INTERVIEW: Ben Getz practices some ‘Speech & Debate’ at Barrington
Speech & Debate has become one of the most successful plays in recent memory, making a playwrighting rockstar out of Stephen Karam and resulting in numerous productions across the United States. The latest one is at Barrington Stage Company’s St. Germain Stage in Downtown Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Running through Saturday, July 29, the 90-minute show features four characters embroiled in a sex scandal that has greatly impacted the local town.
Ben Getz plays Solomon, one of the key characters in the play. Making his Barrington debut, Getz has appeared on stage in Sinners, Troilus and Cressida, Hurlyburly, Bachelorette and As You Like It. His film and TV credits include Blue Bloods, Uncaged, Grotto and Play by Play.
Recently, Hollywood Soapbox spoke with Getz about the new production. Here’s what he had to say.
On how he joined Speech & Debate at the Barrington Stage Company …
“So my agents actually sent me out on a call, and so when I into audition with McCorkle Casting, who does all the casting for Barrington Stage, had a good first audition and then got a callback. … And met Austin [Davidson] and Betsy [Hogg], the other two main actors in the show. They’re in the callbacks, and we felt good about it. And Austin and I actually exchanged phone numbers and said, ‘We’ll [text] each other know when we find out,’ which is very dangerous in case one of us got it and the other one didn’t. And then we both got it, and that’s how it happened.”
On how he sees the character of Solomon …
“Solomon, he’s an aspiring journalist, and he’s all about uncovering the hypocrisies of these adults in his life. … He’s just this kind of nervous kid but is very blunt in the fact that he’s this high school kid, and high school kids tend to just say the first thing that pops into their head without really thinking about the consequences. So that’s really fun, too, to just blurt out what you’re thinking and be truthful and honest.”
On Stephen Karam’s word choice …
“Yeah, it’s very natural. There’s a lot of overlaps. Actually it was more challenging to learn because it was so natural because he writes with slants, and commas and cutoffs that our director was making sure that we knew because he paces out his play sort of perfectly in his mind. I think that’s what a lot of playwrights do nowadays is that they pace out their own plays, and he did that. So it was really key to keep to that because I was adding pauses everywhere where there weren’t pauses, or I wasn’t putting in pauses where there should have been pauses in his writing. … So it was more challenging to learn because it was so natural, but it does the work for you. Once you get it, it’s good. I mean, you don’t have to work for the jokes. They just land because he’s written them in so perfectly.”
On working in Downtown Pittsfield, Massachusetts. …
“It’s great. All of us keep saying it’s like summer camp. … You’re walking around town, and you just run into like 10 people from the theater. My girlfriend came up, and we literally ran into 10 people on the street. She was like, ‘Geez, I think this whole town is just full of Barrington staff or people who have seen the shows.’ And it’s really true. It’s really neat that way. You start feel like a local celebrity.”
On when he realized life as an actor was a life for him …
“I was in high school. I had always loved acting, and I was hustling around to do it as much as I could, like forcing my parents to bring me to auditions. I grew up in Maryland, so whether it was auditions in Baltimore or D.C. for regional films or theater, I was always like trying to force them to drive me in their busy schedules to do something. And in high school, I booked this GEICO commercial with a caveman, and we shot in front of the White House. Like they closed down the front of the White House for us. It was really cool. Apparently some Secret Services snipers had their scopes trained on us wondering what the hell we were doing there, but it was sort of in that moment where I was like, oh, I could do this as a profession. I could make some money doing it, and I think it was the moment where my parents even thought he could make some money doing this.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Speech & Debate is currently playing through Saturday, July 29 at Barrington Stage Company’s St. Germain Stage in Downtown Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Click here for more information and tickets.
