Student Blog: “Comedy Comes from Truth and Honesty”

Since theatre has returned to New York City, I have seen many different shows. I've been to musicals, plays, and even interactive shows. But nothing can compare to one of the modern classic plays, The Play That Goes Wrong. I've been lucky enough to see it twice over the past two months, and even knowing all of the twists and turns, the second performance ended up being just as entertaining, if not more, than the first! Recently, I had the opportunity to interview Chris Lanceley, who plays "Jonathan" in the off-Broadway production of The Play That Goes Wrong at New World Stages.

Kat: So, classic first question. How did you first get into acting?

Chris: Oh, I have a good memory of that because I was in junior school and it was a cast listing. It didn't have roles - It just said, "Do you want barely any lines, a medium amount of lines, or a lot of lines?" I went with "not very many at all." I think it's the last time I've ever done that. Now I just want as many as possible! But I ended up playing Nurse Anesthetist in the junior school play. And I loved it. It was just so much fun. And that was my first thing. Then I just did every show that the school did after that, and I then joined the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain, which was really cool.

Kat: What's that?

Chris: You can audition from anywhere around the UK and they do shows all over the country, but mostly in London and Manchester. I'm from Liverpool, which is pretty close. It's quite prestigious, some big names on the list of donors and board. And that was quite fun. I did local competitions, voice and speech competitions, monologue competitions . . . This was all while I was growing up. Extra work led to some dialogue and TV shows, like Hollyoaks, a kind of young 20s kind of soap. Then I moved here after university where I pretty much just did every show that I could with the theatre society. Newcastle University Theatre Society, NUTS, as they were known, which is quite fun because this show [The Play That Goes Wrong] is based on a similar concept - The Cornley University Drama Society, the Newcastle University Theatre society, there are a lot of parallels in there. I think Newcastle pulled it off a little better than we do in our show.

Kat: Hopefully!

Chris: No getting knocked unconscious, that I remember, maybe it was me?

Kat: That's why you wouldn't remember it! So how did you get involved with The Play That Goes Wrong?

Chris: I was super lucky. I found it difficult being somebody from a different country when breaking into the industry here, mainly because of visas and stuff like that. I moved here in 2008. I went to college at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. I graduated, got my one-year visa did my first off-Broadway show at Playwrights, and then I didn't get my next visa so I had to go home! I was there for about three or four years and taught drama at a local school for one year, I was a Special Ed teaching assistant for a year . . . And eventually, I got my green card and came back. And it was tough! I had to work at day jobs so I couldn't audition for much theatre. But the day job was helping me in other ways. It was with my agent so I was able to audition for a lot of TV and film that would take me away for one day, here and there. Did a load of nonunion commercials. And eventually, this opportunity came along off-Broadway, The Play That Goes Wrong. It just seemed like such a good fit that my agent said, "Alright, we'll put you out for this. If you get it, you can leave this job and start that." And I did. I was visiting family over the holidays, so I flew back for the audition. The next morning I had my audition and was very jet-lagged. It went really well. I was very happy with it! They have a great callback thing for The Play That Goes Wrong. They bring everyone into the same room and everyone does the scenes for each other. Everyone switches out characters, switches out with other people, and comes up with ideas. Jonathan Sayer, Henry Lewis, and Henry Shields were all there which was cool. There were two days of that. The first day we all met each other and did the scenes and the next day was more focused, pairing specific people with each other. Never had an audition process like that before. I was so happy when I booked it. This is my perfect kind of show. I miss comedy from home and getting to be in one is really special. I think I care a little too much because I have so many connections to it. It grounds me and makes me feel less homesick.

Kat: So what's it like performing a show with a more British sense of humor for American audiences?

