Interview: Playwright Victor L. Cahn and VILLAINOUS COMPANY at NJ Rep
By: Marina Kennedy Apr. 25, 2016
New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch will presents the new play, VILLAINOUS COMPANY by Victor L. Cahn. The cast includes Melissa Herion, Corey Tazmania and Pheonix Vaughn. The show is directed by the company's Artistic Director, SuzAnne Barabas. Performances will begin Thursday, May 5th and continue through Sunday, June 5th. Broadwayworld.com had the opportunity to interview playwright and actor, Victor L. Cahn about his fascinating career and the upcoming show.
In VILLAINOUS COMPANY, When Claire returns home from an afternoon of shopping, she discovers one of her packages is missing. Just as she is calling the store, an employee stops by to return the item, then manages to invite herself inside. Before long, larceny and trickery abound as the two women, soon joined by a third, compete in a suspenseful game of cat-and-mouse.
What was your earliest interest in writing and theatre?
For as long as I can recall, I've enjoyed dramatic presentations, whether on stage, on television, or in film. I began writing scripts when I was an undergraduate at Columbia, and after one of my plays was produced there, I was hooked, and have been turning out material ever since.
Where have you taught, and what works have you written beside plays?
I've spent my professional life teaching English: first at prep school (Mercersburg, Pomfret, Phillips Exeter), then at college (Bowdoin and thirty-two years at Skidmore, from where I recently retired). While completing my doctorate (at NYU) and thereafter as an instructor, I specialized in dramatic literature, and among my fifteen books are five on Shakespeare and one each on modern British playwrights Tom Stoppard and Harold Pinter. My output also includes Walking Distance: Remembering Classic Episodes from Classic Television, the memoir Classroom Virtuoso, and two novels, as well as articles and reviews in such varied publications as Modern Drama, The Literary Review, The New York Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, andVariety.
Tell us about your other plays and about your experience as an actor.
My writing for the stage encompasses more than a dozen plays that have been either produced, published, or both.The most frequently presented are ROSES IN DECEMBER (a mystery-romance in letters), FIT TO KILL (a thriller), and EMBRACEABLE ME (a romance), all published by Samuel French. I've also written two plays about academia, A DISH FOR THE GODS and SHEEPSKIN, which may be found in a single volume from Steele Spring Stage Rights. About twenty years ago I began appearing onstage, and since then I've taken dozens of parts with theater companies throughout the Capital Region of New York. Despite being a gentle soul in real life, I'm often cast as a villain, but I've also served on the right side of the law, and my résumé includes roles in works by Shakespeare, Pinter, Coward, Christie, Ayckbourn, Simon, Gurney, and Knott. I like to think that acting has complemented my playwriting as well as my teaching by deepening my understanding of how a script may be developed and refined, and how actors, directors, and technical artists all can contribute to the creative process.
Do you have a play of yours of which you're especially fond?
Were I to choose a single play that embodies my career, I'd select SHERLOCK SOLO, subtitled "An Original Presentation by the Master Detective." I created this one-man show about my favorite character in fiction with the intention of performing it myself, and eventually I had the good fortune to do so Off-Broadway. This production also allowed me to play the violin, Holmes's instrument in the original Conan Doyle stories, and the one I've studied all my life.
What writers or genres have inspired you?
The playwright who has influenced me most is no doubt the aforementioned Harold Pinter, about whose works the term "comedy of menace" was coined. Many of his plays feature minimal plot and only a few characters in a sparsely furnished room, but amid taut dialogue and judicious silences he evokes extraordinary tension. I'm also an aficionado of stage thrillers, that singular form in which the audience understands from the start that they are engaged in a battle of wits with the playwright, whose challenge is to fool them without benefit of camera tricks or other gimmicks.
Tell NJ Audiences a little about Villainous Company at NJ Rep.
VILLAINOUS COMPANY is virtually unique to the thriller/mystery genre in that the cast is comprised solely of women, and the story involves neither romance nor violence. I've labeled the piece "a caper" to suggest that although the plot concerns criminal activity, the tone is generally light, so that audiences will, I hope, find the show enjoyable as well as intriguing.
How do you like working with NJ Rep?
I'm honored that New Jersey Rep has chosen my play for its 2016-17 season. Even in the early days of rehearsal, I appreciate the care and dedication with which the group works, and I look forward to seeing the final product.
Sneak preview performances of VILLAINOUS COMPANY begin on Thursday, May 5 with opening night on Saturday, May 7th. The show will run through Sunday, June 5th. New Jersey Repertory Company is located at 179 Broadway, Long Branch convenient to Pier Village and fine dining. Tickets may be purchased by calling 732-229-3166 or at www.njrep.org.
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