OOOOOOOppppppssssssss I did what the masses tend to do. I was to busy living life I forgot to blog. Its only been what... 5 months. Okay so what has been going on. Well I was in Jacksonville, Fl for a while at my alma mater doing admissions work and having a blast with my crew there until March. Then as this industry proved once again, you never know who will be on the other side of a phone call, in this case it was the Greenbrier Resort and Casino in West Virginia calling to offer me an entertaining position thru the end of the year. I jumped on the opportunity, no matter how much I loved what I was doing in Florida, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to sing and dance every day, after all that is what I went to school for.
So for the past 2 months I have been living in Mountain State and there are no words to describe its beauty. The mountains, the water, the snow, the sun, the everything! People really don't give it the credit it deserves. I am very excited to end rehearsals and start performing the Disco Revue at the Greenbrier in addition to my other performances throughout the week. If you ever find yourself in the area, give me a holler and I will show ya around. Until next time.... "Country Roads, TAKE ME HOME!"
http://www.greenbrier.com/
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Great White Underground Way
Have you ever been to Broadway and wanted a better way to get between theatres? Say a secret tunnel only for us avid patrons. Well after a rather intense episode in the Charlotte Airport where I had to run .75 miles in about 7 minutes with a rolling suitcase and back pack; the following thought came to mind as I rest in my seat waiting for my drink...
Wouldn’t it be great if Broadway had walking escalators in an underground tunnel system similar to the subway just for theatre patrons?
Think about it. We would arrive at our own version of Penn Station; lets call it GWUW ( Great White Underground Way) for grins and giggles. And it would be under 45th street maybe the Marquis theatre. Now I say like the subway but the only similarity would be its proximity to the ground. This station would be clean, and decorated with theatrical memorabilia from all the ages. Picture it, Showboat, 42 Street, Will Rogers Follies, Gypsy, Evita, West Side Story and the list obviously goes on and on.
And to top it all off how bout we have all the actors sign autographs after the show down below to omit having to deal with rain, snow, or whathavenots. You could go to get tickets at 42 street and realize there are none left, in about 3 minutes you could already be at the Gershwin on 51st in line for Wicked and not even have broken a sweat. Obviously my times may be a bit off but I think we all get the picture. Ohh and another idea, to make it less congested how about only people with tickets can come below, granted we will have to work out some sort of pass to those who are wanting to get to a theatre, But I will save that issue for an urban engineer. If you are familiar with the secret tunnels of the Magic Kingdom at Disney world, think the same thing.
We wouldn’t have to deal with slow walkers, crowds, tourists (the ones who give others a bad name), and the city in general. And to think we could avoid weather and taxies and what not. If airports can have traveling escalators (side note... when you run on those things you really gain some distance FAST), and Disney can have underground tunnels, I say that Broadway and NYC could make a combo of the two.
Food For Thought
V
Thursday, December 1, 2011
What is your backup plan? I DONT NEED ONE THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
As an actor we get upset when ask by random people, “what are you going to do with your life when you can’t do theatre anymore”, or "what can you do with a theatre degree?" I AM AN ACTOR, GOSH DARNIT, THATS WHAT I AM GOING TO DO! If I learned anything from my teachers at Circle in the Square Theatre school, if you have a back up plan that means you will fail at acting and use that back up plan. Yes I feel that we should always be able to do more than one thing but never depend on that as a way to escape from doing what we love.
Even my father, when I was looking for acting schools, suggested I major in Computer Engineering because that is something I can depend on. Well after my slight disappointment that my dad didn't think I was good enough to succeed I made it clear to him that this is my life and that is that. He finally came around, and I realized it wasn’t about my talent just that he wanted to make sure I was going to have stable life.
The road you choose to take very well may have many twists and turns let alone potholes and construction (insert any metaphor you desire), but think of these distractions as stepping stones. I am the last to say this because I still don’t believe it for myself with some of the past choices I have made career wise. But I have to remember that I choose to do each and everything and I can choose what comes next.
I have experience and or training in 7 different other aspects of entertainment from back to front of house. If acting doesn’t work out what can I do? Theatre management? Teach? Choreograph? Voice lessons? Who knows but that isn’t the point because it WILL work out. If you have the drive and passion, don’t let anyone get in the way.
Food for Thought...
V
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Is theater a dying business?
