Passing Strange Week 1 with Maurice E. Parent

Maurice E. Parent

Wow, I'm no longer a dinosaur! I've finally entered the world of blogging.  Oh, who the heck am I? Well, if you ask my mom I'm the next DENZEL WASHINGTON, but I guess I should introduce myself to everyone else. My name is Maurice Parent. I've been acting in the fair city of Boston off and on for about four years and the majority of my work has been on New Rep’s stage. I'm currently in rehearsals for Passing Strange, a rockin’ rock musical set to rock New Rep audiences starting May 1st. I’m here because the wonderful staff at New Rep has unleashed me into cyberspace to talk about the rehearsal process. So let's get down to the nitty gritty and start dishin' about Passing Strange.....and Aimee Doherty (another New Rep favorite).....because she deserves it.

We've been rehearsing Passing Strange for about a week now, and I have to say I am awed by the talent of this cast. Everyone is so good. Like not in that "I'm obligated to say everyone is good because I don't want someone to pull a 'Showgirls' trick on me by dropping some marbles on the stairs right as I come off stage kind of way.” (What's 'Showgirls' you ask? On mon frere /ma soeur, it's only the EPICLY amazing, so BAD it's GOOD movie starring a post-Jessie Spano, Elizabeth Berkley, and a pre-Desperate Housewives Kyle MacLachlan. Run, don't walk to your netflix account and add it. I'll give you a few minutes to do so.)

Ok, I've gone a little off topic here, let's focus, Passing Strange and Aimee Doherty.  Why? Because she deserves it (and because I love her). Passing Strange tells the story of one young man’s search for "The Real," which means something different to everyone. The young man (played by uber-talented Cheo Bourne, who was last seen as Nanki-Poo in Hot Mikdado) lives out his journey with the help of a narrator (the rockin' Cliff Odle), an actor portraying his mother (the mesmerizing Cheryl Singleton, who was in DollHouse), and four actors playing various characters the young man meets on his way to self discovery (the enchanting Eve Kagan, the golden voiced Kami Rushell Smith, the magnetic De’Lon Grant, and the SO-SO / How’d he get this job? Maurice E. Parent). Although this is my fourth time to work for New Repertory Theatre, this is my first time working with Artistic Director Kate Warner and I’m having a blast! Kate is awesome. She gives off a creative, experimental energy that encourages actors to explore themselves and their characters all the while knowing you can trust her to keep the story telling true and the play moving forward.  In addition to my role as the mediocre cast member, I’m also the dance captain (I make sure the cast stays on track with the choreographer’s, Kelli Edward, fancy dance moves once we end rehearsals.) This is not a typical musical in many ways. It’s part rock concert and part Brechtian theatrical experience. So the show’s dance / movement element has to be handled in a very specific way. Kelli is the perfect choreographer for this challenge. She is a master of making movement be an organic extension of what is happening in the scene and her wide and varied dance vocabulary is an invaluable asset. Not to give to much away but we have bits of Pop, African, Vaudevillian and Modern dance in this bad boy, just to name a few.

I could go on and on but I’ll leave you for now (that is, if anyone beside my mom is actually reading this thing.  (By the way mom, I’ll call you on Thursday, LOVE YOU!) I’ll be keeping you updated on how rehearsals are going and on Aimee Doherty sightings. Long live the king of Gondor!