BWW Interviews: John Frederick - Reno Renaissance Man

I met John Frederick through a mutual friend about five years ago. He was a singer/songwriter musician, actor and aspiring director and filmmaker. Ridiculously handsome and charming, he later knocked my socks off in The Wild Party, as a post-millenial Littlechap of sorts (see Stop the World - I Want to Get Off). I have come to know Frederick as an authentic Renaissance Man - a guy equally adept at belting out a show stopper or rebuilding an engine.

This season, he's directing the first Reno production of Evil Dead the Musical. I caught the show last Sunday. It's a tight, face-paced, spot-on rendition with a great cast and smart, snappy direction and choreography. Last fall he and I started talking about making a film of Shakespeare's Scottish Play. I felt he'd be perfect for the title role, and he was interested in exploring the special effects as producer through his company, Vaude Villain Entertainment. Thus, Untitled (or Bad News at Black Rock) was born. We'll be shooting in August, mainly at the Morris Burner Hotel in Reno. I managed to snag an interview while John was rushing between tasks on a typical (crazy) work day.

JMS: You're playing Mackers in next year's Scottish Play film. How are you preparing for that?

JF: Right now, I'm trying to get familiar with the play. It's been reworked, you've adapted it for film. I've watched a couple of the movies. Not too deeply, though. I think people illustrate too much in film of Shakespeare and it's redundant. It's almost taking credit away from the viewer. So I'm very aware of those things from the technical production end of it and as the character. I haven't done Shakespeare, it's hard to know how to prepare in the way that a typical Shakespearean might prepare. So I'm doing what I always do, which is putting myself in the character's shoes. I try to understand what it would be like to be in their situation. Then there's researching the different mythologies surrounding the Scottish Play, etc.. It's really interesting to me in any kind of Shakespeare how people speak in definites, when there's no way to know them. This one seems to be one that actors hold very near and dear to their hearts. Some people are into the superstition and it's bad luck to say the title, but to me, it's just a frickin' word. It's funny to me.

What about preparation for the language?

I'll be working with Lady M on that - to understand every word I'm saying. Shakespeare's language is poetry - it's like music, and I'll approach the phrasing, the breathing as I do a song. It's like that with all monologues - finding the units of meter, the timing and the emotion that emerges from the rhythm of the words as Shakespeare has written them.

What do you think about Mackers, as a character?

I think he starts out rather content, but he wants to impress Lady M so much that he's willing to go to any ends to please her. Without her pushing, he'd never have the courage to do the terrible things he does. I don't think it would have crossed his mind. He's not as dark a character as she is. He's really a pawn in her game. He was happy serving the king and I think he would have stayed in his station until the day he died. But it's her who wants control and the only way to do it in that patriarchy is to have it happen through her husband. There are some endearing qualities in him - he's whipped, he loves his wife and he's willing to do anything for her, and it drives him mad. He's so in love that it drives him crazy. She'll do anything to have power. It's a match made in hell.

Speaking of hell, your Evil Dead ensemble is extraordinary. It's a huge hit, completely sold out run, the audiences are raving, the cast can't say enough positive things about the experience - why has this project proved so exceptional?

We came into this project with the motto "Team Work Makes the Dream Work" and we lived it. Every person in the cast and crew has invested something into almost every aspect of this show. It is amazing how much more you can get done and how close a group can become when the show is more important that any individual's ego. It doesn't have to be about being right or being the one with the idea. It can be about what is best for the situation and works for the show. I think this worked because we all stayed positive and supportive. If an idea didn't work or something went wrong we didn't get mad, we didn't try to blame, we just figured out how to fix it. This also created an atmosphere where the actors could take a risk without fear and that is what we want from our actors. We have been invited back to GLM to revive Evil Dead the Musical next October, so we will start fundraising for that and are searching for the next thing to bring out the freak.

Tell me about your cast. How did you find them?

Ash - Evan Harris. He's an aspiring actor, working hard at it, traveling around the country. He's gearing up to play Huey in the musical Memphis. He's committed, as are all the actors - you can always count on him to be there to work with, he's got a great attitude. He's a goofy retail employee to a half-dressed, demon killing asskicker. All the actors are intuitive in the show. It's one of those rare moments in life when you actually have to pull them back. One of the things I told the actors when we started out, was that they had to take their roles seriously and let the writing be campy. They do that well. They take it seriously. Adam, who plays Scotty, did such deep research of stereotypical douchebag frat boy, and he's perfect. Nobody phones it in, going through the motions. They all find something new about their performances to give to the new audience each performance.

I am impressed with your "dumb blonde," Sophie Moeller. How'd you find her?

Actually, Ashley James (co-director) has worked with Sophie, who is from Massachusetts and has been doing a lot of theatre around town, pretty much with every group. Ashley was intent on having Sophie in the show. So Sophie auditioned. She gets typecast a lot as the ditzy blonde, but she wanted the opportunity to play the anthropologist, Annie. She auditioned and we cast her as the anthropologist, and Ashley was playing the ditz. At one point, Ashley realized she couldn't do it with all her other responsibilities. So Sophie stepped in and did both of them.

