Interview: Flor De Liz Perez on the Beauty of The Mobile Shakespeare Unit

The Public Theater Mobile Shakespeare Unit's THE COMEDY OF ERRORS is currently in previews. Directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah, the sit-down run of THE COMEDY OF ERRORS follows a three-week tour to the five boroughs, bringing free Shakespeare to audiences who have limited or no access to the arts. The Shakespeare comedy will run at The Public Theater through Sunday, November 22, with an official press opening on Thursday, November 5.

Flor De Liz Perez, currently playing Luciana in THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, spoke with Broadwayworld about this Mobile Unit production and how "beautiful" it is to reach the non-conventional theatre audience.

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How did you become involved with the Public and the Mobile Shakespeare Unit?

I actually was a part of last year's Mobile Shakespeare Unit when we did Pericles directed by Rob Melrose. That was my first experience. This opportunity came around to do it this year for Comedy of Errors, and once I heard about it, I was like "Yes! I definitely want to jump onboard."

Can you explain a little bit about how the unit works? What is a typical day like when traveling throughout the boroughs?

Our producer is Stephanie Ybarra and Roxanna Barrios, our Line Producer, is kind of like her right hand woman. [October 29] was our last tour day. As of that last day, they are already out reconnecting and laying the groundwork for all the tour stops we'll have next year. They do that like a year in advance. They put in a lot of work and set up some really amazing locations. We like to build relationships and go back to places. There are places we went last year that we went back to this year, and there are some weekly customers. It's really great because it builds relationships in the community. So that's all behind the scenes; they lay the groundwork out about a year in advance.

How the actual unit works then is they assemble a cast and we rehearse for a couple of weeks at the Public. Once we get on the road, we'll have out schedule of where we're going. We usually find out where we're going the night before and learn more about the place, facility, and what kind of audience to expect. We show up the day of and get ready at the theatre, so we have like our "half-hour" at the theatre, and then we get into our costumes and get everything ready. There's an advance team that goes out in a separate van with all of our props and our rug. We really can't carry much, but whatever we do have, they carry. They go ahead, and they we pile into our van. We get to the place, and the advance team is there already setting up our rug, props, and chairs. We come in and we help finish setting up, do our fight and warm-up call, and then our audience comes in.

It's always different for each place. There was a shelter we went to, and the room we were in was actually their cafeteria. They had just finished dinner, and they were moving tables and things so our audience was already there. There are some places, like community centers or other facilities where they won't arrive until we're done setting up. You get a mixed bag everyday.

So then the audience comes, and we welcome them. Sometimes it's talking and getting to know each other. Then we do the show. [After the show] they roll up the rug, wrap everything up, and maybe there'll be surveys or pictures with audience members after. Then we pile everything back onto the van, come back here and that's it!

Have you had any special moments when interacting with these not-so-typical theatre audiences?

Yes! I love it because those community centers we go to have what you could call a more trained kind of audience with some members that know about theatre or have gone to the theatre, so that's one beautiful thing. But another beautiful thing is when we go to shelters or prisons where, not everyone, but fair amounts have no experience with theatre. You can't generalize, but it's like they're kind of untrained in a really beautiful way. One of my favorite stops is a women's medium security facility near Westchester, and they're just so generous and vocal in the way that they engage not only with the story but with the actors. It is really exciting and really wonderful sharing this moment.

There was one moment where there was a woman who was watching the whole show, and one of our actors sat down next to her and kind of improved a line with her saying, "I really love a good love story." She said, "Yeah" and cracked a smile. It was really beautiful. It was a small moment, and it's just one of a thousand that happen on the road. It was really beautiful to see that and to see her kind of open up in a way.

The shows [with the unit] seem very small and intimate. Does the closeness with the audience affect your performance at all? Do you feed off of them?

Absolutely. We can be in a classroom, or cafeteria, so we're very aware of and present with the audience. That's the point of [the unit]: to be together, to share this, and to take them on a ride. The energy definitely affects that. It's really great in making us understand that success means a very different thing on the road. In a normal theatre you can be like, "Yeah I had a really great show tonight or the audience was with it." It's a different vibe because you're on stage and they're out there. [With the unit], the audience is on all four sides. We don't have lighting; we don't have backstage. So you are on the whole time pretty much, even when you aren't really. Sometimes it feels like we're basically coming into people's homes. Believe me, we'll have audience members getting up and crossing the stage to go to the bathroom or getting up and coming back. So it's different in that people feel a freedom. You just can't let it distract you. There's no room for being precious about anything. You can't go like, "Ugh, they interrupted my scene," because it's not about that.

What's your favorite part about performing the show with the unit this year?

Oh, man. I love this cast. I love our two guys who are playing twins, Bernardo Cubria and Lucas Caleb Rooney. It's just a really great team and the two guys really carry a lot. They carry a lot of the comedy in the show. I could watch them riff with the audience for hours. I love watching them.

Looking forward, do you think you'll return to do another show with the unit?

God-willing, yeah! If time allows, I'm available, and all the stars align. It's definitely something that's very special. The actors who get to do this get a big growing experience with looking at the art of storytelling and being present with an audience. I'm so grateful to our producing team. It really is all-hands-on-deck from top to bottom. It's such a beautiful team effort. It pays off. When we're on the road you walk away and remember faces and moments. It's just beautiful!

Flor De Liz is a NYC-based actor and writer, originally from the Dominican Republic, who's left pieces of her heart in London, France, Ireland, Prague, Nicaragua, and North Carolina (to name a few places she's lived and/or visited). She received her MFA in Acting from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill/PlayMakers Repertory Company, where she earned an invitation into the Frank Porter Graham Honor Society for her outstanding service for the University and graduate program as an acting instructor and coach. Her B.A. from Bucknell University is in English, Theatre and French, and she has trained at the London Dramatic Academy under Richard Digby Day and at the Guthrie Theater under Ken Washington.

Tickets, priced at $20 for THE COMEDY OF ERRORS at The Public, are available now. Tickets can be purchased by calling (212) 967-7555, visiting www.publictheater.org, or in person at the Taub Box Office at 425 Lafayette Street.

The Public Theater's MOBILE SHAKESPEARE UNIT, part of The Public Theater's long-standing commitment to making Shakespeare accessible to all, returns for its sixth year with THE COMEDY OF ERRORS. Mistaken identity leads to delightful mayhem in the Bard's classic play about two sets of twins separated by stormy seas. When one pair dares to trespass into a foreign city to find the other, the comedy of errors begins and the long-lost brothers must overcome wrongful imprisonment, angry wives, and hilarious confusion on their journey to a joyful reunion.

MOBILE SHAKESPEARE UNIT, now in its sixth year, is a reinvention of Joseph Papp's Mobile Shakespeare program, which began in 1957 to bring Shakespeare to the masses, evolving into the New York Shakespeare Festival and ultimately becoming The Public Theater. Recent Mobile Shakespeare Unit productions include Measure for Measure; Richard III; Much Ado About Nothing; Pericles, Prince of Tyre; and Macbeth. MOBILE SHAKESPEARE UNIT will also present educational workshops at selected tour venues, expanding The Public's existing community outreach and education program. This program continues the expansion of The Public's Shakespeare Initiative, which includes the recent Public Works productions of The Odyssey, The Tempest, and The Winter's Tale staged at the Delacorte Theater for free; Free Shakespeare in the Park; and The Public's other affordable productions at its downtown home at Astor Place, all reinforcing the Company's commitment to the ongoing exploration of Shakespeare's canon.