Nicholas J. Coleman Creates a Special Kind of Silence

It's easy to judge an audience's appreciation of a big, splashy Broadway musical because the crowd roars with approval at the end of every musical number.  It's also easy to judge the way an audience is enjoying a joke-a-minute comedy because of the way they laugh at the punch lines.  However, when an audience is sitting in an intimate theater and watching a two-character play, the only way to gauge their appreciation is by the quality of the silence between the bon mots that are scattered throughout the text. 

Such is the case at New York's Theater For A New City, where Matt Morillo's new play All Aboard The Marriage Hearse is the current attraction.  In this charming play, actors Jessica Durdock and Nicholas J. Coleman not only amuse the audience with their performances, but hold them in rapt attention during the play's serious stretches.  It's a true pleasure to be a part of such a theatrical experience.  Coleman, in particular, holds the audience from his initial appearance with his easy charm, handsome looks and perfect timing.  Last year he showed his lunatic comic skills in Morillo's Angry Young Women in Low-Rise Jeans With High Class Issues.  He has also appeared on television in As The World Turns, One Life To Live and The Guiding Light as well as in several independent films. In the new play, he is the romantic leading man who beguiles his co-star and his audience with his acting skills.  He has bone fide qualities that males in the audience can identify with and the women beside them can harbor lustful thoughts about. 

Dining with Coleman at a sushi restaurant where the waitress immediately recognized him, found the young actor to be out-going and extremely personable.  It also found him to be highly skilled in the use of chopsticks.  His deep-set green eyes sparkle as he talks and he's well aware that they are so deep-set that they present problems for lighting designers.  "It's funny," he comments with a laugh, "I've been a stand-in for other actors in movie projects and it seems like when I get these calls it's for some guy who has deep-set eyes.  They have to use a lot of bounce boards!" 

At the time of the interview New York City was in the throes of low temperatures and a wind-chill factor that had most people on the street dressed like Dr. Zhivago, but Coleman was clad merely in a woolen muffler and a winter jacket sans hat or gloves.  Perhaps it's due to his youth or maybe it's because he's from the South and is warm-blooded by nature. He was born in West Plains, Missouri—a tiny little town in the southeast corner of the state.  "It's Dick Van Dyke's hometown as a matter-of-fact," states Coleman, "and Porter Waggoner's, too!"  Coleman is the second in a family of five children and an Irish American mother and a Native American father.

The family eventually moved to southwest Missouri to a tiny town near Branson.  "Growing up there, nearly everyone I knew in high school was working in Branson.  I lived there until I moved to New York.  I went to college right outside my hometown.  In those days it was known as Southwest Missouri State.  Nowadays it's called Missouri State." 

"In '99 I moved to New York.  I was very young and I wasn't quite sure whether this is what I wanted to do.  I'd gone to college on a writing scholarship.  I loved acting too and when I got to the city I tried to do both.  I was acting in Off-Broadway shows and auditioning for everything that I could but I was also still writing.  I actually got one of my screenplays into the second Project Greenlight contests.  So that took me out of the city again because I wanted to pursue that option.  I went back to Missouri in '03 and was working out of St. Louis doing commercials, I actually did a film and some work for the SciFi Channel  and then came back to the city in '05 .  I've been here ever since."  The SciFi Channel film he did was called Larvae and Coleman knows it's shown regularly on the network because he continually gets residual checks when it airs.  "It's not hard to spot me in the film because the main monster comes out of me," he comments with great amusement.  "I actually had auditioned for another role and they didn't think I was 'geeky' enough for it, so I didn't get that part. However, they called me back because they need a stunt person to do a role and they couldn't find one who could do the role as well as the stunts, so they asked if I'd be comfortable doing it.  Of course I would!" 

Coleman became involved in doing stunts while he was in college.  "One of my instructors liked stage combat and got himself certified to teach.  His name is Lou Bird and he does great costume designs for regional theaters.  At the time my school did not have a class for stage combat, but I ended up taking an 'independent study' in stage combat with him because I thought it was fun. I learned rapier, dagger, small sword, broad sword, hand-to-hand and bullwhip.  While I was studying with Lou, there was a girl whose father was some sort of bullwhip artist who would do shows and rodeos.  She taught me and Lou how to do trick with a bullwhip.  I thought it was fun and it came in handy. 

