10 on Tuesday with Edward Watts

The prophet speaks! As Church of Latter Day Saints founder Joseph Smith in THE BOOK OF MORMON, Edward Watts might keep those gold plates hidden, but for 10 on Tuesday, Watts left nothing on the table. Here's what he had to say:

1) Show you first auditioned for (and did you get the part)? This was *ahem* Many years ago, but if memory serves, the first theater show I auditioned for was called "Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable & Me", and I did indeed get the part. I had auditioned for commercials and was having no luck, and the call for this came in when I was contemplating whether to stay in NY or not. So it reenergized me for committing to this career. However I don't think I got another professional theater job for quite a while after that!

2) Where Are You From? I was born in Iowa, but grew up in Kansas and mostly Ohio. Definitely a mid-western boy!

3) When did you know you wanted a career on the stage? I came to the realization quite late actually. I was doing shows in middle and high school, but it wasn't until I was in college that I really got the notion that it was something I could do for a living. I just had no idea how to go about doing it. The idea of moving to NY and really pursuing it happened on a whim after I did a week-long summer acting workshop and met people who kind of knew what they were doing. After that I realized I had a lot of work and studying to do and NY was going to be the best place to do that. From that moment on I was committed to it no matter how long it took. And it took awhile.

4) What's your dream role/production? My dream role is one that is created for me or one that I get to inhabit first that goes on to be iconic. There are existing roles out there that I would love to play, but others have already done them or have even put a lasting stamp on them. (ie. Harold Hill - which I have played many times but every review inevitably mentions Robert Preston) To be remembered as the original actor of a great role that generations of others want to play would be a dream.

5) Favorite post-performance haunt? My living room with my feet up, a good movie or Netflix on, my girlfriend next to me, and something tasty on my plate!

6) Living or dead, who would you drop everything to see perform? It's a different kind of stage, but I would love to have seen Frank Sinatra perform in his heyday.

7) What's your guilty pleasure/vice? I'm a huge DIY lover, and any chance I get to pull out the tools and build or fix something, I take it. I've been known to put off far more important things if I have a project that requires a trip to the lumber yard or hardware store.

8) What do you value most about acting? The giving aspect of what we do. To connect with people and have an opportunity to allow them to think, laugh, cry, etc. is something that I never take for granted. We get to entertain and take people to another place and/or time for a short while, and it really is a privilege. I certainly love the craft of acting and getting to create and inhabit characters I would never be in real life, but none of that would make any difference if I didn't then give that away so others could have an experience that's hopefully evocative and memorable.

9) What is the one song you never want to hear sing again at an audition? I don't think it will be an issue any more, but when I first started auditioning, I sang "On The Street Where You Live" so many times that even that beautiful song started to annoy me.

10) Fill in the blank: "The thing I'd never change about theatre is ..." That it's a LIVE, Shared experience!

The nature of theater is that you should experience it as it's happening, and in the room where it's happening (Sorry HAMILTON!). Nothing will give you the same feeling as being surrounded by the sights, sounds and smells of what's happening on a stage in front of you.

I love movies, but it's a different genre. It should ideally be seen on a big screen in a dark theater with a bunch of other people around. But the magic of theater is that it's LIVE!

THE BOOK OF MORMON runs through Aug. 14 at the PrivateBank Theatre, 18 W. Monroe. Tickets, $45-$120. 800.775.2000. www.bookofmormonthemusical.com.

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