THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 8, 1995 TAG: 9502080051
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TERESA ANNAS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines
IN ``LONESTAR,'' a one-act being presented in Virginia Beach, Roy starts up the play like a biker kick starts his Harley.
Roy explodes through the back door of Angel's Bar & Grill in Maynard, Texas - a force of nature with a bad temper. His younger brother, Ray, is his docile sidekick.
``I'm a mean sonova-----, Ray. War made me mean,'' declares Roy, a snarling-mad Vietnam vet.
The relationship between Roy and Ray is at the heart of ``Lonestar,'' a dark comedy being produced by The Actors' Theatre, a local company, at the Virginia Beach Center for the Arts.
Roy, as played by Accomack County actor Jim Turner, is one angry, buckin' bronco. Timid Ray is portrayed by Virginia Beach actor Greg Silva, the company's founder.
``Jim's much more experienced than I am,'' Silva said. ``He's just really got it. He's a natural actor, like a young Jack Nicholson. That natural charisma and vocal technique.
``I look up to the guy a lot, which is good for our roles. So our real life relationship works on stage.''
Every day before rehearsals began, ``Jim would come in and start shoving me around. Pushing me, slapping me.''
They'd go back and forth, establishing the dynamic.
``Jim did a lot of that. At times, things would get tense between us,'' Silva said. ``We both knew it was just acting. But he would really annoy me. And often he would apologize after rehearsals. `Hey, I'm sorry. I'm not normally this way.' ''
Shows continue this weekend for ``Lonestar'' and the other one-act, ``Laundry and Bourbon,'' a slice-of-life concerning three Maynard women, including Roy's wife, Elizabeth.
Though he's acted at various local theaters, this is Silva's stage debut with his own troupe. It's been a hard role, he said, because it required him to be subdued and natural. ``Ray basically has to do nothing. Roy propels the action. But I have most of the punch lines. I realized that the simpler I keep it, the funnier it is.''
Neither he nor Turner has day jobs, so they were able to spend time together outside of rehearsals. They concocted deep histories for their characters.
``We both know - on stage, in the backs of our minds - experiences we had as teenagers. When we refer to our parents, we know what we're talking about. When we refer to the back seat of his car, we both know what we're talking about.''
It was a long road to that place of ``doing nothing,'' he said. Last year, Anthony Hopkins told an interviewer he spent 30 years learning to do nothing.
``You worry: Is the audience getting it? Am I giving enough? But you have to ignore all that, look at your scene partner, and work off of him.''
It wasn't until the last week of rehearsals that Silva found his nothingness. On Friday, with the first audience, ``I was amazed at the response. Everyone was just rolling.''
The conflict between the two is ``hilarious,'' said Turner, nursing a cold the morning after opening night. ``Drama is conflict. But here is a really good clash of two different kinds of energies.''
Turner, 36, grew up in Rochester, N.Y., earned an English degree from the University of Virginia, then worked in music management in Manhattan. In 1987, he used inherited funds to buy a farmhouse on the Eastern Shore and began acting at community theaters.
``I kinda got bitten by this bug,'' he said. From 1991-93, he studied theater at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. Then he landed a scholarship to study acting for nine months at Trinity College in Dublin.
``Oh, man it was unbelievable. I did so much theater it was coming out of my ears. I had nine or 10 big, juicy roles while I was there. A real confidence booster.''
One of the roles he performed in Ireland contained more than a touch of Roy - Petruchio, in Shakespeare's ``The Taming of the Shrew.''
``He's the kind of guy who always gets his way. Does not suffer fools gladly, and is very politically incorrect. He's a rogue who is charming in spite of his obnoxiousness.''
A week ago, Turner tried swilling real beer during a rehearsal. As the night wore on, he became looped.
When the cast went out together to a bar, ``I sort of stayed in my Roy character. I was getting slapped by the waitresses. I found myself sassing people in ways I would never do as me.
``It was Roy coming out.''
Just one more weekend for Roy. Then that mean ol' boy hits the high road.
Turner has an idea where he's going, too. When he and Silva were making up their characters' histories, he made up Roy's future, too.
Here is Turner's version of the happy ending after the ending of ``Lonestar.''
``I think that he and Elizabeth finally get out of Maynard. They move to Austin. Roy grows his hair long, and he gets a job as a roadie for Willie Nelson.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
LAWRENCE JACKSON/Staff
Jim Turner, left, plays Roy Caulder and Greg Silva plays Ray Caulder
in the one-act play ``Lonestar.''
by CNB