ROB JOHANSEN ON SCROOGE
Rob Johansen as Mr. Potter in the IRT’s 2020 production of This Wonderful Life. Photo by Zach Rosing. THIS IS ROB JOHANSEN’S 14TH YEAR IN A CHRISTMAS CAROL AND HIS 50TH PRODUCTION AT THE IRT. THIS SEASON, FOR THE FIRST TIME, HE PLAYS SCROOGE.
OVER THE YEARS YOU’VE PLAYED ALMOST EVERY MALE ROLE IN THE CAROL. WHAT DOES THE PLAY MEAN TO YOU? Growing up in upstate New York, my family huddled around the TV every Christmas to watch the various filmed versions of the Carol. My brother Rich and I had a holiday tradition that we would string popcorn and cranberries for his Christmas tree while we watched the George C. Scott version, which was our favorite. I love that one. (I also love that there are people that hate that one—it’s subjective.) My brother and I would watch it every year, and then we would have a really deep talk about the story. And every year our conversation would change based on our lives, our growing perceptions of the world. At that time I had no idea that eventually I’d live 700 miles from home. In 1998, when I did my first Carol at the IRT, I hadn’t made up my mind that I was going to make Indiana my forever home. But over the course of that Carol, celebrating Christmas with the city every day for six weeks, I fell in love with Indianapolis. I felt like I was gaining a new family out here, in addition to my family back home. A Christmas Carol helped me to form roots in this city that have now lasted 23 years.
IN THE PAST YOU’VE PLAYED BOB CRATCHIT A NUMBER OF TIMES, OFTEN WITH RYAN ARTZBERGER AS SCROOGE. NOW THOSE ROLES ARE REVERSED: RYAN IS BOB, AND YOU ARE SCROOGE. HOW DOES THAT PAST EXPERIENCE INFORM THIS YEAR’S MANAGEMENTEMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP? We’ve had a couple laughs in rehearsal about how we feel like we are in a house of mirrors, where everywhere you look is this deep, deep, deep reflection. But there is a great mutual respect that we both have; a reverence for the time we played the roles we did, and a mutual excitement that we get to explore something new. So far, we’re having a ball! We’re giving each other space to explore things on our own, to each discover these roles anew. We’ve also asked each other questions about certain moments, and we both feel free to either accept that advice or discard it. We’ve had a lively discussion about why Scrooge gives Bob the day off. My answer is different from Ryan’s. They’re both wonderful answers, but my answer is really important to who my Scrooge is. So I’m holding on to that. YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PLAY SCROOGE LAST YEAR, BUT WE DIDN’T PRODUCE THE CAROL. INSTEAD, YOU DID THE ONE-PERSON THIS WONDERFUL LIFE. DID YOU THINK ABOUT SCROOGE WHILE YOU WERE DEVELOPING MR. POTTER?
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