Neal Tosi

How did you get your start in theater?

Theater played a huge role in my mother’s life. When I was six, she took me to my first show at the Fine Arts Center, Peter Pan. It was my first live theater experience and even at a young age, I recognized that this was my calling - I saw myself on that stage as those characters and I knew I would stop at nothing to be up there. The first show I performed in was Annie, also at the Fine Arts Center. I was not nervous at all for the audition. I knew I belonged there and I wanted desperately to do the work. My mom drove me to every rehearsal gladly reminiscing about shows she had seen growing up in Ohio and shows my parents saw in Chicago. Both my parents were very supportive of my theatrical pursuits.

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After Annie, I continued doing shows at the FAC such as Meet Me In St. Louis and Annie Warbucks. I also did shows at Dunbar Middle School (another production of Annie Warbucks) under Albert Carter and Nancy King, as well as Les Miserables at E.C. Glass High School, directed by Jim Ackley. I never stopped doing community theater and performed with both Renaissance Theatre and Cherry Tree Players under the direction of Linda Conley. My time with Cherry Tree and Linda ended up being formative for my future interest in improv theater. 

 

What has been your favorite role to portray?

My first play in Chicago, Three Penny Opera, was life changing and made me into a big time Bertolt Brecht fan. Three Penny Opera was a show that expanded my knowledge of what theater can be. My director, Stephanie Shaw, was so talented and knowledgeable. I lived off of absorbing her knowledge, but I also loved looking at theater in a different way. It was subversive, it was funny, it was unusual, and I loved every minute of it. 

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But one of the most important and poignant moments of my theater career was performing as Amos in Chicago at the Academy of Fine Arts in 2011, because this was the role where I performed for my dad, Don, for the last time before he passed. My dad grew up humbly, at one point living with his Mom (my Memaw) in an attic of a house across from Dunbar Middle School where she washed the floors of the house as rent. Theatre was not a part of his childhood, but he LOVED the theatre and supported me endlessly in it. He never missed a show I was in. When my sister and I were in Chicago at the Academy, cancer had done what cancer does and he was very thin and could barely lift his arms to hug us after the show. But the pride he had for us and his ear-to-ear smile held him together. We hadn’t gotten an official life expectancy, but as I walked on stage I just knew this would be the last show he would see and unfortunately, it was. His smile that could be seen from the stage on his face stays with me in every performance I do. 

 

What type of formal theater training have you undertaken?

Aside from just learning by performing in community theater in Lynchburg, I really rely on my training from Columbia College.  I started out as a Musical Theater major, switched to a Theater major, eventually landed as a Comedy Studies major. Traditional plays gave way to improvisational jams, sketch shows, and improv teams. I always returned to the stage. My last streak was ten years of theater education and improv, but improv is where I have settled in recent years. 

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Eventually, after attending Columbia, I became the drama teacher at St. Clement School in Chicago.  I absolutely did not see myself as a teacher, though my mom had set a great example as a teacher in the Lynchburg City Schools system. I had taken a job as a teacher’s assistant at St. Clement in Chicago during College and loved it. After graduating, I was offered the position as Drama Teacher and enthusiastically accepted. I fell in love with everything about teaching and my students. I currently work in curriculum development, but I do get the itch to be back in a traditional classroom. Thankfully, there’s a cream for that itch. Teaching at Commerce Street Theatre allows me to fill my teacher cup in a supportive environment and though I may return to a traditional classroom one day, the ability to shape my own classes and pass on what I’ve learned as a working actor is invaluable. 

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Can you tell us more about what you teach and the camps you lead?

My mom took me to Second City in Chicago and it was my second "Aha" moment where it just clicked that improv and sketch were my home. In addition, Linda Conley and my time at Cherry Tree Players really instilled a respect for improv work for me. Improv was always a part of the rehearsal process and Linda would often let me play (improvise) within performances. In Chicago, improv found me when I was selected for Columbia College’s house improv team from a scene work class. The rest was history and I went on to train and perform with some of Chicago’s best. Working as a host at The Second City in Chicago gave me a real life masterclass in Improv and Sketch, eventually leading to me performing with several Chicago teams. 
 

My summer camps at Commerce Street Theatre are the culmination of all that experience. I focus on practical improv knowledge that translates to theatrical know how. I also try to impart the knowledge I gleaned from working at the very place improv started and performing in such a competitive environment. I developed my love at an early age, so teaching the youth these skills can help build confidence, develop their own stage skills, and lead to a lifelong love of theater.

 

What's your dream role/show?

I’m always looking for an opportunity to play Amos in Chicago permanently, as it was a fantastic role to play. But I actually would love to to produce a lightly scripted play set at a phone helpline for the LGBTQIA+ community set in the 80’s. Growing up in Lynchburg theater I saw a spectrum of the LGBTQIA+ community. I also saw people fighting their own sexuality or feeling shame because of it. I knew from an early age that wasn’t right to them or to our society. I’ve always wanted to be in a safe place within myself for others who didn’t fit in and as I’ve grown older, I’ve always made strides to create physical safe places for any marginalized community. With everything I do I ask myself if my (hypothetical) children would feel safe in this space as non-Christians, as people with family members in the LGBTQIA+ community, or even could be in the LGBTQIA+ community themselves. Theater is a wonderful place to feel included, accepted, and loved - I want to do everything I can to foster that environment.

 

Tell us your most embarrassing stage story (because everyone has one).

In Clue with Wolfbane, I knew my line, I could see the words in my head, but what came out of my mouth was part gibberish. Come to think of it I may have had a stroke. Should I call a doctor? 

 

Is there any advice you would give other actors or people who are considering getting involved? How should someone prepare an audition? 

Get involved with community theater! There’s no better training than actually doing the work. Just get out there and audition for anything that piques your interest. That being said, I’m the worst at auditioning. The best advice I can give and what I benefit most from is Improv. It's the ultimate chance to be put on the spot, use you intuition, and develop quick-thinking stage skills. But most importantly, no matter what you do, always make sure to have fun, play, listen, and just relax. 

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What is special about community theater?

In a word: family. Given or chosen, there’s a family for you at any of Lynchburg’s community theaters. I’m so proud to have my camps at Commerce Street Theatre with Lynchburg’s most established community theater team. You can find your family at any or all the theaters in this area; you just have to get out there, get involved, and you can find a second home at the theater.