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Alan Paris took time off from the theatre to get married, but otherwise he is nearly always on stage. Alan faces one of his biggest theatre challenges starting 29 April (see page 43) when he will play five very different characters in ‘Stones in his pocket’ at St James Cavalier. In ‘Stones’ he will play along Edward Mercieca and has to take on the guise of several Irishmen and at least one woman. Julian Manduca caught up with him this week.
What prompted you to take up acting. Any family influence?
It is probably because I am the youngest of five children. I arrived in this world six years after my sister. Besides having quite a tough act to follow - my sister being the only girl with four brothers - I suppose I’ve been acting up most of my life trying to get noticed and make sure that I wasn’t just an after thought!
Of all your many roles which were the most memorable and why?
If I had to choose, it would have to be the role of Bishop in Actinghouse Productions ‘Fat Men in Skirts’ a couple of years ago. Being asked to play an incestuous cannibal, marooned on an island with his mother definitely tops my list of weird propositions! I also had the luck of working with a German director and actress, as well as other fellow Maltese actors. Besides being rather mad (and the actress would agree with me here), the Germans have a very different way of working a script and creating a production. It was a great learning experience.
Another part would have to be Amos in Chicago, last year. Just for the fact that he was such a genuinely nice guy, and I realised that I can pull off singing too!
Which are the actors that you admire and would suggest aspiring actors should follow?
Ed Norton, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovic, Adrien Brody, Laura Linney and Sean Penn… all actors that have given fantastic, inspirational performances.
What, in your opinion, are the ‘ingredients’ for high quality theatre?
Full commitment and focus from ALL concerned. It’s not easy to achieve that in Malta since we are not full-time actors, directors, back-stage people, etc. We all have day jobs. But I think that we do pretty damn well for it. It is also important that all those involved are enjoying what they are doing. It doesn’t have to be comedy to enjoy it, even a tragedy works better when all the actors are enjoying what they are doing. From an acting point of view, quality theatre is when the actor isn’t on stage… the character is.
Did you ever have to prepare for a role in a way where you had to change yourself a lot either mentally or physically, and what can you tell us about those experiences?
I would have to go back to Bishop in ‘Fat Men in Skirts’. This was essentially a black comedy. But the situations in this play were so extreme. The character starts off as an 11 year-old boy and grows up throughout the play, into an enraged cannibal who, after being marooned on island with his mother, is saved and brought back to civilization. He then goes on to kill and EAT (!!) his Father, his Father’s lover and his mother. An overwhelming series of events. It was more a matter of tapping in to parts of myself that apply to this character, and letting those parts evolve throughout rehearsals… It’s a process and you really have to trust your instincts and live that moment for yourself (or in this case…. To the best of your ability).
You are taking part in ‘Stones in his pocket,’ what can you tell me about your experience in the play so far?
Erm… confusing… scary…. Hilarious… fun. I am playing five different parts in this comedy: A 30 year old Irish man, a 70 year old Irish man, a twenty-something female, a twenty something drug addict, and a mid-late thirties English accent coach. The variety in these roles is incredible. Making the switch from character to character look as smooth as possible is one hell of a task to say the least. Most often asked question in rehearsal must be ‘Who the hell am I now?’ But as Chris Gatt keeps saying… ‘Its simple… just do this, that’. We cannot be blamed for any bruises that Chris might suffer during rehearsals.
It’s the Fifth time I am working with Edward (I ate him in Fat Men in Skirts where he played my Father!! I was fed for days!!) and its been great working with him again. Between the three of us, I don’t think its possible to have laughed more in any other production during rehearsals. We’ve laughed our way through the daunting task of put this comedy together. It’s been great fun.
In the play you have to play several different characters, how do you manage to prepare for several roles?
I think it all started very much by creating caricatures of what these people should be like. Exaggerating them and playing around with voices, accents, posture, etc. That way you can define the boundaries of each character for yourself. Now its evolved into making them real people. The play in itself is a comedy, but it has some very touching moments that are loaded with emotions - Something that wouldn’t be possible to portray as caricatures. The fact that Chris Gatt, the director, has 10 different personalities of his own has also provided much inspiration for both Edward and I!
What is theatre adding to your life?
Definitely a creative outlet; a place where I am in control; opportunities to be all five characters in this play, and the other characters that I’ve played so far. And the patience for Chris Gatt.
What future plans do you have?
I try to keep my options open. I work in advertising… a job that is getting busier and more hectic by the day. But the tight deadlines are what adds to the fun. I am doing another production in October or November, but I try not to think that far ahead. I also got married recently, so I plan to spend my summer with the wife – quality time. We both work in advertising and act and its been quite hard to spend time together.
If you could change three things about Malta which would they be?
The general ‘Issa naraw’ attitude.
The situation with theatre – no funding, high taxes, etc.
The fact that it’s a small island, so there isn’t that much to respect – environmentally, socially – whatever… So why don’t we?
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