Brightest Young Things

Nick Dillenburg, who stars as Proteus, the slightly less gentlemanly one out of the "Two Gentlemen of Verona",  and I meet on a rainy noon, a week into the performance schedule, one day after the press preview and some eight hours before the official opening night @ Lansburgh Theatre. He is in good spirits, has a big bruise on his right leg and some permanent scars on his left shin from a few rough-and-tumble jumps he does during the play and jokes that "with 49 (I think) performances to go, these (the bruises) are probably here to stay". He's been off alcohol and red meat during the rehearsals ("just to be good to myself") but he's back to eating steak because "he needs to help his iron levels up" since those bruises just won't go away, and there's plenty of jumping up and down that set without a harness still to be done.

We're here to talk about how this thoroughly modern adaptation of Shakespeare's first ever play about teenagers came to be. And trust me, thoroughly modern it is: the show opens with a suburban Verona parking lot, there are DC Brau cans in hand, Beyonce's "Single Ladies" has an important appearance, a fast-talking narrative ticker leading you through it all and the preferred mode of transportation for everyone involved seems to be a skateboard. Still-the language remains unchanged, and the sum of all these parts makes for a truly exhilarating theatre going experience, which is what a play that is essentially about hormones deserves.

So-lets start at the beginning:

The Auditions: Director PJ Papparelli started auditioning in July, and several rounds later, everyone, aside from Proteus (a role that would go to Dillenburg) and Silvia (Natalie Mitchell) was cast. Dillenburg came to audition in November, and was asked to prepare a monologue AND "a song in the style of John Mayer". It is important to note that I don't really sing, he laughs. But sing he did - Mayer's "Who Says" (the lyrics of which go: " It’s been a long night in New York City, It’s been a long night in Baton Rouge, I don’t remember you looking any better, But then again I don’t remember you"), read with his Julia (Miriam Silverman was already in the cast) and got the part.

Speaking of singing, the show IS peppered with modern music, which does offer a mood shift from Shakespeare's language - how did that come about ...: Well, it is important to note that this is NOT a musical (those in the mood for that can check out the rock opera version this weekend only-ed). It is a Shakespeare play that USES music to convey a certain mood, to emphasize the emotions already spoken. The songs chosen are by Ben Folds, Frankie Lyman ("Why Do Fools Fall in Love", of course), U2, Beyonce, Aqualung... and are popular enough that the audience can probably instantly relate to the feeling they're conveying. Still-nothing is sacred, not even the song list, and even during the last week of rehearsals a song was cut, the pace was accelerated....

And was it hard for the actors to shift from one tone (the Shakespeare verse) to another (the modern lyrics): All the songs were rehearsed separately, and then only finally integrated during the end stages of rehearsal. Shifting did offer a challenge, but Nick says, it is nice to work with a company "this good", because everyone involved truly loves and studies the richness of Shakespeare's language and can act/live it out in a truly timeless way.

Now, speaking of timeless themes-friendship, first love, betrayal, forgiveness-these are all themes in the play. Proteus is both a hero and a villain (leaving Julia, planning to steal his best friend's girl....)-how did he approach the character: The biggest challenge, Nick says, was to make sure audiences didn't think this guy was a total jerk. It is important that at the end, when Julia takes him back, the people watching don't think that she is stupid for doing so. And so-they all collectively tried to show that the universal themes of being young, easily impressed, discovering new things, etc, are all clear. Proteus does some stupid things, but then-what teenagers don't? Being a teenager is all about doing stupid things, and learning from your mistakes-that's exactly the kind of thing that makes Shakespeare's works so universal.

speaking of universalness, and universal appeal-how have the DC audiences been responding thus far? Who does he think is the, so to speak, the "target demographic" here? The audiences seem to really like it, he says. The thing with DC is that, well, they know their stuff. You're playing for smart people, people who remember the different reiterations of this play and are open to anything as long as, well, it is good. And sure it is possible to see this production that this is a little more youth oriented, what with the modern music and all, but "Two Gentlemen of Verona" has always been a little more youth oriented-because the emotions and actions in it are more relatable to the "young people".

...is it hard to keep things fresh, night in and night out? Sure, but it is a living, breathing cast, and every night has a different energy. Nick very passionately states that he, as well as his castmates, chose to be a theater actor because he truly does believe in the live experience and the connections one forges that way. But day in and day out, you never know what you're bringing to the show from how you feel that day to what happened to you in the last few hours, and that's what keeps things fun and different. Plus, the music-"there's no right or wrong way to rock out to a song", so that keeps it fresh.

...and what now: well, you should go see the play. Cool? Cool.

"Two Gentlemen of Verona" is playing through March 4th @ Lansburgh Theatre. Keep your eyes peeled for our review and a very special giveaway later this week.

Previously in BYT interviews:

• 5/18: INTERVIEW: Jasmine Solano
• 5/18: Interview: Richard Linklater
• 5/17: Interview: Penguin Prison
• 5/16: Interview: Brian Regan
• 5/15: Richard Davies (Cardinal) Interviewed by Archie Moore
• 5/11: Interview: Horse Feathers' Justin Ringle
• 5/10: Reflections on a Conversation with Mickey Avalon
• 5/9: Inside the STYLELINER
• 5/8: The Politics of Mastodon
• 5/4: Preview: Mucca Pazza @ The Kennedy Center's "Look Both Ways" Festival