Chris: It's funny, I think it translates well. We have a really good director in Matt DiCarlo. He always looks for the truth in the scenes. Even though the comedy could have the potential to be quite broad, I think his intention with us as a company is to make it as nuanced, delicate, and honest as he can. I think that's important because the moment we know we're in a comedy, it's not a comedy anymore. I don't know if that's him tailoring it to an American audience, but I think that honesty, nuance, and truth that we find, especially in a small house, is what helps the comedy come across well to an American audience. Because it does, because it's great. You know, last night, we had a crazy house. People were shouting out, offering us suggestions when things went wrong. We were trying to hold the stuff on the wall and people were shouting out, "Grab the cord! Pick up the phone!" You know, things like that.

Kat: How do you prepare for all of the mishaps and things that go wrong on stage?

Chris: On day one we sit down around a table and read The Murder at Haversham Manor as if nothing had gone wrong. So we have that version in our minds, first and foremost. Then we just start working on it from the very beginning. We might have days when we focus on the fight moments, the dangerous moments, those kinds of things. We work on them in isolation, making sure they're safe. Other than that, it's a very conventional rehearsal process. We take these moments and we just work until they're safe. We have a lot of fail-safes as well - Cameras all over the stage. Stage managers are constantly looking at things to make sure we're in the right position, there's no prop somewhere that might hurt someone later on. And then it's just repetition - Making sure it's safe, it's flexible, and that we do have contingencies in case something goes wrong.

Kat: So you have fail-safes for everything?

Chris: Yeah. And we have specific failsafe rehearsals where we'll come in, and we will rehearse what happens if something doesn't happen, or if something goes differently, how we will get out of it, when we will hold or when we will move past in a slightly different way. So, I mean, there's no, it is a dangerous show for us. Which is why we rehearse it and make sure it's done correctly and done safely. It's why our covers are so important. Well, they're important in everything, but yeah, on why we look at contingencies and how to get out of things. If not, and why we have all those cameras, you know, understanding the stage management team.

Kat: Have there been any times recently where something's actually gone wrong?

Chris: I went on as a cover on Wednesday night for Robert. And I dropped the prop that I shouldn't have dropped, but we just carried on. One of the ASMs (assistant stage managers) came on and dealt with the rubble that was there. And I pretended like it was supposed to happen.

Kat: So with the pandemic, there's been a lot of people taking on roles. What's that been like?

Chris: It's been hard! There's been a lot of love for understudies which is so warranted and so deserved. But the reason behind why it's so deserved is because it's really stressful! It's really difficult. I'm quite stressed out at the moment, to be honest. You never know from day to day who is on and who isn't. And even if you're on in your regular track, that can be kind of stressful. Having a non-normal day at work every single day in any career and business is stressful, but when your job is also in front of a large audience of people where you have to do things well, it adds an extra level to it. I cover Chris Bean because I played him on the tour and I play Jonathan. I offered to take Robert as a second cover in January because I wanted there to be more coverage. Did not expect to go on! Three months later, I'm on my ninth performance as Robert. But it's stressful, thinking that I could go for different roles. These two roles, Chris Bean and Robert, are probably two of the most dialogue-heavy and incident-heavy characters. So I find it difficult not knowing what role I might be going on as every given night at work. We've had this kind of coverage cycle, which is great. The show hasn't suffered, we've kept it going. And it's been really good! It's been really fun having all these swings and people coming back from the tour. But it's really stressful, difficult, and anxiety-inducing. And that's the other side to it. And it's why I think understudies and covers deserve all that praise.

Kat: So you also did the tour of The Play That Goes Wrong. Did you ever notice different reactions at different tour stops and at the current theater?

