Tag Archives: Acting

An unlikely lesson from “Music and Lyrics”

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Music and Lyrics- 2007

Music and Lyrics- 2007

As artists, we sometimes find ourselves taking projects just to keep working. The performing arts can oftentimes be a ‘what have you done for me lately’ industry, where your most recent effort on  stage or screen becomes the entirety of how you’re viewed. To keep yourself in the eye of people who could/should be hiring you in the future, and to prevent the formation of artistic ‘rust’, you continue to work.
I know, as an actor that work itself is hard enough to come by, and completing roughly 3 full productions a year, plus or minus film work and voice-over gigs, is a pretty good pace. However, I’m not always doing the work I have a desire to do; the work that inspires and compels me to do it.

Which brings me to “Music and Lyrics,” the 2007 romantic comedy starring Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant. I really was taken with this film, because I love music, lyrics, romantic comedies, Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. It’s a story about honesty, artistic excellence, and integrity. Oh yeah, and two really neat characters fall in love. Formulaic? Yes, however there’s some great stuff in the formula, and it’s executed so well that I find myself drawn nearer to the characters, themes, and plot, rather than distanced from them.

In it, Hugh Grant’s character, an aging 1980’s pop star coming to terms with his nostalgic fame and lowered expectations says, referring to his accomplishments in light of his greatest musical influences (Smoky Robinson, Bob Dylan): “They write DINNER. I write dessert.”

Dinner. A satisfying meal that sustains one through the night. Simple or complex, it is artistic food he’s getting at. While I’ve grown through each project, developed as a performer and refined my craft with each opportunity to work and perform, I find myself really yearning for those fulfilling roles. The ones that stick to the audiences’ ribs. The roles people take home with them. I’ve had a taste of this in the last year and a half. I’ve had the great fortune to bring Dietrich Bonhoeffer and C.S. Lewis to the stage. I’ve also left my mark as Aguecheek in ‘Twelfth Night’ and formed part of a tremendous ensemble in ‘Antony and Cleopatra’. I stand behind all my work, but I find myself hungry again.

As another year draws to a close, I find myself making lists (it’s a compulsion of mine) and thinking about the year to come. A colleague recently asked me what roles I WANT. Not what roles I could be interested in, but what I desire to do; roles with words that compel me to speak them. What roles do I want?

I want dinner.

Oh, Nothing Much, Really.

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What have I been up to recently? Celebration.

Celebrating  a successful run in Seattle Shakespeare’s “Antony and Cleopatra,” about to go into it’s final week of performances at the Intiman Playhouse at Seattle Center. This play is EPIC. Grand in scope and scale. Imposing. It’s not only one of Shakespeare’s great ‘late play’ triumphs, with indelible characters and themes that resonate as loudly today as they did when first produced 400 years ago, but for the same reasons, it’s far from dry or tedious. Sex, Politics, Battles on Land, Sea, and in the Bedroom, Ego, Hubris, Humiliation, Comedy and Drama are just some of the elements which combine to create a story that spans 10 of the most tumultuous years in the history of the Ancient World. Go see it. Here’s a link to Seattle Shakespeare’s website for tickets and more information.

Celebrating the release of HALO 4. Yes, that HALO 4. THE HALO 4. “Why?” you ask? Because I now get to see my work fully rendered, voiced, realized. It’s such a privilege to have worked with the tremendous artists at 343 Industries to continue to tell the story of Master Chief and Cortana, and to help write another chapter in another grand storytelling universe. Here’s a link to CNN Tech’s Review of HALO 4. Enjoy.

Celebrating completed projects. Recently: Filmed “A Bit of Bad Luck” on location in Morton, WA. Completed a voice-over session at Microsoft Studios for an industrial project. Also voiced a radio spot for Banner Bank. Voiced the role of Captain Jack “Stratosphere” McGraw in Moon Bullet Studios’ “Airship Daedalus” Serial Audio Adventure.

Celebrating upcoming work! I’ve shot a pilot for Mighty Tripod’s “The New Jack” web-series, and am preparing to film a new role in Dead Gentlemen Productions/ Zombie Orpheus Entertainment’s “Gamers: Hands of Fate”. In January, I’ll begin rehearsal for the title role in Taproot Theatre’s “Jeeves in Bloom”, based on the P.G. Wodehouse stories of Bertie Wooster and his “Gentleman’s Gentleman” Jeeves.