I was recently reading The Producer’s Perspective, the blog of Broadway producer, Ken Davenport. He was talking about why people will always go the movies, or theatre, or social events in general. Going off a quote from Don Harris who is the President of Distribution for Paramount movies; Ken says that “Ultimately, it gets back to why there's still a theatrical business, why people still go to the movies. We want to laugh in a group, we want to be scared in a group, people like to cry in a group in the dark where nobody can see them crying. It's all the reason movie theaters exist and this genre has always been front and center.” This gets to my question of the day.
Why do people feel theatre is a dying business?
Do you research, what is one of the highest profitable industries in the world? It is entertainment. Reason being is the number of different categories that encompass the whole piece of the pie, I.E. Sports, Movies, Theatre, Books, Gambling and Drugs to name a few. The actual definition of entertainment according to Morss Global Finance is... goods, services, or other activities that people pay for to enjoy their leisure time.
Yes like all industries in our economy, times are hard and theaters are closing. But there will always be theatre, there will always be movies. It may be less at times, but if you stick with it and find other ways to perform then you can, in the words of Tim Gunn, “make it work!”
Theaters have to implore many different tactics now to ensure success. Social Media, Electronic media, Paper Media, (seeing a pattern here? ) but mostly also word of mouth all needs to be amped up in order for our craft to survive the downfall of economy. Because what would life be like without the chance for us to have a night out at the theatre? We would go home, eat a bag of popcorn, and not move. Well that is great for our physical and mental well being, don’t ya think?
Food for thought
V
V
Friday, November 25, 2011
Educational and Community Theatre
I have been involved in a number of recent discussions among friends about different types of theatre that young actors experience and their misconceptions among them. So what types do we have? Highschool, Community, College, Non-Professional and Professional.
Let me preface by saying that I am an avid supporter of all types of theatre not only because it is my craft and I feel that every version has its benefits. The whole craft is a learning process and you need to take away anything you can from any given method. But also because I have at some point in my life and career been active in the afore mentioned types of theatre.
So to the misconceptions. I feel the big issue is among the college age students and what they feel they "need" to have on their resumes. The overall issues I have heard are that students think that in order to get work they need to have 8 musicals, 5 plays, 4 leads roles etc in order for casting directors to be impressed. Let me tell you now, yes experience is looked upon heavily, but training is must as well. Reason being you can have 25 shows on your resume from your local community theaters and 2 from your college, what does that look like to a casting agency? Ok so this actor may have friends in the theatre but not necessarily the talent to back it up. Why have they only been in 2 productions at their institution of higher learning? I have noticed among the cities I have lived that college students feel they need to do show after show in local theaters during the year when they are in school rather than performing or being active in their educational productions. My question is why.
Why would you want to do something for free when you are PAYING to do something else? I.E. Community vs College. Do you feel that education is not important? There are many and many celebrity interviews about actors who although they already have a Tony Award are going to dance and acting classes every other week to stay fresh. Why at the age of 21 do you feel this isn't important? I am all for local theatre as it has been an amazing part of my life as an actor and director, but I feel like everything in the world, there is a hierarchy and time/place for everything. Do community theatre during the summer, or at least auditions for college productions first and make that your priority and if something doesn't work out, maybe then think of community or other collegiate options. This is advice for college students, if you are out of college by all means rock on with your socks off anywhere you please!
To remind young actors that are just starting out, this industry is commonly referred to in a quote... "Acting is a business". Do you think someone will get hired to run an accounting firm unless they have an education AND professional experience? No, so it is important to have a vast range of experience rather it be learning or first hand. Actors need to constantly questions themselves with, "What really matters"? Does it look better if I have played Billy Crocker in "Anything Goes" 3 times or played Billy once and have experience in Shakespeare and Stanislavski? Any arguments there? I could keep making comparisons one after the other like a broken record, but point to remember...
In any aspect of any profession you need to be well rounded, do not limit yourself to one or any particular aspect of your interests, because (to add a metaphor); why clip your wings, then you won't be able to fly?
Food for Thought...
V
Let me preface by saying that I am an avid supporter of all types of theatre not only because it is my craft and I feel that every version has its benefits. The whole craft is a learning process and you need to take away anything you can from any given method. But also because I have at some point in my life and career been active in the afore mentioned types of theatre.
