What was were the elements that drew you to be part of this production?

Kaitlin Williams: This is a very unique production of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe as the whole story is told with only two actors. That alone is very appealing to me. I also love C. S. Lewis, and I love the Narnia stories. I have fond childhood memories of reading them with my brother and sister, and then watching the BBC adaptations on VHS until we knew them by heart. I’ve always loved Lucy for her ability to believe with such an open heart and for her tremendous courage. This adaptation is especially exciting as I not only get to play Lucy, but also a number of others including vastly different characters like the White Witch and Father Christmas. It means I get to do a lot of fun character work, which would be any actor’s dream, I think.

Mack Gordon: A chance to work with my wife on a great show that so many actors I look up to have worked on before.

Recommended Reading The Perfect Stage Crew
2nd Edition Click a cover for more details Empire of the Son Ignite: Illuminating Theatre
For Young People

Can you share some of your creative process in preparing for the role from the initial planning of the production all the way through to opening night?

Kaitlin WilliamsTo prepare for this production I actually read through the entire series of The Chronicles of Narnia again. Because the play starts with Peter and Lucy as grown ups returning to the wardrobe many years after their adventures, it was important to have some context and know their larger story, and to know where Wardrobe fits in the big picture.

I also focused on dialect and character voices to help distinguish all the different characters I play in the show. I also spent time reading up on C. S. Lewis and his background and history.

Mack Gordon: It starts with research. Read the books, know about the author, understand the world at that time as best you can. I like to examine the text quite closely. Figure out why the writer chose each specific word so that I know exactly what my character means with each line he speaks. For LWW dialects and character work is also very important. I play no less than seven distinct characters in the show and I need to get to know the physicality, cadence, and tempo for each. Then, in the rehearsal room, we work on relationship and storytelling. How do these characters feel about each other. What offers does the other actor bring to the table that surprise me? How do I respond to these offers? Obviously, somewhere along the way we’ve also got to memorize the lines?

Are there any books or specific authors that have been influential to you so far in your creative journey?

Kaitlin Williams: I don’t read a ton of books on the craft of acting, although some of my favourite authors would be Uta Hagen and David Mamet (True and False). I like to read plays in my spare time, and some of my favourite playwrights include – Kevin Kerr, John Patrick Shanley, Joan McLeod, Steven Adly Guirguis and Lucia Frangione.

Mack Gordon: The man himself, CS Lewis. I think of Peter as a sort of Stephen Fry narrator. Mr. Beaver’s got a little bit of funk to him that I apply with a sort of 30’s gangster feel. These are all just initial impulses though.

What were the biggest challenges for you as an actor in preparing for this production and how did you deal with them?

Kaitlin Williams: The biggest challenge as an actor in this production is the amount of text there is to learn, as well as the challenge of playing so many different characters. I tackled these challenges by working hard in rehearsal and outside of rehearsal. I’ve been focusing on protecting my time during the two weeks of the rehearsal process so I don’t overbook myself when I need to be studying my lines and characters – that certainly helps the process.

Mack Gordon: I think the dialects are going to be a big challenge for me. I plan on working with Dialect Coach Brett Harris. He’s good!

What can you share about any future projects that are in development?

Kaitlin Williams: I just wrote a new one-act play and submitted it to a festival. I’m hoping that it will be accepted and produced in the new year. We are also remounting Wardrobe in the spring of 2013, so I’m looking forward to that. Mack and I are also featured artists in a new book launching in December called We Make Stuff. The book features 100 artists from the Vancouver community. I also just launched a new website where folks can check in to keep up to date on news – KaitlinWilliams.com.

Mack Gordon:I’m going to be in The Cat in the Hat at Carousel Theatre in February and I’ve written a short play for the Pull Festival of emerging artists for January.

____________________________________________________________________
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is now on at Pacific Theatre until December 15th before going on tour at The Evergreen Cultural Centre from December 18th to 22nd.

The post The Biz Interview: Kaitlin Williams and Mack Gordon of “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe” appeared first on Biz Books.

What inspired you to take on a production of The Great Divorce?

I am a big fan of Lewis, read lots of his books and when Ron (Reed) asked me if I would be interested to direct The Great Divorce I didn’t hesitate. I love the challenges and the imagination of tackling a script and story such as Lewis’.

Can you walk us through the creative process for this production, from casting to opening night?

Right from the beginning I was looking at ways of challenging Pacific Theatre’s space, and so the design in this show I feel is very unique and something new. The set designer, Lauchlin Johnston, has really expanded the space and taken a new approach to lighting the actors. The costumes by Florence Barret, are astonishingly rich and beautiful and we played with the ideas of these characters being from different eras. One of the great things about Pacific Theatre is the actors get to rehearse on the stage from day one. From there we’ve been exploring how these characters who have come from hell are still real people with real problems.

How did your acting background and experience help you with directing actors for The Great Divorce?

Immensely. Being an actor I know the challenges that some of this play creates for them and then, hopefully, I’m able to translate that into useful notes for them.

Are there any books or specific authors that have been influential to you so far in your creative journey?

Well obviously I have kept going back to C.S. Lewis’ novel The Great Divorce to a better insight into the world and story of this play. Then after that, would be The Screwtape Letters, another fantastical book, with similar concepts of Heaven and Hell.

You have directed theatre productions and films. What are the biggest challenges for you as a director when dealing with each medium and how does your approach change?

With film, the challenge is gathering all the real life choices involved in a scene, from the props, the set, the colour, the lights, everything needs to be working towards the same goal of telling the story, and I work very closely with the design team, so that is a big challenge. With theatre, it’s the opposite, and the challenge for me, is to come up with only a few specific choices that suggest the world of the story and it’s about igniting the imagination in the audience.

What can you share about any future projects that are in development on stage or on film?

I am looking forward to seeing my first short film, Hop the Twig, play at Worldwide Short Film Festival in Toronto at the end of this month. My second short film, Wait for Rain, which I created with Josh Epstein, will be submitted to festivals worldwide in the next several weeks. Our production company, Motion 58 Entertainment, has two features in development and will begin filming one of them at the end of this year. I am also excited to be returning to the stage for my fifth season at Bard on the Beach in Henry VI: War of the Roses and Richard III.

The Great Divorce is now on at Pacific Theatre. Our thanks to Kyle Rideout for speaking with us.

The post The Biz Interview: Kyle Rideout – Director of “The Great Divorce” appeared first on Biz Books.