Chris: Yeah, there's actually a big difference! I mean, the house size is different. That's something I struggled with coming back here after the tour. Even though I started at New World Stages, I struggled coming back afterward. At New World Stages you can see every eye movement. Everything is seen by every audience member, so you can do a lot less to sell moments. Whereas on tour in a 3,000-seat house, you can't do that. It has to be a little larger, to be sold a little differently. And then feeding back from that, the response is different. The laughter tends to roll from the front to the back and then back to the front again. So the way you hold for moments is different and things like that. So yeah, I've noticed a big difference. The pacing is slightly different. Our pacing is two or three times as fast as a tour sometimes because we don't need to do as much to sell the moments and because we don't have to hold for as much laughter as well. So we kind of clip along from moment to moment, which changes the rhythm, whereas a different rhythm would serve the same purpose on the tour. And then your character's journey is slightly different because they have to wait.

Kat: So which roles have you played?

Chris: I've played Jonathan, Chris Bean, and Robert Grove.

Kat: Do you have a favorite of the three?

Chris: Chris Bean. That's my favorite. I love playing Chris Bean. To me, he is Basil Fawlty from Fawlty Towers. I think he is the archetype that Chris Bean is slightly based off of. And I think he is the best fit for me, I enjoy playing him. I like that bubbling anger that he has throughout. I am learning to enjoy Robert, I have to say! I feel like he's a slightly different side of the same coin. He feels like he can blast through these moments - They don't really hurt him. He just acts through them, whereas Chris gets hurt by every single last one of them. And I do love Jonathan too. I have to give Jonathan mention. He was actually my first character in the show. He's someone after 400/500 performances, I'm still finding little changes and nuances in which is something I love. Mow I'm just making tweaks, trying new things, and having fun with it. Which is great. Plus, it's a little easier than the other two, because he has less to do. And he somehow still ends up being a little bit of a favorite for the audience!

Kat: Yeah, he's my favorite! Have you ever had audience members who don't understand the concept of the show?

Chris: Oh, yeah, there was one stop in Florida where people wouldn't get it. People wouldn't understand the whole play within a play concept, that it's people, playing people, playing people. There's the real actor playing somebody, who is playing someone else in a play. When you try to describe it, it sounds confusing! It would take people a while. And even here, it's really fun when we have an audience that warms up to us, an audience that maybe doesn't know exactly what the show is going to be. They kind of grow into it, they'll start with smaller laughs, and then by the end of it, they'll be roaring with laughter as they get the concept of the show and exactly what's happening. We do have audiences that take a little time to warm up. But that's so satisfying as a group of actors, to win an audience over and to bring them on your journey when they're initially a little hesitant about it.

Kat: Do you have any favorite gags from the show?

Chris: Yes, I have so many. I mean, Chris Bean's interaction with the audience is a personal favorite of mine, especially on tour when you go to a new city and you can change the jokes so they're local. You can play with an audience. There was some really fun ones. I remember in the Texas A&M Auditorium, I said, we should have gone to their rival school. And somebody yelled out, "That school's really far away!" and I had a moment on stage where something came to me. I said "It is a long way on a tractor," because it's an agricultural college, which is great! They loved it and booed me - The goal is to get them to boo. What else? There's a small through line based on the clock where Chris Bean says, "Eleven o'clock, already," and he sees the clock reads five o'clock and then later on he says, "Time of death a quarter to - Mid five o'clock," he kind of adjusts himself to that. That's such a funny little subtle gag! If I was in the audience, that would get me. There's a ton!

Kat: How about one for each of your characters?

Chris: For Jonathan, there's a moment that I've been really having a lot of fun playing with at the top of Act Two. Jonathan is behind a door that gets opened by Chris Bean and he just gets caught in the door, realizes the audience sees him, and makes his exit. I've pulled it back. I initially put my hand to my ears as if he was listening for his cue line, but now I'm kind of just biding my time, then turning and seeing the audience. And then we let some disappointment be seen as he slowly walks off the stage. But that's been a fun one to play with because I pulled it right back and it's paid off, and it feels very mine.

Kat: So you're allowed to do things like that within the show?

