Drew Stroud performs in Exhausted Paint by Justin Maxwell at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe.
“Join us for a tilt-a-whirl trip through the mind and letters of Vincent Van Gogh. A terrible spinning wheel controls the manic, blissful, bitter artist as he frantically relives the constant struggle and turbulence of his life.
Disoriented, out of control, reeling from idea to idea, the soul-crushing, chaotic randomness of creation shapes a deep and dark vision of Van Gogh, a man who was so much more than a severed ear.”
Where: Haldane Theatre at theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall
When: 1-23 Aug
Ticket link: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/exhausted-paint-the-death-of-van-gogh
I love the idea of presenting scenes from Van Gogh’s life in random order. How does it feel to be performing in this way?
I could talk about this for literally hours. I’m an actor who is strongly grounded in improvisational theatre. It’s the lifeblood of every character I create (and again another topic I could bore you with for hours).
One of the main draws to me of this play is the fact that I will never have the same Vincent. Night after night, based on the randomness of the scenes, there are 32,659,000 different orders the show can play out.
So, I am getting the chance to explore a new character every night that of course lives in the bounds of reality that Penny Cole and I created.
I think it also allows the audience to feel the jolted emotional roller coaster that Vincent had to explore. They see him reach and fail monologue after monologue, hoping for a different conclusion, skating from moments of mania, to depression, to excitement, to love…
It makes them experience maybe a fraction of what Vincent had to deal with on a day-to-day basis.
So to answer your question: it is my absolute favourite thing ever.
What attracted you to Justin Maxwell’s play? Did you know much about Van Gogh beforehand?
I really didn’t know a lot about Van Gogh going into his play. I knew all the basics that everyone knows. Tortured artist. Starry Night. Cut off his ear.
But gosh that all seems so patronising after spending the past four years working on this play. When I was given his script as a potential option in my MFA programme, I fell in love immediately.
The emotional investment the role required was a big draw, but it was the randomness that really excited me. It also came at a specific time in my life where I felt I needed it.
Artists are always trying to create art in the hopes that it has some impact on the world. I hit a rut in my programme that made me really question why I was doing this and if I made the right choice. You know, that existential dread that all artists feel regularly?
So, when the script came to me, this idea of an artist struggling to make his art work, it just felt kismet.
Now I find myself way-too-familiar with Van Gogh, after reading a majority of his letters, and hoping I can just do some justice to his story and the plight of all artists.
How did you make a start as a performer? Do Fringe festivals inspire you?
Before this whole acting thing, I was 100% sure I was going to be a Major League Baseball player.
At fifth grade, I was dead set on being drafted by the Chicago White Sox and spending my life playing baseball. Spoiler alert: I was terrible at it. During high school tryouts, I was cut mid-week because I was so bad. I was crushed.
Thankfully the community theatre in my hometown was doing a production of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and like most community theatres, they needed men.
So, I was cast as Reverend Sprague (at 14) and I immediately felt a connection I’d yet to experience in my life.
I think what my story and Fringe have in common exemplifies what I find inspiring from these festivals.
My old community theatre director gave me a family I wasn’t even aware I was looking for. It filled a void and it lived up to its name of a community.
Fringe festivals are obviously a much larger scale, but at the heart of it, we’re all just a bunch of theatre nerds. We’re all out here to support each other.
It gives us a sense of community and it is just so inspiring to see all the art we can create.
There are four Vincent Van Gogh shows at the fringe, and I am so excited to see how other artists interpret his story.
What are you looking forward to the most in Edinburgh?
I alluded to it a little in question three, but I really am looking forward to diving deep into the world. To watch live theatre every day? That’s the dream! I am going to go to as many shows as I can, all different varieties.
Just make the most of the month and connect with so many unique and diverse perspectives. I’m excited to also explore the culture of Edinburgh and Scotland. Everyone tells me haggis is delicious and gets a bad rep, so I can’t wait for that.
I think I’m also excited to be escaping the States for a month. Especially the swampy heat of New Orleans for some brisk (albeit cold) weather.
Where can we see your work after Fringe?
I am based out of New Orleans, Louisiana. I’ve been here for five years now and am of course very deep into the improvisational theatre scene here.
I perform in four different troupes here all which allow me to continue to flex that muscle. Additionally, Exhausted Paint will be having a run at one of the theatres here later in the Fall.
You can follow along with all of my tom-foolery at @unofficialdrewstroud on Instagram and check out our website at exhaustedpaint.com.
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