Trent Oliver

**Trent Oliver** is a Juilliard School graduate down on his luck but who has just been cast in the non-Equity tour of *Godspell.*

## History

He teams up with three other actors to take up "a cause" to appear selfless. After searching on Twitter for a cause, they find Emma, a teenager from Indiana whose prom was cancelled by the Parent-Teacher Association because she wanted to bring her girlfriend. Seeing the opportunity, and some personal connection, the actors decide to go to Indiana to help.

Trent decides that he may be able to change the minds of the youth of the town due to his small-town upbringing. He confronts a number of the students about how they and their families break the word of the Bible every day and how hypocritical they are being. He encourages them to follow "love thy neighbor" above all.

The students suggest Trent stay in Indiana and become their drama teacher.

## Facts

He plays the cowbell.

He did 5 shows with Dee Dee Allen.

He went to Juillard.

He doesn't ever seem to stop talking about Juillard.

He is a waiter between gigs.

He's watched The Tempest.

He can read and write sheet music.

He thinks Mrs. Greene is a monster.

He's from a small town.

He played hamlet.

He was in the sitcom "Talk to the Hand"

## Quotes

"You see, my passions are fueled by the power of Lady Theatre and how she can, with her gentle touch, sculpt the human soul. But at Juilliard, they taught me an actor is still an actor even when fishing an earring out of a chocolate fountain. If I might soliloquize for a moment..." "If you prick me, do I not bleed? If you do not pay me, do I not still act? Still, I’ve played Hamlet! I’ve played Uncle Vanya! And yet I am known only as “that guy" on the beloved 90’s sitcom “Talk to the Hand”. I’ve begun to question the very meaning of my existence. Is a life on the stage really any life at all?"

"We could build houses for the poor. You know, Habitat for Humanity."

"Stephen Sondheim will write something for us. He’s a huge fan of my Sweeney Todd. Leave it to me."

"Well, I just booked a non-equity tour of “Godspell” that goes right through Indiana. You can join us on the bus."

"We’re liberal democrats from Broadway!"

"I vomited in the bus again."

"Apparently I was misled by my representation. Mr. Sondheim is *not* a huge fan of my Sweeney Todd. Quite the opposite actually. The man has a lot of anger in him. Very clever anger."

"Don’t worry. I wrote something myself. It’s quite rousing and is in a very humane key."

"What is it? One of those beautiful antebellum opera houses?"

"You know, “Talk to the Hand” is just a small part of my resume. In the early aughts, I had a three episode arc on “Grey’s Anatomy” in which I played Dr. Julio Rodriguez, a handsome Hispanic heart surgeon, whose growing cocaine addiction threatens both his personal and professional life. When preparing for the role, I realized something about people. I realized that even though we are all different on the outside, different skin color, different heights, different nose shapes, on the inside we are all the same. We all have lungs, we all have intestines, we all have... Corazones. And it occurred to me that if we could accept our collective sameness, the world would be a much nicer place. And that’s why I wrote this song."

"[Mrs. Greene] is a monster, that’s for sure."

"Indianapolis was cancelled. As was Kansas City, Little Rock, Orlando and the naval base at Guantanamo Bay. We’re marooned, as it were. What I’m thinking I might do is this: venture forth and seek out the young people. And when I find them, I will simply talk with them. Converse. Rap, in the non-musical sense. Communication may lead to understanding and understanding to, dare I say it, love. Anon."

"Greetings, feckless youth of Indiana." ... "Just out for a walk. Enjoying the sweet and fetid scent of Americana. I’m from a small town myself, you know."

"I’ve played Jesus Christ on three separate occasions: my current messianic turn in Godspell, last year’s Hallmark Easter special (that was animated), and Temptation!: a stage musical based on The Last Temptation of Christ. I’ve been crucified three times; twelve if you include the reviews. I got to know J.C. very well. I don’t believe he hated anyone, let alone gays."

"I’m pretty sure there are rules in the Bible that you guys are breaking every day."

"You can’t cherry-pick the Bible, choosing which parts you want to believe."

"Really? Fair warning: I do tend to pontificate..."