When it comes down to casting, as the playwright one usually has a very, very clear idea of how they see the characters. I'd created this world, and had written this great role for myself, 'Mara,' and given her two romantic interests in 'Patrick' and 'Daniel.' It is, after all, a love triangle. When I first began creating 'Patrick,' I had just seen that great movie '500 Days of Summer.' It starred a terrific Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and I kept him in my mind's eye as I wrote 'Patrick.' I also thought of the wonderful actor Lee Pace, who starred in the quirky show 'Pushing Daisies.' I hoped I'd be able to find an actor who felt, in Goldilocks' words, just right. Now, I was a little sixth-sense-y during the looking for actors portion of this project, and this is what happened: I saw AJ Heekin in a friend's show two years prior to Greasemonkey, and thought, I want him to audition for Patrick. He was wholly unselfconscious onstage, smart, and an utterly believable romantic lead. I thought about him for two years, but when it came down to tracking him down (I didn't know him at all), I didn't pursue it. We put up the casting notice on Actors Access, and lo and behold, AJ submitted and we called him in. He more than nailed the audition. When he left the room, my co-producer and I said, 'That's our Patrick.' He couldn't make it to callbacks, but the role was his. I had indeed found my Patrick- two years prior, it turns out. Now, the role of 'Daniel.' I needed someone charismatic, smart, driven, appealing. He would be the foil to 'Patrick,' and the casting was crucial. I saw Josh Bywater in a reading three months prior to Greasemonkey. A friend from grad school, now living in Georgia, was having a staged reading of his play in NY. I hadn't seen my friend in nine years. And for some reason, (I am, actually, quite shy) I went to this cafe/theater in Queens, and took a seat in the audience. Josh stepped onstage, and I went still. I said to myself, 'that's my Daniel.' I wrote him on FB, he never responded. But, I was elated when he submitted and I called him in. To be honest, a friend of mine, Brian, was Greasemonkey's director (at that time), and he'd worked with Josh before. He revealed that Josh had submitted because Brian was directing. Brian ended up leaving our project, and I admit I was worried sick that Josh would lose interest in auditioning/participating. But, he came in and auditioned. We gave him an adjustment, which he took beautifully. Again, my co-producer and I said, 'That's our Daniel.' Josh came to the callback and secured the role. At our publicity shoot, with AJ, Josh, and myself, I revealed to Josh I'd pursued him to audition via FB email and he'd ignored it. He was slightly embarrassed and chagrined, and that night when I got home, there was not only a friend request from him, but an answer to my months-ago letter. He accepted my invitation (it was incredibly gracious, and very cute), and then told me to scroll up in the conversation. I did. Turns out I'd written him two years prior, saying, my friend Kerry suggested I contact you about reading the role of Daniel in my staged reading. He had thanked me but was doing another show. He closed by saying, it seems we were bound to do this project together. Funny side note: Kerry ended up playing my best friend in the play. She walked in to callbacks, she and Josh spotted each other, and whooped. They are dear friends. I had no idea.
Result: the women in the audience of our show wanted to marry both 'Patrick' and 'Daniel.'
Next up: How we found our director.