Acting: An Art form, A Way of Life-- Introducing Casey T. Evans

2012-08-17T22:19:00.000-05:00

Casey T. Evans

Originally from St. Louis, Casey T. Evans is on the rise as a convincing and talented actor. He is another product of St. Louis own method acting company TheatrGroup directed by Harry Governick.
Casey T. Evans recent major role is in a movie called "Knock Down"--

Director: Todd Bellanca
Writer: Todd Bellanca and Sasha Levinson
Producer: Sarote Tabcum, Todd Bellanca, and Alex Guerra.
Cinematographer: Vince Passeri

Please support our St. Louis native actor by odering the dvd movie of "KnockDown" at this link: http://www.amazon.com/Knockdown-Tom-Arnold/dp/B007IU8Z0M

UCAN's President, Rene Dimanche had a chance to catch up with Casey for an interview:

The Examiner

'...There’s a tragic reality to this character, in large part, I suspect, because Evans was able to merge his training as an actor with his real-life status as a former pro boxer. Sheer theatricality aside, you have to admire the skill with which Evans and Faltas bounce their lines off of each other... '-

Chris Pandolfi

U.C.A.N (UrbanCanvasArtistNetwork):

Some years back you were a dedicated member of TheatrGroup- a method acting workshop theater in St. Louis. How much influence has that training period had in your present career as an actor?

CTE (Casey T. Evans):

A convincing scene played by Casey

A lot. I was at Theatregroup for about five years studying with Harry Governick. I also studied a lot with Hal Scharf independently. All those little ‘method’ acting tricks still come in handy when I’m hitting a rough patch or having trouble with a scene. I wouldn’t have moved to LA to pursue acting if I hadn’t had that intense study for all those years. Both Harry and Hal had and still have a tremendous influence on my development as an actor.

U.C.A.N:

One of the reviews said that you bring a good sense of reality in Knockdown due to your experience as a boxer. How and why did you decide to leave boxing for acting? And in what ways does an actor’s workout differ from boxing?
CTE:

I fought for so long. From the time I was eight until twenty-eight. I won a few championships and got to train with my idol ‘Smokin’ Joe Frazier. Boxing was good to me but I got burned out from fighting from such a young age. Also, there’s the wear and tear on your body, you can’t fight when you get old, and I also didn’t want to get ‘punch drunk’ like so many of my contemporaries. Aside from the physical training, boxing and acting are very similar. You have to concentrate, relax, adapt, stay open, be responsive, use your sensibilities, and be completely committed when fighting or on stage. I still train though. That’s how I took all of the ‘Knockdown’ weight back off.

U.C.A.N:

Wow—that is great—Sounds like an exercise tape could be in the making.
Urban Canvas is a big supporter of youth. Is it fair to say that—acting requires you to tap into the child in you—in the sense that—children are so imaginative and reactionary to their environment and imagination? Why do you feel we tend to lose our child-like qualities—as we get older?

CTE:

When you are a child, there is a belief in what you are doing. A child will come up to you with a rag and say “hold the baby” because the child believes and wants to bring you into his/her world. But as you get older, inhibitions for expression get in the way. A child will dance for their parents, or possibly for company, but in public your parents will say ‘don’t behave that way’ or ‘stop that’. So over time societal norms will begin to inhibit the child until they are ‘normal’ or ‘adult’. A childlike ability to believe is necessary for an actor to have creativity and expression. A baby will never behave like an adult, but an adult will behave like a baby. So you will commonly find two or three adults prattling, cooing, playing with the baby, and conforming to the grace and life of the baby. The baby will bring you in to his world.

U.C.A.N:

I remember how you always brought presence in any scene you played without much effort. How did you prepare for the role in Knockdown? Did you use any method acting techniques?

CTE:

Thanks for that. Numerous ways of were used for preparation. First of course was the weight gain and loss which helped me physically. As for Older and Younger Jack, I changed my voice register to a much lower tone for older Jack. I also use music a lot. I used a classic rock song for young Jack and a slower love song for old Jack. I would speak, move, intonate, respond, and my countenance would change to the rhythms of the different songs. I wanted there to be a ginormous age and life difference between young healthy Jack, drug addict Jack, and old washed up Jack.

Casey before the weight gain for the movie.

Unbelievable presence shift through weight change.

U.C.A.N: What aspect of making a movie you love--- and what of it do you hate or find to be very challenging and why?

CTE:

I love the entire process. Experimenting, building the character, the search for truth, all of it. I don’t like watching myself on screen too much. There’s also a lot about an acting career that you can’t control. Being unsure about when your next gig will be, or even if you’ll work again at all can be quite stressful.

