If you haven’t already made it Downtown to the Flea Theater to see "The Recommendation" I suggest you do. I got an opportunity to see it last week and later caught up with the magical Barron Bass who plays Dwight Barnes in the play. We sat outside a cafe in Tribeca and talked Michael Jackson, social privilege, and how a recommendation has brought him to full life.
StageBuddy: Tell us about "The Recommendation".
Barron Bass: "The Recommendation" is a play by the brilliant John Caren. It’s a play about loyalty, friendship, the system, what it takes to get ahead, socio-economic issues in America. It’s definitely a very American play.
You play Dwight Barnes, what is his story?
Dwight is a guy who has not had the best of opportunities. He's been through some stuff. He's very smart. If he was given the right opportunities he probably could be a lot further than he is. He's been in the system, in and out of jail for 11 years. You meet him while he is in prison. I think it's important to talk about the system and those people -- often times we forget about those guys.
What have been some challenges with your portrayal of Dwight?
First reading Dwight right off the page, I knew he was a hustler and my tendency was to speak a mile a minute and have this shot-right-out-of-a-cannon energy, and being a young actor it became easy to just go on 200% without having the foundation, the thoughts and really think about why does this guy talk like this. He's three steps ahead of you and that's why he's always talking like that. [I was] going at that pace and not really connecting with my acting partners, but after doing the work to really think -- "this is why he talks like this, he makes these turns that seem as if they're not connected" -- I found a ways to make that human.
I wanted to do Dwight's part of the story justice. There are three guys in the play. Everyone has their side. They are all fighting for their sides. If you haven't come across a Dwight, my worry was that you wouldn't be able to get where he is coming from and understand.
What has a recommendation gotten you?
Everything. I wouldn't be acting today if I hadn't got a recommendation. I got into acting school because of a recommendation. I was in a troupe in high school called Readers Theater, someone recommended that I go to Rutgers.
What was your rehearsal process like?
There were several readings of this play done before we actually auditioned for it. I was only able to be a part of one-and-a-half of those, but the guy who plays Izzy got to be in about four or five. The readings allowed us to hear different people play the parts, rewrites, and different versions of how the play might be done. At one point there was an idea of a nine-person cast -- it was Kel's idea. Eventually she scrapped that because she realized she had the people she needed to play the parts and the auxiliary parts. We did a lot of table work. Kel's an older sister, she is really maternal. She took care of all the actors, felt like an older sister.
John Caren, the playwright, talked to us about personal experiences that actually made it into the play. He's from L.A., he gave us a lot of insight into who these people are and what they want. One of my favorite experiences was having John Caren play Dwight.
When did you become a Bat?
I'd like to say about 4 or 5 months ago but it feels a lot shorter than that because it's all been a blur. I ended up with The Bats through a recommendation. A friend sent me a Facebook message about the casting call for "Cautionary Tale" and they needed people from all kinds of ethnicities. Being a part of the Bats is awesome. I didn't know what I was getting into. A week before joining the ensemble I getting emails about audition opportunities, workshops, musical theater, they even did a stop animation for a video game.
You're also a music producer, how'd you get into that?
A lot of my family is involved in the music industry, from singing groups, to choir, to background singing. My first real start was at a Saturday School where I learned African history, chess, and African drum. I started going when I was six. I saw the older kids playing drums and said I wanted to do that.
Who do you really want to get the opportunity to work with?
Pharrell Williams. I love everything that he does. Thinking myself a producer first before a singer or rapper, I would love to emulate his career. The way he developed a style, that was key to hip-hop and R&B and other genres too. He approaches something and it's different every time but you always know it's him. I totally want that. I love so many different styles of music, I try to incorporate that in my music. I want you to know it's still me no matter what I do. I would love to pick his brain.
What is your standard of perfection?
Michael Jackson. I have nothing else to say about that. Michael Jackson. He was perfect, a lot of people strive to be like him. In my head, one day I'll be able to dance like that, in my head one day I will be able to dance like him, one day I'll have his vocal range. I know I won't because I have a deep voice but in terms of living, breathing, sleeping, and eating your craft, whether it be acting or music for me, that's what I hope to do, and Michael was the epitome of that.
Where do you get your inspiration?
Currently I think it's the struggle. When I say the struggle I not only mean my personal struggle, my inner struggle, the struggle of people all around and trying to relate to them through my music and my artistry and letting people know that we're not all that different, no matter where you come from. There's also love. I've received a lot of love from my family, I'm still receiving a lot of love from my family. I love people. I love connecting with people. And hope. I feel full. I'm doing what I want. I'm living my dream. It's real.
Listen to the entire interview by clicking the link: https://soundcloud.com/stagebuddy/stagebuddy-interviews-barron
