New Head Shots

I recently had new head shots done. I've picked some serious photos  taken by my friend Anthony Campanella, which you can find on my fb page and my personal website.

Today, I'm trying to pick some lighter looks that I can use for commercials, musical theatre and sitcoms. Attached are some of my options. Let me know which ones you like.

Leave comments in the comments section below. All photos above courtesy of Sarah Kreig Photography.

Arsenic and Old Lace and other classic comedies

Last night I saw Arsenic and Old Lace at Glendale Centre Theatre. A friend of mine was in the show and as it turns out a few friends were in the audience as well.

I first discovered Arsenic and Old Lace via the movie version on TV when I was around college age. It was my introduction to Cary Grant. Love him in this movie. So damn funny. I like the play too. Not as much as some of the other classic Broadway comedies of that era but I still like it quite a bit. I tend to like the older plays from the mid-20th century (Kaufman and Hart's plays, Neil Simon's a couple of decades later).  So many great plays.

So many plays that were standards in community, stock, college and high school theaters all across the country for decades. But these days, maybe not as frequently performed, although still done on occasion. Now I sometimes hesitate when I go to see productions of this era these days. Afraid they may not stay true to the era they were written by modernizing some references or clothing styles.

I am happy to report this production did not disappoint in that department.  There was one joke in the second act that referenced Judith Andersen, and I had to process it. Mortimer says to his aunts who are dressed all in black for a funeral service, that they look like Judith Andersen. And then I thought to myself. Judith Andersen. Older actress, British Dame. Known for Medea. Oh! And the Alfred Hitchcock movie, Rebecca where she played Mrs. Danvers who was obsessed with the first Mrs. de Winter and is dressed all in black throughout the movie. Oh. Yeah. Funny! I wonder how many people in the audience got that. I'd say none based not he fact that it didn't get a laugh.

But back to the play. The pacing was good for the most part. There was one actor in the opening scene who did not have good pacing.  I liked the actor playing Mortimer. He reminded me A LOT of Danny Thomas. I'm guessing if I told him that he would have no idea who Danny Thomas was.  My one quibble with  him was that he was considerably younger than the two actors playing his brothers. Both were also quite good as were the two aunts. What great parts!

The actor playing Jonathan was great. He looked scary and moved kind of like Boris Karloff in Frankenstein, (which is the main gag for his character).  But he really had it down. He was funny.

The reason I'm going on about this is that about 10 years ago saw a production of Arsenic and Old Lace that was not good.  And I saw it because I knew several people involved in it. In fact, they closed it down, re-cast a couple of roles and re-opened it. It was definitely better the second time around. But man, the first version. Yikes! I felt like the lead actors didn't get it. They didn't get the style at all. And this brings me to my point.

I feel that many actors who are a decade or more younger than me, don't get plays and TV shows from before the 1980s. Seriously. Like they don't know how to play comedy at all. And I'm talking about really good well-trained actors who are serious about their craft. And maybe that's my problem. Not that I don't take these plays seriously. But to me there is a whole style of acting that has gone out of favor. And its the kind of acting that I like. I feel like a relic.

I feel this type of play falls into the sitcom category as well. There were many plays on Broadway around the 1960s or so (like the Neil Simon plays) that come from the same type of humor...sitcom. Setup. Setup. Joke.  Guaranteed laughs.  But I think so many actors today don't grow with that so they don't get it. They try to dissect and analyze and approach it like a serious piece. And they miss the beats, the rhythms. Because all great comedy has a rhythm, a pacing, a style. You need to know this and feel it in addition to all the other acting research.

So I am happy to say that Arsenic and Old Lace at Glendale Centre Theatre got it right. It was a delight.

To Blog or No To Blog - Why Am I Blogging?

So why am I doing this? I mean why not blog? After all this is 2015, not 2006.  A good question. Let me give you a good answer...I don't know. Why not?

Why am I doing this? Honestly, its an outlet. And its to keep the creative juices flowing. You see I have written in the past and I have many ideas for projects, web series, short films, sketches, videos, plays. But I can't seem to write them. You see I get these ideas and I jot some notes down. I might even sit at the computer and start writing. But then I get stuck. I don't know where I am going. I run out of ideas. So I stop.

So for me this is a way to keep writing every day. Some of you may have heard of The Artist's Way and morning pages. I used to morning pages years ago. I haven't in a long time. This is my morning pages in a way. I'm not doing them first thing in the morning, but I am writing every day. I'm exercising that muscle and hopefully freeing the ideas to come to me. At least I hope that's what is happening. Maybe I'm just opening the flow of diarrhea from my brain. (I know. Eww!)

So this is an exercise and an outlet. A way to express myself. And also to see if my thoughts and ideas mean anything to anyone else. You see, (full disclosure), I am an actor and as you may have heard, we're a needy bunch. We need constant reassurance that you like what we are doing. Look up neurotic in the dictionary and you'll see one of the definitions is an actor.

I am seriously flawed in this department. I need constant positive feedback. When I don't get it, I my self-worth sinks. I have no confidence in my abilities or talents. Remember Sally Field when she won her second Oscar? "You like me! You really like me!" Yup! That's pretty much it.

Now by nature, I am not a needy person. I am pretty self-sufficient and independent. But when it comes to my work, acting, writing, directing, I need to know. It was especially bad in college. I was often in the head of there theater department's office crying about something, begging for validation. I  had to prove myself to everyone. They needed to validate my talent as an actor. Oy vey!

Today, not so bad. I may not say anything. But believe me the insecurity is still there, deep down inside, festering, just waiting for someone to come along and pay me a compliment and then just like magic, it's gone. Poof! Like magic.

It's really hard when I have to be myself in front of an audience. I have a cabaret act that I've done a few times. Toughest thing I ever did. Because it's me. It's all me. I share so many of my private thoughts and feelings. Will the audience like me? Will they find me as funny as I want them to? Will they feel where I want them to? Will they accept me for just being me and sharing my life? There's no character to hide behind. Just me. Fortunately, it worked. But oh the anxiety. The nerves.

I've written that and I wrote sketch for a few years at Acme Comedy Theatre. Sometimes it took much to write. I wouldn't get an idea until the last minute.  So much pressure. Are my ideas any good? Will they think its funny?

I wrote a web series a couple of years ago. I was so unsure I could do it alone, I asked a friend from Acme, Kate Danley, to help me bring my idea to life. I wasn't sure if she would think it was a good idea. But she did like it. And she helped write and produce the first season. And let me tell you I couldn't have a had a better partner. She has since gone on to be a prolific novelist. Great books. You can find them here:

http://www.katedanley.com/books.html

And our series, The Playhouse did quite well too. In fact, I did a second season all on my own since Kate's writing career actually took off at that point.  Here is a link to The Playhouse:

The Playhouse Soap Opera A Web Series

I have a play I've written. I wrote it about 10 years ago. I've shown to a couple of people, who liked it. But I haven't done anything with it. I think its time to have a reading. I have short film that I think is great idea, but I have never shared with anyone. I think its time. I've also written a few episodes of a web series with a class mate. We really should get around to filming that. What do you think? Do approve?