Calling all StageSiders, welcome back to another instalment of StageSide Stories. This time around we are speaking with A director, producer and actor. Rob Warner stops by to chat all things taking a show to Edinburgh Fringe, wearing different hats and creating a musical parody of everyones favourite love story. So settle in and lets get to know more about Heated Rivalry the musical parody, from Rob’s perspective.
To begin, could you introduce yourself, your roles in Heated Rivalry, and tell us a little about the show?
Hi! I’m Rob Warner. I’m a producer, director, and play Ilya in Heated Rivalry: The Musical Parody! The show is exactly what you think it is: a beautiful, funny, silly all-out musical version of your favorite gay, Canadian, hockey love story. We cover the entire season of the fan-favorite show, lovingly poking fun at some of the silly bits while also honoring the more tender moments. Through Song!!
You’re not only directing and producing the show but also playing Ilya Rosanov. What first drew you to this story, and why was it one you wanted to bring to the stage?
I mean, who doesn’t wanna be even tangentially associated with Connor Storrie? No, I think one of the best parts about this show and one of the reasons it was so fanatically well received is that at its heart it’s a simple love story that is about yearning and identity. But while so many other queer love stories focus on trauma and self-hate or the struggles of being in the closet, this show was able to masterfully capture what it feels like to be a closeted, gay man, without laying on the heavy burden of internalized homophobia. As a gay man, and like so many others have experienced, coming out and becoming yourself is a multi-step process. It was so heart-wrenchingly beautiful to see this story told through the lens of coming to terms with an identity that you think is maybe not possible for you, and finding love in that moment. It’s something I think we all wish for regardless of identity. To be truly seen and loved for who we are.
Ilya is such a layered character. As an actor, what have you enjoyed most about getting to know him during the rehearsal process?
Oh man, that’s such a great question. Ilya really is a layered character, and I’ve got to hand it to one of our company members Marnina Schon, who pointed out early on that I was doing the whole smoldering thing pretty well, but Ilya actually is really a teddy bear at heart and we need to see a glimpse his soft, charming underbelly earlier on in the show otherwise we won’t believe that he actually loves Shane. If you’ve read the books or seen the memes online, you know that Ilya is really head over heels for Shane. It took me a while to layer in that nuance, especially early on in the show because I think I was playing him too stoically. On paper, he’s this cold, Russian, emotionless person who can’t give Shane what he wants; he’s actually battling his own demons with his family and what he’s going to do with his life and his identity. But we still need to see him fall in love with Shane, and I think it’s easy to play the cold part, but it’s so much more interesting to layer in that emotion, and that struggle of who he thinks he has to be with who he really wants to be with Shane.
As the director, how did you approach creating the chemistry and emotional connection at the heart of the story?
I have to give a ton of credit to our original director, Ellie DiBerardino, who really steered the ship 90% of the way to where the show is now. If I’ve been able to add anything, it’s only based on new scenes or adjusted songs we’ve added to the show, or little parts here and there where I’ve been able to step back after many shows and see what has changed or evolved. For me, and I think for the TV show, we really wanted to avoid topics of shame or embarrassment. Every once in a while, I would see a scene go a certain way where the struggle was about overcoming a feeling of shame or self-hate, and I really wanted to avoid that. This is a love story a la Romeo and Juliet, in the sense that these characters are overcoming external factors that they believe prohibit them from being happy, versus some sort of self-loathing or shameful resistance to coming out. So that was really important to me that we didn’t delve into that at all and that we were able to keep it the true star-crossed lovers story that it is. Plus, no poison!
You’ve also co-written some of the music for the show. What did songwriting allow you to express that dialogue alone couldn’t?
There’s a goofy lesson in musical improv that we as a company take truly to heart which answers the question: when do you start singing? And the answer is: whenever you can’t express what you’re trying to say with dialogue and it can only be done through song. There’s so much opportunity for inner dialogue and character development through song that you cannot get through dialogue because you don’t have the opportunity to hear that character’s inner monologue. Songs are just extended scenes with the opportunity for intercut soliloquies! So you can really see the characters’ struggles, motivations, yearnings, conflicts, and sometimes deeply personal (or, dare I say, horny) thoughts. It also allows you to sit in one moment for a lot longer than you would otherwise. There are a few songs in the show that take maybe a 30 second to minute-long experience from the TV show and blow it out into a four-minute experience, and that really allows you to delve deeper into what’s going on and also to just sit in the moment! Like who wouldn’t want to relive one of the most tender moments of the show, but also while singing!? It’s a dream.