So to the misconceptions. I feel the big issue is among the college age students and what they feel they "need" to have on their resumes. The overall issues I have heard are that students think that in order to get work they need to have 8 musicals, 5 plays, 4 leads roles etc in order for casting directors to be impressed. Let me tell you now, yes experience is looked upon heavily, but training is must as well. Reason being you can have 25 shows on your resume from your local community theaters and 2 from your college, what does that look like to a casting agency? Ok so this actor may have friends in the theatre but not necessarily the talent to back it up. Why have they only been in 2 productions at their institution of higher learning? I have noticed among the cities I have lived that college students feel they need to do show after show in local theaters during the year when they are in school rather than performing or being active in their educational productions. My question is why.
Why would you want to do something for free when you are PAYING to do something else? I.E. Community vs College. Do you feel that education is not important? There are many and many celebrity interviews about actors who although they already have a Tony Award are going to dance and acting classes every other week to stay fresh. Why at the age of 21 do you feel this isn't important? I am all for local theatre as it has been an amazing part of my life as an actor and director, but I feel like everything in the world, there is a hierarchy and time/place for everything. Do community theatre during the summer, or at least auditions for college productions first and make that your priority and if something doesn't work out, maybe then think of community or other collegiate options. This is advice for college students, if you are out of college by all means rock on with your socks off anywhere you please!
To remind young actors that are just starting out, this industry is commonly referred to in a quote... "Acting is a business". Do you think someone will get hired to run an accounting firm unless they have an education AND professional experience? No, so it is important to have a vast range of experience rather it be learning or first hand. Actors need to constantly questions themselves with, "What really matters"? Does it look better if I have played Billy Crocker in "Anything Goes" 3 times or played Billy once and have experience in Shakespeare and Stanislavski? Any arguments there? I could keep making comparisons one after the other like a broken record, but point to remember...
In any aspect of any profession you need to be well rounded, do not limit yourself to one or any particular aspect of your interests, because (to add a metaphor); why clip your wings, then you won't be able to fly?
Food for Thought...
V
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Broadway Lottery and Standing Room Tickets
Broadway, it is the Great White Way and dream for many actors. We strive to be in a show and live the life. If we get that job we will work and work hard 6 days a week, 8 shows a week, and finally get that one night off and what do we do? Go see a show to support a friend or colleague. But will we buy a full priced ticket at the box office? Highly unlikely, though we have weekly paychecks, living in NYC is expensive and actors salaries are still on the lower end of the scale. It is common to see actors in standing room only or lottery lines to try to win or get extremely discounted tickets to see a show. This brings me to my topic for the day.
Are the current practices for lottery and standing room tickets successful or need to be adapted?
There are a number of websites such as Playbill that list the current policies for any given theatre, which is very helpful for those trying to get all information at once. The issues I have are that there is no consistency among the theaters. Prices range from $20 to $40, either students or non-students, cash or card and so on. Yes I understand that prices may be different due to theater size and production value and I respect this is a business but I wonder if there is a way to make an across the board student or actor price and way to get the tickets that works well from the audience perspective.
The Lottery process itself I don't feel can be changed as far as how tickets are drawn. From most theaters I have been to the process is the same. Names are put in for about an hour, after the hour names are called and you can choose 1 or 2 tickets and when they are gone they are gone, pretty straight forward. I think I have more of an issue with standing room policies. To those of you who don't know, this is really what it means, you stand during the whole show, for a fraction of the price and possible partial view. Case in point the standing room for Jersey Boys means you will not see the top half of the stage and set because the balcony is in your line of sight. But these sell regardless because for $25, its easy for a 24 year old to stand up and watch something they have been wanting to see. My beef is that the box office knows how many tickets are available before they open so once the line is set, count the number of tickets and let all the rest go home, or rush to try to get tickets to another show. I say this as a former box office employee, so I am not tyring to be one sided. It has happened to be 5 times where I am next in line and then they are sold out and I have missed the opportunity to see another show. Most recently that happened at Book of Mormon last month. You can imagine my sense of being disturbed but I took a breath, walked to TKTS and saw Sister Act, so not a total loss cause you doesn't love a bunch of singing nuns with sequin lame? I know I do!
I don't know what theaters can do to change or adapt policies, but maybe as said before we can try to figure out how to tweak. Case in pont, in one of my previous blogs I mentioned how Godspell uses an Ipad to fill out your name for the lottery. I love the forward thinking, however it cause the line to be longer (maybe because now many people due to their age don't know how to use them) but possibly a few more might help. Regardless, this small tweak I have remembered and feel this is how success is made; by making bold moves. I guarantee you other young theatre goers will remember that Godspell uses Ipads and even if they don't win the lottery, may go back to buy a ticket just cause it was on their radar.
