Tell me about the play you are working on for Emerging Artists Theatre. What do you love most about this play?
I play Les Brown and others in Doris Day: My Secret Love. I love playing with Tiffan Borelli, who is a magical Doris Day.
What do you love most about the role you are playing?
I’ve enjoyed learning about the many men in Doris Day’s life whom I play at one time or another during the course of 85 minutes, while also playing piano.
What is the most challenging aspect of the work for you?
The costume changing and transitions in and out of characters is a challenging aspect. Also, some characters were much more challenging initially than others, like Doris’ soft-spoken and distant father, and Alfred Hitchcock, a legend who everyone instantly recognizes. The biggest challenge for me is playing the piano while also acting…as a classical musician, it is easy for me to lose myself completely in the music and focus completely on the music, but I have to remember I am also a character in a play, and things are happening in the dramatic structure that I need to respond to.
David Beck is an actor, pianist, and filmmaker. Off-Broadway theater credits include A Touch of the Poet (Irish Rep), In a Dark Dark House (ART/NY), On a Bench (59E59), The More Loving One (Best Play at the NY Fringe – La Mama/SoHo Playhouse). Regional: Hamlet; Our Town (Mirror Theatre, VT), Rabbit Hole (Human Race, OH), and most recently Red (Schoolhouse Theatre in Westchester). TV: Fleishman is in Trouble (Hulu) and The Food That Built America (History Channel). Writer, actor, and composer of the award-winning short films For Francis and Backup Plan (the latter of which he directed), his films have appeared in festivals worldwide as well as schools and universities. He is the creator of the Streamy-nominated web series Spring Street and founder of the film company The Great Griffon, Inc., which “tells tales of the underdog” within the LGBTQ+ community. His first feature film Regarding Veronica is currently in post-production. He has composed music for numerous staged readings, podcasts, and films; he has recorded a dozen audiobooks for the NY Public Library for the Blind. He is a graduate of Marymount Manhattan College’s acting program. davidGbeck.com