U.C.A.N:

What is your favorite scene or the one scene you had most satisfaction from as an actor—Dustin Hoffman said he tries to hit that one good note.

CTE: The scene in ‘Knockdown’ on the rooftop with Jim Van Vleck, who plays my uncle. It was very difficult. It was hot, humid (we were in Bangkok), I was extremely weak from the weight loss, a long day, a big crew with a lot of people watching, and I had to cry like a maniac. After a couple shots of Vodka, I was able to do the scene and it was satisfying personally and professionally. My favorite scenes in other films are from American Beauty, Meet Joe Black, and True Romance.

Casey's persona comes out

U.C.A.N
Oh yes I remember watching you do a scene from Meet Joe Black- at Harry's TheatrGroup.

What would you say was the most difficult scene to do in Knockdown and why and how did you overcome it?

CTE: Definitely the one on the rooftop with Jim. All of the problems from before, then we ran out of film in the middle of the scene. So we had to wait for one of the Producers to bring some more film back. We were right above a loud nightclub too, so it was hard to concentrate. In order to do the scene I had to calm myself down and start from where I was. I snuck down to do a couple shots of vodka before the scene and that really helped. It was a combination of Russian acting (Stanislavski and Strasberg) and Russian vodka (Russian Standard) that won the day!

U.C.A.N:

LOL. Very funny. Drinks can do that indeed. In what ways does a director play a crucial role, so to speak, in bringing out the best of you as an actor?

CTE: By letting you be free. A Director can make or break a film. And Todd Bellanca was an excellent Director to work with. He is very creative and not afraid to explore and improvise. Basically the first couple take went to me and after that, I took his direction. A good director will cast right and then it’s just a matter of ‘speed it up’, ‘slow it down’, ‘pull back a little’, etc. Todd would let me go all out and fall on my face then say ‘great…now let’s try this…’.

U.C.A.N How do you stay fresh and inspired?

CTE: There is always new material to work on so everything is always fresh and new. It becomes a problem on stage because you’re doing the same thing over and over and there is a lot of repetition. More often than not it becomes a problem of ‘how can we re-create the first reading?’ or ‘how can we create the illusion of the first time?’. For me personally I read and do sense memory at least once a week. Inspiration to create always comes and goes. But it is easier as long as you continue to live and experience life.

UCAN: What is next? Are you currently working on new materials you can talk about?

CTE: I have a love story in development right now titled ‘Unconditional’ that I can talk about. Some scripts have been sent to me that the Producers won’t let me discuss yet.

U.C.A.N What would be a dream role you’d like to play in a movie and why?

CTE: Oh man. Narses, Patton, Napoleon, or any other historical General or Captain. That has always been an area of fascination and independent study for me since as far back as elementary school. I’ve read about every book there is on Military tactics and strategy from Sun Tzu and Mao Tse Tung to Alexander the Great and Carl von Clausewitz. The parallels between one vs. one combat and battalion vs. battalion combat are the same. And I’d love to bring one of those historical figures to life once again.

U.C.A.N: Exactly how much weight did you gain for some of the scenes? And how did you do it?

CTE: I went from 200lbs. (my current weight) to 180lbs. for the boxing scenes in St Louis. Then down to 153lbs. for the Heroine drug sequence in Bangkok. From then it was almost nine months to get up to 250lbs. to play older Jack, which was shot in LA. Gaining weight was pretty easy after starving myself to get down to 153lbs. And I have to say, putting on all the weight to get to 250lbs. was a BLAST! All I had to do was work on the script and eat and drink beer. Getting back down to 200lbs. took about four months and the entire process roughly 22 months.

U.C.A.N: The boxing match looks very real. Who did the choreography, and how long did it take?

CTE: There wasn't a choreographer. Todd brought in five movie cameras to capture my last pro fight specifically for ‘Knockdown’. It was a one night shoot with two months of prep. I had to train for the fight while my promoter Jim Howell put the eight bout card together, and Todd was preparing the shoot with his DP. It was the first thing we shot for the film so we had to have contingency plans for story in place. So if I got knocked out in the real fight, I was drugged in the story. If I knocked Cliff Smith (Marcel Eldridge) out in the real fight, judges would disqualify me in the story. If I lost a decision in the real fight, that would be perfect for the story. If I won the decision in the real fight (which is what happened), then Todd would have to shoot a fake decision for the script immediately after the fight. After that, we shoot the entrance to the ring, then the night time driving sequences. All in all it was a 24 hour day. Funny thing, when we shot the fake decision right after the real decision on fight night, there were so many people that were drunk in the crowd that actually thought that the decision was reversed. So all of the cup, can, food, and bottle throwing into the ring is actually real. I just kind of went with it. All of the after fight stuff is improved with an angry mob. Man I love St. Louis!