It was in high school where Coleman became interested in acting.  "I went to Nixa High School, which is known both inside and outside of Missouri as being a big magnet for kids who are talented in the performing arts.  The theater directors there, Kayla Beatty and Bill Townsend are phenomenal.  Bob Townsend, Bill's brother, does all the technical stuff.  They have a real understanding of the art of theater.  And that's something you don't really get to see a lot in high schools.  They always send their students to state competitions, doing one act plays and reader's theater.  Many times they win First Place.  When I was in high school I was more interested in sports.  I thought I was going to play professional baseball.  That's what I really wanted to do at that point.  As I started to get older my acting instructors were telling me that I was really good at it and I should really pursue it as a career. 

"I'm sure you've heard of the International Thespian Society, haven't you?  Well, one summer Missouri decided that they would do a 'Missouri All-State Show' where they had kids audition from across the state and whoever got into the show would rehearse in a central location and the play would be adjudicated by the Thespian Society and they would pick a certain number of the shows to go to the National Theater.  One of the shows I did, Assassins, was picked for that.  We did the show locally in Missouri and we also did it in Lincoln, Nebraska. We got great responses.  I received offers from a couple of colleges because of that.  There were also scholarship offers.  That's when I first thought that maybe I should be considering acting.  Previously I'd done journalism and creative writing and had won a few scholarships there but I also got a Thespian Scholarship towards any school that I wanted to go to.  That's when I started thinking more seriously about it." 

Coleman is quick to credit his teachers for encouraging him to take the path that would lead to his profession.  "One of my teachers at SMSU really put me on the track to becoming a professional actor.  Jack Parkhurst is his name; he's now an instructor in Nevada, I believe.  Anyhow, we did a performance of Spoon River Anthology which he took to a whole new level.  When he cast the show, it really wasn't with the intention of performing it.  It was just the intention of rehearsing it because he wanted to teach his students the value of rehearsing.  He felt that if you want to be an actor you can't enjoy performing, you have to enjoy rehearsal.  To him, that's what the art of acting is:  it's rehearsal. Performance is the end product of it.  We rehearsed Spoon River for about three months.  We'd bring in pieces that we identified with and we'd work on it.  Sometimes he'd tell us that the pieces weren't really right for us, or suggest things that were good for us.  We went back and forth like that.  We took the music and a few of us who played musical instruments (I play the guitar) played the music that was written for the show and out of it we developed our own play that was sort of Spoon River and sort of not.  We had a great audience response and it was one of the best acting experiences I've ever had.  We sold out every single performance of that show. We wound up adding performances and seats.  After we did Spoon River I knew this was what I wanted to do." 

In his present assignment, Coleman plays Sean, a magazine humorist whose live-in girlfriend is pressuring him to marry her.  As Sean considers the institution of marriage to be archaic and unnecessary, he is reluctant to accede to her wishes.   Coleman is onstage virtually throughout the performance and for a while in the second act, he's clad in plaid boxer shorts.  With or without his pants on, he's a pleasure to watch because he inhabits Sean's skin so totally.  It's obvious that Coleman is enjoying himself greatly in this play.

Part of the reason for this is that he's worked with Jessica Durdock previously.  "Back when we were getting Angry Young Women up and running, Theater for a New City invited us to do a portion of it at a festival on the Lower East Side.  So we did the "Unprotected Sex" scene.  Again, I replaced somebody.  I originally had a much smaller role.  I think I took over from this guy maybe two days before the performance, so I learned the dialogue and learned the blocking and then we did the show.  That was the first time I worked opposite Jessica.  We've wanted to work together again and this was a great opportunity for both of us." 

