Our Board, session four: Meet Christian Toth

And now, our co-founder, Christian Toth chats a bit...

1) How do you identify yourself as an artist (primarily an actor, playwright, etc)?
I'm an actor with an interest in the writing and directing processes.

2) How did you get started in theater?

Sketches with friends at science fiction conventions in the 1980s.

3) Who do you consider your theatrical/artistic influences?

Actors like Spencer Tracy and Cary Grant on the one hand, the RSC crowd on the other hand, and socially aware artists such as (but not limited to) Alasdair Gray, Howard Barker, and Augusto Boal on the third hand, which provides a minimum of three hands in answer to the question.

4) When you were little, what did you want to be “when you grew up”?
Powerful.

5) What kind of theater/art inspires you?

The kind that makes you think about class and history without being sanctimonious, simplistic, or bourgeois. (Tall order.)

6) What drew you to Adaptive Arts?

Its mission and its potential to fulfill it.

7) What do new things do you want to explore while working with Adaptive?

Increased outreach to autistic communities.

8) What kind of work do you do outside of the company?

I work at an advertising agency that specializes in book publishers. I also record audio versions of textbooks. I'm the treasurer of a nonprofit and a part-time amateur actor.

9) If you had to work on one play for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Hamlet never gets boring

10) What’s your most embarrassing theater moment?

Once forgetting to yell "Help" as "Matt" in the climax of "We'll Just Dance" in "The Fantasticks."

11) What ‘s your most surprising theater moment?

Each.

13) Tell us about a “first” you experienced while working on a show.

A "first-and-only" was the time I played "Azdak" from "Caucasian Chalk Circle": it took place in a bar with a stage and patrons kept bringing me new pints of beer whenever I called for one. This direct interaction with the audience led to a real talk about the issues of the play that was close to what I imagine Brecht envisioned: fun, intellectual, and social.