This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:14] Robert Bannon: Welcome to the round table, everybody. My name is Robert Bannon. You're listening to Sun Broadway World, or we're over here on the Broadway Podcast Network, and two of my favorite places in New York City to see shows have to be Manhattan Theater Club and have to be City Center and have to be New Works. And I listen, when you see the shows that our next guest has been on on screen, he's like a real actor, people. He's not here faking it. Like if you're in Law and Order with Chris Maloney, like I don't know, finding dead people in a trunk, or you're on Power, or you're, you know, or you're with Billy Porter on set of a movie. He does everything. Everything. So we're so excited that our next guest is here on stage and you can get a ticket.

Why haven't you gotten a ticket? Go to Manhattan Theaterclub.com and get a ticket because the show's gonna open, and then when it opens, it gets reviewed good reviews. You won't get a ticket, and then you'll say, I should have listened to that guy. You're here. I'm here. Here we are. You're here. You come from the Yale to the TV to the movies to New York City. I love the Yale from the Yale. Because people who only get into community college call it the Yale. That's the truth. That's crazy. Congratulations. Say that again. Congratulations.

[1:32] Abubakr Ali: Thank you. Thank you so much. It's been uh it's been a really good time, thankfully. Well, we're talking about DAKAR 2000, everybody, and the tickets are on sale and the show's gonna open and you can go see it. How did this show come to you? Did you audition? Did you get the script? Like, what does it work for you to join a show like this?

[1:48] Abubakr Ali: It was kind of it was kind of a gift, man. It was like a random gift that came out of nowhere. I um I was doing a show at Second Stage last year, and then Rajiv came to opening night. And I like when I met I like blacked out when I met him just because I was like, oh my god, like I'm like the biggest fan. I've been looking up to you since I was like in high school. Like, holy holy crap. Can I curse? I can't curse. Can I curse? Your mic, your mic's muted. But anyways. You can say I muted so I'm not rude, and then I forget to unmute it because I'm old. But you can you can curse and say anything you want.

[2:20] Abubakr Ali: I have a curse. Great. Fuck. Okay. Um, so yeah, I was doing a show at Second Stage, and Rajiv came to opening night. And I like, I mean, I was fully panicked when I met him. And uh that was kind of that. And then they reached out to me maybe like six months later, seven months later, to do just like a one-day reading of this play. Like literally just like a one-day reading, which you do hundreds of, you know, when you're in the city. You're constantly doing them. They're not like, you know, you usually just kind of show up, you read the play, it's pretty quick. Um, but I did that reading, and I remember I was so nervous. Normally these one these one-day readings, you know, you just kind of show up, you know, you have your coffee, you read the play, it's not a big deal.

Um, but I was nervous because it was Rajiv. Um, and you know, we did the reading, and I in my brain, I was like, I bombed that. That was not good. That was a disaster. Um and then they reached out to me like maybe a week later saying, hey, like, we'd love to offer him the another workshop of this and the production, which was like 10 months away. It was like literally maybe almost exactly 10 months away. They're like, we'd love for him to join the production. And then that was that was that. It kind of, I mean, it was truly like a random gift. It came out of nowhere. I was so happy about it.

[3:30] Robert Bannon: Well, that's amaz that's because you did the work and he saw your other work, and then he saw you do the reading, and then that you were it, that you were the person.

[3:39] Abubakr Ali: I was very lucky. I was very lucky, thankfully. He, of course, is a Pulitzer Prize finalist nominated if you if you've seen the work like Bengal Tiger at the like though these things King James at MTC like the things that have been done before brilliant so now what is his approach what is the team's approach your your entire team if it if it's your director May if it's him what has it been like to work in the room for an extent of your time?

[3:41] Abubakr Ali: It's been kind of incredible in terms of like I think like Raj and I I I learned this from May who's worked with with Rajiv several times she was saying in his processes he's constantly kind of trying to find the play a lot of rewriting a lot of like reconfiguring re you know re-hauling a lot of that um which was kind of a huge wonderful part of the process I think like I mean like I would say the first draft I read is a completely different play the first draft from like day one of rehearsal was I would probably a complete I would say a different play um even preview one was I mean I was a different play. I mean I was playing like a different character even in the first few previews. So it's been kind of fun to be part of this process where you know we're we're constantly in conversation constantly in collaboration just trying to find what it is like what the story is what we're going for what we're trying to tell.

[4:56] Robert Bannon: Well you and Mia must have uh a quite the you know you're we're we're talking about your co-star Mia Barron who has award winning you know has her own litany of credits and theater and all the things that she's in what's the industry like to work with you both um sorry that's my dog. No my licking my foot as we see great um the uh it's been amazing we so we we met during that first workshop and we kind of mean we bonded over. We both had when back when she was at NYU and when I was at at Yale a couple years ago, we we had the same kind of like formative acting teacher who's been teaching, he's been teaching for like a hundred years. He's just been, you know, he's been doing it for a while, and he's incredible.

