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Bill Largess
Actor, Director and Dramaturg
Potomac Region audiences are
familiar with the face and the performances of Bill Largess from his work at
the Washington Stage Guild, Rep Stage, Ford's Theatre and the Round House
Theatre. Some are well aware of his work as a director at Washington Stage
Guild (The Family Reunion, Rose). Few may be aware of his work as a dramaturg however. Indeed, the very term "dramaturg" is relatively new and
not widely known. Largess explains that the post, when performed for a
company, involves searching for plays that fit the company's needs and
researching them for possible inclusion in a season. He also says the post
can be production-specific and that then he researches the historic period
of the play and the background of the author to assist the director and the
entire production team. "I feel a little like the representative of the
author which is important at the Washington Stage Guild because so many of
the plays we do are by dead authors" says Largess, adding that "of course,
the director and the cast are free to follow their own instincts, but I try
to make sure they make their choices from an informed perspective and not
out of ignorance." |
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Career Highlights: A founding member of the Washington Stage Guild, Largess
has established a solid reputation for work in the literate theater typified
by the works of George Bernard Shaw. His performances in their productions
of Shaw's Man and Superman and Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband earned him
Helen Hayes nominations in 1998 and 99. He has received the Theatre Lobby's
Mary Goldwater Award twice. A fine ensemble actor, Largess has also tackled
tricky solo-performer shows including Dante's Inferno, a bio-piece on Father
Damian of Molokai, Hawaii and Conor McPherson's St. Nicholas. In 1998 he
understudied Athol Fugard for the production of his The Captain's Table and
traveled with the show to New York where, due to Fugard's illness, he
frequently performed the show at City Center's Theatre II. As a director
he has helmed professional shows at the Washington Stage Guild and youth
camp shows at the Howard County Community College where he also teaches
acting and the history of theater.
Following graduation from Catholic University's Drama
Department, Washington DC native Bill Largess became active in the
then-booming dinner theater circuit in the Potomac Region of the 1970s. He
took a break from the acting/waiting tables routine, however, while caring
for his aging grandmother. He re-entered professional theater in the 80s
with staged readings and productions at some of the smaller theaters in the
area. A 1985/86 production of George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House at
Source Theatre was the basis for a major change when a number of the cast
and the production's director, John MacDonald, decided to form a company to be
able to work together on the kind of plays they enjoyed, the literate
theater typified by Shaw's work.
The Washington Stage Guild was the result, and Largess is one
of the half dozen members of the original group who founded the company who
are still working there, and, as Largess says, "still speaking to each other
. . . not an insignificant accomplishment." In his time with the Guild he
has earned two Helen Hayes nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a
Resident Play. He has performed in large ensemble shows such as On The
Rocks, two-performer shows opposite Conrad Feininger (Enigma Variations),
Laura Giannarelli (The Unexpected Man) and Jewell Robinson (Memoir in which
Robinson played Sarah Bernhardt and Largess played everyone else.).
Largess
splits his time between performing, dramaturgy and other off-stage
activities for the Washington Stage Guild including grant writing, research
and office chores and teaching two courses a semester at Howard County
Community College in Columbia where Rep Stage is the professional theater in
residence. In cooperation with Rep Stage he directs a play each summer as
part of the summer youth camp program of the college. He also serves as a
member of the regional committee of Actors' Equity, the union of performers
and stagehands.
Potomac
Stages reviews of the work of Bill Largess as of 11-16-04:
1776
- Ford's
Theatre
Enigma
Variations - Washington Stage Guild
Getting
Married - Washington Stage Guild
Memoir
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Washington Stage Guild
On The Rocks
-
Washington Stage Guild
Rose
-
Washington Stage Guild
The
Cherry Orchard - Round House Theatre
The
Dazzle - Rep Stage
The Family
Reunion - Washington Stage Guild
The
Seagull - Rep Stage
The
Unexpected Man - Washington Stage Guild
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