Producing a new musical comes with its own unique challenges. What have you learnt about the process of bringing a production like Heated Rivalry to life?
It’s expensive! No, I think the biggest struggle as a producer is having to say no. Our company, Quick And Funny Musicals, is full of so many genius improvisers and we have a really tight schedule in our show block. Our show is coming in just at time, so while I would love to add new scenes, explore new bits that people have found, add more props and costumes and silly runs, as producers we have to at some point say no to those. Which is so hard because all you want to do as a creator is expand and let the creativity flow to its maximum potential. I think we’ve found that balance really nicely, but man, it would be fun to open the floodgates and let this baby roar.
When you’re wearing several creative hats on the same production, how do you know when to step back and trust the rest of the team?
Truly, by trying to take as much ego out of the process as possible. As Director and producer, as well as playing Ilya, and a true lover of the TV show, I have a lot of ideas of where certain things can go. Thankfully, I’ve been playing with these beautifully talented folks for over three years now, and some of them have been working together much longer than that, so we’ve learned to trust each other. I know that once these folks put on their own take of what a character is thinking or doing or how to read a particular line, as much as I may have thought about something different or heard it a certain way in my head, I really have to trust that these folks know what they’re doing. Thankfully I can! Every time I think I may have done something differently, I get to see them do it on stage doing it their way and see the laughs it receives or hear the applause after a particular song and I know right away that that’s the only way it could’ve been done. Their way.
Without giving too much away, was there a particular moment in rehearsals where you realised the show had become what you’d imagined?
Absolutely. And I have to give a special shout-out to our head writers Andrew Young and Molly Moseley for crafting such a beautiful and cohesive narrative throughout the whole show. As parody writers and musical comedians, there’s a lot of opportunity to be silly. What these two did is truly remarkable by threading in the intensely personal and beautiful, sometimes heartbreaking, moments from the TV show. There’s a song halfway through our show about Scott Hunter’s inner conflict that our head writer Andrew Young wrote, that really speaks to the yearning and desire that these characters are struggling with. I won’t give too much away, but suffice it to say the first time I heard that in rehearsal, I thought “ oh man, this is something really special.” It’s just one of the moments, of which there are many, that take it from being a superficial, silly spoof to what I think is a funny, but also heart-wrenchingly poignant piece of storytelling. The TV show really nailed that and I was so wowed to see what Andrew, Molly, and the rest of our writers did with it.
What do you hope audiences leave talking about after they’ve experienced Heated Rivalry?
The heart. I’ll probably beat this dead horse until it comes back to life, but there are so many great songs that I hope people walk away singing and there are so many fun jokes from the TV show that we honor, but we’ve seen folks cry at tender moments, applaud at those f**k yeah moments, and come back multiple times (including someone who came to seven shows!) to relive that sense of joy and beauty that comes with seeing this story told to its fruition. It really is for anyone, even if you haven’t seen the TV show, because it is that story about the struggle of being who you want to be in a world that’s telling you that’s not possible. I think we can all relate to that.
Finally, if you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring theatre-maker, what would it be?
Find people you know, trust, and like, and listen to them! This show could not be what it is without the many collaborators we’ve had, not only in the writing, rehearsing and producing process, but we’ve even learned things from trusted audience members who have seen the show and given us feedback. It’s so important to listen to people you trust while also being able to filter things out that you know don’t agree with. So listen to your gut, tell YOUR version, but also show it to people who you trust to hold it tenderly and give you feedback on what’s working, what’s not, and ways you can really make it sing.
A huge thank you goes to Rob Warner for takin to answer our questions, and to Bex Colwell PR for organising the interview. It was so interesting to learn more about making a show based on a story that so many people know!
Have your say
Are you thinking of taking a show to the festival? Are you currently studying performance, directing or writing? How are you finding the process, and do you have any tips?
Let me know in the comments!
If you are interested in being featured in the next installment of StageSide Stories, then please do reach out to us and we would be happy to discuss this with you.
As always, please be respectful of each other’s opinions and be kind to each other.
Bullying will not be tolerated and harmful language may be removed. Head over to the Terms and conditions page to learn more about our policies, here at StageSideUK.
Follow us on Twitter and give our page a like on Facebook.