In Part 10 of a series of interviews with the cast and director of To Kill a Mockingbird at Rockville Little Theatre. Meet Matthew Wixted.
Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen you perform on local stages.
My name is Matthew Wixted and this is my first community theater performance.
Why did you want to appear in this production of To Kill a Mockingbird?
I want to be an actor when I grow up and I thought there was no better way to start a good acting resume than with this powerful play.
Who do you play in the show and how do you personally relate to your character?
I play Jem Finch and he and I can relate in a way where we both had a great life growing up but there was a loss of innocence that everyone faces when they grow up.
What is To Kill a Mockingbird about from the point of view of your character?
To Kill a Mockingbird is about a boy who is getting through his life in a normal way, but than everything changes as his father takes on the case of defending a black man in the court of law.
What scene or scenes were the most difficult to learn and why?
Act one, scene two because I just couldn’t get the lines down and that bothered me a lot.
Which scene or scenes moves you the most? And why?
I would say act two, scene one where we are in the court room and Atticus is giving his final statement because it is such a powerful peice of literature that it gets to you even if your in the cast.
Why is this show relevant for today’s theatregoers?
This question really made me think. The show is relevant to today’s theatregoers because it show how our society treated people of different skin color and how we still do that today.
What have you learned about yourself as a person and an actor while learning and rehearsing your role?
As a person I learned that isn’t the color of skin or the way someone walks, talks, or dresses but it’s about how we treat people of different races and religions unfairly. As an actor I learned that I need to work on accents and that comedy is my best type of performance.
What was the best advice your director gave you on preparing and playing your character?
The best abvice I got from my director and the most frequent advice was not to push teh southern accent. To try and listen to the other actors and actresses.
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?
One difference is that Jem doesn’t read to Mrs. Debose. He talks to her off stage than complains to Atticus on stage about what he has to do.
What do you want audiences to take with them after seeing you perform in To Kill a Mockingbird?
I want the audience members to think “Wow look how far we come in our society, but look how far we still need to go.”
To Kill a Mockingbird plays through 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.
Meet the Cast of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ at Rockville Little Theatre: Part 5: Sydney Lauricella-Reed.
Meet the Cast of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ at Rockville Little Theatre: Part 6: Liz Weber.
Meet the Cast of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ at Rockville Little Theatre: Part 7: Jill Goodrich.
Meet the Cast of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ at Rockville Little Theatre: Part 8: Grant Williams.
Meet the Cast of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ at Rockville Little Theatre: Part 9: Todd Mazzie.
Meet the Cast of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ at Rockville Little Theatre: Part 10: Matthew Wixted.
Meet the Cast of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ at Rockville Little Theatre: Part 11: Mike Steimer (Coming on Tuesday).
