THE FRIDAY 5: TAKE ME OUT's Hall, Jarvis & Whitsell

Inspired by BroadwayWorld.com's Friday Six, welcome to BroadwayWorld Nashville's latest installment of The Friday Five: five questions designed to help you learn more about the talented people you'll find onstage throughout the Volunteer state. This week the spotlight shines on Connor Hall, Kurt Jarvis and Shawn Whitsell, members of director Joy Tilley Perryman's ensemble for ACT 1's production of Take Me Out, the Tony Award-winning Richard Greenberg play which opens at Darkhorse Theatre tonight.

Connor Hall

What was your first "live onstage" taste of theater? I'm pretty sure it started in first grade. I played the troll in The Three Billy Goats Gruff at my school. Yeah, that was probably my chance at the Oscar. Man, it was really my first time being in front of people at all, but I loved hearing the audience laugh and applaud. We performed for a bunch of retired teachers and they ate it up. My parents were always supportive in whatever I was doing - acting, sports, etc. - but I guess they saw a potential fit. I got acting from mom, music from dad, and I don't know where I picked up dancing...but it worked out!

What is your favorite pre-show ritual? I've never been one of those silent, brooding types before a show. I'm not staring at a mirror going over lines. I've got a lot of energy and am just laughing and trying to get everyone hyped up. But I always make sure I say a little prayer quietly to myself before I hit the stage. Mostly just to thank God for what He's done in my life. I love to perform, and without Him none of this would be possible.

What's your most memorable "the show must go on" moment? My most recent one was in Picnic. Opening night there was some standing water down by the stage...and when I ran off to make my exit, I slipped and fell backwards. Hard. I freakin' ate it. I've had some minor injuries, but that one hurt my pride more than anything.

What's your dream role? I've never done Guys and Dolls, choreographed it once but never got to perform it. Nathan Detroit is a great role, but I'd really love to play Sky.

Who's your theatrical crush? I've always thought Anna Kendrick was pretty cute, and really talented. But in the Nashville scene, it's our ACT 1 Board Chair (Samantha Rogers). Which is weird, because I don't even really know her - can't help it. I think she's really beautiful.

Kurt Jarvis

What was your first "live onstage" taste of theater? I was in seventh grade when I first hit the stage for a serious role. Like many theater actors, I was always chosen to do little skits in class. However, my first love was baseball, so I never took it seriously. On the last day of seventh grade, I injured my wrist in gym class. It was a stretched ligament and a bad contusion. The doctor told me I was going to have to sit out an entire season of summer ball. I was crushed!

After moping around the house for two days, my father coaxed me out of the house and I ended up auditioning for the non-musical version of Peter Pan at my local community theater. They were looking for all sorts of kids to be pirates and Native Americans. The idea was to have these kids on stage and fill the seats with mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, etc. It was a great ploy!

A couple of days after the audition, I got a call from the director. He cast me as John. I was freaking out because it was a speaking part in front of a very large audience. To calm me down, the director pulled me aside and explained to me some of the ins and outs of stage acting. It helped, but it didn't really calm my nerves. So, then, he dropped a bomb: besides Peter Pan, John was the only other character that got to fly! I was in! I was hooked! And the feeling of flying over a crowd of people in a theater is indescribable. It was absolutely thrilling. I was hooked!

What is your favorite pre-show ritual? I don't have one anymore. However, in college, we used to go on stage and play whiffle ball before they would open the doors. I'm not sure how it got started, but it was my ritual for four years! Now, I honestly just get focused on the role, relax, and know the show I'm about to take part in will be fantastic!

What's your most memorable "the show must go on" moment? This is a horrible story that had a happy ending. It was the ONE time the show didn't and couldn't go on. After college, I found myself wandering the state of Missouri looking for a theatrical home. I briefly settled in a small town in Southern Missouri. The local community theater was performing Send Me No Flowers and I got cast as George Kimball. On our second to last show, the actress who played Judy wasn't there for call. Five minutes before the show, we began calling people to see where she was. She'd never missed a rehearsal, a call, or anything. When the show was supposed to begin, she never showed. We held the house for about 30 minutes. Finally, over an hour went by and we heard from her mother. She was at the police station. Her boyfriend came over to her house about an hour before call and beat her bloody for talking to another guy. She was so badly bruised and beaten she didn't go on that day. However, she did go on for the final show. It was the single worst theater experience I ever dealt with in my life.

