Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company

Interviewed by Nathan Hollabaugh - March 29, 2009

Actor Alan Bomar Jones can be seen in May at Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Co. in August Wilson’s Seven Guitars, having previously performed at PPTCO in 2006 in The Piano Lesson (also by August Wilson). Hailing from Dayton, Ohio, Alan serves as a resident artist with The Human Race Theatre Company, and he has performed in more than a few productions of other plays in Wilson’s “Pittsburgh Cycle”, including Jitney, Fences, King Hedley II, and Gem of the Ocean. Other professional theater credits are too numerous to mention, but here it should be noted that he has played a recurring role as Timothy in California Theatre Center’s touring production of The Cay, touring with the show in 2004, 2006, and 2008. He’ll reprise that part once again in 2010. Other credits include the made-for-TV movie The Movement, seven independent films including the full-length feature Missed It, and an appearance on America’s Most Wanted, portraying fugitive Robert Brent Black. An experienced voice-over actor for radio and television, Alan most recently narrated the audiobook edition of the biography “The Journey of T.D. Jakes”, written by Richard Young and published by Brilliance Audio. But of all the roles he has played, Alan says that he is “blessed” to play the role of husband to his wife, singer/actress Becky Barrett-Jones.

First of all, tell us about the character that you’re playing in Seven Guitars.

Canewell. Wow! You know, I’d only read the script once, and it was a long time ago, but I do know that Canewell was a good friend of Floyd, who is a singer in the play, and that Canewell had aspirations of being a singer…[interview interrupted by a loud group entering room]…and that Canewell has some aspirations to be a recording artist himself, but never quite made it to the level that Floyd is. And so, what the play does is, it shows the friendship between, uh, Floyd and Canewell and the other characters, and he is also a bit of a religious buff. He likes the Bible and quotes from the Bible and tries to…[interview interrupted again by noise in the room]…and that’s pretty much all I can find to say about Canewell until next week [when rehearsals for the show begin].

Alan in August Wilson's The Piano Lesson at CATCO Theatre in Columbus, OH, 2007

So, how are you approaching your role in Seven Guitars? Or, I guess a better way to put it would be: what particular things are you going to be doing as you prepare for the part?

Well, one of the first things that I did was I started looking-up the time period and looking at some of the styles – the hair styles and appearances. And, y’know, back then processed hair was really popular, and so I, as you can see, I’ve already got my hair ready. Processed. And, um, the classiness and the mannerisms of the characters, they – back then, the black men really wanted to be well-respected and looked-up-to, particularly if they were artists – and so, they carried themselves in a very, uh, stately manner. So I’m working on that. And I’m- I’m an actor that likes to find – and I don’t want to use the word “quirkiness” but – a staple that identifies a character. And I’m still searching for that for Canewell, something that he does, that he always does, that distinguishes him as a personality. And I haven’t quite figured it out yet, but I think that it will be very noticeable once you see it on stage. But I’ll give you an example: when I did, um [clears throat], Elmore from [King Hedley II], which the Canewell character is in that, I, uh – Elmore is an old hustler – and so, one of the things that he does, he’s the best-dressed person on stage. I had all these different handkerchiefs the costumer had given me for every outfit, and when he sat on anything in the backyard he always laid his hanky out first and sat on it, and that was sort of like, uh, a character nuance that I added to that. So I’m looking for something for Canewell. I haven’t quite nailed it yet.

Alan as Davey Battle in Take Me Out at The Human Race Theatre Company, 2007

How did you first into acting?

Oh! Woah! Which was kind of like an accident, I was in high school, and, uh – and this is the honest to God’s truth, it’s really interesting – I was walking down the hall and this guy, and I cannot remember his name now- Ralph! I do remember his first name was Ralph. He stopped me and asked me did I know that there was an audition for a play coming up, and I said, “No.” And he said, “Well go on in there. I need some men.” And I – I think I was a junior there in high school – so I went into the auditorium and I was sittin’ there waitin’ on him, and he, he recruited about ten or twelve of us, and then he asked us to get on stage and do some acting stuff, and – I didn’t even know I had the ability to do any acting – so I started imitating characters I saw on The Bill Cosby Show, the variety Bill Cosby show, where he used to have a drunk character, and-and he would play all these different characters. And the guy loved it! He loved it to a point that not only did he cast me as the oldest son in the family, but he let me do the Foster Brooks drunk from, uh, Bill Cosby as a walk-on character which ended-up stealing the show. And from that moment on, man, when I stepped out there and-and took a bow in high school, I said “This is what I- I like this!” And so, as soon as I got out of the military the first thing I did was went to college and started studying.

