By Mark Ambrogi
It’s hard to imagine a much more difficult assignment for Antoine Demmings’ acting debut.
Demmings will play several roles in Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre’s production of “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)” March 17 to April 1 at the Studio Theater at he Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel. The comedy presents 37 plays in 97 minutes.
“I play somewhere around 15 roles,” said Demmings, an operations manager with the Microsoft store at the Fashion Mall in Indianapolis. “The most challenging part is remembering the script, especially with the Shakespearian language, which is also new to me. I also play a good amount of the women in it, like Juliet, so that was my first challenge. Mentally, getting over that hump, I felt more comfortable.”
The 32-year-old Camel resident is one of three members in the cast.
“I feel I unknowingly jumped into a role, that is massive if it’s your first one,” Demmings said.”(Cast members) say, ‘Has you brain exploded yet?’ and I’ll say, ‘Not yet.’”
Demmings said the costumes and wigs help him get into each character.
“It’s beneficial for me to be working with a team that has so much experience and enthusiasm,” Demmings said. “After finding out I was so new to everything, they tried to ease my worries. It’s fun to learn a new script and see how you mesh with a new team. Out of respect for my team, I don’t know if I ever wanted to be good at something so much.”
The desire to act all started when Demmings was telling his friend, Roxana Bell, how he had never been to a play and wanted to see one.
“She was telling me all the different places that put on plays,” Demmings said. “When we looked on Civic’s website, we saw they had auditions.”
Bell encouraged Demmings to try and he decided he would.
“It was out of my comfort zone,” Demmings said. “I thought it went well and it did because I got it.”
Since then, Demmings has seen his first play, Indiana Repertory Theatre’s “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” earlier this year.
“This (acting) has been an amazing experience and I can definitely see me wanting to do more of it,” he said.
For more, visit civictheatre.org.
