Steven Flaa on Being
How did you end up in the
original production of Forever
Plaid? What role did you
play and is it the role you
auditioned for?
I first auditioned for the initial production
of Forever Plaid at The Straz (then Tampa
Bay Performing Arts Center) during the
summer of 1993. I was called back for the
show, but I already had another show
that I was committed to. So, I told them if
any replacements were needed to please
contact me. About three or four months
later, I got a call saying that the actors
playing Sparky and Jinx were leaving the
show. I came in to audition again and was
offered the role of Sparky. I had seen the
show in Minneapolis and assumed that
I would be considered for Frankie, but I
ended up falling in love with the role of
Sparky.
What’s your fondest memory
from that original run?
It was really exciting to be involved with
the show that was such a phenomenon in
the Tampa Bay area. The initial production
opened in October of 1993; I came in to
rehearse in December of 1993; my first
performance was January 13, 1994, and we
kept getting extended until we finally closed
in the Jaeb at the end of May 1994–and
then the show started touring across Florida
and came back to the Jaeb in the summer
of 1995 and again in the winter of 1996. We
had people coming back to see the show
dozens of times. The closing performance
in May 1994 was pretty emotional – at that
point, the show was the longest running
theatrical show in Florida history.
Looking back, what would you
do differently in your role?
When I was first performing the show,
I was concentrating so much on doing
everything correctly that I wasn’t having a
lot of fun. The show is very complex with
very specific harmonies and choreography.
I was trying so hard to do it right. After a
few weeks, once I was more comfortable
with the material, I realized that I just
needed to go for it – and after that, I had
an absolute ball doing the show.
Today, you’re directing the
revival of Forever Plaid that
opened Jan. 12. What’s it like
going from starring role to
director’s chair? How has your
history with the show affected
your choices as director?
I left the show in 1995 and came back as
an understudy when the show returned to
the Jaeb in 1996 and then did the Chicago
company for three months in 1997.
The Alhambra Theatre in Jacksonville
was going to be doing the show – I had
worked there several times – and since
I knew the show so well, they asked me
to direct it. That led me to directing it at
a theatre north of Tampa in the spring
of 1999 and, when The Straz decided to
bring the show back in 1999, they asked
me to direct it – which I also did in 2001
and 2006. I was so lucky when I first
did the show to work with some of the
original creators of the show, so I know
the original staging and intentions. I feel
like I’m carrying on the tradition.