An Interview with a ‘Dictator’

CAPE MAY — Last spring, over two hundred actors in New York City auditioned for East Lynne Theater Company’s production of “The Dictator,” and one of those, Brad Heikes is currently playing the lead in this zany farce.
After a busy two-and-a-half weeks of rehearsing and putting the show on its feet, Brad had a few minutes to talk while sipping coffee and sitting on the front porch of where he’s staying in West Cape May. Gayle Stahlhuth took the opportunity to ask him a few questions, the first of which was what got him interested in theater in the first place. He quickly responded.
“My parents have always supported the arts and were volunteers at the Victoria Theater in Dayton, Ohio where I grew up. It’s an old, beautiful theater that brings in everything from musicals, like “Cats,” to one-person shows starring Leonard Nimoy.
I remember when my brother and I saw the touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Starlight Express.’ We’d never seen anything like it.”
He was on the bench for his high school basketball team when he auditioned for his first school play. It was “Our Miss Brooks,” and he landed a role” And I was hooked,” added Brad.
At the College of Charleston in South Carolina, he majored in sociology and Spanish, while still taking a few theater classes. During his sophomore year, he spent six months in Santiago, Chile at La Universidad Diego Portales. Although he was there mainly to study Spanish, he ended up also studying Latin American theater and took South American dance and improv classes.
Improv work is part of an actor’s basic training, where actors are forced to think spontaneously with scene partners without a script. This work can be tricky even in one’s own language, but of course, Brad was taking this class in Spanish. I asked him what that was like.
“It was fun,” he responded. “I created a lot of ‘mute’ characters, like the non-verbal American tourist.”
“A friend and I volunteered at COANIL, an orphanage/youth program for children, many of whom where sent there because they had Down Syndrome,” he added. “We created a weekly theater/music/ writing workshop for kids ages 5-12. It was great.”
During his senior year, back in Charleston, he switched his focus to acting, and after graduation, took off for New York City, with, as he put it, “no connections or network in place. I had intentions of being an actor, but not sure how or what to do. Then he studied with Rochelle Oliver at HB Studios.
“She was amazing – such a mentor – with a rich theater background,” Brad continued. “She worked with Uta Hagen, and was in the Off-Broadway production of ‘Driving Miss Daisy.’ My acting career took off with her help.”
Brad has received advice from actors with whom he’s performed, too, including five-time Tony-nominated Boyd Gaines, who when asked for any tips about the acting profession, said, “Know what you’re doing and appreciate what you’re doing.”
Gaines, with Claire Danes and Jefferson Mays, was in Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of “Pygmalion.”
Brad was also in this successful three-month run, and I asked him what it was like seeing these seasoned actors work during rehearsals and performances.
“It was amazing,” he said, “although I wasn’t on stage very long. In fact, a friend of mine, who was also in the show, and I made a short indie film about our Broadway experience, called ‘Above Broadway.’ It’s been seen at a few film festivals including the San Francisco International Film Festival and the Yellow Springs Film Festival.
Inspired by the success of their first indie, they’ve formed their own film company, Digital Farmer.
Brad also had a running role in “Guiding Light” and has appeared in a number of commercials, but he is still very interested in live theater, and when Roundabout called him to be part of a staged reading of the 1948 play, “Mr. Roberts,” starring Alec Baldwin, he jumped at the chance.
Theaters outside of New York where Brad has performed include The Spirit of Broadway at Norwich, Connecticut and Act II in Ambler, Pennsylvania, where he had the privilege of working on new plays, with playwrights present and still refining their scripts. At Cohoes Music Hall at Cohoes, New York, he had the opportunity to play one of his favorite roles, Frederick Fellowes in Michael Frayn’s 1980’s British farce, “Noises Off.”
Brad is also one of the performers in “The Unexpected Boys,” a group that features the music of Frankie Valli, providing entertainment on luxury cruise lines.
Brad Heikes along with nine other actors are appearing in “The Dictator” every Wednesday through Saturday at 8:30 through September 4 at The First Presbyterian Church, 500 Hughes St, in Cape May, where the Equity professional East Lynne Theater Company is in residence. To make a reservation or for information, call 609-884-5898 or go online to www.eastlynnetheater.org .