WAKA: A 'VETERAN ROOKIE'

After a recent chat with Adam "Waka" Green '99, one of Harvard's theater stars, I discovered that although he has appeared in numerous productions on campus since his freshman year--one of his most notable performances was that of Louis in "Angels in America"--he had not yet been interviewed by the Crimson. Therefore, after admiring him in the role of Schmendiman in a new Boston production of Steve Martin's "Picasso at the Lapin Agile," produced by Edward Eaton and Shawn Elinoff, I asked Adam a few questions.

THC: Do you feel that you could relate at all to Schmendiman, your character in "Picasso at the Lapin Agile"?

AWG: I am a genius, so is he (laughter). Yeah, kind of, he is a character who is really trying to cheat death and kind of thrust himself into immortality; really everybody kind of has that desire, and oh, I'm just so scared of death, I want to preserve myself, so yes.

THC: What actors have most influenced you and why?

AWG: One of the best things about going to movies and going to plays once you start acting, I guess, not that I'm even close to professional, it's just fun to watch people on screen or on stage, do certain--have certain idiosyncrasies. Robert De Niro puts his mouth into a little snarl and, very quietly, commands the whole screen, but it's just certain things like that that you just pick up on people. It can be anybody, from people who go here [Harvard], to very famous screen and stage actors, that you can just pick up things and steal [from], because originality is the art of hiding your source.

THC: What do you think has been your most satisfactory experience as an actor, at Harvard or otherwise?

AWG: As the general production, I think I was most happy with the outcome of "Angels in America." I think it's hard to disagree with that, but as far as individual performance goes, I think "Henry the Fourth" in the spring of '98 was good (laughter)...Nick Parrillo '00, was directing it, and I spent so much time working and just getting into the character and really deconstructing it and working it over and over again, working every little part. He's a very, very good director--I was just very happy with its outcome.

THC: Do you prefer to play comic or tragic characters?

AWG: That's a tough question. As the years progress, I find myself being type-cast in the weirdo, the crazy guy, the neurotic Jew and the wimpy guy, so that's kind of a very broad range (laughter), so, I'm pretty happy with the roles of those four. Not that weird and crazy are so different, but they are, they are different, dammit! (laughter). They are, and so those four kind of pigeonholes give me a plethora of characters to play with.

THC: As a veteran Harvard actor, do you have any advice for Harvard students who are just starting out in acting?

AWG: That's a tough question, considering I think of myself as anything but a veteran. I mean, you are always learning, and when you look back on a show that you just completed, you know, a month after you completed it, you are going to look back and you say, 'good god, what the f--was I doing? I could have obviously done that a whole lot better, using this and this and this.' That's a perfectly normal reaction. I consider myself very much a rookie, and we'll see what next year kind of holds. As far as my being a veteran goes, damn this system, I'm never going to get an acting job in this country! (Laughter.)

THC: What do you plan to do after you graduate? Will you prusue a profes- sional career?

AWG: I can't see why not, there are certain professions that you are just made for and certain passions that you just have that you can't deny, and I just like being on the stage, and it's very hard to deny that. And now is the time to pursue it.

THC: From where does your nickname "Waka" originate?

AWG: I wish there were a true story to tell everybody so people could run away screaming, running to the hills, but there is no story, just got it [the nickname] in fourth grade. I am sure subconsciously it comes from Fozzy Bear, but there is no story, I'm sad to say.

THC: How did it feel to work on a play which ponders what will happen in the 20th century, when we are now in 1998, looking towards the 21st century and what it holds it store?

AWG: I do think that Steve Martin wrote it [Picasso at the Lapin Agile] with 20/20 hindsight, of course, looking back on the 20th century. One of the most poignant lines of the play is "Ah, the 20th century, the works of artists and musicians dominated the works of politicians," and that's not necessarily true at all, I don't think that's true at all, but it is very interesting, the lines are definitely crossing, scientists and musicians are becoming as important to culture as the people who shape history, the military, and politicians.

THC: How was Picasso, a professional Boston production, different than a Harvard production for you?

AWG: To be honest, it wasn't a professional Boston theater experience... It wasn't Harvard, so it was interesting getting outside, because Harvard theater is very distinctly Harvard theater. It was interesting, to say the least.

THC: Will you be performing in any productions this spring?

AWG: I am doing a Pudding show, much to my surprise. And some other theater. Some other theater-y seniors and I are applying for a two weekend slot this season for a two-end play, me and Erik Amblad ('99), directed by Jess Jackson ('99). The Pudding is really a three-month venture, and the other thing would be about a one-month commitment, so that would take me from January to May, so that's what I'm doing right now.CrimsonSamuel Tepperman-Gelfant

AWG: I can't see why not, there are certain professions that you are just made for and certain passions that you just have that you can't deny, and I just like being on the stage, and it's very hard to deny that. And now is the time to pursue it.

THC: From where does your nickname "Waka" originate?

AWG: I wish there were a true story to tell everybody so people could run away screaming, running to the hills, but there is no story, just got it [the nickname] in fourth grade. I am sure subconsciously it comes from Fozzy Bear, but there is no story, I'm sad to say.

THC: How did it feel to work on a play which ponders what will happen in the 20th century, when we are now in 1998, looking towards the 21st century and what it holds it store?

AWG: I do think that Steve Martin wrote it [Picasso at the Lapin Agile] with 20/20 hindsight, of course, looking back on the 20th century. One of the most poignant lines of the play is "Ah, the 20th century, the works of artists and musicians dominated the works of politicians," and that's not necessarily true at all, I don't think that's true at all, but it is very interesting, the lines are definitely crossing, scientists and musicians are becoming as important to culture as the people who shape history, the military, and politicians.

THC: How was Picasso, a professional Boston production, different than a Harvard production for you?

AWG: To be honest, it wasn't a professional Boston theater experience... It wasn't Harvard, so it was interesting getting outside, because Harvard theater is very distinctly Harvard theater. It was interesting, to say the least.

THC: Will you be performing in any productions this spring?

AWG: I am doing a Pudding show, much to my surprise. And some other theater. Some other theater-y seniors and I are applying for a two weekend slot this season for a two-end play, me and Erik Amblad ('99), directed by Jess Jackson ('99). The Pudding is really a three-month venture, and the other thing would be about a one-month commitment, so that would take me from January to May, so that's what I'm doing right now.CrimsonSamuel Tepperman-Gelfant