NASHVILLE THEATER 101: Two Johns and a German

It's a question asked of theater artisans forever, it seems: Why do you do theater? Plain and simple, to be sure, but clearly it's a query filled with portent and gravitas. Is applause enough to keep longtime actors on the job? In fact, is it enough to persuade a neophyte to seek a career onstage?

Why do you do theater? We've been putting that question to members of the Nashville theater famiy for the past month to find out what it is that motivates creative types to pursue an illusory and challenging career, while for others the theater gives them a creative avocation that helps keep them sane. Today, in our latest installment of Nashville Theater 101, we introduce three more members of our wildly divergent, almost prototypically dysfunctional theater family: John Silvestro, Carolyn German and John Mauldin-or as we like to call them, "Two Johns and a German."

Our questions: Why do you do theater? And why, for the love of God, do you do it in Nashville, the city most widely known as Music City USA?

John Silvestro, most recently onstage in ACT 1's season-opening production of Lilies (co-directed by Matt Smith and Memory Strong), is a stalwart of local theater, appearing in stages all over town, including Studio Tenn.

I do theater for the challenge and personal satisfaction first, secondly for the recognition from the audiences, and thirdly the friendship of the theater family. I have been involved in theater most of my life. My first role, a lead, was at the age of seven. Why Nashville? Because I am here. I have been working Nashville theater for about ten years. My bucket list dream is to audition for a Broadway company, so I guess someday I should go to New York

Carolyn German has been in Nashville since the early 1990s, working with Nashville Repertory Theatre, Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theater and Studio Tenn (among other companies), producing, directing and writing new works, and helping train the next generations of theater artists through her classes with the Metro Parks Department's theater program.

Well, first, I think it is because I love to make people laugh...that's the simplest truth. It is what makes me energized about performing improv comedy as well as musical comedies. But most of all I think at my core I see the theater arts as more about communication, a simple way to connect to people, to share stories...I love connecting with people, and enjoy the work of perfecting the communication. (Which is why I agonize sometimes over a single word in a song lyric or a script.) As a playwright, I love creating characters and stories that will allow some little in-road between the actor and the audience.

Why here? I love Nashville. I spent time in New York City (about a year and a half), but I found I really am not a city girl at heart. I got tired of locking my door to go to my mailbox. I grew up just outside of Baltimore, but still in a relatively rural setting (cows/gardens/drinking out of the garden hose).

Nashville is a very hip town, and the theater arts just continue to grow here-and it has a great cultural-arts energy that is wonderful to be a part of. I moved here in 1990, and have been working in my craft since I came here. Performing, directing, writing, producing...I love all the hats I wear. There are exciting projects ahead (see my Kickstarter Campaign thru December 16) . I count myself lucky that we have a great community of artists here to inspire, learn from, and grow with, and I intend to keep doing so!

Actor John Mauldin may perhaps best be remembered for his stunning performance as Lenny in Boiler Room Theatre's critically acclaimed Of Mice and Men (directed by Travis Brazil in 2012). In his rare downtime, he's also the host of a theater-based podcast, The Inexplicable Dumb Show.

Why do I do theater? Basically, I was mugged into it. Going to high school in a small farm town (Pana, Illinois) with a class size of 88, everybody did everything. I played football, played trombone in the concert band, and guitar in jazz band. We didn't have a theatre department per se, we did one play a year directed by our English teachers. One day, during my junior year, I was walking down the hall just after school and two of my friends asked me what I was doing, handed me a script, said read this part and literally pushed me onstage. I was cast as Julian Glester, a towering Hunk of Menace (probably one of the best character descriptions ever), in Monk Ferris' This Must be the Place.

From there, I went on to get two theatre degrees: B.S. in Speech & Theatre from Middle Tennessee State University and an M.F.A from Florida Atlantic University.

I think I do theatre still today because it is a giant puzzle every time out with a new challenge. Every character is a unique and presents a myriad of challenges each time out. That makes it exciting. And each night on stage is a learning experience with my characters. Nuance is important. It keeps things fresh.

The versatility of the Nashville Theatre community is very endearing to me because in one production your stage manager may be your director in your next production. Or you may go from acting to directing to writing to costuming. I love that Nashville also embraces new works as well. To originate a new play is a very rewarding process. I am glad that Nashville fosters these new works, as well as working with established works. Plus, there are a whole lot of talented folks here who are warm, caring, and supportive of their fellow theatre artists. That means a whole lot as well. Nashville is Music City USA, but it is also much more than that-and that's exciting!

To post a comment, you must register and login.