FEATURE INTERVIEW: Ted Dykstra: Talk about versatile
24 Feb'10

JOHN COULBOURN -QMI Agency

A couple of centuries into the future, some scholar sifting through the theatrical detritus of the late 20th and early 21st centuries could conclude that there were several theatre artists at work in our time sharing the name Ted Dykstra.

There would, of course, be Dykstra the classical actor, with Stratford Festival credits in works such as Joe Dowling’s acclaimed production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest, as well as Soulpepper’s American Buffalo and Birdland’s The Last Days of Judas Iscariot.

Then there’d be Dykstra, the musical theatre actor, with credits that stretch from The Who’s Tommy and Hedwig And The Angry Inch through to Canadian Stage’s production of Fire.

There’d also be Dykstra, the successful playwright (2 Pianos, 4 Hands), and even Dykstra the composer (Knights of the Endless Day).

And finally there would be Dykstra, the director. Even there, in reconciling the skills employed in mounting Ross Petty’s annual Christmas pantos and Scott Thompson’s The Lowest Show On Earth with those employed in staging works such as Of The Fields Lately, Leaving Home and Tuesdays With Morrie, our future scholar might be forgiven for thinking there were at least a pair of Dykstras employed just on the directing side of things.

And yet, as anyone who’s followed theatre in this city for the past few decades can assure you, it’s all just one person. Today, that one person seems a trifle surprised that anyone might find the depth and the breadth of his work impressive.

“I sort of think that the things I do are all the same things,” the 49-year-old father of two says. “Now, it’s just a question of whether it scares me or not. I think: ‘Boy, that would be a real challenge.’”

What’s challenging Dykstra these days is the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company’s forthcoming Toronto premiere of Michael Nathanson’s TALK, slated to open in the Jane Mallet Theatre Thursday on March 4. A finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Awards For Drama last year, TALK is set in Winnipeg and tells a story of misunderstandings, Middle East politics and the end of a friendship.

The Toronto production stars Michael Rubenfeld, reprising his part from the Winnipeg production, and Kevin Bundy — under Dykstra’s direction,

“Understanding the Middle East,” Dykstra says with an impish smile. “If that ain’t a challenge, I don’t know what is.” Not that he’s had to become a scholar on the subject, “What this play is about is two people losing their friendship. It’s not about the Middle East,” he says.

But that troubled locale most definitely plays a role in the play — something of which Dykstra is very aware. “I’ve got to say that this play is a very balanced argument. I don’t think it is taking sides at all,” he insists. “There’s no way I want to skew this either way. I think what it’s about is loss ... The same truth is always there. You try to give the play life from a balanced perspective. I don’t want the audience to think what I think. I want them to make up their own minds.”

TALK marks Dykstra’s second engagement with the fledgling HGJTC, for which he also directed Tuesdays with Morrie last year. As a non-Jew, he’s pleased with the ongoing relationship. “I was very pleased to be asked (to direct Talk),” he says. “It’s like reverse colour-blind casting.”

With TALK out of the way, Dykstra returns once again to the Soulpepper fold for his next big project, helming yet another revival David French’s work — in this case, Jitters, one of the most successful comedies in the Canadian canon.

And that’s pretty scary too, Dykstra says. “Comedy is the hardest thing in the world to do — making it look effortless and yet have the humour.”

Happily, it’s a scary world out there for talented people.

NEWS EXTRA: Dykstra basks in ‘PIANOS’ glory

Actor/director Ted Dykstra has left his fingerprints on a lot of projects over the years, but it is quite possible that he will be best remembered as co-creator (with Richard Greenblatt) of the international success that is 2 PIANOS, 4 HANDS. And yes, that success is ongoing.

“It’s still being done,” Dykstra reports with satisfaction. “I cash the cheques when they come.”

As to whether he and Greenblatt will ever return to the show they made out of their years taking piano lessons, Dykstra doesn’t rule it out. “I think I’d put to rest the idea of ever doing it again until I (directed the Soulpepper revival of) BILLY BISHOP GOES TO WAR,” he says. “Now I wonder...”

As for acting, he chooses projects more carefully now. “I don’t want to lose my joy in doing it,” Dykstra says, recalling the days when “just the applause was good enough.”

“Now, there are so many things out of your control, so what I do is try to pick out one thing that has a chance of working.” Not that he’s given up on it totally. “What would I wish to do that I haven’t been able to do enough of?” he asks rhetorically. “That would be Shakespeare.”