Interview with NY based actor and magician, Eric Walton
Posted by Fetch Mon, 02 Jan 2006 14:32:00 GMT
Eric Walton is a New York-based performer and writer. He is the creator of Esoterica and worked with On the Leesh for the Sin project.
Fetch: Was there a moment when you realized, this is what I want to do?
Eric Walton: I’ve never had one of those epiphanal experiences that you hear performers talk about with such nostalgia. The desire to perform has always been a part of my personality, at least for as long as I can remember, but in terms of the work I do in ‘Esoterica’, that is to say, sleight of hand, mentalism. poetry, etc., I’ve only been doing that since 2000 and it wasn’t until I had put the show up a couple of times that I began to think of it as something that could actually have a life.
F: As a magician, you have many paths to choose from: mimesis, card tricks, contortionism, levitation, the list is endless…how do you pick and choose what to study and what to incorporate into a show?
EW: Selecting and developing material for my show is a delicate and grueling process. As you mentioned, the variety arts have many genres and sub-genres and there’s an abundance of material in each, so it really becomes a matter of developing a sense of what will work in the show and complement the other routines in it. The show you saw was the result of four years of development that comprised endless re-writes, staged-readings, show-case and work-shop productions and several fully staged productions and I’m still making changes.
F: In Esoterica you use heightened language throughout, why do you choose to do this?
EW: The use of heightened language in the show serves a two-fold purpose, really. First of all, it helps establish the character as someone who is educated, articulate and cosmopolitan; essentially, someone who knows what he’s talking about and who deserves the audience’s trust and attention. Secondly, so much of what I deal with in ‘Esoterica’ is, well, pretty esoteric and I think that it demands language that is in no way pedestrian. The ideas that I address in the show, Destiny vs Free Will, life after death, the putative limits of human perception, etc., these are all big and important ideas and I think the language needs to support them and relate to them in a way that’s congruent.
F: You incorporate a lot of storytelling into your performance, how important is it to have a narrative structure in a magic show?
EW: Story-telling is an important part of ‘Esoterica’, though the show itself lacks what you might call a strictly linear narrative. What holds ‘Esoterica’ together is a kind of thematic congruity that runs through each routine. I think that any theatrical program needs either a narrative or thematic thru-line in order to stay afloat and be effective and I think a lot of magicians overlook this necessity to their own peril. I believe a theater audience needs to feel assured that they’re on a course, that the man (or woman) at the helm has a destination in mind and that each moment of the show is bringing them closer to that destination.
F: Are there particular magicians you admire, or who you’ve studied in-depth?
EW: In terms of entertainers outside the realm of magic, my biggest influences so far have been the late Johnny Carson and the The Post-Modern Master of the Side-Show Arts, Todd Robbins. Carson was an impeccable host who could put anyone at ease and his wit and demeanor were as charming as any performer I have ever witnessed. Todd Robbins is a friend of mine and is one of the most dynamic and generous performers I have ever seen.
F: I think your stage character would make a great graphic novel, would you ever expand into other mediums (so to speak)?
EW: As an actor, I’ve worked a lot in media other than theater and would love to branch out into those media and others as a solo performer. In the very first run of the show, we used projections for some multi-media, interactive stuff that was a lot of fun and I’d like to re-visit some of those ides once we’ve got the resources to make it look really good. A graphic novel is a great idea and I’ve played around with that sort of thing a little bit with the image for the ‘Esoterica’ poster, but there’s definitely a lot of unrealized potential there.
- For more information about Eric’s work and a calendar of shows check out: http://www.ericwalton.com
