Dr Chumley Wants to Get Rid of Restrictions of Urban Lifestyle

Mr Keramati starred in “They Spy Us”, directed by Mohammad-Reza Asli along with actors such as Sam Qaribian and Fereshteh Sadr-Orafaei. He played in that show brilliantly.

Author, director and screen, stage and television actor, Masoud Keramati is a graduate of dramatic arts from Faculty of Fine Arts of Tehran University. He started his career in 1976 as puppet operator of popular children television show “City of Mice” (1985).

He founded a cinema institute “Karnamak” in 1992. He has directed movies such as “Patal and Small Wishes” (1989), “Wild Goose” (1991), “Childish” (2002) and “My Little Songs” (2009).

Many people remember Mr Keramati for his breakthrough roles in movies such as “Anti-Bullet” and “Maniac”. He also starred in “Unexpected Guest” (1988), “Maniac” (1990), “Journey to Chazabeh”, (1995), “Kandelous Orchards” (2004), “Hell, Limbo, Heaven” (1998) and “Anti-Bullet” (2011).

“Harvey” is the story of a man who becomes friend with an unseen and presumably imaginary gigantic rabbit. “Harvey”, which is written by Mary Chase, is directed by Melodie Aramnia. “Harvey” premiered on Ostad Nazerzadeh Auditorium of Iranshahr Theater on November 16. It will close on December 18. Mahdi Bajestani, Mahdi Boslik, Shaghayegh Dehghan, Masoumeh Rahmani, Kazem Sayyahi, Ramin Sayyardashti, Yalda Abbasi, Masoud Keramati, Sarvenaz Nankoli and Parham Yadollahi are the cast.

Mr Keramati talks about his role as Dr Chumley.

You have been both director and actor for years. What is your main priority now to be an actor or a director?

I have a career spanning four decades in cinema, theater and television. My main concern is the quality of the roles I take. Both of them are my profession. My aim is to do the best of whatever I do and not to accept every role.

You starred in “They Spy Us” last year. Does theater help you to feel better or it has another fruit?

I love theater. It is my academic field. When I was young, theater occupied a very high status and credit When I am on stage, it revives that nostalgic feeling for me. I am happy on stage because I am face to face with the audience. However, theater like cinema and television does not spend a good period these days. A theater troupe faces numerous pressures for having a performance. There is shortage of places for rehearsals and low wages. Everything including a place to rehearse is costly. These are woes the young talents are facing. Tickets are also expensive and students of dramatic arts cannot easily afford it. The positive sign is that the audience chase theater enthusiastically.

Mary Chase, the author of “Harvey”, has a bitter language of comedy and black sense of humor toward the social condition as leading contemporary American playwrights such as Neil Simon had. Do you agree?

I did not know Mary Chase before playing in “Harvey”. Her view was interesting for me. Mary Chase has started her writing career after WWII in 1940s. She has her special approach towards the society, relation between humans, living condition and the world. She finds hope amid post-war hopelessness. He comedy was a medium to tell what she wants without fear of censorship. I think she was avant-garde and different in her era. Her sudden suicide left us with a few plays written by her.

Do you admit Dr Chumley is a grey character like most of those characters in “Harvey”?

Dr Chumley tries not to be superstitious. The main character is Elwood. He is an affable person who takes the life easy and enjoys it. In one dialogue, Dr Chumley asks Elwood, “Mr. Dowd, what is it that you do?” He answers, “Harvey and I sit and play the jukebox. Soon the faces of other people turn towards mine and smile. They are saying "We don’t know your name, mister, but you’re a lovely fellow." They come over. They sit with us. They talk to us. They tell about the terrible things they have done. The big wonderful things they will do. Their hopes, their regrets, their loves, their hates. Then I introduce them to Harvey. And he is bigger and grander than anything they offer me. When they leave, they leave impressed. The same people seldom come back but that’s envy, my dear.” It seems Elwood and Harvey serve the people. Dr Chumley seems to be impressed by Harvey in the office of his sanitarium and wishes to live like Elwood. He says after his first encounter with Elwood, “I have never had a patient with an animal that large.”