CHRIS WILSON'S
ACTORS THEATRE OF HOUSTON
PRESENTS
TOM STOPPARD'S
ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN
ARE DEAD
DIRECTED BY BRANDON SMITH
JANUARY 22ND THRU FEBRUARY 27TH, 1999
Friday and Saturday.......................8:00pm
Sunday Matinee............................2:00pm
For Reservations call 713-529-6606
(l-r) Foster Davis as Rosencrantz and George Brock as Guildenstern
Actors Theatre of Houston
2506 South Boulevard
Houston, Texas 77098
CAST LIST IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
Rosencrantz.................................Foster Davis
Guildenstern.................................George Brock
Player......................................Manning Mpinduzi-Mott
Players........Josh Brener, Jay Brock Steven Burrus, Peter Gehring
Ophelia..........................................Marie Hennebery
Hamlet...........................................Hank Fields
Claudius.......................................Alan Hall
Gertrude.......................................Aimee McCrory
Polonius.......................................Kit Fordyce
SETTING
A Place of No Visible Character
INTERVIEW WITH GEORGE BROCK AND FOSTER DAVIS
ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD
by Theresa Hyde
TheresaHyd@aol.com
February 5th, 1999
Since returning to Houston in early 1997, Foster Davis has appeared at ATH as Raymond in
Return Engagements, Stu in Talk Radio, Sudney in Kafka's Dick, Lucentio in Taming of the Shrew,
and Androcles in Androcles and the Lion. Foster has also appeared in the Houston Shakespeare
Festival as Proteus in Two Gentlemen of Verona and Cornwall in King Lear. For New Heights
Theatre, he played John in Scotland Road and for Unity Theatre as Bob in How the Other Half
Loves. In 1996 Foster toured with the Shenandoah Shakespeare Express playing Brutus in Julius
Ceasar, the Dauphin and Chorus in Henry V, Charles, Corin, and Duke Senior in As You Like It,
and Luciana in The Comedy of Errors.
Foster Davis
27-year old Foster has also performed professionally at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, The
University of Texas, Hyde Park Theatre in Austin and in Chicago at the Ivanhoe Theatre and the
Blue Rider Theatre. Foster received a BFA in theatre from the University of Texas in Austin, and is
an alumnus of HSPVA. Foster teaches acting for youth at Chris Wilson's Studio for Actors and
Drama at the Honor Roll School in Sugarland.
Theresa: Tell us about the part that you're playing.......
Foster: Rosencrantz, in Brandon's (Director Brandon Smith) word, he's a numbnuts. He's the half
of the personality, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern sort of share a personality. The two characters are
sort of, the metaphor is, opposite sides of the same coin. And he's sort of like the bumbling,
happy-go-lucky.......
George: Idiot? Would you call him an idiot?
Foster: I wouldn't call him an idiot. He's not very quick on the uptake, yeah. (laughs)
Guildenstern flips a coin over.....
Theresa: Tom Stoppard wrote the recent movie smash hit, Shakespeare In Love starring Gwyneth
Paltrow, Ben Affleck and Joseph Fiennes as William Shakespeare. What's this one about?
George: William Shakespeare wrote a play called Hamlet, roughly in 1598.......
Foster: And in 1967, Tom Stoppard wrote this play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, very
much in tribute to both William Shakespeare and Samuel Beckett, whom he was a big fan of. And
these guys are actually rip-offs of Vladimir and Estergon from Waiting for Godot. If you go back
and read Waiting for Godot, and then you read this play, and you sorta read them back to back,
there's a lot of stuff that he's almost stolen verbatim. And there's very much of that feel, sort of two
characters in a void waiting for something to happen. And what they're waiting for is the
Shakespeare play Hamlet to happen. And actually, Hamlet goes through this place that they're at.
