James Spader and cast of David Mamet's Race

David Mamet's race but we'll see if David Mamet it's on Broadway it's a Broadway premiere it's a dramatic piece something I've never done that I've always wanted to do this came I read it and and wanted very badly to do it a very good part in a wonderful new play by one of our greatest playwrights so you and you know you just don't say no it's a real privilege for us that we get to figure out how to do Mamet with Mamet we do know you're playing in a lawyer as are some of your co-stars is that there's some preparation into playing lawyers it just what's on the page from David oh well I'm trying to just do the stuff on the page from David but all these years on the road like we talked about the play I start going yeah man from the first 48 I saw this like what yeah man I'm want Crimestoppers the dude who killed his wife like what I have thousands of hours of watching bad crime documentary series on the road and cheesy hotels all across this country has prepared me for this experience was law career you ever consider who you always just determined to be an actress you know my mother my mother who is a retired professor of education used to say to me you know lawyers rehearse all the time and closing arguments are like monologues why don't you just go to law school obviously that didn't work but now I'm playing a lawyer so hopefully she'll feel vindicated we've been led to believe you're the person who's been charged with a crime I'm very rich man and a whole lot of trouble do you like getting involved in legal dramas well I don't know they just when they come at you they come at you sadly I am now why do I hate white folks is that your question do all black people hate whites let me put your mind at rest you bet we do what's it like to have the writer as the director well I think it's really exciting because you know this Mamet speak is something that people are always trying to get right first of all we don't waste any time wondering about the intentions of the playwright and I think he is proven himself as a director time as I'm again so it's not a question like Oh while the playwrights going to direct one of his plays what's that going to be like I mean come on it's it's going to be a very exciting process I mean it's oh he's great in the room they're full of energy in unfailingly generous to the actors and so I'm planning on having a good time I was very very glad that he he that he was going to be directing this also because I think that he has a very profound impact on the on the productions of his plays that he directs cigarette butts liquor bottles no mention of the sequence I don't she knows he ripped the dress off the room would be covered in sequins it has to be tell him a sequined dress you look at it wrong I start to fall off what's like working with this particular company david alan grier James Spader and the beautiful Cary logic it's a great it's a great cast and when you have a play which requires conflict then you need trust and you don't have trust you have to have colleagues you like and it's very clear in the first three days that it's going to be a very good bunch of people and I think in some ways it's a more exciting rehearsal process than I've ever been a part of because we are originating roles and in a world premiere you know buy a Pulitzer prize-winning playwright and and so there's a different level of intensity to the process you know we kind of all understand the gravity of how important this is you

Channel: theatermania

Views: 26,879

Rating: 4.8620691 out of 5

Keywords: James Spader, Kerry Washington, David Alan Grier, Richard Thomas, David Mamet, Broadway, Lawyers, Race

Id: VK0g35EC4gE

Length: 4min 41sec (281 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 08 2009