Tuesday, April 7, 1998
Actors hold family reunion with ‘Father’
THEATER: Talented group reprises roles from prior production of
Strindberg
By Stephanie Sheh
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Beyond the polished hardwood floor of the lobby and past the
carpeted offices, in a little lounge area of the Geffen Playhouse,
things are starting to liven up. As actors, technicians and other
members of the creative team of "The Father" pass in and out of the
room, actress Angela Bettis sits in a folding chair, with her knees
folded near her chest, taking it all in. The scene is a familiar
one.
Two years ago, Bettis and fellow actors Ivar Brogger and Garret
Dillahunt acted alongside theater veteran Frank Langella in August
Strindberg’s "The Father," a psychological drama in which two
parents battle over the education of their daughter and power over
each other. The four have teamed up again along with several new
cast members to bring the popular Broadway play to the Geffen
Playhouse.
"It’s basically the same except it’s got some new cast members,"
explains the Bettis. "I’m even wearing the same costume that I
wore."
Bettis decided to portray Bertha, Langella’s character’s
daughter, because she liked working with Langella the first time
around. Dillahunt, who plays Noejd, agreed to participate in "The
Father’s" resurrection because of Langella as well.
"I kind of did it because this is my third show with Frank and
he’s my friend," Dillahunt says who previously starred with
Langella in "Booth." "I wanted to do what he asked."
One of the things that the two actors enjoyed about working with
Langella, who Dillahunt describes as a classical actor, is that
they were able to learn from his technique.
"I learn from him and I learn with him. He’s just a great
spontaneous decent actor," says Bettis, drinking a bottle of
Oceanspray Megamelon juice. "That’s how you learn, is from people.
I like working with him. I hear a lot of horror stories about him,
but my experience working with him has been very great."
Dillahunt suggests that the reason some people may find Langella
difficult to work with is that he is a very demanding actor. He
says, "He’s pretty hard at first, but this is my third experience
with him. So he’s lightened up a little bit."
Two years of separation change some things. And the change
allows different levels to develop in the performances.
"It’s strange to come back to a show after two years," says
Dillahunt, who likens the experience to a family reunion. "Some
people aren’t available and some people change. And there have
things you’ve forgotten and things that you want to improve."
Although Dillahunt hasn’t changed his performance much, Bettis
was a bit concerned about the changes she might need to make in her
portrayal.
"I was a little bit concerned at first about it, because she’s
so young. I’m 24. But the part is like 16, 17," Bettis explains.
"The older I get, the harder it is to play that young. I knew that
I had to do some different things."
But the candid actress admits that Bertha isn’t an extremely
demanding role. The actress says that one of the changes she made
to the character was to mature her a little bit.
"It was good because I was able to add a different dynamic, like
a duality to it," Bettis explains. "I put her on the cusp of
womanhood."
She says that she’s attempting to create moments of pure adult
maturity and moments of complete regression.
"So the audience is going ‘My God she’s eight years old.’ And
then I want them to go ‘Wait a minute. She’s just like her mother.
Actually she’s really mature,’" Bettis says. "I’m trying to create
that duality."
Bettis says she revised the character not only because she
became older.
"I’m just kind of doing that to challenge myself, to make it
interesting because otherwise I’m afraid I’d get bored," the
actress laughs.
One of the scenes which was originally challenging was one where
Langella’s character comes after Bertha and tries to kill her.
"I remember when we first did it. Now it’s just like I’ve done
it so many times it’s just like ‘la la la la,’" Bettis laughs
again. " I remember the first time it was so upsetting."
Although reprising their performances were relatively easy for
Bettis and Dillahunt, Bettis says she thinks it is a bit harder for
the newer actors who don’t have the advantage of numerous past
performances and rehearsals.
"I sense a little bit of disappointment among the cast members
at the lack of work and discoverment that they’ve gotten to do,"
Bettis admits. "Frank thinks he’s got it and he feels that he
doesn’t need to work on it with them. I think it’s kind of
frustrating, but it doesn’t seem to change his performance much,
when I watched."
But being original cast members also has its disadvantages and
difficulties. Instead of trying to recreate something, Bettis
attempts to keep from doing just that.
"I think I did ("The Father") long enough that it’s pretty
engrained in my brain," Bettis says. "So if I’m not paying
attention and if I didn’t think about it, it’d be probably
identical to what I did last time. So the effort is in trying not
to do exactly what I did."
THEATER: "The Father" is playing at the Geffen Playhouse through
May 3. Tickets range from $23 to $37.50, with student rush tickets
available. For more information, call (310) 208-5454.
JAMIE SCANLON-JACOBS/Daily Bruin
Angela Bettis stars as Bertha and Frank Langella stars as the
Captain in "The Father," now playing at the Geffen Playhouse.