These are in the order the questions came up in and are taken from what I could get jotted down (since they won't let us record these). For the most part, the answers are not intended to be direct quotes, but are as close as I can recall. The answers are all Mr Johnson's. He seemed a bit more relaxed than the previous two I've seen and there was more joking around.

Anyway, getting down to the info...
--The first question concerned the types of roles they get and the questioner started by pointing out the physical difference between Geordie ("tall and gorgeous") and John Dolan.
Geordie said Richard wasn't a terribly attractive character.
He started out playing a variety of roles. He also commented that being scared is essential if you're going to grow as a performer

--What kind of homework is done to prepare for a role?
Geordie did Richard II in 1979 and a lot of that came back involuntarily. There is some research time. But being allowed to play around during rehearsals is really important.

--Any special feelings about doing Tennessee Williams plays?
The thing, especially with Tennessee Williams characters, male or female, and with Shakespeare, they both laid bare the characters. They show the ugly as well as the beautiful and joy. Chekov does this also. It's exciting, rewarding and fulfilling. It's demanding to make that world live. It's an opportunity to play full characters.

--How does adding an audience change a performance?
Every audience is different; every day is different. Some days you swear every (he makes a face) in the world has come. And they have to go thru several cold seasons during the Festival's run, and the coughing can be distracting. The big thing that drives everyone crazy is candy wrappers! (he made a gesture like unwrapping candy)

--How is the casting done?
Geordie said he knew he was going to be doing Richard II 2 years ago. (He said he cast John Dolan because he needed some amusement). There are certain plays you want to be in that you can't; roles you want to be in and you have to pass them up. (I took this to mean due to the scheduling of the various plays during the season)

--What made you want to act?
He was attracted to the world of theatre, went into a theatre program in college and during that time focused on acting.

--How does playing all these characters affect the personal identity?
If you don't have your own ID, you have nothing to bring to roles. Each enhances the other. Very few actors don't have a sense of their own ID.

--How do they learn accents for the different roles.
They have coaches at Stratford. Some have an ear for accents. Geordie said "Others, like myself, take tons of drilling and all of mine bump into the Rocky Mountains anyway". Concentrating on the accents can get in the way of playing the character and sometimes you just have to let it go.

--The questioner started out with "You knew two years ago you were going to do Richard, and Geordie interrupted with: "So why didn't I learn the lines?"
--Looking ahead, what does he see doing two years from now?
Geordie said that he'd made the decision not to return to Stratford next season, so that would be a few years away. He can come back eventually. There's "absolutely nothing" in the works right now. He wants to concentrate on TV for awhile. It's very important as an actor to do different types of work. There's a big world out there and you can bring that experience back to Stratford.

--There was a comment that the crown didn't seem to fit "Bolingbroke's" head as well as "Richard's"
Geordie said "My head is more swollen than John's." There's a liner they put in the crown to make it fit John.

--Gaunt's "this island" speech was abbreviated. Why?
Time. The theatres have to accommodate union crews and there have to be cuts.

--Does he prefer Chance Wayne, Rev Shannon or Richard?
Rep is great because you can play all types. He loves this theater (Tom Patterson). You can be intimate as well as large as you wish.

--During the season, has he developed a resentment toward John because of the relationship of their characters?
"No, that developed in rehearsal." (with a laugh)

--Someone asked about doing Pride and Prejudice & challenges in this adaptation.
The largest problem is there are so many scene changes. The biggest time in rehearsal was spent organizing props.

--Someone said they'd seen the play and the beginning sort of eased the audience into the performance. Then there's the intermission and folks go outside along the lake and eat ice cream and then come back in and immediately go into this strong scene where Richard is returning from Ireland. How do they cope with intermission?
"I never go outside. And ice cream is banned." He thought the interval should have been after the scene at Flint Castle, but Martha felt there was a more marked change where it is. Once you get into the play and that world, it's not a problem.

--Another question about Pride and Prejudice where they have actors holding "curtains" as frames around themselves to make the family portraits in Mr Darcy's home.
The first preview was the first time they had gotten thru the bit without laughing.

--In Richard II, who's idea was it to portray Richard as bisexual?
It's historical and there's reference to it in the script. (John quoted Act III scene I where Bushy and Greene are being executed) "So it's fairly pointed."

--How are the curtain calls done?
The director choreographes it in a similar style to the piece. He's sometimes felt he shouldn't be in a certain place, that others had more important parts.

And the hour was up...

visitors since 05 September, 1999

View the ... Please sign the

View the archived

© 1999 Please go here to contact me - Lindy

From the Stratford Beacon Herald Festival Edition 1999.

This page is not authorized by Mr. Johnson, The Stratford Festival or any of the shows referenced herein.