.....and over again
George: What's it about is a hard question to answer. It's about a lot of different things. So I guess
the basic plot structure would be, two characters, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who are two very
minor characters in Shakespeare's Hamlet, waiting.......they have instructions that they're supposed
to go somewhere and do something. They're not really sure what it is they're supposed to do or
where they're supposed to go, so they've been flipping coins, just betting on the toss of a coin and
then they realize they're supposed to be somewhere. This group of players come stumbling through,
so they get into the gambling match with this group of players and Hamlet starts happening to them,
and then they die. That's the play.
Joseph Fiennes
Foster: Yeah, and in Hamlet they're basically old buddies of Hamlet's. Through the King Claudius
who summons them to the court to see if they can find out what's wrong with Hamlet. 'Cause, you
know, Hamlet's like moody and melancholy and he's this and he's that and he's upset he's acting
insane. And so the King summons them thinking maybe, "I'll send these two guys off, they used to
know him. I'll send them off to see if they can find out what's wrong with him."
Well, in the play Hamlet, they kinda are able to glean a little bit about what's wrong with him, but
Hamlet never really lets them in. 'Cause Hamlet realizes that they're spying for his Uncle and he's
been told by the ghost of his father that his Uncle is the one who killed his dad. So Hamlet doesn't
really trust these guys, even though he knows them from the old school days. And finally, when
Hamlet kinda goes off-the-deep-end and stabs Polonius, who's father of Ophelia and advisor to the
King, who's sort of hiding behind this curtain listening to the scene between Hamlet and his mother,
the King dispatches Hamlet to England and sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern along with him.
He dispatches them with a letter to give to the King of England. Well, the letter says, "Would you
please put Hamlet to death? Would you please cut off Hamlet's head?" Well, on the way to
England, Hamlet switches the letters on them, so that they end up with the letter that says to the
King of England, "We want you to kill Rosencrantz and Guildenstern." So, basically what happens
in the play is that.....you never really see this scene.....but at the end of the play, the ambassador
from England comes on and says, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead." And that's where the
actual title of the play comes from, a line at the very end of Shakespeare's play, Hamlet.
Joseph Fiennes
Theresa: So, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are characters of Hamlet.......
Foster: In Hamlet, they're minor characters in Hamlet. They're in a few scenes.
George: Well, that's pretty much the plot. Now, the Waiting for Godot part kicks in when
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Stoppard's play are waiting for Hamlet to take place.
Foster: What they are.....they are characters in a void waiting for their turn to come on the play.
George: And they're very much like, sort of a Laurel and Hardy comic duo.
Foster: Yeah, they play games with each other to sort of, bide the time.....
George: .....pass the time. And there's that very quick witty back-and-forth interaction between the
two of them that culminates in a joke.
Foster: (laughs) it's one joke after another.......
George: Yes. And it's also a lot about Death. I mean, in the title of the play, Stoppard really really
explored it this time. The ideas of what happens to us when we die. What is Death? What is the
point of Living? It's all very existential and esoteric as Brandon would say.
(l-r) Foster Davis as Rosencrantz and George Brock as Guildenstern
Theresa: So you both die.......
George: Yes, we're both put to death.
Foster: So, if you know Hamlet going into this, you know......I mean, it tells you in the title, these
guys are gonna die.
Theresa: So, why did you choose to be a part of this play?
Foster: We've wanted to do this play for a long long time......
George: Two, three years?
Foster: I've known him about a couple of years and at some point we were talking about this play,
and I said, this would be a fabulous play for each of us to do. When was that?
George: It was during Return Engagements or was it that far back when we first cultivated the idea?
At some point or another it came up over a beer, I remember it was at Hans' when it first came up.
Hans' is a local Ale House.
Theresa: (laughs) Hans'.....is that here in Houston?
Foster: Hans' is where the best Artistic theatre discussions happen.
George: Sort of 4 blocks that way. It's a little beer garden, outside on Quenby.
Theresa: Now, the first ATH show I saw you on was Talk Radio, were you here before then?
Foster: The first show I did here was Return Engagements right after I came into town.
Theresa: Tell us about your past background.....
Foster: I actually grew up here in Houston. I was born in Austin, but I've lived here since I was 3
years old. Born September 22nd, 1971. I grew up here and went to High School here at HSPVA
and then went to school in Austin, UT. And then I moved to Chicago where I worked there for
about a year.
