Tom McGrath

This is part 2 in my little series where I say something I really like about one of the actors in my play.

Tom, who plays the male lead, has just amazed me with his development of the role. I first heard him do it in a reading, and he did the part with great earnestness, which I thought was good. But he has added so much, and has always made it look effortless. He takes direction very well - one instruction and his performance changes. But, what is more, he is inventive on his own as well - there's a great bit in the show involving a banana, and that is all his. The trap, for actors, in his role, I think, is that the role can appear at first to be sort of a "victim" role. But that turns out to be a misleading assessment, so the actor has to find his way to make the character more of a fighter, even if he's not much of a boxer. Perhaps most important, Tom has invested the character of Ed with personal charm, which is critical to the success of the emotional portion of the plot of the play.