Playing Sgt. Waters in the Wright State University production of A Soldiers Play, 2001

Um, what do you LOVE about acting?

Ah! [sighs deeply] I think what love the most about acting is, being able to allow myself to disappear into a whole different character. To allow myself to really- because what I want to pride myself as an actor, is – and I say this when I’m teaching acting – is, I want people to experience me as an actor, not see me acting. So if I ever feel like I’m on stage and people see me acting, then I’m…I’m not acting. I’m-I’m-I’m make-believing. But if I’m on stage and they believe it, and they go with me, then I am really what I consider doing the art. And that’s what I truly love about it, so I always welcome the challenge of doing people like Boy Willie and Elmore and um, um…what’s the character from Jitney?…um…ohh…Turnbo! All these great characters of August Wilson plays. Because I want to make sure that every time I do them, I truly become this other individual, that they don’t see me and they don’t see someone else that I’ve performed. And that’s what I love about acting. I just love that whole process of creating and becoming someone totally different.

So then on the flipside-

Okay…

What do you hate about acting?

Being away from my wonderful wife is one of the things I don’t like about this business. As a regional theatre actor I travel a lot and I always miss her when I’m gone. We’re soulmates and being apart is difficult.

So that’s what you don’t like about the business. But what do you dislike about acting?

[laughs heartily] I would say the lines but actually I’m one of the actors that love learning lines. I’m one of the few. Um…gosh, that’s a good question. I have never really thought what I don’t like about it. I think the one thing that I don’t like sometimes is when the show ends. I don’t like that part of it. Uh, but at the same time I sometimes sit and talk to my wife and say, “Y’know, sometimes I can’t imaging people doing a show for 5 and 6 years on Broadway every night! That would drive me crazy.” But, I-I don’t even know – I’ve never done a show any longer than two or three months. But I hate it when it ends, I think that’s the thing I hate about acting.

What? When it ends, what is it that troubles you? What are you going through when it- when a show ends?

I’m going through uh, [clears throat] several things. One is, I lose the character. So I’m going through that loss, almost like, y’know…a part of me dying-off. The second one is that, ah, the ensemble, the-the uh…chemistry and the-the friendship that you’ve made with the people you worked with…sometimes, in many cases that disappears, because everybody moves on. Sure you-you maintain contact with each other, but that whole bonding, that whole party, so to speak, that you have created through that process of the show, it goes away with the show. And I think that’s, that’s one of the things that I don’t like much about it. [clears throat] But I do, um, keep remnants of all my characters that I’ve done, whether it’s an outfit, a hairpiece, or something. And uh, I have a closet that just has…remnants only so that I’m always reminded of them. [speaks very quietly] I think I answered the question. [chuckles]

So um-

These are good questions.

Alan as the 80-year-old Jamaican Timothy in California Theatre Center's production of "The Cay" in 2004, reprising the role in 2006 and 2008

Who, uh- who do you get inspired by creatively?

Oh I want to start with most recent inspiration – and I get emotional when I talk about this guy…heh…Heath Ledger.

Okay.

I’ve, you know, I’ve watched many, many actors over the years, young and old, and some very creative, very strong, very powerful actors out there, but then this young man comes along and I kind of followed his, his movie career. And then I saw him in, uh, the Batman movie, the last one. And I knew that he was up against a very, very hard…uh…journey to create a character that, Nicholson created. My god, I mean, what can you do with that? And this young man came out and created probably one of the most interesting, detailed, focused characters that I have ever seen, and – and-and I’m putting him in his own category because he’s a certain age – of any man in his age group. And I thought he was brilliant. And to this day, I stand behind that. Uh, I’ve had many arguments with people that disagree and that’s okay. But as an artist, I look at him and I look at that and I’m inspired to be as creative and as original as you possibly can, and don’t stray away from whatever you commit to in that vision. He is one of my big inspirations. Another one that I’m inspired by was James Earl Jones, which is why I use my entire name, Alan Bomar Jones, because when I was growing up I would see him and I would listen to him talk and, and I would just be in awe of his presence, in awe of his-his performance. And he was one of the strongest influences on me as an actor. Uh, if I had to name any more I think it would be Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino.

