Interview: Rob Johansen

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?

I sure did! Actually, one day in rehearsal last year, I asked the room: What’s the difference between Potter and Scrooge? One of the biggest differences we came up with is, I don’t know that Potter is a redeemable man. He may be more of a Marley than a Scrooge, unable to see the error of his ways until after he’s died. Potter steals George’s money. Scrooge is a shrewd businessman, and he will drive the hardest bargain he can get, but I don’t think he would rob someone. Wouldn’t it be interesting to have Christmas Past visit Potter and learn what his back story is? Somebody should write that play!

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT RESOURCES YOU ARE USING TO CREATE YOUR SCROOGE? I’ll put it this way. You know I love dogs. I work very closely with dogs at the Humane Society. In this year’s new revised script, we now have that scene from the book where boy Scrooge is reading, and the characters on the pages spring to life. And adult Scrooge remembers the joy and magic of that. Then in the next scene, as young Scrooge is still stuck in that schoolhouse years later, he’s not reading, he’s pacing up and down: he’s losing hope. Unfortunately, when a dog at the shelter has been there way too long, the things that we do to bring them joy begin to fade. It becomes harder to reach them as a being, and their personality makes a really bad shift. When I first read that new scene in this revised script, my heart and mind went right to that situation. I’ve seen dogs go from joyful beings to ones that question every other being’s intent; they get stiff, they lose the ability to make eye contact, they get mean. So that’s one way I’m approaching Scrooge.

WE HAVE ALL LIVED IN ISOLATION FOR THE LAST 20 MONTHS, AND NOW YOU ARE PLAYING ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST ISOLATED CHARACTERS. HOW IS THAT EXPERIENCE AFFECTING YOUR WORK ON THE ROLE? So often, people want to see this show because they say, there’s a little bit of Scrooge in me. There’s a little bit of Scrooge in everybody. It’s a really great thing to be able to play Scrooge as we are, hopefully, beginning to come out of this pandemic, at least far enough that we can stick our heads out of the house and put them in a theatre. There is a strong chance that we’ve all increased our Scrooginess because of the pandemic. So I am extraordinarily lucky to be able to tap into that isolation, and play Scrooge for an audience that is hungry to remove themselves from that isolation. I’m sticking myself deep into that isolation so that at the end of the play I can rocket out of it, and help other people to do the same. AS WE ARE TALKING TODAY, YOU’VE HAD ONE WEEK OF REHEARSAL. WHAT DO YOU KNOW NOW THAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW A WEEK AGO, BEFORE YOU STARTED? Halfway through the first day of rehearsal, I thought, somebody has made a huge mistake. I suck. I have had these lines in my head for a long time. There was a time when I thought I wanted to play Scrooge someday, and then a lot of years when I thought nope, nope. Then a couple of years ago I started to think, you know, maybe I do. But when I was in the driver’s seat that first day, I was so in my head, I freaked out. Now I’ve relaxed, I’m not thinking so bloody hard. Whether it’s Hamlet or a walk-on, approach it the same way: with the same questions you would ask to create any other role. So maybe that’s what I’m learning: don’t worry that you’re playing an icon. Scrooge is just a man.

Rob Johansen as Marley’s Ghost in the IRT’s 2019 production of A Christmas Carol. Photo by Zach Rosing.

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