Student Highlight: James Crapes
Posted on December 02, 2013
Today, we're excited to introduce you to BDS rockstar, James Crapes! James has been with Benjy Dobrin Studios since April 2011 and has been booking some coveted roles in our local theater community.
James hails from Fontana, California having moved to Denver at the age of 18 in 2004 and is grateful for the support of his sister, mother and his partner and rock of 8 years, Steve.
He never formally studied acting until coming to BDS and received an Associate's degree in Architectural Drafting that he uses for his day job as an engineer and project manager for a company that does metal paneling for commercial construction.
His first foray into acting came when he was in high school but stopped acting when he graduated in 2004. It wasn't until 2009 that he decided to pick it back up again when he began acting in the Denver musical theater community.
“I think I have always wanted to perform but I didn’t really get the acting bug until I wrote and performed an original performance for the National History Day competition in my junior year of high school. It was such a rush to perform for people and really emotional when I discovered people really appreciated the performance. That’s what got me involved with the theater community at my high school. When I resumed acting in Denver, I was kind of in a low place. I was asked if I would come and do this show for a local company and it woke me back up and brought me out of my funk. I was excited about life again and I was amazed at how welcoming and friendly the people in the Denver theater community were. I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of.”
James' love of theater runs deep and his commitment shows through as he decided not only to take weekly classes from Benjy but he also hired a voice coach to help with his singing skills and he also “pretends” to be a dancer when a show calls for it.
“I love creating a character from the ground up and feeling them come to life through the material and the preparation process. It can sometimes be frustrating, but it's always worth it when I have a breakthrough. It's wonderful sharing that character with an audience and seeing how it affects them.”
He's also been taking piano lessons for the past 2 years and looks forward to the day he can say “I can play the piano”. I'm sure he does very well, perhaps we'll have to have him bring in a piece to play?
Some of his favorite roles to date include bringing the character of John Hinckley Jr. to life in Equinox Theater Company's production of Stephen Sondheim's “Assassins”.
“It was the greatest acting challenge I had ever been given. I worked very hard to explore his character's psychosis and how that would affect his behavior in any given circumstance. It was thrilling and maybe just a little bit creepy.”
Another role he recently had the privilege to bring to life was Greg in Ignite Theater's production of “A Chorus Line”.
“When I first saw it on stage, I really identified with the character and it was comforting to know that I wasn't the only one struggling with those same issues. I wanted to play the part in the hope that I could pass that wisdom on to another struggling kid.”
James has just finished up a very successful production of “Carrie: The Musical” at the Bug Theater which played through the end of Novemer.
“There is no way I could write down everything Benjy has done not only for my craft but just for my life in general. A lot of his lessons can be taken right out of the classroom and applied to everyday life. I had been doing theater for two years or so when I started seeing Benjy on the recommendation of Tom Auclair. I knew I wanted to go to an acting class but didn’t know what to expect because I had never taken one. Before Benjy, I knew basically what my characters were supposed to feel, but my characters lacked specifics and were one dimensional. Benjy is helping me bring all my natural abilities together and mold them into a very specific arsenal that I can use when crafting characters. Now I’m thrilled at the small nuances and real moments I find within my characters. It’s an ongoing process and I learn something new every day. I think the thing I would thank Benjy the most for is the increase in my confidence as a performer. I really didn’t feel good about my characters before Benjy, but now with Benjy’s training, I feel I can go out and do almost any character that’s thrown my way, and that’s a great feeling.”
Thank you James and we look forward to seeing you on stage again! Great job!