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Interviews
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David Calvitto Philip Fisher meets David Calvitto, a "man of fierce intelligence." A first meeting with David Calvitto makes one wonder how he could possibly have been cast in the classic play Twelve Angry Men. He would have been a cinch for Twelve Funny Men and, in a way, Guy Masterson's production at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh last year was just this. The idea of getting a team of stand-up comedians to play a straight play shows the vision that this fanatical and hard-working producer often demonstrates. Whilst the remake of the film starring Henry Fonda did not quite sell-out the whole of its three weeks, 92 per cent ticket sales would make almost anyone jealous. Whilst there were some rough edges, the show was such a success that Calvitto is currently preparing for a tour of Australia and New Zealand, playing in Adelaide, Perth and Wellington. He finds it hard to hide his feelings about the prospect "I'm very excited - I have never been Down Under". This show, together with its recent predecessors, has given him the opportunity to tour not only his native United States but also Canada and extensively in Britain. When Twelve Angry Men played in Edinburgh, it had a knack of attracting physical mishaps. The phrase "Is there a doctor in the house?" became common as, first, a lady in the audience tripped forwards, fell and smashed her face on stage. "There was blood flying and it was so serious that we had to stop the show for twenty minutes". Within a week, Juror 11 (Andy Smart) fainted onstage and fell into the lap of his next-door neighbour. This time, the poor actor had to be carried off stage and the show was held up for half-an-hour. His colleagues were suitably sympathetic and, at the curtain call that day, the other eleven took the opportunity to play dead. This reflects the spirit that ran through the production. As Calvitto puts it "They were such a great group of people - so much fun. It was an amazing experience working with comics - they are such a competitive breed. It is like a reflex with them to 'pick up the ball' when there is a joke around and make it their own". He continued by suggesting that the future would be rosy "If we can just get Dave Johns to focus". The wry grin as he stated this was a clear indication of the affection that this close-knit company have built up. Strangely, the show often looked like eleven comics (well nine in reality) and a funny man. This is because, "I had the comic role ironically, others had funny lines but my character is a self-styled jokester who attempts to be funny as a way of dealing with his boredom as well as expressing his anger. Therefore he is very funny". Everybody has their fingers crossed that the five-week Antipodean tour will be a success, as this could lead to greater things. There is a possibility that the show could make the West End in 2004 and if that happened, it is likely that the full original cast will be doing it. Nearly all of them have stayed together for Australia and New Zealand. Only Russell Hunter, Steve Furst and Bill Bailey are unavailable and the last named's absence gives the producer a well-deserved chance to play the straight man. Calvitto's final verdict on Guy Masterson's Twelve Angry Men shows the team's great belief in the production. "We brought an energy that was its main success. Guy was always pushing for intensity, he would never let us take anything for granted. When we saw the movie, we thought we measure up pretty well". Calvitto lives in New York, although it is hard for him to even remember his native country having spent almost the whole of the last year in United Kingdom. Luckily this is a country that he loves so much that he would willingly stay here permanently. After studying dramatic arts at university in New Jersey he became a member of an improvisational group and then after "doing the struggling actor's thing for a while" gave up acting, but not before he met up with a man who is now one of the biggest names in the business. "I did The Tempest with Patrick Stewart at a University in Ohio before he ever hit in Star Trek or in movies. That was 15 years ago. In fact, he was on his way to California that summer to begin filming the first season of Star Trek. During the rehearsals, he saw that I was having real trouble with the director. He asked me out to lunch and we talked about it. He showed real concern and offered his advice on both the role and dealing with the clueless director. I'll never forget his kindness". Calvitto then become a teacher of English as a foreign language. He soon climbed the ladder moving beyond teaching to training and high-level administration for six years. At that stage of his life, he decided that he would like to go to graduate school to do an MFA in directing. He soon realised that this was neither the right time nor the right place and dropped out to join the Present Company in New York. With them he has been able to try every type of stage discipline - acting, directing, writing and producing and, in addition, was instrumental in setting up the first New York Fringe Theatre Festival in 1997. They have also had great success in Edinburgh, winning a Fringe First for Brian Parks' Americana Absurdum in 2000. This was a play that Calvitto believed in so much that he bought the rights. While this might have seemed like success, it paled into insignificance when compared with the success of the company's most recent production, Horse Country by C J Hopkins. Horse Country not only won a Fringe First it also earned Calvitto a Stage Award for Best Actor on the Fringe and got the supreme First of the Firsts Award from the Scotsman for the best play of the year. These two plays together with a third, Goner are, unlike the ultra-realistic Twelve Angry Men all stylised, poetic pieces. They are also physically hard work, as is so important to keep the rhythm and pace throughout. Calvitto expresses it succinctly when talking about Horse Country: "There is rapid-fire dialogue with no pauses. It is like doing the Marines' exercise jumping into and out of tyres. If you stumble you throw the whole thing off rhythm". These are also plays that have no absolute meaning but Calvitto is always interested by audience reaction and in particular, that of actor/writer Greg Coetzee. He was bowled over by Horse Country and saw it as a seminal reaction to 9/11. If it was, Hopkins is truly a genius, as it was written in 1991 as a reaction to the first Gulf War. Perhaps it is just that history has a nasty habit of repeating itself. Calvitto has a busy time ahead of them. He could have chosen an alternative route to Australia since Horse Country will be playing there at the same time as Twelve Angry Men. As well as the projected West End visit, he will be producing the new play by John Clancy who directed him in Horse Country as well as C J Hopkins' latest play and might also be performing in one or both of these. Amazingly this remarkably natural actor has never appeared on television or film. His natural theatrical home seems to be in downtown New York, although Edinburgh is beginning to compete. Who knows? This could all change if Twelve Angry Men pushes him firstly on to a West End stage. It is amazing that such a busy man has a chance to get to the theatre to see other shows but his recent highlight is Franco Zeffirelli's production of Pirandello's Absolutely Perhaps. If you are ever in a theatre and see a slightly goofy looking American man looking lost but friendly, it might well be David Calvitto. Do not be fooled, while he is a very funny man, he also has a fierce intelligence. The best advice might be to introduce yourself. You will meet a man who has a deep love of theatre and is a real pleasure to talk with.
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