Julian and Dan: on returning to AS I LAY DYING
What was it like to return to the development process of AS I LAY DYING after taking time away after the workshop production? Did it change anything for you?
Julian De Zotti:
I was excited and also felt a bit dubious because we had created something quite special in the workshop and I wanted to make sure we held onto that while building and enriching upon this foundation. The break allowed me the time to do further research on the author, read the source material a few more times and to discover what I had retained from last year.
Dan Watson:
It was wonderful to come back to it. Reading the book again, I found that I was discovering so many details for what felt like the first time. That’s the beauty of Faulkner’s writing, that each time you read or hear the words, you find new meanings and details.
Do you feel that you have anything in common with the characters that you play? (physically, personality, experiences, etc.)
Julian De Zotti:
Many of the things Darl feels over the course of the play I have felt myself – frustration, wonderment, jealously, envy, uncontrollable laughter. We are completely different people from completely different epochs but the feelings he has I can connect with.
Dan Watson: I did break my leg when I was 3, so there’s that. But I admire Cash’s devotion and dependability. I think I strive to have those qualities.
What was the most challenging aspect of developing your character(s)/working on this production for you?
Julian De Zotti:
The specificity of the physicality and the text. Being able to clearly articulate poetic and archaic text while moving the story along. Finding the simplicity and the economy of the mime and physical action in the show in order for it to clearly translate to an audience. The show requires an investment of creative collaboration and imagination on the part of the audience member but we have to guide them through that.
Dan Watson:
Probably the physicality. It’s been a year since we last worked on it, and I’ve had my second child since then, so exercise is low on the priority list. It took a little while to get my body back up to speed, but now that I’m there, it’s a pleasure to be able to move the way we do in the show.
Do you have a favourite line or scene from the play. Why?
Julian De Zotti:
There are too many to count – I do enjoy the climax of act 1 in the river. When we jump into the water after the coffin, usually you will hear a slight gasp or chorus of them from the audience. There is nothing like getting that kind of response from the people you are performing for. The sheer oddity and frenetic energy of Darl’s final scene on the train is a close second.
Dan Watson: There are so many. It’s hard to choose. Of course the big scenes like the river and the fire are fun to play, but I also like the quieter parts too like Cash’s 13 points about why he built the coffin the way he did. I also like the last scene because I get to listen to music and eat a banana.
If we were to look in on the lives of any of these characters in 10-20 years, what do you think they would be like, and what would they be doing?
Julian De Zotti:
Sadly, I don’t think the correctional system in 1930’s American South was a particularly pleasant place to be rehabilitated. I would like to think if Darl survives his time in Jackson, he’s living in a small house somewhere out in the country, his eyes still full of the land…
Dan Watson:
I
think that Cash would be working as a carpenter, married with a couple of kids. We joke that Jewel would be some kind of wrestler in Mexico. Dewey Dell would be a mom, probably still living with Anse, and Vardaman too. And Darl, well poor Darl, I don’t know if he would still be alive.
See Julian & Dan in AS I LAY DYING
, March 8-31, 2013 at Theatre Passe Muraille’s Mainspace
