Senior Bryce WIlliams, a leading actor in the play Salvation Road, gave his last Stanton College Preparatory fall play performance recently and took his final bows. Originally getting involved in theater from a friend’s recommendation, Williams grew to love the intense character development in plays and has been involved in Stanton drama ever since. Williams’ love of the arts took a special stronghold in his life when he discovered his passion for film and how theater shares many fascinating attributes with this passion. His performance in Salvation Road was just one example of his emotionally-invested acting skills and dedication that he has continuously exemplified throughout his theater career. Playing the character Duffy, Williams was able to connect with audiences in a fun-loving, carefree way and allow readers to fully grasp the importance of this character in the plot. Williams would like to continue his love for the arts by applying to film schools across the world, and plans to make an impact on people through the stories he tells.

Kathleen Kelleher, Yearbook Photography Editor

DA: Why did you choose to join theater overall and audition for Salvation Road?

BW: I decided to join the theater my freshman year when my friend Whit Hemphill told me, “hey, you should do this thing I enjoy a lot” and now he goes to PACE, a professional acting school. He told me to join, so I joined and I just enjoyed enacting emotions and representing people and perspectives I do not know myself. For Salvation Road, it is really interesting because it has this cult aspect to it that’s very mysterious and nonlinear.

DA: Who is your character in the play and how did you prepare for the role?

BW: My character in this play is Duffy. He’s kind of a goofball, but he has an inferiority complex. Basically what I did is try to ramp up my insecurities as much as possible because sometimes I do feel like I have that inferiority complex, so I really wanted to get inside this guy’s mind. He’s been hanging out with this very overly aggressive dude named Cliff for years now it seems, so I feel like it would have a toll on him. He wants to show Cliff that he is worthy and also be able to beat him because Duffy is very competitive. I tried to elevate all of those insecurities that a normal high school student would have.

DA: To what extent does your character reflect your own personality?

BW: I feel like I have, and everybody has, a little bit of Duffy in them. Duffy is just a really sweet dude and is a goofball, but he also just wants to be loved by everyone. I feel that sometimes. I see people goofing off and joking around to get attention, not in a bad way, but just to receive some love. Duffy really reflects that little bit of insecurity we all have about ourselves and how we wish to be validated.

DA: How has working with other actors in this play influenced your teamwork skills?

BW: It really helped me learn about the different learning styles of every actor, especially the main four of us: Sara Branly, me, Brendan Murphy and Katie Wall. We all have a different way of approaching acting and so it is very fun to learn different ways people approach this stuff and to learn how to amalgamate those styles together to create one cohesive, consistent performance. My style is more like, instead of just going through facial motions, I really want to go through the emotional beats each time, which is really hard. Brendan Murphy first gets all the lines down and then learns how to segment those lines into emotions, and I’m more of getting the emotions down and then learning the lines. That’s why I was the last person to learn my lines.

DA: What is one thing you want audiences to take away from this play?

BW: This [scenario] happens. It’s a real thing. People can be in low places in their life and find a group that they feel suits them, only to realize they were only saying what that person wanted to hear. It’s not just cults, [but also] stuff with prostitution, pornography, and political extremists, all these different aspects, have people in them and are about finding something that’s false.

DA: How have your other leadership roles (SGA, Create Club, etc.) affected your leadership style in this play?

BW: With acting, I tried not to lead, especially since Duffy is not the leader and he wants to be. That’s the whole conflict between Cliff and Duffy, where Duffy is always trying to prove himself to Cliff. So, I was trying to not lead at all and just be a representation of this character.

DA: What would you like to see future play productions at Stanton do differently?

BW: I would love to see Stanton productions do more acting exercises with their actors and to work more on the theory of acting, which sounds pretentious because it’s a high school play.

DA: How has Salvation Road impacted you personally?

BW:I think it has made me so much more open to realizing that this stuff actually happens in real life.

DA: What has been a particular struggle for you in context to the play?

BW: Sometimes bringing out insecurities a lot in a character [makes them] come up in your person, outside of the play. I’m not trying to pull a Heath Ledger or anything suicidal, but it’s like you feel more aware of your insecurities and your abilities.

DA: How will your experience in Salvation Road help you later in life or in your career?

BW: I think it was such a journey into a different perspective about these things happening and how quickly and weirdly they happen, and to be more perceptive and seeing how relationships form. Instead of just hanging out with somebody, realize why you want to hang out with them and when or why your relationship dynamics work, and if it’s poisonous. If you have poisonous friends and you don’t realize it, it sucks. [Careerwise], I do not want to go into acting, but I do want to go into the arts and mainly film to make movies.

Q & A: Salvation Road: Bryce Williams