'Cripple' lead thankful for unique role
Trent Stork was one of 17 actors in the University Theatre production of John Guare’s “Six Degrees of Separation,” but his part arguably was the most visible.
The freshman from Urbandale, Iowa, played the hustler — the character who makes his entrance completely nude.
“It was like ‘Welcome to college, now drop your pants,’” Stork said of his first collegiate role.
Stork’s back again in another memorable part, this time playing the title character in the Nebraska Repertory Theatre’s staging of Martin McDonagh’s “The Cripple of Inishmaan.”
Directed by Theodore Swetz of Kansas City, Mo., the dark comedy opens Wednesday in the Temple Theatres and will run in repertory with two other plays until Aug. 10.
Set in the Aran Islands in the 1930s, “The Cripple of Inishmaan” is based on the real-life story of a Hollywood film crew’s trip to the islands to make a documentary about life there.
The one person who wants to be in the film more than anybody is Cripple Billy, an unloved boy whose chief occupation has been gazing at cows and yearning for a girl who wants no part of him.
When Billy lands a trip to America, the townspeople’s cruel, yet funny interactions make his attempt to escape the rocky island a heartbreaking, yet amazing comic odyssey.
“It’s a big transition for me from ‘Six Degrees,’” the 19-year-old Stork said. “I’m just happy to have pants.”
Other cast members include Equity actresses Diane Dorsey of Chicago, Lincoln’s Judith K. Hart and UNL theater graduate Stephanie Dodd, who now makes her home in Tarrytown, N.Y.
Also in “Cripple” are Lincoln actors Joel Story and Jeanne Kern, who recently starred in “On Golden Pond” at the Lincoln Community Playhouse, and UNL graduate students Ryan Kathman and Jason Francis and undergraduate Logan Pietz.
McDonagh, 39, is one of the world’s hottest playwrights as well as an Academy Award-winning film director.
He found the spotlight with his play “The Beauty Queen of Leenane,” a story about the dysfunctional relationship between a spinster and her domineering mother. It earned him a Tony Award nomination for best play — the first of four — in 1998.
He won an Oscar in 2005 for his live action short film, “Six Shooter.” It’s the story about the encounter of two men on a train.
“The Cripple of Inishmaan” is part of McDonagh’s Aran Islands Trilogy, which also includes “The Lieutenant of Inishmore” and “The Banshees of Inisheer.” “Cripple” debuted in London in 1997 and had its New York premiere the following year.
“What makes the play unique,” Stork said, “is Billy is the only person on the island who dreams about something more.”
Stork and his fellow actors spent the first week of rehearsal with a dialect coach. He said he sometimes has found himself slipping into his accent off the stage.
“Mostly the swear words,” he joked.
Stork also has worked with a friend and colleague of director Swetz’s on how to play a character with two bad legs and an arm.
“And, oh yeah, I have to act, too,” Stork said. “I have to tell a story here.”
He’s said he’s enjoyed the challenge and is looking forward to the role, especially since his clothes stay on this time.
“My dad came to see ‘Six Degrees,’ and afterward he said it was quite a bit different than (what I did in) high school.”
Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.
The freshman from Urbandale, Iowa, played the hustler — the character who makes his entrance completely nude.
“It was like ‘Welcome to college, now drop your pants,’” Stork said of his first collegiate role.
Stork’s back again in another memorable part, this time playing the title character in the Nebraska Repertory Theatre’s staging of Martin McDonagh’s “The Cripple of Inishmaan.”
Directed by Theodore Swetz of Kansas City, Mo., the dark comedy opens Wednesday in the Temple Theatres and will run in repertory with two other plays until Aug. 10.
Set in the Aran Islands in the 1930s, “The Cripple of Inishmaan” is based on the real-life story of a Hollywood film crew’s trip to the islands to make a documentary about life there.
The one person who wants to be in the film more than anybody is Cripple Billy, an unloved boy whose chief occupation has been gazing at cows and yearning for a girl who wants no part of him.
When Billy lands a trip to America, the townspeople’s cruel, yet funny interactions make his attempt to escape the rocky island a heartbreaking, yet amazing comic odyssey.
“It’s a big transition for me from ‘Six Degrees,’” the 19-year-old Stork said. “I’m just happy to have pants.”
Other cast members include Equity actresses Diane Dorsey of Chicago, Lincoln’s Judith K. Hart and UNL theater graduate Stephanie Dodd, who now makes her home in Tarrytown, N.Y.
Also in “Cripple” are Lincoln actors Joel Story and Jeanne Kern, who recently starred in “On Golden Pond” at the Lincoln Community Playhouse, and UNL graduate students Ryan Kathman and Jason Francis and undergraduate Logan Pietz.
McDonagh, 39, is one of the world’s hottest playwrights as well as an Academy Award-winning film director.
He found the spotlight with his play “The Beauty Queen of Leenane,” a story about the dysfunctional relationship between a spinster and her domineering mother. It earned him a Tony Award nomination for best play — the first of four — in 1998.
He won an Oscar in 2005 for his live action short film, “Six Shooter.” It’s the story about the encounter of two men on a train.
“The Cripple of Inishmaan” is part of McDonagh’s Aran Islands Trilogy, which also includes “The Lieutenant of Inishmore” and “The Banshees of Inisheer.” “Cripple” debuted in London in 1997 and had its New York premiere the following year.
“What makes the play unique,” Stork said, “is Billy is the only person on the island who dreams about something more.”
Stork and his fellow actors spent the first week of rehearsal with a dialect coach. He said he sometimes has found himself slipping into his accent off the stage.
“Mostly the swear words,” he joked.
Stork also has worked with a friend and colleague of director Swetz’s on how to play a character with two bad legs and an arm.
“And, oh yeah, I have to act, too,” Stork said. “I have to tell a story here.”
He’s said he’s enjoyed the challenge and is looking forward to the role, especially since his clothes stay on this time.
“My dad came to see ‘Six Degrees,’ and afterward he said it was quite a bit different than (what I did in) high school.”
Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.
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