PART 2 OF INTERVIEW WITH OBED MEDINA

conclusion to the interview with the cast and the writer of Seven Dreams of Falling. This time, director Thomas Anawalt, actors Chuck Pelletier, Kerr Lordygan, Charlotte Gulezian, and Mo Kanekoa join in on the conversation and offer their perspective on the production.

How did you get involved in this production as director?

Thomas: I knew Charlotte from USC and they wrote me into this and I’m glad I did get involved. It’s a fun, playful cast. For me, this whole process started almost by accident. I got a call for this project because they had everything set up and they needed a director and Charlotte and Mo just graduated from USC’s MFA Acting Program. I was in second year now going to third year and that’s how we know each other and got involved in this project. Stephen, Scott, and Chuck. Then everything fell into place. Getting started with a new play like this is exciting because you don’t know what it holds in store. For me, the process of this play has been one of constantly uncovering and being amazed with how much this play is tied together. When we would work on individual scenes, it struck me how well put together the play is. We uncovered a lot in the text – something that I couldn’t get from just reading the play.

Chuck: I’ve known Stephen since 1999. Stephen and Scott have been good friends since th 90s. So I only knew Scott through a few poetry books he had written including Ars Minotaurica, which covered the same themes as this play..

Kerr: Stephen came up to me and said that he wanted me to read for the Minotaur and all he’d ever seen me do is play an 80-year old man when I filled in for a part in my play.

The most difficult part of the process?

Kerr: It’s been a very condensed rehearsal process. My schedule has been the worst – I’ve been the problem child. We had to work on our own a lot. The first time that we read it was back in December. Then it was decided that we would do it at Hollywood Fringe in February. It’s such a unique script that when I got it I started working on it right away. The play is so poetic. Actually, it’s mixed with poetry and modern prose; a unique style. I really wanted to dig into it. But we all didn’t really get started until just a few weeks ago.

What makes it all worthwhile?

Scott: We’ve been very successful at making the best of the time that we could get together because everybody has been great to work with.

Charlotte: It’s been such a blessing to work with this cast and with Scott and Thomas. It’s the first professional thing I’ve done outside of school and I feel that it’s exactly what I want to do: working with people that I respect. I want to be here. It’s setting the bar high now for me, for what I do after this. From the first reading, it was all well cast. It just worked from the get go. It felt right.

As an ensemble, what do you hope for this production at the Hollywood Fringe?

Kerr: An agent, a movie deal… and a record deal would be great!

[Laughter from cast]

Kerr: Fringe can do that, right?

Charlotte: Is there like a Best Actress Award?

I believe there are some types of awards given to a production.

Charlotte: I was kidding!

There’s always the opportunity of getting picked up for a longer run in the Fall.

Stephen: That’s what we want.

Scott: What I want just from my perspective is for the audience to see what a beautiful play this is. I want them to see it, hear it, and experience what I experienced watching it unfold.

What is your opinion on the state of theatre in Los Angeles?

Scott: It looks pretty good for me. This week. I would say more and better.

Stephen: We live in a film/TV land and this not New York, so I would say, what’s wrong with theatre is that it’s always going to be dwarfed by film and TV. What’s right about theatre here in L.A. is that it gives you a chance to act or write – to do your own thing. With the Hollywood Fringe, there’s a sense of artists coming together to put something on that normally wouldn’t exist.