by Roxy Arecco. @roxyarecco.
NEW YORK, NY - Local method actor Preston Roberts submitted his resignation for a production of Oedipus Rex yesterday after finally reading the play, in which the titular character blinds himself and unknowlingly has sex with his own Mother, citing that as where he “draws the line” in terms of his method actor practices, sources have confirmed.
“I hadn’t even Sparknotes’d it before the audition, so I was shocked by the end,” he remarked, still visibly shaken. “I’m a serious actor, but I’m not going to kill my dad and have sex with my mom. My dad is a nice guy and my mom’s pretty old,” he added before quickly clarifying that his discomfort is also with the incest, not just his mother’s age.
Roberts - who cites Jared Leto as his biggest inspiration - has made a reputation for himself as a method actor, going so far as to grow bangs and do LSD during a summer stock production of Hair. Several of his co-stars expressed relief with Roberts’ decision to drop out.
“I once did Romeo and Juliet with him, and he would just stand outside of my apartment watching me until I called the cops,” noted actor Rosalie Perez. “And yes, he did try to poison himself,” she added. When asked how he prepared for the Tybalt-killing scene, Roberts claimed he “had a thing to go to” and promptly left.
Others involved with the production lamented over what could have been.
“I’m disappointed that Preston won’t be performing with us,” said director Coleman Ritchy. “His audition blew me away. He did a monologue from Glengarry and even put a mortgage down on some expensive local properties. However, it is disappointing that he wasn’t willing to blind himself, but hey, some people aren’t cut out for the big time,” Ritchy added.
At press time, the setback has not affected Roberts in the slightest, as he was recently cast as Martin in Edward Albee’s The Goat, a play which he has read the entirety of and has no issue with.
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