John Phillips, a former well known face on the local theatre scene has been doing quite well for himself in Canada and now wants to return to Guyana and conduct workshops to help young actors and actresses.
“Whenever I get a break in Canada I want to come and do some workshops in television and film and stage,” Phillips said during a recent trip in Guyana adding that in Canada he is exposed to so much and he wants to share with those that are now up and coming.
Phillips, a former broadcaster and reporter with the Evening News, has been acting for over four decades.
His love for the arts began in his home village Buxton as he watched the careers of David Hinds, Henry Rodney and others blossom as they performed in small theatre performances in the village. He said a “bug” was planted and he just knew that the arts were calling. The only issue was how soon he would have answered. He answered at what some may believe was the most unusual platform—the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo)—where he started working and joined the drama group at the Enmore Estate. Rather, he was asked to join after his talent was observed during a small performance at one of the corporation’s presentation ceremonies.
Soon after, he joined the Theatre Guild and has not looked back since. He quickly moved on to what he terms “bigger things”, acting at the National Cultural Centre where he “met all the big stars” like Desiree Edghill, Margaret Lawrence, Ron Robinson and Jasper Adams among others. Phillips said he always admired Adams and saw himself as a “mini Jasper.”
“I always wanted to be just like Jasper Adams because he was the guy I felt I was closer to in terms of my style of acting,” Phillips told the Sunday Stabroek.
His first professional role was in Dereck Walcott’s play Beef nor Chicken and he received the best newcomer award for that year. He later became an integral part of the Link Show and played the role ‘Cousin Tanta’, the gay character in the show who always wore green tights. His first travel exhibition was as part of Dave Martin’s musical Rise Up which toured the US and Canada. Over the next few years Phillips cemented his place in the local acting sphere and won quite a few awards in the process.
He was a versatile actor and did not confine himself to one character. As he puts it, “I got myself into everything.”
Phillips has been living in Canada for the past 13 years and while he has an “eight to four job” he has never turned his back on acting and has done pretty well for himself although he is still waiting to ‘make it big’ in the world of acting. He recalled that when he left Guyana his sole mission was to walk in the path of an actor.
“I wanted to be an actor coming out of Guyana that would do good things,” Phillips said and not one to sit and wait for things to happen he said he immediately aligned himself with the Caribbean community. This saw him meeting up with Luther Hansraj, who would have produced the Link Show in Canada, and they started doing things together with other Caribbean persons.
“I just kept moving from one thing to another,” Phillips said adding that he acted in both the ‘uptown theatre’, which is community based, and the ‘downtown theatre’, where you find the crème de la crème. It is where reviewers are found and amazingly Phillips said that he acted in a play titled Flood and he got a very good review which some found unbelievable for him to receive one in such a short time.
This play was followed by a big one titled The Meeting which focused on the meeting between Martin Luther King and Malcom X with Phillips playing King. Another play he did was Brixton Stories.
Better was yet to come for Phillips as a friend encouraged him to venture into film and put him into touch with an agent and he was sent to auditions. “One thing led to another,” he said and he was cast in National Geographic’s “Murder in Paradise” docudrama series that focus on reenactment of real murder cases. He also did reenactments in “Untouchables: Power Corrupts” and “Surviv-ing Evil,” which are all done through Investigation Discovery and are all reenactments of true stories. Phillips has also done a number of commercials shown in Canada and one that is also shown in Europe.
‘Reintroduce myself’
Phillips has already returned to Canada but he stated that his trip back to Guyana after 13 years saw him reintroducing himself and speaking to the young actors and actresses.
“I have been imparting some of my knowledge because when I came in there were folks who guided me so I felt I should be doing being that for the youngsters who are coming up and who are eager to learn and who are disciplined,” Phillips said.
He recalled that in his time one had to be disciplined and love the craft to make it and “be able to listen and know that you are not bigger than the craft.” According to the actor he has observed that some of the actors and actresses are in it for the glamour and for him it should be more than that. He said while glamour is good they would not want to be “glamour cherry” a play on the name of a small fruit that is used mainly to paste homemade kites. “You don’t want the glamour to get to your head and start sticking,” he said with a laugh.
For him the young in the business should be humble and learn as much as they can and be a “sponge and try to soak in as much as you can.” He advised that the money will come in due time once the dedication is shown and dues are paid “not financially but being humble to the craft and trying to learn as much as you can.”
Asked if actors and actresses can really earn enough to survive, Phillips said once they are committed, dedicated and disciplined money will come. He named Edghill and Henry Rodney as actors who have lived off of acting but they had to be dedicated and willing to put a lot into their craft. He said while not many actors and actresses have been able to do this he still believes it has a lot to do with what a person really wants out of the craft when they began to learn from it. “You need to set that foundation to be able to do what Desiree did eventually,” he said.
He does not live off of his acting career, but is still building his resume and “making it look good to get the big budget movies. “So I have a day job because the bills still need to be paid,” he said adding that he tries to do as much as he can and try to get his auditions early in the morning or in the evening. And if he gets the part he takes some time off.
Next year he plans to return to Guyana to perform in the two man show Brixton Stories which will be produced by Edghill. He described that play as not a comedy but rather “some serious stories”. The play is about a father and a daughter and it gives the actor and actress a lot of scope.
