Review Fix chats with actor Roger Casey 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:
Roger Casey: I remember trying to figure out exactly what this piece was about. I love combat in all forms and it’s what drew me to auditioning for the project initially. But then I got the script and it was a non-linear collage of snippets from the lives of Muhammad Ali, and Mike Tyson mixed in with bits of dialogue that we found and thought would help to tell the story that we didn’t know we were telling; which was also inter spliced with blocking that is completely different from what we’re doing now. To be honest when I first read the script I felt like this show will either hit hard or it’s gonna miss by a long shot thankfully Frank Boudreaux and Reid Farrington and Laura Nicoll had a beautiful long game it hit hard.
Review Fix: How did you prepare for the role:
Casey: I sacrificed fun and my social life. I would get up in the mornings and run, I would rehearse for 8 hours during the day choreographing and going through intricate fight sequences and then afterwards go to the gym and train for another 2 hours. I still to this day watch at least one video of Muhammad Ali, or Mike Tyson, or boxing every night, and also still go to the gym at night (I don’t get up at 6 am and run as often anymore). I stopped Drinking. I put on close to 30 lbs of muscle mass. I walked around doing impressions and watched and read everything I could get my hands on in regard to those two guys. The beginning of the process definitely helped with that; we began our “rehearsal process” by training together at Gleasons Gym in Dumbo. Eventually this turned into training at Gleasons for an hour and then going to Reid’s loft and doing impressions over and over again to attempt to get it right. It was a painstaking, difficult, grueling process that I wouldn’t have had any other way. I tend to do these crazy things every time I get a role so it was nice to have people doing it with me.
Review Fix: What was it like to work with Reid Farrington?
Casey: It’s working with someone who gives himself the permission to be fearless. He invested a lot of time and energy and countless other resources into this project not knowing how it would turn out, or if it would be successful. It’s great working with someone who doesn’t just do pieces to do them, but instead because of the passion that he has for whatever work he’s preparing at the time. It’s working with someone who is open to everything. This piece is choreographed by Laura Nicoll, written by Frank Boudreaux, and directed by Reid Farrington, but everyone involved in TvA has had their fair share of say in regards to the direction of the project and things they think should go into the piece. He’s very open to other people’s opinions while still being able to spear head the project in a successful direction – and I really respect that. It’s also cool to work with someone on a piece for 7 months and not start to hate them, I could sit down and get a drink with Reid any day (when I start drinking again, haha). We were blessed to be with a wonderful ensemble of people that are all so talented and passionate at the same time. It’s rare, and I think something to be cherished and I hope I’m able to find it again.
Review Fix: For someone who hasn’t seen the production, how would you describe the multimedia aspect?
Casey: It’s a JARRING, IN YOUR FACE, MEDIA OVERLOAD – and then your brain settles and gets used to it, and starts to love it. It’s like a chose your own adventure book. You can pick where you’d like to look. Right now the way that we’re handed information in everyday life is similar to the way that Reid presents it. A huge amount of information delivered over different mediums at the same time and you have the option of looking at or listening to whichever one you prefer. (i.e. I right now have the news on, while my facebook is open in the background, I’m cycling between instagram and twitter on my phone, I’m writing this response and I’ve got music softly playing because I just got a CD I haven’t listened to yet.) I would relate it to getting into cold water for the first time, if you wade in you’re going to be cold and hate it for the entire 10 minutes that you’ve been slowly trying to get the water past your knees. Someone pushes you in, and yes you’ll feel that shock for 5 seconds but then you get used to it and you can then spend the rest of your time enjoying the pool. Tyson vs. Ali is a pool of information that most people would come to the theater not expecting to experience. In a normal theatrical production you have singing, or dialogue, or dance, or video or maybe 2 of those forms at a time- max. This thing is a mixed media non linear collage of fast paced boxing juxtaposed over complex choreography which serves just as the anchor to ground you. It’s an amusement park ride. Your job is just to sit back and hold on.
Review Fix: What’s your favorite part of the production? Why?
Casey: Being able to emulate two of the greatest athletes of all time, because I’ve been blessed with the task of attempting to emulate two of the greatest athletes of all time, psychologically and physically. I’m fortunate enough to be in a show where I get to learn about their lives and attempt to pay homage to them. In addition, I find that in many people’s minds Muhammad Ali is such a positive figure, but Mike Tyson is not because of the way he is constantly portrayed and because of his history. He’s such an incredible person and a strong individual and I hope that people can also see this about him and the way that he, sorry to use pop culture, but he really genuinely Started from the Bottom… and LIVED what Muhammad Ali would talk about, struggled with and without money, with and without fame, with and without support, but he’s still here. And he’s dedicated his life to doing good. And I think that’s a TRUE success story.
I act because of my fascination with people, their psychologies, their lives, their good, their bad – I like to LIVE as them (hence the getting up at 6 to run etc.) and the journey of trying to understand these two men and learn from them while doing so is my favorite part. I used to fight, I’ve trained in several different forms of martial arts, and I’m also a Combat Choreographer, but I’d never been trained in boxing before… It’s such a beautiful sport. I hope this show is able to also shed some light on it especially for theatre goers who would never let themselves be caught dead at a boxing match.
Review Fix: How do you want your performance to be remembered?
Casey: I want that when the audience watches me they get lost in a fantasy that I’m actually Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson, both in fighting and speaking moments. I want people to remember me as the guy who made them forget that I’m an actor in a piece. It’s only when this happens that I feel I’ve done my job.
Photo by Paula Court
For more information on the show, visit www.3ldnyc.org.
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