LUCAS CALEB ROONEY On Broadway, Lucas was strewn among the dead in Jack O'Brien's Henry IV at Lincoln Center. His other New York Credits include Diggory in She Stoops to Conquer directed by Charlotte Moore at the Irish Rep; Aaron in Mimesophobia at the Beckett Theatre and understudying Father Flynn in Doubt at Manhattan Theatre Club. Regionally, Lucas played Mitch in Streetcar Named Desire at the Cleveland Playhouse, Charlie in Dirty Blonde at the Pittsburgh Public Theatre and Trinculo in The Tempest at the Franklin Stage Company. At the Old Globe Theatre he's played Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night directed by Jack O'Brien; Bottom in Mid-Summer Night's Dream directed by Kyle Donnelly; Frank Lubeyin in All My Sons directed by Rick Seer; and Thomas Killigrew in Complete Female Stage Beauty, directed by Mark Lamos. He recently finished shooting the feature film On Broadway, staring opposite Joey McIntyre, Will Arnett, Eliza Dushku, and Amy Poehler. His TV credits include the obligatory Law & Order episodes, a recurring role as one of Pine Valley's finest on All My Children, and Trooper Dan in the feature One Last Thing. Lucas received his MFA from USD/Old Globe. He teaches Clown at The Actors Center, NYU, and is apprentice to Christopher Bayes at Yale University.

Tell me about your solo show, “CREATION: A Clown Show”. What was the inspiration for the show? What’s it about?
Well, it’s about creating and the big messy, silly, scary, joyful, terrifying process of creation. Basically I was given a bible by my friend Javen Tanner as a gift. I left it in the bathroom and would read it during my daily constitutionals. I realized that Genesis was really funny. That the rhythms lent themselves to the world of the clown. The idea that our inspiration is divine but what we make of it is really human, i.e. messy, unsure, deeply flawed, and capable of great joy, despair and terror all at the same time.

You say “clown”, and most people think of a sad character twisting balloons and being pummeled at children’s birthday parties. How does what you do differ from birthday clowns or circus clowns?
This clowning is more in the leCoq tradition. It is character based, meaning it's about you and your sense of fun, rather than balloon animals or squirting flowers. It's about stripping away the layers of socialized crap that we've built up over the years and getting in touch with that primary self, the one that pursued fun at all cost and was capable of the kind of fear and joy and wonder that we experience only a fraction of now.

What does being a clown mean to you? What is the role of the clown?
The Clown is the oldest form of acting in my opinion. It’s the basis of all performing. I imagine it started when one caveman wanted to tell another about some silliness that happened on the hunt or something (not that I know anything about cavemen). But it transcends gender, race, culture, language. There are clowns in every period from Shakespeare's clowns, to Moliere, to comedia dell'arte, to vaudeville, to sit coms, to cartoons. It’s all comes from that place of pursuing your fun with reckless abandon. The clowns keep us sane, and make us cop to what is really going on behind the curtain of self-assuredness and control. We’re freaking out and the clowns give us permission to admit it and that makes it a less lonely, scary planet.

You worked closely with director and “clown master” Orlando Pabotoy to develop the show. Can you describe the process of translating the book of Genesis into a clown show?
Orlando Pabotoy is a comic genius and is one of the best directors I've ever worked with. He has that rare blend of clarity of vision and flexibility and compassion. I have an undying trust in his eye and let him create the stage picture.

He is an actor, a great one, so he understands the process and can communicate with, supports and trusts actors. I can't tell you how rare this is. Basically, we would just get together and play. We would find a game or scenario that gave us unending joy (i.e. a cow can or pretending to be a whale) and would pursue it with unfettered hurly-burly. The main concept being if you love to do it and share that joy with an audience without judgment or filter or really even much crafting, they will love it.

How did you become interested in clowning? Who or what inspired you?
I was in graduate school and in a class on theatre aesthetics we watched a video of Bill Irwin’s REGARD OF FLIGHT. I was blown away. I had no idea that there was even such an option. That you could deconstruct theatre to its raw essence, and celebrate the beautifully silly thing that is humanity. I took a class with Christopher Bayes and it changed my life. I dropped out of the graduate school I was attending and came to study with him and a roster of amazingly gifted and generous teacher at the Actors Center. There I learned about what we do as actors and as human being and really learn the craft that is acting. That ultimately it’s about reaching into your chest, pulling out your heart and showing to an audience saying “look at this it’s just like yours, be careful with it we need it to live”.

