Around the Kitchen Table with Jesse Bush, Member of the Beckett Clan (and star of Irma Vep!)

We caught up with Jesse Bush between Irma Vep rehearsals to chat Around the Kitchen Table…

 

You’re obviously committed to creating excellent theatre outside of the big city.  Why do you think it works in a town as small as ours?

The audience. Ithaca is such a great place to live as a theatre artist because you get all the benefits of living in a small, close-knit community and the opportunity to create challenging and thought-provoking work.  We have such smart and discerning patrons here who are dedicated to supporting our local institutions.  I consider myself quite lucky to have the opportunity to raise my family in an area like this.

You’ve got some big musicals under your belt.  What makes doing a straight-play (though that may not be the best word choice…) in a 99-seat theatre appealing to you?

It’s funny that you mention musicals as Tony and I have often spoke about how this show feels more like doing a musical than a “straight” play.  The physical and vocal demands are so intense and the stakes are constantly running at mach 10. I find that I prepare for a run of Irma in the same manner as I do for a large musical role.

 

You’ve played multiple characters on our stage before.  Did that experience help prepare you for Irma Vep?

I’d have to say that nothing  I have done in my career has prepared me for what I’m doing in Irma Vep.  While I have had the chance to play multiple characters in shows like The Angle of the Sun and others, none of them combined the high style, specific comedic demands and breakneck costumes changes that this does. It has been an incredible and welcome challenge.

 

A run The Mystery of Irma Vep is quite the workout.  What’s the most challenging aspect of a quick-change show like this one?

I’d have to say finding the time to remember the given circumstances before I make each entrance.  It’s getting easier as we go, but, as an actor, you always want to know where your character is coming from and what they want when they enter a room.  Not such an easy task when you just left the room 15 seconds earlier and spent the interim madly changing costumes.

 

How does it feel to wear a heavy Victorian dress?

That sucker is heavy!  I have an immense amount of sympathy for the ladies of the Victorian age now.

 

Irma Vep has a bit of a cult following.  Got any favorites in the cult-classic world?

I am a charter member of the cult of Samuel Beckett fans. Plus anything written by Stephen Sondheim.

 

Just between us—who makes the prettier lady?  You or Tony?

Tony, hands down. I look like someone’s dowdy aunt.  He’s gorgeous.