BWW Interviews: HUBIE at The Growing Stage, Campos, Schweizer and Carpenter

The Secret Life of Hubie Hartzel has just opened at The Growing Stage (TGS) in Netcong. It will be showing on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from February 7th through March 2nd.

The humorous, insightful play about the perils of life in fifth grade is a world premiere at TGS. Hubie faces homework hassles, an impossible older sister, pet problems and Ralph Marrucci, who is the class bully. Daydreaming is his escape, but that lands him in even deeper trouble. In the end, Hubie finds the courage to stand up to the bully and do the right thing. This is show that will have your whole family and everyone in the audience cheering him on. The play was the winner of the New Play Reading Festival at TGS.

We had a chance to interview some of the lead characters in The Secret Life of Hubie Hartzel who are enthusiastic about this original production and are looking forward to presenting it to metropolitan area audiences.

Danny Campos, plays the lead role of Hubie. He acknowledges the importance of this character. "I think one of the biggest challenges is maintaining that essence of being an eleven year old in the fifth grade. You want to be genuine and not come off as cartoonish or talking down to the audience. The ultimate goal is to be a 5th grader and not so much play a 5th grader."

Campos also commented, "Another challenge is the film element in the production. As an actor, the thrill of working in the theatre is the notion that it's a live that allows you to evolve at each performance. With film, it's fixed and time constraints sometimes do not allow that growth. It was a truly incredible experience to have both medias working together."

Campos wants metropolitan audiences to know that not only will they be entertained by the elements of live action and the filmed dream sequences, but this play gives them an opportunity to reflect on their past as a young person. He stated, "I want to challenge audiences to try something new. We tend to do something that everyone's familiar with, well this is an opportunity to be brave and see something you've never seen before."

Returning to the TGS Stage to play the part of Frank Vitanza is PJ Schweizer. Schweizer feels that his background prepared him well for this role. He said, "I was, of course, a fifth grader myself at one point. I was able to use memories from my own fifth grade experience to help me relate to the character. Also, with all of my years in performing for children I have found myself around elementary age kids often. This has given me opportunities to observe and make note of the way kids act and are affected by today's challenges."

Schweizer also shared some insight with us on the interesting preparation of the show. "Twenty to twenty-five percent of the show happens on film. Until that footage was ready we couldn't rehearse the play with the film in its place. We had to allow the film makers their creative process to make sure they were giving us a product that they were proud of."

Schweizer commented on the cast and crew at GS. "They're all wonderful! We've been having so much fun. It's been terrific to work with some TGS friends again and to meet some

fantastic actors."

Schweizer believes that area audiences will truly enjoy the show. "They are in for a whole new experience! The story is very entertaining and it's relatable to a wide spectrum of people. But it's the combination of storytelling devices, theater and film, that sets this production apart."

Josh Carpenter's plays Ralph Marucci who is the show's "bully." He feels well prepared for the role. "I moved around a lot growing up and often had to go through that awkward period of being the new kid. One of those times was in fifth grade, which is the same age as many of the characters in this play, and I dealt with some similar situations. Thanks in large part to working in theatre, my inner fifth grader is still very alive and well, so I feel like I can relate to these characters and walk around in their world for a bit."

Carpenter has faced some interesting challenges with his role. He said, "I play Ralph Marucci, the class bully, who specifically has it in for Hubie. A fun challenge has been making Ralph dynamic enough that the audience is interested in him even though they will probably dislike him for his treatment of Hubie."

Carpenter is excited about his association with TGS. "I did a play at The Growing Stage last year, with the same director and stage manager and a few of the same actors, which is a great luxury to go into a project with good working relationships already in place. The director, Stephen Fredericks, gives us a lot of freedom to try out different ideas in rehearsal and build our characters through working on the scenes. There is a very positive and creative energy at The Growing Stage.

Carpenter believes a wide audience will appreciate the show. He said, "This play focuses on a fifth grader named Hubie, but you don't need to be in fifth grade to identify with what he's going through, or to be rooting for him as he faces different challenges. The production also features a great use of video projections to show what's going on inside Hubie's imaginative mind."

The Growing Stage, A Children's Theater is conveniently located in Netcong, New Jersey. For information about their performance of The Secret Life of Hubie Hartzel, and for ticketing information, contact, info@growingstage.org or visit their website at www.growingstage.org. You may also call, (540) 338-5367.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of The Growing Stage

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