BWW Interviews: Debut of the Month - THE ASSEMBLED PARTIES Jake Silbermann

Jake Silbermann makes his Broadway debut in the dual role of Scotty/Tim in Tony-winner Richard Greenberg's The Assembled Parties. Directed by Manhattan Theatre Club artistic director Lynne Meadow, the play introduces us to The Bascovs, an Upper West Side Jewish family in 1980. A houseguest has joined the holiday festivities for the first time and he unwittingly - or perhaps by design - insinuates himself into the family drama. Twenty years later, as 2001 approaches, the Bascovs' seemingly picture-perfect life may be about to crumble.

Silbermann appeared in "As the World Turns" where he created the groundbreaking role of Noah Mayer. Most recently, he completed the co-production of Marie Antoinette at A.R.T. and Yale Repertory Theatre, as well as David Adjmi's world premiere of 3C at The Rattlestick. Other selected credits include: Dracula at the Little Shubert Theatre, and the world premieres of Phaedra Backwards (McCarter Theatre) and Derby Day (Camisade Theatre Company). Television work includes "Guiding Light," "Gossip Girl," and "The Good Wife."

The talented actor spoke with BWW about Greenberg's new hit play which not only actively engages the audience but challenges them to "fill in the blanks."

Can you talk a bit about the two characters you portray in the play?

Yes, I play two brothers, and they're separated in age by about 20 years. And they're both very different characters. They're both troubled but in their own very unique ways. I think both are dealing with the expectations they have and their own potential. And I think everyone can relate to those types of characters, either somebody who's struggling with the potential that they don't have, or the potential that they do have and I think we can all recognize that.

It's interesting because on the one hand you are playing two very different characters yet they are also brothers. And as in many sibling relationships, the older brother, Scotty most probably has an influence on his younger brother. Do you try to infuse a little of his personality into Timmy?

There's a couple of little physical things that I actually do allow to seep into the younger brother but other than that, they really are written very differently and I trust and have faith in letting the writing do a lot of that work for me and approach each one as a different character. And you know we've all met brothers who are so similar but we've also met brothers who are so different that it's hard to believe they are related. So I just kind of allowed them to teach me who they were. The one thing that they're bounded by is that they have a similar physical resemblance, so we don't have to worry about that.

When we first meet Scotty in Act 1 he has just graduated college. Did you develop your own back story for him prior to that point in his life, as well as think about what his future ambitions might be?

As far as back story goes, it was very important to me and to all of us that we try to be on the same page, at least timeline-wise because while a lot is told, even more is not revealed to the audience in terms of specifics. We felt it was important for the actors to know things such as, how long had he been back? A month? A week? Just a few days? So we talked a lot about that.

As far as what he wants to be, a lot of people don't have their ambitions figured out by twenty-two and they just don't really know what they want. Or maybe what they do want is a lot simpler than what they were raised to believe was necessary to have a good life. If you're told your entire life that you've got to be Master of the Universe or President of the United States, or something along those lines, but then you say to yourself, 'But I don't really want that, I just want to be a teacher or something simpler.' Scotty's still trying to figure it all out. And the sad thing is, he gets alluded to as having not very much potential when you get to the bottom of his character, but we don't really know that, people change, people have their seasons and those seasons can change. I don't know that just because somebody is struggling at one point in time, they can't soar later on. I don't want to give anything away about Scotty or his destiny, but there's a lot of ways his life can go at that point.

As far as Timmy, he seems to be incredibly guilt-ridden and kind of adrift himself but in his own very different way. We definitely get the sense that he's a very intelligent guy, just kind of out of it, kind of spacey and unsure what the right, appropriate thing is. He's really confused. But you get the feeling that once he does get his act together, he can do most anything.

What has the experience been like working with [playwright] Richard Greenberg?

He's really a unique voice. He plays with characters and time in a way that you just don't really see too much these days and he just thoroughly enjoys language. So I learned a lot just from finding my own voice through his words and it's just a tremendous treat I would say.

Why do you think Greenberg chose these two very specific years to set his story in?

Yeah, I think those dates are very specific. We do attach the significance of the year 2000 as the start of a new millennium. There is a sense of carrying on, that we've come from this past and we're all moving forward together and the future is uncertain. And one of the heartbreaking things about it is that as an audience, we already know that so much good and awful is about to happen. It's by no means a 9/11 play, but I remember that was one of the first things I thought of when I read it. The play ends and they're talking about the times to come and I couldn't help but think, 'man you just don't know what's around the corner.' But people have to go about their lives with a positive outlook, it's just an amazing, sad kind of existence that these people have. That's kind of what I'm left with at the end of the play.

There is certainly some ambiguity to these characters, their motives, their actions, which I found fascinating. It really challenges the audience to think about what's really going on up on stage.

I think one of the great things about the play is that it forces you to engage fully. You're not just watching, you are actively watching and listening and it's not a chore. You're not going, 'what's happening?', you're going "something's happening" and your brain is automatically trying to fill in the blanks. And I think that's a great key to fascinating play writing or any kind of writing. We're presented with a scene, and the scene is recognizable to us, we understand what is immediately going on in front of us, whatever the conversation may be, but what they're really talking about makes our mind push a little bit further and think, 'Wait a minute, there's more here.'

Yes, it's almost like a mystery.

Yes, we actually at one point said, 'this is a mystery!' and it totally is. It's not a whodunnit, but you are thinking, 'which history is right here?' Because you know everyone is operating under their own history. We all are operating under our own self-involved perspective and as an audience we get to sit back and say, 'look at this family.' The writer gets to set the scene, this is what's happening with this family, they're each feeling things, but we get to pull back. And I think that's one of the best things about theater is that it really makes the audience the unbiased observer. They don't really know any of these people and they get to watch them for just these two evenings. And that's really the amazing thing about it, the play takes place just over two evenings, but they are the most important evenings in this family's history.

On another note, what was it like to make your Broadway Debut?

It was really exciting, really rewarding. And I really couldn't have chosen a better play to have been involved in for my Broadway debut. And I'm so glad that I've experienced it along with Lauren Blumenfeld, who plays Shelly. She is so terrific. She really makes her scene incredibly memorable.

And it must be wonderful to be getting such a positive response from audiences.

It's been such an interesting process because it really doesn't read the same way without an audience, it's one of the amazing things. We all knew we had something, but really didn't get a sense of it until we first had that audience. And with that response, with that life out there - it just makes it feel like the most dramatic drama ever. There's just something magical about that audience!

The limited engagement of The Assembled Parties opened on Wednesday, April 17, 2013 at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street). Click here for tickets and more information.

Photo credit: Joan Marcus