Review Fix Exclusive: Dave Shelley Talks ‘Tyson vs. Ali’

February 3, 2014 Patrick Hickey Jr. Theatre 0

Review Fix chats with actor Dave Shelley about his performance in Reid Farrington’s “Tyson vs. Ali,” a gripping new production that brings the long thought about dream bout to the stage.

Review Fix: How did you feel the first time you read the script?

Dave Shelley: I have to admit that I only gave it a skim. I knew that the pages which are in a non-traditional play script format would change quite a bit over the course of Rehearsal. I felt I knew what we were getting in for from discussing with Reid what he was cooking up!

Review Fix: How did you prepare for the role?

Shelley: Like an athlete prepares. Films and Training. I was given a lot of material to sort through by Reid and Frank Boudreaux the writer. I studied a lot of the fight films for two reasons, to be able to contribute during the process and to get a handle on being the REF! Once we started filming I would review the tapes we made of every rehearsal to solidify my moves. Then of course there is the physical training. Gleason’s and gym, gym, gym, every day.

Review Fix: What was it like to work with Reid Farrington?

Shelley: I have been lucky enough over the last couple of years to be able to work with some outstanding artists, Matthew Barney, the Starn Brothers, and now Reid Farrington. These men share traits of leadership, clear vision, kindness and respect! They are both open to suggestions in this group format to create a piece. They are artists that you want to be better for.

Review Fix: For someone who hasn’t seen the production, how would you describe the multimedia aspect?

Shelley: It’s using today’s technology of video and audio backdrop to bring the past to the present and allow the audience to experience these events associated with Ali and Tyson. Echoes of another time and place.

Review Fix: What’s your favorite part of the production? Why?

Shelley: That backstage every night, Five men come together from various backgrounds and we knock out an incredible difficult new production that is alive with energy and sweat.

Review Fix: How do you want your performance to be remembered?

Shelley: As the front man, the glue that holds the piece together which enables four of the most committed athletic performers to create a dynamic, exciting night of theater.

Photo by Paula Court

For more information on the show, visit www.3ldnyc.org.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13872 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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