Stay tuned, y’all. The best is yet to come.

Antony and Cleopatra

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Yes, we’re coming to the part where I only really post about projects as they’re about to go into performance. I can find two reasons for this:

1) I’m busy working.

and 2) I’m busy enough that projects are coming one-after-another.

Of course, that should keep me blogging and posting: what with all the new experiences I’m having, new insights gained, old ideas rejected, etc.

But it doesn’t, which brings me to the topic of this post.  I’m currently rehearsing “Antony and Cleopatra” with Seattle Shakespeare Company. In it, Antony, living in the lap of Egyptian luxury declares “These strong Egyptian fetters I must break, or lose myself in dotage.”

Dotage: idleness, laziness, thoughtfulness. A static condition. Work gets in the way of this condition and propels one past idleness, through action, toward something else, whatever it may be. My focus when in rehearsal or on a shoot is on the work, the project, the process.

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to make the time to post about the work, the process, the projects that I’ve been involved in recently to give my uncountable online readership some digital love.

Praise and Thanks-giving

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The sunset over the last 2012 Wooden O performance of “Twelfth Night” at Luther Burbank Park on Mercer Island. (Courtesy John Bradshaw Photography!)

Wooden O “Twelfth Night” 2012 is no more.

It has come to an end again. Another closing, another show. And I must say that it’s been a great one. I’ve truly loved this summer’s production of “Twelfth Night” with Wooden O. It was my second ‘rodeo’ with the traveling crew, and an experience that for me was truly fulfilling.

We received a nice notice from the Seattle Times, and served up some hot, free, al fresco comedy to thousands of Seattle-area theatre-goers.

Much of what makes a production great for a performer is what the audience doesn’t get to see (or at least, outdoors, they don’t see much of it). The backstage life of an actor: I was blessed in particular, with a fantastic group of artists in the cast of “Twelfth Night”. Old friends and new. Coming to work was something to which I looked forward. Given my commute, I can say that’s an achievement of some note, and I already know that I’m going to miss this show, and this cast, desperately. The chance to clown together for fantastic audiences, take risks physically and emotionally in performance, and enjoy the outdoors during the best of our Northwest weather has been a privilege and a pleasure.

Represent(ation)!

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So, as some of you know, last month I acquired new representation for my work. I have a new agency in Topo Swope Talent, locally based in Seattle.
Switching representation can be a tough and personal thing, but as I was fortunate in my previous talent agency, they wished me well.
An agent does a few things for an actor, and at the same time, leaves a few things completely up to you:
An agent gets you in the room.
An agent makes sure you get the best pay for your time.
An agent makes sure the client pays you.

An agent DOESN’T guarantee you get a fair shake in the audition room.

An agent DOESN’T make you a better actor.

An agent DOESN’T allow you to wait around for opportunities.

For instance: In the last couple weeks, I’ve had several auditions. Some of which were set up and confirmed by my agent, some of which I pursued myself, and some of which came to me from casting directors who knew my work and offered me a chance to show them how I’m the right performer for the role. An agent increases your opportunities to be seen. After that, it’s all on you.

Cue the Rick Ross. As an actor, ‘Every Day you’re Hustlin”.

(Though maybe not in the same way as Mr. Ross, but with a similar spirit of élan and determination.)

Word.

“Freud’s Last Session” is dead! Long Live “Twelfth Night!”

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It was a fantastic ride. From rehearsal, through performance, and the extended run I can positively say it was a pleasure to work with the cast and crew of this show, and an additional pleasure to return to Taproot Theatre.

For those who didn’t catch it, you can read some local reviews in my previous post about the extension, and for those who did, I’m glad you could come see our work. I’m very proud of us all.

Thankfully, I won’t have to go too long without posting about another show, as I’m already beginning my preparation to play Sir Andrew Aguecheek in this summer’s Wooden O production of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”.

Intrigued? Click the hypertext link above to see Wooden O’s homepage, find out about the company, and view our performance schedule. See you in the park!

“Freud’s Last Session” Extends it’s Run!

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Hello out there! It’s Opening Weekend for Major League Baseball (Let’s Go, Mariners!), it’s Good Friday on the Liturgical Calendar (Let’s Go, Church!). Hope of all kinds springs eternal, and I have news!

