Directing Twelve Angry Men

Directing Twelve Angry Men

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE
Directing <i>Twelve Angry Men</i>
Photo: Jessica Teal

Loni Berry, the man behind Bangkok's multicultural, English speaking theatre, Culture Collective, is set to be putting on Twelve Angry Men towards the end of this month, the first of a string of plays the theatre will be staging this season. We're uber keen to see what he's got up his sleeve for this one, considering his Lisbon Traviata won Best Production at the 2015 Bangkok Theatre Festival. And personally, we did love his musically witty Death of Miss America. From Asian stereotypes and homosexuality, to nudity, Berry's performances always tackle prickly topics that make viewers stop and think. We thought it's wise to dig a little deeper into the artistic director who's making such great, mind-altering and risky moves for theatre in Bangkok.

Tell us about yourself Loni. How long have you been in the theatre world?

I grew up in a small town, Leesburg, Florida, and have been involved with theatre and performance since high school -- quite a few years ago. However, I didn't decide to make theatre my profession until the mid-80s. When I was working in New York, doing a variety of jobs in theatre, I decided to return to Brown University to study theatre seriously. I enrolled in the graduate school, where I focused on history, theory and criticism. I also directed the first college production of George C Wolfe's Colored Museum and entered the American College Theatre Festival. There were over 500 plays in the nationwide competition and our production was one of the eight plays selected to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. The following year, I enrolled in the Yale School of Drama as a directing student. Neither Brown nor Yale were walks in the park. I trained with the best teachers, who were very demanding. The schedules were gruelling. It was there that I learned the real discipline of Theatre and how to find joy and satisfaction from hard work.

What drew you into the theatre world?

I entered theatre as a musician. I began playing woodwinds and piano at an early age and excelled on the clarinet and the piano, which gave me various opportunities in theatre, including acting and writing. I continued this throughout my undergraduate years at Brown. After college, I moved to New York where I worked as a piano accompanist. Looking back, it's hard for me to believe how it all happened. Shortly after I arrived in New York, I got my first job playing piano for a theatre piece at the Songwriters Hall of Fame, where I played Fats Waller's piano. From there, things took off. I worked as a music director for many off-Broadway musicals and Broadway performers. I also had my own singing ensemble. Those ten years were probably the most exciting ones so far.

Photo: Suphasit Tanprasertsupa

Tell us about Culture Collective.

Culture Collective Studio is a professional English speaking theatre. We have two small black box spaces. The larger one seats between 60 and 80 people, and the smaller one seats between 30 and 50. We've produced three productions, with the fourth, Twelve Angry Men, opening October 20th. As our name suggests, we are committed to a multicultural perspective, demonstrated by our choice of plays and our casting. We are located on Charoen Krung at the Chatrium Residence Riverside, next to the Chatrium Hotel and Shrewsbury International School. I am very proud of the quality of our productions and the fact that we won two IATC awards as part of the 2015 Bangkok Theatre Festival; for Best Play, (Terrence McNally's The Lisbon Traviata) and for Best Male Performer (Steven Fry).

What method of acting do you teach your students?

My first teaching job was at Williams College in 1992. I never planned a career in education. In those days, I spent more time directing professional theatre. Within a few years, however, my love for teaching took over and I found myself ensconced in the technique I learned from Earle Gister at Yale. Over the years, I have continued to teach the Gister technique, adding adjustments of my own. The technique I teach, as are most popular techniques, is based on the work of the great Stanislavsky. I have included aspects of Anne Bogart's Viewpoints and the Tadashi Suzuki Method. It seems to work, as many of my students have gone on to careers on Broadway and in Hollywood. Tell us about Twelve Angry Men. What should the audience expect when Culture Collective put it on this month?

Twelve Angry Men, like our previous productions, is a risk. We've tackled topics like Asian stereotypes, homosexuality, homicide, and nudity. This production will address the ongoing racial conflicts in the United States. It is a great play with quite a bit to deal with. Twelve men on a sports field is one thing, but twelve men on a stage is another. That's a lot of testosterone. However, the greatest challenges are the acting -- and for me, the directing. This drama requires the twelve men to be onstage -- never leaving the stage -- for two hours as they deliberate the guilt or innocence of a boy accused of killing his father. The actors are meeting the challenge through intense rehearsals and hanging out afterwards, getting to know each other. They have definitely created a strong ensemble. I am enjoying this process tremendously, working with twelve men -- adding the security guard -- thirteen men that couldn't be more different from each other. Not only in their personalities, but also the nine different countries they represent. Kudos to them for showing that the heart wins out. And these men definitely have heart -- and talent.

What's your ultimate aim for theatre in Bangkok?

The goal for Culture Collective Studio has expanded. Originally, it was to provide quality theatre to Bangkok audiences. But now, it includes encouraging and introducing theatre to English speaking communities at large. We want more people to experience the intellectual benefits of live theatre; to experience being so close to the actors to see their every move; to experience being swept away without realising it. We want more people to know about us and to find out how much they will appreciate what we do. As for the theatre scene in Bangkok, I would love our theatre to rival that of Singapore, Hong Kong and Mumbai. I would love to see more sponsors and patrons too.


For more info on Culture Collective or Twelve Angry Men, visit www.facebook.com/cucostudio.

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