Armin Shimerman has a concert November 30 in Tucson, and here is the interview and photo from Tucson Lifestyle Magazine.
(I'm including the entire article, since it's not posted online, and there's little chance of readers finding a copy. I scanned it, so there might be the occasional typo.)
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Nov. 30, 3 pm
Chamber Music PLUS Southwest
"Copland and Me"
"I've kind of made a career out of playing unlikable people, and it seems to come naturally to me," notes actor Armin Shimerman with a laugh. "Although my nickname is 'Charming Armin,' so hopefully I'm not like those characters in real life."
Truth be told, Shimerman has charisma - and talent - to spare, and both will be on display as he tackles the real-life character of Virgil Thomson. A talented composer, Thomson had a number of major successes, including the scores for the documentary films The River(1936) and The Plow That Broke the Plains (1938), eventually winning a Pulitzer Prize for soundtrack to the 1949 film Louisiana Story. But it's his critical analysis of music, and his friendship with giants on the American film scene (Copland, Gershwin, Bernstein, et al.) that will be a centerpiece for this production.
Shimerman is ideally suited to such a work. He has a musical background, he has played trumpet, and is currently studying piano ... but he demures when asked about his vocal abilities. "I left New York because after doing two Broadway musicals, I couldn't fool them any more," he jokes.
Although he began in the theater, he is perhaps best known for his TV work, including two roles on shows with strong cult followings. He played the Ferengi casino owner on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and the evil Principal Snyder on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Quark was a role with Shakespearean depth and nuance, and despite the heavy makeup it required, Shimerman had a grand time. "I don't think I ever campaigned as much to play a character as I did that one," he says. "Yes, the makeup was difficult, but my very wise wife told me once when I was complaining about it, 'If you want to be a knight, Armin, you have to wear the armor.' If I'm going to be able to explore that particular, wonderful character, then I have to put up with the uncomfortable parts of what he is. And actually, the glass was always half full with the makeup. It was painful, it was claustrophobic, and took it a long time to apply, but it gave me two hours every day while they applied it to work on my lines with other actors who were in my scenes."
His favorite episode from the series was "Far Beyond the Stars." "Ironically it's the episode where a lot of us weren't wearing makeup," he notes. "We were playing science fiction writers in the 1950s, and the episode dealt with racism, prejudice, sexism, and most importantly it drew the curtain back from us, the actors. We're the ones who get all the acclaim, but the truth is that the words are invented in a little room in the writer's building. The idea for it came from a friend of mine, writer Marc Scott Zicree, and it was well written by our writers, and brilliantly directed by our captain on the show, Avery Brooks."
As for Principal Snyder, who met a fantastically bad end on the show, Shimerman reveals that he was based on a vice principal he'd once had. Playing him provided a nice balance to Quark. "Every theater actor's dream is to do repertory, where you play one part one night, and a different one another," he says. "That's what I did for three years between the two shows. I could be very charming and likable, but a little devious on Star Trek, and then I could turn that off and go into the skin of Snyder who didn't particularly like life."
Shimerman has the opportunity to inhabit even more personalities, however. He also is a theater director (his favorite playwrights are Shakespeare and Shaw) and a novelist.
He's eagerly looking forward to performing with Chamber Music PLUS in Tucson, and recalls a similar experience he had working with the LA Philharmonic on a production. "I sat in the violin section of the orchestra while they played Mahler's first symphony around me," he says. "I've had good seats before at the symphony and always loved it, but nothing compares to that. Without a doubt, it was one of the high points of my life."
(I'm including the entire article, since it's not posted online, and there's little chance of readers finding a copy. I scanned it, so there might be the occasional typo.)
--------------
Nov. 30, 3 pm
Chamber Music PLUS Southwest
"Copland and Me"
"I've kind of made a career out of playing unlikable people, and it seems to come naturally to me," notes actor Armin Shimerman with a laugh. "Although my nickname is 'Charming Armin,' so hopefully I'm not like those characters in real life."
Truth be told, Shimerman has charisma - and talent - to spare, and both will be on display as he tackles the real-life character of Virgil Thomson. A talented composer, Thomson had a number of major successes, including the scores for the documentary films The River(1936) and The Plow That Broke the Plains (1938), eventually winning a Pulitzer Prize for soundtrack to the 1949 film Louisiana Story. But it's his critical analysis of music, and his friendship with giants on the American film scene (Copland, Gershwin, Bernstein, et al.) that will be a centerpiece for this production.
Shimerman is ideally suited to such a work. He has a musical background, he has played trumpet, and is currently studying piano ... but he demures when asked about his vocal abilities. "I left New York because after doing two Broadway musicals, I couldn't fool them any more," he jokes.
Although he began in the theater, he is perhaps best known for his TV work, including two roles on shows with strong cult followings. He played the Ferengi casino owner on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and the evil Principal Snyder on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Quark was a role with Shakespearean depth and nuance, and despite the heavy makeup it required, Shimerman had a grand time. "I don't think I ever campaigned as much to play a character as I did that one," he says. "Yes, the makeup was difficult, but my very wise wife told me once when I was complaining about it, 'If you want to be a knight, Armin, you have to wear the armor.' If I'm going to be able to explore that particular, wonderful character, then I have to put up with the uncomfortable parts of what he is. And actually, the glass was always half full with the makeup. It was painful, it was claustrophobic, and took it a long time to apply, but it gave me two hours every day while they applied it to work on my lines with other actors who were in my scenes."
His favorite episode from the series was "Far Beyond the Stars." "Ironically it's the episode where a lot of us weren't wearing makeup," he notes. "We were playing science fiction writers in the 1950s, and the episode dealt with racism, prejudice, sexism, and most importantly it drew the curtain back from us, the actors. We're the ones who get all the acclaim, but the truth is that the words are invented in a little room in the writer's building. The idea for it came from a friend of mine, writer Marc Scott Zicree, and it was well written by our writers, and brilliantly directed by our captain on the show, Avery Brooks."
As for Principal Snyder, who met a fantastically bad end on the show, Shimerman reveals that he was based on a vice principal he'd once had. Playing him provided a nice balance to Quark. "Every theater actor's dream is to do repertory, where you play one part one night, and a different one another," he says. "That's what I did for three years between the two shows. I could be very charming and likable, but a little devious on Star Trek, and then I could turn that off and go into the skin of Snyder who didn't particularly like life."
Shimerman has the opportunity to inhabit even more personalities, however. He also is a theater director (his favorite playwrights are Shakespeare and Shaw) and a novelist.
He's eagerly looking forward to performing with Chamber Music PLUS in Tucson, and recalls a similar experience he had working with the LA Philharmonic on a production. "I sat in the violin section of the orchestra while they played Mahler's first symphony around me," he says. "I've had good seats before at the symphony and always loved it, but nothing compares to that. Without a doubt, it was one of the high points of my life."
