Bill Irwin’s
a hard guy to explain

By Rita Charleston
For the Times

Does anyone really know what happiness is?
Bill Irwin says he does. The multi-talented actor, physical comedian, playwright, director and choreographer insists that, for him, happiness is a drink of water.
"That’s right. After a performance, when the stage manager hands me a cup of water, there is no better or happier moment than that," said Irwin, now performing the world premiere of his The Happiness Lecture at the Philadelphia Theatre Company’s new home, the Suzanne Roberts Theatre at 480 S. Broad St., through June 22.
In his show, Irwin leads an ensemble of eight actors and dancers on an adventure where theater and dreams collide. The evening, he explained, involves music, singing, vignettes, pratfalls and physical company that invites the audience on an emotional and intellectual journey that explores the sheer joy of laughter.
Sara Garonzik, producing artistic director of the Philadelphia Theatre Company, said the organization has worked closely with Irwin.
"Over the last two years we have supported The Happiness Lecturer as it sprung to life in Bill’s imagination, introducing him to Philadelphia’s most versatile performers through development workshops and creative meetings," she said in a statement. "It has been an invigorating opportunity for PTC to meet the artistic needs and exacting standards of this brilliant and inspirational artist."
Growing up, Irwin took inspiration from performers like Charlie Chaplin and, most especially, Buster Keaton. Born 58 years ago in Santa Monica, Calif., he earned a degree in theater arts from Oberlin College in Ohio, and also is a graduate of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in Florida.
Irwin began a movie career in 1980 and has earned credits in more than 20 movies.
He appeared on Broadway in Accidental Death of an Anarchist, and his performance in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? won Irwin the 2005 Tony award for best actor in a play.
Additionally, he was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Choreographer’s Fellowship in 1981 and ’83. The following year he was named a Guggenheim Fellow and was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.
Even then, Irwin was not quite sure what direction he wanted his life to take, and he got involved in so many art forms over the years that he won’t even try to describe his artistic persona these days.
"That’s because it depends on who you’re talking to. For example, when I apply for a loan I am no more a clown or an actor," he said. "It’s interesting that for reasons I don’t understand, the banks react better to someone they see as a writer/producer, even though they shouldn’t. And my accountant knows me by many different monikers. But it’s all the same to me."
Today, Irwin is most happy — yes, happy — with his current creation.
"It’s been going around in my head for some time, and not until opening night is it possible to figure out what it’s all about," he said. "You only get so many chances in your life to put a personal piece up onstage in front of an audience for everyone to contemplate. And now, here is one of mine.
"I’m tempted to say the most important thing about what I do, and this piece in particular, is to have fun," he explained. "That may sound a little frivolous, but actually it’s a deep responsibility to enjoy all the minutely worked out ideas, put a joy and spontaneity into then, and then get the audience to appreciate all we had in mind." ••
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