Meet Lee Kociela (Carpenter 2)
You play multiple characters in multiple historical eras. If you could choose a specific time in history to be born, when would you choose?
I would love to be born in the 1930’s and see the amazing transformation that the United States and the world has gone through since then. I can only imagine the amazing leaps and bounds that mankind has made over the years. Imagine seeing manned flight becoming the norm, traveling to the moon, discovering our own terrifying power with Auschwitz, the Atom and the Civil Rights movements. It is a world that is quickly changing again but It would have been magical to see it all evolve.
Should Christians or non-Christians come see this play?
The Judeo-Christian themes of the play, although important, act merely as conventions in order that we may deeper examine the inner turmoil that the characters struggle through and that we as humans struggle through. In point of fact it’s my belief that the playwright makes several arguments that the audience should set aside their personal religious beliefs in order to be whisked into a world where personal belief holds all the power.
This play shifts from funny to emotional to funny again on a dime. How do you make those shifts?
I drink a ton of caffeine and sleep as little as possible.
If you met your character on the street, would you have a beer together? If not, which character would you share a pint with?
If I met my character on the street we’d paint the town red, hitting every bar and pub in town telling the wild stories of our life to each other with no abandon.
Do you have a favorite moment in the play?
I have many favorite moments in the play, the one that I am most fond of at the moment is probably during Act II as we see the characters faced with the moral problem of turning towards the rising Nazi Party or having to turn away from their beloved Passion Play.
What’s the biggest challenge for you in this production?
In all honesty the biggest challenge of the play is the massive amount of energy that the entire cast has to mount in order to start this boulder of a show rolling at the start of each act. It’s a challenge worthy of every actor and every part and I hope you get to enjoy the steam power that billows out of the theatre as we begin every act.
What do you connect to in this story?
I’ve always had a great deal of superstition in my life, whether religious or otherwise, and it seems to me that I am drawn to plays that search out and breathe life into somewhat mythical events and ideas. I think, despite the modern sentiment, that we all believe in ghosts and the supernatural to some degree. That we are all bred with a certain level of trust that there are mysterious things at work all around us. I connect deeply to the drive of man to make his place in the world and to fight for the opportunity to get everything that he feels he deserves despite terrible obstacles standing in his way.
How do you prepare to work on a project like this?
A project like this takes mountains of preparation, not only from the production team but from every actor in order to develop a single cohesive theme and idea across the board. We are entirely lucky to have Trevor Biship onboard to guide us in breaking down all the difficult concepts and themes into a single unified vision. Personally, I take the time to discover the intricate personality that makes up the relationships we all have onstage. This allows the character to develop organically within Sarah Ruhl’s guidelines.
What was your first job in theater?
My first job in theatre was for TheatreOut’s 2006 West Coast Premiere of Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story, the story of the famous thrill killers of Chicago in which I played Nathan Leopold.
What excites you about this story and why should people come see it?
We’ve got religion, sex, drugs, politicians, puppets and Nazis. Tell me a show where you can get all that in Orange County?
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