End of Run

Welcome back to my blog!  I haven't written in weeks either due to laziness or busyness... probably a bit of both.  Seeing tonight is the last performance of "One Nation Under" it seems like a good time to wrap this up.

It has been a wonderful experience.  Hard to believe I've been here in the City since 7/24.  It seems like such a long period at first and then it just whips by.  2 weeks rehearsal, 1 week tech, 4 weeks of shows.  Go-sees for print ads, auditions for PSA's, industrials, and webisodes.  Callbacks!  Making new friends at auditions.  Meeting in parks, running lines, discussing the ins and outs of voiceover.  Asking a wonderful director who had come to see the show if she'd like to get a drink and then discussing whether one is 'lucky' or 'fortunate' and what the difference is.  Walking down the street in the rain talking with someone you've just met at an apartment open-house about bedbugs and trying to find an apartment here.  Being surprised by a friend from VA who came to see the show unannounced.  Living peacefully for 2 months with Mary and Donald and enjoying it.  Missing the cats.

The run has been great.  Generally good audiences from very small to sold out.  Very quiet to laughter at stuff you weren't expecting laughter from.  Big audiences on rainy nights.  A flooded dressing room from when Hanna passed through(they set us up in another room but we all decided to stay where we were, avoiding the garbage cans that were catching the water).  Bonding with a diverse group of people whom you will never see again in this context.  

So now it's back home for a few weeks, FLA with Darlene for my nephew's wedding end of the month, then back up here for 10 days in October to find a place to live and take care of Donald while Mary's in FLA.

          

Tech is Over!

Hello!  It's another beautiful day in NYC.  

We wrapped up tech Saturday night, took Sunday off, and start invited dress rehearsals tonight. Open on Thursday.

Tech has been a lot of work.  Tuesday through Thursday we were at the studio from 2 until 10. Friday and Saturday 4 until 10.  We moved from our rehearsal space to our performance space on Tuesday and, of course, the space is just a little bit different.  OK, a lot different.  Pretty much all of our blocking had to be changed.  The room is narrower and longer than where we were working so everything shifted slightly.  But it's all good.  Once I erased all the previous blocking directions from my script and was left with only those we're actually doing, everything finally made sense.  We did our only complete run though Saturday night and it was kinda surprising how well it went.  The last scene was still a little loose cause we've only done it once... but no one committed any major gaffs so overall I think everyone was pleased.

Afterwards Toks, Jeremy, Ien, Kate, and I had beers at Hooters.  We discussed how the waitress's dolphin shorts don't ride up into the... well, you can figure it out. 

Had a voiceover today for Ethan at Speakeasy in Baltimore and we had some ISDN problems. Tomorrow I have an audition for Ramona at Gilla Roos and I get to play the ukulele.  Sweet! It's getting overcast here in Bryant Park and I'm hoping it's not gonna rain.  But then again, so what?  The D express is right here and it's a fast blast up to 7th avenue.

On to invited dress!

Adios.      

Times Square

Good morning from Harlem!  The dog's been walked, the coffee's in the cup so let's blog! It is another beautiful day here in NYC.  The weather has been so nice that it's kind of unbelievable... was actually chilly yesterday morning... in August!  Sweet.  Yesterday was our last rehearsal at our practice space in Times Square.  We've been meeting in suite 701 of the Paramount building on Broadway between 43rd and 44th streets for the past two weeks.  Tuesday we move to our performance space at 244 W. 54th street between Broadway and 7th avenue.  It was nice to have the same space available to us throughout the rehearsal process.  Apparently some productions aren't so lucky.  It was also cool to be rehearsing in the heart of Times Square.  Most days I'd take the A express from 125th to 42nd street and walk one long block east from 8th avenue.  Or I'd catch the D and end up at Bryant Park and walk one block west.  It is always a madhouse whether it's 11:00am or 9:00pm.  Masses of people everywhere and you're just trying to work your way through without bumping into too many.  Musicians on the street playing guitar, or snare drum, or ukulele for whatever you will give.  Hawkers promoting comedy shows or discount tour tickets, forcing a pamphlet into your hand.  Tourists looking up at the lights or down at their maps trying to figure out where the hell they are and where they're going.  Street vendors selling water and sodas and magazines and purses and pretty much whatever else you can imagine from their kiosks or the sidewalk.  Throngs massed at street corners trying to fight their way across Broadway or 7th or 42nd.  Buses, taxis, and cars trying to make a turn while the wave of humanity continues against the light.  It's nuts!  But for the past two weeks it has been great... to fight your way through the crowd because you're going to work.  In New York City.  As an actor.

