Robbie San Juan
Robbie San Juan gets a bit complicated with his role in ‘Oleanna’
RICH LOPEZ | Staff reporter
rich@dallasvoice.com
Playing a straight male professor accused of sexual harassment hardly sounds like a cakewalk for any actor. And Robbie San Juan certainly admits that the role comes with challenges. But those challenges have, in turn, also been enlightening as he prepares to take the stage this weekend in The Classics Theatre Project’s production of Oleanna.
The professor is “a complicated character, and my journey for him has been a big challenge but definitely worth experiencing,” San Juan said.
That is true not just for him but for the audience, as well.
TCTP opens Oleanna on Friday, May 17, at the Stone Cottage Theatre in Addison, and the David Mamet play runs through June 17. Directed by April Miller, the dramatic story centers on two characters: Carol, a college student, and the professor, John, who Carol accuses of harassment.
As the drama ensues, San Juan said, the audience will just have to make up its own mind what to believe.
“You are privy to the facts, so you see it happen onstage. But it’s up to the audience to figure out how they feel about it,” he said. “You clearly see both sides, but I think the way Mamet wrote it, and the way it plays out, people may leave very conflicted and definitely with questions.”
Reading the description alone recalls the #MeToo movement and today’s dialogue on inequity. That wasn’t lost on San Juan.
“I asked my former teacher about this. My sisters are all teachers, so we all talked about things that are unethical,” he said. “This was written before #MeToo, and Mamet has been criticized for his portrayal of women, but being directed by April really makes a difference” in this production.
San Juan credits Miller, also an educator, with bringing a strong female voice to the director’s chair, and he describes Devon Rose, playing Carol, as “such a powerful actor.”
“That not only affects the show positively but affects my approach. I think through their eyes, we see Carol’s side a lot more. But I’m also learning more about myself as an actor,” he said.
While he is no stranger to the Dallas theater scene, San Juan has really been on a roll lately, making his presence known across a number of stages. He was last seen in Theatre Three’s The Seagull earlier this spring and in Deathtrap last winter, as well as TCTP’s The Crucible and Mainstage’s The Light in the Piazza. Dallas Voice readers may recognize him most from his role in last year’s premiere of Silver Foxes at Uptown Players, directed by Michael Urie.
Although he’s been doing theater for a while, Silver Foxes was San Juan’s first queer-centric play.
“I’d never done a gay-focused production like that, and Uptown has such a huge following,” he said. “One of the reasons it was such a great experience was that the audience was immediately so supportive. They got to see themselves. I got to see myself.”
Silver Foxes is a comedy centered an gay couple of a certain vintage that gave voice to queer men in middle age. In the show, San Juan played the disheveled half of the couple, opposite BJ Cleveland. In some ways, it was a rare performance for San Juan; he’s often playing more sophisticated roles and even low-key lothario types.
And he relates to all of them. “It’s always nice to get a character that is me,” he said.
Even a potentially, sexually harassing professor? Maybe this character’s not entirely him, but it did put him in a certain motion.
“As a man, I do try to be aware of space and touch, but this role made me think back to times when I thought I may have crossed the line with some male friends,” he said. “So, I reached out and, fortunately, all was ok. But I felt it was necessary to make those amends.”
For tickets, visit TheClassicsTheatreProject.com.