What's your dream role? Only one? Geez, I have a list. My top five are (in order): Willy Loman; Macbeth; Hamlet; Kippy; and Mason. I've always identified with Loman. Not his suicidal tendencies, but with his struggle. I know he's a cliché character to some, and maybe by the time I'm old enough to play him I will tire of him, but until then, I see him as one of the most human characters ever written. Macbeth and Hamlet are self-explanatory. I love Shakespeare and those two characters are lightning rods for centuries! I have the pleasure of playing Kippy as we speak. I can't tell you how thrilled I am to be playing this role. I've owned this script for years and when I auditioned for it, it seemed a good fit. We have a lot in common. We both love baseball, sarcasm, and social change. Mason is another great character in this play. I fell in love with him when I first saw Take Me Out. He's delightful, charming, and he resonates with a wide audience. Who wouldn't want to play a fantastic role like this?

Who's your theatrical crush? Denis O'Hare immediately comes to mind. I'm in awe of him as an actor. We both have Kansas City roots, which is how I first heard of him, and I think he does a great job of showing the power his character has in every role. He makes it look so easy! I bow to him!

Shawn Whitsell

What was your first "live onstage" taste of theatre? I grew up performing so I was always acting in little school and church things. I even co-wrote and co-directed a piece while in high school. However, the show that stands out to me is The Piano Lesson at the Rutherford County Center for the Arts, which was directed by Bob Fish. It was my first play in a real theater space. It was my first traditional theatre process and my first onstage kiss.

What is your favorite pre-show ritual? If it's a show I'm producing or directing, I make sure the entire cast has an opportunity to pray together. Before I hit the stage, I try to get some alone time to focus and pray.

What's your most memorable "the show must go on" moment? There are many. One time, I was directing a show and my male lead disappeared three days before we opened. I had to jump in and play the role at the last minute. It was stressful but I ended up having fun. Another time, I was acting in a friend's show and we were missing one of the actors. We had a 15-minute pow-wow backstage about how we were going to work around him. We hit the stage and the audience never knew we were missing a character.

What's your dream role? People usually laugh when I say this, but for several years I've had this dream of playing Bobby Brown. He's got a great story, full of tragedy and triumph. I thought I looked young enough to play him as a teen and as 40-something but I may have gotten too old by now. I'm really attracted to the idea of playing a musical artist onscreen. Rick James comes to mind as well. I also hope to do biopic on a great civil rights activist. I played Roy Wilkins (of the NAACP) onstage twice. I read his biography to prepare. It was a small role but I would definitely like to explore his life a little more on stage or screen.

Who's your theatrical crush? I'm not sure if I've ever had one. I would probably have to think on that. However, I recently played Walter Lee in A Raisin In The Sun and newcomer Ra'Shaun Simon played my wife. She was one of my favorite, if not my favorite, stage wives. We had great chemistry. Does that count?

About the production: ACT 1 is thrilled to invite you to Richard Greenberg's Take Me Out, our fourth show of the 2014/2015 season.

Take Me Out is a modern cautionary tale about the power of words. The power of labels and names. How and what we call each other colors our every perception of every situation. However, the play is not always heavy, it is a delicate weave of race, gender, baseball, friendship and America. More relevant today than when it was written even. It moves as deftly as a well executed double play and will leave you speechless as you witness the power and majesty of an out-of-the-park home run.

Take Me Out is directed by Joy Tilley Perryman, and features Joel Diggs, Kurt Jarvis, Bradley Moore, Eric Butler, Connor Hall, Daniel Vincent, Leon Blandon III, Robert Marigzia, Fernando Ochoa, Shawn Whitsell, Cabot Pyle and Dave McGinnis.

Curtain is at 7:30 p.m. for the May 1-2 and 7-9 evening performances, with a 2:30 p.m. matinee on May 3. Tickets are $15 and may be purchased in advance thru Tickets Nashville at tickets.act1online.com, or at the door.

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