Cast Interview #6: Alan Altschuler as "Ferapont" in THREE SISTERS

Welcome to our exciting series of interviews, where you can get to know the cast & creative team in our production of Three Sisters -- an adaptation by Brian Friel of Anton Chekhov's classic story.

Three Sisters runs March 9-25, 2012, Wed-Sat at 7:30pm; Sat & Sun at 2pm in New York City.

For tickets, please click here.

For more info about The Seeing Place, click here.

Your Name:

Alan Altschuler

Role in this Production:

Ferapont

How long have you been acting?

Since 1999.

How long have you been in NYC?

I was born in NYC and have lived in the NY Metro area all my life, other than college at Cornell in Ithaca, NY, graduate school at the U. of Pa. in Philadelphia, and six months in London.

What's been your favorite role, to date?

Pastor Manders in Ibsen's Ghosts.

If you could play any role in any play right now, what would it be?

Robert, the father, in David Auburn's Proof.

What's the wackiest experience you've ever had onstage?

When I first started acting, I was in a very low level unprofessional student production of Twelve Angry Men. During the last performance, one actor who was ----supposed to be using an Eastern European accent, started out by saying, "Mama Mia..." in a heavy Italian accent. The entire cast broke up laughing, although ----we tried to cover it up. He continued to use it throughout the show to the dismay of the director. Or maybe it was in an equally bad production of The Seagull ----in which Nina knew almost none of her lines (making it a very short show!) AND the dead seagull they used on stage which was actually a stuffed pelican, ---yellow, red and green, with its enormous tail feathers stuffed up its ass. You can't make this stuff up.

What's your experience with Chekhov?

Yes, that student The Seagull, but also a good production of that play in which I played Dr. Dorn; a wonderful production of Uncle Vanya in which I played ----Serebrakov; and in a production of two of his short plays, The Proposal and The Bear.

What's been the most challenging thing about preparing for this role?

Working on presenting myself as a man in his late 70s, which was very very old in the early 1900s, who is hard of hearing.

What's been the most exciting thing about the rehearsal process?

Exploring and learning about each of the many characters in this play, their wants, desires and fears. AND working with a wonderful cast.

What parts of yourself are similar to the character?

Ferapont's desire to do a good job, be respected and to be heard and understood are characteristics I share with him.

What excites you about THREE SISTERS?

I love doing Chekhov. So many people miss how much Chekhov is making enormous timeless commentaries on the human condition. In this case, through the ----lives of thirteen different characters.

For more information about Alan, visit his website at www.alanaltschuler.com.