 "Photo: Keith Powell")
Keith Powell is no stranger to Delaware. In a ringer T-shirt and jeans, he sits in Jessop's Tavern in New Castle Thursday night eating fish and chips, mixing casually into the homey atmosphere of model ships and Irish folk music.
Powell, founder of Wilmington's Contemporary Stage Company, currently plays James "Toofer" Spurlock on the NBC sitcom "30 Rock." When not working with stars like Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, he often leaves his Brooklyn home to visit friends in Delaware.
"I like coming to Delaware," Powell, who attended St. Marks High School, says. "I want to be around real people."
"30 Rock," which won an Emmy Award in 2007 for Outstanding Comedy Series, suffered a steep drop in ratings as a result of the Writers' Strike.
"I feel like we had a certain amount of momentum that stopped because of the Strike," he says. "We had to start from scratch, but we are picking up momentum again."
The name Toofer is a smart and articulate Harvard University graduate, constantly at odds with stereotyped images. The Toofer is meant to imply "two-for-one," a token black guy who happens to be funny.
"I wanted to make this character a positive portrayal on TV," Powell says. "He was written kind of broadly, but I wanted to make him human, with as many flaws, insecurities and neuroses as anyone else."
"Subway Hero," the second episode back from the Writers' Strike, aired Thursday and included Powell playing American entertainer Sammy Davis Jr.
"I feel like acting is an ability to affect and educate an audience in a way that's not didactic," Powell says. "You can create change in society without talking about it - reach people in an emotional sense rather than an intellectual sense."
He says working on the show is like a master class and working with such talented and famous actors is a huge learning experience.
"I have a gigantic crush on Tina Fey," he says. "All the compliments that you would think of Tina Fey are true. She's like a super human being. It's freaky. [Alec Baldwin] is really devoted to making every single second of every scene honest and fun."
Before the Writers' Strike disrupted the show, Powell became the nation's youngest artistic director for his own Contemporary Stage Company in Wilmington. The company has since had its own financial problems, and Powell believes the company won't last much longer.
He says people are beginning to find the arts trivial, treating plays as Friday night outings rather than a valuable necessity to improve the quality of life in a community.
"Wilmington's culture scene has always been on the edge of breaking through," Powell says. "But it's been on the edge of breaking through for at least 20 years. There needs to be something that pushes it over the edge. Communities are defined by their sports or their arts team, and the Blue Rocks is not going to bring people to Wilmington. You need to have your arts scene."
Whether he's working on the stage or the TV screen, Powell says acting is acting and he loves exploring all aspects of his abilities.
"An unexamined life is not worth living," he says.
Powell graduated from Tisch School of the Arts at New York University in 2001 before launching several projects, including his work in Delaware as well as numerous stage performances such as the role of Paris in the Shakespeare Theatre of Washington, D.C.'s 2002 production of "Romeo and Juliet." He also is resident director and directed two plays for Equalogy, a touring group promoting social change.
His TV work includes a lead role in the ABC pilot "Judy's Got A Gun," as well as roles in "Law & Order," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" and "The Guiding Light." He has been in numerous commercials for Starburst, MTV and Wendy's.
Powell says when the artistic environment in New York City becomes overwhelming, he hops on a Greyhound and heads south to the First State.
A memorable Delaware experience for Powell is on the bizarre side - he recalls a rowdy fraternity party with a drunken female dancing on a pool table screaming, "I'm going to bite you!" and randomly proceeding to draw blood from his finger with her teeth. These are the experiences that keep him coming back for more, tetanus shots excluded.
"I need to be bit every once in a while," he says. "To be quite honest I live in New York City. I live around artists and artists can get annoying every once in a while."
As he walks out the door of Jessop's, one of his favorite local hot spots, the bouncy hostess stops the stranger in his exit.
"You look so familiar," she says. "Like the Wayans Brothers or someone else from television."
He smiles, politely denies the claim and leaves the restaurant, keeping his identity to himself.
"I need these sorts of experiences," he says. "People who just treat me like a regular guy. I need that and I come back to Delaware for that."
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