Q&A with Christopher Stanton from Assassins

Christopher Stanton. Photo by Derrick Belcham.

Christopher Stanton is currently playing the role of John Hinckley (the man who attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan in 1981) in Assassins presented by Birdland Theatre and Talk is Free Theatre. The two-time Dora Award nominee is also the artistic director of the performance company The Room (along with Brendan Gall and Geoffrey Pounsett). Formed in 2009, the company has been described as the “indie theatre version of Broken Social Scene.” Chris will be returning to The Theatre Centre in March to perform in Aluna Theatre’s upcoming production of Nohayquiensepa (NoOneKnows).

Theatromania: This is your second time playing the role of John Hinckley. Last year’s production won the 2010 Dora Award for Outstanding New Musical. What’s changed this time around? Did you watch more Jodie Foster movies?

CS: Yeah, I watched Taxi Driver again. It always feels creepy and dirty trying to see it through Hinckley’s eyes, though. As for what changed in the show, it’s been wild revisiting Assassins. Adam Brazier made it clear from the beginning that this was not going to be a straight remount — he encouraged us to use our 2010 production as a jumping-off point, to explore and deepen the show. That gave us a chance to tweak some moments, to blow others wide open, and to sharpen and clarify the overall concept of the piece. We’ve also got five embarrassingly talented new performers taking over for some of last year’s cast — Lisa Horner, Janet Porter, Kevin Dennis, Alex Fiddes, and Whitney Ross-Bariss. (Not to mention the young and talented Ezra Tenner!) Holy crap. They had a RIDICULOUS amount of material to cover in a very short rehearsal period (10 days or so). Their patience, brilliance and hard work was an inspiration to all of us. And the new energy and ideas they’ve brought to the show has been a treat to see.

Theatromania: Like John Hinckley, you’re a musician (the only similarity!), what style of music do you play?

CS: I played in a band back in Edmonton for years before really digging into theatre. Someone in the press there once called my stuff “bent pop.” I always liked that. It’s somewhere in the realm of Radiohead meets Rheostatics meets Wilco.

Theatromania: Here’s a tough one. What’s your favourite Sondheim musical and why?

CS: When I was young, I hated musical theatre. It struck me as big and fake and super-all-American. Then when I was 15, I saw a touring production of Les Miserables, and I cried my eyes out and got chills the entire damn time. So I thought, “Maybe I DO like musical theatre!” And then I saw The Phantom of the Opera. And I thought, “Nope.” It wasn’t until I saw a 1994 National Theatre production of Sweeney Todd in London that I realized musical theatre can be dark and daring and breathtaking in its scope. It blew me away. So yeah, Sweeney still holds a special place in my heart. I’m drawn to Sondheim’s dark dissonance, which Sweeney has in spades.

Theatromania: Your bio includes performer, musician, playwright, director, sound designer as well as artistic director. That’s a lot of hats! Which do you enjoy wearing most and why?

CS: When I came to Toronto in 2004, I co-headed an indie company called UnSpun Theatre. We all took on all kinds of creative & administrative roles out of necessity, more than anything. We had no money, so we did EVERYTHING. I’m very grateful for that —that experience was fundamental to my training. It shaped the way I make theatre. To me, all creative, design and technical voices are of equal importance to a project. And I enjoy each of the creative roles I’ve been lucky enough to tackle. Sometimes, when there’s a certain energy to a performance, it’s exhilarating. And sometimes there’s nothing more rewarding than sitting as a sound designer in the dark with the director and the lighting designer and shaping a simple transition into something magical, something that transports you. Being comfortable in different disciplines also comes in handy financially — in Canada, it’s hard to make a living as a theatre artist wearing just one hat.

Theatromania: What’s next on The Room’s agenda?

CS: We’ve got the final presentation of Red Machine — our multi-disciplinary exploration into the meat of the human brain. That’s coming up in a few months. We’re also in the embryonic stages with a show that is basically an indie rock concert where the songs are all about death and our inability to talk about it. I’m really looking forward to that one — it’s going to be awesome.

Theatromania: Nohayquiensepa sounds like a unique theatrical experience. Can you tell us more about the upcoming production?

CS: It’s the brainchild of Trevor Schwellnus and Bea Pizano at Aluna Theatre. In Colombia, where Bea is from, there’s a river called the Magdalena that flows past a town called Puerto Berrio. The town is just downstream from a major conflict zone where bodies are simply tossed into the river. The bodies often wash up on the shores of Puerto Berrio. There, authorities collect the bodies and bury them in a mausoleum marked with the letters “NN” — for no nombre or “no name.” In the night, the people of the village will come and “claim” these NNs. They paint the graves with bright colours. They leave flowers and crucifixes. They might even write a name for them. In return, they ask favours of the dead — a little prayer to win the lottery or something. It’s an amazing and terrible and very human story. Nohayquiensepa was created in response to this story, using text, projection, live visual art, dance, sound and shadows. It also questions the role that Canadian mining companies play in Colombia’s ongoing violence. It’s pretty amazing — and again I’m working with an incredible ensemble of artists. We performed a version of the show in Bogota in November, and we’re re-working it for a Toronto production happening March 11 to 27, 2011 at The Theatre Centre. You should check it out.

Catch Christopher Stanton in Assassins, on stage now at the The Theatre Centre until February 13, 2011. Visit artsboxoffice.ca to buy tickets. And check out our review!

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