As Reverand Brockman in the made-for-TV movie The Movement, 2003

What lessons are you learning right now as an actor? What are you learning right now?

Patience…

Tell us more.

I am learning patience and learning to, uh…think before I speak, and to…it, it’s amazing that – acting and-and being an actor has taught me these things because, um, prior to really diving into this as a career, and just doing it as a hobby, uh, I was impatient, and-and I used to just…rattle-off things that regretted later. But as I’ve gone through this process – and I think it’s the process of acting: rehearsing, preparing, and then performing – those disciplines I’ve tried to put into my life. I try to be more understanding, more patient with people, more rehearsed in my presentation to others, more, conscious of…what I’m saying to saying to people, how I’m coming across. And I think that’s what I am learning. And I’m learning something else again tonight watching the show [the final performance of I Nipoti at PPTCO]. And I was watching the young man playing N- Nicola?

Nico.

And I watched him [Tony Bingham], um, act and I kept thinking, “What is it that I’m liking about him?” Besides the fact that he was good, but…you could actua- you could see him listening to people on stage. And that’s something that I never want to stop doing as an actor, and I try to teach that when I’m teaching acting, and that’s something I’ve got to do in life, is not to sit there and look at you and try to think of what I’m gonna say next, but listen to what you’re saying and take that in and display it. And watching him tonight reminded me of that, because that’s what I loved about him, was that he not only delivered his lines very well and performed very well – he was an active listener. He was a holistic actor.

So…your response just now is a great lead-in to my next question…

Great.

What plays have you watched lately that, that you really enjoyed, that you were excited by, that you walked away saying, “Wow! I liked that.”

I Pilat- is it pilati? Is that what it is?

“I Nipoti”.

What?

“I Nipoti”.

I Nipoti. Which means what?

“The Nephews”.

Ahhhh! Okay, “I Nipoti”. OK. That- that’s one of them. Um, Doubt. I saw it at The Human Race [Theatre Company] not too long ago. Um…see one of the problems is I don’t get out to see enough plays. I’m in so many, I’m always busy working.

[laughs]

She’ll tell you [gestures toward his wife, Becky], I mean we hardly get to go see any plays. Um…[mutters] gosh, what was the last other one that I saw that was really, really good?…you know and I – as an artist I’ll probably will regret ever this being in print but: there aren’t many good pieces out there. There are good scripts, but there are not many good performances.

Why?

I wish I could tell you. I wish I could tell you…um…I don’t know.

What’s…what’s-

Missing?

What do you see or not see that’s disappointing you in so much of what’s disappointing you out there?

Um…the commitment to the art form. That’s what’s missing. I-I remember a play – I don’t remember the name of it – it was about a couple who had a son that died, and then one of the young men who was the cause of the accident comes and visits them, and there’s a mother involved and all that, and, it always disturbs me when only half the cast is committed to the process, because you’re only getting half of the performance and it- and I- she’ll [gestures to his wife again] she’ll tell you, I just get really frustrated by that. Um, and-and unfortunately then you end up with an unbalanced play where some people come on and they’re committed and you totally love and believe their performance where the others are just going through the motion. And I think that’s-that’s what is unsettling to me in seeing shows, is the lack of commitment. Now, who’s to blame? Is it the actors or is it the director? I’m not sure. Sometimes, some directors just give up and say, “Well this is all I’m going to get out of this actor, I’ll just put it up on stage anyway.” I don’t know. But I think that’s what- that bothers me. And as an artist I get very frustrated in a play that I’m in, when I don’t feel that every person in that play is committed. Is that your next question?

