“The Foreigner” is a brilliant play directed by Nelson Sheeley that will entertain people of all ages, according to actress Sarah Parsons.
“There’s tenderness, romance and a lot of substance that gives it life and makes it an all around great package,” Parsons says.
The play is about a painfully shy Englishman, Charlie Baker, who pretends he cannot speak English to avoid communication. While pretending to not understand or speak English, Charlie finds himself in the midst of scams and secrets. Playing Charlie’s counterpart and best friend, Sgt. “Froggy” LeSueur, is Sinclair Community College’s student actor Christopher Hahn, 20.
“It’s a comedic piece that doesn’t even need acting to make you laugh. It’s a lot of fun just to block and rehearse,” Hahn says. “Working with Sheeley is amazing. He comes in, blocks the whole play and watches us for a while before even giving us direction on our acting. A lot of creativity is in the blocking. He’s brilliant. Now all we have to do is clean it up.”
Parsons and Hahn both say they are excited about the play, its wide range of characters and acting in general.
Having being home schooled since first grade, Parsons will be graduating simultaneously from high school and college this year. She says she finds it easy to relate to her character, Catherine.
“My father is a police officer and my mother was a stay at home mom. Coming to Sinclair at 15-years-old was a major culture shock for me. I remember when I was first allowed to audition, I was told not to expect anything, but to learn the process of auditioning,” she says. “I did just that – and was too scared to even call back and see if I’d been given the part. I’d never been so proud. I absolutely adore acting.”
Fellow actor Hahn shares a similar passion for acting. He admits that it took him a while to give acting a shot.
“I was always worried about what my friends would think. Then one day I realized they were all doing what they wanted to do. Why shouldn’t I? I knew there was going to be a lot of hard work involved, but we all sacrifice for what we want in life,” Hahn says.
Hahn says he was inspired to pursue his dreams after attending three different schools and multiple career paths.
“I went to one acting session and immediately went to withdraw from my other classes. I knew I’d found what I always wanted to do,” he says.
Acting limits his time with his family, but he says it’s his outlet.
“Acting makes you fix your flaws because in order to be a good actor, you have to let go of what you and everyone else thinks, except the audience,” he says.
The Foreigner plays Feb. 18-20 and Feb. 23-26
For more information or for tickets, please call (937) 512-2808, or email box.office@sinclair.edu