In Part 2 of a series of interviews with the cast and director of To Kill a Mockingbird at Rockville Little Theatre. Meet Kieran Duffy.
Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen you perform on local stages.
My name is Kieran Duffy. You may have seen me as Arturo Ui (Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui) and Mr. Hasler (The Pajama Game) at Montgomery college.
Why did you want to appear in this production of To Kill a Mockingbird?
It is a classic tale people from many different angles can relate to…and it had a role for me.
Who do you play in the show and how do you personally relate to your character?
I play Dill Harris, friend to Scott and Jem and legendary provoker of Boo Radley. Dill seems to always be scheming some kind of plan in the back of his head – my younger self can definitely relate to that.
What is To Kill a Mockingbird about from the point of view of your character?
At first it’s all about Boo Radley; how to bring him out of his house, what he looks like, etc. Although, later on in it becomes something much more serious. As the trial of Tom Robinson unfolds, Dill comes to a realization and his innocence established in the Boo scenes is destroyed.
What scene or scenes were the most difficult to learn and why?
The toughest scene for me is the opening scene in which Dill is introduced. It is hard to overview the many sides of dill in a single sequence.
Which scene or scenes moves you the most? And why?
The scenes with Scout and Atticus probably move me the most, you get to observe some pretty intense situations through the eyes of both a child and an adult.
Why is this show relevant for today’s theatregoers?
This show is still relevant today because although we like to think otherwise, our society still faces many of the fears and prejudices explored in To Kill A Mockingbird.
What have you learned about yourself as a person and an actor while learning and rehearsing your role?
I’ve learned it’s far too easy for us to fear things that are abnormal to us or that we don’t understand. As an actor I realized I fit very specific character niche of young boys and old men.
What was the best advice your director gave you on preparing and playing your character?
“Dill is very charming…a very weird kind of charming”.
For those people who love the film, what is different about the stage version and why should they come see it live on the stage?
Honestly I’ve never seen the film! If there’s a movie of a production that I’m in I typically don’t watch it in order to find a more organic portrayal of the character.
What do you want audiences to take with them after seeing you perform in To Kill a Mockingbird?
Hope. Hope in seeing how far we’ve come since the time of Jim Crow but also of how far we still have to go.
To Kill a Mockingbird plays from April 24 to May 3, 2015 at Rockville Little Theatre performing at F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre at The Rockville Civic Center- 603 Edmonston Drive, in Rockville MD. For tickets, call the box office at (240) 314-8690, or purchase them online.
LINKS
Meet the Cast of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ at Rockville Little Theatre: Part 1: Nancy Lark.
Meet the Cast of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ at Rockville Little Theatre: Part 2: Kieran Duffy.
Meet the Cast of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ at Rockville Little Theatre: Part 3: Stuart Rick.
Meet the Cast of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ at Rockville Little Theatre: Part 4: Kevin Page.
