SURRENDERING CONTROL

Since playing a faculty member on Quinta Brunson’s delightful mockumentary sitcom Abbott Elementary, theatre and TV actor Chris Perfetti can’t help but think about the teachers that had a profound influence on him as a young student. “I especially remember the one that handed me the Tennessee Williams play The Glass Menagerie,” says Perfetti. “I think of my life as before and after that moment.” In his charming portrayal of Jacob — a History teacher who’s not afraid to embarrass himself for a greater cause – Perfetti creates a heartfelt tribute to the profession that is often undervalued and most certainly underpaid, and he does it while causing many laughs in between.

Abbott Elementary is really a show that people can’t get enough of. In your view, what about its subject matter and tone created by Quinta Brunson has resonated so greatly with the audiences?

I feel like the specificity of the show allows people to connect with their own memories of that time in their lives. We all know this place. We all had those figures in our life that were in some way formative, whether for good or bad. And so, I think that the show being so – to use a term that I have coined – “Quinta-ssentially Philadelphia” and its mockumentary genre both really lend themselves to hopefully letting people forget at some point that it’s a TV show and trying to make them believe that Abbott is a real place.

Left Full look **Kenzo**
Right Vest **Louis Vuitton**

What has your elementary school experience been like? Do you remember any teachers from that time that you either really loved or loathed?

I have many teachers that I loathed and loved, some are one and the same. [Laughs] This project has been a real karmic, cosmic reckoning for me because grade school was a very mixed bag. I struggled for the majority of it and I knew very early on that regurgitating facts that didn’t interest me at the time is not going to work. Elementary school, middle school and high school were always for me a stage to extract the gold that I knew was there, largely from English and Science teachers – learning about the world, as opposed to learning how to do trigonometry.

And so, now that I’m playing a teacher, I can’t help but think of all those people who went out on a limb for me. One of them that I especially remember is the one who handed me a Tennessee Williams play The Glass Menagerie. I think of my life as before and after that moment and I think about the content I was consuming as before and after that moment. There were a lot of people who held me to very high standards, higher standards than I was holding myself to. And they definitely kicked open the doors for me and allowed me to experiment and follow my own interests, which is an incredible privilege. I’m sure there are also a lot of teachers whose lives I made hell but to be fair, they made mine the same.

Left Full look **Prada**
Right Full look **Kenzo**

Which of the teachers from Abbott do you wish you were taught by?

That’s really interesting, I’ve never really thought about that. I could probably make a strong case for any of them, but the first one that came to mind – and I think a therapist would probably have a field day with this as some sort of a narcissistic fit – is Jacob. He’s someone who is so eager, so willing to embarrass himself, and in many ways, willing to put himself on the chopping block. And I think that seeing a teacher like that, and seeing an adult be so vulnerable, would have really rocked me as a kid.

Prior to starring in the show, you predominantly worked in theatre. Stepping from the stage into the TV set, what were the biggest adjustments that you had to do as an actor?

Coming from the theatre world, I think that the biggest thing for me has been learning to surrender control. In theatre, the actor is so much more in charge of storytelling - you have an audience in the palm of your hand, and if the writing is good, you are exposing people to the best and worst days of somebody’s life. In TV, the story is told by the editors, the network, the studio and executives. And I feel very lucky that our show has been cared for and crafted so well!

Vest **Louis Vuitton**, pants & shoes **Loewe**

Do you have a dream role or play to be a part of?

No. I think every actor wants to play Hamlet at some point, and then you either continue to want to play Hamlet or decide that it's never going to happen, or decide that you actually don't want to play Hamlet. I feel like I've been so lucky in the last 10 years, doing plays on Broadway and off-Broadway, as well with the roles that I've had in film and TV, to be able to work on new material. So I would love to believe that the part that I'm dying to play hasn't been written yet. There's nothing more satisfying than working on a new thing because you get to assume so much about that character that nobody else can. So no, I don’t want to play Hamlet.