Charles Ross is a one man Stars Wars

What prompts a grown man to act out the major roles from Star Wars for 14 years? Star Wars is after all a teenage fairytale, an adventure-bound fantasy that we grow out of, don’t we?

For Charles Ross, a Vancouver based actor bringing his One Man Star Wars Trilogy to the Arden Theatre on Nov. 13, it’s a worldwide pop culture phenomena that is actually a personal story.

“It’s about the disenfranchised person who lives far from the centre of power and an adventure falls on their plate. They discover they have hidden powers and if they act on those powers, they can affect societal change,” says Ross.

“It’s a great fantasy escape like winning a dream lottery. What would you do? Who would you help? How would you help? It’s a belief that we can live out our lives and at some point there will be a promise of adventure. It may not be Ben Kenobi or Gandalf knocking on the door, but at some point someone will come knocking and get our attention.”

Ross grew up on a 27-acre farm in Pine View, B.C., a small town not far from Prince George. There was no radio or television reception. However, there was a video machine and a copy of the original trilogy.

As an adolescent, Ross lived his life in a galaxy far away mesmerized by a Death Star space station arming itself to control an Empire and crush its only opposition – the Rebel Alliance.

It was only the courageous Jedi Knights using their training and light sabres that prevented a corrupt Emperor from taking complete control and destroying entire planets.

“I felt akin to Luke Skywalker. Here I was a boy like Luke Skywalker far from anything important and like him I wanted to get away.”

While Ross was a kid who admittedly acted up in school, his energy and creativity made him the perfect candidate for a slot at the University of Victoria’s theatre department. But after graduation, the realities of finding work proved less than satisfying.

“In Canada there are far fewer jobs than actors. I chose to go places where the work was. Often it wasn’t the sexiest of places but I made a living. Eventually I got tired of having someone always hold the reins of whether I would work.”

It happened that between his second and third year at Victoria, he completed a summer Fringe tour.

“I saw people making theatre – some good, some crap. But they were all networking with other artists. I realized I could do eight months of touring, but what would I do? When you’re 20 what do you write about?”

Ross invited a close friend from university, T.J. Dawe to act as a sounding board. During their discussion Star Wars came up.

“It was unique. It fit in with my odd humour and it tended towards physicality and impressions. It was perfect. It was like mixing chocolate and peanut butter to make a peanut butter cup.”

While Ross wrote the script and stepped under the lights, Dawe morphed into the role of director and became the outside eye.

The Star Wars Trilogy travelled across Canada and the United States. During a Fringe presentation in Orlando, Ross was invited to Chicago. From the Windy City, he performed off-Broadway at the now defunct Lamb’s Theatre, once a private theatre club Fred Astaire attended.

It was in New York that Lucasfilm scouts spotted him and later requested he purchase a license based on paying a percentage of profits.

Ross has no regrets about paying the licensing fee. In fact, he is glad to have the opportunity to continue performing his teenage dreams.

He appears on stage without props dressed only in black coveralls and the storyline follows only the trilogy’s high points. But be prepared for his bang-on impersonations of characters.

“I have a loosey-goosey quality to my performances. I react to what goes on in the theatre. There is no fourth wall. In my show, if a cell goes off, I make it into my show.”

Charles Ross also mounts another great classic – One Man Lord of the Rings. When not touring, he is working a One Man Pride and Prejudice, a production not quite ready for public viewing.