Theo Allyn talks about transition from the barber to the Bard

The Pitt News caught up with the Pitt theater department’s teaching artist-in-residence Theo Allyn for a few questions … “As You Like It”

Through Feb. 19

O’Reilly Theater, showtimes vary

Tickets: $15.75 for students and $25.75 for faculty through Pitt Arts

www.pittarts.pitt.edu or www.ppt.org

The Pitt News caught up with the Pitt theater department’s teaching artist-in-residence Theo Allyn for a few questions about her role as Phoebe in Pittsburgh Public Theater’s production of “As You Like It,” which opens Jan. 19 and plays until  Feb. 19 at the O’Reilly Theater.

The Pitt News: Tell me a little about being a teaching artist-in-residence in the Pitt theater department.

Theo Allyn: Very good question. It is a position that’s in flux — we’re feeling out how best to use that particular position. Part of what I do is work with the Shakespeare-in-the-Schools’ “Lovers and Fighters” production that tours to elementary and middle schools. I don’t spend a lot of time teaching classes. That’s something I’m looking forward to next year. Having artists-in-residence gives theater majors a chance to work closely with professionals on the main-stage productions before they head out into the world.

TPN: Pittsburgh audiences last saw you on stage as Mrs. Lovett in Pitt Repertory Theatre’s production of “Sweeney Todd.” Shakespeare is a big switch. How was preparing for this role different? Is acting Shakespeare different from interpreting other playwrights?

TA: For Mrs. Lovett I obviously had to do a lot of work musically. I’m not a singer at all so there was a great deal of preparation and working with the vocal director. Ultimately though, the preparation is the same: I read the script as many times as I can and think about what the characters are fighting for, what is getting in the way of what they’re fighting for. The difficulty of performing Sondheim [the composer of “Sweeney Todd”] is not completely dissimilar from Shakespeare in terms of really high stakes and big language.

TPN: What challenges does the language present from an actor’s perspective?

TA: I don’t find the language to be archaic; I think it’s heightened. It isn’t the way we speak today contemporarily, but it totally supports what’s going on in the characters’ lives. Once you look up the words you’re not sure about and figure out: “Is this verse? Is it prose? Is it in rhythm? Can I break the rhythm?” I find the language that much more delightful.

TPN: Tell me about your character, Phoebe.

TA: She is a shepherdess in the forest of Arden. She’s rather scornful and disdainful of Silvius [the shepherd who courts her] and instead falls in love with Ganymede who is, in fact, Rosalind [the play’s cross-dressing female lead] in disguise. In the end everybody ends up in love with who they’re supposed to be with.

TPN: What is this interpretation of the play like? Should we expect a traditional telling or something more modern?

TA: Set-wise, the court is black and severe and the forest is white and a place of freedom, so there’s a pretty distinct shift from the court to the Forest of Arden. The set and the costumes help us tell the story. In terms of there being a concept, it’s very lovely and really simple. It’s about the people and the words and the story, not a lot of stuff and gimmicks. Just people saying words that they have to say.

TPN: Is Shakespeare still relevant for modern audiences?

TA: I think so, when the actors know what they’re saying and can be really clear about who these characters are and what they want in their lives. Everyone has been in love with someone they can’t have or had a difficult encounter with a family member or had a best friend, and that’s all in these plays. The language sometimes strikes us as so foreign that we can’t wrap our heads around it, but when actors can commit to the task and invite the audience in, it’s definitely still relevant.