| HEIDI & ROSE meet CHARLIE & DAVID of 'LOOT'. |
| Written by Heidi O’Loughlin & Rose Matafeo |
| Monday, 09 November 2009 14:29 |
 Today, comedians HEIDI O’LOUGHLIN and ROSE MATAFEO are interviewing local heart-throbs CHARLIE MCDERMOTT and DAVID VAN HORN about the SILO THEATRE production, 'LOOT' (now playing!). HEIDI & ROSE: How are you today David? DAVID VAN HORN: I’m well rested after a day off so I’m feeling pretty good. H&R: How are you today Charlie? CHARLIE MCDERMOTT: I’m... on a scale of ‘1 to 10’ at about a 6-6.5, which is about an average feeling of good because of last week’s busyness. H&R: So you are in the play, 'Loot'. Is that correct? C: Yes. [ pause ] D: I hope so. C: I hope so too. Apparently I’m on the billboard.  H&R: That is a good billboard. Now... earlier this year David, you were in 'Gestalt', a play about Halo, and Charlie, you played the feature if not ‘lead gay’ in 'Holding The Man', a play about AIDS. Apparently it was quite emotional, but we wouldn’t know because our church wouldn’t let us attend. Now you have just confirmed to us that you are starring in the more comedic murder mystery, 'Loot'. Is it fun? C: It is fun, especially working with these fellows. In fact, half the time my job is just to not corpse. So I guess you can’t get more fun than that, if the material you’re presented with is challenging you not to piss your pants then I’d say that’s a good thing. It’s also a hard style to play, a style that we don’t often see much actually with it being so farcical but yet it has to be grounded in truth. Because a lot of the time you think that truth is just us sitting talking like this, but the energy of the play requires it to be a lot bigger. But yes, it is fun but hard. H&R: Fascinating. So in the play, two criminals hide their loot and booty in the casket of the victim. Which cast member has the best arse and why? State your reasons. D: ‘Best arse and why?’... I’m going to go with Mia because she’s the only female! And we get to check her out. She looks pretty hot in the nurse’s uniform. C: I’m going to go with Mrs McLeavy. D: [ laughing ] McLeavy gets a bit of a pounding! C: She’s the dead body in the play, but I’m going to go with her because she’s the only arse I’ve felt. I’ve got nothing to compare it to! I get the corpse out to man-handle it a few times... To MANDLE it! H&R: You are working with New Zealand’s legendary theatre actor/director Michael Hurst. What is that like? Because we saw him cross the road one time and we waved but he didn’t see us... C: [ laughing at us ] He wears glasses so he probably couldn’t see much. H&R: Ahhh, yes. Because really... who wouldn’t recognise us? I’m mean come on... Heidi AND Rose, come on eh? Eh? [ We laugh heartily although we are actually crying on the inside. ] D: He was probably like ‘Oh man, they’re waving at someone behind me... Probably waving at that Oliver Driver.’ C: I love working with Michael. This is the fifth thing I think I’ve been working on with him. I really like his process, he’s fast, quick and expects you to be at a certain level which I think takes that ‘airy fairy’ kind of shit out of it you know, because you’ve just got to bring it. D: He’s also got a lot of respect for the younger actors and he knows that he’s got knowledge that he can pass on and he doesn’t do it in a condescending way which is really cool. This is my third attempt at working with Michael. I’ve been cast in two plays that I haven’t been able to do and this is the first time that I’ve actually been able to work with him so I think it’s been a long time coming.  H&R: Insightful! How did Stephen Gately’s passing affect rehearsals? C: Erm... You’ll have to refresh my memory?! H&R: How can you not remember the world’s second favourite BOYZONE?! C & D: Oooooooh! C: That’s right! D: That made me stop drinking so much! Sitting in my apartment alone drinking just might not be a good idea. H&R: Great. Now ‘LOOT’ is ‘TOOL’ backwards. What’s your favourite workshop apparatus and why? D: I’m gonna go with a tape measure, which used to double really well as a light saber when I was a kid. C: I’m going to take screwdriver because it’s the one prop I have, being an undertaker, unscrewing and screwing the coffin... And my dad’s a builder, so... I would’ve said