Invictus Theatre Company
This interview was conducted with Charles Eskenizer, artistic director of Invictus Theatre. Watch the full interview at the end of the page!
“I started theater in elementary school. I was Pecos Bill. And then in middle school, I did My Fair Lady. I've just always done theater and acting all my life. [In] high school, we had an improv class, as well as school plays. Then I went to college and studied theater and then came to Chicago, studied theater more, and then got actual experience at the theater. The first show I directed was a show called Titus Andronicus, which is a Shakespeare show. It made me excited about directing and interested about producing. I just learned more the more I did it, and continued to produce and direct and learn all the facets of creating a theater.”
Charles Eskenizer, director of Invictus Theatre; photo by Arabella DeLucco
“When I first started Invictus, I was working two [restaurant] jobs and funding our organization that way. They both had lunchtime shifts, so I was trying to get as many lunchtime shifts as I could. And then squeezing in evening shifts as well, raising money for my theater so that I could self produce things. Invictus is eight years old now. It was certainly a lot, and I was working two jobs progressively for the first few years of Invictus. I recently have been able to start to make more of a living based off teaching classes and just the small stipend I get every month from the theater, which will grow into a salary someday.”
The main characters of Invictus’ current show, ‘A Winter’s Tale,’ photo by Arabella DeLucco
“I would say funding is [our] number one [challenge]. And I think if you ask anybody in the arts and in arts administration, they will say that as well. Grants are important, [and] individual donors are really important, so building relationships with people, getting coffee and lunch and asking them to support the thing that you care about. Just building your community so that they want the organization to succeed.
We're actually building our set right now for the Winter's Tale, which is sort of Shakespeare's take on a fairy tale. It's not quite a tragedy and not quite a comedy. It's sort of this fun blend of both those genres. They call it a problem play because it's perplexing as to the ending, which asks the audience to believe in magic, which I think is part of the beauty of the play.”
‘A Winter’s Tale’ rehearsal; photo by Arabella DeLucco
“I think a big part of [putting together a show] is just getting as comfortable and familiar with the script as I can. So, reading it, re reading it, re reading it, and re reading it. That's the biggest part. When we do auditions, hopefully I know the play well enough that I am watching actors audition, the pieces will start coming together for it. Once we get into rehearsal, it's a lot of bringing people together as an ensemble, building trust between them so that they can sort of play in this sandbox that we've created.”
Photo by Arabella DeLucco
“One of the biggest pieces of advice I would give anybody who's interested in pursuing theatre is [to] produce your own work. I think a lot of artists kind of wait for opportunities to come to them, but you have to create your own opportunities. If there's a play that excites you, or a role that excites you, go out and get it done yourself.”
“You can do it. Keep doing it. Don't stop. If it excites you and you're passionate about it, keep doing it. Do it regardless of what anyone says. Do it regardless of how scared you might feel. The best thing you can do when you want to do something is just to do it. So do it. If you want to act, do it. Get some friends together, grab scripts, and start acting. And that's the best place to start.”
