Jersey Boys Blog

Jersey Boys Blog is delighted to present Special Correspondent, Audrey Rockman’s report on the Actors’ Fund panel discussion, The Life of An Actor with Christian Hoff and others.

The 92nd Street Y hosted the Actors’ Fund panel discussion on “The Life of An Actor” for a sold out crowd of over 225 on Monday, June 4 in Buttenwieser Hall. The stellar panel consisted of Tony Award winner Christian Hoff currently starring in the megahit, Jersey Boys, four-time Tony winner Harvey Fierstein, Broadway veteran actor Michael Berresse, currently in A Chorus Line and Tony winner Tonya Pinkins, with moderation by NPR’s Leonard Lopate.

Lopate started the evening speaking briefly about the background and goals of the Actors’ Fund, an organization that supports those in the entertainment and performing arts professions with a broad spectrum of services.

Beginnings
At 8:15, Lopate opened the discussion, asking Hoff about his young start as an actor, commenting, with a smile, that Hoff’s choice at age eight was pretty much between acting and soccer. Hoff said he knew acting was for him after about five seconds on stage, although the auditions at that age could be scary. The young Hoff found an ironic fear/ fearlessness duality at play and eventually discovered that true freedom was most accessible in front of an audience. Christian went on to explain that, when he focused on creating the audience’s experience, he found he was relaxed and confident in his character.

Tonya Pinkins’ professional career began rather effortlessly, she reported, at age 14. She was unable to put her finger on what caused her success for a while, so she decided to finally study acting in an attempt to understand and really ‘take ownership’ of the success she was experiencing.

Michael Berresse was a competitive gymnast in high school, who always assumed he was headed to an Ivy League college based on family expectations. However, when fate steered him toward the role of Mottel in a high school production of Fiddler on the Roof, he was bitten. Like Hoff, Berresse also discovered that being on stage was not about the performer, but about the audience.

Harvey Fierstein started at age 11, when a friend asked him to provide some friendly competition at an audition. Ironically, but not surprisingly, Fierstein, who only intended to be a sparring partner of sorts, got the part.

Lopate went on to ask the four actors about milestones in their career, such as nailing that first show or getting an Equity card. Although Hoff was a member of all three professional actors unions by age 12, certainly a notable achievement; he said he’s less inclined to think in terms of milestones. For Hoff, it is the project at hand that has his full attention, more than reflecting on the past or setting future goals.

Auditions
Talk then turned to the highs and lows of auditions. Lopate pointed out that Hoff has said he really enjoys cold readings.

Hoff responded, “From the beginning, I just wanted to act. The process of being a working actor is the pursuit of work, so auditions were my greatest outlet as a young actor in Hollywood. A cold reading requires flexibility and instinct to really bring the words to life.”

Fierstein revealed that he has never been called for an audition. In fact, he had to ‘call in a favor’ in order to read for Hairspray. He also reminisced about the challenges of the casting process by telling the story of a call looking for a ‘Faith Dane type’. Faith Dane actually went to that casting call only to be turned away. She protested, saying, “What do you mean? I AM Faith Dane!” The director said, “No… you were.”

Pinkins then shared some of her auditioning horror stories. One time, the actress secured an audition for a friend, who was turned down for the part. The director later explained to Pinkins that her friend was, unfortunately, too perfect and left little room for direction. Pinkins went on to voice her annoyance at being cut off too quickly once, while reading for a part. As she walked out the door, she commented to the director “How do you know where I was going?”

Artistic Interpretations
Transitioning from auditions to creative interpretation, Pinkins pointed out that the first few people in any audition seem to be competing with an unrealistic ‘image’ in the mind of the director. Once that fantasy has been given up, the director is better able to appreciate those who actually came to audition.

Pinkins, additionally, vented her frustrations about the standardization of performances, likening it to McDonald’s, where people want the exact same thing, no matter where a particular show is playing or who is starring. “There is little interest in the individual interpretation of a character,” she lamented.

This general concept of individual interpretation bumped up against Fierstein’s retort that interpretation, whether it be interchanging genders, races or nationalities, should still honor the writer’s vision for the play. The panel was in agreement about the thin line between individual interpretation and hijacking a writer’s work. As Fierstein said later, “I’d like to see Shakespeare’s Hamlet; not John Doe’s.”

Directors
Delving into the styles of individual directors, there were references to Warren Beatty’s practice of doing countless takes to wear an actor down and make him more malleable. At this point, Hoff reflected that his training emphasized discipline and the mutual respect of director and actor. Hoff said that if a director can instill authority and confidence in the company, as well as understanding and respect of his or her vision, the company will be sustainable even when the director has moved on. His greatest mentor, Ole Kittleson, taught him about respect; respect not for the actors alone, but as much for the actual work. Hoff spoke of this unique ‘brotherhood in collaboration.’

Acting
Lopate asked Hoff how a California surfer kid finds the soul (and accent) of Tommy DeVito. Hoff explained that there is an important distinction between the concept of versatility and finding the parts of you that are always there.

“The great acting teacher and coach, Sam Christensen taught me that versatility is essential to an actor, but the key is to find your own essence in the part, no matter what the character or circumstance happens to be.” said Hoff. “If it means being good at putting on lots of masks, that’s not what I do. I have learned to find myself in my characters- not put myself there. Des MacAnuff cast me as Tommy DeVito with this in mind. It is a powerful combination.”

The evening ended at 9:30 with the final topic turning to the differences between theater in London and the US. Berresse pointed out that Americans are external and inclined to celebrate great emotion, so to speak, when doing a musical. Brits, in contrast, are more expressive in the written word of plays.

That prompted the last question to Hoff about rumors of his being unavailable for Jersey Boys’ prospects in London, to which he replied: “It will be an honor to perform in London. Timing of my next Broadway show will determine when that will be.”

So Christian Hoff fans, we wait… two months, three months for plans to be settled, as everything this Tony winner does screams up the charts.

Thank you to Special Correspondent Audrey Rockman for her terrific coverage of The Life of An Actor panel discussion event!