During the day, Andy Stowers is a barista at the Java Break. But at night, he takes the stage.

Stowers is an actor, playwright, director and producer. He recently performed in “The Cheese Stands Alone,” and his play “Tribe” at the Lawrence Arts Center. The Springfield, Ill., native has been a fixture in the Lawrence theater scene since 1996. He has been involved in E.M.U. Theatre, English Alternative Theatre, the Seem-To-Be Players and Card Table Theater productions.

Q: What is your personal history?

A: I was raised in Springfield, Ill., and moved to Wichita around the time I turned 18. I moved to Lawrence three years later, and it’s probably the town that’s felt most like “home” to me in life so far. I’ve performed with a few bands and done some visual art in the past. Didn’t know for sure if I wanted to major in theater or art until I got some theater experience in college because my high school had virtually none to offer. I was cast in the first play I auditioned for at WSU and got the part I wanted. The entire experience was wonderful, and I’ve been doing theater as much as possible ever since.

Q: What is it about theater?

A: Well, gosh what a great job. It’s not really something I’ve ever gotten a lot of money to do but something I can’t imagine not being in my life. It’s a creative outlet, it’s communication, it’s collaborative and you get to work with other artists and learn things from other people – new ideas. It’s a job that always changes. It’s hard to get bored doing it. And hopefully, if you’re working with the right people, it’s challenging too. It promotes growth in yourself – in your brain, in your heart – all that good stuff.

Q: Why do you act?

A: Acting is something I very rarely do not enjoy. Theater, in itself, is a wonderful experience. Every show and role brings a new set of challenges, obstacles and discoveries for those involved. I try not to get too comfortable with any one approach or style thereby limiting myself or dwelling in comfortable but unoriginal territory.

Q: What types of pieces engage you the most as an actor?

Actor Andy Stowers plays a multitude of characters for E.M.U. Theatre. Stowers, also a barista at Java Break, 17 E. Seventh St., is pictured rehearsing at Ecumenical Christian Ministries, 12th and Oread streets.

A: I tend to like experimental things and political things. I’m not a big fan of straight kind of realistic living room dramas, but I do enjoy them sometimes. But usually I like the things that are a little funkier or a little more edgy.

Q: What inspires you as a writer?

A: People, events, life, and those crystalline, perfect moments that you can never quite recover or re-create.

Q: Tell us about the rock opera.

A: I’m collaborating with Nick Wells on a rock opera. Working title might be “Johnny Butts.” The plot follows a schizophrenic street artist who becomes an overnight sensation in the pop culture sphere. He is discovered by an area gallery owner/agent who sees the attention his art garners from passersby. He has a friend from the neighborhood and an imaginary girlfriend who encourage him to make the most of his opportunities and overcome his personal demons. His rise to fame is meteoric and his fall just as abrupt. The plotline is circular, and by the end of the show, he is back where he started – minus a few friends, but reconnected to the artistic muse that brought him attention in the first place.

Q: Tell us more about your play “Tribe”?

Photo Gallery First Person video: Andy Stowers, part 1 First Person video: Andy Stowers, part 2 First Person video: Andy Stowers, part 3 First Person video: Andy Stowers, part 4

A: “Tribe” is a theme-driven play about love. Its two characters start at different perspectives and shift their focuses by the end. I left it intentionally void of stage directions and setting because I wanted the director and actors to make their own connections with the words and interpret it through their own subjective, personal filters without the illusion of a definitive version. All plays are collaborations artistically, and none are ever exactly what one person envisions. In the case of “Tribe,” I wanted to exploit this concept by leaving more artistic choice and space to “play” to those executing it for the stage.

Q: What do you like about directing?

A: Wow. Directing is interesting. They say half of directing is casting, and I’ve found this to be mostly true. Your end result in theater is always from a collaborative process, and having strong actors who you communicate with is definitely a major part of the equation. Some directors do more directing than others, but the director’s ultimate goal, in my mind, is to bring a script to life and guide it to the stage, staying true to the essence of the script while conveying this essence to the actors and thereby bringing it to the audience. There’s a lot more, or maybe wider realm of, responsibility in directing than in acting. It’s more nerve-racking but can definitely be as rewarding.

Q: Who’s a director you admire and why?

A: John Waters, for his do-it-yourself aesthetic, uncompromising artistic sensibilities, and his often self-reflexive, wicked sense of humor in his approach to art and life.

Q: What is E.M.U.?

A: E.M.U. is a theater company I helped found in 1998. We started informally with the goal to produce some locally written playwrights and give local performing artists an opportunity to collaborate on and generate artistic projects. We invited local writers to submit their work for consideration for production. The experience of our first shows was such a positive experience for the majority of those involved that we were encouraged to continue by our performers and support from our audience. Since then, many, many talented people have worked with E.M.U.

We produce primarily original and unpublished works, but we’ve also done shows including works by the Italian Futurists, Lee Blessing, Sam Shepard, David Mamet, Edgar Allan Poe and Samuel Beckett. For a long time, our bottom line was that we’d like to continue as long as we had money to do so and people with worthwhile ideas feasible to our resources. So far, everyone who has worked for E.M.U. has done so as a volunteer. We’ve recently become incorporated in Kansas and have high hopes for the future.

Q: What does E.M.U. stand for?

A: The E.M.U. acronym has never been explicated. We prefer a morpheable (is that a word?) identity. I like “Eat More Underwear” and “E-coli, Meningitis, Unctuousness” myself.

Q: How’s Lawrence at nurturing you as an actor, writer and director?

A: Well, great I guess. I’ve been working here pretty constantly since I moved here in ’96. I’ve done shows with English Alternative Theatre and Seem-to-be-Players, and Card Table Theater and E.M.U. Theatre and a couple of other theater companies as well. So it has given me the opportunity to create my own opportunities, and it’s also given me the opportunity to work with other people who already are established in the community. In general, I think that the community is very supportive and in that respect it has been a welcoming thing. It hasn’t been too difficult to keep up and to keep doing interesting things – challenging myself.

Q: What are your career goals?

A: More than anything, I’d just like to continue to work with people who inspire and challenge me. I appreciate a grass roots/independent atmosphere where those involved are working toward a common goal out of love for the creation. I’m very willing to work a job to pay my bills, assuming it allows me to continue to produce the kind of art I love. If I could combine the two, that would be ideal, but I’m not interested in commercial work if it precludes me from “purer” artistic endeavors.