When Victoria resident Charles Ross is up on stage at St. Ann's Academy on May 4, he will be solo in every sense.
From Chewbacca's roar to Han Solo's cynical charm, Ross single-handedly re-enacts the original Star Wars trilogy over an hour, right down to the sound effects.
"I love playing the emperor. I love playing Yoda. I mean, my Yoda doesn't sound like Yoda, but I'm able to make fun of my voice," Ross told Victoria News.
Since Ross premiered One Man Star Wars Trilogy in Toronto in 2001, he's been given legal approval from George Lucas, and performed around the world, including on NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
And he's achieved success with the barest of bones production. It's just Ross on stage with no set or costumes: just him in his coveralls, for a specific reason.
"Because it allows me to throw myself everywhere ... I mean, I sweat like crazy and I'm sort of like the blank canvas where I'm using my body, my voice and people's imagination really to be all the things I need to be."
Ross, who took UVic's Phoenix Theatre program back in the day, began his relationship with Star Wars when he was an 11-year-old farm kid growing up in Prince George. With no satellite dish and only a few movies to watch, he ended up watching the first Star Wars over and over – and over – again.
"I just watched it because I loved it. I ended up watching it hundreds of times. And that's not a joke."
He absorbed the film through osmosis, and later on in life, when he got into theatre, all those hours spent watching became useful.
Now, when he's up on stage, he's not just reciting the film word for word – he estimates the show is about 25 per cent improv. "That just happens naturally, because, you know, it's live theatre."
Despite being alone up on stage, he said the audience tends to be very interactive, creating a strong performer-audience relationship.
"Sometimes you get people who just feel like they can randomly call out because the show is unorthodox. It's not a fourth wall kind of production where the lights go down, and everybody must be quiet. It kind of invites whatever kind of energy is coming at it."
Performing his production around the globe, he said the tale is experienced differently based on cultural context, but his knowledge of the films is like having a "passport of reference" that unites him with people.
What he loves most about Star Wars is "just how simple the stories are."
"You just imagine being Luke; you're just a kid who's on a farm, who has adventure come to the front door and you can imagine having a power to affect the world to stop evil, just because you were born with it ... I mean, it's amazing to think that no matter what station you're in in life, or how far away you are from a powerful position, that you might actually have all the power that's necessary to affect social change and to change your life."
"It's a great story for mind over matter, jumping in with both feet."
Ross will perform One Man Star Wars Trilogy May 4 from 2-3:30 p.m. at St. Ann's Academy at 835 Humboldt St. Tickets are $25 via Eventbrite.
