About a year ago, I was lucky enough to ask Christopher Patrick Mullen some questions. It was my second time seeing him in A Christmas Carol Comedy, and I was sort of just starting to get a roll on interviews. It was a lot of fun, and CPM had a lot to say in response to my questions. CCC was one helluva show, and I very much enjoyed it for two years in a row…but getting to see CPM amongst a (mostly) new cast in a new show was great.
It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play was very different from CCC, but it was definitely just as enjoyable. It was a very different type of show, but still funny and a good lighthearted show for this time of year. And Mullen absolutely did not disappoint this year either. I’ve seen him do a ton of comedy over the years, but he’s definitely really getting into this holiday humor with gusto. Watching him is always a treat. Getting to interview him again was even more of a treat.
I really love what CPM has to offer by way of what he does, both the outer workings and inner workings. He really has such a mind, and such a finesse for what he does. I’m so excited that I get to present a look into his thoughts again…if I get to interview anyone multiple times, CPM is definitely that person. I hope everyone gets everything out of this interview that I did…it’s totally something we’re lucky to see!
You’ve done A Christmas Carol Comedy for the past two years. How does it feel to tackle a new Christmas play?
It's may be hard to believe , but my work on CCC (both as an actor and director) forced me to finally get to know the Dickens classic for the very first time. In my 44 years onstage I'd never once been a part of any version of Christmas Carol! And the same is true of It's A Wonderful Life; Although I'd seen bits and pieces of the film over the years, I had never watched the movie from start to finish until a few months before starting rehearsals-- and wow! Yeah, it's a screaming masterpiece. And our script (by Joe Landry) is a fantastic adaptation of the original screenplay. What a joy it's been for me to get inside this story.
I’ve seen you do all sorts of comedy over the years, from physical to spoken, and everything in between. What sort of comedy and/or humor do you get the most joy from?
I think the gold (comedy/joy) is the in between physicality and spoken word. Of course the payoff (the raison d'etre) of comedy is measured simply in laughs; laughter is its goal and it's only reward, and it takes physical exertion. There is no escaping it. Sometimes absolute stillness is the most energy draining dynamic (in comedy). No matter how well crafted the spoken word, it rides atop a sort of bass line of movement, serves as sort of wind beneath the wings of the line (its tonic or its counterpoint in a sense). I can tell you simply that Wonderful Life is not a comedy because I don't sweat like in CCC.
You played one character in It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, but you interacted with actors playing multiple ones. How were you able to get in the mindset of playing off one character to the next?
Cool Question! My experience with the multiple character situation has always necessitated a kind of mindset of sketch comedy. Broad strokes have to be used to markedly distinguish instantaneous changes. In Wonderful Life, the actor (Jake Laurents) playing George Bailey is stuck delightfully in the inverse of the madcap multi-character situation: He's in a kind of pinball machine with all these elements lighting up and bouncing off of him (kind of like Hamlet), and you have to know what the game is, so to speak. But that's the fun part. And also the realization that our audience is primarily following George's journey! That's fun.
It’s a Wonderful Life is a pretty heavy story. How was it turning this darker source material into something as comedic as this?
This is the part I love the most. George Bailey's story is a bit like Scrooge's and a bit like the book of JOB. He has a quintessentially charmed existence, but he does not see it as such, but we do. The nightmare he goes through is only stomached because we know his innocence, we know what he is deserving of. So somehow even his downward spiral is in a perspective of discovery and renewal even as he's in free fall. Story-wise it's a magic act. And I think the radio show aspect is perfect for this balance. It involves the audience in an immediate way whereby they are intricate in telling this story that we all know (or we should know).
What makes your life wonderful?
Wow! Putting that question in the perspective of our current Hedgerow production (unavoidable), here's the first thing that comes to mind: at my age I've been fortunate enough to see other careers begun that I like to think I had a hand in starting or inspiring or nurturing. And even the thought is pretty darn wonderful. Other stuff: My family is wonderful! My legs are still allowing me to bounce around onstage like a freaking teenager! That's wonderful! I'm getting to teach a lot of talented, aspiring actors! That's amazingly wonderful! Even though I've been a dirty rotten scoundrel, I have incredibly not lost my faith! And holy shit, that's wonderful!! And.. And-- Listening to great music (Currently Sibelius: symphony no.2) that is my ultimate inspiration and irreplaceably WONDERFUL. Lastly... getting to answer your thoughtful questions, Zoe! Wonderful!! :-)
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I told CPM that he should become a recurring character on my blog. I have interviewed him twice now. It’s certainly a wonderful thing that he gave me the chance twice! I can’t wait to keep seeing CPM on stage. If getting to interview him is a pleasure, getting to see him act is even more so. I don’t care if it’s comedy or not, CPM is a local actor that we are extremely fortunate to have.
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