Actor Troy Mundle Highlights LGBTQ Issues in Incredible Live Performance Film

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Troy Mundle

In his earliest years, Troy Mundle loved playing make believe. Like so many other kids, he was full of imagination. As he aged however, this wild imagination and passion for pretend did not fade, but rather intensified. With his maturity he has learned how to fine tune this passion and turn it into a craft as an illustrious and award-winning actor.

“I can now see how the actor can be an artist, as with a painter who uses a wide palette of colors, hues and subtleties to convey meaning on canvas. An actor also has that ability, using movement, facial expression and voice to tell a story. Whether fast, slow or still, loud or barely a whisper and everything in between to create a layered, nuanced, complex and truthful performance. This is what I love about acting, and through your art, you are able to touch someone, inspire someone, move someone and help tell meaningful stories through your performance,” he said.

Mundle’s passion for his craft translates directly into his work, sweeping away audiences from their couches to all new worlds. He brought Star Wars fans to iconic Lucasfilms planet Endor with his work on Bucketheads, and took audiences to the heart of dating life on Canada’s West Coast with Single & Dating in Vancouver, which made its way to the prestigious Marseilles Web Fest. He showed audiences some alien life in The Exhibit Man, and demonstrated to everyone that this lovable Canadian is capable of playing the antagonist with his work on Lifetime’s Cheer Squad Secrets.

Recently, Mundle once again showed his versatility with his work on the incredibly unique and captivating film Cock. Exploring many timely topics, Cock tells the story of John, played by Mundle. John has identified as “gay” his entire life and has been in a relationship with his boyfriend “M” for the last 7 years, with whom he shares an apartment and a family life. After the couple decide to take a break, John meets a woman named “W” on his daily commute. He is surprised to find himself developing a physical attraction to her and decides to lose his heterosexual virginity and have sex with a woman for the first time. After identifying as a gay man for many years, John discovers that he enjoys sex with women. He now feels torn between his longtime boyfriend and his new female lover, as the newly discovered joys of vaginal sex cause his sexual identity as a gay man to be thrown into confusion. As “W” teaches John the ins-and-outs of heterosexual intercourse, the relationship becomes more serious and they begin to consider getting married and having children together. Eventually, he confesses that he has slept with a woman, causing his boyfriend to be offended by the infidelity and disgusted that John has been cheating with a woman. John tells M that he loves him, but that sex is better with W and that she’s a more fitting partner for him. The play’s final scene, which is meant to be reminiscent of a cock fight, features John’s boyfriend and John’s girlfriend fighting over who will have him.

“I think the story is so important because it challenges the way we think and the labels that are sometimes placed on people and how they can be limiting,” said Mundle.

What is truly remarkable about Cock is that it is a live play, filmed without an audience for mass distribution. Conceptualized at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Cock was live performed, live edited and live streamed on August 15th and 16th, 2020. As far as we know, it was the world’s first post-covid live performance. Tickets were free, as they wanted anyone with an internet connection to have the ability to watch. There was a donation button and 100% of the proceeds were split between two charities.

“During the dark days of the onset of the pandemic, we wanted to do something for our community,” said Mundle.

Playing the lead for this live performance was unlike anything Mundle had ever done. When filming a typical movie or television show, you can redo shot after shot until you get that perfect scene. With this live performance, everything had to be perfect on the first try. Mundle achieved that feat, and created a deeply empathetic character that audiences feel for as he navigates his sexuality.

“It was such an amazing and trying experience. Amazing because we had such a fantastic group of talented artists who were donating their time to this project and trying because, well, we were trying to put on a live play while everything was closed due to a pandemic. I loved the sense of community, the camaraderie and the coming together of creative energy to make something that is great,” said Mundle.

Cock was the first of its kind in the new pandemic world, and having pulled off a live performed, live edited and live streamed event in the middle of a pandemic was an incredibly rewarding feeling for Mundle The best reward, however, was knowing that so many came together to do something good for the community.

Photo by Kristine Cofsky – The Portrait Sessions Photography

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