The path to a successful career in acting is rarely an easy one - just ask Eric Schoen, the star of "Fools," the Neil Simon play that marks the start of Arizona Jewish Theatre Company's 22nd season.
"I think I did a couple plays in fourth grade, maybe," he says about his early stage experiences. "I played a janitor in something - very illustrious. And I did something else in high school - a scene from 'The Tempest,' maybe, but it terrified me and I thought it was pretty stupid."
Not the best beginning, maybe, but when Schoen entered college and took an elective acting course, things changed. His professor cast him in a small role in "Macbeth" as Seyton, Macbeth's servant, and, he says, "I don't know why I liked it, because being in front of people was scary. I was shy, but I worked harder on that than anything to that point. I sure liked it, and the applause didn't hurt. It was not a great way to meet women - all those stories I had heard from actors didn't work for me. But it was sure a lot of fun, and I got hooked from it."
After college, Schoen moved to Washington, D.C., where hand-modeling and Elvis-imitating were just two of the jobs that helped pay the bills during the 16 months before he was able to support himself by acting.
Three years ago, Schoen moved to the Valley, where he continued his work in the plays of Shakespeare in 10 productions with Southwest Shakespeare Company, among them "Romeo and Juliet," "Two Gentlemen of Verona," "As You Like It" and "The Winter's Tale." "Fools" is his first nonclassical play in the Valley, and Schoen says he is grateful for the opportunity to do a different kind of production.
"Thank God, Janet (Arnold, AJTC producing director) and Ben (Tyler, the director of "Fools") decided to give me a shot with this. If you never get the shot, you never get the chance to show you can do it."
In "Fools," which is set in Kulyenchikov, a 19th-century Russian village, Schoen plays Leon Tolchinsky, the teacher who arrives in town and discovers that the entire populace is under a curse of stupidity - a curse laid centuries ago when a local nobleman's son was jilted by a young, beautiful girl of the village. The only way for the curse to be lifted is if Leon can educate Sophia, the descendant of the original maiden, or if Sophia marries a descendant of the nobleman's family. But if Leon doesn't lift the curse in 24 hours, he'll become as clueless as the rest of the villagers.
"Fools" is not one of Simon's better-known plays; most fans of the theater know him for modern classics like "The Odd Couple" and "Lost in Yonkers," and even Schoen was not familiar with the play before his audition. Still, he thinks that audiences are in for a treat.
"I like this kind of humor," he says. "We're having a great time working on it, and that usually translates to the crowd."
Details
- Who: Arizona Jewish Theatre Company
- What: Neil Simon's "Fools"
- When: Nov. 7-22
- Where: Paradise Valley Community College Center for the Performing Arts, 18401 N. 32nd St., Phoenix
- Cost: $30-$40
- Contact: 602-264-0402 or azjewishtheatre.org
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