Erik Sandvold in ‘An Act of God.’ Photo by Adams VisCom.

MEET ERIK SANDVOLD
The archangel Gabriel in An Act of God

At the Theatre Company: Death of a Salesman, When We Are Married, Well, Plainsong, Diary of Anne Frank, Pillowman, A Flea in Her Ear, Skin of Our Teeth and A Christmas Carol. More than 50 other plays at Colorado’s leading theatres, including: Bubs (Avenue Theater, Fringe NYC), I Am My Own Wife (pictured right), Take Me Out, Opus, God of Carnage, 9 Circles, Rabbit Hole, Homebody/Kabul, Clybourne Park (Curious), The Explorers Club (Lone Tree), Moonlight and Magnolias (Arvada Center) and Twelfth Night (Colorado Shakespeare Festival), and the title role in Nicholas Nickleby (Compass Theatre). Awards include two-time Alexander Scourby National Narrator of the Year and three Denver Post Ovation Awards.

• Twitter-sized bio: I would describe myself, first and foremost, as a father. That has been the most important – and favorite – role in my life for the last 21 years, and it continues to be.
• Hometown: Boulder
• Training: Northwestern University, School of Speech, Department of Theatre
• What was the role that changed your life? As a sophomore in high school, I played Ned Brinker, a supporting role, in a production of Allegro. During rehearsals, I truly realized that “acting is reacting” and became fascinated by the challenge of  “inhabiting” a character’s mind.
• Why are you an actor? I was interested in many other fields, but I’ve always enjoyed and been comfortable performing. The things that cemented acting as a career choice were: 1) it requires you to keep learning – and about so many different things:  history, psychology, literature, behavior, physicality, music, empathy; and 2) (increasingly important to me) it is about community – in both the creation and performance of the art, acting is about sharing ideas, time, space, and understanding with others. I believe the thoughts, feelings and discussions that are stimulated by the work we do strengthen communities.
• What would you be doing if you weren’t an actor: I admit I haven’t entirely given up on being a rock star, but I think I would be a teacher because I greatly admire them, love interacting with young people and anyone thirsty for knowledge, and think education is extremely important in making the world a better place. My mom was a teacher and my dad was a coach, for a time, and they were amazing parents. I am so appreciative of the many inspiring teachers that I, and my daughters, have had the good fortune to have had.
• Ideal scene partner: This is so hard to narrow down, because I admire so many actors, so please allow me to list two actors in each of three categories:

   

  *British stage/screen actors: Paul Scofield and Tom Courtenay – because they’re masters of craft and subtlety.

  *American film actors: Mark Ruffalo (right) and Jeff Bridges – because they astonish me with the imagination, freedom and depth of their choices.

  *Actors I know well: Raymond Fox (great, award-winning Chicago actor) and Martha Harmon Pardee (great, Ovation Award-winning Denver actor) – because I’ve had the privilege and want to work with them again)

• Why does An Act of God matter? It should make people question – if they aren’t doing it already – simple, blind faith and what’s really important … while laughing really hard.
• What do you hope the audience gets out of seeing it? God’s journey in this play makes a strong argument that religion has, like everything else, evolved, and needs to keep evolving. Plus, laughter and a fun time out with friends and family are good medicine.
  
• Finish this sentence: “All I want is …”
  “… something akin to ‘Universe 2.0’ in the play.  But … that’s unrealistic, to say the least. So I’d gladly settle for creating some art that will inspire and help people for a while and for the opportunity to spend a lot of time with family and friends, especially my wonderful daughters.”

‘An Act of God’ cast, from left: Steven Cole Hughes, Erik Sandvold, Wesley Taylor and director Geoffrey Kent. Photo by John Moore for the DCPA NewsCenter.)

An Act of God: Ticket information

• The story: God takes human form in this critically acclaimed new comedy direct from Broadway. He’s finally arrived to set the record straight.
• Through March 12, 2017
• Garner-Galleria Theatre
• Tickets: 303-893-4100 or BUY ONLINE
• Groups: Call 303-446-4829

Selected Previous NewsCenter coverage:
Wesley Taylor, An Act of God
Steven Cole Hughes, An Act of God
Casting announced for An Act of God
A day in the busy life of Director Geoffrey Kent
Interview: Geoffrey Kent on a laugh-a-minute God
Geoffrey Kent’s 2015 True West Award


More 2016-17 DCPA Theatre Company ‘Meet the Cast’ profiles:

Aubrey Deeker, The Glass Menagerie
Thaddeus Fitzpatrick, Frankenstein
Meridith C. Grindei, Frankenstein
Sullivan Jones, Frankenstein
Mark Junek, Frankenstein
Charlie Korman, Frankenstein
Amelia Pedlow, The Glass Menagerie
Jessica Robblee, Frankenstein and Siren Song http://dcpa.today/4bn1Sq
John Skelley, The Glass Menagerie