BWW Spotlight Series: Meet Martin Thompson, A Recovering Soap Opera Actor, an Official Sherlock Holmes Performer, and Acting Instructor at New York Film Academy

With the current theatre world on hiatus, I have created a Spotlight Series on Broadway World which features interviews with some of the many talented artists who make our Los Angeles theatre community so exciting and vibrant thanks to their ongoing contribution to keeping the Arts alive in the City of the Angels. And just like all of us, I wondered how they are dealing with the abrupt end of productions in which they were involved.

This Spotlight focuses on Martin Thompson, a self-proclaimed recovering soap opera actor who often graces stages as an "Official Sherlock Holmes Performer" and now frequents the stage or directs at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills as well as in films and on TV series. And as a distinguished member of the acting faculty at The New York Film Academy, Martin now teaches an Acting for Film class online. Read on to find out more about this talented actor who recently directed an outstanding production of The Manor at Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills.

Shari Barrett (SB): What would you like readers to know about your theatrical background?

Martin Thompson (Martin): I'm a recovering and repentant former New York soap opera actor (All My Children, Guiding Light, The Edge of Night) with numerous award-winning and critically-acclaimed New York and regional stage performances across the country, which are now most likely forgotten - and perhaps best left to the imagination. Today, however, I continue my meteoric rise to obscurity by working in Los Angeles Theatre!

As a company member at Theatre 40, I was last seen in the American Premiere of Renovations for Six, and reprising my role as Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily. In fact, I've been named an "Official Sherlock Holmes Performer" by the Diogenes Club, UK, the International Sherlock Holmes Society, for my numerous appearances as the iconic detective. Remind me to tell you about the time a collector on eBay got more bids for my autograph than for Benedict Cumberbatch's!

In my spare time, I also enjoy appearing on television and in major motion pictures with many big Hollywood stars who probably don't remember working with me. I co-star with Kevin Costner in The New Daughter, opposite Paul Rudd in Wanderlust, and with Colin Firth in Main Street (the final screenplay by the legendary Horton Foote). My television credits include Lake Effects with Jane Seymour for Hallmark, NCIS: Los Angeles, Criminal Minds, Scorpion, Comedy Bang Bang, and Uncle Buck: a very short-lived comedy on ABC. And, I'm currently appearing in the first season of the new series Penny Dreadful: City of Angels which premieres on Showtime this month.
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I'm also a somewhat distinguished member of the acting faculty at The New York Film Academy, where I'm proud to guide a new generation of actors toward their dreams of becoming just as rich and famous as I am!

(SB): You certainly are staying busy! What production(s) were you involved with when word went out you needed to immediately postpone/cancel the show?

(Martin): I had just finished directing the Theatre 40 production of The Manor at Greystone Mansion, and we actually closed about two weeks before the "safer at home" order hit. So, we were lucky that we got to finish the run! It was our 18th Season, and we surpassed our 300th performance this year. We produce The Manor under an Equity contract each year, so not only are the actors paid, but one of my former students who I cast in the lead this year, qualified for her Equity card with this production, and is now a proud union member! So, I was happy that we got through the run!

(SB) For those who have never attended a performance of The Manor during any of its 18 seasons, here is the link to my 2020 review of the production, which is staged in the actual mansion where the real-life tragic events occurred: /los-angeles/article/BWW-Review-THE-MANOR-Brings-a-True-Tale-of-Family-Wealth-and-Woe-Inside-Greystone-Mansion-in-Beverly-Hills-20200208

(Martin): Unfortunately, I was also scheduled to begin production this month on a feature film, an audio production for Audacity, and as a potential Series Regular on two TV Pilots! But those are now on hold until an undetermined later date... if they happen at all.

(SB): How were the shutdowns communicated with the cast and production team?

(Martin): One of the TV Pilots had just begun production when the shut-down hit. The producers thought they could still shoot the first episode, but unfortunately, they were wrong. The producers of both pilots, the feature film, and the producers from Audacity reached out to the cast and crew via email to let us know that we would stop production immediately. So, we're all out of work until we get the all-clear!

(SB): Are plans in place to present any of those productions at a future date, or is the cancellation permanent?

(Martin): We're all in a wait-and-see posture right now. The audio program has been cancelled completely, but the feature film has a chance of coming back, if they can hold on to their investors. The two television pilots will miss the window for Pilot Season, so they may have to reformat their current plans. It's likely, that if we do have the opportunity to shoot the pilots, that they will not be going to network television but rather be shopped to online distributors, which may change the nature of the series or the number of episodes. We just don't know right now. I'm just hoping that they'll reach out to me again, once they get the go-ahead to start production!

