Interview with Eugene Lee

By: Isabela Fratus

Eugene Lee is a remarkably talented Broadway veteran, playwright, and director who currently serves as Artist in Residence here at Texas State University. Fratus had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Lee and discussing his most recent performance in Our Town, his valuable perspective on his craft, and advice for students in the Texas State Theatre program. Eugene Lee’s career is extensive and fascinating, his wisdom speaks volumes, and this interview was an absolute honor.
 
Isabela Fratus is a Bobcat Promotions member majoring in Public Relations.

ISABELA: Who is someone that you have worked with that gave you significant advice
when it comes to the acting industry, and what was it?

LEE: There have been so many it’s hard to pick one. There was an old lady, and she
didn’t tell me anything about theatre, art, acting, or writing. She sold me a car in Los
Angeles. Her son was an actor, and she said “Keep some money coming in.” That’s the
lesson that she taught me. Don’t nobody want to work with you if you’re desperate or
whatever. That’s a lesson that served me well, I always found a way to keep some money
coming in. I was a substitute teacher in Los Angeles at schools there for sometime, I also
drove a beer truck. I delivered beer for a beer distributor in Los Angeles. I worked at a
telephone answering service, I would take messages. I’ve done a few different things to
keep some money coming in. So you feel good about yourself, so when you go on an
audition, you’re not desperate.

ISABELA: Is there a show that you have performed in that has fundamentally changed
the way you take on roles?

LEE: No, I mean they all do in a way. They all have different demands. That’s what I like
about what I do. I never know what my next job is going to ask me to know. I might be a
garbage man, I might be a neuroscientist, or something like that. There were several that
sort of changed the way I approach acting when I was working with the Negro Ensemble
Company. But that just happened from doing more plays.

ISABELA: Is there a role you wish to reprise? Would you take on/perform that role
differently?

EUGENE: I’ve done that a couple times. I’ve done different roles in the same play. I did
a play called “A Soldier’s Play” back in 1980. We played young soldiers, myself, Denzel
Washington, a guy named Samuel L. Jackson. A couple years ago there was a Broadway
revival of the play that also went on a tour, and I went back and played the older sergeant
this time which was kind of fun.

ISABELA: Did they ask you to come back or did you have to audition again?

LEE: Oh, no I didn’t have to audition. It was a part of the promotion, you know, someone
from the original cast 40 whatever years ago is now coming to do this other role.

ISABELA: When did you realize that this was your passion?

LEE: Probably in high school. And definitely in college here. The first play I did here
was called “The Lovliest Afternoon of the Y ear” up in Old Main, that’s where the Drama
department was at the time. That’s when I switched my major to Theatre from Political
Science. I actually ended up getting a double major was what it was.

ISABELA: What made you want to choose Political Science?

LEE: I was going to be a lawyer; I was going to be the President of the United States at
one point.

ISABELA: What has been your proudest moment at Texas State?

LEE: Oh, hell, I don’t know. I’ve had a lot of proud moments at Texas State. When I was
a student here, performing for Lyndon Johnson, that was a moment of a lot of pride.
Being selected for Distinguished Alumnus, you know, that’s a lot of pride. I have the best
job on campus I have a lot of pride in that too. There’s no one thing, there’s a lot, I’m a
Bobcat so to speak. Since I came here in 1970, graduated ‘74. I moved back in ‘05.

ISABELA: You founded Texas State’s Black and Latino Playwrights Association and
continue to oversee it, how do you feel the representation of black actors in film and
theatre has evolved during your career?

LEE: Well you see more of us, and there’s a lot of reasons for that. More people have
come out of college and studied the craft and are telling the stories; there’s an audience
for our stories. It’s opened up a lot of storytelling opportunities for people of color, which
is kind of exciting. And everybody’s telling the truth, that’s the other thing. That’s the
most important thing.

ISABELA: You just completed your role in Texas State Theatre’s production of “Our
Town”. What is it about Our Town that made the production so special?

