By Riddhi Setty
WASHINGTON - When Avery Whitted was in high school, he had to deal with the heartbreak of growing over 6 feet, which shattered his dream of becoming an astronaut. Instead, he became an actor.
In fact, Whitted’s diverse interests – such as that former dream to be an astronaut – are actually what drew him to acting.
“I have so many different interests, none of which I am equipped to actually pursue,” said Whitted laughing. “I have a lot of things that I am a little bit interested in, acting is a way that those interests can be useful.”
The 22-year-old actor already has a tall list of accomplishments, with his personal favorites being his two most recent projects. After careful consideration, Whitted said that his favorite project so far is a toss-up between his role in Netflix’s “In the Tall Grass,” and his lead role in the Folger theater’s production of “Henry IV, Part 1.”
Whitted’s face lit up as he explained why he loved playing Hal in the Folger production.“This is really fun because I get to do both of the things I love to do, which is comedy and really heavy drama,” he said. “ In the same play, I get to completely turn my life around and have a sword fight and almost kill someone. It’s amazing!”
He added that the experience of shooting the Netflix film was really fun because he got to do a lot of things, such as driving and eating, that he had never done on camera before.
Though he may have imagined himself floating in space for a while, it seemed natural that Whitted would take to acting, given his environment. With his father being a former actor and his mother a Broadway musician, the arts were always part of his upbringing. His talent and passion for acting was as evident to those around him when he was younger as it is now.
Rory Lance, who took the train from New York to see his former high school theater student perform at the Folger theater, described Whitted as the student he wishes that every student was like.
Lance recounted an incident where Whitted was playing Javert in their high school’s production of “Les Misérables” and was hurt during a rehearsal when he jumped off of a bridge that was part of the set’s design. Everyone else was upset and demanded that the bridge be changed, but when it came to Whitted, “You did not hear a complaint from him. He was ready the next day to do it again.”
Whitted says that much of what he learned came from his education, including his pre-show rituals. While studying at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, Whitted spent a semester abroad at the Globe Theater. There, he learned to connect with the elemental aspect of theater, which is something he has taken to concentrating on before going on stage.
Whitted picked up his other pre-show ritual at Rutgers as well; that one involves squatting and shaking his body to get boogers to fall out. The idea behind this ritual, he explained, is that once you get through embarrassing yourself like that, you are ready to do the show.
Rosa Joshi, director of “Henry IV, Part 1,” referred to Whitted fondly, saying, “He’s a real dork when it comes to Shakespeare and these plays which I love, so he was really a delight to work with.”
With regard to her casting choice for Whitted’s character Hal, Joshi said, “I wanted somebody that could show vulnerability and show sensitivity. I am always looking for a skill level and technique because Shakespeare isn’t easy.”
Indeed, Whitted himself said that the role presented challenges, the biggest of which was figuring out where his character fit in the story in relation to the stories of the characters around him.
Colleen Sullivan, a professor in the Department of Performing Arts at American University, explained that as an actor in a Shakespeare play, “You have to have an excellent articulation, have to have an excellent vocabulary and have to be curious as to what these words mean.”
According to Whitted, for him, the most useful thing to do when it comes to acting has been “setting yourself up to have an experience in the scene.”
When asked about his dream role, Whitted said, “I’m going to make up a thing. Somewhere between Hamlet, Macbeth, a character in a Marvel movie, a character in a Tarantino movie and character in a Star Wars movie.” He added grinning, “So basically everything.”
Avery Whitted, 22, standing outside Pret A Manger on Sept. 26, 2019. Whitted is a young actor who was recently Hal in the Folger production of Henry IV, Part 1.
(Photo by Riddhi Setty)