The rehearsal period for All Aboard The Marriage Hearse began informally.  "We read the script and discussed what we liked and disliked; what Matt's intentions were…You see, one of the things Matt Morillo does is to write something that isn't meant to be performed the way it's written.  We found out that my character was often saying things only to get the girl to do X, Y or Z.  For example, when Sean offers to drive to Vegas, it's something he wouldn't do in a million years.  So why does he even bother?  What is he getting out of it?"   

The audience response to The Marriage Hearse has been extremely positive. The actor explains, "We routinely have couples staying after to tell us they'd just gotten married or they've just gotten engaged or their friends are about to be married and this is what they're dealing with.  It's surprising how many people have stayed after to tell us that.  One night we had a couple that was kissing in the audience when the lights came back up.  They were holding hands and crying..  It's funny because when I see something like that I realize the audience is enjoying the show.  You wouldn't necessarily know that otherwise.  Matt Morillo doesn't write for critics.  He writes for audiences that don't necessarily go to see theater because he's that kind of person.  He doesn't like a lot of theater because he finds it to be written above the general person's experience.  He doesn't understand why.  It's not necessary.  Some of it definitely belongs there but why isn't anyone writing shows for people who watch television?" 

Perhaps because this comedy is attracting crowds that aren't regular theater-goers, there have been some unusual situations in the crowd.  The play features the on-stage use of cell phones and they are an integral part of the plot.  "At Friday night's show, we had five or six cell phone rings in the audience.  At one point it was a little confusing whether the cell phone on stage was ringing or whether it was from the audience.  They were very similar ringtones and it happened where one of our cues was supposed to happen.  That was interesting.  So when you hear the announcement to turn off your cell phones in the theater, bear in mind there may be a cue on stage where a cell phone rings and you can really screw some stuff up!" 

Coleman obviously shares the playwright's attitude about attracting new audiences into live theater because he continues, "People are continually talking about how theater is slowly dying or how difficult audiences are to come by.  Well, I think that a lot of material probably doesn't appeal to the broader audience out there.  Matt's work always does.  It really appeals.  We have more walk-up crowds here than anything else.  What is that about?  Word-of-moth is excellent.  When we advertise this show, there's always some sort of discount code on it, but the audiences we've been getting haven't been coming through those advertisements. It's all word-of-mouth and walk-up."  So popular is All Aboard the Marriage Hearse that the production's run has been extended through February 9. 

When asked what his approach to playing comedy is, Coleman pauses for a very brief moment and responds, "Treat it with absolute, 100% sincerity.  This is the most important day in this character's life for a reason but it's life or death for him..  That's the way I play it.  Granted, the audience is laughing and you've got to give them time to laugh and respond but I try to fight the impulse to play it up too much.  What's funny is what's honest.  There are lines in the show that get laughs, but when you stop and think about it, the lines aren't really funny.  They're funny because of the circumstance and it's only funny because we're treating it as though the situation is deathly important.  That's what makes it funny.  I approach a comedy just the way I'd approach a drama." 

Perhaps this approach is what keeps the audience so still while Coleman is performing.  Playwright and director Matt Morillo seems to agree, saying, "Nick's concentration is what allows him to keep the audience quiet in the more tender moments.  He is so immersed in his character that the audience feels they are eavesdropping and not watching a play.  As a result, they pay extra special attention in the hope that they don't 'give themselves away'.  This is all due to Nick's superior talent and preparation". 

Nicholas J. Coleman is certainly in his way to becoming a regular fixture in New York's theater community.  Perhaps he'll be appearing in Matt Morillo's next project or he'll be starring in a revival of a Neil Simon classic or an Arthur Miller drama. Regardless of what play he's appearing in, he'll surely have the audiences attentively listening to every word he speaks on stage. 

All Aboard The Marriage Hearse is playing at Theater for a New City (155 First Avenue at E. 10th Street) through February 9.  The show's website is www.KADM.com.  Tickets are available through SmartTix at 212-868-4444 or www.smarttix.com. Nicholas J. Coleman's Website is www.ncoleman.com 

Nicholas J. Coleman (headshot courtesy Coleman); Nicholas J. Coleman and Jessica Durdock in All Aboard the Marriage Hearse (photos by Jonathan Slaff)