Acting without borders

Joseph Carlson has been involved with Theatre VCU for the better part of the decade. Now entering his second semester as a graduate student majoring in acting and directing pedagogy, Carlson, 24, appears to be acting his way to the top of Richmond’s theater community.

The Commonwealth Times: Joe, you’re a busy guy. Tell me about your big plans this semester.

Joseph Carlson: Next weekend, Jan 22-25, I am performing in two plays as part of the New American Playwright’s Festival at the Firehouse Theatre. Then, I’m headed to D.C. to work with the Synetic Theater. I’ll be performing at the Rosslyn Spectrum, outside of Georgetown. I was cast in Lysistrata, which is being done in association with Georgetown University. It’s a performance study-half students from Georgetown University and half professional actors. I’ll be working with them and receiving professional research and internship credit as part of this adventure for my work towards my masters in acting and directing pedagogy, utilizing the methods of ritual poetic drama.

CT: Why did you decide to stay at VCU for your graduate degree?

JC: I stayed at VCU to study under Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates who has her Ph.D. in methodology of actor training. She’s the bestest. Her first year teaching was my first year as a student in the drama department.

CT: Was the Shafer Alliance Laboratory Theatre around then?

JC: S.A.L.T. came about my sophomore year when my dear friend, Tony Santiago, and I both shared our dreams and wishes of operating our own theater someday. He really took the initiative. Together with some grad students and undergraduate students at the time, we began the initial track of S.A.L.T. Over several years, it has been refined into this board of individuals who help facilitate student theater by selecting and promoting a season, aiding in the production of whatever shows are being worked on, and maintaining the space of the (Richard) Newdick Theater. Students felt that the only real thing to do was act on the main stage at VCU, which is totally valid and helps develop your training as an actor. It’s a bigger production and they stress operating under professional standards.

CT: How have you seen S.A.L.T. change since its inception?

JC: It’s blossoming nicely. We have to turn down plays because we get so many proposals. Last fall, we had 15 productions and the “No Shame Variety Show” every other Friday night, which was always sold out. We’d also like to get some cameras in there to get it up on the Web. The works show a real high level of craftsmanship. It’s hilarious and we get a great turnout.

CT: Where do you want your acting to take you? New York? Los Angeles? Europe maybe?

JC: My dream is to be able to travel doing theater and all its many incarnations. I’ve been fortunate to go to Belgrade and work in Eastern Europe with Dah Theatre. I got a whole new perspective on the role of the artist during times of crisis or war and what kinds of responsibilities they have to the community, their own country and the global community. The work I’ve been doing with The Conciliation Project ties in with that. We work to promote honest and open dialogue about the history of racism in order to repair its damaging legacy through active and challenging dramatic works. That ended up spawning six plays. “Uncle Tom: Deconstructed” – the flagship piece of the company was the first one and the series ended with the “Prison Industrial Complex,” which was completed last year. “Uncle Tom: Deconstructed” was performed in the First Annual New Orleans Fringe Theater Festival and Alternate ROOTS Annual Meeting in North Carolina. We’ve been invited back for an encore performance in April and for the festival in November.

CT: How do you like living in Richmond and how has it prepared you to establish yourself as an actor here and abroad?

JC: Richmond is a really thriving, burgeoning community for artists of all mediums and disciplines. Theater is not as widely respected here as other art forms and I’d like to see that change. I’d like to see theatrical artists have more of an important role in the community at-large through the works being done. I’m going to Africa for six months beginning in January 2010 to assist Dr. T at Durban University in South Africa as part of my thesis and to teach the process of ritual poetic drama. I need to go because it’s the root of all civilization and the origin of theater. Being someone who comes from several different forms of immigrants, my own history and legacy is non-existent-I don’t know where my roots are. I would love to be a traveling vagabond, going on tour, taking crazy theatrical pieces that challenge the audience as well as the ensemble, starting dialogue about whatever themes you’re dealing with . exploring the beautiful and grotesque aspects of all humanity. I love the big questions.

CT: How many companies are you involved with right now?

JC: In Richmond, I’ve worked with the Firehouse Theatre and Richmond Shakespeare. I received a nomination for best actor in a supporting role. I did the fight choreography and played about seven different roles in “Henry IV” in Richmond Shakespeare. I played Laertes in “Hamlet.” I’ve worked down at Sycamore Rouge in Petersburg with the Conciliation Project. I’ve worked with Theatre of the Streets. We created a play called “Spades: A Book with No Cover,” about dealing with the homeless population and the problems inherent therein. It came from hearing stories about people who were homeless and how organizations in Richmond like the Daily Planet are helping them get back on their feet. It was fascinating to see the progress of people who had never been on stage. It was performed at the Kennedy Center and opened up a lot of dialogue about homelessness and showing the human side of it. I think when we see one another, we just see each other at face value and forget that there’s a whole history that has brought that person here. It’s fascinating to learn that history and what has gotten them to that point. You see that it could happen to anyone.

CT: Do you have any idea what your thesis will be?

JC: (laughs) It still has to be locked down at some point, but it has something to do with the ritual poetic drama within the African continuum-community and ensemble building. I’m very interested in the actor’s role as a citizen of the community. Back in Ancient Greece, it was a civic duty to go to the theater. Every Greek city had a gymnasium, an amphitheater and a center of commerce for thousands of people. Aristotle’s poetics talked about how theater and tragedy taught citizens about their role in society. If you engage in that process, in building an ensemble in the community, you learn how to be a member of it. Actors learn to empathize without judgment. I can step into someone else’s shoes and can walk a little and see what it’s like in that perspective, thus changing your own perspective and the way you look at people and yourself. If we can all learn to be a little more empathetic, we might have a little more beauty in the community.

Each week, the Spectrum Section selects a talented student from the School of the Arts (music, dance, theater and visual) and showcases his or her achievements both in and around the VCU community. Do you want your name and work in the CT? E-mail spectrum@commonwealthtimes.com for consideration.