Monday morning 7:46

Well it's only been three days since I last wrote yet so much has happened that I've probably already forgotten half of it.  First off, rehearsals are going great... they're scheduled from 11am to 6 pm everyday but you only have to be there for your scenes, then everyone returns at 5pm to go over what we did that day.  It may sound screwy but it works.  I like the way Tye(the director) works; he makes suggestions as to what you should consider and then refines it after seeing how you've interpreted it(hope that makes sense).  I was off yesterday but go back today at 1:00 after doing a pharmaceutical voiceover for Mike George at Creative Media Design.  

Friday night after rehearsal I caught up with Andi Healy, her boyfriend Max, and some other folks at the Cosmic Cantina in the East Village.  This place is pretty cool in that you can build your own burrito and then name it. Apparently they keep the ingredients and name in the computer so when you return you can ask for your named burrito and they know what to make. Some of our names were, "George", the "Kramer", and some name that Ethan came up with that I can't pronounce.  We also threw around names for Max's band.  "Sexicans" was the one we liked the most.  

Saturday Mary and I moved her furniture around to make room for my voice studio(so I can do auditions).  It turned out better than I could have hoped.  My studio sits in her dining alcove and looks pretty sexy(according to Mary).  The futon on which I sleep is in the living room.  I guess I'm kinda like the parent who hasn't quite gotten to the nursing home yet: sitting on the futon in my underwear, unshaven, scratching myself, yelling in a horse voice for a glass of water.  Or milk of magnesia.

After rehearsal I took the subway to meet up with Matt Crowley, a friend from Virginia who just happens to be up here for an interview about a possible teaching position.  A couple of friends of his had written and directed a film called "Shooting Johnson Roebling" and it was showing at the Tribeca Cinemas.  Pretty good flick, a dark comedy as it were.  After the film there was a reception in the bar at the theater and I got into a conversation with this woman who was in the film(can't remember her name now).  She's a soap star in Turkey, is getting ready to head back for 5 - 10 months, and was telling me how they shoot these things over there.  They're shot silent! and all the dialogue is added in later.  She says someone is off camera yelling the lines at you and you're supposed to say them just as you heard them.  She said it's very disconcerting.  I imagine!

After the reception, six of us headed to a mexican restaurant in Soho.  Can't remember the name(that seems to be a running theme here, no?) but the food and atmosphere were great and the waitress was patient with our tomfoolery.  Michael, Ava's boyfriend(I guess) paid for everything. Thank you Michael!

Then it was home on the 4-5-6.  I road with Vivianne, a beautiful woman from Kenya, who was with us that night.   We talked about all sorts of stuff and I'm hoping she can come see the show.  

Sunday!  Woke up, fell out of bed, took Donald for a walk through the campus of Columbia University.  Beautiful.  Then I got on Craig's list and found a used printer.  Bought it for $25 and so far it seems to be working fine.  Then after an early dinner, headed to the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas to catch "Man On Wire".  Incredible film about Phillipe Petit who walked a highwire strung between the towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.  I recommend this film highly.  Then it was over to Kathy's apartment in Brooklyn Heights for a couple of beers, pasta, and conversation before catching the "A" back to Harlem.  Whew!    

Post #2

I'm sitting in the Tribal Spears Cafe and Gallery on Fred Doug in Harlem, having a cup of coffee before heading to my first rehearsal at 1501 Broadway at noon.  I arrived yesterday morning on the Chinatown Bus  about 6:45(no sleep).  There was literally a monsoon here, and of course I had packed my umbrella, so there I stood on Canal Street with my huge rolling duffel bag and mic stand debating whether to walk west and try to catch a cab, or walk east to the subway stop. Fortunately, a gypsy cab pulled up and after dickering with the cabbie for a bit, I was on my way to Mary's.  The cabbie was a hoot... from Malaysia, and I could only understand about 20% of what he was saying, but he was in high spirits(I was his second to the last fare of the day) and would laugh loudly after blurting something out with much bravado.

Upon arrival at Mary's I started to unpack and then tried to get some sleep but it just wouldn't come.  So I got up, starting putting together my portable voice studio(to see if it would work), took a shower, and eventually headed to East 4th street for an audition for The Onion News Network.  I had found this audition on Actor's Access and after submitting, received a phone call that they wanted to see me.  So here I was with a bunch of other middle-aged actors trying to act like political pundits.  I think I did alright as they had me read twice.  We'll see if I get a callback.  After leaving the Kraine Theater(where the auditions were held), I walked over to 2nd avenue for some lunch. I ran into Stan who had also been at the audition.  He's lived in NYC most of his life and gave me some tips on a few agents to contact, etc.  Nice guy.  Then, after coffee at Starbucks, headed back to Mary's for a nap with Donald(her dog).  

Upon arising, I took another shower(you take a lot of showers in NYC), and headed to West 97th street to meet the cast of "One Nation Under", and do our first read through.  I think this is gonna be a lot of fun.  The cast is great, the director seems like a decent enough fellow, and the playwright is quite jolly.  Everyone is into it and I think this is gonna be a great experience. It's 11:15am now so I'll head over to Broadway in about 15 minutes.  Then, after 2 hours of rehearsal, I'm heading to the West Village for a go-see sent to me by my agent here, Ramona Pitera of Gilla Roos.  It's for a print job and, honestly, go-sees suck cause they're nothing more than cattle calls(hundreds of people) but I might as well see as many agents, agency people, and casting directors as possible while I'm here.  Then it's back to rehearsal and then a night of debauchery and drinking.  Perhaps with lovely Miss Andi Healy or Mr. Matt Crowley.  More later.       

Post #1

Hello, whomever!  And welcome to my first ever blog.  Tonight I'm heading to NYC(on the Chinatown Bus no less) to start rehearsals for "One Nation Under".  It's my first play in NYC. Many(some) have asked, "Joel, how did you get cast in this fine play?".  Well, I put the blame on(or give credit to) Kera O'Bryon who introduced me to TVI Actors Studio... oh, about a million or so years ago.  For a reasonable fee, TVI introduces you to casting directors and talent agents.  You get to perform cold readings, or prepared monologues, depending on whom you're seeing, and then, if the stars align and all is right in the world, one of them will call and say, "Yes, (your name here), we'd like to rep you.".  And that's pretty much what happened to me.  I went to the Big Apple in February for a Talent Showcase where I had the good fortune of being seen by the lovely Ramona Pitera of Gilla Roos Talent.  About a week after the showcase I got a call that she was interested in seeing me.  So I hopped on a plane(or maybe it was the bus again) and headed for Gotham.  One of the things she told me was to get on the Actor's Access website, where you get casting calls for all sorts of stuff.  Some are free-bees, others pay pretty well, but regardless, it's a way to submit yourself electronically and be seen by the muckety -mucks of the industry.  In June, there was a posting for "One Nation Under". One of the characters, Wesley Hanna, sounded just like me:  handsome, humble, a social bon vivant. So I submitted my headshot and resume and got a call to audition.  I did, got a call back three weeks later(after throwing the script away!), and now I'm doing my first play in the city(I also have an auditon tomorrow for a webisode for "The Onion".  That should be a hoot).  So this blog is a record of my trials and tribulations over the coming seven weeks.  Let's see what happens.