LEE: The unique staging of it, the ensemble aspect of it; there was something going on
all the time. You meet some really interesting characters. Philosophically and
dramatically, it talks about facing death, and embracing death. Even the people who have
died have to embrace something else. You kind of leave this play with something you
didn’t come to this play with.

ISABELA: What influence do you hope to have on Texas State Theatre students? What is
something you wish for them to take away from your expertise?

LEE: No one thing, just a mindset, professional standards and approach to this craft. I
think most people leave this department called “armed for bear”, you know, they’re ready
for whatever’s out there, whatever the challenges are. To be prepared for whatever, that’s
what’s required. If you’re going to go to New Y ork or L.A., it’s to learn the craft and
know what you’re doing. Because you’re going to be in competition with people who do.
The more you know, the more you know.

ISABELA: Are there aspects of your personal life that influence your playwriting?

LEE: We write best with what we know. I think you can only write what you know. There
is bits and pieces of people in my life, moments in my life, milestones in my life became
a milestone is some character’s life. They may have a different name but it’s still the
same time of change.

ISABELA: Do you think it’s easier to play roles like you or completely different from
you?

LEE: None of them are easy, all of them require some work. There’s not one that’s
exactly me, there’s probably more of me in one or two than any other. There’s also so
much more about a character, because they contradict themselves, the good ones. It’s
always fun for me to find those lies that character’s live under, as well. Figure out one
character’s lie, because they all do at some point. They either don’t say something or say
something differently. As a playwright, I honestly believe that every lie in a play is
written to make something happen. Even if it’s just “hi”, it’s meant to make something
happen. And an actor’s approach to make active choices, that everything I say to you is
meant to make something happen.

ISABELA: Who is your favorite person you’ve worked with? What about them was
significant to your experience?

LEE: That’s a long list of people! There are actors, directors, writers who I’ve had the
privilege of working with. Like that play, “A Soldier’s Play” back in 1980, I jokingly say
we snatched that office typewriter and stood it up, a bunch of actors and a director. I’ve
done that with people like August Wilson, Douglas Turner Ward, Gus Edwards, these are
all playwrights that I’ve worked with. And actors I’ve worked with, Denzel, Samuel L.
Jackson and I, were all just some young pups in New York. We’ve done I don’t know
how many things together. We have learned from each other, I could drop a whole bunch
of names of people who have impacted my work and my craft. Yeah, a lot of people.

ISABELA: Have you ever found yourself in a particularly weird or funny situation while
working on a project throughout your career?

LEE: Yeah, but I can’t tell you about those. I’d have to change the names to protect the
innocent. There’s always something weird I guess, nothing stands out. Weird people,
weird plays, weird lines in plays. There’s stories, that’s the thing about this business.
Every job ends. Every play closes, every movie finally gets made. And then you go on to
meet some new people and establish relationships, and some of them you’ll never see
again. I don’t know how many plays I’ve done or how many television shows I’ve
worked in. Each one of them was different, and that was what was kind of fun about the
ride. You know, what’s the next, where’s the next one?

ISABELA: Do you think it’s important to stay present in what you’re doing or just
continuing to move on to the next thing?

LEE: Both of those things. Staying present, staying relevant, staying healthy, staying on
your craft. All of those things. Staying alert to what’s going on around you, especially if
you’re creating work.

ISABELA: What is one lesson you have learned throughout your career that you would
share with students?

LEE: Learn how to learn, and learn how you learn. You never know what you’re going to
need to know for your next job. Whether it’s a writing gig or whether it’s an acting gig.
Learning how to learn and be quick about it. That’s the craft.

ISABELA: What is up next for Eugene Lee?

LEE: I’m writing a new play. I’m thinking about taking a commission, there’s some
people who want to commission me to write a play about Frederick Douglas and about
his affinity to William Shakespeare. It’d be a language play, you know, I’m a words man,
so I think that I may do that.