a hammer as my second option but I hurt myself as a kid so I’ve got bad memories. H&R: When I’m learning a script I like to shut my eyes and say the line out loud THREE times. It really tests my memory. How do YOU prepare for ‘acting’? C: I learn by osmosis a lot of the time. By rehearsing it and doing it I pick it up, it’s a skill I have. D: It always comes with the blocking for me. But if I ever get stuck I just do the old bit of paper working down the script... C: My girlfriend’s on Shortland St. so I just got used to running lines with her over and over sooo... H&R: So you just do a bit of Shortland St. if you forget? Tonight’s episode maybe? C: Yeah that’s my default acting skill... [ serious acting face ] Who farted?... Did I leave the oven on?... [ this doesn’t translate well into written text, but trust us, he was convincing! ] H&R: Wow. So what are your stomach flattening tips for the summer? C: Don’t each much BK. D: Like we had for dinner. C: Tr-raining! D: My advice is to get the world’s tightest t-shirt for your costume. We have to stand on stage in front of 200 people every night so you have to suck it in.  H&R: Splendid. The Silo Theatre is known for its interesting audience space, and its uniquely steep seating. Do you like tall women? [ awkward silence ] D: Yes, because generally tall women have great legs. H&R: That was not good, that silence. C: Weeeeeell I like tall women, I like short women. I like being taller than my girlfriend. I generally have a lot of respect for tall women but you don’t want them to be so tall that it gets into manly land. But tall women have a lot of elegance and tend to work well in that space because it is so steep. H&R: We’ve also noticed that it’s a very intimate theatre space compared to say, Vector Arena or the Te Atatu RSA. Does this intimacy enhance your performance? D: I live in Te Atatu! C: He knows about it all too well. D: Well, no. It is very intimate, but because it’s so steep you’ve got to get used to playing upwards. H&R: Are you afraid of intimacy? C: No, I enjoy a good cuddle. D: Charlie gives me cuddles all the time. C: We share the same dressing room. D: The one rule is ‘No war crimes’. H&R: No war crimes? D: If you need to do ‘number twos’ you go downstairs to use the other bathroom because we don’t want to be THAT intimate. H&R: Erm okay. Now it’s time for a question from one of our readers. This is from University of Auckland student, Steven Boyce: Charlie, were you a tele-op on WHAT NOW? C: NO! I wish I was but I wasn’t. I used to dream of being on ‘What Now?’ as a kid. H&R: Yeah because otherwise we’d say “WHY DIDN’T YOU PICK UP THE DAMN PHONE?!”... It was so hard to get through! C: Yeah it was hard to get through, I remember that! It was like winning the lottery. D: I once tried to win a Sega Mastersystem and I never did. H&R: Controversial! Now to conclude our interview we have a list of famous detectives and your job is to tell us which of them you would like to bone: Holmes or Watson? [ long pause ] C & D: HOLMES! C: But Downey Jnr.’s Holmes. H&R: What about Jude Law? D: I’d make Jude Law cry. H&R: Marple or Poirot? D: I’d go for the woman! C: Mix it up a bit. D: And we have to bone them? H&R: Yep. Smart or Monk? C: Smart, but only if it’s Steve Carell. D: I’m going Smart because I’m into the old-school. H&R: Bruce Willis or Cybil Shepherd? Now think about this... Cybil, really? D: What was she a detective in? H&R: 'Moonlighting'. D: Oooh. I’d probably want Bruce Willis so he could say ‘Yippee Ki-yay Motherfucker’. H&R: That’d be awkward. Okay finally, Black or White guy from 'Miami Vice'? D: Old-school or new? H&R: Well Colin Farrell or Jamie Foxx... Really? C: I’d take either as long as the theme is playing. D: Apparently Colin Farrell had a sex tape and he is hung like a donkey! So stay away from him... No seriously, apparently there was a scene he did in 'Alexander' where they showed it and it had to be cut out of the film because it scared people. H&R: Well on that note, thank you for this inspiring look into 'LOOT'. We look forward to seeing it! Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre, THE EDGE® Tickets: $20.00 - $39.00 (service fees will apply) Tickets available through THE EDGE® – www.buytickets.co.nz or 09 357 3355  |
