Quick Chats: Tim Gittings on The Merry Wives of Windsor and A Streetcar Named Desire

Welcome to our Quick Chat series where we'll dive into the lives and minds of some of APT's best. Each interview will supply insights ranging from the obviously relevant to the vaguely insane. Sounds fun, right?Today, we're chatting with Tim Gittings of "Merry Wives" and "Streetcar" fame.

Tim's already busy season finds him playing a devout and hilarious, however anxious, Welsh priest in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and the thoughtful, sensitive, also slightly anxious, Harold Mitchell (Mitch) in A Streetcar Named Desire.

Merry Wives (as we will affectionately call it here), one of Shakespeare's most accessible comedies, tells a classic tale: a stranger comes to town; a band of characters deal with the new guy and with each other; chaos ensues. It's wildly funny in a way that makes you wish you lived in Windsor and had friends and lovers like these. Streetcar (another loving nickname) follows a similar storyline (newbie comes, people interact, chaos), but in an entirely different tenor. Heartbreaking in its honesty, this American masterpiece by Tennessee Williams tells a story of complicated love, inevitable loss, the blurred line between normalcy and insanity - the human experience.

With all this in mind, here's Tim!

APT: Between Merry Wives and Streetcar, the Welsh priest and Mitch, you're really running the gamut of emotions. Where does that leave you, Tim Gittings?
Tim Gittings: Usually, tired. When I've done my job? Tired. I'm one of those "leave it all on the field" kind of people.

APT: Streetcar and its characters are American icons (shout out to you, Tennessee Williams), is this your first go of it or have you had experience with the play before?
TG: This is my first time doing any Tennessee Williams! I love his writing. I think Night of Iguana is still one my favorite shows I've ever seen at APT.

APT: Which character from either Merry Wives or Streetcar would you like to take to dinner?
TG: From Merry Wives, I have to say Falstaff. But only if someone else is paying. And I have a ride home. That night could get out of control. From Streetcar, it would have to be Blanche. The lure of someone with that big a heart and that level of delusion and self-destructive behavior is just a little too compelling to me. I probably shouldn't take her to dinner but I don't think I could help myself. Especially if she looks like Tracy.

APT: This production of Streetcar is set in 1960s New Orleans, have you ever been? To New Orleans or the 1960s-
TG: I have been to New Orleans. I love it. Especially the music. The Meters are one of my favorite bands ever! I've never actually been to the 1960s but I have gone pretty deep into the music and culture of that time. That '60s New Orleans soul music is something else! Seriously. If you sweet-talk me, I'll make you a mixtape.

APT: Oh, I hope you're good for it! Do you have a favorite quote or personal mantra?
TG: There are so many! How about: "If a guy hasn't got any gamble in him, he isn't worth a crap." - Evel Knievel
or: "My soul, do not seek eternal life, but exhaust the realm of the possible." - Pindar

APT: Would you rather have carrots for fingers or corduroy for skin? Don't think too much.
TG: Corduroy for skin. I think it would be better protection from the mosquitoes, I'd make a fun swishing noise when I moved and I wouldn't have to live in fear of rabbits.