Review Fix 2016 MITF Coverage: Chuk Obasi Talks ‘The Actual Dance’

Review Fix chats with actor Chuk Obasi who discusses his role in the new production, “The Actual Dance,” which is set for a run at this year’s Midtown International Theater Festival.

About the Production:

THE ACTUAL DANCE by Sam Simon, directed by Kate Holland; starring Chuk Obasi. A graceful and inspiring love story that opens a rare window into the mind and heart of a husband caregiver as his wife confronts her breast cancer and they both discover what love really means. (Solo Show/Drama)

This play has been rewritten from its original (a Jewish couple after decades of marriage) to a young Christian couple.
Performance Schedule: Mon 11/07, 8:00pm; Tues 11/08, 6:00pm; Sat 11/12, 8:30pm; Sun 11/13, 4:00pm
Running Time: 60 minutes.
Venue: Jewel Box Theater, 312 W. 36th Street.

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for this project?

Chuk Obasi: There were a few for me.  One was to honor people in my life who are at different stages of this journey that Sam and Susan traveled.  Another inspiration was simply the honor of even being approached to tell this story.  I’d seen Sam perform this piece twice and knew how special it was.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Obasi: It involves lots of observation and study, self-reflection, meditation, memorizing, empathizing, and fear!  In this case, with this being a one-man play, it also involved breaking down the script into segments, or scenes, that helped me to find and understand the arc of the story.  I put lots of faith and trust in my director, and vice versa, which made for a really safe and smooth overall process in the midst of the challenges of becoming this version of Sam.

Review Fix: What makes this different or special?

Obasi: It’s not as common in my experience to see a one-man play where the story isn’t based on the performer’s actual life.  Stepping into this role previously created by, performed by, and based on the life of Sam Simon, its most certainly a new approach to the character.  People who may have seen this play before with Sam playing himself might feel like in a way they are watching a new piece.  It’s also obviously the same piece in many ways.  What’s more special is the differences between me and the real Sam Simon.  We are very different in age, race, religion, and geographical upbringing – yet Sam recruited me for this play on purpose;  To show how universal the experiences of love, loss, fear, and transition are.

Review Fix: What did you learn about yourself through this process?

Obasi: I learned that Sam and I have something in common – we love our wives deeply!  I also learned that I’m way more afraid to lose someone I love than I am of dying myself.  I think I already knew that, but that notion has been reinforced in a way that I’m reminded to be thankful for every second I have with family and friends.  And I learned that I’m capable of memorizing a 25-page monologue!

Review Fix: How does it feel to be a part of something like this?

Obasi: I feel blessed because this is a relatively rare type of challenge for an actor to be given.  I also feel a strong sense of responsibility to tell a story that will most certainly resonate with people in a very emotional way.  I carry the emotions of a room for an hour at a time, and I feel that every time.

Review Fix: What are your ultimate goals for this production and for the future?

Obasi: I simply hope to bring the story to as many audiences as I can.

Review Fix: What do you think your audiences will enjoy the most?

Obasi: They will enjoy the clarity of the narrative, the tracking of the several “characters” in the story, and the beautiful accompanying music created by Eli Zoller.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Obasi: For me personally, lots of great things on the horizon, including the continuation of this play.  I’m truly fortunate.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 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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