Post thoughts on Hello Again (the show I directed)

I directed a production of the musical Hello Again by Michael John LaChiusa that closed this past weekend, after a four week run.

The cast and crew of Hello Again at Chromolume Theatre

Now that a couple of days have gone by, I have time to reflect on the experience. For those of you who don't know unlike TV or film, once a show opens, a director's job is done. Typically. He or she might be called in to put in a new actor or actress after the show has been running for a while. But usually, the show is turned over to the stage manager once the show has opened. It is the stage manager's job to maintain the integrity of the director's vision from that point on. The stage manager will give notes if an actor has changed their blocking or the intent of a line or scene, etc.

So the last four weeks have been rather uneventful and not so stressful for me because, basically, my job was done. But this theater's policy is to guarantee all of its understudies two performances which meant we had to rehearse and put in all of them. But other than that, I had little to do.

The four weeks of rehearsal leading up to opening night was very stressful though.

Me "Directing"

We had an amazing turn out for auditions back in March. The talent was outstanding and it was very difficult to cast this show because there were so many great performers there. But we came up with our ten actors and five understudies. Rehearsals went smoothly for the most part.  We had difficulty sometimes with scheduling as the theater rents out its studios and stage to paying customers. Makes sense. So we might sometimes have to relocate to a different space from where we were originally schedule to rehearse. 

The music for this show is very difficult. It styles span all 10 decades of the 20th century and the composers music is often dissonant which can make it hard for performers to learn. And its not an easy piece to play either. In addition, we performed on a very low budget. We could only afford one musician, the piano player also our Music Director. I have to give a major shout out to here to Brenda Varda my partner in all of this. She was in fact a last minute replacement for someone else.  And we really lucked out. She worked so hard. I literally could not have done it without her. She blew me away.  She played that score solo every single night. And she worked with the actors and whipped them into shape. There are some difficult harmonies. And there were a couple of harmonies that were not coming together. Two nights before we opened, there were still some harmony issues with a couple moments in the show. And I told her, if the actors involved cannot fix it by final dress, then those harmonies will need to be cut. They came together and never faltered from that day on. I love this woman!

I stress over everything. I stressed that I wouldn't have a music director. I stressed that I wasn't casting any friends that auditioned and they would hold a grudge. I stressed that the actors who were cast would quit out of frustration since this was such a low budget show and they might not like the circumstances. I stressed that there was no way we could afford to costume the show. I stressed that understudies might feel short changed. I stressed that one or more of the actors might refuse to let their understudy go on. I stressed the set wouldn't look good. I stressed we would run out of money and have no sets or no costumes. I stressed that I didn't have what it takes to direct this piece.

I was really scared I was over my head. And then I remembered something. I felt exactly this way the last time I directed. And the time before that. And the time before that. In fact every time I've directed, I have felt that way. Exactly that way. And the shows always turned out great.

And you know what else was pointed out to me? Most those things I was stressing about are out of my control. That's right. I can control what's on the stage. The look, the performances, the staging. 

But that's it. All I can do is make sure my cast is well rehearsed and that they are comfortable doing what I have asked of them and doing what they bring to their roles. I provide a place for them to experiment and play and develop their performances. Its a collaboration between us. We work together to find their performances.

My cast was excellent through and through. They all brought their unique talents to their roles. The show looked good. It was very low budget. The set was minimal but it worked for us. The cast looked and sounded great. Again, thank you Brenda! The costumes were wonderful. They helped us in setting the time and place for each scene. We didn't need the sets to do that.  We got three excellent reviews. This is an unusual piece and not for everyone so that's something.

Now that its over I breathe a sigh of relief and I move on to the next project. Well two projects actually, both as actor. I'm currently rehearsing Chaturbate the Musical for the Hollywood Fringe Festival as part of the NMI programs.  The week before that opens I start rehearsals for an original play called Somewhere in the Middle at Crown City Theatre in North Hollywood, opening September 1.

So when is my next directing project? I don't know yet. Chromolume has asked me about a show for 2019.  For now, I'm happy to act and write my next project. Another web series maybe? Or some shorts for youtube? We'll see.

It's Been Forever! Where Have I Been?

