(News4usonline.com) – In taking on the role of Dallas Winston in the musical The Outsiders (Segerstrom Center for the Arts), Anthony Garcia had to allow himself to get fully immersed into the character. That in itself presented Garcia with a stern challenge to be at his best.
“The role requires a lot of vulnerability…showing up as my full self,” Garcia said during a phone interview with News4usonline.com Editor Dennis J. Freeman. “As any actor does…in my personal life I need to be as open as I can possibly be, and then be open on stage as well, but sharing myself fully.”
“There’s some really dark twists for Dallas throughout the show. It’s a favorite, well-written character, and being able to experience some of the pain that he goes through is probably the biggest challenge every night,” he added.
To offset the darker aspects of his character and some of the obstacles that presents itself to the story, Garcia finds balance off the stage through personable connection with those closest to him.
“Mentally, for me, it takes a profound joy in my personal life,” Garcia quipped. “I need to be experiencing happiness, the full experience of my personal life and joy to then experience some of the darkness that happens on stage, because I must remember it is just pretend. So being able to have things like my family, my friends, my cast members, being able to connect with them fully and in a joyful way is really helpful for me mentally. And then, you know, staying grounded.”
The Outsiders is set in the mid-1960s in Oklahoma. Two factions of teenagers find themselves at odds with one another. There is the Socials (Socs), the group from the nice side of the tracks. Then there are the Greasers, a bunch of misfits trying to fit into society.
Dallas is part of the Greasers. The storyline centers rather on friendship, extended family, and one’s sense of trying to find their place in a society where they might not always be welcomed. Sounds like a typical coming-of-age story.
It’s a story that’s identifiable, Garcia said emphatically.
“It’s a story of brotherhood,” Garcia remarked. “It’s a story of companionship.”
A running theme throughout the production, from a reflective Ponyboy Curtis and through the eyes of Johnny Cade and Dallas Winston, audiences going to see The Outsiders, can take away from the show that it is okay to not give up on your dreams.
Garcia said what the characters in the musical have in common is a noteworthy trait to never stop believing. This is something he thinks will resonate with audiences.
“They may be driven to follow their dreams as well,” Garcia said. “You know, one of the biggest songs by the end of the show is ‘Stay Gold,’ which is like stay pure, stay dreaming, stay alive.
“And even in the some of the darkness that Ponyboy experiences throughout the show, that Dallas experiences, that many of the characters experience, there’s still more to the story to explore in everyone’s life and everyone’s journey. So I think they might leave with an inkling to maybe explore more of themselves, even through tragedy they might experience.”
One experience that Garcia mirrors Dallas in is as the role of guardian.
“He’s a fierce protector,” said Garcia. “That resonates with me very much. I have an immediate family of six. My family is much, much bigger. Family is huge to me. Growing up, being the age that Dallas was, which was like 19…when I was that age, I had the same influence of wanting to protect and care for my family under any circumstance that I faced under any repercussions. Dallas is from New York City, and I’m also born and raised in New York. So that’s a big one.”
Cover Art: The Outsiders – The Greasers – Photo by Matthew Murphy
Dennis has covered and written about politics, crime, race, sports, and entertainment. Dennis currently covers the NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, and Olympic sports. Dennis is the editor of News4usonline.com and serves as the publisher of the Compton Bulletin newspaper. He earned a journalism degree from Howard University. Email Dennis at dfreeman@news4usonline.com
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.