How has creating and performing your own show impacted your career and your development as an artist? Is it something you would recommend other actors do?
Those are two very different things in my opinion... craft and career. We live in a disposable society, one that has almost completely devalued craftsmanship. There are no more blacksmiths and cobblers. No artisans. We go to Bed, Bath and Beyond or Home Depot instead. We get something cheap that works for now and replace it later. Craftsmanship has been replaced by capitalism and career paths. It's not about how good a product you can make; it's about how much money you can make, how quickly, and what is your title.

Acting is a craft, but we're forced to fit it into this career model and it will never fit. I'll never be vice-president in charge of developing new characters. But at the cocktail parties and high school reunions, that's all they care about, the titles: who have you worked with? I saw that Law and Order you were on, what's so and so like? And you're like: Well, that was one day of my life, let me tell you about the clown workshop I did that reveals the complexity of emotions in the human tapestry and makes me proud and excited to be alive. It doesn't fit.

So, NO I don't think developing your own show can do much for your career, but if I wanted a career in that sense I'd of gone to law school. What it does do is force you to own your craft and take your space as an artist, as unsure and terrifyingly exhilarating as that is. That is invaluable.

For someone interested in becoming a clown, how do you begin? What sort of training do you recommend, and what are the qualities of a great clown?
I studied with Christopher Bayes, and then with others like Phillipe Gaullier, and Avner Eisneberg. There are a bunch of studio and institutions where you can study clown, like the Actors Center, Dell Arte in California, Jeune Lune in Minnesota, LeCoq School, and Gaulier in Paris, Ringling Brothers in Florida. Look around it's a small community, but an inviting one.

To me, Chris incorporates the best of all the schools and then gives it his own squirrelly spin. He makes it about you and your journey back to the 'You' that you put away when you decided to be cool, to fit in, to get the girls. He helps you find the little one that liked to make a big mess, and laugh loudly and inappropriately. Where other training is result and skill orientated, Chris helps you find the Generator, the source of your fun, your wonder, your fears, your dreams, and most importantly your hope. Without this it can be funny in moments, but tends to be like frozen food. Chris forces you to lay the raw meat on the table. He's the man!

Beyond creating the actual piece, can you describe the process of getting the show from an idea to the stage? What role has producer Ty Jones played in the success of the show? Who else has been instrumental in realizing the production?
Ty Jones is a force of nature. Don't try to stop him, you'll be chewed up and spit out in his wake. He's been the momentum behind getting this show up. We were dressing roommates in Jack O'Brien's HENRY IV. I had a copy of the shorter version of the show that I did for my thesis in Graduate School at The Old Globe. I asked him to convert it from VHS to DVD. The next day he came in and he was like "Dude! This is awesome I want to produce this show." I was like "Sure Ty, anything you say" and he was all "Listen man! We're gonna do this Rooney, and it's gonna be BIG!" and he went at it: knocking on doors, not taking no for an answer, basically getting it done.

Of course behind every great man is Jill Jones. She has been the keen sobering voice of reason and has been the ballast for this ship of fools. She has done everything from box office, to laundry, to contracts, and most impressively the photography. She has a wonderful eye and really captures the spirit of the show with her camera.

Peter Friedland and Javen Tanner, the band (Battle Cow Gallactica), are another force behind the project. They've written all the original stuff together, complete with John and Paul like banter. They really are a perfect team. Not only are they my great friends and amazing musicians, but beautiful actors as well.

New addition, Samuel Strickland, as the voice of God has the hardest job. Not only did he have to come in to the room and deal with all of our inside jokes, he has to play God. He drives the show, without his strength and guidance we're lost. He is a bad-ass!

Behind the scenes Renee Blinkwolt, our stage manager, runs the show, keeping us all in line with a perfect blend of sass and order, kind of like a dominatrix. Cathy Mancuso is the gem of our crew. She is a joy to be around, eager, and happy to do even the smallest of tasks. Although I think she is silently judging all of us. She's a real artist (she designed and built the skyline for the creepy shadows). Peter "P-Widdy" West designed the lights... Awesome right? He makes all the fun look even funner (if that's a word).

And last but certainly not least Mary Vorasi designed and built the props. She ran all over getting glitter & peeps, and built a beautiful glowing moon (that Orlando cut). Expect great things from her, at the lucy lortell.

