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Ato:
How irreverent and sexy it was. But mostly I was struck by the play’s ability to be at odds with itself. There was joy and pain and pride and shame and so many contradictory impulses, but Jeremy has fused them all together to make this entirely singular piece. 

James:
The unapologetic discomfort that it causes in the hearts of the reader. I was particularly affected by the rhythm in which Jeremy wrote these characters and how dead on they are to people in real life. We know every one of those people. They are relatable, unhealthy, messy, vulnerable humans of flesh and blood that are so desperately trying to heal and move forward in their life. The structure of the language with its thoughts from synapse to synapse is orchestrated so masterfully that it taps into a profoundly natural progression of revelation within these people and the greater story being told; you never miss a beat on this journey. To perform and be present in this play is a tremendous task, because if you don't stay alive and be hyperaware of your other partners on stage, you are already 5 steps behind the play. The play takes over you—a rare thing for most contemporary plays. 

Ato:
By the time we started rehearsals I’d seen a workshop production of the play and participated in a reading of it. So, I’d had the opportunity to spend a bit of time with the character and normally I’m the type to do a lot of research and investigation before getting into the rehearsal room, but I just felt like it would serve me best to find the character in the room and latching onto James and the rest of this company taught me everything I needed to know about my character. 

James:
Dustin is someone is who leads with his ego. His inability to see beyond his own privilege for the sake of his black partner is something that, I have to be honest, is not comfortable to play every evening. You have to fully dive into the ignorance of this person. Which is exactly the thing that is not helping this person move forward in his life. To acknowledge that first, I believe is key. There is a lack of awareness that is tricky to play—because you don't want him to seem like an idiot buffoon—rather an intelligent person that means well and doesn't have the social awareness necessary to see beyond his own flaws and space that he takes up. There has to be a sense of compassion for this messy complicated person, otherwise the story is lost and the character becomes a caricature. I have no idea how I go to that place every night, I suppose I meditate on it, practice it, practice telling a truthful narrative, connecting to something personal, every day is a rehearsal.

Ato:
James and I met back in 2012 before we started grad school and we were fast friends. I thought two things when I met him: 
1. He’s GORGEOUS 
2. He’s a bighearted goofball 

James:
Ato and I first met the summer before we were in the same acting class at Yale School of Drama. I had been told that we would love each other. They weren't wrong. Immediately, I saw a grounded, beautiful, complex, aware, vulnerable, loving person. I said, “That person is going to be my right hand man,” and he still is. We have been dreaming of this moment working together professionally since the day we met.

Ato:
Because we’d gone through three years of grad school and been very close throughout it, the trust was already built. In rehearsals, we were just very honest about our wants/needs and our friendship really allowed us to go deep into the love and vulnerability these characters share.

James:
The trust between us was already there. We were able to immediately dive in. However, it was a challenge in our relationship, as deeply sensitive people, to dive into that place every evening with such volatility, hostile language, and behavior is quite taxing to do with your best friend. Ato is the person that I call after a tough rehearsal or a performance, and vice versa. This time we're together and we've naturally eased into an unspoken place of professional and friend boundaries that I think we are handling really well—even in the difficult moments when work can sometimes be really hard. And it often is with this play. 

Ato:
I don’t want to give anything away about the show so I’ll be purposely vague and say the intimacy of Act I is my favorite shared moment because I know the work we did to build something that feels dangerous and sexy.

James:
All moments together on stage is a favorite. But if I had to choose...at one moment we break out into a pas de deux fighting/dance/dream ballet...this sends me back every night to performing with Ato at Yale. We did a lot of drag together and it’s rare to have a dance/movement partner that really knows your next breath and gesture, even while improvising—we just work like that. At school, a sidewalk, or the stage—we instinctively know each other's bodies and can really get a crowd going. It's thrilling. "But I can't do it alone" 

Ato:
For me, it would have to be one where an older black woman in the front row yelled “speak!” during my monologue in Act II. It’s rare to go to the theatre and get those affirmations that the work you’re doing is actively affecting the audience.

James:
There has been so many but one performance, the moment when Ato and I kiss downstage center—a couple from the front row center got up and left. They were uncomfortable clearly and they walked out of the show. Ato and I paused our dialogue and I stared them down with some attitude until they exited the theatre, Ato held me tightly, and the scene continued. We weren't gonna let them own that moment—this is our show. 

Ato:
Listening to music or laughing with my cast mates or our company DANCE PARTIES.

James:
Gym, vocal warmup, connecting/chatting with everyone at the theatre beforehand, a big cup of tea and my essential oils to get me grounded and ready. Some plays I'll go off into my own quiet place and meditate, but this with this one and the amount of vulnerability and play that it demands I find that chatting and being as casual as possible before curtain is key. It calms my nerves and gets me connected to people and their eyes. It gets me listening, really listening. 

Ato:
Paul Nolan’s Canadian Dad jokes.

James:
We have such a strong cast. Honestly every night I am still laughing at people's lines from the sound monitor. We are such goofs backstage and I think it provides the space and separation of...play and seriousness on stage, and in healthy environment—there is still play in the serious. There has to be. We hold each other up. 

Ato:
When I saw The Scottsboro Boys on Broadway. I was so deeply affected by that show but especially the end. I was an emotional wreck and couldn’t move as people were filing out of the theater and I remember finally going out into Times Square and feeling so disoriented. I’d never had a piece of theater make me lose sense of time and space and haven’t experienced that since. 

James:
I'll give a shout-out to my scene partner Ato Blankson-Wood. Did you see him in The Total Bent at the Public Theatre? Star.