Sebastian Ryder

I was at an audition the other day and the director asked me what kind of theatre work I liked to do.  He said, "Are you a musical theatre person, or an experimental theatre person . . . "  I've been asked this before and my answer is always the same, I just like good theatre.  

 

I originally became an actor because both of my parents were dancers and actors, and at a very young age, I knew that what they were doing when they went off to rehearsal was way more fun and interesting than whatever the babysitter had in mind. So as soon as I could, I became involved in the theatre my parents were doing.  This first happened at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont.  Goddard was an interesting place.  In the spring of 1969 I was in their production of Peter Pan.  I remember being at a dress rehearsal when the assistant director came over and said to the other young actor I was talking to, "I want to give one of the Lost Boys and black eye." (He was talking about make up, not about literally giving the kid a black eye . . .)  The assistant director's name was Howard Ashman.  I was in two more of Howard's projects while he was at Goddard.

 

Howard was funny and charming and it seemed like all the people doing theatre were funny and charming.  I couldn't get enough of it.  I auditioned for everything.  There was no place I liked better than rehearsal.  I loved being part of a story.  I loved the characters, the songs, the dances.  I went to see everything.  My mother was in Death of a Salesman.  I went to see that.  My father produced dance concerts every fall and summer and choreographed The Fantasticks.  I saw every concert and played the original cast album of The Fantasticks until I knew every nuance of Jerry Orbach's voice.  I memorized entire shows.  Every fall Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella came on television.  I drank in every lyric, every piece of business, every joke.  It was just the best.

 

I continued to do theatre all through high school and into college eventually getting an MFA in Acting from Minnesota State University. I bounced in and out of New York City too, taking classes, studying with different teachers, getting coaching.  I think a lot of actors freak out at the idea of being unemployed.  For me it's an opportunity to sharpen the saw, connect with another teacher who might help me refine my warm up or give me a new insight into a text I've been working on or help me see the creative process in a new way.  Of course, working is great too.  I've worked professionally in Vermont, New Hampshire, California, New York, Maryland, Connecticut and North Carolina.  I'm very fortunate to be in a near perpetual state of awe for life, for theatre, for people, for the creative process, for love.

 

Being an actor -- it's simply the best!