Written by Loren Berí
Kyle Acheson: T
Composer of ‘Water Man The Musical’, Crêpe Hider, Folly Enthusiast
he lens adjusts but the fellow is still a blur. Kyle Acheson has yet to dawn the character of his choosing. Stirring honey into tea, he sweetly pirouettes while setting down the mug. He is, by all accounts, a wild one. Not a comment on his eccentricities, but on his work and productivity. In one year Kyle has written something like seventy or so songs, composed music for a musical, The Waterman (With the hilarious Sam De Roest), has played multiple leading roles in the PDX theatre scene, and produced more musings I have still to learn about. Acheson is a fixture in the Portland, Oregon improv scene, a member of the noteworthy troupe Action/Adventure Theatre. Amidst the talented group, Kyle stands out with his over-sized nonprescription raybans one can only intuit to be softly mocking of the very culture he adores. In an imaginary rehearsal one might assume Acheson to yell things at his Waterman cast in a quasi-serious tone.
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“More!”
(As he throws a ceramic plate against a wall.) Or,
“I don’t believe you!” Or, perhaps he just stares straight ahead in silent melancholy until he has his casts attention. A statuesque nod to Sir Laurence Olivier, a single tear descends a cheek one might mistake for that of Benedict Cumberbatch. Final preparations are made. Everyone in their places and costumed. Light befalls a momentous Waterman emerging from the sea for the first time in his life.
“His Neil Armstrong moment” as Acheson and co-creator Sam De Roest put it. This image is as profound as it is self-awarely ridiculous. And that is the very essence of Kyle Acheson.
Acheson’s greatest fear? That someone will ask, “How did the Captain sail from Portland to the Pacific Ocean so quickly? Because we don’t have a good answer.” The Waterman is described by PDX improv troupe Action/Adventure as being “about love, betrayal, Water People, Portland, and sushi.” One seemingly Portland inspired quip from Acheson is that he dreams that one day The Waterman will grace a Broadway stage with The Decemberists’ Colin Meloy and Joseph Gordon Levitt in the leading male roles. Acheson insists, however, that Portland’s Cristina Cano will naturally still play the leading lady Ursula. Sushi is thicker than water. So how did Acheson and Sam De Roest land a spot for The Waterman to be produced? Acheson says, “When Sam and I were writing the first draft of The Waterman, we spoke with a producer at Action/ Adventure Theatre at a holiday party. We asked if we could do a reading of our play at the new works festival in January, and because he was a little drunk, he agreed. Now, he was imagining we’d have our musical ready in a year, more likely imagining we