T.R. Knight on A Life in the Theatre, not having to audition and more!

A Life in the Theater – “A story about two actors battling to share a dressing room and the spotlight” -  just opened on Broadway starring T.R. Knight (and Patrick Stewart) as the younger up-and-coming actor, its his first time on Broadway in 7 years.

Here he talks about the show, Patrick Stewart and the luxury of not having to audition. Check out the video too!

From Broadway.com

How did this production come together?
I had known [director] Neil Pepe for 12 years—and had known of the play for longer than that—and it was just one of those rare things where I got a call and didn’t have to audition. You count yourself grateful when that happens.

So, you didn’t even have to meet with David Mamet or Patrick Stewart?
No. They may be regretting that now [laughs].

What do you like about the play?
David Mamet’s writing is pretty spectacular, obviously. I like the honesty of it; I like how funny it is and how sad it is. He sends up the life of an actor so perfectly—[the play] really spotlights how ridiculous this life can be, which is fantastic because actors oftentimes take themselves too seriously. But it’s not only something actors can relate to; anyone who is thrown into close proximity with a co-worker [can identify]. It’s just excellent writing.

How has your working relationship with Patrick Stewart come together?
Very well. We didn’t know each other, and I think the fact that Patrick is English and I’m American adds another element to the [onstage] relationship. It’s about two people from completely different walks of life at different times in their lives. They’re at the end of their mentor-mentee relationship and John [Knight’s character] is moving on.

Both of you are using your natural speaking voices and accents?
Yes, except for some of the scenes when we’re both putting on other dialects to play characters within the play.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been seven years since you were on Broadway.
My last play here was Boy, off-Broadway [in 2004], right after we did the pilot for the television show. So it’s been a while. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long, but you walk down the streets of New York and see all the changes. The city didn’t stop when I left, which I thought was quite rude [laughs].

People know you from TV, but you’ve done so much theater, not only in New York but at the Guthrie [in Minneapolis], where you got your start.
It makes sense, because the audience is much wider for TV. I understand that. But yeah, I’ve been doing theater since I was five [as Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol], and except for when I did the television show, it’s pretty much been a steady diet of theater.

Any thoughts of going back to TV?
The medium doesn’t really matter to me. If I’m going to be picky—and you don’t really get that luxury as an actor—the medium isn’t as important as the people and the material. I just like being challenged, I like being a little scared, and I like pushing myself. So wherever that takes me, that’s what I would like to do.

We had heard you were coming back to Broadway last season in Lend Me a Tenor. What happened?
That was something that got leaked before things were finalized. You never know what’s going to happen with [a play] until your first day of rehearsal—and sometimes not even then. It’s a wonderful play, and I saw it; my friend Mary Catherine [Garrison] was in it, and I thought it was a wonderful production.

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