Play Q&As: Ivan Wheland

Name: Ivan Wheland

Grade: 12th

1. What is your role?

“I’m a duty sheriff, cop, Uncle Terry, and drunk man #2.”

2. Why did you decide to try out for the play?

“Mrs. [Robin] DeMeester told me freshman year to quit football and join theatre. I stopped playing football for different reasons but decided to give theatre a try anyway.”

3. What do you have in common with your character?

“I have virtually nothing in common with my characters except for Uncle Terry, who got some slight drip on them.”

4. What kind of show should FHC be expecting?

“FHC should expect a show with minimal props and maximum imagination.”

5. Do you have a favorite memory from your time in the play?

“My favorite memory from my short-lived theatre career is putting up posters around the community with [seniors] Benji Zorn and Abbey Calderwood; needless to say, there were many laughs.”

6. What are you most excited about?

“I’m excited for the whole thing to be over, not because I don’t enjoy it, but because I’m looking forward to seeing the finished project.”

7. How do you get into character before performing?

“It’s integral to memorize your lines. When your lines are memorized, it allows you to ‘live in the moment’ and react naturally, opposed to reading the lines in your head whilst in a scene, which looks unnatural.”

8. If you were any Shakespeare play, which would you be and why?

“If I was a Shakespeare play, I would be Romeo & Juliet—way [more] complicated than it should be.”