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!
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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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Musicals with Actors doubling as Musicians

I recently read an article on playbill.com that was promoting a new production of Chess the Musical with U.K. actors who double as the orchestra while on stage. For all you musical theatre people you may remember this as a recent trend a few years back with productions such as the Patti LuPone and Michael Cerveris cast of Sweeney Todd in 2006 or the Raul Esparza cast of Company, also in 2006. It should be noted that both productions were directed by John Doyle. While this style of directing seems to be a passion of his, also with Merrily We Roll Along at the Watermill Theatre, the questions remain... Is this a new trend? What do we as an audience think of this? What do we as actors or musicians think of this?

It could be thought of as simply one man's vision that was followed through to success. I think it opens the doors to many possibilities but it is still a fine fine line. With the Sweeney Todd  production the issue of union membership arose. Since the actors would now be playing instruments on stage they "officially" need to be in the American Federation of Musicians Union. A deal was worked out and all was fine. But by actors playing musicians, are musicians going to be out of work if this trend ever picks up? I feel the answer is no; simply because not all actors can play an instrument. So I think all my pit friends will do just fine.

Are we as an industry always looking for a new way to make money? Yes. Are we as an industry always looking for new ways to collaborate artistically to make an original concept work? Unfortunately No. I feel that is why I am so attached to this concept because it merges two fields that have always worked in conjunction as one. Call me an optimist but I think art is created with joining forces, so my hope is that we can look to the future to keep trying new things like this and see where it leads us. I tip my metaphorical hat John Doyle.

I will say that upon reading this article on Playbill I was actually excited but admittedly I am a bit bias. Two years ago I played the role of Walter in Chess the Musical in my senior year at Jacksonville University. It was one of the best experiences of my life as an actor and I feel it highly had to do with a conceptional direction style of Rob Tudor as well as the music of Benny, Bjorn and Tim. It got me to thinking, to see the passion of these melodies played by the actors combined with the lyrics and emotions of the characters, it would be a dream for me to attend the performance. Unfortunately I don't feel I will make it to Toronto or the Princess of Wales Theatre any time soon.

Betty White - Actress and Animal Lover

"Celebrity" a word that has many connotations. To put in perspective, of these three names who would you consider to be a celebrity? Kim Kardashian, Barack Obama, or Betty White? The definition of celebrity according to Webster's is is "a famous or celebrated person." While I don't believe in using the word in the definition I think we get the picture. But looking at these examples I feel we all can say these are types of celebrities but in my opinion I feel the true celebrity is Betty White. But I have to say I am bias. Ever since I was a child and I watched The Golden Girls with my grandmother I was mesmerized by the aforementioned Rose Nylund.  Don't get me wrong, I was an admirer of Blanch, Sophia, and definitely Dorothy for many reasons, but Rose seems to be the one I quote most often 20 years later. So why not follow the career of someone you admire.

Betty White Ludden (from her marriage to game show host Allen Ludden) has been working in the industry of radio, film and television since 1939, for those mathematically challenged like my mother that is 72 years. And at the ripe age of 89 she is going as strong as she ever was. I have read Betty's books and recommend them to all, she is a funny, witty, smart, observant, and genuine artist who I admire. As you may know Betty is a big fan of the 4 legged friends in our world. She has been on numerous boards for animals over the years, sponsored many programs for animals, as well as championed campaigns for zoos. If you read the inscription in my photo below, it is about joining Bet's Pets, the Betty White Fan Club, but also a chance to learn about and got the chance to help animals in need. For someone like me to be able to help support animals it was a no brainer since I already admire Betty in all she does.

If you ever want to read one of her books, I highly recommend them. Not novelas, rather short snippets on life that make you laugh till the cows come home (All the way from St. Olaf).  But also she has helped pen many others from animal stories, to human animal relationships, you name it. I felt like in one of her books she mentioned she wasn't a fan of the term celebrity. And I feel like that is what makes her one. She works because she likes to work, she dedicates her time to those in need, and you never see her without a smile on her face. What more could you ask for? I could go on for hours on this subject, TRUST ME! But I don't want to, I want to keep a little bit to myself. So do yourself a favor, don't just watch Betty on TV, take a break and grab one of her books. You won't regret getting to know her.

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Quote of the Week - 1.2

I have decided that there will be quotes 2 days a week, Tuesday and Thursday... Here is todays, Enjoy!

"Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you." - Oscar Wilde

Full Circle... Jacksonville Bridges

This may seem boring to all who do not or have not lived in Jacksonville, Florida, But for me it just represents the passing of time and made me ponder. Today as driving home over the Matthews Bridge I noticed a sign saying construction would soon begin to renovate the bridge. I turned to see that the Hart Bridge was now complete and its lights shining bright in the night sky. Four years ago when I moved to Jacksonville, and shortly there after they began construction to renovate the Hart bridge and for 3 years it was decrepit, and full of construction. Seeing this sign tonight made me think about the fact that things come full circle, I come back to Jax and construction begins on a second bridge. This relates to life in my opinion. Life is the inevitable enigma that we all feel has to be solved before the end of the road nears. But in fact there is no end of the road, it is one huge circle. It is waiting to round the bend to work on the next bridge in its path...
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Quote of the Week - 1

I have been keeping a book of quotes for years now with inspirational sayings from life, to theatre, to overall human nature. I am going to share one a week with you. 


Quote 1:
"We are not put on this earth to see through one another. We are put on this earth to see one another through" - Gloria Vanderbilt

Actors and People Watching

I said that when I started this blog (yes I am aware this is my second post) that I would write about a myriad of things regarding daily life, to theatre or observations in general. That is harder than some may think to actually figure out what to write about on a daily basis especially if one feels they live a rather predictable life. IE: get up, drink coffee, walk the dogs, make lunch, go to work, what have you. Granted that is not my routine, but everyone has their own.
As actors we have to notice human behaviors (like above examples)  to help mold us into the persona of and to embody any given character. Say we are given the role of "Man in Chair" in The Drowsy Chaperone. He is described as a mousy, vaguely depressive Broadway fanatic in the script notes. What does that meant to you? How would you portray that? Well there is simply the way of somehow trying to embody the adjectives of mousy, depressive, and fanatical. That may work very well for you, others it may not. I can recommend to "people watch". Maybe go to a nursing home, see how the old men in their chairs react to others. By having a visual image in mind it better helps me personally to embody a character.
I remember when I used to work box office at a theatre, there would be time when no one was at our window, so when waiting for the next customer we would simply watch the crowds. Not criticizing mind you, but simply observing. A lot of the characters I have played in the past are in response to my observations in those days. This may work for you it may not, just saying that is it one of the tools in my arsenal that seems to get the ball rolling.
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Purpose...What's Yours?

There is quote from the musical Avenue Q that most musical theatre people are familiar with.. "Purpose, its that little flame, that lights a fire under your ass. Purpose, it keeps you going strong, like a car with a full tank of gas! Everyone else has a purpose, so what’s mine?"...

This is one of those infallible questions of the universe that no one, not even Stephen Hawking has the answer to. "What is my purpose?" Webster's dictionary defines it as "something to be attained." But what do we feel is our own purpose in life? That job of all jobs, a nice nest egg, the house on top of the hill, what? Notice these are all things of concrete nature, but what about the hypothetical. Family? Love? Friends? To say that these aren't purposes in life is a lie. We all, no matter what way say out loud, have dreams or goals that we want to accomplish that could be the above examples or any from a vast amount of possibilities. But the question is how do we attain them? How do we reach that final treasure? Where is the Google Map with exact directions from Point A to Point B with the amount of time, and miles it will take?...Well it doesn't exist. 

We are our own Google Map. We are the little blue dot on the iPhone that keeps traveling around in circles until we reach the green dot signaling our destination. I am 25 year old, single, gay man, that travels as an actor/singer for work. Am I happy? Yes because I am on stage performing and that is what makes me feel good inside and what I wanted/trained to do. Do I feel complete in life? No, there is always something to attain finish that mental picture of the life we dream of. Am I searching for that other purpose? You bet ya. Am I where I thought I would be at the age of 25? Not in the slightest. Let take a quick trip back in time for a bit.

1) If you asked me when I was 10 years old, where would I be in 15 years, I would have probably said..."I am going to be a priest in the Catholic Church."

2) If you asked me when I was 13 years old where would I be in 12 years, I would have probably said... " I will be a deacon in the Catholic Church so I can have a wife and kids."

3) If you asked me when I was 15 where I would be in 10 years, I'm sure I would have said..."I think I will be a high school religion teacher in my hometown, married to my girlfriend from college, with a child on the way in a small 2 bedroom house near my parents." Anyone seeing a pattern here? Anyone? Bueler?

But ask me that same question 5 years ago and you would have gotten a complete different answer, more so where I am now. Ask anyone these questions over time and you will get a different answer. I guess my point is that we don’t know what is going to happen in 50 years, 30 years, next week or tomorrow. Goals change because life is ever changing. But purpose, that little flame like the quote says is what keeps us going. We have to have a goal in mind otherwise we would stall and move nowhere. If you don't have one, take a good look deep in your self. What is it that makes your gut wrench? What is your  magic lamp on top of the rock surrounded by lava? That is your purpose, your goal, your little flame. Does that purpose change? YES. Is that okay? YES. Just don’t simply give up, find a new purpose, and you are good as gold.

… “I’m Gonna find my purpose. What will it be? Where will it be? My purpose in life is a Mystery. Gotta find my purpose, Gotta find ME!”