Stage Profile: Actor takes faith journey in solo play
Actor and writer David Prete moved to Memphis a few years ago to be with his significant other, Rebecca Skloot, a teacher of creative nonfiction at the University of Memphis.
But the native New Yorker, who had a book, "Say That to My Face", published in 2003, couldn't stay away from the stage for too long. Prior to arriving here, he'd performed in a friend's play about a priest who decides to enter the entertainment industry, much to his spiritual detriment.
In Memphis from New York, actor-writer David Prete find he's ''reconnecting'' to the world.
STORY TOOLS
RELATED STORIES
More Stage News
- 'South Pacific' revival sails into Orpheum with promise of a fresh look
- Celebrated young violinist featured at Artists Ascending
- Buckman presents 'eclectic range of artists' for 2010-11 season
Share and Enjoy [?]
This weekend, Prete, 38, revives "All God's Creatures" as part of Playhouse on the Square's Solo Works series.
Q: Unlike the other artists in the Solo Works series, you're actually performing someone else's play.
A: Yes, it's by a friend I met in acting class, Alex Lyras. He wrote it after moving to Los Angeles. There are eight different monologues in it, and the first time it was performed he had eight different people play the parts. I tweaked it to become a solo piece. The first time I performed it all the way through, I rented the Memphian room at Playhouse. I just wanted to do some acting again.
Q: "All God's Creatures" is about a Catholic priest's journey into showbiz as seen through the eyes of people he meets along the way ...
A: He thinks that he's doing God's work by going undercover as an actor.
Q: What was the rationale behind making the character a priest?
A: When you think about a priest, you think of somebody with a spiritual core. You think that they have everything under control. When somebody with those kinds of expectations upon them goes on a journey, it's a much deeper experience.
Q: Are there any similarities to your own journey as an actor?
A: Being in this industry, I, of course, respond to the character. I think the thing audiences respond to is trying to find your faith while being in what the mystics would call a dark night of the soul.
Q: What attracts you to solo performance?
A: When I got into theater as a kid, I was really influenced by Eric Bogosian. He was the modern-day Lenny Bruce, and the first solo performance I ever saw. After that, I stopped writing and went into the acting conservatory.
Q: You were born and raised in New York. Then love brought you to Memphis. How has being here changed your acting or writing?
A: For starters, I have a different relationship with my work now. Everything you do in New York is about who is going to see it, and how are they going to progress your career. Now I'm in a place where nobody is going to "discover" me. I'm reconnecting myself to the world. It has become more about what I can give to audiences instead of what is it going to do for me.
"All God's Creatures"
David Prete performs "All God's Creatures" as part of Playhouse on the Square's Solo Works series. Shows are 8 Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at TheatreWorks, 2085 Monroe. Tickets are $20. Call 726-4656.
Comments » 0
Be the first to post a comment!
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.