So one of the reasons for doing this blog was to keep my writing going. As it turns out, I have also used it as a sort of therapy to discuss some of my feelings, inner demons, insecurities etc. Sometimes just to talk about random things, trivia, well all the nonsense that takes up space in my brain, like anything entertainment related. I swear I could teach a full semester course on the history of television without ever having to crack open a book or write a single note.

So, what has eI been up to since my last blog over a month ago? Well, I have spent the last six weeks performing in an amazing production of the musical 42nd Street at the Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre in Claremont, CA. Its been wonderful. I'm working with an amazing cast and crew and its been fun from the get go. This coming weekend we close. And then the sadness sets in. I've made some friends on this one that I think are going to be around for a while.

But am I resting on my laurels? No. The following week I start rehearsals on my next project, the musical Hello Again. No. I am not in this one. I am directing it. What? You've ever heard of it? You're not alone. It's by Michael John La Chuisa and its a short piece, less than 90 minutes and entails 10 scenes involving 10 hookups. Its based on La Ronde. Look it up.

So, yes I am directing a show. Not my first. Ive directed before. My last one was just over three years ago and it turned out great. Auditions were last week and we had an amazing turnout. And so untypical of most auditions, almost everyone who scheduled an appointment actually showed up.
We had 48 at callbacks and I had to do some fast eliminating to get through them all.

I feel I may have disappointed some friends who auditioned for me. And the truth is I was so excited to see so many friends and former colleagues show up. And to be honest going in to callbacks I pictured myself with a cast made up of a few friends. That didn't happen. And its hard. Im such a sensitive person that I'm fearful I let them down. But in the end there was someone else who brought something to the table that made all of us go...that's it! In reality, I could have cast most anyone who came to callbacks. They were all that good.

And now on to rehearsals. I'm thrilled with the cast we got. They are all super amazing. And like I said so were many of those who weren't chosen but we have to choose. That's the nature of the business. So what's going on with me? My insecurities are coming out in full force.

Oh yes, here we go again! Can I do this piece justice? Am I good enough to lead these actors who have put their trust in me?  Have I bit off more than I can chew? So I think back to the last time I directed, and the time before that and the time before that and you know what? I felt exactly the same way. And they turned out fine. In fact half the cast of my last show (two of the four) came to audition for this one. And the third cast member contacted me to let me know he wanted to but was out of town all last week. The fourth cast member just moved to NYC last week.

So I think that is the best endorsement. Those who have worked with me in the past want to work with me again. OK, Charlie Brown stop talking and let me get to work. I've got a show to put up!

The Career that Giveth and Taketh Away - Acting: It's not for the faint of heart

So far 2017, has been a mixed bag. I was excited coming into 2017 having booked roles in two films. A small but fun a part in a low budget parody film and a significant role in a USC film school student film.

I was especially looking forward to the student film because it would give me an opportunity to play against type. I typically play ineffective middle management or authority figures or goofy dads/neighbors, etc.  In this, I was to play a sympathetic single dad to a gay teen son who is being bullied into a sexual relationship with another teen who threatens to out him. I was really looking forward to it. A week before Christmas, I was sent the shoot dates and I told them I was fine but I had a day job and would not be available during the week. A couple weeks later, I received emails confirming the shoot dates and times, transportation information and costume measurements.  I made arrangements to take a day off for one day of filming. I worked on my lines.

And then the day before I was due to shoot, I received an email telling me that due to my last minute notification to them of my limited schedule, they could not use me. What?! Exactly, what was last minute? I told them as soon as they notified me of the shoot dates. They never said word one that there was a problem. They sent me a shoot schedule for Friday Saturday and Sunday. I took Friday off form work.  They were in constant contact with me, adding me to the contact list, asking about dietary restrictions, talking with the wardrobe supervisor about wardrobe. No clue.