Bai Ling deep in thought

U.C.A.N How was it working with Tom Arnold and Bai Ling?

CTE: They were both very professional. Bai has great sensibility and was so calm and easy with her role. She is very believable. Tom was great as the gangster, and it was cool to see him do something so contrary to what he normally does with comedy. He also did all of his own stunts, which was pretty bad ass.

Casey & Bai Ling share a moment

U.C.A.N:
What advice do you have for those interested in being an actor?

CTE: Moviemaking is a collaborative effort. If you want to be an actor, get involved with every area of the business. From photography, editing, producing, and directing to casting and distribution. Get to know how the entertainment business works. It’s a creative endeavor and a business, so produce a short and hold auditions. Get to see what it’s like to audition as well as hold auditions. It’ll give you a greater understanding of what everyone has to do to make a film come to life. You’ll be savvier about what films you choose to do and who you will work with. They don’t call it Show business for nothing, because without no business, there ain’t no show.

Casey T. Evans lives in L.A. and constantly works towards perfecting his craft as an actor. Knock down can be seen at Netflix and various video stores. It also can be seen at some theaters. Learn more about Casey at the following link: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2860645/resumephotos

Interview by: Rene Dimanche, UCAN Executive Director

Blog Bragging about our Talented Youth

2012-03-08T08:17:00.000-06:00

UCAN is about to do a long series of blogs featuring young artists from St. Louis and beyond. So, if any of you know and desire to 'Blog Brag' about any particular young artist--send me the following:

* A bio and/or accomplishments as a young artist.
*Minimum of five file samples of their artworks.
*Optional contact information for interested collectors/buyers.
*Optional picture of the artist.

Send them to my email: dimanche30@hotmail.com and write 'Artist Blog Brag' on the subject line.

I look forward to your submittals!!

Rene Dimanche
Exec. Director

St. Louis, MO. History Museum Promo Night for Urban Canvas Artist Network

2011-08-11T23:41:00.000-05:00

Dedicated U.C.A.N volunteers at
our History Museum Promo night:
Delyth, Bobbie, Erika & Melodie (L to R)

(L to R) U.C.A.N President--Rene,
volunteer curator--Keidra
(she is also owner of GloveBoxx Co.),
Melodie--volunteer Youth Art Program Director

Thanks to five dedicated U.C.A.N volunteers (Bobbie, Delyth, Erika, Keidra & Melodie), we had a great time--making friends and networking at St. Louis History Museum on August 9th, 2011! Delyth, Bobbie--your skit was the highlight of the evening especially when we had audience participation. Some even joined in and sang with you!

We look forward to our next future activities with Yari Yari writers of St. Louis, MO; Griot Black History Museum along with collaborations with other exciting non-profit groups such as GYA and Portfolio Gallery. We certainly want you to join us on this journey!

(L to R)
Volunteer Actresses/Performers-- Delyth & Bobbie,
Support volunteer--Ericka

Urban Canvas Artist Network-- Updated Activities.

2011-08-04T12:37:00.000-05:00

U.C.A.N. is proud to introduce theater director Robert Lee Davis. Davis is currently a Police Officer for the St Louis Metropolitan Police Department who has had a passion for the arts since he was young. Davis believes that the problem with our society and communities begins when young minds are still developing.

This is why Davis has joined Urban Canvas Artist Network, as the Theater Program Director to develop an acting workshop called A.C.T. (Achieving Change Throughout) for students at the Blewett Middle School in North St. Louis. The program ends in July, but A.C.T plans to run the program on an annual basis. Mr. Davis will also be collaborating with groups such as St. Louis Writer’s Group to put together a play production featuring Blewett Middle School students next year.

Urban Canvas Artist Network: Artistic Synergy

2011-07-03T21:39:00.000-05:00

I wish to extend a warm welcome to all artists-- across all disciplines. Whatever your artistic talent is--feel free to share all your successes, failures, explorations, contemplation, projects that took off well and projects that--lets face it-- were not meant to be tackled at the moment. May we artists support, encourage and share what is on our mind-- especially if you are brave enough (and I do mean brave with a dash of daring;) to add a business formation component to the whole madness of it all. Do tell us about your journey!

And remember--some things and many things--if not done by you--may never get done.

Blessings,
Rene Dimanche Jr.