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Vaughn Irving as Billy Bishop
in Billy Bishop Goes To War
Where did you grow up and where do you live now?
I grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico and then attended college at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, IL. After college I traveled around the country doing theatre wherever I could, and about three years ago I settled in the Washington, DC area.
How did you get involved in Theatre?
I first started doing theatre at age 8. My sister, who was 3 years older, started taking after school drama classes with a company called Santa Fe Performing Arts and I urged my parents to sign me up as well. I continued with drama classes at and after school through high school and then decided to study Music Theatre in college. My first professional show was at Post Playhouse in Nebraska in the summer on 2004. I was 19 years old.
What makes you love the Theatre?
Collaboration. Not only with other performers, directors, and designers, but also with the audience. The thing about theatre that we can't get from television and film is that feeling that we are a part of the story. Theatre goers are not passive observers, they experience the story unfold live in front of them and they are part of it. There is an energy that cannot be duplicated in any other type of entertainment.
Since this is not your first show at the Old Creamery, what other shows have you been in?
This is my 5th show here at the Old Creamery. In 2008 I did Clue the Musical in which I played Mr. Boddy. Then I came back in the fall of 2010 to play Smudge in Forever Plaid: Plaid Tidings. And in October of 2012 I played Hannay in The 39 Steps as well as the father in Bunnicula, the Old Creamery's theatre for young audiences production.
What keeps you coming back to the Old Creamery?
The people. It is always a challenge for me to put life in DC on hold, but I make time for the Old Creamery because there are so many wonderful artists and friends here. When I come to the Old Creamery, I always feel like I'm coming home. Plus, my mother lives in Iowa City now, so I sort of am coming home!
What about your role as Billy Bishop are you the most excited about?
The challenge of performing a one man show originally attracted me to the piece: the opportunity to play 20 different characters in one evening, But as worked on the show the thing that is most exciting is the story, the journey that Billy goes on. He is grows up, he sees the horrors of war, but he also has a very nuanced view of his situation, and I feel we get both sides of the story more than most pieces about war.
What is the most difficult aspect of your role as Billy?
I would have to say the same thing I said before: creating 20 distinct characters. I want it to be crystal clear what character is talking and so I have to make sure each of them has a distinct voice and body while not dishonoring the memory of the real person, as most of them are historical figures from WWI.
Why should people come see Billy Bishop Goes To War?
Billy Bishop Goes To War is a show unlike anything I've seen before. It is hilariously funny and poignant all at the same time. It is, of course, one man's remembrance of WWI, but it also approaches the idea of war in general. It doesn't have an agenda, it just gives us a new perspective. And I think that a new perspectives are valuable for all of us.