Box 4901: queer talent answers SummerWorks' personals ad
06 Aug 2018

SummerWorks is imminent and the offerings are dazzling. Box 4901 has a slight advantage in that director Rob Kempson (The Way Back to Thursday) and playwright Brian Francis have assembled a superstar cast of 13 queer actors in what will be a summit of talent that is a must-see. The play is based on responses Francis received to a personal ad he placed in 1992, in the days when gay connections were not just a tap or swipe away. Starring Eric Morin, Keith Cole, Chris Tsujiuchi, Geoffrey Whynot, Hume Baugh, Michael Hughes, Izad Etemadi, Jonathan Tan, Tsholo Khalema, G Kyle Shields, Chy Ryan Spain, Bilal Baig and Jeff Ho, it is a red hot collection of performers to make Grindr grind its teeth in envy.

Reaching out to a handful of the performers, they had a lot of enthusiasm about this once in a lifetime event.

Drew Rowsome: This is one of the most extraordinary, enticing and sexy casts ever assembled. How were you cast?

Michael Hughes: I have a dossier on director Rob Kempson.

Keith Cole (#HashtagGallery Slut, The Keith Cole Experience, Dancing Queen): I received a messenger message from director Rob Kempson about one month ago asking me to send him my email address. I did the task right away and said "Yes!" to the email asking me to join in. The big selling point for me was Brian Francis – as soon as I saw his named attached to the project I said "Yes!." Brian is a great writer and I am a little bit of a fan.

Chris Tsujiuchi (Onegin): Rob Kempson sent me an e-mail asking me if I would like to be involved.

Chy Ryan Spain (Queer Bathroom Stories, Of a Monstrous Child: A Gaga Musical): I believe Rob approached us all individually. It's really lovely as an actor when a director or a producer hand picks you based on your body of work or reputation in the community.

Jeff Ho (trace, Prince Hamlet): It is indeed very unique, and rare, to have such a large assembly of queer performers in one cast! Mixed in with an amazing novelist, it's a very interesting group of collaborators. Rob Kempson, the director, reached out last month, and I was so excited by the idea that I had to do it!

Eric Morin (Fun Home, Hello Again, Falsettos): I worked and got to know Rob Kempson over three seasons at The Thousand Island Playhouse while he was acting as the Associate Director. My respect and admiration for his talents as a playwright and director grew and as the years passed we have become close friends. Rob reached out to me by email asking if I would like to be a part of this new Canadian work. I leapt at the opportunity.

Who in the cast have you worked with before?

Michael Hughes: Eric Morin and I have worked together three times (the last time we played brothers in Into The Woods) and Chris Tsujiuchi and I worked together on the world premiere of Mickey & Judy at the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival

Chy Ryan Spain: This will be a first!

Jeff Ho: I've worked with Johnathan Tan, Tsholo Kalema, Bilal Baig, and a few others . . . it's a small circle of theatre folk, so hard not to have crossed paths with others!

Who haven't you worked with and are particularly interested in meeting?

Michael Hughes: I read Brian Francis' Fruit when I was in college so I am really looking forward to meeting and working with him, and the entire cast.

Keith Cole: Most of the cast is new to me. Interested in . . . All the musical theatre types. I have been hanging around musical theatre lately.

Chris Tsujiuchi: Izad Etemadi [The Beaver Den]! I love everything he does.

Jeff Ho: I've never actually worked with Rob Kempson as a director before, we've previously collaborated as educators at Young People's Theatre, and I love his work, so I'm very excited to be working with him in this performer/director relationship.

Eric Morin: I'm really excited to work and get to know all the artists who are involved with the piece. What a diverse group of queer artists. We did a reading back in June and we shared our stories and anecdotes with Brian. His piece incited a great conversation. It was refreshing to hear diverse voices and perspectives in response to these letters.

With the high calibre of this assemblage of talents, why is it still considered novel to have a openly queer cast?

Keith Cole: Hmmmmm . . . tricky question. Is it because queers are the most talented people in the world and it is hard to pull us all together for even a small amount of time because of over super busy artistic lives? This cast would have made a huge splash in that Paul Gross film Men With Brooms. Since re-boots are all the rage these days, maybe this cast instead of the old cast in the CBC re-boot of Street Legal. I double dare the CBC to even think about it.

Chris Tsujiuchi: That's an excellent question, that I don't know the answer to. I guess I would say visibility; our visibility is important.