I wasn't sure how to react. I mean I was really looking forward to this. It was a great opportunity for me to show something I haven't on film yet. I sent an email asking if they had the right person. Or wondering what had happened. I was too impatient to wait for a response, so I called the student the email came from. I asked her what was going on. She said because I had conflicts they couldn't use me. ME: But you never said anything to me. I've been responding to all the emails you've sent regarding wardrobe, transportation, dietary restrictions, etc. You sent me a filming schedule on December 18 and I emailed back that I had a day job, so weekdays could be a conflict,. You then sent me a shoot schedule with shoot days of Friday Saturday and Sunday. I took Friday off from work to shoot. Not once did anyone say, three was a scheduling issue. You lead me to believe those were my shoot dates. If you had called me, I could have changed my schedule to fit your shoot schedule. And now the day before the shoot you tell me to my late notice of conflicts. What late notice? I told you three weeks ago as soon as you sent the shooting dates.  HER: Well, we really loved your audition. We thought you were great. But we can only have the location for certain days and can't change it and our lead actor is only available certain times and couldn't change his schedule. ME: But you didn't tell me any of this. You've been communicating with me as if I had the part. HER: Well, we have someone else. ME: I thanked them for their time and wished them good luck with the project.

Frustrating! Did I mention I really wanted to play that part?

Film number two was also supposed to shoot in January. So far, I've heard nothing since I accepted the part and they sent me a copy of the script. It's now February. I'm beginning to feel like that might not happen. So a few days ago I sent an email asking if there were any updates on the filming.  I've gotten no response back. Its been four days.

Oh Acting Career, you giveth and you taketh away.

These are the joys of being an actor.  You feel good one day and then down the next,. You're only as good as your most recent work. And your self-esteem is so low that if you're not working, you feel pretty low. It's been a slow commercial audition period for me as well. So of course, my esteem is low presently.

Now on to the positive!

Tonight, I am opening a show on stage that I am very excited to be a part of. And it's going to be a really good one! 42nd Street at the Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre in Claremont, CA. If you're in the neighborhood, come and see those dancing feet. It's going to be so good.

Mary Tyler Moore

I've been debating to what to blog about for over a week now. Do I talk once again about my lack of a love life? Do I whine once again about feeling all alone in the world? Do I get political and talk about whats happening in this country as of January 21? Or do I talk about my acting career?

Today, I got an answer...Mary Tyler Moore. I've talked about my love of the TV shows I grew up and their stars. At the very, very top of that list are two TV sitcoms: The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.  Both of course, starring Mary Tyler Moore. I've read the autobiographies of MTM, DVD and Carl Reiner. I've watched hours of interviews with all three of them as well as the creators and co-stars of both of their series. I know the story of how she got the part of Laurie Petrie when Danny Thomas remembered the girl with three names who auditioned as a replacement for the role of his older daughter on The Danny Thomas Show a year earlier. He didn't hire her because no one would believe a girl with that nose could be his daughter. He brought her in to Carl Reiner, she read one line, he grabbed her by the head and dragged her into Sheldon Leonard's office and said this is her.

She was a novice at comedy and 12 years younger than Dick Van Dyke. But she learned. She was originally supposed to be the straight man to DVD. But then they wrote an episode where she's thinks Rob would love her more if she's a blonde. So she dyes her hair blonde only to discover Rob loves his brunette wife. So she starts to dye her hair back before he gets home. He gets there and her hair is blonde on one side and brunette on the other. She starts crying through her lines. And the rest is history. In her book, she admits she stole the crying bit from Nanette Fabray who would eventually play her mother on two episodes of the MTM Show. The Dick Van Dyke Show was her college and she learned from Reiner, Van Dyke, Rose Marie and More Amsterdam.

Anywho, go to Emmy Legends to see the interviews. For me, DVD and MTM were the perfect pair. Absolutely believable as husband and wife. Sexy and sophisticated and talented to boot. They sang and danced in their living room. I wanted their life. I wanted them to be my parents!

She as well as two women Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett were my three comedienne idols.  To me, they are the three greatest female TV stars ever to live. Then there's everyone else. My generation grew up with them. Daytime reruns of Lucy's shows and the Dick Van Dyke Show. Here's Lucy on Monday nights and Mary and Carol on Saturday nights.



Saturday nights in the 70s. As my sister reminded me today. We would take baths, or get our hair washed and sit downstairs in the family room with our parents and watch CBS: All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore and Bob Newhart. And then we would beg our father to let us stay up and watch Carol Burnett. He would let us as long as we didn't give him a hard time about getting up for church in the morning.  We always gave him a hard time on Sunday mornings. I would turn off my alarm clock, get back under the covers and shut my eyes when my dad came knocking on the door. I would pretend to be asleep and not wake up. He would walk over to my bed, calling my name, I wouldn't budge. He'd pick up the alarm clock, turn on the alarm and hold it up to my ear.

