Studio 180 Blog

Throughout rehearsals and the run of The Normal Heart we’d like to give our audiences an opportunity to get to know more about the team that makes the show possible – both on and off stage. We put a series of questions out to the cast and crew and we’re happy to share their answers with you here. 

Next up is actor – Mark Crawford

Mark Crawford (right) in Vimy

What have you been up to lately?
I was at the Blyth Festival for the summer appearing in Vimy, by Vern Theissen. It’s a beautiful play about the Battle of Vimy Ridge in the First World War. It’s been really interesting to go from one play about a group of men at war to another play about a group of men who are also essentially at war. In The Normal Heart, Ned says, “We’re living through war, but where they’re living it’s peacetime, and we’re all in the same country.”

I am extremely proud to be a part of both of these plays and in my own little way to pay homage to two generations of men who fought so I could be free.

Is this your first Studio 180 show?
Yes! This is my Studio 180 debut, but I’ve been a big fan of the company’s work since I saw the first production of The Laramie Project. Now that I think of it, I have seen all of Studio 180′s productions–not something that I can say about many theatre companies. It’s always exciting to engage in the ideas and discourse of a Studio 180 play from the audience, and now I’m thrilled to be able to do that on the stage.

What’s your role in Studio 180′s production of The Normal Heart?
I play a few different roles in The Normal Heart: Craig Donner, Grady, and a hospital orderly.

What would you say is the most challenging aspect of your job?
I actually have the first line of the play and it begins at a fever pitch. That’s something that happens throughout the play: scenes begin (if I may be so pedantic as to use a Latin term) in medias res, or in the middle of things. It is great playwrighting because it cuts right to the heart of the situation. The challenge (and the thrill) as an actor is figuring out how to launch myself into the middle of a situation with no lead-up, while still telling the story as clearly as possible.

Why do you think audiences should check out The Normal Heart?
First and foremost, it is a brilliant play. It is fast and furious and passionate and political, and as we’re discovering in rehearsal, it’s also very funny and very tender. The Normal Heart is the work of a great writer and thinker of our time. Not everyone agrees with everything Larry Kramer has to say, but I think that’s a great reason to see the play. We also have a top-notch cast and production team. On the first day of rehearsals, I looked around the room and thought, “Yup. These are the people who should be doing this play.”

On a more personal note, the first scene of The Normal Heart takes place a month before I was born. I am of a generation that never existed in a world without HIV and AIDS. It is imperative that people of my generation see this play–not only to learn about what came before us, but to better understand the current times in which we live. While a lot has changed since the play premiered in 1985, there is so much in the play that feels like it could have been written yesterday. That is a testament to the the play as a great work of art, but in the same breath, it’s also a very frustrating sign that the issues in this play are still with us after all this time. I hope my contemporaries come to the theatre in droves and I hope that after the play is over, they all go out for beer and talk about it and give each other a hug.

What’s coming up for you?
A few days after The Normal Heart closes, I’ll be in Thunder Bay in rehearsals for The 39 Steps at Magnus Theatre. I’ve done the play before and I’m very excited to have the chance to revisit it in a different production. I’m one of the Clowns, which means that I play over a dozen characters–different accents, funny voices, silly walks, and costume changes coming out the wazoo. I’m looking forward to doing a comedy (a welcome change after Vimy and The Normal Heart) and to seeing more of Northern Ontario…even if it is in December!