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 45^th 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 51^st 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

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

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

  

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

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

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

Stanislavski thought of the day

Believing ethics to be of great significance in the success of the theatre, Stanislavski said that even very talented actors should be sacrificed if they could not contribute to the harmonious atmosphere of the group. Since the art of the theatre is a collective work, it is essential that everyone in the group work for the benefit of the whole performance and not solely for himself...

" It is what it is".. or is it?

I recently had a random discussion with a girlfriend just about nothing in particular. You know, one of those dinner evenings where one catches up on life and everything. Well some topic camp up, I dont remember what, and the only answer I could think of when talking about how life is sometimes what the platitude... "It is what it is."

My friend had the rebuttal... "But is it"? BRAVA for making me thing. Alas brings forth the discussion topic. What makes the "it" what it "is"? Why is "it" permanent? Why can't "it" be changed? The fact of the matter is simple, we can change our "is" if we aren't happy with it, but sometime without thinking, we are to scared and just settle. This is never the answer but unfortunately just the way things are sometimes. (BTW excuse all the pronouns and verbs)

How does this relate to theatre, well dear reader I will tell you. :-) Why is that that actors and performers in general give up at the first sign of resistance? I will admit I have fallen privy to this trap on several occasions and felt the brunt of it later. Why do we feel unworthy of a second chance? Or a first chance in that matter? It always amazes me the actors who can be so vulnerable onstage can't seem to have a bit of thick skin offstage. But I guess that topic is for another day.

After reading Seth Rudetsky's Book, Broadway Nights; which by the way was aMAHzing, I recalled a story that I feel fits this topic.

He was telling the story of an actress who went into audition for the role of Marian the Librarian in The Music Man on Broadway. She felt that she was PERFECT for the role. By this time in her career she was an established actress. Her agents called the casting directors and they weren't interested in her because nothing against her talent, but felt she may not be right for the role. This happens very often in the industry, you may be very talented but may not be seen or get cast simply because of height, weight, color or because the casting people feel, based on what they have seen you do, you may not be right for the role. Well that didn't stop Rebecca Luker one bit. Thats right I am talking about that amazing actress from 8 broadway productions. So she scheduled an audition full aware the casting team didn't want to see her, marched in, blew them away, and got the role! Rebecca changed her "it" and succeeded, why can't we all?

So why do we just accept things at face value in this industry? I am not saying keep doing what Rebecca did but if you feel you are right for a role or simply feel you should be seen, who is stoping you? Nobody but yourself. Don't let that inner mousy quality keep you from pouding the pavement because you wont get anywhere unless you lace up those Capezio High Top Sneakers and start that sassy jazz walk to your dream ( I dont know where that metaphor came from but felt it fit just right).


V.

The Show Hub... The Working Actor's New Friend

We as actors are constantly trying to come up with ways to find work, promote ourselves, or make connections. Sometime to success, sometimes to constant failure. Besides the old adage of every 99 times you hear NO, 1 time you will hear an YES... Well the website, The SHOW HUB, is that yes in my opinion. It may not get you work, you still need talent of course but it will help promote yourself in a way we as actors have been waiting to do for a very long time.

A brief description on the website is thus follows: An online ecosystem that provides: production, marketing, and hiring tools for theatres, career management tools for theatre people all online. All in One place. All you need! I met CEO Clayton Whitfield at the fall Southeastern Theatre Conference in Atlanta at a workshop he was co-hosting on how to promote your self in the entertainment industry. The session was informative and both speakers had some great pointers. One of the main things I took away was The Show Hub. I went home and within a day had my site up and running. Now any theatre can search for a specific type of actor and if I meet those qualifications my headshot/resume pops up.

I can not speak for casting directors and theater management but I can see why these tools would be useful. Plus it is AFFORDABLE for an actor. Think about it, where else can you fully be able to represent yourself with headshot/resume/and media links for the price between $10 and $50 and not have to worry about mailing and stamps etc? No where. Plus a great benefit is you can add the link right to an email or website to it is also easy to send anyone with the click on a mouse.

