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Chris Kayser, "Ebenezer Scrooge"
Job: Actor, Atlanta
What I do: Christmas past is Christmas present for Chris Kayser, the veteran actor who plays Ebenezer Scrooge in the Alliance Theatre's annual production of "A Christmas Carol." He's performed in the play based on Charles Dickens' story for 21 years -- first at the Academy Theatre and, for the last 14 years, at the Alliance, mostly as Scrooge. Kayser said the role is a rarity for an actor: a steady gig in his hometown.
Kayser also is a regular with Georgia Shakespeare (he's now completing his 18th season with the company), in addition to other roles, voice-overs and writing jobs throughout the year. But his main job is acting -- drama, comedy and musicals.
"I go from job to job, auditioning at all the different theaters in town," said Kayser, 57.
The roles have changed for him over the nearly 30 years he's been acting. The member of the Actors' Equity Association said he's too old to play Romeo or Hamlet -- "although I lasted a pretty long time" -- but he portrayed the ghost of Hamlet's father last season with Georgia Shakespeare.
It's the variety of roles in the theater that holds Kayser. By contrast, he said, movies have actors do what they've already been successful doing.
His continuing roles give him "a modicum of stability -- unusual for actors," he said. He lives in Decatur with his wife of 25 years and their two teenage children. "By actors' standards, I have a normal, stable life," he said. That's part of the reason he's never been seriously tempted by Broadway or Hollywood.
What got me interested in this: Kayser, who said he is "allergic to boredom," recalled a conversation in high school with his best friend, who said he should find a job "where all your talents can run rampant." Those talents include being musical, being athletic and having a taste for literature and poetry.
Kayser said he stumbled into acting. He accompanied an actress girlfriend to the dinner theater where she was working. The actor who was to work opposite her dropped out, and the desperate director handed Kayser a script and asked, "What about you?" After playing the role, "I was beyond thrilled; I was just bitten," he said.
Best part of my job: "I'm never bored," Kayser said. "I can inhabit different worlds, explore different parts of [my] own character."
Scrooge, Benedick in Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" and Roy Cohn in "Angels in America" are his favorite roles.
Most challenging part: "You challenge yourself a lot," Kayser said. "As you get older, people get to know you. You push yourself to do your best, not repeat yourself. . . . You're in trouble when you start to look back instead of forward."
What people don't know about my job: "People often forget how job-like it is," such as the fact that he goes to work every day, he said. "That's OK; it should be like that."
What keeps me going: "I'm lucky to have found this job and been able to stick with it," he said. "This city and its theaters have grown with me and my life."
Preparation needed for this job: Although he never has taken a formal acting class (but did act in college productions), Kayser suggested classes as a good place to begin because would-be actors can test their skills in a safe, off-stage environment. You also need the intellectual capacity to know your character and the literary aspect of the plays. In addition, you have to have a "salesman's mentality" to deal with the inevitable ups and downs of the job and the tenacity to hang on.
Kayser has a bachelor's degree in French from Georgia State University and has held numerous jobs while in and out of college and while establishing himself as an actor, including waiter, carpenter, tennis pro, dancer and grape picker in France.
- By Karl Ritzler, for ajcjobs. Got an interesting job that you love? E-mail your story to jobseditor@ajc.com.
