The Man Stars in A WOMAN ON STAGE at SIC Sense Theatre

"The Man on TV, deep down, is desperate to be liked and to have influence," Brady Anderson said. "His deepest fear is becoming totally irrelevant, and therefore powerless."

Anderson is the lone male cast member in Ilana Lydia's newest play, A Woman on Stage. He plays the role of the "Man on TV."

"He's the accumulative carefully sculpted product-face of many generations of largely male-centric rooms of various studio executives, writers/creative teams, et cetera," Anderson said. "As a product of television he's well-versed in all the tricks of the camera designed specifically to induce the illusion of reality from an artificial set/sound-stage/whatever, and brings this mentality when he materializes on a traditional theatre stage. He's the sweet-talking facade of an industry all too willing to coddle and reinforce, whatever it takes to be engaged and get those sweet ratings, controversies along the way be damned. Current events show this to be particularly timely. The history of television, a largely commercial endeavor (like a lot of "show business", which is after all, business), comes down to hooking in viewers to whatever programs in order to advertise whomever's sponsoring the station via commercial air-time. He is fully engaged in maximizing the potential returns by playing to the masses' worst instincts, regardless of political affiliation," he said.

Playwright/director Lydia said, "Brady consistently surprises me with his versatility and range. Just when I think I've seen the edges of his comfort level, he pulls out something new. This role has allowed him to stretch his wings. He plays so many characters, and aspects of the same character, that it's really like many little shows in one for him."

When asked for his take on the meta-theatricality of the play, Anderson replied with gusto.

"The Man on TV is well aware of this facet of his existence, being a character who knows he's a character and in a play. In the play, he's able to "cross over" readily into different mediums and even through the fourth wall, thanks to the power granted to him by his still considerable viewers, even with the entertainment industry being changed by streaming services and other advances. As much as the silver screen has had ground-breaking artistic efforts in inspiring original programming, can they stack up to the virtually limitless syndicated reruns and sitcoms/crime procedurals so steeped in archetypes and tropes to comfortably vegetate the viewer with laugh tracks and predictable jokes looking to unwind without any sort of challenge to their status quo? He fancies himself a Virgil out of the Divine Comedy, the guide/mentor archetype (though with some ulterior motives like a Mephistopheles), to show Rachel how as a woman on stage, her influence can only go so far as the live audience within the theatre, an art form (to his mind) waning to the intoxicating allure of TV. To this end he brings her to acknowledge she's a character, instigates her to go out into the audience and contemplate the limits of the live stage as an art form."

"While certainly coming from patriarchal roots reflecting the society he arose from, he's many different characters, since he does "all the shows, all the channels". He's able to morph from a slick-talking smarmy ad salesman who could easily host a game show or be a news anchor head, while able to tap into the showmanship of a circus ringleader, or the every-man zeitgeist of an East Coast food truck owner, all to be able to find your weakness, your poison and worm his way inside your head. As an actor, it's a delightful challenge to be able to portray all these different personas and make them distinct characters, whether it's through the choices of using an accent/dialect or physicality. I don't exactly relish the shades of toxic masculinity of this role, so I'm all too glad to leave those impulses on the stage and therefore out of my personal life. I think it's healthy to acknowledge and understand what can make some of these behaviors happen. It's fascinating for me to explore these more villain-ly psyches while creating a character to get a better sense of the human condition, and get a handle on controlling these actions in a safe space and setting (the rehearsal and performance process) so that they never arise in real life, regardless of any stressful exacerbating circumstances. As someone who's played antagonistic roles before, I know the value in bringing these themes and messages to audiences, and I'm more than happy to show the effects of these corrupting influences."

"It's interesting to be a male member of a very feminist-leaning work, in particular the only male in this cast. I'd like to think that I'm fairly progressive and equal-opportunistic in my day-to-day dealings, including with women, but I'm sure that I'm prone to some ignorant discrimination due to the privileges of being a member of a power-holding demographic of Caucasian males. It's a wake-up call for me to see what people in more marginalized circumstances go through. As much as I can I try to go out of my way to understand other viewpoints and perspectives to try and be more empathetic, learning how to conduct myself better and navigate sensitive issues appropriately with more compassion. Again, I don't mind playing an opposing force representing considerable obstacles bringing to light how deeply-ingrained it is in some parts of our culture to reinforce some priorities and neglect others. In this case how women-centric fare struggles to be heard in a day and age when lots of media fails the "Bechdel" litmus test."

"Overall, the play is an engaging opportunity for me to explore some of these themes and enjoy a fun role that lets me flex some chops I don't usually get to utilize, as someone who now has two stage father roles under his belt with many more likely to come. Not to mention it gives me another change to work with one of my favorite directors, Ilana Lydia, and especially with her as the writer. It's an interesting opportunity to be able to bring to life the artist's vision with the writer also being the director, as they have a unique opportunity to guide their creation to fruition. This will be my third time working with Ilana's direction: the first was being part of the darkly comic feminist fable The Waiting Room, and next The Graduate. The former was one of my proudest theatrical endeavors, where even though I played a complete piece of work, the show was so challenging and relevant that it remains to this day one of the most powerful messages I've ever had the chance to be a part of. I'm glad to work with Ilana again, who's always so willing to accommodate the contributions of her collaborators, and strives to provide a fostering environment where the creative juices flow."

To see Anderson and his three cast mates in A Woman on Stage, patrons can until March 9 take advantage of a $5 discount by using the promotional code WOSADVANCE.

A Woman on Stage runs March 16th - 24th at the SIC Sense Theatre in Phoenix. For more information, B3 Productions' info can be found on the SIC Sense website.

All shows are Friday and Saturday nights at 8, with a special "pay what you can" matinee on March 18th at 2pm.

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