When you’re a theatre goer, you definitely see a lot of amazing performances. Obviously, actors are cast because they’re right for the role, and I think most of the time, they do a damn good job. I guess there are always mistakes, but I absolutely love watching actors embody their characters. Acting is a gift, and anyone pursuing a career onstage knows this. Some people go above and beyond, though…and I think Jordan Bellow is on that fast track.
To begin with, The Comeuppance was a perfect vehicle for Bellow. Seeing him as Emilio was absolutely insane. I loved every second of his performance. And it definitely didn’t look like an easy role to conquer. The way he played the character, the way he interacted with his fellow cast members…I don’t think I could imagine anyone else playing that character. I was completely inspired, and I felt extremely lucky to see Bellow doing something that not a ton of people could pull off.
Fortunately, I got to ask Jordan Bellow some questions about The Comeuppance, Emilio, and his personal thoughts on it all. I love how much insight the actor has to his role and the show he was a part of. There’s absolutely nothing like seeing that come from some interview questions. Watching the show, I can’t imagine it was an easy show to do, and the character of Emilio wasn’t an easy part to play. But Bellow made it seem almost effortless. He clearly knew the character of Emilio inside and out, a fact made even more evident by the way he answered these questions!
Emilio is stuck in the past, present and future at the same time, and in different points throughout the show. How do you embody and play out all those different perspectives as they’re happening?
With most plays and roles, embodying different perspectives during the characters journey of the story is usually a moment by moment task and that can be achieved by paying attention to what is being said in the text to inform when your character may experience these temporary switches or reversions in their personality. One example I can give is when Emilio wants to moon Kristina but is then surprised by Paco’s unexpected appearance and immediately reverts back to how he felt about Paco in high school. Present Emilio talks a very big game and has never liked Paco but present Emilio is also still afraid of Paco and has never reckoned with how Paco treated him in the past so he reverts back to his past self almost subconsciously in that moment and has certain other moments throughout where for brief seconds, he feels just like how he felt at 15 even though he’s 38.
We see you embody both Emilio and Death. What is Emilio’s relation to Death, if he has any?
As Death says in the play while speaking through Emilio, “Emilio is maybe the person here with whom I am the least familiar.” Death also explains in the same monologue that the only close moment Emilio has had with Death was when he considered committing suicide many years ago when he was in high school. I believe Emilio likes to flirt with the idea of destruction but is actually very afraid of it.
Why do you think Emilio is so insistent on keeping things the way they’ve always been?
Emilio does like change and is ok with life evolving as that’s nature but he doesn’t like when people have a selective memory, misremember things or choose to forget certain details about their life and their choices just to make themselves feel better (even if he, at times, is guilty of this himself). He liked taking photos because he liked capturing moments exactly as they were, this art form was a perfect extension of how his brain operates but eventually certain memories and pictures started to hurt him so he stops taking them (this is how he’s guilty of doing the same thing he accuses others of but in an abstract way).
On that note, why has Emilio estranged himself so much from the people he used to love?
Emilio never spoke up for himself to Paco and he never told Katelyn his true feelings so he ran away from DC after Kristina’s wedding because he was upset with everyone else’s lives going in directions that he didn’t agree with, on top of his own life feeling just as unfulfilled and disappointing. He wanted to try and create a new life and person for himself because this old high school one was played out but no matter how far he ran away or how long he was gone, that same person still loves these other people and needed to see them again (it also helps that he has no idea Paco is back or else he would’ve never showed up).
Emilio has a lot to lose and gain by coming to this reunion. What do you think is his greatest takeaway?
His takeaway is twofold - he didn’t come there expecting to tell anyone off but as the night progresses (with Pacos arrival), he decides after the kiss that he will confront Paco with the specific intention of hurting him and he wants that takeaway to be a comeuppance for both Katelyn and Paco but the reaction and the result of his attack is an explosion from the whole group ending in destruction for all so the takeaway or payoff doesn’t feel satisfying. In the last scene, it is Emilio hearing Ursula ask “Why do you care so much?” “You hide so much, Emilio.” “Your life is not small.” - this comes out of seeing Emilio still caring about something that was never going to give him any fulfillment and realizing that he needs to let those feelings go is, for me, Emilio’s other takeaway.
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I really hope that I get the chance to see Jordan Bellow act again. Seeing him in The Comeuppance was truly something wonderful. I’m completely sure he puts all of that into every role he plays…there are so many amazing up and coming actors out there, especially in this area, and Bellow has a true gift, on many different levels. He was able to see all sides of his character…something you just don’t always see. It was truly something wonderful to experience.
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