Jacqueline E. Lawton
  • Home
  • Info
    • Artistic Statement
    • Bio
    • Awards and Fellowships
    • Affiliations
  • Writing
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
    • Plays
    • Productions
    • Commissions
    • Award Ceremonies
    • Publications
  • Advocacy
    • Appearances
    • Facilitation, Workshops, and Trainings
    • Access, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the American Theatre
    • Gender Equity
    • Theatre and Technology
    • Theatre Action >
      • After Orlando
      • Climate Change
      • Every 28 Hour Plays
    • Testimonials
    • Additional Resources
  • Dramaturgy
    • New Play Development
    • Production Dramaturgy
    • Dramaturgy and Script Consultation
    • Additional Resources
  • Teaching
    • Qualifications
    • Curriculum Development, Theatre Arts Integration and Teaching Artist Training
    • Philosophy
    • Experience
  • Producing
    • ARDEO
    • On Stage with the Migration Series
    • Out of Silence: Abortion Stories from the 1 in 3 Campaign
  • Media
    • Gallery
    • Good Ink
    • Media Coverage
    • Interviews
    • Press Releases
    • Podcast & Video
  • Blog
  • Contact

Intelligence: Actor Interview with Lawrence Redmond

4/7/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Okay, folks, we're heading into closing weekend of Intelligence at Arena Stage! We have only five performances left. If you haven't seen the show, there are standing room tickets available! I had hoped to be there to celebrate closing weekend, but life and work have other plans for me, so I won't be able to get away. I must say, it's made sharing these actor interviews that much sweeter. Next up, we have Lawrence Redmond, who plays Joseph Wilson, former U.S. Ambassador. Larry speaks about his passion for theatre, the relevance of this play, his relationship with his characters, and where we can see him next onstage. Please enjoy!
Picture
JACQUELINE LAWTON: To begin, why did you decide to get into theater? Was there someone or a particular show that inspired you?
LAWRENCE REDMOND:
I fell into theatre as an inspiration. While I grew up in a house where my father was a gifted musician, theatre became an outlet in High School. As things progressed, and I realized that I was never going to be the “High School Star” (it was a very competitive all-boys Military Catholic High School), I found other avenues like assistant directing and producing which I continued with into college, grad school and my early 20’s. That first show? It was Anything Goes! I fell in love from afar with the girl playing Reno Sweeney, and I was rapturous with the whole damn thing at 13!

JL: Set in 2003, INTELLIGENCE is a historical fiction that examines the lies that led to the war in Ira, the impact of the war on the Iraqi people, and what happened when the Bush Administration retaliated against two U.S. citizens when the truth of those lies were revealed. Why do you feel this play is relevant to today’s audiences?
LR:
‘Tis said that History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes. I say in this play, more than once, that “the President lied”. In the world of 2003, the notion that POTUS would lie, to advance a held policy objective, regardless of facts in evidence, is a shock to the body politic. Yet, here we are in 2017 bandying about terms like “alternative facts” and “fake news”. Honestly, I remember in rehearsals saying out loud that I missed our 43rd President in retrospect. The most relevant thing for an audience member to take to heart is that for this flawed, yet noble, human experiment called The United States of America to work, it requires everyone’s input “to form a More Perfect Union.” We aren’t done yet. It’s unfinished, like the pyramid on the back of the Dollar Bill. .

JL: Who are you playing? What, if anything, do you have in common with this character’s passions, values, intentions, or belief system?
LR:
If you haven’t figured it out from the previous answer, I’m playing Amb. Joseph Wilson. As I said to you once, Jackie, I believe that the subtitle of INTELLIGENCE is “Five Patriots”. Each person that we see is doing what they believe to be right for their country and their sense of self within that country. My mother was a Vice Consul in the Cuban Embassy, in the years before Castro. Her family had seen the effects of changes of government, both peaceful and radical. And still she loved her countries, both Cuba and the USA. And she trumpeted the best that those countries had to offer. That’s who Joe Wilson is. Sure, he’s brash. One woman on opening night said I had captured his “arrogance”. My Mother’s counsel would have said: Say the nastiest thing in the nicest way; that is the mark of a diplomat. So, I hope I have “captured his unshakeable confidence!” Wilson’s job was always to show the best of who we are, the best of who we wish to become. There is a reason it’s called the Foreign Service. Ultimately, those Ambassadors, and Consular officers serve the interests of the American people, and hopefully service those interests by setting the best examples of who we are as a nation to the world at large.

