JOEL GEHRINGER / GZO | Posted: Thursday, July 13, 2006 7:00 pm
Dale Westgaard knows the value of a fresh face.
The Kansas City-based actor has tried his luck at theater in Chicago, New York and California. He’s acted, directed and done everything in between.
And as the Nebraska Repertory Theatre’s Equity actor this season, he’s hoping his experience and talents bring a new set of ideas to Lincoln stages.
“In this business, you can’t get too closed,” Westgaard said. “If you do, you tend to get easy with it, and you don’t want that because you lose your focus and lose your edge.”
Westgaard currently stars in the Rep’s production of “Leading Ladies,” and on Wednesday he’ll also perform in “Omnium Gatherum,” the third and final Repertory mainstage summer production.
“Omnium,” by Theresa Rebeck and Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros, turns an upscale, gourmet dinner party into a biting political and social satire of a post-Sept. 11, 2001 world as mismatched guests around the table air their differences and try to find common ground.
Some of those characters include a Martha Stewart-esque hostess (played by Judith K. Hart), a novelist (Jim Hopkins), a vegan feminist (Melissa Lewis) and an English pundit (Paul R. Coate).
There’s no plot, really. Instead, “Omnium” revolves around the character’s discussions, which quickly escalate from civil to violent.
It’s primarily a comedy, but, Westgaard said, it’s also a “dark thought piece.”
“Everyday you read the paper and the meaning (of the play) changes,” said Westgaard, who plays Khalid, the party’s Arab guest. “The characters pick all of the political and social buttons. We’re not a homogenous group.”
Westgaard has previously acted in a Kansas City production of “Omnium.” He’s the only cast member who has experience with the play.
His connections with director Virginia Smith, whom he met in college in Chicago, brought him to Lincoln for the auditions.
“She had seen me in that production of ‘Omnium,’ and asked me to audition for the part,” Westgaard said. “I was very pleased to get the opportunity to come here.”
Back in Kansas City, Westgaard is known for his Shakespearean acting and has starred in the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival for two years.
It’s no surprise. His earliest interests in acting came from watching a production of “Richard III” on television.
“I was probably 9 or 10 when I saw that, and it just clicked and I knew that was for me,” he said.
Westgaard let the interest fester for a while. Entering college, he picked it up again, attending Chicago’s Roosevelt University and eventually earning his Master of Fine Arts degree there.
He them moved to New York City — “to starve to death for a while,” he said — and California before ending up in Wichita, Kan.
“There was a purpose to moving there, but I can’t remember what it was,” he joked.
But the move put him in proximity to Kansas City’s theater community, which he found to be a healthy environment in which to work.
Staying in Lincoln these past weeks, Westgaard said he’s found Lincoln’s theater scene to be just as strong.
“Any community of actors in any town I’ve ever been in is going to be healthy,” he said. “Here, everyone works very well together. There’s little ‘diva-dom.’ There’s not the pettiness I’ve seen other places. It’s a wonderful, wonderful group of people.”
Westgaard said he hopes his perspective as an outsider adds to the “Omnium” performance.
“When I came here, nobody knew what to expect with me, nor I them, and that’s good,” he said. “You pick up something from everyone and everywhere you go.
“New blood is good for any group.”
Reach Joel Gehringer at 473-7254 or jgehringer@journalstar.com.