I’m very pleased to report that due to high ticket demand, “Freud’s Last Session” at Taproot Theatre will be extending it’s run of performances through April 28!

Freud's Last Session Exteded

If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s a great play, and has had a terrific reception by Seattle audiences. I’m playing CS Lewis and it has been an absolute pleasure to bring this story and this character to life on the stage.

Here are a few reviews:

“Opening Nights: Freud’s Last Session” – Seattle Weekly

“Freud’s Last Session” – Arts Stage – Seattle Rage

“A Psychoanalysis of Theology” – Heed The Hedonist

“Sigmund Freud and CS Lewis Walk Into a Bar” – Unlikely Places

For tickets and information about the show, you can visit the Taproot Theatre website by clicking the ‘poster’ above!

I’ll see you after the show.

“Freud’s Last Session” at Taproot Theatre

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“Air raid sirens sound overhead, CS Lewis is a young and rising academic star and Sigmund Freud has invited him for tea.  What could possibly come next?”

You should come see this one. It’s an exciting two-hander and I’m playing CS Lewis opposite Nolan Palmer as Sigmund Freud.  This play has been running off-Broadway for the better part of two years, consistently extending its performances, and has captured the hearts of New York theatre goers.

This production is the play’s regional premiere, and I’m thrilled to be part of local audiences’ first experience of this play. It’s my hope that it will inspire, confront, and provoke you as the characters wrestle with some of the greatest questions of their lives. This is my second production with Taproot Theatre Company, and I’m thrilled to be returning to their unique theatrical space.

If all of the above didn’t convince you, let me add this: it’s short. 1 Act, with a running time just north of an hour.

Here’s the info:

What: Freud’s Last Session

Where: Taproot Theatre Company, Seattle, WA

When: (Previews: March 21, 22) Performances: March 23 through April 21

Web Page: http://taproottheatre.org/freuds-last-session/

I hope you can make it to this show. Tickets are ALREADY selling quickly. You should purchase tickets in advance to avoid standing room only ‘seating’. Discount tickets are available and details are on the Taproot Theatre web page.

See you after the show!

JourneyQuest Begins! (again!)

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It is webseries season in the Seattle area again, and this year, I’m involved with one of the best. JourneyQuest is a fantasy-comedy written by Matt Vancil (The Gamers, Dorkness Rising) and Directed by Matt Vancil and Ben Dobyns. It’s first season began as a privately-funded project, and was impressive not only for it’s success, but also it’s unique distribution model.

JourneyQuest

The Journey is a Quest.

JourneyQuest is produced and distributed  by Zombie Orpheus Entertainment under a Creative Commons License. Having felt burned by traditional production and distribution channels, the producers of JourneyQuest chose to seek funding by crowd-sourcing. Their Kickstarter campaign raised enough money to fund a feature-length season, while allowing the production team to increase the technical quality of the overall production.

Keep on the look out for the second season of JourneyQuest, with episodes streaming this summer!

A Dude among Models

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So, I had an audition today. It was a pretty normal call in to Seattle, with a pretty innocuous audition listing. “Scruffy but handsome ‘man’s man'” who drinks a certain kind of beer. Little did I know that my scruffy would look awful in comparison to the other men auditioning.

I was auditioning against male models.

“Sure,” I think, “They look great, GREAT, but can they act?” I mean. I’m an ACTOR. The internal and external life of my character are on display here, I’m not just showing off my All-American good looks (Heh. That, right there, was me being optimistic.)

When the audition situation calls for you to just be yourself and have a chat, a la “in a bar” with two other really, ridiculously good looking dudes, it probably DOES only come down to a beauty contest. So, in this case, all that time spent in the conservatory, polishing my craft, honing my instincts and impulses, dissecting scripts, learning and sharpening my physical skills and vocabulary, studying the great playwrights and the great plays . . . all that might just not do me much good . . .

But, I see two outcomes.

In the first, I’m overwhelmed by the sheer physical confidence (and rightfully so, these dudes were really, REALLY good looking) of my scene partners, am underwhelmed by the premise we’re about to play, and fail to engage my own creative engine for the audition.

In the second, I take my own confidence from my training, my body of work, my un-shaven countenance, and really use my imagination to put myself “in a bar” having a conversation with my really, really handsome new friends.

I chose to have fun, and play. They probably didn’t even know I wasn’t a model.