Can we talk about the ink? That girl represents!

Yeah, she is very covered. She has a full back piece that goes all the way down her back to her legs. It turned out okay, because one of our sponsors is a tattoo artist. So she goes from being a ditz to a very smart scientist, to them a powerful semi-naked, radically tattooed wild woman who falls in love with the bad boy. Kate Atack plays Cheryl, Ash's sister; Andrew Collins plays Ed the shy, preppy boy toy, Jeffrey Bentley plays good old reliable Jake, Annikki Creamens plays Linda, Ash's "perfect girl," Ashley James and Brandon Truffan play the evil trees. They spend a lot of time flipping off the main characters. As soon as I saw Evan, I knew he was perfect for the role. I just hoped he could sing.

I've worked with Adam many times and I knew he was a tremendous talent - actor/singer/dancer - and I offered him the role. The rest of the process was open auditions, and we tried to cast as many people as we could, based on best talent and skill, of course. Annikki knew the show and really wanted to play the role. She's a pleasant, wonderful person to work with. Kate came in to do the promotion stuff, before auditions even happened. She took a role as a tree, but then stepped in as Cheryl when another actor had to drop out. Andrew had played Jesus when I played Pontius Pilot in Jesus Christ, Superstar. He killed it. He's humble, but very particular about what he will do onstage. He doesn't partake of these vulgar antics easily. So it's a big deal that he agreed to do this shockingly campy, riskee, bad B-musical. But he did, and he's great. He also stepped in when another actor had to drop out. Jeff Bentley is an amazing talent. He walked in an auditioned. He's a man of a thousand characters and voices. To be able to harness that and use him as a character in the show has been a blessing. He brings an energy and maturity to the show that's dimensional in a way nothing else is. He actually plays three roles. He's so versatile that he can be plugged in almost anywhere in a show. He's that good. Brandon, who plays three roles also, showed up and blew us away with his comic timing. One of the things we talked about was that it had to appear the actors were having fun, and it's very obvious that Brandon is doing that.

What's next for your company?

Well, I guess you will have to keep up to date with Vaude Villain Entertainment to find out more. We love a bit of intrigue. In the true spirit of Vaudville, we are an anything goes company. Theatre, film, visual art, music, graphic design etc. Film is a rather new venture for us. We have worked on a few shorts, promo videos, done some commercials, a sort of stylized documentary and things of that nature. We have found we love it and want to do more. We plan on getting into a lot of original works, adapting some stage for film and most likely some commercial work to pay the bills. Evil Dead the Musical is a campy, goofy, rock musical based on the Sam Raimi films starring Bruce Campbell. The musical took many of the best parts of all three movies Evil Dead, Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness and combined them into an amazing musical with fun score. The show isn't just about the fun book or great music though, it is also about the "SPLATTER ZONE." The amazing area of seating where we dowse the audience with blood, beer, exploding hearts and anything else we can think of. Of course none of this works without a cast that can take to the audience on a journey through interactive theatre.

What was your very first experience with theatre?

The summer before my senior year in high school, I was doing construction and was hired to build a big outdoor stage for The Music Man. One day I while working by myself, hammering away on the set while singing along with the radio at the top of my lungs, I heard a voice call out. "You're in the show!" I quickly replied "Nope! Just building the set." He called out again, "No, you are in the show!" I quickly climbed down the ladder I was on to inform the man that I was not an actor and he could come back later to speak with someone in the show. When I approached him he introduced himself as Bill Weiser, the Music Director of the show. He then explained that he liked my voice and would like me to join the ensemble. I explained to him that I was a jock, don't act and am only here to build the set, I left out the part that I was also a band geek. That night I went over to my buddy Nik's house and told him about my experience. After a long discussion and some forceful encouragement he drove me to the first rehearsal and dropped me off. I tried to change my mind and get back in the car but the doors were locked. With a big grin and a wave of a hand Nik drove away. I walked into rehearsal so nervous and ready to run but was welcome into a beautiful group of people and instantly fell in love with the people, the show and everything about theatre. I was hooked!

What made you decide to pursue theatre/music/entertainment as a career?

Love and a passion to work hard. There is something truly magical about having the bright lights shinning in your face or watching something you have been passionate about come to life. It is amazing how much work goes into even the smallest production. It is so funny, no matter how many times I see shows, or even when I have been the one to do the work, it always seems like magic when it all comes together.

Vaude Villain Entertainment is a clever name. How'd you come up with that?

That was the brain child of mine and my partner-in-crime Ashley James. We were in a production called The Wild Party and discovered our mutual love for the freakish side of theater. The show's leading male was a Vaudeville clown and one of those villains you love and hate, and love to hate. We decided we wanted to bring more of this bizarre style of theater to life and began the process of naming our group. We were looking for something like Vaudeville, where anything goes and the abstract was celebrated. The name came much easier than these things tend to. Vaude Villain Entertainment just fits. We love the the freaks and geeks and want to foster a place for their talents to grow.