Alan Littlehales Q/A

Posted by Nick Martinez in Performing Arts

In the fourth of a series of Q&A sessions with SFUAD students, Jackalope Magazine speaks with Performing Arts Department senior Alan Littlehales, who shares his thoughts on Our Lady of 121^st Street, plans for the future and Oregon.

Jackalope Magazine: What is your role in Victor Talmadge’s new play Our Lady of 121^st Street?

Alan Littlehales: The play takes place in present day on 121^st street in Manhattan. It’s very much like an ensemble piece; you get to meet all these characters who are coming together because a really influential and well known nun has died. She had a huge impact on the neighborhoods around the church. She was a real character and everyone loved her a lot. At the opening of the play you find out her body has been stolen and no one knows who took it. Throughout the play you get to meet the characters who were impacted by her or affected in some way. My character is kind of an outsider to the whole community. He’s from Wisconsin, he’s a 27-year-old aspiring actor and he’s pretty flamboyantly gay. He’s dating a lawyer who grew up in the area. So he really doesn’t know anyone in the area. Once they arrive at the funeral home his boyfriend rejects him and goes back in the closet because he’s about to see all his childhood friends.

JM: What drew you to the role?

AL: What made me really want to play this role was the fact that it’s a gay character, and I’m a gay actor; usually I’m playing a heterosexual. It was something that I was excited to see. I don’t know, I just wanted to see what it was like to play a character with the same sexual orientation as I. It’s interesting because I think the character and I have very little in common. So it’s been interesting to see the similarities of this character and the differences. There are more differences.

JM: Why do you think you’ve played more heterosexual characters?

AL: I don’t know. There are a lot of really good gay characters in theater, but it’s still a minority. Most of the time you’re seeing heterosexual characters. In classic plays there’s never any homosexual characters.

JM: Unless there’s an adaptation choice.

AL: Right. So yeah, there are an OK amount of gay characters. I think more are being created and being written, but yeah.

JM: How has your experience been so far on the play?

AL: It’s been great. This is a really strong cast. An older cast. Mostly seniors and juniors, one sophomore. Because it is an ensemble cast, there will be scenes with six or seven characters on stage; it really seems like a group effort on stage.

JM: Do you know where you’re going after graduation?

AL: I don’t really know yet. A lot of seniors are planning on auditioning for graduate school. We have a lot of alumni at pretty good graduate schools around the country.

JM: Any graduate schools of interest?

AL: Yes, but I don’t want to say them in an interview and jinx it. So I’m auditioning for graduate school along with several others right now. Graduate schools are incredibly selective and tend to like actors that have been working in the real world longer than I have. I think it’s worth a shot but I’m not depending on it. If I don’t get into graduate school, then I’m probably going to move to Seattle or Chicago.

JM: Why Chicago or Seattle?

AL: I really want to live in a large city, but I don’t want to move to New York or L.A. It just seemed like [Seattle and Chicago] have growing theater scenes. I want to do regional theater. I want to do Shakespeare festivals and repertory theaters around the country really appeal to me. I would love to work in New York and I would love to live in New York, but it’s not what I’m focusing on right now.

JM: If you could play one other character in the play, who would it be?

AL: I got the role I was hoping to get, I’m very happy about this role. A role that I think is really interesting is Father Lux, a priest who lives in the area. He’s a veteran, and he’s in a wheelchair the whole show. I think that it would be really interesting role, that’d be a cool role to play. Matt Eldridge is playing him now and he’s doing a fantastic job.

JM: What would be your dream show at SFUAD? What role would you play?

AL: That’s so hard. (sighs) There’s so many shows that I wish we could do. I don’t know if this would be my top choice, but it’s what comes to mind; Equus by Peter Shaffer is one of my favorite plays. I would love to see how they might stage that. If I were lucky enough to get cast, I would play the lead. He’s a teenage boy, also named Alan, so it’s destiny.

JM: If you weren’t an actor what would you be doing?

AL: Ooh, I think about this a lot actually. My back-up careers change monthly. I think I would be interested in being a yoga teacher, actually; I’ve been interested in yoga lately. Also, this is a bizarre one: a forest firefighter.

JM: (laughs) Why?

AL: Yeah I know right? This summer I was on vacation with my family, and we kept seeing these buses of forest firefighters drive by. It would be outside, which I love. You’re also doing something good. So that’s what I’d be interested in: forest firefighter. Or maybe a park ranger.

JM: That’s a little safer.

AL: Yeah.

JM: So tell us why Oregon is the worst state.

AL: Oregon was actually just voted the best state. By Oregonians. All of Oregon agreed that Oregon was the best state. So I can’t answer that question. (laughs)

Our Lady of 121^st Street opens Nov. 15 at Greer Garson Theater

By Stephen Adly Guirgis; directed by Victor Talmadge

Nov. 15-16 and 22-23, 7 p.m.

Nov. 17 and 24, 2 p.m.

$5 admission for students, faculty and staff.