As the IATSE strike complete its fifth day, Michael J. Roberts spoke with Steppenwolf ensemble member Francis Guinan, who recently left
the current run of The Crucible at the mainstage in Chicago, to join his castmates
for the Broadway transfer of the critically acclaimed hit August: Osage County
Michael J. Roberts: What has the transfer of the August: Osage County from Chicago Broadway been
like prior to the strike?
Francis Guinan: The production has
transferred superbly. In fact, the audiences
here in Gotham have a much more macabre sense of humor and sensibility than the Chicago audiences. Hearing that sensibility and
incorporating it into the production has been a really interesting and fun
project.
Michael J. Roberts: What have your
days and evenings been like with no performances scheduled? 
Francis Guinan: On a show-day, the
routine is that the cast shows up a half-hour before their scheduled
performance and sign-in with their union representative to demonstrate that the
actors are available to work. Once the actors
are signed in, some join the IATSE picket lines for a while then continue to go
about their day. If it is a two-show-day, we all have to come back to the theatre for the
evening performance and sign-in again.
Michael J. Roberts: Is it your
intention to wait-out the strike or come back to Chicago?
Francis Guinan: We have all pretty
much decided to wait-out the strike for now. We are fairly hopeful that it will not continue for much longer. In fact, we are still hoping that we can keep
our official opening night of Tuesday, November 20.
