From Rehearsal to Stage: An Interview with John Garret Greer

This article was written by Christina, a member of CSC's NextGen program. Christina had the opportunity to go behind the scenes of MACBETH, observe rehearsals and meet with cast members like John. Sound cool? It is! 

Interested in become a NextGen member? Click here to find out how to apply for next season!


State Your Full Name for the record.

John Garrett Greer.

How can I describe John Garrett Greer? Well, he's easy to look at, that's for sure, but more importantly he's a phenomenal person with traits you find in a novel. He's really down to earth, and I'm lucky I got to talk to him for 30 minutes.

This interview went nothing like the way I planned. I was so nervous and I didn't know why. I wanted to go in there as "Christina", you know…funny, make a joke here, make him laugh there, but I froze up.

Great.

Dan (Macbeth, left) rehearsing with John (Banquo, right)
 while Blaze  (Malcolm) looks on in the distance.

Why are you an actor? What do you get out of acting? John says family. Perfect answer. His sister is an artist, his dad is an architect, and there are many dancers in the family as well. He's the only actor in the family. He feels like he has a connection to them by being an artist. It's in his blood. Through acting he is also learning about himself.

John's favorite part of acting is the rehearsal process. I had the chance to see him at rehearsal every Wednesday for a month. In my observations, I can see how much he enjoys the rehearsal process.

I asked him if there was a role that he hasn't played yet that he wants to in the near future.  He answers that he would like to play Biff from DEATH OF A SALESMAN, and Hamlet from Shakespeare’s HAMLET. In my opinion he would make a great Hamlet.

I asked him if there was a role he would like to play for years. He said nothing. Not one role.  He explained to me that he likes to "move on." In a way I agree with him. Maybe doing your favorite play is something you think you would like to do over and over again, but doing many shows and getting NEW experiences under your belt is an exciting career. His first possible answer was the musical ANYTHING GOES which he did in high school.

"He is Shakespeare," are his thoughts on the great man, "…amazing style of writing." One of John's favorites by Shakespeare is ROMEO AND JULIET (which I think makes him a really swell guy, and also a bit of a romantic!).

I asked him how Tony's direction and vision for MACBETH has been different from other Shakespeare he's done. He said it has been different. “Tony’s direction was intentional and specific down to when you take a breath. Tony has a really great creative team behind him, and that's what it takes.”

John likes the play MACBETH; in fact he says Banquo has been his favorite role to play thus far in his career.  Banquo lets faith take its course, and when tempted he doesn't take matters into his own hands. My feelings are similar to John's in that we believe everyone wants to be 'king' or they want something they can't or don't have. And most people fight, kill, steal and would sell their mother for that want, like Macbeth. But there are also people, like Banquo, who want to live an honest life. I think that's what John wanted to explain about Banquo. From what I know about John, I had an inclination that would be his answer! He tells me maybe he likes the play MACBETH so much because he's part Scottish. He adds that in high school he was interested in MACBETH because he heard it was Shakespeare's bloodiest play (you know how high school boys like that kind of thing!). 

His favorite character in the play is Lady Macbeth saying, "She's one of the strongest characters ever written." He also likes Malcolm as well. John's favorite part of the play is Macbeth's "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow" soliloquy. He says, "I could sit and try and learn that for years." 

I've seen him act; he can seem so serious one moment, so focused, so very into his role. But then instantly he can change into himself, joking. He is an amazing actor. What is it like for you up there? Not even this show, any show in front of a crowd?  "Terrifying…I'm also into what I'm doing…and right where fear is needed I can create it."

Then I got to learn more about him! He wanted to be in the field of physiology; he loves sports and physical activities. Last summer he tried skydiving.

"The second I walk in is the scariest part of an audition.” He says midway through a monologue he'll ask himself, "Am I doing this right?" and get sidetracked and think, "Did I leave the kitchen light on?"

What's that best part about acting? "Looking back on what you created…being a part of something great."

The hardest? "Becoming a professional actor…this is the hardest field to break into."

So you want act professionally? "Yes." he answered, I could see the determination on his face.

And my last and favorite question. What is it you know now that you wish you knew when you started? "That it all had to start with me…that I'm the most important component…to not shut my personality out." He goes on to say that he would watch his favorite actors play many different roles and wonder how they did it, they were like chameleons. He learned that being yourself is the key to being a chameleon.