By Roy Steinberg, Producing Artistic Director
Josef Albers was a 20th-century artist whose colorful, abstract paintings in his groundbreaking series Homage to the Square forever changed the way we look at art. He also had an interesting way of describing theater.
“Colors are the actors and visual artists are the directors,” he once said.
Every so often, I “switch chairs” at Cape May Stage, stepping away from directing to take on a role as an actor. In our current production of Kalamazoo, I play an older gentleman navigating the world of online dating opposite my real-life wife, Marlena Lustik, whose character is also searching for love.
Written by Michelle Kholos Brooks and Kelly Younger, the play is directed by Josh Iacovelli, our talented resident set designer, who also holds an MFA in directing from the Actors Studio.
Over the years, Marlena and I have appeared together in several productions at Cape May Stage, including Lend Me a Tenor, Barefoot in the Park, Adopt a Sailor – The Holiday Edition, and The Lion in Winter. Whenever we act together, we invite a guest director to take the helm, allowing me to focus entirely on being an actor. Chris Dolman, an artistic associate of the theater, directed us in all of those productions except The Lion in Winter. I, in turn, have had the pleasure of directing Chris as an actor in Outside Mullingar and Boeing, Boeing.
I’ve also directed Marlena many times. I remember one rehearsal when she came to me with a trembling lip and asked, “Am I OK in the play?”
“Of course,” I replied.
“You tell the rest of the cast how wonderful they are and give them notes,” she said, “but you ignore me.”
“If I don’t say anything,” I explained, “it means everything is exactly right.”
She shook her head.
“No,” she said firmly. “I need to know that I am telling your story.”
That conversation taught me something I have never forgotten.
Actors make choices from their character’s point of view. We draw on our own emotions, psychology, and sense of humor to inhabit another human being. We may change our voice, our walk, or even our appearance to create the illusion that someone else is standing before you—and that something rehearsed dozens of times is somehow happening for the very first time.
Directors approach the work differently. They tell the story the way an artist composes a painting. To borrow Josef Albers’ metaphor, the actors are the colors. A bright yellow feels different beside a cool gray than it does next to a deep blue. Each performance changes depending on the people sharing the stage and the choices they make together.
When I’m acting, I try to remove my director’s hat completely and trust someone else’s vision. It requires using a different part of my brain, and that’s both the challenge and the joy of switching chairs.
Good actors know more about their characters than anyone else. But they also need a director who can step back, see the larger picture, and make sure the playwright’s story is being told with clarity and purpose. That’s a different chair—and an equally important one.
When actors, directors, playwrights, designers, and audiences all come together, something remarkable happens. The story becomes more than the sum of its parts.
That’s the magic of live theater.
Kalamazoo at Cape May Stage runs through August 23. Tickets and information are available at www.capemaystage.org.
Steinberg is the Producing Artistic Director at Cape May Stage.
