Spring Break
The Daily OrangeQ&A with 'Equus' stars Stephen James and Drew Moerlein
By Kelina Imamura
Posted: 2/26/08, 11:56 PM EST Section: Feature
Q&A with Stephen James (playing the conflicted teenager Alan Strang) and Drew Moerlein (psychologist Martin Dysart), both senior acting majors and stars of Black Box Players' production of "Equus"
The Daily Orange: How would you describe the play "Equus?"
Stephen James: This show encompasses so many different themes that I think almost anyone can find something to identify with. It encompasses religion, relationships, family struggles and various other universal themes.
Drew Moerlein: "Equus" is about a troubled boy who has lived in a seemingly troubled household and a psychiatrist's, dare I say, adventure to understand and pull out the truth from this boy and the truth of what happened in this horrific experience.
DO: How did you prepare for the show?
SJ: We've had a three-week rehearsal process with a great production staff. Our director Rick Brown has been living with this play for a long time. He started out by telling us his artistic vision, and then we did our best to bring what we thought about these characters to the story. Then we started out through just readings, and then staging and then eventually getting all the technical aspects.
DM: I got a hold of the script just less than a year ago and began reading it. Once I was cast, I sort of lived with it. I lived with a copy pretty much in my back pocket, in my bag or next to my bed. I'd try to read it pretty much every day, and then when we got closer to process I began beating it out and semi-memorizing lines. I watched a ton of psychiatrist films, like "Sybil" with Sally Field and the old "Equus" with Richard Burton, and I just did a lot of research in that realm, then looked up online multiple personality disorders and a lot of information. I tried to get myself living in that kind of a being, to connect to that understanding of the world.
DO: How do you feel about the nudity in the show?
SJ: Aside from the ribbing from friends and co-workers who were always saying 'Oh I can't wait to see you naked,' it's been relatively painless. We have a policy here at Black Box Players of how all rehearsals are structured. So we phase in and make sure everyone involved in comfortable since Jenna (Curtis, who plays Jill Mason) is also doing nudity as well. So it's been a really painless and for me completely comfortable process. In the end, I feel completely comfortable because the show calls for it.
The Daily Orange: How would you describe the play "Equus?"
Stephen James: This show encompasses so many different themes that I think almost anyone can find something to identify with. It encompasses religion, relationships, family struggles and various other universal themes.
Drew Moerlein: "Equus" is about a troubled boy who has lived in a seemingly troubled household and a psychiatrist's, dare I say, adventure to understand and pull out the truth from this boy and the truth of what happened in this horrific experience.
DO: How did you prepare for the show?
SJ: We've had a three-week rehearsal process with a great production staff. Our director Rick Brown has been living with this play for a long time. He started out by telling us his artistic vision, and then we did our best to bring what we thought about these characters to the story. Then we started out through just readings, and then staging and then eventually getting all the technical aspects.
DM: I got a hold of the script just less than a year ago and began reading it. Once I was cast, I sort of lived with it. I lived with a copy pretty much in my back pocket, in my bag or next to my bed. I'd try to read it pretty much every day, and then when we got closer to process I began beating it out and semi-memorizing lines. I watched a ton of psychiatrist films, like "Sybil" with Sally Field and the old "Equus" with Richard Burton, and I just did a lot of research in that realm, then looked up online multiple personality disorders and a lot of information. I tried to get myself living in that kind of a being, to connect to that understanding of the world.
DO: How do you feel about the nudity in the show?
SJ: Aside from the ribbing from friends and co-workers who were always saying 'Oh I can't wait to see you naked,' it's been relatively painless. We have a policy here at Black Box Players of how all rehearsals are structured. So we phase in and make sure everyone involved in comfortable since Jenna (Curtis, who plays Jill Mason) is also doing nudity as well. So it's been a really painless and for me completely comfortable process. In the end, I feel completely comfortable because the show calls for it.
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