Role: Basil Hallward
How did you get started in theatre:
I have been playing pretend obsessively since I was at least 2 years old. When I found out that there were actual places where people would come together to build sets and create lighting and play other characters to act out all the great stories with me, and other people would come to sit and watch me have all this fun and applaud me for it, I could not have been more excited.
What excites you about The Picture of Dorian Gray:
Oscar Wilde has created a beautiful, iconic story with a variety of rich and memorable characters. At heart, the play is a masterful fantasy story with powerful lessons about love, relationships, obsession, and wish fulfillment that is deeply relevant - and possibly disturbing - to anyone who's ever been on the giving or receiving end of a romantic crush. Though I personally am a straight man, I can see pieces of myself (both good and bad) in so many of the characters - Dorian, Lord Henry, Sibyl, and of course Basil. It's always exciting to bring a story like that to life that touches so universally upon the human experience. Every time we run through the play I hear a new line that I had never noticed before, that makes me think of the play's themes in a new way. That's great writing, and great writing is always exciting to work with.
If you could have 5min with Oscar Wilde you would...
Observe him quietly from a distance so as not to disturb the course of history and prevent my own birth from occurring.
Don't miss Eric Percival as Basil Hallward in MTWorks' THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY. Adapted and directed by Glory Kadigan. Playing March 27th through April 14th, 2013 at the WorkShop Theater in Manhattan. To learn more visit the upcoming page on the site.