Reflections: Interview

Tai White Discovers Charm and Arrogance in Elusive Role

by Barry David Horwitz

Tai White had a genius drama teacher down at Pacific Collegiate School, near Santa Cruz, who opened a new world for him. Her name is Cindy Gorsky. He says, “she is a kind of genius teacher who helped students create healthy ensembles where they could perform together, without feeling judged—not an easy thing to do.”

It is typical of White, a 24-year-old California actor, who graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) with an MA in Classical Acting, that he gives credit to his teachers and his coaches. White appreciates what his good fortune and good friends have done.

At University of California, Berkeley, in the Drama Dept, he studied with Chris Harold, who gave him personal training and preparation to get into a good graduate program. And another UC Berkeley teacher, Dominique Lozano, called on him to come back to play Claudio in her adapted “Much Ado.” Last summer, Lozano directed “Much Ado” at Marin Shakespeare Company and White’s Claudio was a hit!

And what a Claudio he plays—he redefines the role and brings new energy and focus to the testy suitor. Lozano’s “Much Ado,” set in Florida at a U.S. Naval Base, depicts White’s Claudio as a young, arrogant naval officer.

When a Big Lie impugns his fiancée’s fidelity, this Claudio forcefully rejects his bride-to-be, Hero. White plays Claudio as an arrogant suitor who is easily taken in by palace intrigue. His Claudio even relies on social media to bolster the false accusations.

White brings life to Claudio, making him an touchy, defensive officer who refuses to accept proof of Hero’s innocence. Director Lozano has also adapted this Claudio to our times by doing away Claudio’s easy acceptance of his fiancée once the lie is exposed. His Claudio takes our breath away, giving new meaning to “alternate” truth.

The adaptation and the newly minted ending put his Claudio in new territory.   He starts out as a hot-headed officer—but gets his comeuppance. Tai has created a wonderful backstory to these officers and bros at Key West in Lozano’s adaptation.

He even identifies some of his teen years in Santa Cruz with the hot-headed Claudio – giving him insight into how remnants of toxic masculinity must be identified and exorcised—to reflect new equality between women and men.

It’s striking how grateful the young actor is toward his teachers, coaches, and mentors—he is clear-eyed about how he was encouraged and trained.

At his graduation in London, actor and alumnus David Oyelowo received an honorary degree and gave a speech in which he acknowledged that all these fine actors would not end up as professional actors—because the competition is so tough. But the education is priceless—so much to learn from acting.

Oyelowo asserted that personal relationships are more important than professional success. David’s speech that resonated with Tai.

Tai recounts, “What he was saying is that the most important thing is, like, basically your relationships and the people that you care about in your life.’The most important thing is learning to be kind and generous to the people around you—to develop empathy and feelings. The training develops people who care—that empathy is the ultimate gift of a life in the theater.

Spending an afternoon chatting with a young actor who is struggling to acquire the spectrum of accents that make an actor Over There, I am impressed with his range, his expressiveness, and his openness.

Recently, he is working with Waxing Gibbous Theatre and the Deptford Lounge. Then, a short play at the Omnibus Theatre and his first feature film called “Viral Haunt” and producing his own short film called “Forest and Fire.”

After chatting with Tai in Berkeley, I look forward to seeing him again onstage—perhaps in London, in a little theater or a bigger stage, to enjoy his vision and his talent as it grows.

 

Banner photo: Victor Talmadge & Tai White. Photo by Jay Yamada

See: “Much Ado About Nothing” Celebrates Love & Comedy with Surfers & Sailors—at Marin Shakes