Food for thought
V
Are the current practices for lottery and standing room tickets successful or need to be adapted?
There are a number of websites such as Playbill that list the current policies for any given theatre, which is very helpful for those trying to get all information at once. The issues I have are that there is no consistency among the theaters. Prices range from $20 to $40, either students or non-students, cash or card and so on. Yes I understand that prices may be different due to theater size and production value and I respect this is a business but I wonder if there is a way to make an across the board student or actor price and way to get the tickets that works well from the audience perspective.
The Lottery process itself I don't feel can be changed as far as how tickets are drawn. From most theaters I have been to the process is the same. Names are put in for about an hour, after the hour names are called and you can choose 1 or 2 tickets and when they are gone they are gone, pretty straight forward. I think I have more of an issue with standing room policies. To those of you who don't know, this is really what it means, you stand during the whole show, for a fraction of the price and possible partial view. Case in point the standing room for Jersey Boys means you will not see the top half of the stage and set because the balcony is in your line of sight. But these sell regardless because for $25, its easy for a 24 year old to stand up and watch something they have been wanting to see. My beef is that the box office knows how many tickets are available before they open so once the line is set, count the number of tickets and let all the rest go home, or rush to try to get tickets to another show. I say this as a former box office employee, so I am not tyring to be one sided. It has happened to be 5 times where I am next in line and then they are sold out and I have missed the opportunity to see another show. Most recently that happened at Book of Mormon last month. You can imagine my sense of being disturbed but I took a breath, walked to TKTS and saw Sister Act, so not a total loss cause you doesn't love a bunch of singing nuns with sequin lame? I know I do!
I don't know what theaters can do to change or adapt policies, but maybe as said before we can try to figure out how to tweak. Case in pont, in one of my previous blogs I mentioned how Godspell uses an Ipad to fill out your name for the lottery. I love the forward thinking, however it cause the line to be longer (maybe because now many people due to their age don't know how to use them) but possibly a few more might help. Regardless, this small tweak I have remembered and feel this is how success is made; by making bold moves. I guarantee you other young theatre goers will remember that Godspell uses Ipads and even if they don't win the lottery, may go back to buy a ticket just cause it was on their radar.
Food for thought
V
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Can actors enjoy a night of theatre without performing?
As actors it is our job to tell a story right? We try our hardest and overcome many trying circumstances to succeed in this endeavor in order to make the audience enjoy their time. We have many friends and companions we meet along the way and always try to support them if we can and see their productions. Also maybe just go out for a night of theatre and try to enjoy. Here is my question...
Why is it that actors cant just simply enjoy a theatrical production? Why do we have to analyze every detail and wonder why it was done that way? Notice the word "enjoy" keeps repeating itself.
Maybe it is just me but no matter how hard I try to simply take a breath and enjoy I am constantly wondering and constructively criticizing performances. Is it because this is my craft and I am always working so I want to know why someone chose this as their character's driving force? Why did the lighting director choose blue versus green or the choreographer choose a battement versus hitch kick? Do other industry professionals go through this as well? I.E. Does a Panera Bread employee ( example because I am sitting in a Panera Bread as I type) go to Subway and enjoy the sandwich or wonder why they cut the bread that way and use that type of mayo? Bad example but you get the point.
I am not saying that we can't have a good time and take something away but is it possible to do one or the other. Maybe we are are this way because it is so hard to keep a job and survive in this economy that we are constantly trying to better ourselves and our craft which isn't a bad thing. But don't we all just need a night off? Food for thought...
V
Why is it that actors cant just simply enjoy a theatrical production? Why do we have to analyze every detail and wonder why it was done that way? Notice the word "enjoy" keeps repeating itself.
Maybe it is just me but no matter how hard I try to simply take a breath and enjoy I am constantly wondering and constructively criticizing performances. Is it because this is my craft and I am always working so I want to know why someone chose this as their character's driving force? Why did the lighting director choose blue versus green or the choreographer choose a battement versus hitch kick? Do other industry professionals go through this as well? I.E. Does a Panera Bread employee ( example because I am sitting in a Panera Bread as I type) go to Subway and enjoy the sandwich or wonder why they cut the bread that way and use that type of mayo? Bad example but you get the point.
I am not saying that we can't have a good time and take something away but is it possible to do one or the other. Maybe we are are this way because it is so hard to keep a job and survive in this economy that we are constantly trying to better ourselves and our craft which isn't a bad thing. But don't we all just need a night off? Food for thought...
V
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