Beau Garrett – Saugerties

By starrymag | August 28, 2019

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) I’m working on the play Saugerties. Before that I was in the Dominican Republic shooting this movie for Discovery and I’m about to head to Vancouver to shoot a series for Netflix once the play wraps.

Q) Please tell us the premise for the play Saugerties and about your character Jen.

A) It’s an original play by Susan Eve Haar and it’s a really interesting future-esque story about a couple going through some marital woes. She’s pretty depressed and her husband takes her to this hotel in Saugerties. It’s their ten-year anniversary and he’s trying to woo her out of depression by doing something outside of the norm. It evolves from there. It’s a very intense play and a very daunting project. It’s my first theater production with the Hudson Guild in Los Angeles. It’s super interesting to do. It’s a really interesting play and, so far, it’s been a good turnout.

Q) How do you get into character for such an intense role?

A) So much of it is a collaboration with Chad [L. Coleman] and the director, Abigail [Zealey Bess]. It’s a dance. Chad, Abigail and I really choreographed the thing because there is not much room for massive changes when you’re up there. Prepping wise, I have to be really free, especially in the first act. So, I tend to dance. I put my headphones on and I dance before I go out there to loosen my body up and get out of my head because there really is no way to prep the whole play before we go on stage. It’s really kind of a dance of pain, freedom and a commitment to what we’ve done to kind of get us there.

Q) Infertility is one of the themes explored in this play. How familiar were you with this issue?

A) With my community of girlfriends, infertility is a big subject. So, it’s definitely not something foreign to me and something I hold very dear. It’s a very scary concept for women that I don’t think they think about until the time comes. It’s something I’ve thought about a lot. I don’t have kids and I want to have kids at some point. I’m not a Spring chicken anymore so it’s a sensitive subject to dive into, but I didn’t really need to do any research. My experiences in life were able to get me to a point with how much desperation a particular woman would feel knowing she was unable to have children.

Q) Talk about working with Chad and how he makes you feel comfy working in this intense environment.

A) It’s been great working with him. I don’t feel so alone up there. Chad and I respect the level of intimacy between the two characters that you have to have history of a ten-year relationship in one act and a much shorter history in another act. He’s a very calm human and I’m quite the opposite. I get very worked up before I go on stage. He reminds me to just tell the story every time and I think that’s been very helpful. He’s a professional and he’s calm and centered. That really kind of aids my personal experience with him, but as the characters play out and how they function.

Q) Was there any advice that Susan or Abigail offered you in order to help you with your performance?

A) The biggest advice was that I could do it because I questioned it so many times. Not as much as my ability as an actor and my willingness to go there, but more of my capabilities of memorization. It’s my first play. There’s the physicality and the emotionality and the intensity. It’s an adrenaline rush and there is no stopping and there are no breaks. I think having their support in the sense of believing in me and going through the audition process and meeting them, believing in me enough (even though I didn’t have theater experience) that I could do it. It was enough of a support system to help guide me through the rest of it. It’s their continual support. Even though I questioned being able to get up there and do it all, they knew I could, which was instrumental.

Q) Do you have any pre-show rituals?

A) We always have fight training before each show, which is fifteen minutes of kind of going over the choreography of the couple of different physical fights that we have in the play. That’s a good way to get us on board. Then, we have our own personal time where they take us backstage. Usually we walk holding hands backstage. Then, we always give each other a big hug before we go on. That’s pretty much it. We’ve put so much work into this I think we just know we’ve got each other’s backs. I think that’s the biggest ritual we have.

Q) How do you shake off a long day on stage?

A) I’m learning how to do that. When you’re doing four shows a weekend, you don’t really shake it off until Monday. I think just getting back into your life again…I have a good glass of wine on a Sunday night and a good meal…Kind of getting back to my world, getting a good night’s sleep and going for a run the next morning to try to shake the story. But it never really leaves you. I don’t think it will until we finalize the show because it is kind of in your bones throughout the whole run.

Q) What are some of your favorite scenes from Saugerties?

A) There are a couple. I feel much more comfortable in the first act because she’s so wild and crazy. There is a physical freedom in the first act that I find really liberating. There is a lot of cool, interesting, somewhat volatile moments that happen in the first act that really resonate with me. In the second act it’s discovering the similarities and the kind of mirroring of the two women that has been a journey for me and always changing because I keep finding new things every time I do it. There is not a specific moment, but each act has their own thing. I would say the first act is a lot more physically awake.

Q) What do you hope resonates and stays with people who come to see this play?

A) This is a hard question to answer because for the people that have seen it who are friend and peers of mine, I’ve been curious to see what they took from it and their interpretation of it more than anything. I think it does stick with people for a bit after, which is important for me to know that we’ve put our heart and soul into this. It’s a story we’re telling and maybe it resonates with people. Maybe it doesn’t. It’s something a lot of women can relate to if they’ve been through anything similar to what Jen has and I know that we’ve all got a story in regards to children – whether it’s having them or not having them. Relationships floundering. But I kind of hope people come out of it talking about it with their friends or thinking about it still the next day.

Q) We loved seeing you recently on “The Good Doctor” and “Girlfriends Guide to Divorce,” two such great dramas. What is it about this genre that draws to you to it?

A) I just want to be challenged and when it comes to Saugerties, I never thought I had the ability, capacity and stamina to do a play of this nature. I’m super glad I took on the challenge because I know I can. And I think I’m drawn to women who are kind of a little bit outside of the box and free. I don’t know that I always get to play those roles, but recently I’ve been given the chance to attempt them. I’m drawn to whatever is calling me at the moment. Sometimes it surprises me. Like with this, I didn’t anticipate that I would be doing a play of this nature, but I’m so grateful that I am because it’s been a really wonderful experience. Everything I do is for a reason. I feel like roles find you for a reason. So, I am only drawn to what I feel like I need to be drawn to. There is not a thought in my head like, “This is the right role for me now.” The universe just kind of puts me in front of the things that I need.

Q) Is there anything else you want to be sure we share with our readers about your work on Saugerties?

A) Ultimately, I just salute anyone who does theater. Whether it is on Broadway, off Broadway or a little theater in any city. It’s such a massive, massive undertaking – not just for the actors but for everyone involved. It’s quite cool to see something like that come together and know that we’re so capable of doing things way beyond our belief in ourselves. We can do whatever we put our mind to.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

A) I’m just grateful to have fans! [laughs] I’m grateful that I got to do what I love in life and that I have people that support me is just such a gift. Every time I come out of the theater and I see people showing up for me it makes me feel so loved. So, I just hope I can continue to bring stories to people that resonate and that I keep doing what I love.

 

 

 

Fans of Beau Garrett receive 20% off their tickets to SAUGERTIES. Tickets must be purchased at OnStage411.com/Saugerties. Enter Promo Code BEAU20 to receive discount. This offer is not available on previous purchases. A Special Fan Performance will be held Saturday, Sep. 7 at 3pm. Immediately after the performance, Beau and Chad will conduct a special “meet and greet” at the theatre. Tickets purchased for this performance will allow access to the meet and greet.