As the national tour of Proof makes its three-week stop in Boston, the company brings with it Tufts alum Stephen Kunken (LA '93) starring as Hal. Kunken, who was a member of Cheap Sox and performed in numerous Tufts shows as an undergraduate, returned to Medford yesterday to speak with current Tufts students about life in the entertainment business.
Addressing a crowd composed largely of drama majors, Kunken outlined some of the keys to achieving success as an actor. Kunken stressed a need to follow passion over practicality and to embark on an educational adventure. This advice might have served him well in his freshman year - Kunken had intended to major in political science at Tufts.
"I figured if I was learning the art of manipulating people, I'd rather do it through entertainment than politics," he said with a smile.
Kunken lauded the drama facilities at Tufts, describing the Balch Arena Theater as one of the best places for an actor to train. The intense and intimate setting can help aspiring movie and television actors get a feel for the camera's closeness - and to get used to ignoring it.
One of Kunken's major regrets is that he did not take advantage of some of the specialized classes offered through the drama department that focused on specific playwrights such as Chekov and Ibsen. Kunken flipped through a Tufts course book several years after graduating and realized that he did not learn as much as he could have about his trade.
"I had worked so hard to major in things after 2 p.m. and to have a four-day weekend," he said. "I was so tunneled into finding more time to party that I didn't take these really specific classes that I'll never have the chance to take again."
Kunken also wished that he had been more involved with productions through Pen, Paint, and Pretzels (3Ps) and Torn Ticket II, saying that it is very rare that students have the chance to direct and design their own shows. Kunken experienced a little of this through Cheap Sox, and credits the improv troupe for giving him the foundation for his acting career.
"Cheap Sox was great training and was how I got into the [drama] department," he said. "Improv teaches you to delve into the unknown.... I live on the unknown."
This realm of the "unknown," Kunken said, is one of the best ways to describe the life of an actor. "It's a career you turn to when you can't decide what to do so you live a life where you're constantly experiencing other people's lives," he said. "You can do a lot as an actor... most actors are simply empowered by their choice to be an actor."
The path to stardom isn't easy, however. An aspiring actor has several choices to make: what medium to work in, whether or not to attend graduate school, and which coast to live on.
Kunken explained that the major reason for an actor to attend graduate school - he himself went to Julliard - was to make connections with an agent. It is very difficult to arrange contacts with an agent, and most of them pick up clients through reputable graduate programs in acting.
But an actor hoping to star in the next sequel of American Pie does not necessarily have to go through these steps because the casting for such teen movies is often based purely on appearance. "Get yourself out to Los Angeles, and use the money you would have spent on grad school to join a gym," Kunken said. "Look your best, and go out and audition."
Indeed, each of the three major city centers for actors - New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago- caters to a different type of performer. While Chicago can be a good place to get work early on, Kunken described the advantages of being patient and relocating to one of the bigger cities.
"You can work in Chicago for a long time, but you almost have to move to New York before you can go back to Chicago," he explained. "Chicago actors get their roles stolen by the New York actors who get their roles stolen by LA actors."
For now, however, Kunken is enjoying his run in Proof, which has been the longest he has been engaged with one particular production. He began working on the show last April, understudying and performing the role of Hal in the New York production. The national tour began in Seattle in November and has made stops in San Francisco, Sacramento, and Houston.
"I can't think of a better life right now," he said, "I'm young, I get to act, and I get to see the country."
