Interview: Actor Steven Brachmann, aka 'Peaches'

I have been fortunate that I've met some very gifted and some very nice people in the Buffalo theater world.

One of those gifted people is Steven Brachmann, aka "Peaches". I can only guess why "Peaches" but with my demented brain it would best for me not to go any further.

Steven is talented and I'm happy he had the time to answer a few questions.

MCL: You've been in the Buffalo theater world for a while. When and where did you start acting?

SB: I had been doing drama camps all the way back to my preteen years, I believe. Much of the theater I did at a young age was in Angola, where I grew up, and it involved Jim Swinnerton. He and others who I encountered there, where I spent my youngest years, were instrumental in instilling a love of theater into a younger version of myself. I didn't attend it myself, but I was always under the impression that Lake Shore High School had a great arts and theater department, to judge by those I knew who went through that program.

MCL: What made you want to be on stage?

SB: I've been pulling focus for a long time, from running away from home to crawling around on my church's altar during mass, all by the age of 4. Luckily my family had a lot of patience with my youthful exuberance. I like to think that I kept with acting because I was bad at it, and I couldn't stand being bad at something. If I'm being honest, there are likely other factors, such as wanting to be around certain girls, or the sheer joy of staying away from home for longer.

MCL: Any local mentors?

SB: As I said, Jim Swinnerton. Also, I've told him this already, and although I know his skin crawls whenever I mention his name, Peter Palmisano directed a production of Godspell at Lake Shore that still sticks with me today. When I started doing theater in high school, it was because Nardin was doing Godspell, and I knew that I needed to be involved. So Peter is at least partly to blame for my presence here. I like to think that there are lessons to learn from everyone with whom you interact. Persons who figure heavily into that category for me include Justin Karcher, Adam Yellen, Arin Lee Dandes, Paul Marszalkowski, Victoria Pérez, Peter Maier and Michael Breen.

MCL: Best advice you were given you still use on stage?

SB: It's tough to pick one; my process is so much a mish-mesh of different ideas which I've encountered and the ones which I've decided are worth keeping. One is, "You cannot be responsible for the work of other actors around you." Which is also to say, if everything around you is burning to the ground, the only person you need to worry about is yourself. A helpful maxim in theater and in life. Also, "Don't expect a director to get you there." That comes from a non-local mentor, Nancy Kindelan at Northeastern University. I've watched many shows where I've wished that the actors could have gone beyond the director's limitations. It's not their fault, but those who can understand those limitations will always stand a better chance of improving their craft with each new role.

MCL: What roles turn you off and what kind do you look for?

SB: That's an answer which has changed with time. Up until recently, I have consistently said yes to everything that crossed my path. To me, there was a post-college period where it was very important to stay incredibly active in theater no matter what the part. Now, I'm being pickier. If I had to select one thing that would turn me off to a role, it would be simplicity. I don't want to play someone whose personality is one-dimensional. It's not who I am, and it's not what I'm best suited for. And yet, I'm willing to give anything a try; I'm someone who believes that extra dimensions can be found by an actor, even when a playwright didn't exactly plan for those dimensions.

MCL: What role do you dream of playing and haven't?

SB: Anything Terrance Mann has played. Which is really unfortunate, because I'm a tenor. I've gotten away from the idea of the 'dream role' and I'm much more interested in being open to what can help me grow as an actor/person.

MCL: What's coming up for you?

SB: In theater, I've got nothing on the horizon currently. The current moment has me focusing more heavily on my alter ego as a blog writer. Six months from now, it will likely be another story. But right now, I'm trying to decompress from a very busy few years.

MCL: Tell us about some of your favorite roles?

SB: Andy Basin in After America: Wasteland 2015 at Road Less Traveled Productions is probably the closest I've gotten to actually being challenged as a theater actor, in terms of the emotional range the role required. Martin Van Buren in Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at American Repertory Theater was another one where I felt I got to explore my interpretation of a role. Reverend Hale in The Crucible, also at ART of WNY, gave me an incredible opportunity to play a role which stands out among the great parts of American theater.

MCL: Do you want to repeat any of these roles?

SB: At the moment? No.

MCL: What's some advice for those new to acting?

SB: Get ready for the most amazing crappy experience of your life. Until you understand what it's like to love hating yourself, you haven't truly experienced the theater. Don't expect fame or riches. Do expect to be fluffed up with compliments which sound like promises but were instead advertisements for somebody else's desires. Realize that the best work you will ever do as an actor is the work you do in support of your scene partner, helping him or her to find new facets to their part that will also let your character live larger.

MCL: Who do you admire in the theater world?

SB: My answer to this question starts and ends with Lin-Manuel Miranda. If for no other reason than the fact that there's no theater property in this world which is more valuable at this moment than Hamilton. But I think that admiration is a dangerous thing for theater artists to encourage too freely. We should do much more to keep a critical eye towards what we watch. At least for those who think of themselves as theater professionals. If you think of yourselves as theatergoers, and not theater professionals, then by all means love everything that you pay to see.

MCL: What's Buffalo, New York Theater like?

SB: Very opportunistic. Many opportunities, few dollars. It's a community that intersects with itself many times in a sort of Oedipal family tree structure. There are many people which I've met. There are many doors which have opened for me. At this point, I'm experienced enough to know which people and which doors are valuable.

MCL: What are some of the good and bad changes in local theater since you started?

SB: In the macro? I couldn't say. Nothing's changed for me in the sense that I've worked on the fringe of the scene for five years, so I suppose I'm little qualified to tell you what has changed for the better or for worse. I do enjoy seeing new theater companies open their doors to the public. If we are to build the theater culture in Buffalo, then we must be open to all those who want to participate in it. I'm somewhat torn between whether I should think that Buffalo theater communities should work more closely together to promote larger audiences, or whether more money and sponsorship would be infinitely more helpful in getting work done. In either event, I feel that more attention could be paid to the business end of things, there are few local companies which are capable of paying their workers like professionals.

MCL: Finally, what's coming up for you 2016/2017?

SB: That's something that I'm willing to let God decide for me.

MCL: Thank You, Steven!

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