And then I got a gig, touring with a group called the Shenandoah Shakespeare Express. A very
small troupe that tours and performs Shakespeare plays, primarily in the East, did the South a little
bit, also did Canada, and played London. They teach and they perform Shakespeare in the rep in a
lot of Colleges, because they were started by a group from James Madison University, which is in
Harrisonburg Virginia, by an English professor there. He and one of his students kind of started the
group, he used a lot of his contacts to facilitate this group travelling to a lot of universities. I did that
for a year and then I came back here. I did the Houston Shakespeare Fest. I did a play that
George directed at New Heights called Scotland Road. I did one show out in Brenham, the
Community theatre there.
Foster Davis as Rosencrantz
Theresa: Who are your most favorite actors or directors? (And for some unknown reason, all three
of us broke out in some uncontrollable fit of laughter. Maybe it's because director George Brock
was sitting right in the middle.) You have to think about that one, huh? (still laughing)
Foster: In what level, in what capacity? People that I work with or people that I hear or read
about?
Theresa: It doesn't matter, the first one that comes to mind?
Foster: (responds in a soft, almost serious tone) Then, I would say that George is one of my
favorite directors......
Theresa: Is it because he's sitting right here? (laughing)
George: Since I'm directing him actually in the next show......
Foster: (laughs) In the next show, he's brilliant. I mean, you know, the actors kinda just do what
they want to do......
George: It's all theirs, and I just sorta sit there and drink coffee.
Theresa: Have you directed?
Foster: Not really. I teach, so I direct my students. I teach here at ATH, and I also teach Drama at
a Middle School.
Theresa: When I saw you in Kafka's Dick, you were blonde then, and I remember thinking you
resembled Ralph Fiennes.
Foster: Never got that before.....
Theresa: No?
Foster: No, I have actually.......I've got that before. He's really good. I mean, I like actors who
don't play the same character in every film. It's a shame that Anthony Hopkins is retiring from
Acting because he's such a chameleon. He's got a new one that's coming out called Instinct.
Theresa: What qualities do you look for in an actor?
Foster: Range, emotional depth. There's two sort of barometers. One is a barometer of talent, how
believable you could be with what you get thrown. And there's also a barometer of technique,
which is how versatile could you be? How different could you be? And can you still be genuine and
still be believable. If you watch an actor and you see him do one type of role, just brilliantly. It's
usually because that they have something really deeply in common with the character that they're
playing.
I think those are my favorite performances to watch is when the actor in his life experience meets
his character and they're experiencing in a very intimate, very close level. Those are usually the best
performances, you know, the most interesting to watch. Like, I remember the best thing I've ever
seen George do was Talk Radio. Because his life and the character's life were really so similar that
he was Barry Champlain. He had a wealth of experience that the character had as well. Those are
my favorite performances to watch.
-----------------------------------------
Theresa: This season marks George's second year in residence at Actors Theatre of Houston. A
native of Birmingham, Alabama, George has done the majority of his study and work in Texas. He
was a member of the resident acting company at St. Edward's University in Austin where he
performed in shows ranging from Come Blow Your Horn to Grease. He also studied at Lamar
University in Beaumont where his performances in The Elephant Man, Dark Ride, and The
Company of Wayward Saints earned him Irene Ryan Scholarship nominations. After a seven year
career as a morning drive radio personality for station KKMY - FM in Beaumont and two years
dealing dice and cards in Las Vegas, NV, George has returned to Houston to pursue a career in
Theatre.
George Brock
George has been seen on many of the stages in town, especially his recent work in ATH: Talk
Radio, Kafka's Dick, Scapino, and The Taming of the Shrew. I interviewed George Brock when
he performed the role of Barry Champlain in Talk Radio, and I also had the wonderful opportunity
to interview the cast of Agnes of God, an ATH production which he directed. As a director,
George has helmed such successful productions as The RainMaker, The GoodBye Poeple, and
most recently, the hysterical production of Inspecting Carol. George will direct the upcoming
Houston premiere of Toyer for ATH. He is a member of the faculty at Chris Wilson's Studio for
Actors.
