MEET THADDEUS FITZPATRICK
Rab in Frankenstein

At the Theatre Company: The Book of Will (2016 Colorado New Play Summit reading, pictured below and right.) New York credits include Autumn’s Harvest (Lincoln Center) and Alcestis Ascending (Clurman Theatre). Other regional credits: I and You (Olney Theatre Center and Geva Theatre Center) and The Jungle Book (Arden Theatre Company). Currently involved in several developing plays. Commercial credits include Yes Television with Alec Baldwin, Lady Gaga MTV VMA promotion and voiceover work for Sierra Mist commercial. Special Awards: National Award Winner in Prose and Poetry Performance.

• Hometown: Tuscaloosa, Ala.
• Training: I have a B.A. in Theatre from the University of Alabama
• What was the role that changed your life? I played a wise man in some iteration of The Nativity Story for my day-care when my family lived in Miami. I believe I was 2 or 3 at the time. I had an old cane that we took from my grandfather, and my mom painted a grey beard on my chin. This is the earliest memory I have of dressing up and performing, and of how happy it made me.
• Why are you an actor? I had to take therapy for a speech impediment during my early elementary-school years. I would sit in my room when I was 4 or 5 and memorize movie scenes. I would learn to say the lines the way the actors said them, accents and all. Memorizing lines helped to control my stutter. I switched my major from the Pre-Med to Theatre during my sophomore year in college. I did this after realizing how actors can connect people, how much they can transform, and how they are a part of a family of artists who come together to bring stories to life. It’s magical. 
• What would you be doing for a career if you weren’t an actor? I would be a linguistics professor. I would love to explore the languages of other places and help communicate those difference and similarities to students.
• Ideal scene partner: There is no way I can just pick one. I would do a scene with Mark Rylance, Samuel L. Jackson, Andrew Garfield or Jeffrey Wright. The list could go on all day. They all have elements to their performance that are unexpected, yet believable and honest.
  

  
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• Why does this production of Frankenstein matter? This play begs some challenging questions, just as the source novel did when it was first published 200 years ago, about the balance of science and nature, and the danger we encounter when we neglect the very things that make us human.
• What do you hope the audience gets out of seeing Frankenstein? I hope they have a profound theatrical experience that not only excites them, but pushes them toward making a connection that they wouldn’t have made otherwise.
  
• Finish this sentence: “All I want is …”
  “… to tell important, beautiful and challenging stories that reveal the tie that binds us all.”

Photo above: ‘Frankenstein’ cast members, from left, Thaddeus Fitzpatrick, Erin Willis and Brynn Tucker at the Opening Night party. Photo above right: Thaddeus Fitzpatrick appeared in the reading of Lauren Gunderson’s ‘The Book of Will’ at the 2016 Colorado New Play Summit. The world premiere of that play opens Jan. 13 at the Ricketson Theatre. Photos by John Moore for the DCPA NewsCenter.

Follow Thaddeus Fitzpatrick on Twitter @Actor_TsFitz

Frankenstein: Ticket information
• Through Oct. 30
• Stage Theatre
• ASL interpreted, Audio-described and Open Captioned performance: Oct. 23
• Tickets: 303-893-4100 or BUY ONLINE
• Groups: Call 303-446-4829 

Previous NewsCenter coverage of Frankenstein:
Photos: Opening Night of Frankenstein
Video series: Inside look at the making of Frankenstein
Five things we learned about Frankenstein at Perspectives
Photos, video: Your first look at the making of Frankenstein
Frankenstein: On the making of a two-headed monster
Frankenstein and race: It IS a matter of black and white
Breathing life into the Frankenstein set: ‘It’s alive!‘
A Frankenstein ‘that will make The Bible look subtle‘
How Danny Boyle infused new life into Frankenstein
Casting set for Frankenstein and The Glass Menagerie
Introducing DCPA Theatre Company’s 2016-17 season artwork
Kent Thompson on The Bard, The Creature and the soul of his audience
2016-17 season announcement

More 2016-17 DCPA Theatre Company ‘Meet the Cast’ profiles:
Aubrey Deeker, The Glass Menagerie
Charlie Korman, Frankenstein
Sullivan Jones, Frankenstein
Mark Junek, Frankenstein
Amelia Pedlow, The Glass Menagerie
Jessica Robblee, Frankenstein
John Skelley, The Glass Menagerie

Follow the DCPA on social media @DenverCenter and through the DCPA News Center.