THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 30, 1995 TAG: 9503300028
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: LIFE IN THE PASSING LANE
The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star has been following the paths
of four South Hampton Roads students during their senior year in high
school. This installment details Will Dickerson's efforts in the
Governor's School for the Arts' largest production ever.
SOURCE: By DEBRA GORDON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
IF VERSATILITY is the hallmark of the truly talented actor, then Will Dickerson is one talented kid.
From the poetry and passion of Shakespeare to the vaudeville humor of a 1930s musical comedy, 18-year-old Will seeks to stretch, grow and transform - not only himself into whichever character he's playing at that moment but also his audience from the mundane of their late 20th century lives into the magic world he creates on stage.
In just a few months, that magic will carry Will, a high school senior at the Governor's School for the Arts, to Boston or Texas or New York City. To one of the top theater schools in the country, where he'll pursue his dream of becoming a professional stage actor.
He's already received his first acceptance - to Southern Methodist University in Texas. Three days after returning in early February from New York City, where he'd interviewed for SMU and several other college drama departments, he received the slim letter.
But he's got his heart set on Boston University. ``It's the best,'' he says simply. Not to mention that it's close to the theater capital of the world, New York; is on the East Coast and closer to family; and is in what his friends tell him is a really great city.
He's got a good chance. The assistant dean was so impressed with his audition that immediately afterward she told him: ``We want you at this school.''
But lately, Will's been much too busy with acting to worry about college.
In mid-March, his talent was showcased in the Governor's School's largest production ever, ``Anything Goes.'' With 36 actors and actresses, a live band, enormous sets and a 2 1/2-hour running time, it was, says theater chairman Michael S. Tick, one of the most complex and difficult productions the school has ever staged.
And no, Will didn't have the lead. He didn't want the lead. Because the leading man in ``Anything Goes,'' a romantic comedy involving gangsters, star-crossed lovers and a missing pet poodle, was a ``spineless'' character, Will said. Instead, Will played Moonface Martin, a gangster masquerading as a preacher whose signature line, ``Something is definitely wrong here,'' delivered in a heavy Brooklyn accent, evoked peals of laughter from the audience each time he uttered it.
Comedy is nothing new to Will, who has a comic's instinctual timing. He has family in New York, so he wasn't worried about getting the accent right. Even his lines - mostly one-liners scattered throughout the play - were a breeze.
But the role was the first he'd done all year that wasn't serious drama. A big challenge, he said, was making sure he didn't cross the line between comedy and slapstick.
``I went in the first day knowing it would be a real change for me,'' he said. ``The main problem was getting the style and physicality big enough.''
That's a tough job for Will, a slight, thin young man whose right arm is damaged from cerebral palsy. His biggest drawback, Tick admits, is his size and his physical disability. But more than a decade of learning to disguise his disfigured arm has been well spent - in ``Anything Goes,'' even those who knew Will had a problem couldn't see it.
He drew upon his earlier ``couch potato'' days, when he had the time to spend hours after school watching old movies, to construct the persona of Moonface. The hardest part, he said, was letting go of what he considers to be valid acting, i.e., method acting, and just have fun.
``But it didn't take me long to do that, and after, I had a blast playing around.''
The joy Will takes in his acting is one of his strengths, says Tick. But there are others. ``He's intelligent, he's focused, he takes risks and he's creative,'' Tick said.
But what makes Will truly special as an actor is his insight into character, Tick said, adding: ``He's so well-read that he's able to capture the essence of many different kinds of characters. he has pluralistic interests, so he understands the cultural implications of a role, the historical implications of a role. He thinks in terms of metaphor and symbolism, not in a linear manner, so he brings a lot of layers to his characters, to any role that he gets cast in.
``He has all the tools to work in this industry.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photos]
BILL TIERNAN/Staff Photos
Will Dickerson, left, playing Moonface Martin, appears with Sonja
Donnae Tokar in the Governor's School for the Arts production of
"Anything Goes."
by CNB