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Brad
McEntire |
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Q. When did you know that you wanted to be involved in theatre? In high school, I auditioned for a play because a girl I had a crush on was in the drama department. Up until that point I wanted to be a visual artist... like a cartoonist or painter or graphic designer or something. I lied at the Friday afternoon audition and said I could juggle and over the weekend I taught myself to juggle from a library book. I got cast in that play, but never won the girl. I did get hooked onto the Theatre, though. In college, I was going to study film or fine arts, but I won a theatre scholarship, so that's what I majored in. Looking back, I would not change that for the world. Q. What are some of the sacrifices that you made to get where you are at? I've sacrificed my personal relationships for artistic ones. I've made a few enemies because of my artistic views. That happens most often when I work with good friends who don't necessarily have the same viewpoints or approaches. We end up not being friends any longer because we both mixed art and personal relationships. I have also missed out some on those things people my age now have or are acquiring. You know, that getting married, settling down, buying furniture and paying off student loans and such. Q. Where do you see yourself in five years? I hope to be at the "big table". By this I mean, doing the same stuff I'm doing now, creating theatre, but on a much higher level, with equally professional collaborators. Perhaps in five years time I'll have gone to grad school and be working on the national theatre scene with major regional theatres and off-Broadway houses. Q. Where do you see the future of independent theatre? Contrary to popular belief, I see it thriving. Cultural critics are always saying theatre is dead, or dying. Theatre is, like all other art forms, an evolving one. Right now we are in a pendulum swing where there is an overt amount of theatrically and audience participation. Like the 60's, but without the overt political bent and more to do with fantasy and imagination. Anti-kitchen sink theatre. The avant-garde is dying out, but not experimentation. Theatre is becoming more visceral and kinetic ( think Blue Man Group, De La Guardia, the Donkey Show and Lion King). The leaders of this new wave/movement are the brave young artists working around the country in theatres like Chicago's Neo-Furturists and Defiance Theatre, Vermont's hopefully-not-now-defunct Bread and Puppet, Houston's Infernal Bridegroom, Washington DC's Woolly Mammoth, NYC's Faux-Real and Angry Jello Bubble Productions, Salvage Vanguard and Rude Mechanicals in Austin. Hopefully, my own Audacity Productions here outside of Dallas. These are independent theatres working on finding new frontiers of performance and new kinds of plays. Q. What advice do you have for other aspiring performers? 1) Learn your stuff. 2) Find people who know what they are doing and learn from them. 3) Think of yourself as a professional as soon as possible and conduct themselves as such. No one in their right mind hires amateurs. 4) Maintain your network of contacts and never take that for granted. Most of all, be pro-active. Self-initiative goes a long way in the arts, particularly for theatre artists. It produces enthusiasm and energy that more often than not build great momentum in one's career. Q. Who are some of your role models and why? I like Kenneth Branagh as a representative of ambitious artistic leadership. Orson Welles as a symbol of artistic risk-taking (though, I wouldn't want to pattern my career on his). I admire David Mamet, Robert Brustein, and Peter Brook as essayists/practioners of the theatre. These people are my role models, because they see the big picture and strive to do their bit in the theatre's growth. Q. How do you balance your social life vs. work life? Many a budding romance fizzled out as I enter rehearsals for some show and disappeared for four weeks. Also, I have a hard time balancing earning money to pay the bills with practicing my art. This also affects my disposable cash for going out to drink, party, date and such. Q. What is the most important thing you hope to gain out of your career? I hope to contribute to my art form. That simple. Advance it in some way. Find something new, like Picasso or someone for visual art or Tom Waits in music. It's a long road, but I'm committed. Q. What inspires you? People doing their best at anything. I mean, really their best. No half-assing at all. I like seeing new ways of doing things (even those stupid late-night infomercials that advertise new ways to cut potatoes) I am inspired a lot when I travel, just changing scenes. |