BWW Interviews: ERIC L. WILLIAMS, A Life in the Theatre

Eric L. Williams is a native of Birmingham, Alabama, who calls himself "an eternal student of his craft": acting. Most recently, he was onstage in Lakewood Theatre's production of The Outsiders, but he's also performed in a wide variety of works including Oedipus Rex, Jitney, The Dance on Widow's Row, Macbeth, Fool for Love and The Face of Emmett Till. Among other recent performances, he's had roles in Life to Come, Romeo and Juliet and Pulpits. In addition to acting, Williams writes and directs stage and film projects, and when he not onstage or in front of a camera, he's a blogger, internet marketer and web developer.

This week, Eric L. Williams took time out from his hectic schedule to become the latest Tennessee actor to tell us all about his Life in the Theatre...

What was your first taste of theatre? I saw No Exit at The Alabama School of Fine Arts. I thought it was really cool that the cast was my age (I was 15 at the time).

What was your first real job or responsibility in the theatre? I was a stage hand and "understudy" for a production of Seven Guitars at Tennessee State University. I put understudy in quotation marks because I knew I wasn't getting on stage. It was more of a joke title given to me by the cast and the director

When did you know you wanted to pursue a career in theatre? When I performed in Macbeth at TSU, I learned so much during that production. Being around such a great cast gave me the belief that I could make a career out of acting when I got out of school.

Why do you pursue your art in Nashville? What are the best parts of working here? If not for Nashville, I wouldn't have the theatre experience I've had over the last 12 years. All the actors and directors I've had the chance to work with here have been really cool people. I like that Nashville's theatre community has the propensity to push everyone to become better at their craft.

If you could play any role, direct any work, design any production, mount any production...what would it be and why? I've got a long list of roles I would love to play. But to give you the Cliff Notes version: Marc Anthony in Julius Caesar (classical work) because I absolutely love the thought of doing the dogs of war speech in front of an audience; Booster in Topdog/Underdog (contemporary work) because he's such an interesting character to me; and Princeton or Trekkie Monster in Avenue Q (musical) because I've been enamored with that show for the longest time and it seems like such a fun production.

I'm going to direct No Exit before I die. It's just mandatory. I would really like to do it in Nashville, too.

Who would play you in the film version of your life story? I don't know. I would like it to be an actor who isn't a huge name. I like the notion of talented actors getting a break. It would be cool for a big celeb to play me; but it would be cooler to know that a dude with amazing talent got his big break portraying me.

What's your favorite play/musical? Favorite play: Topdog/Underdog. Favorite musical: Avenue Q

If you could have dinner with any three figures (living or dead, real or fictional) who are a part of the theatre, who would you choose and why?

• James Monroe Iglehart because we could share nerd stories and be total goofballs.
• Woodie King, Jr. because I took an acting class from him years ago and I know there's a lot more I can learn from him
• Trekkie Monster so I could get some input on how he became a millionaire.

Imagine a young person seeing you onstage or seeing a production in which you played a major role coming up to you and asking you for advice in pursuing their own theatrical dream...what would you say? Be an eternal student of your craft. The minute you stop learning is the minute you betray your own career. Be an actor because you love acting with your whole heart. The money is secondary and only comes after the passion. Your job as an actor to make your audience laugh, cry, think, be afraid, be encouraged, be empowered, be angry, be educated, but most importantly, care about your character. The magic of theatre shouldn't be a trick; it should make people believe.

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