“At the bottom of my biography in the program, I say how I’ve been “itching to work with Redmoon for 3 years now, and am chuffed to bits I finally am”. This is true. I’m an English actor and have been living here for just over 3 years. It didn’t take me long to hear about Redmoon – their belief in what theatre can and should be is very much in line with my own. We can compete with television and movies in ways only live performance can – with a magic that has been around as long as theatre itself. Just hear the audience giggle when one of our puppets shakes imaginary water from her inch-long wooden foot, or gasp when an inanimate object of wood-glue, sawdust and foam flops about on a laboratory desk like a.., well, like a fish out of water, and the effects more than hold their own with a $200M Godzilla tearing down the skyscrapers of New York on the big screen. Magic.
Two weeks to go, and this has been a good experience. The show is an hour long with no intermission – hallelujah – My favourite kind…! Director Jessica Wilson gave me free reign to create my own character, which must have been difficult considering she had already developed the production in Australia with a female actor playing the role I now inhabit (in a very different style). I was a little skeptical of the Redmoon tradition of inviting the audience on stage after the performance to get a closer look at the puppets, props and set, but am now a convert. Audience members are so gracious and so appreciative, how could you not be open to this…?
It’s been a tough move for me, from London to Chicago. In the UK, I had worked to a point where I was finally making a living as an actor – I could look at my tax return at the end of the year and say “Yes. I earned more money this year from acting than I did from my other, rent-paying work. I am a professional actor!” I would hazard a guess that less than 5% of Chicago actors can make that claim. Attending a seminar on “An Introduction To Chicago Theatre” when I first arrived, host Steve Scott made it clear, “You will never make your fortune acting in Chicago.” I remember thinking, “That’s OK, I understand. I’m not here to make a fortune, just a living.” But it is almost impossible for this to happen in Chicago. I could write another 10,000 words on my opinion of this, but I’ve a sneaking suspicion you might get bored…
OK, that’s all for now. Just over an hour ‘til I leave for tonight’s performance. I’ve developed a loathing for spirit-gum (used to glue on my bald cap), which I spend the week picking out from behind my ear, but a love for my fellow actor, the unflappable Brandon Bohler, who is now an expert at applying it.
—Dominic Green
