Joe Castinado Interview by Jen Bush

 Joe Castinado is ready to entertain you in his role in Impossible But True.  It’s an exciting new spin on the tale of Rip Van Winkle.  He is a multi-skilled entertainer whose talents align perfectly with this production.  “I am from Colorado, and I am well versed in singing, acting, and improv. So, this show kind of scratches all the right itches for me, creatively. It feels great to be doing everything I love to do with a fantastic group of people who can take any choice someone makes and craft it into a beautiful and funny character moment that fits perfectly into the show we’re creating.

 Mr. Castinado has a layered and effective creative process.  “First thing I do is I like to see the show in its entirety, big picture. And then I like to go in from there and see what my character is, from a purely functional perspective. Like “What does this choice of words mean? Does it matter that this musical theme is an inversion of this one? What needs to happen in this scene for the overall story to hit?” Then, I try to forget all of that and look at it as if my character is a real person in these circumstances and go off those cues about how they’d act. Then, I kind of overlap them, and try to find the best and most honest choices and paths from those two circles. That’s what I like to come into the first rehearsal with. During rehearsal, I expect for all of that to be taken apart, polished, re-examined, replaced, and put back together just in time for someone to look at it.

Impossible But True is a historical play being performed in a historical location.  There is some extra responsibility to represent this time in history accurately.  “I feel mostly responsible for the audience, I think. I can’t pretend like I know more about this time period than the average person who finished 5th grade. But I do know the story we’re telling better than the audience does. And it’s my job to make sure it’s coming across clearly. And they might not know more about the revolution or the time period by the end of the show, but they WILL know the story and its lessons. And I think that’s all I really need to do.”

Mr. Castinado wants the audience to walk away happy and with the feeling that they actively participated in a joint artistic experience.  “First and foremost, I want them to come away with a smile. I also think I’d want them to come away with a feeling like they can do anything. I mean, we’re creating the show in front of them. We’re performing in a bar and using each other as instruments and props. That should be impossible, but we do it. They might not be able to fly off in the sky in a magic boat. But if we can encourage them to even try to make art with whatever is around them, that’s as noble of a goal as we could hope for.”

This show is about the American Revolution which might make one think of January 6^th.  Mr. Castinado is thinking that some of those insurgents got their just desserts.  “Haha yeah. That was crazy. You see that guy fall from the fence and eat it? Folded like a lawn chair, man.”

When Mr. Castinado is finished doing some historical acting, singing and improv at a tavern as part of Impossible But True, you can tune in to his channel on Twitch TV until his next theatrical role comes along.  “What’s next is Ideally more theatre, haha. But when I’m not frantically auditioning for the next gig, I’m streaming online at Twitch.tv/GuyloRen. It helps me feel like I’m still performing, even when it’s not onstage. But the end goal is to be going from one show to the next. Hopefully with some of these fantastic artists I’ve gotten the pleasure to work with during this show.”