So we kind of were able to bond over that, and then we just kind of you know gradually spent more time together. And um it's been fun. We've kind of developed a dynamic where it's like, hey, like I got you. You almost every show we kind of we meet up, we get a little hug in, and we say, I got you, which has been really great, especially in a process where you know, as I said, Rajiv is like really working on the play and trying new things and you know, shifting things and working through it to kind of have someone on stage, especially for two-hander, where you're like, hey, like no matter what happens up there, I got you. I'll I'll take care of you.

[6:10] Robert Bannon: It's gonna be amazing, everybody. It's electric. I have my tickets already after opening. So I hope you all get your tickets and come on down and see the show. How do you describe the show? I know it talks about you know the eve of Y2K, and I'm old, so I remember that particularly. But what how what do you describe the show? What is the what is the show about?

[6:27] Abubakr Ali: How do I describe this show? Um I'm trying to think of how to do this without giving too much away what's happening. I mean, it just at its bare bones, it's a young, kind of idealistic Peace Corps volunteer who's just trying to kind of make a difference in trying to make the world a better place, very innocent, very sweet. Um, meets this woman who works for the State Department after he gets into uh a big car car accident. And um it's all the shenanigans that ensue. I hear it's a thriller, like it is listen turn. It's kind of everything. Yeah, it's it's it's it's there's thriller aspects of it, there's romantic aspects to it. There's um, I mean, there's like comedic aspects to it. It it kind of it's one of those plays where you really never know what to expect, and it's veering in a lot of really interesting directions.

[7:17] Robert Bannon: Well, we got to get our tickets Manhattan Theater Club.com, and then we gotta follow because it's gonna work, like do like a lot of other things, and then he'll be really famous, and then he won't remember doing this, and then that'll be the end of it. Because I mean, when I look at your career, I'm I'm so many questions about how you choose a project because you're at the point where you have to tell your team, I wanna do this play, and you probably get TV, a lot of self-tapes and a lot of TV and film offers, and and you you're probably in front of a green screen doing lines and sides all the time. So, what is it like when you spine something and do you have to say, I'm I'm ready to take a pause? I wanna stay in New York, I want to get on stage eight shows a week and do a play instead of do the television thing.

[7:57] Abubakr Ali: Um, I think I mean to be honest, so that's a conversation that's always happening, like in terms of like, you know, sometimes you get a play and you're like, uh, like especially just business wise, yeah, you know, have a lot of different you know, a lot of people who are collaborating on you know, this career who will sometimes say, you know, maybe this is not a good time to do that. This is not this is a good time to do that. Um, I think for this play, this was one of the first times where it was a no-brainer. Like for me, I was like, I have to do this. Like just artistically speaking, personally speaking. How like how can you say no? It's a new play by Rajiv Joseph, who I've looked up to since I was a kid, who and it's a two-hander at MTC. We love MTC. Shout out to MTC. And um you can't say no. Like I just I genuinely I was like, I there's on a personal level, I have to do this.

[8:46] Robert Bannon: And then when you do this, I mean, look what happened in the last show you did. You're just gonna people are gonna see it, and then you're gonna just be so booked and busy after this, you'll be like, see, I I'm I'm done. Well, you talk about your career, everybody. Like, we have a little some pictures, like we have the Power days, and we we have the Walking Dead days, and we have the Law and Order days, and we have the I love Anything's Possible because what an important You've been out here working. How how long have you been out of college?

[9:15] Abubakr Ali: Um, it feels like it was two years because of the pandemic and like strikes and all that, but I got out in 2019. Um, so I had like maybe like nine months out in the world before you know the world turned upside down because of the pandemic, and then things kind of you know, and then things kind of picked back up after you know production resumed.

[9:35] Robert Bannon: Is it surreal when the theater work or the TV and film works when you get that phone call when your managers agents and the whole entire team that's behind you calls you and says, like, it's booked, you booked the movie, you booked, you booked Law and Order, you book up you book the play. Um there has to be because we're told as artists that you're never gonna work, you're gonna be poor and broke, and I don't know, you know, for the rest of your life. Um and it's impossible. What's it like when you book the job? Like, what's it like? You're working out you're out here. Out on these streets.

[10:01] Abubakr Ali: Um, to be honest, uh it's weird.

