As part of our ongoing Meet the Cast of Calendar Girls Blog Series, let us introduce you to Ryan Colbert:
ROLE: Lawrence, late 20s
AS DESCRIBED IN PLAYWRIGHT TIM FIRTH’S SCRIPT:
Hesitant without being nerdy, Lawrence is a shy young man with enough wit to make a joke and enough spirit to turn up at the WI hall in the first place. When he arranges the shots, he is close to female nudity but sees only the photo.
DIRECTOR MARY FINNERTY’S COMMENT:
Ryan is a really genuine actor and gentle, kind human who has strength—a great combo. Another reason I cast Ryan is that he resembles John Middleton who plays Annie’s husband, John. They are both tall, slender and gentle. At one point in the play, Annie mistakes Lawrence for her deceased husband. I liked the possibilities their resemblance opened for the story.
QUESTION FOR RYAN:
Lawrence grew close to John in the hospital and understands what the calendar signifies from the start. When he is with the women, I like Chris’ line, “You’re making the fatal mistake of confusing ‘naked’ with ‘nude.’” What is your favorite line in the play?
There are many lines that I’m delighted by or that strike me in a way, most of which I don’t say myself. Some that just make me laugh are “John Clarke’s knapeley knee trembler” or “turn your mouth into liquid Yorkshire.”
When Ruth enters the photo-taking scene, her line is simple, but her honesty and delivery (underneath her drunkenness) strike a chord that echoes throughout the story for all of the women. She says “I can do this.” All the women, I think, take a leap in making the calendar with a fierce sense of “I can do this,” while the actors themselves do, too. And for Annie, as the heart of the play suffering a great loss, I think that determined sentiment is very real for her as she learns to live without her husband and continues to see beauty in the world.
CAST BACKGROUND:
Park Square Romeo and Juliet, Great Expectations, The Color Purple
Representative Theatre Guthrie Theater: Choir Boy, Born Yesterday; Pillsbury House Theatre: Prep; Mixed Blood Theatre: Charm, Colossal; Red Eye Theater: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow; Intermedia Arts (Fringe): Habibi; New Epic Theater: The Picture of Dorian Gray; Public Theater of MN: Macbeth, As You Like It; Minnesota Centennial Showboat: The Vampire, Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Training B.F.A., University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater Actor Training Program
Upcoming Projects Guthrie Theater: A Christmas Carol
THERE IS A POST-SHOW CAST Q&A ON SUNDAY, JULY 3.
HERE’S A CHANCE TO ASK YOUR OWN QUESTIONS!