JL: What do you hope the audience walks away thinking about after experiencing this play?
LR:
I think two basic things. The first is that the work of Intelligence is tirelessly boring holes through hard boards. Mistakes can be made in haste and we repent in lost lives and treasure. Secondly, I hope people will understand why the present Secretary of Defense, former USMC Gen. James Mattis said only a month ago, “If you don’t fund the State Department fully, then I need to buy more ammunition ultimately”!

JL: What’s next for you as an actor? Where can we follow your work?
LR:
What’s next is another world premiere of an entirely different variety. I’ll be playing the role of Steven Keaton in the stage version of the popular 80’s sit-com “Family Ties” at Human Race Theatre in Dayton, OH. That finishes up at the end of June. I expect to return to my home in Washington, DC to audition for projects for the upcoming season. That is, unless, some other theatre wants to give me another crack at Joe Wilson!

Picture
Photo of Hannah Yelland and Lawrence Redmond by C. Stanley Photography.

LAWRENCE REDMOND (Joseph Wilson) was last seen at Arena Stage as Richard Russell in All the Way. Other Arena Stage credits include The Music Man, Ruined, Christmas Carol: 1941, Damn Yankees (Helen Hayes nominee), Passion Play: a cycle, South Pacific (Helen Hayes nominee), The Misanthrope, The Great White Hope, Guys and Dolls and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Earlier this season he was seen in Titanic (Signature Theatre) and A Prayer for Owen Meany (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park). Other D.C. credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing and The Government Inspector (Shakespeare Theatre Company); Rock ‘n’ Roll and Jerry Springer: The Opera (Studio Theatre); and The Nutcracker, The Trip to Bountiful and Permanent Collection (Round House Theatre)
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    My Blog

    Picture
    I'm a playwright, dramaturg, and teaching artist. It is here where you'll find my queries and musings on life, theater and the world. My posts advocate for diversity, inclusion, and equity in the American Theatre and updates on my own work. Please enjoy!
    Tweets by @dulcia25

    Categories

    All
    Advocates For Youth
    ARDEO
    Blackbirds
    Dance Exchange
    Dc Theatre
    Diversity And Inclusion
    Dramatist Guild
    Gender Parity
    Intelligence
    Lions Of Industry
    LoTT
    Love Brothers Serenade
    Mothers Of Invention
    Musings
    Nnpn
    Noms De Guerre
    Nso
    Our Man Beverly Snow
    Plays For Two
    TCG
    Theatre Education
    Theatre For Social Change
    The Hampton Years
    The Inferior Sex
    Triangle Theatre
    Wizard Of Oz
    Women Artistic Directors
    Women Directors
    Women Dramaturgs
    Women Playwrights
    Women Stage Managers
    Women Theatre Critics
    Xx Playlab Festival

    Archives

    June 2020
    April 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    August 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012

    Reading List
    2am Theatre
    American Theatre Wing

    Americans for the Arts
    The Atlantic
    Black Girl Dangerous
    Colorlines
    Feminist Crunk Collective
    Feminist Spectator

    The Good Men Project
    Guardian: Theatre
    Guernica
    HowlRound
    Media Diversified
    The Nation
    NEA Art Works
    NPR Arts and Life
    NYTimes: Arts

    Opine Season
    The New Yorker
    The Paris Review

    Salon
    Theater Talks
    Think Progress
    WaPo: Theatre
    Works by Women

    Vox

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Info
    • Artistic Statement
    • Bio
    • Awards and Fellowships
    • Affiliations
  • Writing
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
    • Plays
    • Productions
    • Commissions
    • Award Ceremonies
    • Publications
  • Advocacy
    • Appearances
    • Facilitation, Workshops, and Trainings
    • Access, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the American Theatre
    • Gender Equity
    • Theatre and Technology
    • Theatre Action >
      • After Orlando
      • Climate Change
      • Every 28 Hour Plays
    • Testimonials
    • Additional Resources
  • Dramaturgy
    • New Play Development
    • Production Dramaturgy
    • Dramaturgy and Script Consultation
    • Additional Resources
  • Teaching
    • Qualifications
    • Curriculum Development, Theatre Arts Integration and Teaching Artist Training
    • Philosophy
    • Experience
  • Producing
    • ARDEO
    • On Stage with the Migration Series
    • Out of Silence: Abortion Stories from the 1 in 3 Campaign
  • Media
    • Gallery
    • Good Ink
    • Media Coverage
    • Interviews
    • Press Releases
    • Podcast & Video
  • Blog
  • Contact