BWW Blog: Allison Rambler - Come Look At the Freaks: Who They Are

As the opening night of The Belmont Theater's "Side Show" quickly approaches, the activity in the black box studio has increased ten-fold. The set is becoming more elaborate, the swell of music from the orchestra now fills the air, and the costumes are coming together piece by piece. Tech week has begun, and it can both an exciting and somewhat stressful time for any production. As an actor, it can sometimes be difficult to lose sight of your character and even the meaning behind the show itself among the bustle and flurry of tech week. That is why I felt that the time had come to interview some of the actors in our show, in order to provide a bit of insight into their characters and to explain from their perspective the importance of a musical such as "Side Show." And for Nik Olson, this was no small task.

Olson brings the character of Buddy Foster to life, a self-proclaimed "song and dance man" working in the Orpheum Circuit. He and Terry Connors come across the Hilton sisters during one of their side show performances, and immediately recognize that they have the potential to become a remarkable vaudeville success. Buddy later proposes to Violet Hilton, only to realize that he is not attracted to her in the way he once believed he was.

"In my opinion, it's probably one of the most unique and deeply complex roles I've ever played in theatre," Olson admits. "Buddy Foster plays a gay man in the early 1920's, when that lifestyle was extremely taboo."

He explains that Buddy's sexual identity had to be kept a secret due to the public attitude at the time, and that he was forced to hide his feelings for his fellow performer, Ray. This element of Buddy's character makes the role incomparably challenging, but Olson has discovered that while he may not relate to everything Buddy has gone through, there are still many aspects of his own life to draw from in order to make his performance even more realistic and moving.

"I think everyone has gone through a time in their life where, for whatever reason, you're unable to share emotionally how you feel about someone," Olson elaborates. "What I'm really trying to do right now is to really, you know, dig deep down within myself and find out how I can best portray that sort of longingness to express how you feel."

While Buddy Foster is a fictitious character in the musical, "Side Show" is based upon the true story of Daisy and Violet Hilton, and Olson discloses that Buddy represents a combination of several men who "knew very intimate parts about the Hilton sisters' lives." Two of these men had even married Violet before revealing themselves as gay, much as Buddy does in the show. However, even though Buddy himself did not exist, Olson has found that the Hilton twins and their fantastic story has provided him with plenty of inspiration for his part in the show.

"You can see [Side Show] multiple times and take away something different from it every single time," He concedes, but goes on to say that he most connects to the aspect of the show that promotes individuality and the concept that "regardless of what makes you different or strange in society...make that your own."

While Olson may have one of the more difficult roles in the show, the rest of the cast has found just as much success in bringing their onstage personas to life. One of the more unique elements of "Side Show" is the ensemble of circus "freaks" who make up the majority of the cast, and this feature has allowed for much more variety when it comes to the type of people needed to play each role. For Brianna Schunk and Derek Etter, this meant that they were able to be cast in a community production that otherwise may not have had a place for them. Schunk plays one of two of the World's Tiniest Cossacks while Etter portrays the character of Dog Boy, and they are two of only three members of the cast who are under 21 years old. Schunk is a recent high school graduate and Etter will be entering his junior year of high school, but they both admit that they often prefer community shows to school productions.

"I think I actually prefer being the 'baby' in community theatre," Schunk claims. "I think the adults treat you with more respect because you have to have the talent. You have to have the maturity to be in a cast of people that are all older than you."

"You're here and you're just as good as everyone else," Etter adds. "It's a diverse ensemble, I think."

In addition to being cast as "freaks," both actors are members of various other small ensembles, including vaudeville dancers, party guests, cherubs/cupids, and Texans during different points of the show.

"They're all different groups...and it's nice because it never feels like, 'they're the Ready to Play group and they're better than you,'" Schunk says of the absence of cast divides. She feels that the ensemble is on the same ground when it comes to involvement in the show, and that no small group holds more precedence or importance than another. Etter agrees, adding that he enjoys the mixture of different groups rather than a "main ensemble who's in every number," especially the side show freaks.

"You're all individuals put together for the attractions," he insists.

It's no secret that "Side Show" is not a musical often performed, but both Schunk and Etter expressed the opinion that the show's obscurity is what drew them to the production in the first place.

"I think it's cool because it's underground and it's a good musical, and it's kind of getting the word out because not many places do it," Etter remarks, while Schunk believes that "Side Show" belongs to a genre of shows that most performers will only get to be in once in their lives.

"You'll probably never get to do "Side Show" ever again, because who ever does "Side Show"?" she says. "You can always do "Music Man" or "Mary Poppins" all the time, because everyone does those."

"It's something that I'm proud to say, 'I was in this,'" Etter declares. This is a sentiment shared by the rest of the cast, who have put all of their time and effort into putting together a show that they hope will be enjoyed and appreciated by their audience. Most of all, they hope to leave the audience with the message that no matter who you are and how you are different, you should be loved.