Theresa: Tell us about the part that you're playing......
George: I play Guildenstern, which is the rational, always seeking-for-an-answer side of the
character who is as much of a numbnuts as the other one is, but not as apparent. He tries to argue
or make sense of everything that happens. Constantly trying to find an answer and thinking he's got
the answer, and then stating the answer and then of course, it turns out to be something completely
different, so then he gets that answer. He's constantly rationalizing, he's more of the classical type
period character as opposed to Rosencrantz, who's more of the clown. He's the straight man.
Guildenstern's the set-up guy.
Theresa: What's the difference between the expectations you had before you did this play, and
what you discover upon actually doing it, after you've played the character?
George: I didn't realize it was gonna be this much fun. It is the most fun I have ever had onstage in
my life. And I've done some things that were fun.....
Theresa: And very very fun-ny......
George: Scapino was fun. I mean, that was fun but it was such hard work. The precision in Scapino
was so, you had to be thinking step, turn, turn, turn, beep beep beep. But we know each other so
well, and we've been dealing with the script for such a long time. You know the rehearsal process
was very difficult, when you see the play, it's a very difficult script, I mean, what the hell is going
on?
What does it mean? Well it means whatever you want it to mean, and when you come to that
understanding as a person trying to present a story to an audience so that they understand a thing.
And what they're supposed to understand is what they bring to the table, it's very difficult and
sometimes frustrating. But once we got in front of audiences, it's just become so much fun. Because
we've been given complete free rein to do whatever we want to do. Brandon has let us go. So, no
blocking, we just kinda make sure that we're seen and we know that certain things place so we
always do those things and we're still exploring other things.
Foster Davis and George Brock
Theresa: Why did you choose this play?
George: My personal reason for wanting to do this is I've always been very intrigued with Death.
People's perceptions of Death, people's understanding of Death. I think that Stoppard has written a
play, a piece of theatre that addresses Death, your own expectations, your own thoughts about
Death as you watch this play, people that I've talked to who have seen it say that they find
themselves thinking about Death, at some point or another. And then, the response, ultimately, to
the play comes from your own expectations of what Death is. It gets you thinking about something
that we all tend to just set away. Nobody wants to face it, or deal with that. This is something that
is so universal, it's going to happen to us all.
Foster: (chimes in with an English accent) Yes, it's a great play, with some smashing parts for both of us.
George: (laughs) We got such great lines to say.
Theresa: I've seen you guys together in so many other plays, such as Talk Radio, Kafka's Dick.
Which one is your favorite?
George: This one.
Foster: Yeah.
Theresa: Really?
George: It's because of the relationship of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, it very closely mirrors
Foster and George.
Foster: What are you saying, that I'm a numbnut?
George: I'm no more a numbnut than you are. Through our esoteric and arguing and we
psycho-babble each other constantly every chance we get. And play and have fun. These two
characters legitimately care for each other as individuals and people and there's some nice moments
of that in the play. It's an opportunity to fully explore, not only the characters, but to explore our
relationship in the course of the play.
Theresa: What do you feel are the differences between Acting and Directing?
George: There's some big differences. Look at what I'm reading right now, The Director's Voice,
20 interviews with Directors. The job of the director, it's a relatively new position in the theatre. It's
only been around for a hundred years.
Each time I take on a show as a director, as I begin to explore a project as a director, I'm always
trying to find a way to communicate with actors in such a way that you can get the images and the
picture and the story told the way. I go into it with a real clear picture of what I wanna see. But to
do it in such a way that it's non-offensive to actors. That you're not going to Actors and saying,
"That's not it at all....." I mean it's very difficult and I'm still trying to learn how to communicate to
actors without pissing them off.
