Sheena: Welcome both of you to Rise’nShine USA. So this is the first time the two of you have ever been at a con together?
Gale Harold: In a con? I’ve made a lot of money off some cons.
Sheena: Was that your wallet I took? And put in my big black purse?
Gale Harold: No it was my wallet that you thought you took that had your money in it and you gave it back to me. [Audience laughing]
Sheena: And that's a con my friend. This is the first convention the two of you have done together?
Randy Harrison: Yep.
Gale Harold: Yes.
Sheena: That’s exciting right?
Randy Harrison: It’s thrilling.
Sheena: You want to use the microphone Randy?
Randy Harrison: I don’t like microphones.
Sheena: Is that cause you are also a stage actor?
Randy Harrison: I mean I feel like if a room is this small...
Gale Harold: WHAT? [pretends he can’t hear]
Sheena: Can you all hear Randy?
Audience: Yeah.
Sheena: Do you want us to all ditch the microphones?
Audience: If you want to.
Sheena: I don’t need no stinking microphone. Mr. Gale need a microphone? [Gale signals he can’t hear her] I’m keeping mine on. Lets start with some questions from you all. Who has a question ahh maybe Randy do you wanna go first? Are you okay with that?
Randy Harrison: Sure!
Sheena: Alright who’s got a question for Randy?
Woman 1: If I was your guest in New York, what one place would you take me to and why?
Randy Harrison: In New York?
Woman 1: Yeah.
Randy Harrison: I mean I’d take you to see a show, I don’t know it depends on when you came, for what I would take you to see. And then I’d take you toooo a restaurant.
Sheena: Randy what have you seen in New York lately that you loved?
Randy Harrison: [laughs] I don’t like anything that's out now.
Sheena: Nothing?
Randy Harrison: Um I’m trying to think of the last thing I saw and I can’t… I’ve been here for a month so everything has emptied from my head.
Sheena: Have you seen anything while you've been here?
Randy Harrison: No I haven’t. I saw “Frances Ha” movie and that made me miss New York. It’s a Noah Baumbach movie. Ahhh I was going to see a bunch of stuff but you know what my favorite thing to see in New York is actually international theatre not New York theatre. So the Lincoln Center Festival is coming so there’s a bunch of a… there’s a huge like Chinese circus that’s coming that’slike all [ ??] music, and then there’s like a French [???] thing that's beginning in July…
Sheena: How do you feel about how corporatized Broadway is right now?
Randy Harrison: I don’t think there is interesting theatre happening there but I like that it's a good paycheck for a lot of actors and that people are actually going to see shows.
Sheena: Yeah, it’s wonderful.
Randy Harrison: It’s fun to occasionally go see something; ticket prices are a joke! I mean it’s not like… nobody normal can see theatre. I would never pay a hundred and forty dollars to see a play I wont pay more than forty bucks, I refuse to.
Sheena: I think its the opposite of our theatre scene its mostly wonderful independent theatre and smaller theatre. And some big things are great but a lot of stuff you can see fifty things every night in a Non Equity House.
Randy Harrison: That's great. I mean there’s tons of theatre in New York, Broadway is just like… it’s own thing. But there’s tons of like friends theatre companies that perform all over the world and all over downtown.There’s still a thriving theatre scene that’s not Broadway. Umm…
Audience: QWAN
Randy Harrison: Yeah. But Broadway you know its like a… it is certain quality even if it’s not what your interested in. Yeah there’s some good stuff there. Usually there are like three things a year you’d maybe wanna see but they usually close right away.
Sheena: Gale do you still love theatre?
Gale Harold (No mic): Uhh the last play I saw was…um
Audience: We can hear him!
Sheena: You may need your microphone Gale.
Gale Harold: Last play I saw was a (???) Shepard
Sheena: Do you see a lot of things in town here?
Gale Harold: Um… not a lot.
Sheena: Someone has a question in the back? Just speak way up.
Woman 2: Okay I usually don’t have a problem being heard. Um first I would like to say thank you to you for Brian and Justin. I’m pretty new so my question is Queer as Folk related if that’s okay. Um both of you what do you think is the best quality of Brian and Justin and conversely the worst?
Gale Harold: What was the question? (Leaning forward)
Sheena: Best and worst quality of Brian and Justin?
Gale Harold: A ham sandwich?
Sheena: What-what do you like about ham sandwich what makes tuna better?
Woman 2: And your lovely ham sandwiches I must say.
Gale Harold: [looks surprised] Well you stepped right into that one.
Randy Harrison: [puzzled] I’m trying to remember… I mean Iwould say in my memory like the best and worst thing about the character are kinda similar in that he… gives of himself? And I think also he’s like crazy co-dependent. So like in a way that’s one of his best qualities but he goes toofar and he allows people to treat him… [?????????????]
Sheena: Do you think Randy that you at Justin’s age, were you more mature than he was or less mature?
