Debut of the Month: PARANORMAL ACTIVITY's Leads Are Ready to 'Scare the Sh*t' Out of Broadway
Cher Álvarez and Travis A. Knight discuss their journeys with Paranormal Activity, building fear on stage, and making their Broadway debuts.
Cher Álvarez and Travis A. Knight are making their Broadway debuts starring opposite one another as Lou and James in Paranormal Activity! Both performers have taken unique paths with the show, joining the production at different stages and bringing it to audiences in cities across the country before arriving on Broadway.
Now, after months of living with their characters and continuing to shape the play along the way, Álvarez and Knight are ready to bring Paranormal Activity to New York audiences. Read the full interview with BroadwayWorld and see photography by Jennifer Broski!
You’ve both been part of Paranormal Activity since before its Broadway run. Can you take me back to when you first became involved with the show and what that journey has looked like for each of you?
Travis: I joined the creative team last August in Chicago, that’s where I’m based, but I was the associate director on the show in Chicago and Los Angeles. And then some casting changes happened on the West End at the end of December, and the person who was playing James here in Chicago and LA went over to London. I stepped in, took over, DC, San Francisco, and now here we are! I’ve been involved for quite some time with this thing.
Cher: And then I auditioned for it, got the offer in April or May, was really excited about it when I read the script, and had a great meeting with Felix (Barrett, Director) and Levi (Holloway, Playwright) pretty early on. I started in Chicago in September and have been with it since. It’s really cool to be a part of something this long!
That’s a really cool journey. A lot of times it definitely doesn’t happen that way and you just jump right in for Broadway, but you’ve both had time! You’ve now performed this show for so many different audiences, how has your relationship to each of your characters evolved as you’ve continued to perform?
Cher: When Travis stepped in I really felt my Lou got to take such a different turn because his energy offered something completely different to Jimmy, so to be able to respond to that in real time, and to feel a sense of comfort… and I also think it’s really cool that we’re two people of color leaning into our backgrounds and sharing our own experiences through little habits or idioms that we say. Levi Holloway our writer has really given us agency to explore what feels organic within this relationship. It’s completely evolved, and I’m sure in these next couple of months that’ll happen too.
Travis: There’s also the sense when you spend so much time on something, a lot of shows that I’ll do, it might be years down the line, and a line from a play that I did two years ago will pop into my head and I’ll be like, ‘Oh, that’s what that line meant,’ and I’ll remember that and be like, ‘Shoot, I could have done it like this.’ And what this opportunity has given us, for me, this play in particular works very well because it feels very voyeuristic, it feels like you are a fly on the wall in a couple’s home. I’ve heard people talk about, ‘They remind us of friends of ours, or ourselves,’ and it’s allowed us this time to really deepen our relationship together on stage, and explore what that lived-in authenticity feels like. There’s an ease and a comfort that comes with doing shows so often. You know it so well that you’re forgetting what comes next, almost. That’s my favorite thing, you can let muscle memory kick in, and you’ll do the thing, and it’ll feel fresh.
Since this show has had different productions throughout the country, and in the UK, what has the preparation and rehearsal process been like in bringing this to Broadway?
Cher: It’s so much fun!
Travis: It’s a really good time. You never know how a city is going to react, it’s always really fascinating. I will say every single time we tech this show it changes a little bit. Levi has been with us from day one restaging it. Levi and I have worked together quite a bit, he’s one of my favorite longtime artistic collaborators, and he’s constantly trying to deepen the work, so every city we’ve been in we’re changing lines, we’re changing moments, we’re changing things to really shape who we are together, who the company is together, with Shannon Cochran and Eva Kaminsky, we’re constantly working to polish and shape that thing, and it’s a treat to be able to do.
Cher: Felix came in, and we played a lot of games with each other, he does this game called The Seven States of Tension, and it was really great to see these two little geniuses, and Felix approaches it in such a different way, for me, through game, and through the childlike curiosity of keeping this super fresh, especially as each audience is handing you something so different. And Levi is not precious about anything, which I think is really important and crucial in a process like this with a new work, and has allowed for anything to happen. There’s constantly an open dialogue. It’s a great team of collaborators.
This show is kind of unusual, there are not that many horror Broadway shows. It’s such a fun thing to experience, I’m sure for you, and definitely for audiences. What is it like as an actor to build that sense of tension and fear on stage?
Cher: It’s built so intricately, every illusion, every sound cue, every light cue, everything is absolutely on purpose, and we’re conduits of that to take you to the next build. The first scene is the longest scene in the play, we’re establishing this relationship, but we’re also trying to scare the shit out of you!
Travis: That tension that you’re talking about, it’s a thrilling thing to start to establish and build towards. If we can set the tone for that authentic, honest vibe, that you’re watching this couple exist, it’s so exciting as an actor to be up there knowing what’s to come. There are parts in this play that I look forward to doing every single night, and the audience involvement in those moments is unlike anything I’ve ever had in a play before.
Cher: From the get, and once we really land that first illusion, that’s the hook, and you know that you’ve got them. But you can’t anticipate it either because that would not be good!
Travis: It’s quite a dance!
Cher: And people are laughing because fear does that to you. And we’ve got to stay locked in! But it’s fun! We welcome that! We want that to happen!
What should audiences expect from this show, if you wanted to tell them anything?
Travis: They can expect a uniquely fun experience in the theater. This combination of storytelling in the genre of horror, with illusions, led by Chris Fisher, who’s amazing, there’s a communal sense of fear, we’re all in this together. The amount of people who talk to each other, strangers who talk to each other during the show, at intermission, after the show, there’s this cool sense of, ‘Did you see that too? Am I going crazy?’ It’s a fun night out.
Cher: I think consistently as we’ve been to every city, people have always been pleasantly surprised as to how tickled they were, like, ‘I didn’t expect to laugh.’ And you’re going to see yourselves, too, if you’ve been in a relationship that is complicated, you’re going to see yourself reflected back at you, and parts of that are going to be uncomfortable. How do we argue?
Travis: How do we repair? And also, you don’t need to see the movies to come and see this play. It’s a new story, live on stage.
Cher: On Broadway!
Travis: On Broadway!
What are you both looking forward to most with making your Broadway debut with this show?
Travis: Bringing this play to New York audiences, as simple as that sounds. There’s something about the electricity of Broadway, it’s a big ol’ feather in the cap, to have a Broadway debut like this? I’m so fortunate to be a part of that, and to do this play for this city night after night.
Cher: Horror is having such a moment, and a lot of those are Latina-led, so there’s a sense of pride to be part of that community, and to be front-lining that too. It’s a big part of our culture as well, so I’m very excited to be a part of that. So many sacrifices, girl, have gone into this moment, so it’s really cool, it feels earned. People like getting scared for whatever reason; let’s share it!
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