Chris: Yeah, there are a few moments, like Jonathan getting caught in the window in Act One. You can do a ghost where you go "ooooooohhhhh" and go off stage. I do an elevator where he slowly disappears from sight. The more awkward the better. The longer and more silent it is the more I enjoy it. The moments I get to play with the audience are the ones I enjoy the most. For Robert, I'm still figuring that out. At the moment, it still feels like such a monolith, a kind of thing that I can't break down and take moments from because it's really intimidating. There's a bit that I always forget at the top of Act Two. Annie is scrambling for her lines, and she says, "Kiss me 1,000 times I'm yours!" and Robert says "Of course, Florence, that's what brothers are for." I love that line and playing with that.

Kat: How much freedom do you have for changing lines within the script?

Chris: The creative team is really good with this. Something else we do during rehearsal is improvisation. We'll be given a scenario, we'll come back from our actual lunch break, and they'll say "Okay, before we continue with the blocking, we will do a 10 to 15-minute improv This is intermission. You've just done Act One, everything's gone wrong. And this is everyone figuring it out." So Chris Bean's trying to direct everyone and everyone's going around trying to fix things. We'll do that one, we might do the first day of rehearsal, we might do the dress rehearsal . . . Chris Bean trying to keep it all in check, Robert trying to be the one who's in charge, Dennis as just a ball of anxiety over in the corner, Annie trying to be a good stage manager, Trevor on his phone. The gag with Jonathan is that he never showed up to rehearsal.

Kat: So there's a lot of backstory!

Chris: There's a whole ton of nuance and backstory! So when it comes to performances, there's a lot of stuff that has to be hit, especially for safety things. But then there's a lot of freedom in some moments. But if it leans too much into comedy, even if it is something we love and think is funny, we'll have to pull it back, because we can't play the gag. We can't be in on the joke ourselves. Even as covers, we're allowed to develop our own version of the character, which is great. A lot of the people have been with the show for a long time, Sid Solomon, who understudies Dennis, Max, Jonathan, and Chris, learned a lot of it in the first national tour, so his is based a lot on the original Broadway cast and the original Broadway replacements. A lot of us got it off-Broadway, so we've mostly only done it in this smaller house, so a lot of ours grew up in that environment. We're allowed to make our own version which I'm grateful for because I can't do Brent Bateman's Robert. He is a big guy with a big beard. And I am not, so I can't do his. I have to do it very differently. My Chris Bean is very different from Matt Harrington's Chris Bean - They grew up in different environments. A lot of mine is drawn from what I saw him do, but we diverged at one point because I went on the road and he stayed here. We're different people so we grew different characters, and they let us do it.

Kat: Have you ever thought about doing the show in the UK?

Chris: I would love to. I've never really done any professional work other than that soap opera in the UK, so I would love to do the show in the West End. I saw Magic Goes Wrong in the Liverpool Empire when I was home in August and loved it. I always think that if I'm home and they don't have a Chris Bean, I'll take my West End debut! I would love to do that. But the dream is that more Mischief comes over here and I get to just do more Mischief over here. That would be great.

Kat: Any advice for anyone looking to get into acting, particularly comedy?

Chris: It depends on where you are, what level you're at already. My usual thing is just to surround yourself with as much of it as possible. Go and see theatre, read as much as you can. Now that we are able to a little bit, you need to actively create an environment in which you can be creative. Go out and see theater, read theater, read the news, read history. Look at characters and people from the past - How they live, why they live, that sort of thing. For comedy, specifically, I would say that treating comedy as comedy is perhaps a misleading thing. I think comedy comes from truth and honesty. And I think that's why our show takes that approach as much as possible within the ridiculous circumstances that we find ourselves in.

Kat: Describe The Play That Goes Wrong in one word.

Chris: Tragic. We do our BCEFA speech every night. And I thought, "How funny would it be if we did it in character?" And I think the first thing Chris Bean would say is "You are terrible. We've had the worst night of our lives and you've been laughing at the whole thing." So it's tragic because it's tragic to the characters. It's tragic to each and every one of them. That's what makes it funny.