I am glad I attended this workshop, glad I met Clayton, and glad I now have The Show Hub to add to my promotional materials as an actor. I suggest everyone do the same.

V


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Alas for you... My Evening at Godspell

To go along with my previous blog about procrastination, I woke up this morning ready to post my blog about my "Godspell" experience. I had the chance to spend two evenings in NYC last month and was going to relish any opportunity to see theatre as always. The two top shows on my list were "Godspell" because I have been following producer Ken Davenport's blog, (the producer's perspective) as well as some of the cast members on Twitter. The other show being "The Book of Mormon"for obvious reasons. I was with my friend Natalie and we had not won the Mormon lottery and were a bit bummed to say the least. In an amazing series of coincidences; sidebar I don't believe in coincidences, rather everything happens for a reason... but thats another story, through the corner of my eye saw someone I knew only via my friend Nina's Facebook page as a fellow actor from Korea, Blake who now lives back in NYC. Being the outgoing person that I am walked up to him and said, " Hi you don't know me but we have a mutual friend, Im Vincent." After the weird introduction had passed, we became buddy buddy as most theatre folk do and began talking. He informed me the the "Godspell" lottery started 15 minutes after Mormon so I still would have a chance. Well that was my answer, after not winning I hightailed it over to 50th street and jumped in line.

I have to give Ken Davenport props on his lottery setup. Using an IPAD to sign up, Brava on the forword thinking and staying with the times. Although maybe two or three more would have helped the line congestion, but I was impressed from the moment I reared my face at Circle in the Square theatre for that reason also because I went to school there 4 years prior and miss my former home. OK so the night begins...

The Date: Friday October 14, 2011, 2nd night of Previews and GO...
Natalie and I were in line just chilling and such, we filled out our names and got our tickets (she almost forgot her stub) and stood to the side. In the mean time her friend came to catch up and then the number calling began. We made a funny realization that her number was "666". That stood out to us not only because of its history as a number but also because most of the names called out by chance at the Mormon lottery were religious based, IE Matthew, Mary, Judah so the fact that the religious names were there and the devil number was here (also a religious play) made for some nice banter. Cut to they call her number, I am listening and yell, she has no idea because she never wins anything and was so confused. It was worth it all just for that reaction but I was so ready for the next 2.5 hours. I was thrilled to sit on the pillows by the stage like a "sit in" and be close because I felt we were part of the show. Once we got settled in, met our new friends in our little pit who are now very close to us, judged a few of them like our lovely elderly neighbor who didn't understand theatre etiquette and talked to the actors while the show was going on... the lights dimmed. :-)

And SHOWTIME!

I have always been a "Godspell" fan since 8 years ago when I had the change to sing "Prepare Ye" and "We Beseech Thee" in a Broadway Revue. But let me say my love for the piece was met and exceeded. From the first note blazing from the Trumpet I was hooked. I will try not to give any specifics in this review because I want you to attend and support the actors but here is what I will say... There are 7 Elements that stood out most to me, or maybe more but without keeping a notepad and ruining my viewing experience,  this is what I remember.

1) The People... I was so happy to see this as the Broadway debut for many of that cast, and as a true Ensemble show it was so thrilling to see the camaraderie and feel as one from the audience perspective.

2) The Current Trends... This revival decided to bring a new flavor to the story, to add in some flare of the current day with aspects of celebrity, news, media, social networking, any and all aspects that you can think of. It was perfectly melded into the plot and made perfect sense, whether it was on purpose or a result of rehearsal improve or on the spot thinking, it made no difference, the result was spot on.

3) The Impersonations... I can honestly say I was giddy from the inside out to see how these actors, with such quick pace and timing, jumped in and out of their characters to impersonate someone of this day and age to help further the story. Truly a talent that not everyone can master.

