Arthur Lazalde plays the Orderly, Moriarity, and the Inspector in Holmes and Watson. 

I am so immensely grateful for this experience at Gulfshore Playhouse. The Playhouse brought me from the cold, depressing winter of The Big Apple to the warm, wakeful contentment of Naples, Fl. A “working vacation” at its finest!

I received a call offering the roles of the Orderly, Moriarty, and the Inspector a mere 10 days before I was scheduled to begin rehearsals! The life of an actor is a peculiar one. One must be prepared, at a drop of a hat, to answer the call to work. I manage a building in New York and cannot always leave that life to follow my true passion. Fortunately for me, this was a call I was able to accept!

I consider myself a character actor in the truest sense and Holmes and Watson has provided me the opportunity to really flex my character building muscles. Not only do I get to work with top professionals in our field, but I am blessed with an acting track that truly challenges me (in a taught 90 minute mystery my longest break is 6 minutes!). You might not realize this as an audience member, but in many ways the supporting characters, such as the Orderly, have the most challenging acting tracks in a way. While David and Jeffrey are busy co-captaining the ship with the brunt of the dialogue on stage I’m constantly quick changing in and out of costumes back stage. The immense amount of focus and concentration involved in switching quickly and fluidly from one character to the next is deeply challenging and rewarding. At times it feels like a deep and profound meditation.

I am rewarded not solely by the work I do within these characters, but I feel tremendous joy in being truly useful in my calling as an actor. The life of a theatre actor can be a very unpredictable and unsustainable venture, and I am very privileged to be of service here in Naples.

Jobs like this reveal my calling: To speak beautiful words in a live venue and contribute to a story that illuminates what it is to be human. I owe Gulfshore Playhouse and you our audience my deepest and heartfelt gratitude for granting me the opportunity to put into practice what I’ve spent the majority of my life attempting to master.

Thank you!

I hope you enjoy Holmes and Watson and the tremendous work of my fellow players and collaborators.