I came to the show because I have a personal and professional love for, and interest in, performance—I am a recovering high school drama club geek, and a sociologist who studies theatrical and everyday performances.
I came to this show because, after doing mostly movement-based performances the last eight years, and no performances in almost two, I needed to get out of my head and into my body.
I needed to reconnect with a part of myself. And I wanted to immerse myself into a community of people I love and appreciate.
I came to this show to learn from what has turned out to be a truly wonderful cast, and a director who is funny, thoughtful, professional, supportive, and a master at his craft.
-- David Orzechowicz (Pa)
In Wyoming I did every strange thing the place had to offer: I went to rodeos, demolition derbies, pig wrestling, Rodeo Queen pageants, monster truck races, a dinosaur-themed town called Thermopolis, my first football game. I lived through minus 50 degree weather, after only having seen snow about twice in my entire life.
I mourned all I had left behind, which took about two years. I started teaching acting there, which changed my life immeasurably. I taught theater to college students who grew up on ranches, or had already been to war in Afghanistan, or had not yet had a chance to be exposed to the arts. I went to Walmart on Friday nights for fun. In 2011 I returned to LA with a totally different relationship to being alive. That move, that time in Wyoming: it was the most treacherous, most beautiful thing I ever did.
To be honest, at first I didn’t want to talk about my past because I’ve seen and lived through things that really shouldn’t be brought up. However, after rehearsing since January, I’ve realized that the Joad family has suffered many things, a few of them similar to life events that I’ve lived through. Specifically, the care and death of Granma.
I worked for two years both as an EMT and a caregiver for my grandmother who proceeded to become very ill. I was present at the time of her death.
Like the Joad family, I learned to push on, that death was a part of life; no matter how unfair it is—that the only way to honor their memory is to live.
-- Lindsay Beamish (Granma)
I worked for two years both as an EMT and a caregiver for my grandmother who proceeded to become very ill. I was present at the time of her death.
Like the Joad family, I learned to push on, that death was a part of life; no matter how unfair it is—that the only way to honor their memory is to live.
I play Noah Joad, Tom’s eldest brother. When I first was cast in this role I was hesitant because I hadn’t read the novel since middle school and I’ve never had a chance to read the play. Miles encouraged all of us and stated that it was a learning process, in which it was ok to fail. He told us, that if we didn’t pull in an audience or lost the audience’s attention, that it was not a single actor’s fault; that it was his alone.
Miles telling us all this gave me the confidence to perform this role with all of my heart. If he has the courage to take on that big of a responsibility then I should have the courage to act my heart out for an audience and not worry about the impact it has, just about the story itself. People are going to want to come and see this show because of the heartfelt story that is told so fluidly and gracefully by a beautiful group of people. We have all come together over these past few months and created something that is truly beautiful.
-- Cody Holguin (Noah)
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