Catching up with the mad scientist at the Minnesota Fringe Festival 2009

Photo by Kelly Belich; T. James Belich in Shrodinger's Cat Must Die!

The Minnesota Fringe Festival 2009 is now history. With 264 shows presented over two weekends, it is fair to say there was something for everyone. I caught up with actor/playwright T. James Belich who presented an unusual two-man show using one actor (himself).  Melding his background in physics (he has a PhD in physics from the University of Minnesota) with his theatrical skills, Jim Belich created a zany school for mad scientists. Shrodinger's Cat Must Die! combined physics and physical comedy and was centered around achieving world domination. As someone who has always loathed physics, I was captivated enough to go home and research Shrodinger's famous cat on the internet. I remained intrigued enough to find out more about the impetus behind creating the play.

What did you hope to accomplish at the Fringe? 

My primary goal was to take this idea, which I've
been wanting to do for awhile, and finally bring it to life on stage. And
sometimes just having a deadline really helps (especially when it's a "I will
be alone in front of an audience for an hour and so I'd better come up with
something!"). I certainly hope that the show creates more interest in my work
as a playwright and actor, but for me it was mostly about developing a new
piece and actually making the show happen.In that sense my expectations were
met and more - after 5 shows nearly 200 people have already come to see it!

Since you are an actor and a playwright, are you hoping to gather work in
either field from the exposure?

Part of my goal with this show was to create a traveling production, and so I
hope to find other avenues beyond the Fringe to perform this play. Other than
that, I wouldn't say that I'm specifically looking for it to lead to other
work as an actor or writer, but I wouldn't complain if it did. :-)

What are the problems inherent in acting in your own play?  Did your directors
give you "aha" moments regarding what you had written?  Any clashes?

It didn't take me long to realize what a good decision it was to have someone
else direct the play. Having that second pair of eyes was vital.  As both the
writer and performer I think at times I was too close to the work to give the
most objective opinion of what was working and what wasn't, and my director
(Kevin Whitby) pointed out many things that I never would have seen myself but
were obvious once he mentioned. Kevin was great in facilitating the
development of this piece and focusing on helping me realize its full
potential. There are definitely pros and cons to acting in your own show as
well.  On the up side I had the freedom to alter text whenever I felt
something wasn't working quite right. On the other hand, with a one-person
show it meant again a lack of other eyes and ideas that comes from the process
of collaboration. For rehearsals where Kevin wasn't present, it was also very
strange to rehearse entirely on my own, talking to an empty room. I missed
the energy that comes from working with other actors, but also have enjoyed
the personal challenge of putting together a one-man show.

Any surprises?

Much of my show is physical comedy without words and I was surprised at just
how much of those parts of the script I had to toss out once I starting
working with them up on my feet! Moments that looked good in my brain while
writing didn't always work on stage, and other moments I thought would be less
exciting turned out to work well visually.

A lot of personal marketing goes into the Fringe.  What did you do to get
audiences in the door?  Did it succeed?

Fortunately I am married to someone who does public relations for a living!
Kelly was wonderful about helping me get the word out, and in her day job
knows many people in the Twin Cities media. Getting media attention is always
hit or miss though, especially at the Fringe where you're competing with 160
other shows, so we tried to do whatever we could to get the show out there.
Kelly also sent emails to various home school groups, I sent out emails and
Facebook messages, plus I participated in a number of the Fringe preview
events (several at Minneapolis libraries, plus the annual Fringe-For-All). I
think doing the previews definitely helped - I met a lot of people doing other
shows which helped generate some interest among other performers (who get in
free but are great at spreading the word about shows they like). The
Fringe-For-All I participated in had about 200 people plus earned me a mention
in MinnPost. The media didn't pick up on the show like Kelly and I had hoped,
but we did have at least one family respond to the home school email! I still
have 5 shows left at this point, and I think the word of mouth is getting
around - my audiences have been continuing to grow.

In the end, with a ton of time and some money invested, was it worth it?  Did
you get what you wanted from the Fringe experience?  Would you do it again?

Ask me again when it's over! For me it's definitely not about the money
(I'm hoping simply to break even) but it has been incredibly exhilarating to
put myself before an audience for an hour and receive such a positive
response. When you write and perform your own one-person show there's nowhere
to hide. If the audience doesn't like it, then you can't blame anyone else -
it's all you. So I am very gratified to discover that the show plays well and
makes people laugh! So yes, I got what I hoped for from this year's Fringe.
This show taught me all over again how much work it is to produce a Fringe
show, so while I doubt I will next year, I would do it again if it's the right
project. The Fringe is such a great place for new work that it's hard to
resist when the right idea comes along.

What was the impetus in writing your play? Where does the play go after the
fringe?

As a playwright, actor, and physicist I wanted to put together a show that
brought all those elements together. I used to work for Mad Science of
Minnesota doing science education and entertainment, and I've acted in
"Galileo," a play about science, and I wanted to create a show that had real
physics experiments in it, but was also a true piece of theater. As a concept
for which I am uniquely suited, the Fringe seemed like the logical place to
premiere such a piece. After the Fringe I hope to find other venues for it,
perhaps touring it around to schools.

Any story you want to share?

Before the start of each show I wander through the audience and do a few
preshow comedy bits. My idea had been simply to interact with a few people at
a time before starting the show proper. However, at the very first
performance the bits were so well-received that soon all eyes were on me
before the show really began! I ended up starting a minute or so early as
the audience was already so engaged!

You can find out more about T. James Belich and his thoughts on the creative process at Open Wardobes.