Well-

[chuckles]

-theatre is a team sport.

It is! Absolutely. Yeah. And it’s, it’s frustrating when you’ve got one or two team members that are not providing what they need to [provide] to make…to make the best…formula. Because I always feel like every time you’re-you’re putting a show on, you’re selling for that theater the next show, and you’re also selling to the audience that this an important, a-a-an important art form. So when you don’t give your hundred percent, when you don’t get out there and-and just throw down, then that’s hurting us. Y’know?

What you’re talking about reminds me of a story I heard Meryl Streep tell in an interview-

Ooh!

-and, I wish I could quote it more exactly, but here it was in summary: she was in an acting class and the teacher asked the class “How do you play the queen?” And the students tried to answer, they were giving answers like “You carry yourself in a very powerful manner,” or “You move with authority,” and on-and-on-and-on. And every answer was focused back on who was playing the queen. And the teacher said, “No. You know how you play the queen? Everybody else in the room treats you like you’re the queen.”

Hmmm…[chuckles] Yeah!

That’s deep!

That’s very deep! Yes…

But your story makes me think about that-

Yes…

-and what you’re talking about.

That’s right. I just finished a show not long ago, and, I’m sad to say that one of the performers just didn’t get it, and, uh, all of us who did eventually had to, act around this person? To get the best show possible. And because we were a team and we did that we were able to pull it out of this…rut that she was taking it into. But I agree.

In Seussical at The Human Race Theatre Co., Alan plays General Ghenkis Khan Schmidt, 2005

A couple fun ones now: what have you been reading lately?

Hmm!

That may or may not be fun depending on if you’ve been reading some very hard, difficult, kind-of, troubling things but- what have you been reading lately?

I’ve been- the most of what I’ve been reading lately are a lot of scripts and scenes because I just finished an acting class and I had to come up with ten scenes and I had to come up with fifty monologues to all these kids, all these students. So I’ve been reading a lot of plays: Glengarry Glen Ross, uh-uh-um, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, uhh, King Hedley [II], I read that again, and-and I had read several monologue books, so I’ve been reading a lot of plays and monologue books preparing for the class. I just finished on Saturday, that was the latest thing I’ve been reading. Now I’m on a new book that I’m reading: Seven Guitars [grins].

As poet and narrator Delbert Tibbs in The Exonerated at CATCO Theatre in Columbus, OH, 2005

What are you listening to right now?

What am I listening to? My wife singing and teaching her students. We do it out of our home, and that’s what I listen to pretty much on a daily basis.

What’s she teach?

She teaches piano and voice.

Okay, last one. Well, second to last one, um - and this doesn’t necessarily have to be about acting: what’s the toughest job you’ve ever had, and what did you learn from it?

The toughest job I’ve ever had was, I went to University of Dayton after leaving a community college that I was teaching at for twelve years, and I got a job in maintenance. Maintenance supervisor. It was, uh, overnight shift. And I learned from that job, which only lasted one week, that people can be very irresponsible and when you’re a manager it falls in your lap, and I cannot live working all night and trying to sleep all day. That’s just not me. I’m not one of those people. That’s what I learned.

Okay, last question: what are you still searching for as an actor that you haven’t found yet?

The role of a lifetime. I haven’t gotten that yet. And, and – this isn’t necessarily a, a bad thing? – but I think in the last couple of years I have really started being recognized as an actor, and I mean recognized in the sense that people are responding to my performance and I’m returning to a lot of theaters where I’ve performed before. And I’m still waiting for that unforgettable, um, that “role of a lifetime” that I just kind of go like, “This is the reason that I am in this business, because this is the kind of role that’s perfect for me.” I’m still searching for that.

And what do you suppose that role- what might, I mean- what might characterize that “role of a lifetime”? What do you suppose might characterize it?

Hmm………a role that is essentially fifty percent me and fifty percent the other character, and it allows me to show an audience the arc of a performance that I can bring to the stage, a journey that I can take them on, and an emotional rollercoaster that I can offer them.

Well I hope you find it.

I do too.

Sooner rather than later.

[laughs] Yes, sir! [chuckles]

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