by Barbara Smith
Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” has been called the perfect comedy. It is one of Shakespeare’s most engaging works, a romantic comedy with a giddy story line of mistaken identity, a confounding love triangle, and an appealing assortment of colorful and quirky characters. And for actor Terence Archie, who plays Count Orsino in this masterwork, currently playing at the Old Globe, the moments of laughter are artfully balanced by instances of tears and a compendium of emotions, all part of the intricate balance of the human experience.
Archie took time last week to reflect on the relevance of Shakespeare to modern audiences, his role as the love struck Count Orsino, and the arc of his career in the arts. His insights are provocative and he is an artist clearly dedicated to his craft.
The New York-based actor, who has enjoyed a varied career on stage (Broadway’s “Rocky The Musical” and “Ragtime”) and television (“Law and Order, “Manhattan Love Story”), welcomed the opportunity to play Shakespeare at the Old Globe. The classically trained performer earned his BFA from North Carolina School of the Arts, but, like many actors, found few opportunities to actually perform Shakespeare in quality productions. Now, he offers, he is thrilled to work at the Old Globe with an excellent ensemble cast and under the able and innovative direction of Rebecca Taichman.
On the relevance of Shakespeare to modern audiences, Archie has definite opinions. The bottom line is authenticity, he opines. “For many, Shakespeare is considered to be a holy thing. People say, ‘Oh, you’re performing Shakespeare now, so everybody put on a British accent. But Shakespeare wasn’t concerned about British accents. He was concerned about getting the message of his plays across, putting on an interesting production that gives people permission to feel what they normally wouldn’t have the freedom to feel. The stage should be and often is, in my experience, a very safe place. We get to express things that society wouldn’t normally say because it’s not PC. As actors we are all very grateful to have a safe place to practice our humanity.”
And Archie’s portrayal of Orsino is one filled with the fullness and flaws of humanity. Archie’s Orsino is sensuous, with an attractive charm, even when he downplays the capacity of women to feel love in the way that he does. In the story, Orsino is hopelessly in love with Olivia (Sara Topham), who is grieving the loss of her father and her brother. He engages a young man, Cesario, actually the shipwrecked Viola in male disguise (Rutina Wesley) to woo Olivia. The romantic triangle develops from there as the complexities of love, fortune and fate reverberate, with each character facing their own vulnerabilities.
Love is a powerful quotient in the play. “The template I used for Orsino was the Scripture, ‘Love is patient, love is kind…’” he says, but turning it on its head, because, for Orsino, love is actually impatient and can be inconsiderate and envious and boastful. “Love is irrational and makes us do irrational things,” and, he reasons thoughtfully, “If love is patient and kind, then it wouldn’t make a very interesting play.”
The performances from this talented ensemble cast are all first-rate and the chemistry is fluid throughout. “It helps,” Archie adds with a smile, “that we all like each other. Every night I see something different that I can incorporate into my own acting experience,” he says. “I love watching scenes with Patrick Kerr (as Andrew Aguecheek). “Everything he does is hilarious. He doesn’t give a c… about the ceremony of Shakespeare. He just goes out there and has fun.” Likewise, Archie is enamored with Rutina Wesley’s performance as Viola/Cesario. “She plays it with such strength. It’s a take that you don’t often see.
“Rebecca told us from the beginning that we should be as authentic as we can. Instead of performing, we make it as close to ourselves as possible,” he says. To that end, he adds, “I try to take a nugget of truth from each scene and try to define that in my real self.”
The Detroit native’s love for acting began when he attended Cass Technical High School, a college prep institution. Initially, he found artistic expression in painting, sculpture and drawing. “After my sophomore year,” he says, “I sought ways to bring things off the page, make them more multidimensional, which led to the performing arts.” His talent was nurtured by a teacher, Mrs. Marilyn McCormick, who, over some 35 years there, has become something of a legend to the hundreds and hundreds of students she has mentored, many of whom have gone on to successful careers in television, film, and theatre. “She was like a second mom to us and I attribute a lot of my continued interest to her.”
The aspiring thespian continued his studies at North Carolina School for the Arts, earning a BFA. He is philosophical about his roles on Broadway. While he is glad to have had the experience, he says, “the truth is, Broadway is one of the most insecure places to be for an actor, because the market is very saturated and it’s competitive with 40 or so theatres.” Most productions don’t succeed according to whatever their mission statement was from the beginning, he adds. Interestingly, while Rocky the Musical’s run on Broadway was relatively short, it played with great success in Hamburg, Germany, where Archie originated the role of Apollo Creed in an all-German production. He was the only actor who came directly from America in that production and, with characteristic vigor, immersed himself in the language for several months so that he could perform as a native speaker. After completing its run in Hamburg, says Archie, the show will continue in another German city.
“Twelfth Night” is a spirited romp that makes for great entertainment whether you are a veteran Shakespeare aficionado or a novice. Says director Taichman, “Shakespeare shows us that life consists of tremendous contradiction—hope and despair, love and fear, pain and ecstasy.” What better place to experience these truths of life than in the hands of an expert cast, under the stars in Balboa Park. “Twelfth Night” continues its run at the Lowell Davies Theatre through July 26.
