The Rural We: Mark H. Dold
The actor relates what it's been like to perform in the midst of a pandemic.
Mark H. Dold may be a familiar face to anyone who’s attended Barrington Stage Company productions. An associate artist with the company, he’s spent 14 seasons at BSC. Outside of the Berkshires, Dold has worked at regional theaters from coast to coast and appeared on and off Broadway. He’s also guest starred on TV and in web series. With Barrington Stage’s approval by Actors Equity to be one of the first companies in the country to produce a show following stringent protocols, Dold is performing the one-person role in “Harry Clarke.” He has the distinction of being the first professional actor in the United States “to take a bow in front of a live audience in the midst of this pandemic.” The experience has been…well, let him tell it.
It’s been extraordinary and thrilling, daunting and intimidating. We’ve been bulldozed so many times. Each time the governor changes the guidelines, we keep having to change our set up. But in a strange way, with each little new knock, I feel like instead of dissipating energy or depressing people, it’s fortified everyone. It’s strengthened our determination at the theater. It’s kind of like, “I dare you” now. We will rise above this.
I knew going in this was going to be an unusual and unique experience, but it’s exceeded my expectations! I’ve performed outdoors before, but we’re basically on the city streets, at the corner of Center Street and Linden. There are ambulances whizzing by during the show and there was even an altercation going on at one time.
I’m glad I didn’t know it was going to be like this. If I had, I might have been too intimidated to keep my shit together. “Harry Clarke” is a solo show, which I’ve never done before. I do 19 characters in 77 minutes. I love the play and hope to do it again and again in other places.
One of the reasons I haven’t really freaked out is that I have such a profound respect and deep relationship with BSC and [artistic director] Julie Boyd. I know she and the staff are the masters of making it work. That trust, faith, familiarity is what makes it possible for me to go out and perform.
No one is being glib, or taking the theater for granted. At the end of a show, I feel like the applause is for us…whoever’s had the courage to gather together. Afterwards, the people I encounter are all so grateful to have this moment. There’s such a sense of community in getting back in a large enough group of people in a safe way. It makes us feel the possibility of a future. Whatever the theater has had to endure will have been worth it.
