coming back to you.
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  You know, it's something that I just want to highlight here.
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  ~ one of the first shows that we saw with you was Crimes of the Heart.
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  And I had seen it somewhere else before.
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  And you are right there. It's a completely different experience when you're sitting
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  right on top of the story. Like you're it's like you're sitting
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  in someone's living room with them,
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  but you're like not a part of the conversation.
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  And it's such a really cool, again,
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  experience of how to experience theater.
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  And so I do think that it lends really well to experience like this where you're
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  almost watching something that you shouldn't be watching in a way.
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  You know what I mean? You're watching this interaction where you're just slight
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  you are slightly uncomfortable,
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  but you are right there and that's such a cool a theatrical experience.
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  That's the joy of it.
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  One of my favorite things specifically with this show and and a lot
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  of the other ones that we have done are those small little the you
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  you said seeing something that you're not supposed to see.
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  Some of my favorite moments in this play are the the interactions
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  and reactions to something else that's happening over here,
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  the the glances between
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  between partners, the the look of,
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  my God, did they actually just say that?
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  Is this really what's happening right now?
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  And all of those those little interactions,
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  that's where a lot of the the joy in the comedy comes from for me.
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  Absolutely. Cause it brings it more it makes it more real or more like submer like
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  immersion. Like you're more immersed in it be when you get to see
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  all the different reactions and all the different ~ the people.
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  And you know, Jeff kinda what you're saying there too is it sounds people need
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  to see this four times to be able to follow each individual person through
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  the show and get their story it completely.
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  As artistic director, I welcome you to come see the show four times.
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  We would love to have you come see the show four times.
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  just one final question for both of you and John,
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  I'll start with Just what are you hoping audiences are still thinking about after
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  they leave the theater from God of Carnage?
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  You know, I definitely think that everyone who walks out of the theater will
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  be looking to the people that they came with and thinking,
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  yeah, there's a little bit of Michael in you,
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  there's a little bit of Veronica in me,
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  or whatever the the case may be.
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  And I really hope that they're able to take those identifications
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  and be able to
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  Lend some grace to the people that they're with,
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  having understood them a little bit better.
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  I think if in general we as a society could give each other a little
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  bit more grace and seeing things from each other's side and things would just
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  be better overall. So yeah, that's that's my big like lofty ideal.
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  But you know what? Even if people walk away saying,
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  Hey, at least we're not as bad as them,
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  I'll be happy.
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  Mm-hmm.
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  That's
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  a beautiful answer. Jeff, how about for you?
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  What are you hoping audiences are still kind of thinking about after they leave
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  the theater?
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  Well mostly I hope that they're leaving going,
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  Gosh, that was funny. ~ you know,
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  we we've been rehearsing this show for,
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  you know, three and a half weeks now,
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  and ~ I finally asked John and and our and our crew,
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  I was like, Are we funny? ~ and John assures us that we're funny.
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  ~ but we need that validation from the audience.
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  So so ~
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  For sure.
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  we're looking forward to them coming in and laughing very hard at this.
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  ~ and and secondly
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  I hope that they leave, you know,
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  to to support what John was saying,
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  that they leave and they see each other in that.
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  But I also hope that that maybe a few of them go home and and on
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  the drive home go, wait a minute,
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  I think I'm that character and and maybe have a realization
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  th about themselves as well. And that's what theater's all about.
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  Some some self reflection there that might be needed.
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  Yes, exactly. It might make the world a better place.
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  ~ For
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  sure. Well, thank you both for being here and chatting about the show.
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  We are so excited for God of Carnage to arrive.
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  so thank you again for being here and chatting about it.
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  Thanks so much for having us. We really appreciate you.
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  It's been great.
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  So God of Carnage opens at inspired acting company on September twenty fifth
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  and runs through October eleventh.
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  So get your tickets now. We'll you there.