Dear Jason Powell,
When did you first pick up a guitar?
With Love,
Project Empty Space
Dear Project Empty Space –
I probably picked up my dad’s when I was a little child at some point. I don’t really know how to play guitar all that well. I cheat, by open-tuning it, which is a trick that my Uncle Eddie taught me. That was when I was in high school, I think. But I didn’t actually start fully exploiting the trick until after I graduated college. But I’m still very very limited in what I can do. That’s why for this show, we cast actresses who can also play guitar (better than I can).
-Jason.
Dear Jason Powell,
Tell me about your favorite time in rehearsal so far for In Love… Yet Again.
Love,
P.E.S.
PES:
I don’t know if I have a favorite time in rehearsal. What I most enjoy about the show is that it’s not really a conventional ‘musical,’ and it’s kind of tailored to the talents of the cast. (We all sing, and three of the four of us play guitar.) My hope is that – even though everything is scripted out by me and staged very precisely by Mallory Metoxen, our director – that it will feel a bit loose and casual, almost as if it’s a musical that was created via jam sessions. So you don’t have a traditional ‘accompanist/singer’ situation. Instead you’ve got the opening song, with Joanna Kerner playing guitar while I sing lead, and Ashley Retzlaff and Katy Johnson sing backups … then in another song, it’s a duet between me and Katy while both Ashley and Joanna play guitar … then you’ve got Ashley accompanying while Joey sings a solo … and then you’ve got a trio sung by all of the women while I sit off to the side and accompany on my guitar … etc. My hope is that it has the feel of a group of friends who just decided to grab their guitars and start singing songs and telling stories. None of which answers your question. Off the top of my heads, one of my favorite moments favorite parts to rehearse is ‘Becky Moore,’ which is another song where I accompany on guitar while the girls sing and dance. It’s always nice when someone else is doing all the work and I just get to jam out a bit off to the side.
-Jason
Dear Jason,
How did you get introduced to The Alchemist?
Xoxoxox,
-PES
Dear PES:
The legend goes: Aaron Kopec and I were both in Richard III at Off the Wall. Aaron played a sadistic killer, which he does very well. I played one of his victims. One night just before my death scene, one of us made a joke. I can’t remember who or what, but it must have been hilarious because after that it was a struggle every night to get through that murder scene without laughing. Aaron never broke, but one night I totally did. Being marched to my death and giving a defiant speech just before having my neck snapped, I started laughing. I tried to make it look like I was crying. I’m pretty sure I failed.
Anyway, from our time in Richard III, Aaron recognized my unparalleled professionalism and commitment to the art of drama, so he asked me to get in on the ground floor back when the Alchemist was first happening. The Doug Jarecki-founded comedy group The Show, of which I am a member, ended up doing our first Christmas-themed show there back in December of 2007. Technically the Alchemist ‘officially’ opened in January of 2008, so I can kinda say that I was actually involved with the Alchemist since before the beginning. Which is pretty cool.
-Jason
Dear Jason Powell,
What’s your favorite thing to see on stage?
-PES
P.S. And what’s your favorite drink?
PES:
Pretty ladies in schoolgirl outfits.
– Jason.
P.S. Raspberry lemonade.
Project Empty Space 