[10:07] Abubakr Ali: I like have a there's something wrong with me. I think like sometimes if I when I get these calls, I like I'm weirdly calm, which I don't understand. I'm still trying to figure out. Like, I always envy when I see like people get the call and they're like, oh my god, what? I'm always like, okay, cool, cool, cool. Okay, okay. Um, it's psychopathic. I'm trying to figure out what what's happening there. I think it's because I, you know what it is, like you said, there's that the mindset of like I'm never gonna work again, I'm never gonna done it all. I think my brain is constantly always thinking, like, you know, you haven't quite earned it until you've done the work. So it's like, yes, that call is great, but now we have to, you know, let's focus on the work. That's the next thing. So let's kind of, you know, shift our mindset to that.

[10:52] Robert Bannon: Well, you know, I think that's such an important a lot of students. I teach theater here in New Jersey and et cetera. A lot of students talk about like they want to get the job, they want to get the job, but you bring up a good point. It's once you get the job, that's when the work really begins.

[11:02] Abubakr Ali: Yeah, of course. And I always like, I mean, which is it's it people make fun of me for this all the time, but I'm always like, I'm gonna be fired within the first week. So yeah, that's always my mindset. I'm always like, all right, I'm probably gonna get fired in a week. Let's just, you know, here we are. What have you learned when you went to school? And I mean you went to school with a lot of people who have are very successful. You had a lot of professors who have taught everyone and anyone that's a that's an you know award-winning actor. Do the things you learned at drama school and go into Yale, the Yale, did you did you find out that um do are they things and skills that you bring to set? Are they things that you bring into a rehearsal room?

[11:37] Abubakr Ali: Yeah, I think so. I think it's you know what's funny, especially this process. I found the work we like a lot of the work we do at Yale is working with a lot of the pre-playwrights in our classes. So you're doing a lot of new playwork. And generally, I think if it wasn't for my time there and my time working with new work in school, I think this process would have been a difficult thing to navigate because I think in working on new plays and new work, you kind of understand what that is more and more, and you understand how to kind of let go of, I mean ego, but let go of also like what you think the thing is and to be open to everything. And I think my time in school really helped with that.

[12:16] Robert Bannon: Yeah, and you're two people on you're you called it's a two-hander, so that means you have a lot of lines.

[12:21] Abubakr Ali: I do have a lot of lines. I do have a lot. So what is your how did you memorize them? Are you like air podding listening? Or are you don't tell me you have one of those photographic memories then the interview's over I'm done you know so they make the Roger may always make fun of me because I I would I would pick stuff up pretty quick there they would like bring in like three new monologues the next day I'm like all right let's do it I would bring it but it was over I hate memorized I'll tell you this what I hate I fucking hate memorizing like I actually grow into like a deep depression every time I have to sit down and like memorize something but I will say I use an app for lines called Cold Read game changer really swear to god it's not an ad but it's uh the way the app works is you can you put in the lines and then it goes off your cue like it goes off like the computer is listening to what like its cue is so you can take your time running those lines do whatever you got to do and when it gets its cue it says the next lines that is game changer people game changer get the app that that's where it's at right there.

[12:26] Abubakr Ali: And then and there you um you also are you in an upcoming film too like you did a film with Catherine Bigelow I did yeah yeah I shot that in I think September October um I can't really say too much about it but it was wonderful it was really wonderful so we gotta follow that's why we gotta stay up to date so that we could follow you so we know see I told you all I'm gonna remember doing it's great she's incredible her body of work is incredible she's amazing so watch out because there's a lot of a lot of work coming like a work on on the way.

[12:26] Robert Bannon: How do you do the work and then you you could go to opening night and I know people are going to watch and people are going to write about it and people are going to talk about the show how do you separate yourself from the art versus the noise like are you somebody who's gonna wake up the next day and read everything are you just gonna go get up the next day and do the show again for the audience that's there? Like, how do you separate the art from all of it?

[14:08] Abubakr Ali: Uh that's a great question. First, first I I can't I like don't I can't read anything because I think I would go crazy. Like, I think I just can't do it. But I will say, like, a big this I I've talked about this with a couple people. Uh this year, I like started the year. I never do New Year's resolutions, it's not my thing, but this year I was like, I'm gonna do some New Year's resolutions, and I sat myself down. I was like, this year, I think is the year where I'm gonna try to um whenever I'm working on something, just really make all my attention, all my focus to be like on the story, like what serves the story best? And try it because sometimes you kind of get caught up in like the business aspects of things in terms of like the career stuffs in your brain, you're like, okay, but like if I do this, I like I've already done this this way, da-da-da-da-da.

Like, I want to show you know, there's all these different uh sources of noise in your head. And I thought this year was the year I was like, okay, anytime I work on something, it's really about like the artistry and the story we're trying to tell, and that's the most important thing. So I do think kind of for me right now, I'm just trying to like detach from the noise as much as possible because there's so much noise.

