Roomies find space cramped
The Telegram Newspaper
Mark Vaughan Jackson
(May 4, 1995)
 Frank Squires as 'Nick' (left), and Paul Power as 'David' rehearse a scene from the play Roomies, running this weekend at the Basement Theatre in the St. John's
Arts and Culture Centre |
The friendship between an emotionally detached college student and his physically challenged roommate provides the plot for a new Newfoundland-written play by Memorial University student Paul Power, Roomies plays the Basement Theatre at the Artis and Culutre Centre this weekend.
The production comes as something of an "in at the deep end' debut for Power, not only did he write the play, he's acting one of the lead roles and he's written about issues he's very familiar with, as he has a physical disability. Roomies focuses on the friendshp between 'David' and 'Nick', two students sharing an apartment during the late 1960s. David has a physical disability; Nick is an able-bodied 'rebel' with a bad attitude. The plot follows the development of their friendship, addressing the issues raised by David's disability, Nick's character, and the other stresses live places upon friendship. An English student in his last year at memorial, Power said he got into theate about two years ago. Taking an elective acting course he rediscovered an interest and thereafter did as much theathre work and auditions for roles as he could. All of this spurred him on to write Roomies. Born with a condition similar to spina bifida, Power said a lot of the issues that figure in the play draw on his own experience. |
In his experiences when auditioning, Power said his disability sometimes makes its presence felt, whether consciously or not, particularly when the role he's going after has traditionally been conceived as an able-bodied person.
"I've found a lot of the roles I've been getting were supporting roles. i did some Shakespeare and I always ended up being the serviant or whatever," he said. "That's not to say that my disability is the only reason I never got lead roles....I mean if I was casting a play and someone like me walked in, I don't know if I'd give them (the lead)."
That being the case , Power decided to write his own role.
"I wanted to write a role specifically for someone with a physical disability," he said. "There's a lot of me in the character. But I'm hoping if people can see it as a worthwhile play, someone else might want to do it and give someone else an opportunity."
"I guess I had myself in mind for the role. There was an element of wanting to achieve something as an actor, wanting to show the drama community that I can do more than supporting bit parts," he said. "I guess I created myself an opportunity to express myself through acting."
Power stressed this not just a play about triumphing over a physical disability.
"It's a play about someone with a disability and the relationship between these roommates, but it is not the sole element of the play. there's a lot mor egoing on with the relationship that could be going on in any relationship," he said. One of the things this character, David, deals with is that trying to realize that this is not his whole life, that his disability does not overshadow everything."
The other roommate, Nick, provides an interesting contrast, Power said.
"David is rather sheltered at first and Nick, at first, is the typical rebel, bad attitude kind of guy."
As Nick helps David become more worldly wise, David teaches Nick that he is not the centre of the world. it's almost as if Nick also has a disability in the way he deals socially with people."
"I've found a lot of the roles I've been getting were supporting roles. i did some Shakespeare and I always ended up being the serviant or whatever," he said. "That's not to say that my disability is the only reason I never got lead roles....I mean if I was casting a play and someone like me walked in, I don't know if I'd give them (the lead)."
That being the case , Power decided to write his own role.
"I wanted to write a role specifically for someone with a physical disability," he said. "There's a lot of me in the character. But I'm hoping if people can see it as a worthwhile play, someone else might want to do it and give someone else an opportunity."
"I guess I had myself in mind for the role. There was an element of wanting to achieve something as an actor, wanting to show the drama community that I can do more than supporting bit parts," he said. "I guess I created myself an opportunity to express myself through acting."
Power stressed this not just a play about triumphing over a physical disability.
"It's a play about someone with a disability and the relationship between these roommates, but it is not the sole element of the play. there's a lot mor egoing on with the relationship that could be going on in any relationship," he said. One of the things this character, David, deals with is that trying to realize that this is not his whole life, that his disability does not overshadow everything."
The other roommate, Nick, provides an interesting contrast, Power said.
"David is rather sheltered at first and Nick, at first, is the typical rebel, bad attitude kind of guy."
As Nick helps David become more worldly wise, David teaches Nick that he is not the centre of the world. it's almost as if Nick also has a disability in the way he deals socially with people."