The Mystery of Love & Sex – Spotlight on Lorenzo Roberts

By Angie Kamel, ACT Artistic Engagement Manager

Lorenzo Roberts moved to Seattle from New York in January 2015 and he’s been working steadily as an actor on our stages ever since. You’ve seen him around town with Seattle Shakespeare Company, Seattle Immersive Theatre, and in ACTLab as part of the 2015 Kenan Directing Fellowship. I sat down with him over a smoothie in April. He has an infectious smile, a casual manner, and the grace of a southern gentleman. This should come as no surprise as he has spent his youth between New York City and South Carolina, where he says he became an artist.

The Mystery of Love & Sex – A Conversation with Ray Abruzzo

From The Mystery of Love & Sex Encore

John Langs: Ray, welcome to ACT Theatre—I’m so happy you’re here. We had a little conversation in the first day of rehearsal that I thought was really poignant about The Mystery of Love & Sex by Bathsheba Doran, which you are rehearsing right now.

Ray Abruzzo: …And having a great time.

JL: I’m so glad! I have always thought of this play as sort of the balm in the age of sexual confusion. And I know that you had some experience on this kind of groundbreaking show that’s changing culture…

RA: The Sopranos? [laughs]

JL: That one as well! I was talking about Transparent. It’s just a lovely gift for all of us.

The Mystery of Love & Sex – A Note from Artistic Director John Langs

From The Mystery of Love & Sex Encore

ACT Artistic Director John Langs. Photo by Alabastro Photography.

One of the great boundaries that has been broken at the beginning of this century is the right to love whom we choose. Although the battles are still being waged, it seems clear that tradition and dogma are giving way to the choice the heart makes about whom and how we love.

Coming of age in this more liberated time seems exhilarating, but as this play points out, freedom might not always make the path to love a smooth one. Although society may be more accepting or less prescriptive, we all have our own deep internal struggles based upon our identity, personal history, and familial expectations. Finding yourself, your voice, seems to me to be a lifelong effort, but never more immediate than when we are young, in those intensely-felt years that span high school and college when we simultaneously know nothing and everything; that moment when for the first time we’re able to make choices that will give our lives shape, but also put our young hearts at risk. This play is about that moment and the ramifications it has for our family, friends, and the world at large.