How to get to the bottom of the story. How to tell the story cleanly and clearly and precisely and
yet make it appear natural, like it's happening for the first time. And consistency. Once I'm finished,
once I've directed the piece and it's up and running, how to keep the cast doing the same thing over
and over and over again. And yet not stifling their creativitiy and their ability to explore what's going
on. And one of the things I'm leaning towards, which I've been reading about in this book is, going
back into a rehearsal a few weeks after the show's up. Now, we've had it in front of the audience
for awhile, let's rehearse it a couple more times and talk about some of the things that have
happened as a result of that. Which I'm reading in several theatres they do it, they'll run a show for
2 or 3 weeks and then stop and rehearse again for another week, and then run it again.
Gwyneth Paltrow who starred in Tom Stoppard's Shakespeare In Love
Foster: After you've played in front of an audience, you get a sense of what works, what doesn't
work.....
George: The actors do. It's two different worlds. As an actor, you're onstage in front of people,
very focused on what you're doing. And as a director, you're not in the middle of that. You're the
audience, you're watching it. And as an audience member, you get a sense of what the rest of the
audience is doing. It's very interesting. To sit back as a director in the audience. And my focus
when I'm watching the show with the audience, it's not what's going on onstage. I've seen it a
thousand times, you know, the timing's slightly off, or something's not right in the performance, but
I'm more aware of the audience than I am as an actor.
Theresa: Do you prefer Acting or Directing?
George: I prefer Acting. It's more fun, isn't it? There's not nearly as much responsibility.....
Foster: There's a lot more problems that the director has to worry about.....
George: .....that the actors don't have to worry about. Like for example, the whole technical end of
the show. Light cues, Sound cues. The director is ultimately the go-between between the producer
and the actor. You are the buffer zone between the money and the performances. You know,
actors have different emotional and psychological needs that each individual brings differently.
You're always going have to work with somebody new. In the best of all possible worlds, the older
I get the more I wanna surround myself with actors that I've worked with over and over again.
'Cause I don't like dealing with new problems. I like the problems that I know I'm gonna have, that
I know I can deal with. That ultimately I can go, "You're doing that thing again, let's not do that."
You have a dialogue and a relationship that works much better.
Theresa: Have you ever directed yourself?
George: No. Tried to in Taming of the Shrew. Very difficult to direct yourself. It's impossible in a
play. I guess you could do it in film, I've never dealt with it in film, I've directed stuff for the camera
before, but not film. It would be a very difficult thing to remain objective about your performance. I
think that people who do direct themselves, I applaud them. People like Woody Allen, and Mel
Gibson that can direct a solid piece of film and still have a fabulous performance on film. That's the
ability to look at yourself and go, "That just didn't work, did it?" And then come back and do it
right.
Theresa: What qualities do you look for in an actor or a director?
George: In a director, open-mindedness. The ability to listen to ideas, while at the same time,
having very strong clear definite ideas. And somebody who understands what it is to act. I don't
like Directors who have never acted. You know, they may not act anymore, but at least
somewhere in their career they have been onstage and know what that's like. In an actor, I look for
somebody who has all of the tools necessary to get the job done. A clear, articulate speaking
voice. A great love and passion of the Art and the Craft. Willing to do whatever it takes to get the
project done. I'm not interested in an Actor who's always checking their watch or yawning or ready
to go home or thinking about the beer after the show as opposed to......
Foster: (starts yawning) Well, I do that, don't I? There's nothing wrong with that....(laughs)
Theresa: As an actor, when you get home, do you become the person that you are onstage?
George: No, that's crazy, isn't it? That would be nuts.
Foster: There is some spill-over, though......
George: Yeah, you do have that in your life, you have spill-over.
Foster: I think that one of the main differences is that you can do a scene as an actor, walk off in
some sort of emotional place that maybe the director doesn't even have to go to. You know, he
just sits there and watches. As an actor, you're immediately affected by everything. You know, you
are what you do in a lot of ways.
George: But you don't wanna carry that home. Especially if you're playing like a serial killer.
Foster: That's what great about Theatre. You kinda get to leave it all in the building.
"Why don't you lick my foot?" says Rosencrantz to Guildenstern