Ask an Apprentice: Colin Covert

Acting Apprentice Colin Covert gives us an inside look at his first summer in Spring Green and the APT Acting Apprentice Program in this Ask an Apprentice feature.

APT: Hello, Colin! How has the start of your summer at APT been?
Covert: The start of my summer has been pretty stellar. Most days I am just in awe of my good fortune to be here. Walking up the hill, listening to these amazing actors work, learning from the voice and text coaches every morning…not too much to complain about.

APT: That's great! Happy to hear that. This is your first season in the woods with us! Would you mind sharing a little about your journey to APT?
Covert: Before APT I was finishing up my actor training at the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater BFA Program. One of my faculty members arranged for anyone who was interested to come up and audition. I’ll never forget the couple of auditions I got to do in person with the artistic leadership here. I walked away a better actor and felt so full after both experiences that I was just grateful to have auditioned. They mean business in that audition room, and brought out some of my best work. I knew when I was offered this apprenticeship that I had to follow that. I immediately felt very at home here in the woods. For the last couple of years I’d been lamenting to professors and mentors about feeling like following the work meant a separation from nature. This opportunity presented itself to me, and in some way it felt like a sign from the universe telling me I’m going to be okay. Because somehow places like this exist, and I just have to keep sniffing them out.

APT: You mentioned the apprenticeship program which leads me to my next question. You are (obviously) one of our amazing Acting Apprentices this season! Want to talk about anything you've learned this summer through the experience?
Covert: I would say the bulk of my learning thus far has been on the job, as a fly on the wall in rehearsals. Having access to so many completely different processes at the same time has been very informative. In my own micro way, I’ve had to learn how to adapt very quickly to the language and decorum in each room. The general ethos here seems to encourage more lateral thinking, in that everyone in the room is improvising and problem solving with as much value and responsibility to the whole as anyone else. Anyone who knows me knows how often I dream of this kind of collaboration, so it’s been very refreshing and invigorating to see it enacted here. The story comes first, and everyone is in pursuit of telling it to the best of their abilities.

As I’ve watched these stage veterans work from day to day, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about efficiency and economy. They are all so well practiced and their processes are so embodied that their work seems extremely economical, at least on the surface. It got me thinking a lot about my own process and what it costs me. In training it often felt like my whole identity was wrapped up in being a student or actor, but I’ve quickly realized that I need to develop methods of working that are sustainable and have longevity. A mentor of mine once said to me, “You have to ask yourself what’s doing the heavy lifting”, and I think I’ve come to understand this provocation more closely now.

APT: What about favorite moments you've shared with your acting apprentice cohort? Any role models you'd like to shout out from your casts?
Covert: Doing Roy Hart work with the other apprentices has been a big highlight for me, just because of how bold and playful we all get to be in the room together. I’ve learned a lot about them as they release very unexpected, primitive sounds and run around the room…

As far as role models go, Nate Burger, Colleen Madden, David Daniel, Jim Ridge, Chiké Johnson, and Marcus Truschinski are standouts amongst many others. These are all people who have made me giddy with the level of mastery and play in their work. Many of which have also gone out of their way to make me feel very welcome here.

APT: What are you looking forward to in our second round of rehearsals and openings?
Covert: Getting started on King Lear and Constellations. Lear is one of my favorite plays of all time. It was the play that made me know I needed to go to a training program with a strong emphasis on Shakespeare and heightened text. Tim Ocel has such a deep well of knowledge about the play that I have truly felt excited to get out of bed every morning to just go sit around the table and listen to him unpack parts of the play. I also get to understudy Constellations, which is such a beautiful and mind-bending piece. I’ve really enjoyed having a bit more to sink my teeth into and start to decode the structure of the play, as it takes place across many different times and universes.

APT: Amazing! When you're not working on a project or auditioning, what do you love to do in your free time? Any local things you've discovered this summer?
Covert: A huge plus of being here for me is the outdoors. Hiking, hammocking, walking around, sitting under a tree, or playing frisbee are all things I like to fill the in-between moments with. I’ve gotten to enjoy the nearby state parks quite a bit which has been great and even gone backpacking on the Ice Age Trail. I’ve been grateful for an opportunity to catch up on reading some books that have been staring at me on my bookshelf for years. I also love yoga, rock climbing, and pretty much anything that reminds me I have a body.

APT: Okay, Colin. Final Question: Who would you want to play your celebrity twin a movie?
Covert: Nick Farasey, of course.

APT: Perfect! Great answer. Anything else you'd like to share or add?
Covert: To the top!