Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Swordfights? Romance? The nose? I mean, come on!

My acting bucket list: Jason Heil

Jason Heil (as Joe Pitt) in Angels in America (with Jessica John), ion theatre company, 2011
Jason Heil (as Joe Pitt) in Angels in America (with Jessica John), ion theatre company, 2011

I’m asking actors and designers to name five dream roles/projects and say why. The answers not only reveal aspirations — they may put an idea in the minds of artistic directors and producers — even choices that seem outside the box.

Jason Heil

“I had a lot of fun mulching around in this thought experiment," says Jason Heil. "I felt like Henry in The Real Thing searching for his desert island discs. You want to pick roles that entice and scare you. You want to cover different flavors. You don’t want to look like an idiot. I did notice a recurring theme of men who practice deception, often hiding truths from themselves. Also a balance of intelligence and gut.

"Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, by Stephen Sondheim. “The music and lyrics just reach into your soul. I would be fascinated to poke around in such a deep loss that stokes such hate and savagery. Wickedly funny and tragic. Tough to find that combo executed so brilliantly.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"Pastor Greg in Hand to God, by Robert Askins. “Talk about pitch-black comedy...Satan. Puppet sex. I love humor that is cringe-inducing. The comedy in this piece is scary/tricky, which calls to me. Pastor Greg is a delicious manifestation of the “Man” biting off more than he can chew. And it’s &%!#’n funny.

"Joe Keller in All My Sons, by Arthur Miller. “Having grown up in a small town in Ohio, this Miller play has always spoken to me on a visceral level. I know these people. I know this town. Joe thinks his lies are justified. But it is a fragile house of cards that he has built. Miller deftly explores family and honor.

...as Steve in Clybourne Park (with Amanda Leigh Cobb, Monique Gaffney), San Diego Repertory Theatre, 2013

"Rev. Morell in A Minister’s Wife, music by Jonathan Schmidt; lyrics, Jan Levy Tranan; book, Austin Pendleton. Combining two of my favorites [Shaw and musicals] this chamber piece of Shaw’s Candida is a battle of wits and battle of the sexes. James thinks he understands his faith, his wife, and his place in the world. Wrong. A tricky, raw exploration of love and faith and self.

"Cyrano, Cyrano de Bergerac, by Edmund Rostand. My favorite play can appeal to classical theater scholars as well as an 11-year-old kid (which I was when I first saw it) who loves swashbuckling and romance. As an actor (and a person) I relate to someone who finds wonderful successes from his very real gifts, while at the same time, never fully grasping his brass ring due to his very real faults. The language is gorgeous and intelligent. I played Christian earlier in my career. Playing Cyrano would simultaneously terrify me and make me giddy as a little kid. Poetry? Swordfights? Romance? The nose? I mean, come on!”

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

National City to junk permissive land-use code

Airbnb regs would be like Chula Vista's
Next Article

A history of the house on the hill at Ivanhoe Ranch

From Apolinaria Lorenzana to Jane Goodall
Jason Heil (as Joe Pitt) in Angels in America (with Jessica John), ion theatre company, 2011
Jason Heil (as Joe Pitt) in Angels in America (with Jessica John), ion theatre company, 2011

I’m asking actors and designers to name five dream roles/projects and say why. The answers not only reveal aspirations — they may put an idea in the minds of artistic directors and producers — even choices that seem outside the box.

Jason Heil

“I had a lot of fun mulching around in this thought experiment," says Jason Heil. "I felt like Henry in The Real Thing searching for his desert island discs. You want to pick roles that entice and scare you. You want to cover different flavors. You don’t want to look like an idiot. I did notice a recurring theme of men who practice deception, often hiding truths from themselves. Also a balance of intelligence and gut.

"Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, by Stephen Sondheim. “The music and lyrics just reach into your soul. I would be fascinated to poke around in such a deep loss that stokes such hate and savagery. Wickedly funny and tragic. Tough to find that combo executed so brilliantly.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"Pastor Greg in Hand to God, by Robert Askins. “Talk about pitch-black comedy...Satan. Puppet sex. I love humor that is cringe-inducing. The comedy in this piece is scary/tricky, which calls to me. Pastor Greg is a delicious manifestation of the “Man” biting off more than he can chew. And it’s &%!#’n funny.

"Joe Keller in All My Sons, by Arthur Miller. “Having grown up in a small town in Ohio, this Miller play has always spoken to me on a visceral level. I know these people. I know this town. Joe thinks his lies are justified. But it is a fragile house of cards that he has built. Miller deftly explores family and honor.

...as Steve in Clybourne Park (with Amanda Leigh Cobb, Monique Gaffney), San Diego Repertory Theatre, 2013

"Rev. Morell in A Minister’s Wife, music by Jonathan Schmidt; lyrics, Jan Levy Tranan; book, Austin Pendleton. Combining two of my favorites [Shaw and musicals] this chamber piece of Shaw’s Candida is a battle of wits and battle of the sexes. James thinks he understands his faith, his wife, and his place in the world. Wrong. A tricky, raw exploration of love and faith and self.

"Cyrano, Cyrano de Bergerac, by Edmund Rostand. My favorite play can appeal to classical theater scholars as well as an 11-year-old kid (which I was when I first saw it) who loves swashbuckling and romance. As an actor (and a person) I relate to someone who finds wonderful successes from his very real gifts, while at the same time, never fully grasping his brass ring due to his very real faults. The language is gorgeous and intelligent. I played Christian earlier in my career. Playing Cyrano would simultaneously terrify me and make me giddy as a little kid. Poetry? Swordfights? Romance? The nose? I mean, come on!”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

A history of the house on the hill at Ivanhoe Ranch

From Apolinaria Lorenzana to Jane Goodall
Next Article

Yellowtail show off La Jolla, Big tuna south

Spiny lobster doing well
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader