Interpreting Thomas Sowell.

How would an actor prepare to play someone like Thomas Sowell?

Unveiling my new headshot

An actor's approach to his work is specific to his temperament, his strengths and weaknesses, and his training background. His approach may vary even further, depending on the medium (stage or screen), genre (comedy or tragedy), and style (modern or classical) of the production to be mounted. But over time and with experience he finds his own “method.”

I've learned that I abhor what I call “working in a vacuum.” That is, I can't build a character without first developing a unifying idea around which to base my interpretation. If I don't have an overarching concept of who the character is—based on my analysis of that character's function in the story—then any and all work (even down to uttering a single line) is useless.

I conceived of Caliban in Shakespeare's The Tempest as an abandoned child. Every other choice and intuition sprang from that foundation. I conceived of Coalhouse in Ragtime as a peacock; Joe in Carmen Jones as a man possessed by rapture; Macduff as everything Macbeth is not, etc. The initial idea can be basic—it's a broad sketch, with details and shading to be added later to achieve depth and dimension.

But what about Thomas Sowell?

As surely you’re aware, Thomas Sowell is not a fictional character. He not only is not a fictional character, his body of work spans more than six decades, including dozens of books, hundreds of video clips, and thousands of columns. One can take certain liberties with a fictional character; how does one “interpret” a real person? And one that's so well-known? Where does one begin?

Mimicry is easy. And shallow. Impersonation belongs on Saturday Night Live, not in serious drama. Anyone can dress up as someone else and imitate their speaking pattern. The actor—the artist—has a greater mission: to embody the essence of an individual in a robust, complicated and compelling way.

A simple impersonation would not hold interest for a 60 – 90 minute (or longer) play. Or, it wouldn't hold my interest. And one thing I’ve learned is that if I'm bored, the audience is most certainly on suicide watch themselves.

So what to do?

Simple: what I've always done.

I will interpret Dr. Sowell as I would any other character: investigate his biography; analyze his actions, and create an overarching concept based on what those actions reveal to me about his character.

Especially useful is paying attention to what others say about Dr. Sowell. Milton Friedman praised his “mathematical mind”—a trait that shines through in Sowell's writing and speaking, and which will come in handy when crafting dialogue for the character. Particularly delicious is his close friend Walter Williams' observation:

“Do you know why you get into these hassles? When you first meet people, you come on like Mr. Nice Guy—and they try to take advantage of you. You're not Mr. Nice Guy. You're hard as nails. Let them know that from the beginning.”

What do I infer from this as an actor and writer? That Dr. Sowell can be incredibly charming and ingratiating to win you over—very useful in winning over an audience, too—but the man is not to be trifled with, or trampled over. Where can these colors in his character be used? How can they drive the story forward? How can they be—as my teacher Zelda Fichandler once said—“heightened and explored” for maximum dramatic effect?

It is this kind of work that separates artist from impressionist.

Another big question is “What does the character want?”

In acting there's what's known as the “Objective.” In classic terms the “Superobjective” forms the spine of the character. It is that character's utmost desire, that which drives them from the beginning of the story through to the end. Each scene and each moment on stage is spent passionately pursuing this superobjective.

Examining Sowell's life, from childhood to adulthood, one overarching objective stands out: to educate. But “to educate” feels cold, and clinical. And, to educate whom? For what? Again, these are the questions to explore.

Perhaps a more artistically alive way to put Sowell's Superobjective (at least, as I interpret it) is to do my damnedest to smack sense into the public so I can save America from certain destruction.

That is a Superobjective. That is the basis from which to build a dramatic character.

That is who an audience wants to root for.

And that's the kind of character I want to play, in this play that I will write.

CD