Herb Parker is an acting professor at UW-Madison and one of the principal actors in the Madison Reparatory production of August Wilson’s “Fences.” He sat down last week between classes and rehearsal to talk to The Badger Herald about acting and his role in the play.
Badger Herald: What classes do you teach at UW-Madison?
Herb Parker: I teach two acting classes, one for grads and one for undergrads. I am in the middle of my second year here.
BH: What’s your background?
HP: Before coming to Madison I lived in New York for 17 years. I was an actor pounding the pavement. Then this opportunity came about when a friend of mine recommended me because he knew that [UW was] looking for people. They brought me here to interview and discuss my philosophy of teaching acting, which, actually, I had never thought about before. I was just so busy trying to do it. But once I started thinking about it, I suddenly recognized that I enjoyed it.
I got my master of fine arts [degree] at Ohio University in Athens and my bachelor of fine arts in theater [degree] at Stephens College, Mo. I was enjoying this career in New York, working in regional theater and traveling a great deal over the course of 20 years.
BH: Do you use your experiences of acting in your classes?
HP: Yes. Part of my contract is that I continue to act. Some professors need to publish or lecture, but for a person in my position they would like for me to continue to perform. But since I’ve become a teacher, it seems even more important that I perform because I want to be certain that I’m giving my students the most current information.
BH: What drew you to ‘Fences?’
HP: It’s the foremost play by one of our foremost playwrights. It’s a very powerful play and story. The play is related to the fact that [the characters] are African Americans, but you know, in a way, I feel that is almost secondary. The issues and ideas to me are much more universal and the play is powerful and moving to everyone of any race. The play has been referred to as the ‘black ‘Death of a Salesman.” There are parallels, particularly in a father’s relationship to the son and the path of self-destruction that he seems unable to avoid.
BH: What’s your character?
HP: I play the role of Gabriel, the younger brother of Troy, who is the leading character. In World War II I received an injury to my head which made it necessary to have a plate put in there, and that has caused me to be mentally challenged. But this has not robbed me of my own humanity and my caring for my loved ones.
BH: Is it a particularly challenging role?
HP: Yes it is, very much so. But I’m enjoying the chance to work on it.
BH: How long have you been rehearsing for ‘Fences?’
HP: We began rehearsing two weeks ago. So, it’s a three-week rehearsal time, which is pretty standard for regional theater.
BH: So, is it an intense amount of rehearsal time per day?
HP: It is. It can afford to be three weeks because for the most part you have the actors for eight hours a day. Most of the ‘Fences’ cast is from elsewhere so they are here at the disposal of the theater. So that helps it seem not as long, but truth be told, we probably wouldn’t mind more time.
>BH: Is there anything that you think people should know about the play going in?
HP: It’s a very human play. The events and what people deal with, all of those things are in a way very simple and not otherworldly. They are things that could happen to all of us here and now. I suppose that sometimes that could be a challenge, in a way, to an audience. Perhaps they expect to be taken somewhere else rather than compelled to explore their own backyard.