[15:10] Robert Bannon: I hear you. There's good, and there's always gonna be noise, but you're gonna be up there doing the work and and you get up there every day and you just do it, and and everybody at the audience is gonna be blown away for sure. Uh we're in like crazy artistic times, you know, in political times in this country. You you come, you you know, you come from uh from Egypt and you're here uh in the United States for extended period of time. How is art like how art the representation that this show shows and the story that it tells, how important is that in your artistic journey? Like for people to see themselves on stage and stories told other than the typical story, yeah.

[15:46] Abubakr Ali: Yeah, of course, um, you know, I mean, I think it's a well, you know, we've every we've had this conversation so often in the world, and it's it remains important, especially now when there's kind of a reversal in terms of like you know, representation, both like politically and in the world, all of it is just all kind of going in the in a completely opposite direction. So it's more important than ever. And I think like with this play specifically, you know, the play really deals with this sentiment, which is so present right now, of like the world is ending. You know, I I think so many people right now share this sentiment of is this the end times because things are are bad, and like are we on the precipice? We feel like we're on the precipice of something. And I think the de the play really deals with what that feeling is and how we cope with that feeling in different ways.

[16:31] Abubakr Ali: Well, I remember, you know, when you talk about Y2K, like they told us like the nuclear bombs were gonna explode, they told us that computers were gonna blow up in our at 12 o'clock. I would I was uh a senior, a senior in high school. No, nothing. I was a junior in high school being like 1158, like, well, this might be this is it. And then it ended in nothing. Uh nothing, nothing. So I could only imagine what the panic and and the thought and the and the journey to it was around the world, and then whatever you whatever twists and turns you all have uh on stage uh is gonna be exciting when you do the show. How do you stay healthy? How do you take care of yourself speaking and doing this show every night?

[17:13] Abubakr Ali: Um, you know, I've always had like a pretty good stamina when it comes to these kind of things, so I haven't really had to do anything, but there was a day, like week one of rehearsals, and the room we were rehearsing in was just dry, like crazy dry, to the level where it was like you could be talking like after our first read through, we were both like, what is happening with our mouths? Um, and I had like a panic attack, literally, like five days in because I was like, Whoa, why is my voice feeling a little hoarse? Which I'm not used to. Like five days in with we're at the table, why would that be happening? And I literally I think I bought like 200 worth of just like void, like lozenges, sprays, like nebulizes, all these different things out of panic. I barely used any of them since then, but you know, it was it it was it was an approach to keep staying healthy.

[17:57] Robert Bannon: It's good. You never look, you're ready, you're prepared. You never know.

[18:00] Abubakr Ali: You never know.

[18:01] Robert Bannon: Well, I hope people all know that the show uh is opening and that the show is gonna be up and out at eight. I love the theater you all are in. I think it's got there's not a bad seat in the house. I think people can be right up in involved in the show and be right up there with you all. It is something that you definitely have to check out. You have to go to Manhattan Theaterclub.com. They're literally you have showed you in previews, like you're ready, you're rolling and going.

[18:25] Abubakr Ali: Yeah, yeah, we're going. We're going. We're in previews right now. Opens next Thursday, and then we're we're we're we're out, we're doing it.

[18:31] Robert Bannon: What has the audience's reaction been like when you leave the theater or when you see people like uh it's been really sweet actually, people have been really sweet. It's a play that kind of keeps people thinking. There was one moment that was really moving. So Rajiv wrote this play kind of based on his experience when he was younger, doing the Peace Corps, and it was a lot of it was just based on who he was back then. And I ran in his piano teacher from when she when he was 11, came up to me after the show, and she was like, You were little Rajiv. You were reminded you you reminded me so much of Little Rajiv, you captured it perfectly, which I wasn't doing intrinsically in any sense. I was trying to honestly detach the two, but it was very sweet to kind of hear them.

[19:09] Robert Bannon: Well, so you got it. People, you gotta you gotta go check what is the secrets, what is his secret? What's Mia's secret? What happens in the show? You better buy a ticket and come see it. That you you're he's not gonna tell us. He's not even gonna tell us the next film he's in. Never mind. The secret at the end of the day. So come on, you gotta go buy a ticket. I'm so excited. We'll be following you, we'll be looking up to see what you're doing next Thursday when the show opens. When the show opens, we'll we'll be the round table will be out on the red carpet, ready for it all. And then go to Manhattan Theaterclub.com and get get your tickets to see. We're so excited. We we love your work. We love that you literally are a chameleon and you've morphed into these characters on television and now on stage. And we're excited to see what's next. So keep working. Thank you for doing what you do.

[19:48] Abubakr Ali: Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. Thank you. Pleasure.