By BRUCE DENNILL
Kinky Boots is running at Cape Town’s Fugard Theatre until 2 February 2020. Earl Gregory plays drag queen Lola.
Tshepo Ncokoane, Phillip Schnetler, Earl Gregory, Emile Doubell and Chester Martinez in Kinky Boots. Photo credit: Jesse Kramer
Live performance is both one of the main drawcards of being a performer and one of the most stressful parts of it. At what point in the process of being involved in a new project do you cross that line?
I think the line gets crossed when the show needs to go on but you feel you have burned out and you continue to do a performance. Performers have this ability to push through all sorts of personal issues, which can cause their own demise. When you’re young, you don’t give it a second thought, but it gets harder the older you become in showbusiness, as the body doesn’t endure those kinds of choices as well.
Do you have techniques to improve either scenario – consistently enjoying the performance aspect (it is a job, after all) or mitigating the stress (of all the issues – from iffy pay to annoying audiences)?
The pay-off comes every night when you get the adulation for a job well done. The challenge is finding ways of being inspired about what you do. Performing is repetitive and can become monotonous. The most stress you endure is when you’re feeling under the weather. Every other day should be fun. If it’s not you have to re-evaluate why you chose performing as a career.
How do you choose projects? What needs to turn you on before you audition for something?
We aren’t very spoiled for choice in South Africa, so one can’t be picky. This is largely why I have been in in the lead, supporting lead and ensemble parts throughout my career. There is no room for ego in my book. My primary objective for auditioning is how much a show resonates with me. Once you’ve signed on the dotted line, you need to know that come what may, it’s a show you chose and love and that you should be happy to do it through the highs and lows.
What are the hooks in a script that you like to hang a performance or the generation of a character on? Depth, dialogue, nuance, reality versus fantasy – what speaks most profoundly to you?
Definitely the emotional journey that the character goes on. It’s something that I’ve always looked for in a piece. This is something that can be explored in so many different ways. Emotion is so multi-layered and it’s something that we all deal with on a daily basis. If I can connect to that on a visceral level, I know any audience member can experience the same thing.
The lifestyle of a working actor is a difficult one to square with family life, or a day job, or half a dozen other aspects of a traditional routine. How do you make it work?
I am very lucky to have a family that has supported me through out my career. It is so important to value them, because when no one is around they are the ones to comfort you when you are down. Often, with travel, there isn’t much time for family. But harnessing the relationships on any level is very important – largely for your own sanity in an industry that can be very fickle. As performers, we miss out on a lot of special life events. This is why when I do have time I make an effort to cherish family.
Touring a show can be the holy grail for an actor – long contracts, plus the excitement of seeing new places and performing for new audiences. It’s also arguably the biggest challenge to relationships – distance, communication and so on. Where does it fit in your list of priorities?
We live in an age where we are so connected it’s inexcusable to say that you don’t have time to keep in touch. Skype, WhatsApp, Facebook,
As a performer, you’re often asked to deliver on a set of expectations – the playwright’s; the director’s; the rest of the casts’; the audiences’… What sort of input do you prefer to (demand to?) have as an actor?
I try not to think of it as demands, but more about being present and in the moment. Moments change from second to second and as long as you do your best in every moment, the rest is secondary.
What other roles do you, or would you like to, play in the industry – now or in the future? Writing, production, direction? And what about each or any of those excites you?
I do hope that I can one day I can play an iconic, proudly South African role. I don’t know if there is character that has been represented in this way, other than the late President Nelson Mandela. Perhaps I should write a role for myself. It’s time for us to present something that is unique to our shores and share it with the world. We have truly beautiful and inspiring stories that need to be told.
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