Kevin Bailey Inside-Out

April 22nd, 2015

Kevin Bailey stars in International City Theatre’s upcoming show Abigail/1702, the West Coast Premiere of an imagined sequel to Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and directed by caryn desai, FiBailey’s versatility will be showcased as he plays many important roles in the production. He was kind enough to take some time from rehearsals to answer some questions for us.

1. You are in your second week of rehearsals right now. How has your experience at ICT been so far?

I love ICT!  The collaborativeness (is that a word? — hah) is everything an actor wants in a rehearsal period.  It’s a joy to know you are co-creating a piece with a great director and talented castmates who genuinely love working together.

2. What do you hope audiences take from Abigail/1702?

The message for me is one of radical forgiveness — it’s always possible and it’s never too late for anyone to do what is right and turn life around for the good.

3. Because the play is an imagined sequel to The Crucible, what were your initial thoughts on it?

I liked the “idea” of the play from the start when Casting Director Michael Donovan described the story to me.  And then when I read it, I sobbed my eyes out at the end. Seriously!

4. You play multiple roles in the show. What are the special challenges you face in creating different characters within the same story?

Any time a play calls for the actor to play multiple parts the trick, of course, is how to make “yourself” seemingly different.  Costume and hair go a long way to helping in this area, but as actors  we often talk about a character’s spine. What is it that is the essence or core of the individual we are playing, and how does that manifest itself in movement, voice, posture and attitude?  It’s working from the inside out as an actor, but with a vision that the “outside” is different for each of the three characters.  I don’t want to give away too much, but one of my characters is stern, gruff and desperate — and those traits have an applicable physical and vocal  way that enhance the character.  Another character is all power, control and charm, and the way he moves and talks and commands the stage is like a giant who never needs to raise his voice unless he chooses to do so.

5. What play or novel might you want to see an imagined sequel to?

Play:  Well — it may seem obvious as it’s Arthur Miller again, but I’d love to know what happened to the Loman family after Death Of A Salesman.  I imagine Linda kicks butt and whips those boys into shape … or else.  And even more — A Streetcar Named Desire.  These are sacred texts in the theater world, so it seems unlikely, but I would have said that about The Crucible too.

Book:  Okay, randomness here, but I always wished there was another book to The Lord of The Rings.  I want to know what happens to all of those characters.  Did Frodo get well living with the Elves?  Sam must have needed another adventure and maybe hit the road with his own kids one day to go see King Aragon and his Elven Princess.  I watch these movies every year from beginning to end with my son.

Musical:  Brigadoon!  Think about it. The next 100 years is coming up soon.  Maybe Tommy and Fiona have a family and we see the child or perhaps even grandchildren of his friend Jeff who have heard the story passed down to them.  How fun would that be?

To see Kevin and the rest of his amazing castmates in Abigail/1702, please visit www.internationalcitytheatre.org for tickets. It runs April 29 – May 24.