Cliff Spencer is an actor and a furniture maker. He does the latter with his company, Alabama Sawyer, and has done the former in New York, Los Angeles and, more recently, back in Birmingham. This weekend, he stars as George in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” which has a truncated run (April 10-13) at the Virginia Samford Theatre. Directed by David McMahon, the Edward Albee drama also stars Melissa Bush Hallmark, Steven Hatcher and Emily Dean. Spencer talks about that classic drama, as well as his other work, in this interview.
Tell me a little about yourself.
I was born and raised here in Birmingham. Went to college at Rhodes in Memphis, then moved to NYC and later LA to work in the entertainment industry. Studied acting, pursued work in theater and film, and learned woodworking to help pay the bills. Built and designed sets for several years before focusing on making furniture. Started a business in LA in 2005 with my wife. Our family of two kids and a cat moved to Birmingham in 2016 and started Alabama Sawyer.
What is your theater background?
I was a Summerfest kid. Did those workshops in the summer and then we’d try out for the mainstage shows. Did shows for Town and Gown Theatre at the Virginia Samford. David McMahon and I were in those plays together. Continued in high school at Mountain Brook High School, then went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Majored in theater and English lit at Rhodes college, then back to New York for more training and work in theater and film. Moved to LA in 1997, began working in set design. Continued to pursue acting work, but began to focus more on woodworking, and eventually started our furniture business. I came back to acting in 2016 when I moved back to Birmingham, with David McMahon directing plays at the VST.
What’s your first memory of being on stage?
I played a stomachache in a play at Mountain Brook Elementary in the first grade. I nailed it.
What’s your favorite role you’ve played or show you’ve been in?
Whichever one I’m doing at the moment.
Who is your favorite playwright?
Sam Shepard.
Do you have a favorite show?
Of his plays, “Suicide in B Flat.” I directed that play in college and had a great time. It’s such a weird, wild, hilarious play. I remember the audience loving it, but asking, “What was that?” Good theater is an experience.
Do you have any pre-performance rituals?
I end up doing the same things each day before rehearsals, like going for a run and drilling the lines, eating the same things, getting to the theater early and doing vocal warmups, walking through the set and checking the props. The ritual is like warming up an engine so you can let go of the steering wheel when the lights come up.
Tell me about a time something went wrong on stage.
Doing “Waiting for Godot” at Birmingham Festival Theatre a few years ago. That play is so tough and the lines so confusing, one of us would say the wrong line and then we’d be in Act 2 and have to find our way back to where we were supposed to be in Act 1.
Tell me about Alabama Sawyer.
Leigh and I run Alabama Sawyer, an urban timber milling operation and furniture production company. We have a team of 12 woodworkers and sawmill operators, and we mill logs from the trees that come down in the Birmingham area and throughout the southeast.
How did “Virginia Woolf” come up for you? Just a regular audition?
David McMahon asked me about doing it last year, after we finished “The Man Who Came to Dinner” at the VST.
Have you been in “Virginia Woolf” before? Is it a show you’ve been wanting to do?
I have not been in this play before. Any chance to do something by Edward Albee, you do it. His writing is incredible. So fulfilling to bring his words to life. David and I did a play together in New York in the early ‘90s that he attended, and we got to meet him, briefly.
Tell me specifically about George, the role you play.
George is tough and smart and beaten down, almost broken, but is a survivor. Ultimately, he is the antihero, trying to do the right thing.
Anything else you’d like to say about the show?
The cast is great to work with, and we are having fun, continuing to find more and more as we go along. I only wish we had more performances. I love working with David. As a director, he has a clear vision of the play but is an actor’s director. The actor can find their way, and he nudges and shapes and pushes the whole process. He pays attention to all the details and is respectful of everyone. I hope I can continue to do more work with him. The VST is a special place, going on 100 years of producing live theater in Birmingham. The staff is great, and everyone involved has, I think, a sense of purpose to preserve, respect and carry forward good work. The VST really plays an important role in the education and cultural vitality of Birmingham and in the American theater world at large. I could go on about its origins in the “Little Theatre” movement and its resonance today.
What do you hope audiences will take away from the show?
An experience. I hope they leave with something they haven’t seen before. That is the point.
What kind of music do you listen to when you’re not performing?
I was raised on R.E.M. Still finding new inspiration in them. Waxahatchee, Kevin Morby, Jason Isbell, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Sufjan Stevens, Elliot Smith, Ahmad Jamal, Miles Davis, Mahler, Dvorak, Brahms, anything played by Jaqueline Du Pre on cello.
What’s the last book you read?
“Furious Hours” by Casey Cep.
What’s the last TV series you binged?
“Bad Sisters.”
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” at the Virginia Samford Theatre April 10-13.
