whose characters range in age
from 10 to 75. “When I play the
10-year-old, I put on big head-
phones and a hoodie. As an ac-
tor, you’re informed by those
things. You put them on, and you
feel different.”
For a character in his 70s, Mer-
rick said, it’s a matter of posture,
a slower gait, adjustments in the
quality and cadence of the voice.
“A little goes a long way,’’ he
added. “You just need one ar-
ticle to take you into the realm of
who that person is—a wardrobe
NJ STAGE 2017 - Issue 40
piece or the way I wrinkle my
eyebrows.”
Merrick has played his share of
characters one at a time, too. He
appeared with Marlo Thomas
in the off-Broadway produc-
tion of Clever Little Lies, a DiPi-
etro play that was introduced at
George Street. He was also seen
on Broadway in Honeymoon in
Vegas, South Pacific, and High
Fidelity and in various regional
roles and television assignments.
His TV experience includes
roles in soap operas, including
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