Interview: UCF's Kyle Laing on OF THEE I SING

UCF Senior Kyle Laing recently appeared in Theatre UCF's OF THEE I SING. We had a moment to chat with Kyle and his experience at UCF.

Tell us about yourself. What are you majoring in? When do you graduate?

My name is Kyle Laing, I'm a senior Musical Theatre major with a minor in Dance and I'm graduating this spring (December 2017). OF THEE I SING will mark my sixth show on the Theatre UCF stage, and my second time being able to work with director, Mark Brotherton. It's actually really cool/funny: my first show at UCF was KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN with Mark and now I'm ending my time at UCF with Mark again; so it's really exciting that I have been able to start and end my time with such an amazing director who started me off on such a high note at UCF.

How has this program at UCF influenced you?

The training here at UCF has really shaped me into the performer that I am today. The professors here amazing and they really push you to expand yourself as an actor and to never settle for anything less than you best. It really is a department that you can't ever get too complacent or else you won't grow; it's great training for the professional world. If you want to improve and better yourself, you have to go looking for the answers and resources, they aren't going to be served to you on a silver platter, and I think that's something Theatre UCF excels at. I know myself, and I'm someone who constantly looks to improve myself, so I was always going to as many classes as I could and telling professors to push me harder and expect more from me (even more than I expect from myself). It really helped install a great work ethic in me that has served me incredibly well in my ventures out into the professional world.

So tell us a quick plot overview of OF THEE I SING.

OF THEE I SING tells the story John P. Wintergreen, an all-American boy type, who is running for president. My character is essentially his campaign manager and decides to make him run on a platform of love, concluding his campaign with him falling in love with a typical American girl, in order for him to win the election. He sets up a beauty contest to select Miss White House and chooses the most beautiful girl from each state to compete; however, John ends up falling in love with my characters secretary, Mary Turner, instead of the girl who won the contest, Diana Devereaux. Throughout the rest of the show, the audience sees how John's jilting of Diana affects the beginning of his presidency, including a visit from the French Ambassador and a possible impeachment. It's a hilarious show that is extremely relevant to our current political times and should be fun for everyone.

That sounds incredibly relevant to today's political environment. What do you think are some interesting themes that are relevant today?

The show really satirizes politics as a whole. It doesn't really matter what party you affiliate yourself with, the show takes a stab at the system as a whole without singling any grouping in particular. It comments on the corruption that can occur within politics and the absolute nonsense that happens as well. The show is centered on someone who isn't qualified for president nor has any sort of brilliant campaign winning the presidency; a specific line in the show is, "we appeal to your hearts, not your intelligence". Any sort of pressing political matter in the show is glossed over becomes love is the only thing that matters to these characters. It's comical how easily the characters are swayed and everyone's opinion changes left and right depending who demanding the attention. It's really funny actually because we get lots of question asking if we updated the script to make it more relevant, but the content is exactly what is in the script. It's uncanny how some parts of the show are reflected almost verbatim in our political environment now (I.e. Russian involvement and presidents takes long vacations and absences from the White House for no particular reason).

You play a reporter, who sort of sets off the plot. What sort of things did you do to prepare for the role?

Something that Mark was really passionate and vocal about was the style of the show and the pacing that it needs in order to really land. Mark would always say in rehearsal, "faster, funnier, and louder". It's very 1920s old-Hollywood-black-and-white-film; we never want the audience to get ahead of us, so it's very fast paced. My character in the show is extremely quick on his feet; he's a fast talking, cigar smoking newspaper man who always wants to be one step ahead of everyone else. That being said, my character also sets the show in motion and sort of gets the ball rolling, so grasping the style was extremely important for me. To really help grasp that style, I ended up watching a handful of older TCM movies, such as His Girl Friday and Bringing Up Baby, and also trying to find some updated influences that have the same general style that the show warrants. In the end, I find my character to be a mixture of J. Jonah Jameson from the old Spider Man comics, Mae West, Karen Walker from Will & Grace, and our director, Mark Brotherton.

Why do you think audiences will like OF THEE I SING?

It's such a feel good show. You can't help but have a good time. The show is hilarious and the jokes are everywhere; there's a reason that these jokes have stood the test of time and it's because they're so well written and this cast is executing them impeccably. The music is also incredible; it's the Gershwin's, so you know you're going to be humming this music when you leave the theatre. Coming to see this show proves a perfect escape from the environment around us and transports you to this goofy, nostalgic farcical world. Mark has truly assembled a spectacular cast and put together an incredibly enjoyable evening at theatre that provides you an entertaining evening full of laughs that causes you to take a look at the state of our country now.

Thank you so much for your time!

OF THEE I SING ran from October 12 to October 22 at Theatre UCF. The next show is AN OCTOROON. For more information about this Theatre UCF seasons visit http://theatre.cah.ucf.edu/season.php.

Photo Credit: Theater UCF & Kyle Laing Headshot