Chy Ryan Spain: Queer people telling queer stories seems like a bit of a novelty all around. Perhaps the mainstream hasn't quite caught on - but they will.

Jeff Ho: I think the project is novel in the sense that we are collaborating in an interdisciplinary manner, working off of a novelists vision/memories/responses to his past - so it feels like we are in service to words, not normally meant for the stage . . . and to have this degree of ability to serve this experiment, is very very exciting. In terms of why it's novel to have openly queer casts, I think that is a privilege afforded to us as Torontonians/Canadians, in that we are able to celebrate, share and work as openly queer artists. It is still subversive in the sense that the stories being shared through this project speak of longing, lust, and that yearning for love not meant for the status quo.

Eric Morin: Why is it novel? That's an interesting question. I would ask, are we producing enough queer stories? Are we fighting hard enough to have queer artists represent us when the script or play suggests it? Just look at the controversy with Scarlett Johansson who was pegged to portray a transgender character who identifies as male. I recently did Fun Home and although Bruce was a closeted homosexual, Evan Buliung a heterosexual, brought such great heart and vulnerability to the role while displaying great truth, depth and insight. That's a tough one to answer. So many levels.

Have you ever had experience(s) - good or bad - with personal ads (Grindr and other apps don't count unless you have a relevant or really sordid story to share)?

Keith Cole: Yes. When fab magazine was first introduced in early 199 . . . ? I was the fab boy that people could date for one month. fab magazine was a beautiful and convenient pocket sized thing at that time and the good folks at fab gave me a free one-month telephone number at a phone sex line. There was a small ad placed in the magazine with my photo and a brief description that I wrote and a telephone number and my voice box number. People called the main telephone number, keyed in my voice box number and left me a message. I retrieved the messages at the end of the week for one month. I went on a few dates. It was generally creepy with heavy breathing and guys telling me what they would do with me in a very anxious tone and then a quick and assertive hang up of their telephone. Every now and again an intriguing message and calm voice would hook me into a date. One month was enough for me. Nothing came out of it in the end.

Chris Tsujiuchi: With personal ads, no. But I have had some bad experiences on the apps involving fat shaming and/or racism.

Chy Ryan Spain: Casual racism, fetishization, "discretion" (as in internalized homophobia or infidelity), transphobia, harassment, notifications from the faceless and unsolicited dick pics . . . yes, I've had bad experiences on dating apps. I've also met some truly lovely people who continue to be a part of life.

Eric Morin: I've had several individuals use my photographs and create fake profiles. I've had several friends warn me about these profiles however there is not much you can do about it. Very sad.

Who is your character and what is your connection with them?

Michael Hughes: My character's name is Brett. He describes himself as "cute and adorable" so I'm really going to have to dig deep on this one.

Keith Cole: I play someone named "Cuddles" and I think my guy is a sweaty guy, a nervous guy. A sweaty guy who sweats all the time. Buckets of sweat. I am going to try that out. See where that takes me. A guy named Cuddles who sweats endlessly. All of this is in my mind and I have no connection to him other than he is described as being 6'4" and that is my height.

Chris Tsujiuchi: My character's name is Richard, and we don't have a lot in common physically, we both "prefer to look at the positive aspects of life rather than dwell on the negatives."

Chy Ryan Spain: All of us play individuals just trying to make a connection. We have to read between the lines a lot to flesh out the world of these characters. As an actor it's really exciting to do.

Jeff Ho: We don't necessarily have characters in the conventional sense. We are giving voice to real life humans that wrote these letters to Brian Francis, when he wrote his personal ad during his time at the University of Western Ontario. My letter was written by a man named Reg. I do not know yet what my connection with him is, since his identity in the letter is hidden and the writer was rather coy, but am excited to explore that when rehearsals begin.

Eric Morin: My character is Dwayne or the letter entitled "Guy Fun." He's someone familiar to Brian or was familiar to Brian at the time. He's one of the few gentlemen who sent a picture along with his note. The pair were never meant to meet as Dwayne misread the intent of Brian's initial classified all together.

Have you been part of SummerWorks before? If so, what is the experience like?

Michael Hughes: I have only experienced SummerWorks from the audience, so I am excited to be on stage this year. If you've never been to the festival you should really check it out.

