A Moment With 'Almost an Evening' Star Joey Slotnick

Currently running at The Theatres at 45 Bleecker Street, Ethan Coen's 'Almost an Evening' sold out before performances began in its first home at the Atlantic Theater Company. Here, actor Joey Slotnick sits down with BWW's Faetra Petillo and talks about the success of the show, his career in theater, and what it was like working with such a talented cast and crew.

Faetra Petillo:  Congratulations on the unprecedented successful run over at Atlantic and then the transfer to The Theatres at 45 Bleecker Street. Is this the first show you've done in New York in awhile?

Joey Slotnick: Well, the first show I did in New York was The Altruists by Nicky Silver- it premiered at the Vineyard. That was a long time ago- that was eight years ago. And then I did an improvised  three-person show called Slotnick Katz and Lehr.  Then in the fall of 2006 I did The Cartells at Comics- it was a four part soap opera written by Douglas Carter Beane.

FP: Well, welcome back. How did you come into this project?

JS: I auditioned. I was sent the script and I thought it was fantastic. I went in originally for another role and then they had me read the role I'm playing right now in "Waiting"- just a cold read of it but it was great. Neil is always a pleasure to audition for as is Will, the casting director. Whenever they bring me in it's always a good experience and Ethan was great as well.

FP: Has anything changed in the transfer of the show? Have you had to make any adjustments?

JS: We had about a week of rehearsal mainly to bring in Tim and Johanna. I have to say, though, I think they are terrific and I think the show has gotten better. I think it's gotten deeper. I think everyone is feeling  good in their roles and very comfortable. Not comfortable as in we don't have to work but comfortable where it feels good. And the downtown crowd is fantastic. We just love all that laughter coming from different parts of the theater.

FP: Was the uptown crowd different? Did you not get as many laughs?

JS: You know it's a smaller theater and I think sometimes in a comedy people are a little bit shy in a small space to laugh out loud. Sometimes we'd get an audience and there would be mutterings and spatterings of laughter but then sometimes you get a crowd and people are just  guffawing. I think you just have to get that one person to be the first one.

FP: Did you start out as an actor working in film or theater?

JS:  I started in theater. I actually started a long, long time ago when I was about eleven years old in children's theater. That was a great experience and I don't think I'd be as successful as I am if I didn't have that experience.  Believe it or not it was in Las Vegas where I went to high school. It was a great, great experience and if you weren't in a play you were building sets or stage managing or doing the lights or the costumes. We would take classes every Monday and it was terrific. And I continued doing that through high school and then I went and studied at SMU and got my BFA from them. They had a great theatre program. I'm from Chicago so then I went back to Chicago and started working and then met up with the Lookingglass folks.

FP: How did you come into the Lookingglass Theatre?

JS: I was actually working in a restaurant waiting tables and there was a girl who worked there who had friends in the company and she invited me to a party and I met a lot of people  there. I had also seen Mary Zimmerman's production  Secret in the Wings and that just blew my head off. I saw it twice and then I met people in the cast and Mary…this was back in the spring of 1991. Then I did a little part in West that David Catlin directed and David Schwimmer was in the show and that's kind of how it started. I became an ensemble member in 1996.

FP: Do you prefer doing theater over film since it is your home and your roots?

JS: There's something very different about the two. What I love in theater is the rehearsal process – getting to rehearse with a group of people over a long period of time and in film that doesn't happen as often. Also, you have a camera right in front of your face and you have to be as vulnerable and as open to your emotions as you can and I think the camera  doesn't lie and it knows when you're faking it.  I think in theater people know when you're faking it too but in film it's not as subtle. And I'm still working that out. (laughs).

FP:  What were your first impressions of the script when you read it?

JS: My impression was 'Oh my God I want to play Mr. Nelson because he's such a fantastic character.' I thought it was really funny and subtle and a bit dark.  I loved the fact that it was a new play from a writer that I have a great deal of admiration for. I'm in awe of Ethan and Joel's films- I love their sensibility and I thought I would love to work in that genre, that set of circumstances. I felt like it was very much a part of me- that I could really play that guy.

FP: Was Ethan very hands on once you started rehearsals or was Neil more the one you were working with?

JS:  Ethan was, it was great, he was there the majority of the rehearsals and the previews. The only time he wasn't there was when he was editing the film he just finished, Burn After Reading.  He and Neil worked very well off of each other. Ethan would change a word here or switch a line around a little bit. Sometimes when you get a playwright and a director in a room there can be a lot of clashing, but they worked great together.

FP: Your piece 'Waiting' is not very dialogue heavy- did you find that challenging to do as actor?

JS: No, actually I felt really good about that. I do a lot of improvisation and you just have to kind of let it be and live in those circumstances. The last thing I wanted to do was act like I was "waiting".  And a lot of the actions are written in the script and I added some things and worked within those parameters. It was a lot of fun and I think there's something empowering in stillness and trusting that it is interesting doing nothing. If I'm watching a play and two characters come up on stage but we don't quite know how they interact I get excited because I know something is going to happen- but what is it? And the anticipation of that is exciting.

FP:  The piece is described as "Someone waits somewhere for a long period of time." What more can you say about your character in 'Waiting' – without giving too much away?

JS:  I think the best thing about Mr. Nelson is that people can identify with him. He's that every man and I think there's a lot of truth in the character. That's what makes him fun to play and I think fun to watch too.

FP: Were you prepared for the success at the Atlantic and the extension of the run here at The Theatres at 45 Bleecker Street?

JS: I wasn't actually. I think that Ethan Coen's name certainly brings a lot of interest and excitement and respect, but I didn't realize that it was going to be that successful  until the talk started that we would be moving. This space- the way that the Atlantic, Art Meets Commerce, and Carol Shorenstein Hays refigured this theatre- it's just beautiful and I think the play lives very well inside it.

FP: What do you think is the best thing you will take out of this experience as an actor?

JS: Probably the money. The cash. (laughs). No, I think we really lucked out with a great cast and a talented writer and a director and an amazing crew. I couldn't have asked for a better project. It's great to work with an ensemble- I think the reason everyone gets along so well is because there is a community spirit. It's about the story and a feeling of 'let's tell this great story together'. 

'Almost an Evening' will be running at The Theatres at 45 Bleecker Street until June 1st, 2008. It is written by Ethan Coen and directed by Atlantic Theatre Company Artistic Director Neil Pepe. In addition to Joey Slotnick the cast includes the talents of Tim Hopper, F. Murray Abraham, Mark Linn-Baker, Del Pentecost, J.R. Horne, Johanna Day, Mary McCann and Jordan Lage. For more information please visit www.almostanevening.com

Top Photo Credit Peter James Zielinski 

Production Stills By Doug Hamilton

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