Interview: David Weber of RED at Moon Dog Theatre In Rockford

Moon Dog Theatre's production of John Logan's "Red" in Rockford, Illinois, is the latest collaboration between actors David Weber and Nick Barelli. The two first met in Chicago in 2013 when Barelli was an undergraduate at the University of Illinois (UIC), and David was a recent graduate.

During the summer of 2014, they became further acquainted by working on a Midsummer Night's Dream production that Jason Martin directed at Piccolo Theatre. Weber played Oberon while Barelli was understudying Lysander. That summer, Barelli, and Weber joined a group of actors from UIC on a road trip to California. Weber had to audition for California Repertory Theatre as part of his graduate school education. The other actors wanted simply wanted to explore the Golden State.

Soon after, Weber directed Barelli in productions of Julius Caesar and Macbeth with Stoopfest in Chicago.

"I've always admired Nick Barelli as an actor," Weber says. "As an actor," he continues, I've benefited greatly from the apprenticeship and mentor model. I've had an actor tell me in so many words - 'I'm not your rabbi teacher friend, etc.' and then become all three and more."

As a result of these experiences, he encourages students to seek mentorship and give it to the willing in his current role as an acting teacher.

This summer, Barelli is taking the reins to direct Weber in his dream role portraying artist Mark Rothko in "Red." 

"It's just natural now the protégé has become the master," Weber reflects.  

As to the role, Weber credits playwright John Logan for making it easy to be authentic because his writing portrays the nuances of intricate relationships with exceptional clarity and insight.

Weber calls the script "a fantastic drama on the inner workings of passion and complex relationships artists have with their work, capitalism, fame, and their process."

Returning to Rockford for this production with Barelli is something Weber is particularly enjoying because last Christmas Barelli helped him produce his one-man Christmas Carol - An Actor's Carol: One Clown's Dickensian Marathon towards redemption at The Office, an LGBTQ + nightclub in Rockford. It was Weber's largest and most engaging audience on his December 2022 tour. He then worked with Barelli as "Old Tom" through video monologues in his production of Glass Menagerie with Moondog Theatre last winter.

"There is an audience in Rockford hungry for theatre and good stories," Weber says.

Rockford, Illinois, has become a community that more and more artists in all disciplines see as a place to create and share their finest work.

Red plays July 20th, 21st, 27th, & 28th
Art Gallery opens at 6pm
Show starts at 7:30pm
$20
Buy tickets at https:moon-dog-theatre.square.site or at the door.

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