Actor John Jensen In your dream scenario how does great collaboration function?
This is my dream scenario! Robin Fawcett, who is directing the show has gathered an incredible group of artists. Robin has an uncanny way of creating a safe environment in rehearsals where you have permission to explore.
Everyone involved in Fun Home is working towards a common goal. It's thrilling to be a part of it!
Now that you have been in rehearsals for two weeks, what have you enjoyed most while working on this musical so far? Anything that has surprised you? Scared you?
Fun Home is so beautifully crafted. Working on this piece has only deepened my love for it.
When people ask me how rehearsals are going I always say "I'm having the time of my life!".
We just completed our first run-thru of the whole show. That first run-thru is always terrifying, but I think a healthy dose of fear is good. It keeps you working to do you best.
What character do you play and what do you find most challenging and/or exciting about playing him?
I play Bruce Bechdel, Alison's Father. All of the characters in the show are struggling for acceptance. I remember when I read the script, my first thought was, this could have been my story. I grew up in a small town in Iowa and if I had never ventured beyond its borders or had the freedom to live an authentic life as a gay man this could have been me.
It is a challenge to access the darker places of Bruce, but it's exciting to create this multidimensional flawed human being.
There is a universal resonance to this story that I think audiences can't help but identify with.
What do you find most challenging about working on a musical versus a play?
It's a whole other beast. A musical requires that you take extremely good care of your vocal and physical health.
In a musical you have the added task of finding the motivation for your character bursting into song. Those transitions are so well written in Fun Home, it make the actors job much easier.
This is a vocally demanding show but it has to seem effortless and that takes a lot of work.
What is your favorite moment in this musical (doesn’t have to be in our version... it could simply be a moment in the show itself)?
There are so many it's hard to pick just one moment.
However, when Small Alison played so beautifully by Lulu Barr-Brandt sings the lyric, "Do you feel my heart saying Hi?" in Ring of Keys. It gets me every time.
It's that moment of revelation; simple and true and so incredibly powerful.
Fun Home is playing October 4-29 at FlynnSpace.
This is my dream scenario! Robin Fawcett, who is directing the show has gathered an incredible group of artists. Robin has an uncanny way of creating a safe environment in rehearsals where you have permission to explore.
Everyone involved in Fun Home is working towards a common goal. It's thrilling to be a part of it!
Now that you have been in rehearsals for two weeks, what have you enjoyed most while working on this musical so far? Anything that has surprised you? Scared you?
Fun Home is so beautifully crafted. Working on this piece has only deepened my love for it.
When people ask me how rehearsals are going I always say "I'm having the time of my life!".
We just completed our first run-thru of the whole show. That first run-thru is always terrifying, but I think a healthy dose of fear is good. It keeps you working to do you best.
What character do you play and what do you find most challenging and/or exciting about playing him?
I play Bruce Bechdel, Alison's Father. All of the characters in the show are struggling for acceptance. I remember when I read the script, my first thought was, this could have been my story. I grew up in a small town in Iowa and if I had never ventured beyond its borders or had the freedom to live an authentic life as a gay man this could have been me.
It is a challenge to access the darker places of Bruce, but it's exciting to create this multidimensional flawed human being.
There is a universal resonance to this story that I think audiences can't help but identify with.
What do you find most challenging about working on a musical versus a play?
It's a whole other beast. A musical requires that you take extremely good care of your vocal and physical health.
In a musical you have the added task of finding the motivation for your character bursting into song. Those transitions are so well written in Fun Home, it make the actors job much easier.
This is a vocally demanding show but it has to seem effortless and that takes a lot of work.
What is your favorite moment in this musical (doesn’t have to be in our version... it could simply be a moment in the show itself)?
There are so many it's hard to pick just one moment.
However, when Small Alison played so beautifully by Lulu Barr-Brandt sings the lyric, "Do you feel my heart saying Hi?" in Ring of Keys. It gets me every time.
It's that moment of revelation; simple and true and so incredibly powerful.
Fun Home is playing October 4-29 at FlynnSpace.