Loved those shows as a kid. But re-watching them as adult made me appreciate their talents. My fave eps of MTM: The Lars Affair, The Dinner Party, Put on A Happy Face, The Good Time News, Ted's Wedding, Once I Had A Secret Love, Mary Midwife, The Last Show. 
The Dick Van Dyke Show: Coast to Coast Big Mouth, Pink Pills and Purple Parents, I'd Rather Be Bald Then Have No Head, It May Look Like A Walnut, The Curious Thing About Women.

Mary Tyler Moore was diagnosed with Diabetes back in the late 1960s and was an advocate and spokesperson for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation as well as Animal Rights for many years. In recent years, her health declined quite a bit. She was losing her eyesight and had brain surgery a few years back. She hadn't been out in public in about three or four years.

I am glad that she is no longer suffering but boy will I miss her. At least we'll always have reruns and DVDs and streaming.

2016 A Year in Review

Much has been said and made about 2016.  All the famous deaths, the election. It has not been a good year.  Many feel that 2017 can't get here soon enough. And who can blame then? I'm not going to go into it here. So many others have done that. Let's just move on and take on 2017 with a positive attitude.

2016 was not my best year but not my worst either.  I took a leave from my job in the first quarter of the year to try and figure things out...I went back to work after three months. Nothing changed. Or did it? My co-workers and manager claim that my attitude/behavior has not been the same since my return. I don't know what the F they're talking about. I've been a frigging peach. F-heads! LOL! (That was a joke for this of you who don't get me.)

I thought by taking off time from work, my acting career would get a boost. It has become increasingly difficult to balance the acting career with my day job. But not much activity took place during the leave. So back to work I went. And of course days before I went back, I booked a commercial that shot on my second day back to work! Ain't that always the way?

I spent the Spring rehearsing and performing as Twimble in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at Glendale Centre Theatre. The show received a few Scenie Awards and was nominated for some BroadwayWorldLA awards. While performing in How to Succeed, I was rehearsing The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Sierra Madre Playhouse which opened less than two weeks after How to Succeed closed. Spelling got unanimous raves reviews, received a few Scenes and was also nominated for a few BroadwayWorldLA awards. But no audiences. We actually cancelled two Saturday night performances!  In addition, it has received three Ovation award nominations. The awards are in two weeks and I'm very excited to attend. I've never been in a show that was nominated for Ovation Awards, despite having been in two dozen shows in Los Angeles over the last 13 years.

The week Spelling Bee closed, I was asked to jump in to rehearsals for Chico's Angels Five-0, Aloha Angels. Closing day of Spelling Bee was tech night for Chico's.  Chico's sold out before it even opened. And the audiences were loud and raucous. It was a hoot! The Angels have a built in following and it was amazing to perform for sold out houses every night.

I flew to Sydney and New Zealand for two weeks in September. I flew in a helicopter, hiked on a glacier, bathed in a hot spring, and pet a koala and a wallaby. A nice retreat from LA where the traffic seems to get worse and worse. I get so stressed out driving from work to audition to work to rehearsal.  The stress really gets to me trying to do it all. And I think as I get older its getting harder to do it all.

While in New Zealand, I got word that I had booked a commercial shooting in Denver the day after I returned to LA, on my birthday. But the flight to Denver was on the same day I flew into LA form New Zealand. Seriously. I flew into the International Terminal at 6:20 am and was scheduled to fly out of Terminal 1 at 7:35 am. I managed to get them to push me back to a later flight and left LA at 11:30am just five hours after arriving. I went home, unpacked, re-packed, and went back to LAX.

It all worked out and I got a cupcake and birthday song from the crew upon wrapping.

These last two months the commercial auditions have increased. Yay! No bookings though. But I did book two films that are shooting this coming month. I look forward to playing the understanding Dad of a teenage boy coming out and dealing with bullies in high school. A departure for me. Then I play a priest in a gay Mean Girls parody film.


Happy New Year! Here's to a better 2017! Here I am with my sisters celebrating New Years a few years ago.