(SB): How are you keeping the Arts alive while at home by using social media or other online sites?

(Martin): I'm fortunate in that I'm still teaching as an Acting Instructor at New York Film Academy here in Los Angeles. The school shut down on March 13th, but we are still attempting to teach classes online with ZOOM. It's admittedly a little weird trying to teach an acting class online, but we're doing the best we can. Fortunately, my current class is an Acting for Film class, so working on camera (even if it's a webcam!) still fits into the general nature of the class.

We were supposed to be shooting the students' final films this month, but those plans are out the window since we can't go on location, or even be in the same room. So, we're attempting to shoot an entire film with each student self-taping themselves for their scenes! I've got some really bright and talented students who have written an entire script which allows all the scenes to be shot in individual close-ups. It's sort of a combination of an Agatha Christie murder mystery and a Christopher Guest mockumentary. And it's very funny!

So, we're having a lot of fun, and it's given my students a unique and creative outlet during our quarantine time. I'm not sure what will happen, though, once this semester ends in May. It's likely that the school will remain closed for much of the Summer, so I may be out of work... again!

(SB): What thoughts would you like to share with the rest of the L.A. Theatre community while we are all leaving the Ghostlight on and promising to return back to the stage soon?

(Martin): This is a strange time for all of us in the creative arts, especially in the Theatre since ours is such a collaborative field. We simply cannot do what we do without everyone else - and especially without an audience! So, being alone in quarantine can easily take its toll. Suddenly we find ourselves with nothing to do, and no one to do it with. It can feel depressing, scary, and even futile at times. I know I've felt all of those things in the last few weeks. And, that's ok!

It's perfectly acceptable right now to take care of yourself. There's no need to push yourself to "Keep the theatre alive." Because right now, Live Theatre is dead since it requires an in-person performance in front of a live audience. Without those ingredients, it simply does not exist. So, let's not feel compelled to move theatre online, or to force people to watch our new monologues on YouTube. I would actually prefer to binge-watch anything on Netflix right now, rather than to sit through a staged reading of "Uncle Vanya" on Zoom!

(SB): I understand what you are saying about Live Theatre, but I still believe Theatre itself as an art form now lives online in many ways. It's just the unspoken, interactive, and emotional give-and-take with a live audience that is missing.

(Martin): Certainly many of us are continuing our studies, learning new monologues, reading plays, updating resumes and websites, and doing all of that actor "busy work." But I would urge my fellow actors not to feel compelled to do anything if you don't want to. Take care of yourself. That's the most important thing you can do right now. When we come out of this - and we will - things will be much different, and I certainly hope the Theatre will be different! I don't think we will see the old models of theatre companies and productions as we know them now, especially since many of the smaller companies in LA will no longer exist while many of the larger companies will need to restructure.

And we will all need to ask ourselves "Why do we do this?" And, "Who do we do this for?" Our relationship with our audiences must change in order to keep Theatre alive in the future. We cannot ask them to simply sit numbly and watch us perform. We must realize that they are an integral part of our performance and must find new ways to welcome them in and involve them.

I look forward to seeing a newer and more vibrant Theatre community in the future, with truly innovative and engaging works which speak with a new and compelling voice to our currently shell-shocked audiences. They deserve that from us! And we must listen to their needs in order to bring them back. Then, and only then, can we all move forward together.

I would love to hear from other actors, artists, playwrights, designers, and students who are all in the same boat - or in your own little boats floating around. And, if there is anything I can do to help, encourage, or just listen - I'm happy to do that. I can be found at the following social links, and I'll look forward to hearing from anyone who'd like to reach out:

IMDB: https://www.imdb.me/martinthompson

WEBSITE: https://www.MartinThompson.Net

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/MartinThomActor

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/martinthompsonactor

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/martinthompsonactor

Photo captions:

1. Martin Thompson headshot

2. Mona Lee Wylde and Martin Thompson in "Renovations for Six" at Theatre 40. Photo credit: Ed Krieger

3. Martin Thompson in Universal Pictures "Wanderlust"

4. Jennifer Lee Laks and Martin Thompson in "Nightwatch" at Theatre 40. Photo credit: Ed Krieger

5. The cast of "The Manor" at Greystone Mansion, directed by Martin Thompson

6. Kevin Costner and Martin Thompson in "The Next Daughter"

7. Martin Thompson headshot

8. Martin Thompson in "Moral Imperative" at Theatre 40. Photo credit: Ed Krieger

9. Martin Thompson as Sherlock Holmes in the Theatre 40 production of "Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily" Photo credit: Ed Krieger

10. Martin Thompson headshot

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