What are your goals for the show? What have been the most difficult challenges along the way?
My goal for the show is to have as much fun as I can and share that with as many people as I can. Sure we'd love to be the next Blueman thing and live in sky-capped towers, with personal valets and drivers to takes any where we wanted, with homes all over the world, carrying around buckets of gold coins and encrusted jewel, and when ever anyone bothered us we'd give them a bucket and say "leave me alone, I've got buckets of wealth!"

Wait what did I say about fun? Oh yea fun for everyone buckets of fun!

The hard part is keeping it fun and not getting attacked by the weasel. The weasel is that part of you that says: "how dare you? You suck! You're a fraud and everyone knows it!" 95% of acting is weasel taming in my opinion. The weasel doesn't go away you just learn to value its opinion less.

New York is crammed to the gills with entertainment options. What techniques do you use to promote your show and bring in audiences?
David Gibb, from DARR Publicity has been really instrumental getting us out there. He is a crackerjack publicist, that's a good thing if you can't tell. Seriously, he has been tireless in spreading the word about our show. He is really helping us take it to the next level. The hardest part about promoting the show is explaining what goes on. He has really been amazing at teasing enough without giving away the show. He really gets the show and cares a lot about it, which is immeasurable.

Other than that we're going primarily grass roots with this show. You know, it worked for Woody Guthrie, or Huey Long, why not for a clown show. Basically we're spreading the word as best we can with handing out postcards and putting up posters, like Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland.

In addition to your clown work, you’re also a successful “legit” stage and film actor. How does your experience and training in clown work come into play when working in a different style of theater?
Well, Clown is still considered a marginal part of theatre and there are many misconceptions stemming from bad experiences at the circus or with creepy birthday party clowns. I try to sneak what we do into all my work, because it is at the heart of acting. We must start at that raw, confusing, scary, unsocialized place. From there you can go to anything, any style…Shakespeare, Chekhov, Mamet, Miller. So it definitely informs everything I do, but sometimes I just keep it on the DL. And people are like that’s some funny shit what is it? And I’m like I don’t know you like it? Good!

You’ve been successful at carving out a career in New York. In your opinion, what do the successful actors have in common?
They show-up! That's it, the rest is just hearsay. I don't really believe in talent. The idea that God is sitting some where with a ladle of 'talent' and gives this guy a lot, that guy a splash, and some other dude none, is preposterous to me. I think acting is about humanity and revealing that scary, confused, joyous hopeful place as openly and honestly as you can. So, the actors who are successful either have an easier time doing that, or they've done a lot of work to clear the channel. Either way they show up and do it, regardless of what the weasels say.

If I’m thinking about packing up and moving to New York to pursue a career in showbiz, what are the three most important things I should know?
1) Any agent that you have to pay money to before you get work is not an agent. That is called a Pimp... Stay Away!

2) Actors Fund gives free shoes to out of work actors, because some old actor guy said, "As God as my witness, No actor shall be without shoe!" So get some free kicks.

3) Don't sell your dream! It's yours hold on to it, take care of it, keep it soft, keep it open, give it plenty of light and it WILL grow.

Watching your show is a joy… you seem to be having so much fun up there. What do you love most about performing?
Not to sound pompous but I love theatre (pronounced with a plumby accent). I love the ritual. Showing up, getting dressed, the dark, it's like church, without all the rules but just as many old ladies. Really, I love to look out in to the audience's faces. I love to see that moment when they get sucked in, when they put their life down and pick your world up. It's an amazing moment, and it's different for everyone. It's scary, it's gut twisting, it's silly, it's galvanizing, it's stupefying, it's wondrous, it's tender, it's joyous, IT'S LIFE.

In a previous interview you said, “The world is a harsh, cold, cynical place sometimes.” What keeps you going when things get tough? What use are actors in a harsh, cold, cynical world?
Karaoke, lots and lots of Karaoke! You think I'm kidding? Come to Japas 55 most week night and we'll be there singing the blues away. Karaoke is a natural anti-depressant.

Well, at the very least, Actors take us away from the cold, harsh, cynical world for a while. They give a little vacation from our worries and act as a kind of psychic painkiller. At their best, Actors remind us that we're human. That we're capable of great victory and triumph. They assure us that although we may live in a world of pain and confusion, a world fraught with insecurity and darkness, we can choose to be of a world of love and inspiration, a world of Creativity and light, a world were anything is possible and hope is abundant.

What did you think of this interview? Let us know!
feedback@actorslife.com