Photo courtesy of Kim Taylor
Justin Scheuer of Sonoma as the overwhelmed Sam, an out-of-work actor who works taking reservations for a new, trendy New York City restaurant.
Justin Scheuer hasn’t yet lived in Sonoma a year, and he has already landed what he . believes may be his favorite acting role.
In the comedy “Fully Committed,” he plays Sam, a beleaguered out-of-work actor who moonlights taking phone reservations for Manhattan’s trendiest and snootiest eatery. Sam encounters 38 characters – for all of whom Scheuer provides the voices. These callers phone in for reservations, but end up abusing, torturing, cajoling, manipulating and belittling the hapless Sam.
The play was written by Becky Mode and was named one of Time Magazine’s “Ten Best Plays of 2000.” The show runs July 13 – August 19 at The Barn Theatre in Ross in Marin County.
“What’s great is that the script really allows quite a lot of room to invent and develop the personalities of each character,” the 28-year-old Scheuer explained. “The show is really an actor’s dream, because it provides such a unique challenge. All of the characters are so fun to play because they are so kooky. I have such a love for all their weird idiosyncrasies, even for the ones that are downright nasty and cruel to Sam.”
The well-written script, and its staging by seasoned director Argo Thompson, amounts to a trapeze act without a safety net for the actor brave enough to take the creative plunge. Dan Saski, the actor who is performing in the show on alternate nights, has interpreted the characters in a completely unique manner. Most one-man shows are composed primarily of monologues during which different characters have a certain amount of time to talk on their own. This hilarious show is rapid-fire dialogue that pounds for about an hour and 20 minutes with no respite.
Acting bug bites in seventh grade
The dastardly acting bug sank its fangs into Scheuer in the seventh grade when he was cast as Jacob Marley in “A Christmas Carol.” His popular portrayal of the sadistic dentist in “Little Shop of Horrors” cinched it. While working towards a B.A. in Theater, Scheuer spent two summers taking the same rite of passage most actors do: summer stock theater. The theater he worked for was a true repertory operation, which meant rotating five shows throughout the summer. At times it was difficult to keep track of which show was being staged on a given day. The 15- to 18-hour work days were both grueling and a valuable learning experience.
Scheuer met his wife, Virginia, in graduate school and a day and a half after their wedding, they packed up their two cars and moved out from Fayetteville, Ark. to Los Angeles. The trip doubled as their honeymoon.
In Los Angeles, they fell in with an up-and-coming Shakespeare company. Scheuer played Puck in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and Orsino in “Twelfth Night.”
He started auditioning for shows in the Bay Area back in January and was afforded the chance to work on some really interesting pieces. Playing Don Quixote in a modern adaptation of “Don Quixote,” that was updated for the Iraq War, Scheuer found himself tilting at a giant, black statue of Saddam Hussein instead of at windmills.
The couple tired of Los Angeles’ lack of anything green, and decided to move to the North Bay. Virginia wanted to pursue her certification in massage therapy at a school in Petaluma. She drove up two weeks before her husband to scope out a place to live and immediately settled on Sonoma. It was the green, open landscape that sold her on this area. Moving to Sonoma was like coming home for them. They were pleasantly surprised with the scope of theatrical opportunities.
“This is such a theater-centric community” said Scheuer. “The first thing I did after moving up here was sign up with Theatre Bay Area. I will, of course, commute into the city for acting work now and again. But it is also nice to have so many wonderful companies in my own back yard. The North Bay is such a culturally rich, creative and supportive community and I’m excited about getting to know the people and area more and more.”
The Ross Valley Players’ production of “Fully Committed” will be performed July 13 – August 19 at the Barn Theatre at the Marin Art and Garden Center in Ross. The curtain rises 7:30 p.m. Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and 2 p.m. for the Sunday matinees. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 415.456.9555 or go to www.rossvalleyplayers.com.
