Archive | September, 2010

Triple Threat

22 Sep


Not the Triple Threat you’d normally think. I don’t mean the magical trio of performing talents: Dancer, Singer, Actor… I’m talking about the other side of the coin: Producer, Director, Writer. In other words, why my life this month has had be so busy I don’t know what day it is.

Pursuing a career in acting is not straight forward. I’m sure if you’re like me and following this path you know that there are a million forks in the road. And that’s a good thing. There is not one way to reach that pot of gold. There are a million. So much of this career is about taking every opportunity presented to you. It is about exploring the different facets of your selected profession. Yes, my initial intent is and always will be to become a Working Actor. Acting, above all, is my passion. And I used to be the kind of actor that immediately shook my head to any talk of writing, directing or producing of my own work. “No,” I’d say, naively at the time, “I’m an actor. I’m not a producer or director and I have no desire to write.”

Well, I was wrong. Fortunately, I figured that out pretty quickly. I am a better actor because I write/produce/direct. And I have a much greater respect for the team it takes to create the art that as an actor I am fortunate enough to just step into.

As a producer, I have learned how to be patient and how to hustle. As a writer, I’ve improved my skills to break down a script, a scene, a character. As a director, I’ve learned to be creative and open when need be and I’ve learned to be precise and decisive when the occasion arises. All of these skills have fostered my growth as an actor– both the actual acting and the career.

This month has been a crash course in these skills, as I have written an original script from the stories and poems of Edgar Allan Poe, I am directing the fall high school production of my original show “Once Upon a Midnight Dreary, I am producing a full-length post-apocolyptic drama called “The Position” for PianoFight and I am acting in a world premiere play about a young girl in search of her mother called Skeleton Stories at Theatre of NOTE.

And guess what? All three shows are in October! Hence, September inSanity!

Guest Post on Diversity at NOTE: Diversity in the Neighborhood

6 Sep

I was running from one rehearsal to the next and happened to be in the car at just the right time to here Anthony Byrnes’ weekly “Opening the Curtain” segment on KCRW. His topic this week was on the play, Neighbors, at The Matrix Theatre.  I have not seen it, but according to Byrnes, it is a play that makes you question the racism you witness on the stage- historical relics or modern reality?  The review itself was lukewarm, but the part that caught my attention was Bynes’ point at the end of his segment:

He said, “…one of the pleasures of the play was watching the audience watch themselves, discovering differences and connections as the characters resonated with each of us. That magic requires the same diversity in the seats as on the stage.”

Read full post on Diversity at NOTE