4) The Improve...Well I can say that Nick Blaemire and George Salazar rocked my world with their uncanny ability to crack me up while feel totally immersed in the story at the same time. They have the talent enough to not play for the laugh but make the script (or improve) speak for itself, not many actors understand this. To not give away anything, a modern dance piece emoting from one of these cast members  brought me to the floor (remembering I was already on the ground!)

5) The craft of each actor... As previously stated, this was and is an ensemble show, but what I loved most was that each actor brought his/her personal statement to the fold. The girls rocked with their quirks and voices, the boys well nuff said. Telly Leung, your rendition of "All Good Gifts" was so heart warming I felt like you were speaking to each of us individually as well as a whole. Hunter Parrish, "Beautiful City" was such a sense of "this is ..." that made all the story more real and I can't even describe. I am so happy the song was re worked to be in this version.

6) The emoting... As an actor and sometimes audience member I hate when I see an actor "acting" versus being in the moment. Well I never felt that hate this night. Every time the script called for sadness or joy or laughter you felt the true connection that each actor had to the story and what was happening, I felt part of it like Jesus was preaching to me and teaching me these parables and became sad and happy along with the whole gang.

7) The Set... One of my favorite aspects which I will not give anything away. But lets just say that the ingeniousness of this sets ability to adapt to each song whether it needed water or height or smoke or a few more surprises was spot on.

And you can round this all off with the theatrical experience of seeing Stephen Schwartz, Zachary Quinto and a number of other people in the audience that just makes you realize we all just want to enjoy a fabulous theatrical evening. So I bid you adieu and ask that you attend if you can, the show is now open, previews are finished, I am unaware what changes were made but I am sure the result deserves a huge BRAVA!

V



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Unpurposeful Procrastination

We all know what it means to procrastinate. It means we fine some excuse to not do something we should do even though the excuse is total B.S. I aimed at writing this blog daily about something I am feeling, or thinking, or any aspect of theatre and art. Surprisingly I have not come through.. well at least half way.
I have been making daily topics and thoughts and writing them down in notes on my computer to write but by the time I get to the computer I have 5 hours till I need to be up for the next day and you know how the story goes. And I woud do it on the 4 flights a week I am on a plane but I refuse to pay for internet and now most airports aren't free wifi anymore anyway, so its a never ending cycle.

But rest assured my 3 avid readers. I am writing just not posting. But that will soon change... My brain is twisting and turing with new sessions to come...

V

Quote of the Week 4.1

"You have to be strong enough to be vulnerable for your creativity and your art... and for your life"
Stuart White   via "Happy Accidents" by Jane Lynch

To Succeed you need to ...

I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine that helped me come to a realization about something.
To succeed in life, or in the case of this blog, in a career of performance, you must have an amount of talent which goes without saying. But what else really is the key factor that makes us reach that pen-ultimate goal we dream about??? Anyone???

DETERMINATION

We all can have dreams and we can think about them for days on end. But you need to have the drive to find a plan that gets you to the goal. You need to sieze an opportunity even though you may not feel it will help, you'll never know and if you don't grab it, you've lost the chance.

Do a stage reading!

Do an obscure musical you dont think any one will pay to see!

Write a play your self!

Pull a Dick Van Dyke from Mary Poppins and strap musical instruments all over your body in Central Park for all I care!

The key is that if you just sit and wait for that golden chance to come your way, well you may be sitting for a long time. Keep in mind goals can change and it is good that they can change because we as humans change so this is the natural progression of life. I have had a difficult time lately trying to focus on my goals and I realize it is because they are blurred and I am looking at things in life differently. Now that I have realized that I am going to harness these goals and I am going to succeed, and do you know how???

DETERMINATION!

This isn't a half time speech to pump up the boys to get out there and beat the other team, we all come to self realizations at times in our lives so why not share them. Hope you do the same...

