… from Emily who stole it from Zac. (I guess it’s viral?)
Real Name: Kenneth Richard Ashford
Stage Name: Ken Ashford
Last Show You Added To Your Resume: "On Goldon Pond" (director)
Last Show You Auditioned For: "Daddy’s Dyin’ – Who’s Got The Will?"
Did You Get Into It: I did
Last Song You Used At An Audition: Honest to God, I don’t remember. I had prepared something for DDD, but Jamie had us sing "The Star Spangled Banner"
Favorite Theatre Venue: Theatre Alliance of Winston-Salem . . . my touchstone
Favorite Musical: At the moment, it has to be "Spring Awakening", although I’ve always been partial to "Blood Brothers"
Name A Theatre Superstition: I really don’t have one
Last Part You Played In A Show: Mr. Greenfelt and assorted others in "Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical", except for a one-night fill-in as Charlie in "On Golden Pond"
Your Goal In Show Business: Just to get better at it
Favorite Director: Any one who is open-minded and encourages experimentation
What Was Your Very First Show: A flying monkey in the 5th grade production of "Wizard of Oz"
Have You Ever Had A Dance Solo: Oh, God, I’ve tried my whole life to forget it. Yes. "Brigadoon". (Sorry, Claire).
Have You Ever Had A Singing Solo: Yes
Have You Ever Been The Last Person To Take A Bow: No, I don’t think so. Men usually aren’t.
Name A Show You’ve Done More Than 2 Times: I’ve done "Godspell" four times (once directing); "J.C. Superstar" twice; "Noises Off" twice
Have You Been To L.A.: No
What’s The Scariest Part Of An Audition: Waiting around
Best Part Of An Audition: Reading
Name A Show You Would Never Do Again: I never say "never"
Name A Show You Could Do For Years: Too many
Name A Show You Would Love To Do But Have Never Been In: "Blood Brothers"
Name A Person You’d Like To Work With Again: There are only a handful that I WOULDN’T work with again.
What Are You Auditioning For Next: I haven’t figured that out (Note to self: figure that out)
How Long Have You Been Performing: Not counting grade school stuff, 30 years or thereabouts.
Do You Carry Your Headshots Around With You: Uh… no. I have a photo id that gets me in to the office building though. Does that count?
Do You Keep In Touch With Past Cast Members: Yes
What’s Your Most Memorable Performance: Are we still talking about theater? Oh, okay. Ummm….
What’s Something Embarrassing Or Unexpected That Happened While Onstage: Going onstage knowing that there is a backstage fire, and not being sure how big it is.
What’s Something Embarrassing Or Unexpected That Happened While In The Dressing Room: What happens in the dressing room stays in the dressing room. [Emily’s answer, but a damned good one]
Who Is The Most Difficult Person (Onstage Or Off) That You’ve Ever Worked With: Oh, she’s dead now, so let’s not go there.
Ever Been Naked Onstage: Yes
Who/What is Your Greatest Inspiration/Influence In The Theatre: Tough one — I’d have to say the early influences are the greatest, so that would be George Kelly and the late Michael Chagnon (pictured right)
If You Could Be A Rich And Famous Porn Star Or A Struggling Theatre Actor, Which Would You Choose: Struggling theatre actor. Anyone who performs for money and fame does it for the wrong reasons.
Best Professional Show You’ve Seen: Too too many. "Pirates of Penzance" with Tim Curry stands out. As well as the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of "Guys and Dolls". I remember the original "Chorus Line" as having a huge impact on me at the time.
Top Five Favorite Shows You’ve Performed In: "Noises Off", "Debbie Does Dallas", "Godspell" (one of them), "Pippin", "The Foreigner"
Onstage, Have You Ever….
Been Killed: Yes ("Brigadoon")
Been Drunk/Stoned: Kind of ("One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest" among others)
Played Someone Half Your Age: Yes ("Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical")
Played Someone Twice Your Age: Yes ("Noises Off")
Cried: Yes
Fired A Gun: No, although I’ve done some swordfighting
Driven A Car: Um… noooo
Been Drenched: I was rather wet in "The Boys Next Door"
Been In A Dream Sequence: Many times
Been Kissed: Many times