Rodney Lizcano, right, at the 2016 Colorado New Play Summit reading of ‘The Book of Will.’  Photo by John Moore for the DCPA NewsCenter. 

MEET RODNEY LIZCANO
Ralph Crane in The Book of Will

At the Theatre Company: Frankenstein, Hamlet, American Night, Merchant of Venice, Spinning Into Butter, Inna Beginning, Tempest, Gross Indecency, The Rivals, Kingdom, Winter’s Tale, A Christmas Carol. Other theatres: Colorado Shakespeare Festival (Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, Henry V, Tempest, Merry Wives, Henry IV Parts 1 & 2, Equivocation, Cymbeline), Arvada Center (Archbishop’s Ceiling, The Crucible, A Man For All Seasons), Dallas Shakespeare Festival, Stories on Stage, Theatre Aspen and Off-Broadway with Actors Ensemble Theater and DreamScape Theatre Company. TV/Film: Silver City and “Stage Struck.”

• Hometown: Pharr, Texas
• Home now: Denver
• Training: MFA from Southern Methodist University; master’s degree from DCPA’s National Theatre Conservatory
• What was the role that changed your life? Playing the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz in high school will forever be my “a-ha!” moment. I was a part of a very progressive theatre program and we performed an annual children’s production that was seen by thousands of elementary-school kids. Those children later wrote and told us how they were impacted by the storytelling and about the profound experience they had watching live theatre. Many of them came from broken families and struggled with poverty. But for those very few moments they were transported to another reality. Art has that ability. I realized early on that I wanted to make that kind of impact.
• Why are you an actor? Acting is the most satisfying job I’ve ever had. A lot of people are skeptical of acting as a profession because the work is inconsistent. But to me this is a job, and I show up every day happy and ready to work. I’m very lucky and profoundly grateful to have the work.
• What would you be doing if you weren’t an actor: Well, I’ve played several real-life roles in theatre administration, education and graphic design, and I still find those opportunities just as satisfying. For me, the important thing is staying in a creative environment.
• Ideal scene partner: Jamie Horton will be forever my ideal scene partner. He was a Denver Center Theatre Company member while I was receiving my training here at the National Theatre Conservatory. As an apprentice, I had the opportunity to watch him perform, dissect a role and explore the life of a character. I was later taught by Jamie in class and then I got to perform with him onstage. He remains one of the kindest, most generous and giving actors I’ve come across. I learn something new just by being in the same room with him. I pray for the day I get to be in a scene with him again. Jamie Horton, are you reading this? The Dresser! Let’s do it.
• Why does The Book of Will matter? It matters because Shakespeare matters. This particular play focuses on the creation of the First Folio. Our world would be very different without these published works. It’s an important story to tell.
• What do you hope the audience gets out of seeing it? I hope they walk away learning a bit of Shakespeare’s world they didn’t know about before. I hope they get a sense of his impact on the world. I also hope they learn a few more names:  Richard Burbage, Henry Condell, Richard Sharpe and John Heminges were some the greatest actors of the time, and we learn in this play that some of them were were pivotal in the creation of Shakespeare’s first collected works.
• Finish this sentence: “All I want is …”
  I sense the imbalance in everyone’s worlds right now. People are sad and angry, confused and feel betrayed.  So, right now in this moment … “All I want is for everyone to find peace.”

The Book of Will: Ticket information
Without William Shakespeare, we wouldn’t have masterpieces like Romeo and Juliet. But without two of his friends, we would have lost Shakespeare’s plays forever. A comic and heartfelt story of the characters behind the stories we know so well.

Jan. 13-Feb. 26
Ricketson Theatre
ASL and Audio-Described Matinee 1:30 p.m. Feb. 4
303-893-4100 or BUY ONLINE

Selected previous NewsCenter coverage of The Book of Will:
Guest columnist Lauren Gunderson: How one word can change a play
Five things we learned at ‘The Book of Will’ opening rehearsal
‘The Year of Gunderson’ has begun in Colorado
Shakespeare in a season with no Shakespeare
First Folio: The world’s second-most important book heads to Boulder
Video: Our look back at the 2016 Colorado New Play Summit
Summit Spotlight: Playwright Lauren Gunderson
Lauren Gunderson wins Lanford Wilson Award from Dramatists Guild of America
Just who were all the king’s men, anyway?
2016-17 season: Nine shows, two world premieres, return to classics

More 2016-17 ‘Meet the Cast’ profiles:

Michael Bouchard, The SantaLand Diaries
Steven J. Burge, An Act of God
Aubrey Deeker, The Glass Menagerie
Thaddeus Fitzpatrick, Frankenstein
Meridith C. Grundei, Frankenstein
Sullivan Jones, Frankenstein
Mark Junek, Frankenstein
Charlie Korman, Frankenstein
Steven Cole Hughes, An Act of God
Amelia Pedlow, The Glass Menagerie
Jessica Robblee, Frankenstein and Siren Song
Erik Sandvold, An Act of God
John Skelley, The Glass Menagerie
Wesley Taylor, An Act of God

Rodney Lizcano, left, at the first rehearsal for the DCPA Theatre Company’s ‘The Book of Will.’  Photo by John Moore for the DCPA NewsCenter.