V

Quote of the Week 3.2

"You can put jelly on peanut butter but you can't put peanut butter on jelly"... Dick Van Dyke

Life.. Take What Comes

So this is a theatrical blog. Or is it a random blog of daily thoughts? Well lately for the past 3 weeks it has been a silent blog and I apologize for that, but there is a reason. Ive been busy :-). Recently I accepted the job of an Admissions Counselor at my alma mater Jacksonville University, and between a new job and traveling , my time has been limited. But that is changing or at least I am telling my self to make more time.

As actors we come to learn that you can work and work and never get anywhere or you can try and try and never get work. So when that phone call comes sometimes when you are most in need you start to believe the universe is trying to tell you something... and you jump. When I was a student at JU, I was an ambassador for the university; which is a student liaison to show prospective students about what the school has to offer, and I enjoyed it very much. Now to be a counselor and travel to other school and see students to tell the about the school, it is fulfilling as well.

People have asked me, "but you aren't acting, why are you doing this?" I could answer a number of reasons but sometimes it is simple. To be able to examine where you are in your life and where you want to go sometimes you need to take a step back from what you know and do something else you enjoy to take a clear look at the whole picture. So that is what I am doing, and that is not to say there isn't a daily aspect of performing involved anyway. Who knows what the timeline is on the decisions we make in our lives, how long these periods last for or why we do them in the first place. But it is important to remember one thing if I have learned anything in my 25 years. DO NOT do what makes you unhappy it is NOT worth it. Even if it makes you poor. Do what makes you smile every day, do what makes you wake up and just smell the air versus start with a frown. Believe me... its worth it.

V

Paul Russell Acting Blog.. Nuff Said

http://answersforactors.wordpress.com/2011/10/16/3578/

Quote of the Week 3.1

"There is no logic to Obsession" - Robert Robinson 2011

Education for Performance Careers? Yes or No?

This subject has been one that I have been personally dealing with for ages now. Do we as performers need training in our craft to succeed? Short answers yes. Long answer...well that has to do with what type of training. We all know there are those diamond in the roughs (who we secretly wish will fall and sprain an ankle...or not) who just are simply and amazingly a talent without any thought at 8:00 in the morning. Then there are those who are talented but need to hone their craft. Or the final ones that have talent but it is hidden deeeeeeeeeep within and just needs the push to come out. But no matter which of these three examples, some type of training is necessary.

There has been discussions over many years the benefits to a masters program in theatre or music on whether is it beneficial to a performance career. There is no doubt that is it a necessity if you plan on a future in the university educational system as the terminal degrees are mostly required to teach. As for the price it costs to get a master's degree theses days, do those who do not intend to teach need to get a masters before jumping into their careers? From my research I feel the answer is dependent on the person. Do they still need more training? Are they just about there but need that last push? Do they shine in one talent but not the other?

The only person that can really answer this question is the actor themselves. In my humble opinion I feel that a BFA is a necessity at the least to round of your training in all aspects of singing, acting and dancing to make you the triple threat that is needed these days to compete with the competition. But if you don't intend to go onto teach then maybe a masters isn't something you feel will help you. We as actors have to remember that we shape out own future, no one else. I have had the hardest time staying true to that motto, and I have plenty more where it came from. The simple fact is that no matter what the world throws at you in your career as an actor or singer, you and only you can figure out how to swing the bat to hit the home run. So take a breath, prep the swing, and hit your future out of the park.
V

Quote of the Week 2.2

"Drama lies in extreme exaggeration of the feelings, an exaggeration that dislocates flat everyday reality"

EUGENE IONESCO

Online Stationary I recommend to all!

I would like to share the links below with you. They are some companies I am very fond of with products for all. Do you need come recipe cards? How bout some doggy holiday greeting cards or original paint chip art pieces? You name it these have it! Just in time for Christmas! (always good to pre -order) Enjoy!
V

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Quote of the Week 2.1

"I personally would like to bring a tortoise onto the stage, turn it into a racehorse, then into a hat, a song, a dragoon and a fountain of water. One can dare anything in the theatre and it is the place where one dares the least."

