I’m sure I made it very clear in my last post that the show SMALL was absolutely amazing. More than that, really. I started out saying that I was “wow”ed…and I think that’s still the best way I could possibly explain my reactions about this show. Even weeks after seeing it, I’m still thinking about it. I have customers coming in telling me they’re seeing it, and all I can say is that they’re going to be floored and absolutely amazed.
SMALL wouldn’t be anything without its writer and actor, Robert Montano. The talent, the skill, the passion…he brings it all to the stage in this show. We are so lucky that People’s Light got him to bring this show to their theatre, especially with its history and time in NYC. Of course, every incarnation of a show is different, but what we get with this show is absolutely beautiful. It’s something stunning.
I was lucky enough to be able to ask Robert Montano some questions about his work, his process, and the show. I got some really wonderful insight, thoughts about it all, and some great answers to my questions. I loved learning more about the workings of SMALL, and the incredible man who made this show everything that it is. It’s truly amazing, what we can learn from him!
How does living this story over and over affect you and your emotions? Do you have a process for separating if you find that’s something you need at times?
I try not to think about how it would affect me, as that is the single killer for me… thinking! I only allow feeling. I don’t ever get ahead of myself and let it happen when it happens.
At what point did you realize this is a story that needed to be shared?
This has been a process… I had another director attached to the project and felt it was ready to go. I didn’t feel that way. Viscerally, something didn’t feel complete. So, it took its course until I found what was missing. Especially under the new director, Jessi D. Hill. With her brilliance, she was able to get me there. When it felt right, only then did I want to do a reading before an audience with a talkback, which I found extremely helpful. I knew I was onto something and forged ahead. We did three readings… the final was me asking the queen of Broadway, Ms. Chita Rivera, to host. She agreed without even knowing the story. Trusting me! After the reading, she passionately vowed to help me move this. Joe Brancato from the Penguin Rep Theater was out in the audience that day and snatched my script. We then premiered SMALL at his wonderful theater. They gave me the first opportunity where we proved successful… Now here we are at the gorgeous People’s Light Theater.
I found so much about this show to be about passion. Where do you find the passion to bring this to audiences?
To do SMALL on a nightly basis is a dream come true for me. I have been working at this for 7 years, and now I finally get to share it. How exciting is that! I find something new in every performance… I don’t always say a line the same way all the time; it varies. And quite frankly, I enjoy doing the show and find enjoyment in the physicality.
SMALL is fast-paced and intense. How do you check in with yourself to make sure you maintain that pace and ferocity?
It took me until doing the play here at People’s Light to find a proper pace without killing myself. SMALL is a monster show to do nightly. But as I said to my father, “Either this show is going to kill me or condition me… hopefully it’s the latter.” It is definitely the latter! And I make sure to take care of my body each week with a massage, proper eating, and saving my voice. This allows me to perform at its highest level. I never believe in marking a show, and I’ll certainly leave before that ever happens.
Every audience is different. How does each house affect your presentation of this show?
You’re right, every audience is different. There could be 7 people out there or seven hundred, that doesn’t change what I’m doing. Some audiences are quiet but I take that they are listening intently, and some are very vocal. Both are appreciated. People pay good money to experience what you have, and it’s for me to deliver.
What do you love most about doing this show?
I love that I get to play my mother and father… They are forever immortalized in this autobiographical play. I lost my mother in our opening week here at People’s Light. The hardest thing I ever had to do… to perform. But I know she would not have wanted it any other way. If she could say anything to me from above with her Spanish accent, it would be, “You have to do the show and make me famous. I want to impress Brad Pitt!” Well… they both got to see the play and very much approved. I only hope to make them proud on a nightly basis.
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SMALL is a show unlike any other, and I really think Robert Montano is a man unlike any other. Anyone who can write a show like this, act a show like this, and live his life over and over every night is one helluva man. I’m so glad that this show came to People’s Light…it’s reaching an audience that could definitely benefit from this story, though I imagine most audiences could. All it takes is one courageous man…the rest just unwinds itself.
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