Spotlight On...Kyle Metzger

Name: Kyle Metzger

Hometown: Stonington, CT

Education: BFA Music Theatre, The Hartt School (U of Hartford)

Select Credits: Acting: Noises Off! (u/s Tim, Hartford Stage); Some Enchanted Evening (Will, Ivoryton Playhouse); Candide by TJ Edwards (Various Roles, Gallery Players); Summit Avenue (Jefferson, Figment Arts Fest); Messed Up Here Tonight (James, Renovations Theatre Co.); Child's Drawing of a Monster (Trenton, Vacant Lot); Core member FRESH PRODUCE'd NYC. Directing: Belieber (Culture Project/Women Center Stage Fest); Hunting and Gathering (The Glass Eye); TCP Project (Tenement Street Workshop/Snowballs Fest); Toxoplasmosis (Fresh Produce'd); Pussyfest Redux (Caps Lock); Romeo & Juliet and Eddie (Perchance to Dream Theatre); Werewolf (Play on Words); Entranced (Snorks and Piñs).

Why theatre?: Theatre is magic. I love the collaborative process, and creating something that is alive and undefinable. As an actor and director, I find that every project informs the next one so I'm continually growing and discovering more about myself as an artist and a person. I've also found a wonderful community in the people I make theatre with; they've become my creative family. That is incredibly important to developing your art: being surrounded by people who encourage and inspire you to go further, take bigger risks, think about something in a totally new way.

What is it like being part of The Nightmare Dream?: It's wonderful, like a class reunion. Neal directed myself and many of the cast members in a show at Gallery Players in 2010. That was one of those shows where everyone involved just clicked, and we'd hang out every night after rehearsals. In New York, theatre is a quick turn around and you can easily do 4 or 5 shows a year. It's a testament to the talent and kindness of these people that we all have stayed in touch, and amazing that Neal brought us back together. Since we worked together 3 years ago, I've become a director, but I couldn't pass up the chance to be on stage with these people again.

What kind of theatre speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: As an actor, I am drawn to roles that have a darkness and complexity to them. I like the challenge of justifying and motivating the choices and actions of a character, so the tougher to crack the better. As a director I like to tell stories about finding an inner strength or power that was unknown. I love stories with a character who surprises themselves. The best theatre to me is when someone can show me a feeling, idea, or perspective by the simplest of actions. I believe you can learn everything you need to know about a character by the way they sit at a table, or answer the door. When ana ctor can do something that is beautifully human, it can take your breath away.

Any roles you're dying to play?: No, but plenty I'm dying to create. I recently wrote my first performance piece, and I'm looking forward to discovering my voice as a writer, and the characters that emerge from it.

What’s your favorite showtune?: I love Leonard Bernstein, specifically On the Town. All of it. You can feel it inside of you.

If you could work with anyone, who would it be?: Last summer I performed in a series of short plays by Erik Ehn. They are so unlike anything I've been exposed to before. I would love to work with him in person, as actor or director.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself, and what would it be called?: Well I've been told I look like Greg Kinnear, so he can have it if he wants it. It would be call 'Untitled Work in Progress'

What shows have you recommended to friends?: The best show I've seen this year was Isaac's Eye at EST. I told anyone who would listen to go see it. Don't get me started again!

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: I play video games to unwind, and most of them are pretty nerdy.

What's up next?: Upcoming: Assistant Directing The Medicine Showdown (Dir. Jessi Hill, New York Theatre Workshop/Flying Carpet Theatre); Directing Sexless in the Boroughs (Glass Eye/Fresh Produce'd).  

Kyle is the Artistic Director of The Glass Eye, and FRESH PRODUCE'd NYC: a monthly new play workshop. For more on The Glass Eye, visit glasseyenyc.wordpress.com, twitter.com/TheGlassEyeNYC, facebook.com/GlassEyeNYC. For more on FRESH PRODUCE’d, visit  getfreshproduced.com, twitter.com/FRESH_PRODUCE'd, facebook.com/FRESHPRODUCEdNYC