EUGENE IONESCO

We know of NYC and London, are there others?

Ok so as actors, musicians, and audience members we are very familiar with "the Great White Way" and the "West End"; New York and London respectively as hubs for theatrical presentations. But are there any others? In short yes, if you go to Broadwayworld.com and look for the "world" tab you will see a list of countries from South Korea to India where you will find theatrical presentations happening, workshops in the making, and of course tours about to come through.

My question is what makes NYC and London these centers of our artistic world. New York I guess we can rationalize because it is the melting pot and many years ago where else in the U.S. would producers be finically secure they would recoup their investments. I guess we could rationalize about London that Shakespeare came from Stratford just around the corner, but didn't theatre originate in Greece? Why isn't Greece one of these central hubs? I know in America we preview shows in Los Angeles, Seattle or Chicago before transferring to NYC. Does the same happen in other countries as well?

It makes me wonder if say I were a young man in Poland, how would I be able to see an amazing theatrical production as we have in NYC. Would I have to save up to go to London? Do we feel these cities are lacking financial backing to promote such an industry? I read an article years back the the Entertainment Industry is the most expensive industry in the world. Keeping in mind this includes T.V., sports, movies and many other types more than just theatre. But then one can ask oneself the inevitable question... WHY? Why is entertainment to prosperous but not readily available to everyone? Is it those particular governments laws or regulations? I don't know these answers but upon browsing Broadwayworld.com today, the thought just happened to cross my mind. Do with it what you will.
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Babes in Toyland and Actors - The convenience of a shrink ray

Ok, so this is going to be one of those random thoughts that I said might be part of this blog. Does anyone remember the 1961 film Babes in Toyland with Annette Funicello? Even though I was born in 1986 this movie was a huge factor of my childhood. The plot according to IMDB goes like this... Tom the Piper's Son is about to marry Mary Quite Contrary. On the eve of their wedding, evil miser Barnaby hires two henchmen to drown Tom and steal Mary's sheep, cared for by Little Bo Peep, thus depriving Mary and the children she lives with of their livelihood, forcing her to marry Barnaby. The sheep are stolen, but Gonzorgo and Roderigo, Barnaby's henchmen, double-cross him by selling Tom to a band of gypsies instead, leaving Tom with the opportunity to escape and make his way with Mary, Bo-Peep, and other Mother Goose characters to Toyland.

I feel I must have watched this move about 15 times as a child. It was one of my favorites probably because it had mystery, villains, gypsies (of course), mother goose and a shrink ray. Granted at times I was a bit afraid of the toy soldiers on parade. I have had the dream at least 20 times in the past 20 years about how convenient it would be to own a shrink ray and the opposite one, a de-shrinking ray, that also enlarges your item back to normal size.  As actors we travel, case in point I have been to over 35 states and probably 30 of them had to do with performing of some kind. I am currently packing for this next adventure and all I can think of is how easy it would be to shrink everything I have or need and put it in a small cigar box, travel where I need to go use the de-shrink ray and voila. There would be no back breaking, no heavy lifting, and you would get to take more that usual. 


As a child I used to always re-arrange my room about once every two months because I liked change. I used to think if I could use the shrink ray to make this bed and dresser smaller, how easy it would be to do this every month rather than two. I am sure my mother was happy these instruments don't exist. But lets take a small gander into the future. Is it so impossible to think that with that way science makes leaps and bounds every year that in the future there would be a discovery to change the molecular structure of a concrete object? Very sciencey I know but my dreams were never that of herding sheep rather always something a bit deeper. Think of the possibilities that this could do, but yet again think of also the risk of danger associated if the weapon got into the wrong hands, like it did in the movie. But hey that is why dreams are dreams. Right?


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