New Yorker of the Week

JanMon 2010 Filed in: New Yorker of the Week

Jacob Knoll & Jeff Barry

Craft: Artistic Directors & founders of Miscreant Theatre
Lives: LES/East Village
Why we think they’re cool: Both give a brilliant performance in Yussef El Guindi’s Hostages
Where to find them: miscreanttheatrecompany.org
Interview by: José

Jose: Guys, before we get into the interview, Jeff, I learned last night at the play that we have something in common - Elmo restaurant. I was one of the managers there ages ago.
Jacob Knoll: It’s a small world!
Jeff Barry: Yeah, that’s crazy. It’s the only place I’ve worked since grad school. I’ve been really fortunate that the owners, Bob, Bruce and Stephen, have been very understanding to let me go out of town for six months, come back and have the luxury of not having to worry about finding another job when I get back into town.

J: They’re good guys. They’ve gone through a lot to make that place work.
JB:It’s rare. Most restaurants don’t last five years, and they’ve surpassed that.

J: So I have to say, the pace of this show was great and the chemistry was fantastic. Can you tell our readers what Hostages is about?
JK: Thank you. Sure, it’s about two English professors, Ted and Meadows, who have been taken hostage in a conspicuous Middle Eastern area and are coping with each other and their dire circumstances, learning how to get through the horrible experience with as much grace as they can muster. It was directed by Jack Young. What would you add, Jeff?
JB: Well, what really excited me when I first read the play was that it wasn’t just about a lot of politics. When you’re with someone for 24 hours a day, you gotta run out of things to talk about, so what happens after that? This play isn’t some political diatribe about the state of war or hostage-taking practices, which is very current in the world of news right now among pirates taking hostages--Abu Ghraib, etc.

J: There’s a lot of human connection with the characters
JB: And that’s exactly what I like between Meadows and Ted and also with the guard played by Peter Macklin--the human aspect that he has and not being a stereotype. He has a very valid point of view on his experience on the other side of what Ted and Meadows are experiencing.

J:  Peter was brilliant. Initially, he scared the shit out of me. He’s got that stance, that look. But as time goes on you do get the human experience from him, which was a great perspective.
JK:  Yeah, we were actually really lucky to get Peter. We had to replace the guard, because the guy playing him initially had to jump out of the show. We found Peter like a week ago.
JB:  I think he had like five days of rehearsal before we opened. You’re right, he’s really scary in that scene in a very still way, which is awesome for that role.

J:  Jacob, because I knew what you sounded like beforehand, one of things that impressed me was your English accent. I was focused on it--it was spot on.
JK: Thanks. Yeah, we both put work into that. One of our faculty members from Yale was our speech teacher. She came in and gave us some help. And Jack, the director, is really great with dialects. I was supposed to model myself after David Hyde Pierce. I was telling Jeff, the more the play goes on, I feel I‘m starting to sound like Stuey from Family Guy [laughs].

J: Jeff, you don’t have an English accent either, where did you grow up?
JB: Upstate, near Rochester, NY, in a town called Greece. It’s all the way up on the edge of Ontario Lake. Have you heard of it?

J: I have. My partner is from Wolcott, which isn’t too far away.
JK: Oh wow. It's funny how many people you meet from that area. It’s a hard-working, gritty, blue-collar working town.

J:  So on stage, you had a Winnie the Pooh Cookbook? That was hysterical! What was that about?
JK: [laughs] Sense of humor, really. The idea that these guys are stuck in this room together and they got The Count of Monte Cristo to read and then the The Pooh Cookbook.   You got these guys with God knows what they’re being fed and the torture of having Winnie the Pooh recipes for pancakes and alphabet soup. It's such a dark sense of humor.

J:  How do you normally prepare for each show?
JK:  I personally read the play out loud every day to get my mouth working with the dialect to get all those words out and to keep it fresh in my memory. The script itself is so hard to learn, so I have to go over it once every day to remind myself where the beats are, etc.
JB:  For this show I do less than I normally would do. Once I sit down I just take a couple of breaths and drop into that situation. I have a hard quick difference with my character because two minutes ago, I was free, walking around drinking a bottle of water. Now I got my hands tied behind me and am strapped to this thing for the next 25-30 minutes of my life (Jeff’s life) and the foreseeable future for Ted’s life. For me, I just got there a month and half after Meadows has been there. I like having what the difference of that feeling is for me in both actor and character experience.

J:  There are some intimacy things going on in the play. Even I started to get uncomfortable for Ted. Were there thoughts of taking that further?
JK:  We talked about it. If they were there for another three months, how far would that need go for people in terms of physical and emotional intimacies?
JB:  We talked about Meadows really needing the physical contact to ground himself and find some sort of comfort in that situation, but for me, for Ted, it’s like it starts with the foot, then the hug, then a dance, you know? From my point of view it’s like OK, this could get to be a real situation here very quickly.

J:  Tell me about Miscreant Theatre Company.
JK:  We started the company three years ago because we wanted to have control of what we could do as artists - particularly theatre artists. The tough thing when you’re working at it regionally or in NY, you’re jobbed out at these different locations, and when you come back, you’re right back where you started. For Jeff and me it was important that we would have control over our careers in the long run and continue growing and developing as artists. We both believe that if we just wait for the next Tide commercial or the next off-Broadway show, our skill is going to get dull.

J:  Did the idea come to you when you were both at Yale together?
JK: Yes. When we were there we thought, why don’t we do this in NY and see if we can get something going and keep producing, and that’s where we’re at right now. Each show we’ve done is more productive than the last, and hopefully we can keep doing that and stick around for the next 15 or 20 years and beyond. That would be a dream and a goal for both of us.
JB:  And it’s really important for us to create a high class, top-notch theatre experience in storytelling and acting. We want the audience to take away that it can be done, and it doesn’t have to be done on a $250 ticket. That you can go see something that is provocative for $18 and still have money to take us out for a drink afterwards [laughs].
J:  Given with what’s happened economically, some people think that $18 might be pricey.
JK:  Well one of our missions for people who want to see the play and can’t afford the $18 is that people can show up an hour beforehand and we give away 20% of every house for free. We want anyone who wants to come to the theater to be able to do it regardless of what financial situation they’re in.

J: Do you guys still go out for jobs and audition?
JK:  Oh yeah, one of the important things was to keep working with other people. As long as we’re not in the middle of productions here, we’re down for other jobs.
JB:  i agree 100%. It’s good for us to keep working outside. That’s one of the reasons there are two of us. If it’s good for our careers and it's good for us as actors, it's going to be good for the company and vice versa.

J: Guys, you were fantastic and I wish you both the best. I look forward to seeing more in the future.
JK:  Jose, thanks a lot.
JB:  We’ll definitely keep you posted.

How did Jacob and Jeff answer our Outsider questions?

1. List a few things in your fridge.
JK: A carton with one egg, mustard and three 24-ounce Pabst Blue Ribbon cans
JB: Lactaid milk, a box of strawberries, a 12-pack of Miller Lite

2. What’s your New Year’s resolution?
JK: I thought about getting into some Transcendental Meditation (after reading Catching the Big Fish by David Lynch)
JB: Returning phone calls faster. Phone and emails.

3. Favorite NY Icon - person, place or thing?
JK: Katz Deli
JB: NY Yankees

4. What crowd would you avoid the most: Tourists in Times Square, Shoppers on Canal Street or New Yorkers during rush hour?
JK: Tourist in Times Square
JB: No doubt. Tourist in Time Square

5. What freaks you out about NY?
JK: The fact that I’ve been here for five years and I still feel good.
JB: Huge fuckin’ rats.

Tags: Jose, Interview