BWW Q&A: Trevor Southworth on THE FULL MONTY at Athens Theatre

Buckle up for a hilarious and heartwarming joyride with The Full Monty – a show that strips away expectations and leaves audiences cheering for more! This ten-time Tony Award nominee, born from the cult hit film, is a raucous celebration of life, friendship, and the courage to strip away the ordinary for something extraordinary.

With razor-sharp humor, toe-tapping pizzazz, and a closing number that will have you on your feet, The Full Monty is a theatrical spectacle that proves life is better when you go all in–and sometimes, that means baring it all. Brace yourself for a full-blown party that’ll not only have you on your feet but dancing in the aisles, celebrating the beauty of embracing life’s unexpected twists!

The Full Monty is rated R and features adult themes, sensitive subject matter, partial nudity, strong language, and plenty of BIG laughs!

Trevor Southworth has been directing and performing in shows at The Athens for twelve years! Some favorite productions over the years include The Wedding Singer, Spamalot, Les Miserables, Jekyll & Hyde, and The Producers. Trevor is the Director of Theatre at Lake Mary High School and serves as Co-Chair of District 3 for the Florida Chapter of The International Thespian Society. This show and all shows are dedicated to his life, his heart, and his soul, Becca, Lila, and Rowan.

What originally drew you to directing and performing at The Athens Theatre?

I actually had never directed anything before my friend Chris Endsley recommended me to to Craig Uppercue as a possible director for what was then the “Sands Youth Academy” and their production of “All Shook Up.” Luckily I had a tremendous team around me that covered for all my mistakes as I was learning how to direct on the fly!

Can you share some memorable experiences from your favorite productions at The Athens?

There are sooo many!!! I was directing Spamalot and my wife was playing The Lady of the Lake and she was pregnant at the time and our brilliant Costume Designer Tamara Lares built all of her dresses so that they could gradually be let out as my wife’s pregnancy went on! Getting to play Jean Valjean in our production of Les Miserables. That show was definitely a statement piece for the Athens as it showed that we were ready to be taken seriously in the Central Florida theatre community. Probably my most significant memory was directing The Producers. Monday of our tech week our lead had a heart attack. Thankfully he is now completely recovered but it took him out of commission for the entire run of the show. We did not have an understudy and as I was the only one who had a chance of being able to memorize it in time I had to step into the role. This was truly a tale of a family coming together to make the show happen. We were all worried about our friend and still had a show to put on. The entire team, cast, crew, everyone came together to help me through the process and we ended up putting on a terrific show! Theatre people are truly the greatest people on the planet.

The Full Monty deals with relatable problems such as single parenting, unemployment, and self-image. How do you address these issues in your direction?

I don’t shy away from them. We tend to as a society not want to talk about self esteem issues. But these are issues that many people struggle with everyday. I think the show does an excellent job of placing self image right in the fore front. The main characters in the show are just ordinary guys not models and the show really takes them on a journey of self discovery and acceptance of themselves, flaws and all. My job as a director is to let that theme come through and not get in its way. The issue of single parenting is an important one for me. My brother and I were raised by a single mom. My mother is my absolute hero. She has a spine of steel and made sure that we never wanted for anything growing and would have done anything for us (she still does by the way). I wanted to convey some of my mother’s strength and commitment to her children in both Jerry and his wife Pam who are going through the early stages of figuring out how to be divorced parents to a child. Our actors Johnny Flanagan and Taylor Whiteman are doing a tremendous job in conveying this very fragile relationship. I think my mom will be proud!

What steps do you take to ensure that the show is not only entertaining but also resonates with the audience on a personal level?

It’s really about creating three dimensional, fully realized, genuine, characters. We as humans are multi-faceted and we will respond more readily when we can see something of ourselves in a particular character. Each of the characters in this show represents an archetype that will be recognizable and therefore relatable to everyone in the audience. The struggling single parent, the insecure, overweight person who hides their insecurity in humor, the person just trying to come to terms with who they are, these are universal themes. It is by letting these characters be themselves that I think will resonate with the audience.

How do you manage to balance the fun elements of The Full Monty with its serious themes?

By walking the fine line of what is meant to be comedic and what is meant to be more serious. I am the type of person that will always crack the poorly timed joke in a serious moment in order to break the tension. I think that somewhat “inappropriate” sense of humor is helpful to this kind of show. We let the audience see and relate to the serious tone of the moment and then establish early on that it is ok to laugh.

Can you tell us more about the process of bringing The Full Monty to life on stage at The Athens Theatre?

Like all functioning theatre companies it is a team effort. We start with a production meeting where I discuss my ideas with all of our designers and make sure we are all on the same page. Casting a show like The Full Monty is tricky because you have to find the right personalities that can mesh quickly into a trusting team. Building that trust amongst the cast and crew was paramount concern for us because of the nature of the show. I like to think my rehearsals are a true collaborative environment where the actors feel comfortable to bring their own take on the characters to the table.

Given that The Full Monty features adult themes, sensitive subject matter, and partial nudity, how do you ensure it is delivered tastefully while still maintaining its humor and impact?

We have a wonder Intimacy Coordinator in Molly Schoolmeester who is there to make sure that the cast is comfortable with the more intimate moments. “Taste” is a matter of opinion :) Both the humor and the heart of the show reside in the fact that you have everyday, average guys who plan on taking their clothes off for money. We have taken great pains as we have staged the show to look at those moments where it could have been very easy to push the envelope as far as “taste” Is concerned and did our best to make them funny without going for a cheap gag.

Why must audiences comes and see the show?

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