D. Norris (D-NO) has been entertaining Live Arts Theatre’s audiences for several seasons. He played a truly terrifying Dracula in Dracula. He was amazingly comedic in the frenetic, fast paced show, The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged. He played the hypnotizing dancer, Bobby in Cabaret. He had a side-splitting cameo in Hot-L Baltimore. He also staged managed last year’s musical, Children of Eden, and choreographed on Dorothy Meets Alice and Children of Eden as well. Most recently, he played Cecil (Jimmy) in our version of the hysterically funny Stealing Home. We are delighted to have him back on our stage in the role of Miss Prism for The Importance of Being Ernest, our flipped fundraiser.
- D-No has been acting on stage since 2001. He is a dancer and dance instructor and owner of Adrenaline Entertainment. We know D-No as a serious and intensely focused person who magically transforms into his characters when he hits the stage. He sat down with us for a few minutes to help us, help you, get to know a little more about him. Enjoy:
Q: What attracted you to the audition for The Importance of Being Ernest?
A: Becca made me do it.
D-No and TJ Sanson in Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged
Q: What is your dream acting role?
A: Actually, it was Dracula!
Q: Compare yourself to your character.
A: We’re completely different. She’s hoity-toity. She dictates how others should live despite her own mistakes.
Q: Live Arts Theatre prides itself in being a teaching theatre. What have you learned in your time with us?
A: I gained an appreciation for Shakespeare. The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged was my first foray into Shakespeare. That particular script was a good introduction. Also, I am attracted by the fact that Becca (our Creative Director) encourages breaking the 4th wall, to a point where it is almost mandatory. That has been a great learning experience.
Q: As someone who has come back to audition for us numerous times, what would you say to someone interested in auditioning.
A: If you are not a fun person, if you don’t want a challenge, if you don’t want to meet amazing people, if you don’t want to talk about nerd sh*t backstage, … this is not the place for you.
We’d like to thank D-No for his incredible work ethic and generosity of sharing his time and talents with Live Arts Theatre. If you missed the announcement, Mr. D. Norris will be a Directing Apprentice at Live Arts Theatre for next season (2017-2018).
Our flipped show, The Importance of Being Ernest, is running only one weekend and it is a fundraiser as we prepare for our summer musical, Fiorello, which will finish out our “Death and Taxes” season. http://liveartstheatre.org/fiorello/ Be sure to get your tickets for The Importance of Being Ernest now! http://liveartstheatre.org/flipped-show/