HUNDRED DAYS is an uncensored, exhilarating and heartrending true story about embracing uncertainty, taking a leap, and loving as if you only had 100 days to live. With rehearsals well underway, we grabbed a moment with the amazing Alec Phan (he/they), who is joining our cast as one of TWO performers playing Shaun Bengson…
Alec—tell us about you!
Oof and a half! I have never been good at answering open-ended questions about myself! I’m still figuring it out and hate to present incomplete or inaccurate information. I know I love my dog, my family history, and the athleticism in collaborative storytelling.
What draws you to Hundred Days?
I love the way The Bengsons kind of ignore the rules of Musical Theatre and chase the authenticity of their lived feelings with weird sounds and weirder poetry! I love how Time is confirmed to be totally subjective and how much sense that makes.
What’s it like being back in the rehearsal room? Any advice for others who are starting to create again?
Wild! It’s wild. I feel so privileged and so lucky that this rehearsal process is the first real step of my “re-entry” into society after being derailed by quarantine. The space created by the creative team and ensemble is so soft and so blessed. Everyone is re-entering from a different angle, even if we all now share one very big collective trauma, so my advice is to be patient and generous and very clear about your boundaries.
“I know I love my dog, my family history, and the athleticism in collaborative storytelling.”
– Alec Phan
Is there anything about the show that you’re most excited about?
Singing with people I love is always an experience I look forward to! I’m also excited to discover how the elements of theatrical design will work together to elevate the story we’re constructing in the rehearsal room.
Why should people see the show?
Death and Love and Time and Commitment and Anxiety about all of the above are all major themes in the story and are also things I think many folks (myself included) reevaluated in depth over the course of the last year and a half. What heartstrings it may have touched before the pandemic, it will surely strike with more precision now.
“Constant companions, mando’ & guitar” 
James Blake at the Chicago Theatre
Anything else you’re working on? Or things you’d recommend?
Currently, I’m working on learning to better differentiate between the good stresses and bad stresses in my life. In terms of other creative projects, I’m co-writing an EP for a feature length film. I am not watching Squid Games, and am listening to a lot of James Blake.
Describe yourself in three words…
Uncertain. Muddy. Tender.
Describe Hundred Days in one…
Raw.
Join us at HUNDRED DAYS and let your heartstrings be struck! Our first preview is Sunday, November 7 at The Chopin Theatre. Regular performances begin Thursday, November 18. The show runs Wed-Sat at 8PM, Sun at 5PM. Tickets are available HERE!