Keith Cole: Yes. I have been in four of these SummerWorks lab series and I love doing them. One was a Hidden Cameras show and we did a theatrical interpretation of their 2009 CD Origin: Orphan and that was great. A really great theatrical experiment to see if we could bring that entire CD to life. Another was a dance showcase thing and that was great, and the 3rd was something I cannot remember but I am sure it was great. This is my 4th time at this SummerWorks lab series and I really enjoying being a part of it. Short rehearsals, interesting ideas and good casts. I have been lucky with my past SummerWorks gigs.

Chris Tsujiuchi: I've been involved in the musical works in concert series, but this will be my first SummerWorks show.

Chy Ryan Spain: The Toronto SummerWorks Festival is a kaleidoscope of incredible new and experimental work from talented artists. Consistently. I've had the pleasure of both being in some amazing productions and being audience for stories that have really stuck with me through the years.

Jeff Ho: I have been a part of SummerWorks twice before, with OutsideTheMarch's Murderers Confess at Christmastime, as well as lemontree's Unknown Soldier. It was a lot of fun to be a part of the festival, the artists I've met during those times have been some of my favourite collaborators to date, and getting a chance to see curated work of an experimental nature is always exciting.

Eric Morin: I have never taken part in Summerworks. This will be my first time. I'm incredibly excited.

What other SummerWorks production(s) are you hoping to see? I'm very curious about Graham Isador's ...And You'll Never Believe What Happens Next.

Michael Hughes: A Girl Lives Alone by Jessica Moss, and Body So Fluorescent co-written and starring Amanda Cordner, both of these writer/performers are exciting to watch. And Lion Womxn created and performed by the youth artists of The AMY Project's 2018 Theatre Program. The AMY project is an awesome mentorship and arts training program for young women and non-binary youth, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they've been working on.

Keith Cole: I adore Mark Aikman [Family Story] so I will check out his production of Hot Cuts and I will look at the musicals or anything with a musical bent to it.

Chy Ryan Spain: I missed Amanda Cordner's Body So Fluorescent in its last production. I won't be missing it again!

Jeff Ho: I'm excited to see/be present for xLq's 4inxchange. I had a chance to work with the collective when they were commissioned by Nightswimming for their 5x25 program, and they are two very exciting, radical, and subversive artists. The show is very experiential, and lots to think about re: money, priorities in life, and what we exchange between each other in social interactions.

Eric Morin: 4inxchange: I 'm really interested in site specific theatre. not to mention a $1,000 cash prize and being asked provocative questions about love and intimacy. Ask away!

This is a tragically short run of only three performances. What is your next project?

Michael Hughes: I am performing my one-person show Mickey & Judy at the Rose Theatre in Brampton on August 16 and 17 and in Calgary from September 17 to October 6th at the Lunchbox Theatre.

Keith Cole: Teaching art, starting to start to think about starting a PhD, I am in an upcoming (yet untitled) documentary about rock n roll bars in small towns, a little more travel, ARTATTACK! at Buddies, a little more art and continuing to keep it all wide open.

Chris Tsujiuchi: My next big project is moving my Christmas cabaret from Buddies in Bad Times Theatre (a capacity of just over 100 people) to the Jane Mallett Theatre (almost 500 people) this coming December 14, 15 and 16

Chy Ryan Spain: I'll have some burlesque acts coming up with Les Femmes Fatales Women of Colour Burlesque and some pole dancing gigs with Bathhouse & Bodyworks to round out the summer, but no other theatre gigs planned just yet.

Jeff Ho: I head into a few play commissions in the fall, with travels here and there. And I return to Ophelia in WhyNot's Prince Hamlet as we begin our tour in December 2018 to Canstage, the PuSh Festival, and the NAC. My next play, antigone 方, is headed for production at Young People's Theatre in April/May 2019, so keep your eyes peeled for that!

Eric Morin: Tragically short yes! I will be heading east for two weddings, and then lacing up my boots for another engagement in Calgary of Catalyst Theatre's Vigilante a rock opera about the Black Donnelly's.

Is there anything else that you think our readers should know about Box 4901?

Michael Hughes: I offered to do full frontal nudity but unfortunately, they went another way.

Keith Cole: At our very first read through of the script about three weeks ago playwright Brian Francis wore really great jeans. I was thrilled. I knew he would not disappoint with the writing or the fashion.

Chy Ryan Spain: Just come to the show!

Jeff Ho: The letters are funny, thought provoking, delicious, and ultimately, very lonely. Come see us share our hearts!