FEATURE INTERVIEW - July, 2018
FastForward interviews Actors Therese Phaelan and Luis Vega
By Zadie Winthrop, Kylie Sebastian and Jackie Chin; Freshmen at San Domencio, Sacred Heart Preparatory and Urban High Schools
The Humans, a play by Stephen Karam about our fears and hopes, interspersed with many laughs was indeed a “family thriller.” The play swept the Tony Awards in 2016 and received “Best Play of the Year” from major newspapers and magazines across the country. We witnessed a family with members of different generations coming together at a Thanksgiving dinner, while sharing their opinions and life experiences at the Los Angeles engagement of The Humans presented by Center Theatre Group at the Ahmanson Theatre this summer. The play was comical, sometimes sad and emotional, as family members shared raw emotions, nonetheless demonstrating their love and unity as a family.
Therese Phaelan (Broadway: The Heidi Chronicles ) is playing Aimee Blake in the national tour of The Humans. Luis Vega who has performed many theatrical performances as well as in films such as Another Earth and Emoticon will play the role of Richard Saad throughout the rest of the national tour.
Interview with Actress Therese Plaehn
FF: What do you think makes this play so special?
Therese: I think this play is so special because it’s accessible for many different people. I had family members ranging in age from 14 - 90 who found a connection to it. I also think that Stephen’s writing is unique because it’s almost like he’s a composer. The musicality of the dialogue makes things sound very real and people would often ask if there’s any improv. But when you look at the script and see the way it’s written with overlapping dialogue and slashes in the text indicating when another character should begin speaking, you get a sense of Stephen’s precision and ear for rhythm.
FF: How did you get into acting?
TP: I did my first play spring semester junior year of high school. I went on to be an English major in college and only did a couple of plays, but always had a voice in the back of my head that this is what I wanted to do. I was just scared for a long time and didn’t really know how to pursue it. I’m grateful that the little voice eventually got louder than the fear.
FF: What are your career ambitions?
TP: To keep telling stories, in acting and writing. To surround myself by people who inspire me, I can learn from, and who are fun to work with.
FF: What is the best part about performing live?
TP: The community that’s created. When the audience and my cast mates are locked in with each other - listening, thinking and hopefully feeling something. It’s neat that a bunch of strangers can have a shared experience like that.
FF: Who is somebody that you look up to and why?
TP: I look up to my step-father, Jim, so much. He came into my life when I was 10. My father died when I was 4 from cancer and my Mom and Jim had been on one date in high school in Maine and hadn’t seen each other in 34 years. He’s just been such a gift. He’s a primary care physician and has taken care of many people throughout his life. He’s taught me so much by example about hard work, generosity, humility, kindness, positivity, and critical thinking.
Interview with actor Luis Vega
FF: What do you think makes this play so special?
Luis: The Humans is a play that is both remarkably specific and wholly universal. It burrows into the nitty gritty of personal insecurities between siblings, the disconnects between people of different generations, and debates about religion. It also looks at the universality of a family gathering, fear of death, and the uncertainty about ones career and/or future. In taking on such a wide scope of human experience with tremendous specificity, the play is able to speak to a wide audience with remarkable clarity.
FF: How did you get into acting?
LV: I started acting in high school, in short plays and musicals. It started off as something fun to do when I realized I was not longer competitive athletically. Continuing acting into college broadened my view of what theater could be. I have since gone on to study at various studios (William Esper Studio, The Linklater Center). Most recently I just completed an MFA in Acting at UCSD. The cornerstone of any good actor, I think, is training and continual self-reflection and introspection.
FF: What are your career ambitions?
LV: I hope to be able to one day have the liberty, freedom, and confidence to do whatever I want with my career; turn down work if I want, work on my own projects, write, or just stay at home and play with my cat.
FF: What is the best part about performing live?
LV: I feel like a great live performance feels like a cross between a great party and a well-crafted tight rope walk. Anything can happen in this thrilling celebration of human interaction.
FF: Who is somebody that you look up to and why?
LV: Sam Rockwell. I've only worked with him briefly but in that time he's come across as a person of great integrity, wit, and unpredictable talent.
Stephen Karam’s Tony Award-winning Best Play, The Humans, was presented by Center Theatre Group at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, and ran June 19 through July 29, 2018.