At yesterday's rehearsal we ran the play for the first time without scripts in our hands.  I was taken by how strong the performances were once everyone was freed from carrying a script. And also how funny parts of the play are.  This is a serious play and yet it is filled with much humor.  My tendency, because of the subject matter, is to play the part overly straight(I'm playing a very powerful Washington insider).  Which, to be honest, was completely disingenuous.  I wasn't feeling anything.  Tye(the director) has pushed me to lighten up, to see all that happens as positive things.  To see that even the most powerful person can be a bit of a goof ball!  He is directing me toward my strengths and I think I just might pull this off.  Also, Olivia Negron, who I have all my scenes with, has been very helpful in telling me what her character is thinking... so my actions are in sync with where she is.

Tuesday we start tech(2pm - 10pm) and open a week from Thursday.

Away from the play... I have a voiceover I'm doing today here from the apartment(I'm doing it today, Sunday, as they are doing construction on the church next door and they're jackhammering all day weekdays) and I'm doing another on Tuesday from a beautiful 19th floor studio at 11 W. 26th street.  Also plan on meeting up with Keith and Cathy who are in town from Norfolk, and just might do an open mic performance at Kenny's Castaway in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  

What else?  Have been out to dinner with Mary a couple of times, heard a Brazilian guitar duo with an opera singer at Barbee's in Park Slope, saw Amoreena perform with her improve troop, drank beer and wine with Melisande, asked Diana to please clean out my refrigerator back in Norfolk, had drinks with the lovely Miss Lisa Simonetta near South Street Seaport, and got up with an old girlfriend whom I hadn't seen or talked to in 3 years.

Brett Favre is now a Jet.  Guess I'll be watching that loser team this year.           

Trash

I'm sitting in the Lobby of the Hotel Edison on 47th Street just off Broadway.  The lobby is quite cozy with murals on the walls depicting Radio City Music Hall, the Statue of Liberty, the Cotton Club and other icons of NYC.  XM channel 4(the 40's channel) is playing which seems appropriate given the age and vibe of this place.  Perfect place to be sitting on a rainy day in New York.

Took Donald for a walk this morning over to the Morningside Park dog run.  Ran into Dottie who has lived in the same apartment on Amsterdam avenue for all of her 66 years.  She's part of the volunteer crew that maintains the dog run.  Very pleasant woman who gave me a brochure about activities that are happening in August in the neighborhood between Amsterdam and Central Park West, stretching from 96th to 110th street.  Lots of good stuff going on including the Jazzmobile(free jazz concerts in the Park) and a couple of farmers markets.

We also talked about Trash.  New York is one of the most beautiful cities in the world but also quite possibly the filthiest.  People who live here don't seem to respect it.  Chicken bones, condoms, beer cans, Pringles cans, plastic bottles, paper, piles of cigarette butts, dog shit... everywhere you look there is litter.  You really have to not look at it or it can make you crazy. I've been to a number of large cities(London, Paris, San Francisco, Chicago) but there's nothing quite like NYC.  Donald has an incredible nose and he's always finding chicken bones on the street.  And if he sniffs them out before I see them they're in his mouth and swallowed before you can say "Purina".  New York is incredibly safe these days(I've been in Harlem, Bed-Stye, Dumbo, East Village, Tribeca, Mid-town, etc this trip and have never felt threatened) but still very dirty.  And I imagine, with the economy the way it is, it will only get worse.  Too bad.

But still, life is great.  Rehearsals continue and tonight I'm headed down to 21st street to see a friend of mine who performs with an improv troupe.  Or I may see an off-broadway play about a family that suddenly realizes the horrors of the Suburbs!  Sounds hilarious.

Till next time.

              

One Nation Under

One Nation Under is basically the story of three couples:  Arlene and Wesley.  She's a Circuit Court judge and he's a Washington insider interviewing possibilities for the Supreme Court.  Eric and Darcee.  Eric is Arlene's son and a computer wiz who gets a job with Halliburton and goes to Iraq to make some money and escape his mother.  Darcee is a young single mother from the Bronx who gets called up to serve in Iraq as she's in the National Guard.  She's assigned to protect Eric.  Quinta and Lilifrieda.  Quinta is Arlene's law clerk, Lilifrieda is Darcee's sister who is in the Bronx taking care of Darcee's infant son Chester.  Through a series of events, mostly made with good intentions, the lives of these characters are intertwined and forever changed.  Sounds like good theater to me!  The cast has been a blast to work with.  We start rehearsing again today after two days off which, it turned out, I needed!  Took a nice long nap yesterday after a week of constantly moving.  Of course it also might have to do with the fact that I went to a Jazz club in Harlem Wednesday night with Amoreena and was out until 2am. It's pretty cool taking the subway that time of night... they were washing down the stop on 145th street and there was water and hoses everywhere.  Starting singing and dancing while waiting for the train.  Last night I took in a band(at Banjo Jims, Lower East Side) called Dusty, 3 women who sing close three part harmony in the style of the Andrews Sister.  Very entertaining.  You can find them on MySpace under Dustygals.     

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.