Hairspray Live!

Last night NBC aired their annual Live Broadway musical adaptation, Hairspray Live! Following The Sound of Music, Peter Pan and The Wiz.  The first three shows were produced on a soundstage in New York City (well Long Island) with no audience.  The leads in the first two were not great but the producers wisely surrounded them with award winning Broadway vets. Last year's The Wiz was an improvement and a lot of fun. It was nice to see a show that isn't done that often. And the casting was more inspired. They very wisely cast an unknown actress in the central role of Dorothy and surrounded her with names.

Last spring, FOX aired Grease Live! which was a broadcast from the Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, and used many outdoor sets on the lot and had a live audience incorporated into the gym and dance sequences as well as on the streets outside. It added an energy that some felt was lacking from NBC's broadcasts. I will admit that sometimes it seemed flat when a big production number ended and there was no applause, just silence and then cut to commercial.

So taking a cue from FOX, NBC aired Hairspray from the Universals Studios in Hollywood and also used the backlot for outdoor shots. Once again, they had a big search for an unknown actress to play Tracy and surrounded her with name talent. Harvey Fierstein recreated his Tony award-winning performance as Edna. Martin Short, Kristin Chenoweth, Derek Hough, Jennifer Hudson, Ariana Grande, Andrea Martin, Sean Hayes, Rosie O'Donnell and games by the original movie Tracy, Ricki Lake and Broadway Tracy, Marissa Jaret Winokur.

Hairspray is one of my favorite musicals of the last couple of decades. I love the score. Its got a great early 1960s sound.  And the show is just plain fun. I love it! I think it was an excellent choice and since its not that old show they were able to have one of its original stars re-create this role.

There were some technical issues throughout with some shaky camera work, sound going out a couple of times, and some odd camera angles, or blocked shots. There was a moment in one of the dance numbers where a couple of dancers were blocking a shot of two leads in an embrace for instance.  But I think that kind of adds to the excitement of doing it live. But then again I don't think I've noticed as many technical glitches as I did in this one. Lots of shadows on performers' faces too. The jail scene between Tracy and Link as one example. A couple times, Tracy was briefly out of her light in the Corny Collins Show stuff.

And I loved the retro commercials. Those were fun.  The Reddi-Whip milk man had me scratching my head. Was that a thing back then? But then I realized they were dong retro style commercials. I loved the Toyota spot best. I have to say it was jarring to see Derek Hough finish a number and then walk directly to the camera and do an Oreos commercial.

Speaking of Derek Hough, I knew he could dance, but he can sing and act too!

I think Maddie Baillio did a great job as Tracy. I loved that they had a talent search to fund an unknown and she did a great job carrying the show. She had great energy, which Tracy needs. I really liked Dove Cameron as Amber too. Garret Clayton as Link was the weak link in the main cast. He looked and moved great. He had some killer moves on the dance floor but not the strongest actor up there.

I LOVED Harvey Fierstein and Martin Short as Edna and Wilbur Turnblad. Their second-act song, You're Timeless to Me, was a high point for me. A couple of sketchy camera shots but otherwise, perfection. Two old pros showing you how its done. THAT'S Broadway to me.

Jennifer Hudson as Motormouth Maybelle? Singing I Know Where I've Been. Amazing! Brought the house down. But I felt she was a little small in stature to be Big Blonde and Beautiful.  Still loved her though.

Kristin Chenoweth was great as always. And they clearly re-wrote her numbers so she could hit those high notes at the end.

Speaking of re-writes, there seemed to be some re-writes form the stage version. There was no Big Dollhouse number and Tracy was the only one to get arrested and go to jail. In the Broadway version all the women wind up in jail.  But one of things I noticed with Grease Live! too was that they were doing a hybrid of the Broadway and movie versions of the show as opposed to doing a straight-up televised stage production.

The production design was amazing. Seriously, I loved the Baltimore street set with the Easter eggs in the names of the shops, Waters Plumbing, Divine Pet Food with a pink flamingo on the sign. Nice! And I totally geeked out when I realized that the two women escorting Tracy and Edna in and out of Mr. Pinky's were Marisa Jaret Winokur and Ricki Lake.  But seriously, I loved the set design. So much goes into these live productions. And this one looked fantastic.