Randy Harrison: That’s really difficult to say. Ahh how old was he again at the start?{???}
Audience: 17! [laughing]
Sheena: Did you-
Randy Harrison: I was focused on something else, I mean it’s hard to say. I didn’t care about romantic stuff like Justin did. I was very focused on my… like all I wanted to do was act and see plays and read things about plays. Um I feel like Justin… they wrote him with kind of like…wisdom? Like vague wisdom I think I had, I think maybe I made that happen or maybe it was already there because I felt like I had to justify some reason that would make sense that he would be with a thirty year old? [Audience laughing] Or why would a 30 year old want to be with a seventeen year old, so I tried to make him wiser.
Gale Harold: That’s the point! That’s the real point. [Looking pleased with Randy’s conclusion]
Randy Harrison: I feel like he was more grounded certainly than I was at that age.
Sheena: I think the way that they wrote him a lot of times he seemed older than Brian.
Randy Harrison: Yeah
Sheena: Because he did have that kind of wisdom –
Randy Harrison: Right
Sheena –that came from inside of him.
Randy Harrison: Yeah
Sheena: And I think also as artists in some ways we maturevery fast but in some ways we don’t mature as fast at all because we are so busy focusing on acting and going to plays and honing our craft that sometimes as artists in our mid-twenties we’re like ‘oh I haven’t really had an social experiences-
Randy Harrison: Or anything else.
Sheena: Right, so sometimes we he might be because he [Justin] had so many social experiences was much older in some ways.
Randy Harrison: yeah.
Sheena: Gale?
Gale Harold: Um... [Audience complaining they can’t hear] HELLO. I think that um probably it’s similar to what Randy said is sorta… it’s pretty common observation I think about ahh someone’s personality and the character they portray that they are playing themselves as Brian was probably over compensating massively all the time. And um which on the surface gave a certain kind of read which was that he was incredibly self-confident and he could hear weird shit like bells going off. He’d hear this everywhere… um yeah so but he was just like many of us and scared and uh trying to make sense of something and he was just trying to be bigger and badder, badder than he actually was… and that was fun for me cause I could get away with being a complete fucking prick. I never had to justify it –
Woman: You did that very well. [Audience laughing]
Gale Harold: Accept in terms of- [drown out by audience laughing]
Sheena: I think that that some-
Gale Harold: Did you hear that?
Sheena: Yeah, I think-
Gale Harold: Cause I just said something. I said a whole bunch of words, did ya hear?
Audience: It was beautiful.
Sheena: Yes, I think some of Brian’s best moments where when you got to really see the vulnerability and I think you played that so beautifully. Some of the scenes that you had with Sharon, where you understoodthat she kinda took care of you because your parents weren’t maybe the kind ofparent that she was. Those I think are some of the most beautiful scenes.
Gale Harold: What, Drunken Irish giants?
Sheena: Now that's just talking about my family, Gale that’snot fair. Okay we’ve got one more question for the boys, one in the back.
Woman 3: My question is for the whole cast but you guys can answer first. Where do you think Brian and Justin would be now?
[Audience groans]
Randy Harrison: You guys I answered this question in Cologne and I got in trouble. Everyone has their own answer-
Gale Harold: But I didn't- I didn’t hear the answer so
Randy Harrison:
Gale Harold:
Randy Harrison: Whadda you think? [to Gale]
[Audience laughs]
Gale Harold: Did you say Miami?
Randy Harrison: I forgot what I said actually.
Gale Harold: Well I think that where we would be is in community theatre Randy would be directing his character, Justin as a theatre director who is directing my character Brian as the lead from Flashdance. [Audience laughing]
Sheena: Is that what got you in trouble in Germany, the flashdance thing? Um would you two like to direct each other in something? Gale do you want to direct?
Gale Harold: Um…
Sheena: Randy are you gonna direct? I think Randy I see you directing theatre.
Randy Harrison: Why do people always say that.
Sheena: There’s just something about you that screams director. I think you’d be beautiful with it.
Gale Harold: He’s Bossy.
Sheena: Cause you [Randy] wont use the microphone and the chair helps.
Randy Harrison: I feel like you have more authority (???)
Sheena: Oh I like that.
Randy Harrison: Uh not that I - (???)
Gale Harold: That’s why you - (???)
[Randy Laughs]
Randy Harrisons: Um w-
Sheena: When you worked kinda opposite an actor, would it befun to direct them? Cause you’ve seen a lot of each other’s acting. [audience laughs] ACTING people.
Gale Harold: We’ve seen a lot of… each other’s…
Randy Harrison: Whatever project we worked on would evolve into something only we could comprehend.
Gale Harold: We tried to read a play once in Toronto, was it in the life of theatre? We got like five pages in and just stopped and started drinking.[laughing]
Sheena: You guys are amazing thank you for being here. Ineed you to sign the directors chairs.
Lincoln Center Festival
Frances Ha movie
tired
frustrated
bouncy
