That One Time I Acted in a Playwright
July 16, 2024Sergei Alexandrovitch: The extra “Spice” that was needed.
In the Fall of 2016, I was approached by my friend Taleen, a talented writer. She needed to “spice things up” for her second playwright, ”Where is Your Groom 2”, a story about the struggles of marriage, family, in-laws, and would-be suitors for the bride to be.
Agreeing to be the necessary spice, my terms were simple: I create the character, and she builds off it, organically, during rehearsals. An Armenian Gangster from Moscow suited the spice that was needed best, and the character naturally took shape. Serious, dangerous, funny, but also warm, I have to say, it was incredibly fun and one of the best times of my life. From bloopers to eating cultural food, every Sunday leading up to the debut was something I looked forward to.
Six months later, a cast of incredible individuals performed at Columbia University’s Miller Theatre on March 12, 2017. With over 700 people in attendance, the only thing circulating in my mind was, “I hope this entertains the heck out of them!!”.
Everything went well until my second to last scene. After offering and dangling Armenian string cheese in front of the confused bride-to-be, I abruptly sat back down on the couch, causing it to implode on itself. Panicking, feeling confused, forgetting my lines, and not sure what to do or say, I tried to whisper to my colleague but forgot I had a microphone on, subtly saying “OMG the couch broke”. I quickly improvised and responded with “Hah, just a little weight gain”. The crowd understood exactly what happened, and a roaring cheer arrived right after. I was finally content knowing that they were fully entertained.
Who knows, maybe one day there will be a spin-off of this character or a Part 3. Either way, I would do it all over again. Below are my scenes, I created clips in case watching the entire play is too much. Thanks for watching!