Picky stuff...in opening number, Good Morning Baltimore, it was clearly not morning but nighttime as the scene was done outdoors after sunset in LA. And since when are there mountains in Baltimore? You could clearly see the Hollywood Hills in the background. I know I'm being nitpicky but these are the kinds of things I notice.  Like Billy Eichner as the news reporter with a couple of days scruff. That is a very NOW look. A TV host/emcee/reporter in 1962 would never go on the air looking like that.

Again, I'm being nitpicky. Most people wouldn't notice or care. And does it ruin the experience for me? No. It just takes men out of it when I see something that isn't period in a period piece.

I loved it overall!  And I think this one is the best of the NBC shows so far. Nest year, Bye Bye Birdie with Jennifer Lopez.

All in the Family Season 8 and all the feels!

Tonight, I finished watching my the Eighth Season of All in the Family. This is the final season with Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers, which in my opinion should have been the final season of All in the Family. The final episode of the season even plays like it could be a series finale.

All in the Family is one of my favorite series of all time. But there is definitely change in tone in the series around the Sixth Season. I believe this is when new show runners took over and this is also the season where Mike and Gloria are pregnant and they move into the Jefferson's house next door. The audience reactions aren't quite as loud and wild as they were in the first five seasons. Still loud but not the same. And there seems to be an increase in the level of slapstick in the series. i.e. Gloria and Archie giving each other the raspberries all the time, Mike and Archie always getting stuck in doorways, Gloria hitting Archie on the head, pulling on his chest hairs. The show still deals with major topics but they seem more universal and less of the time as they were in the early years.

Also in Season Six, the show was moved from its Saturday 8pm time slot because of the FCC's new Family Hour which meant the no shows with adult content could be shown before 9pm. That ruling was overturned due to law suits from producers like Norman Lear. But by then the damage had been done. For Season 7, All in the Family moved to Wednesday where it fell from 1 to 12 in the Nielsen Ratings. Midway through the season it was moved to Saturdays at 9 and then in Season 8 it moved to Sunday nights where it bounced back up to 4 and stayed in that time slot.

Now Season 8. What can I say. This particular season in my opinion is the best of the later seasons. In this season alone, Archie forges Edith's signature to mortgage the house and buy Kelsey's bar (the two-part season opener), they go to Cousin Liz's funeral and discover she was a lesbian and her roommate was her lover and wants the family heirloom tea set (Emmy best writing), the next episode, Edith almost gets raped on her 50th Birthday (Emmy for direction) and also a two-parter. There's a bunch of two-parters this season. Archie opens the bar and gets very little business so he gets hooked on pills (two-parter).  Next up, he gets recruited by the local KKK who have targeted Mike to burn a cross on his lawn (even though he has no lawn!) also a two-parter, a nice flashback episode for Mike and Gloria and how they met (clearly a showcase for there soon departing Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers), then another two-parter where Beverly LaSalle is killed as the result of a hate crime and Edith loses her faith in God. Archie's Super Bowl party is held up at gunpoint. Archie and Mike get locked in the storeroom overnight and Archie reveals a great deal about his upbringing. And then the final three episodes leading up to Mike and Gloria leaving for Mike's new job in California.  There are a few lighter episodes in there but Boy! A lot happened to this family in the course of six months! I'm glad this wasn't my family. Oy vey! (Sorry Archie)

As for that last episode, I can never sit through it without balling, I just watched it again for the umpteenth time and that last scene where they say their goodbyes...well let's just say I was sniffling and tears were streaming down my cheeks. That last shot of Archie and Edith sitting there in silence staring out as the camera slowly pulls back (what happened to the TV set that's usually in front of their chairs?) and the slow fade out..wow! just, wow!

Season Eight swept the Emmys in 1978 winning in all but one category, Supporting Actress for Sally Struthers. She won the next year for her guest appearance in the Ninth Season. Like I said its the best of the later seasons. Season Nine is a different show. No live studio audience, No Mike or Gloria and instead an adopted seven-year old girl, the daughter of a second cousin of Edith's. Not so great and not a fitting end to a great series.

Saturday nights on CBS were a family ritual in my house growing up. It's comfort food for me, watching all these old TV series and re-living my childhood and teen years.