Andrew Criss to shine in quirky 'Chesapeake' June 3-5

Andrew Criss, 46, a former landscape portrait painter, made a commitment to become a full-time actor.
“I had done some acting in my early 20s, around the time I was in college,” said Criss. “I focused on it for a little while, but decided to permanently shift my focus to visual arts in my 30s.”

As a landscape portrait painter, Criss spent his days painting beautiful images for people to admire and enjoy. He said being a painter was lonelier than he'd imagined, and soon he grew to miss the collaborative atmosphere of acting.

“When you are an actor you are with other actors, choreographers, directors, it’s a very wonderful mix of talented people,” he said. “I didn’t want to create an object to make an impact on someone anymore. I wanted to impact them by performing through my words and my body on stage.”

Now Criss performs on many stages all across the region. From New York to Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia to Rehoboth, Criss brings energy and the ability to entertain and inspire.

According to Criss, acting is a very primal and a rewarding way to connect with other people.

“It’s a great feeling to know that you have moved someone with something you said or did on stage,” he said. “I’ve never been happier than I am at this point in my life. I’m having a great time, working with great and interesting people. What more could someone want?”

Criss is currently preparing, directing, designing and rehearsing for his one-man show, “Chesapeake,” which will take place June 3-5 at Clear Space Theatre, 20 Baltimore Ave., Rehoboth Beach.

“I’ve never done a one-man show, but that genre of theater was on my to-do list,” said Criss. “I think it is a challenge to perform a play with nowhere to hide, and I like that it’s up to me to move the story forward.”

Set in the early 1990s, “Chesapeake” was written by Lee Blessing, is an amusing story told by an artist named Kerr. He pursues his artistic interests, but the viewpoints of a conservative senator over a grant makes Kerr the subject of unwanted national controversy. Revenge is sought with the motive of kidnapping the senator’s Chesapeake Bay Retriever. Things don’t go as planned, though.

“I won’t give any spoiler alerts, but this story is funny and touching with a lot of information about art, politics and humanity,” said Criss.

Criss was attracted to “Chesapeake” because of the main character’s life is similar to his own.

“I was his age when I lived in D.C., and I was around the controversy, I worked in the arts, and the things he is angry about really resonated with me. The early 1990s were a time of new freedoms, fear and excitement. I’ve read a lot of scripts, but “Chesapeake” was the one I had to perform.”

After working on the script for almost a year, Criss is very excited to finally perform the play in front of an audience. The role may be challenging since it is not something Criss has done before, but he is well aware that the flow of the performance will be a little like stand-up comedy; the way the joke lands will dictate the tone and mood of the show.

“Unlike a traditional play I will not be interacting with any other actors, rather I will be interacting and engaging with the audience,” he said. “The way this story is portrayed is through how I feel. I think it’s going to be interesting to see how the audience reacts, and that will dictate how the rest of the story goes.”

The one weekend performance will take place in two acts with one intermission. The second half is said to be unpredictable, so don’t try to guess the ending before it comes!

“I hope and believe that anyone who sees “Chesapeake” will find that people have the ability to change for the better,” Criss said. “It’s important to not give up on other people because everyone has the potential to be a better person.”

See Criss break the fourth wall in “Chesapeake” at the Clear Space Theatre at 7 p.m. Friday, June 3 and Saturday, June 4, at 3 p.m. Sunday, June 5.
 Go to clearspacetheatre.org or call 302-227-2270 for information.