1. Tell us a little about yourself.
Originally from Montreal, I came to Toronto in 2006 after a few years working and studying in New York City. While there I was never convicted of a felony.
2. Do you have a blog or website?
www.scottclarkson.net (2 years out of date and counting)
3. Is this your first Monkeyman show? If not, what monkey-credits do you have under your belt?
The Final Flight of the Phoenix (both 2008 and 2009), Wolf in the Fold (2008). Mr. Mister in the original reading of The Nefarious Bed & Breakfast (2009). Sound Op for the Banana Festival (2010).
4. Tell us a little about the character you are playing in Phoenix II: The Mongolar Maneuver.
Why does everyone think it’s so easy to be the leading man on a weekly sci-fi series? The pressure is great, the demands are huge. Lord knows, once that long, steady decline begins – when health concerns both serious and trivial are no longer mere abstract concepts, when the memory starts to freeze up like your ’73 Monte Carlo, when you’re daily reminded by those internets that your last real shot at an Emmy ended in a loss to the chimp on BJ & the Bear – that’s when it’s hard to stay positive. A little respect – too much to ask for? I wouldn’t have thought so.
5. You’ve been pretty busy lately, with successful shows in the Toronto Fringe Festival (The Making Of), Orsino in Twelfth Night (Urban Bard), Darcy in Pride & Prejudice (Alumnae), and Clamydes the White Night in Clyomon and Clamydes (Shakespeare & the Queen’s Men). What do you most look forward to in a Monkeyman show?
I look forward to the Monkeyman shows because it combines doing something we all love and have trained professionally to do with hanging out with friends and being goofy. In fact, for a change I am decidedly not the goofiest person in the rehearsal space: I spend most of my time listening to the Monkeys’ banter, the bad puns, the comedic oneupmanship. Plus, these are good people. Good, funny people. How else should I spend my time?
6. Monkeyman Productions tends to produce shows that are a little on the “nerdy” side. What do you get nerdy about?
Once upon a time: Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar, A Star is Born. Anything with “star” in the title. Military miniatures. Model trains.
Still: Old movies. The Beatles. Session drummer Hal Blaine. Recently enjoyed Firefly on DVD. Expect to cotton to anything with “fire” in the title.
