Women Directors in Commercials

So last week, I worked on a commercial.  A big achievement in my career on its own. However, as I stood in the room waiting for my callback to begin, and was introduced to the director it struck me the director was unlike any commercial director I had worked with before. This director was a woman.

Now you're probably asking yourself, "What's the big deal about that?" And seriously, I wish I could say nothing. But the truth is I've only ever worked with men directors on commercials. As I stood there, I had to think about it. "Yes! This is the first time, the director was a woman."

And I thought some more, "Has this been true for the movies and TV shows I've worked on too?" I had to think back. My God! It's true, I could only think of one woman director I've worked with on a film. And that was just last month. There have been plenty of woman assistant directors, but no directors.

Then my next thought was. "Why should I be having this reaction? This shouldn't be a big deal."  But when I thought about it more, I realized it was true. Then I questioned why haven't I ever worked with a female commercial director, especially in this day and age. Is it really that unusual? It's 2017. And I thought more, have I ever worked with a black commercial director? Nope. Again, worked with some black male directors on film projects. But not commercials. Why is that? Latino males? Yes. One. Because it was a commercial for Spanish language markets. On Films. Yes. Asian? Films. Yes. Commercials. No.

Again, on stage, I've worked with plenty of directors of all colors and genders. But then the theater world is much more progressive in that way. Still not perfect, but ahead of the curve in relation to TV and film.  We've all been reading and hearing about the struggle from pretty much any groups that aren't made up of white men in the media in the last couple of years. And it's real. Of course, I'm a white male so do these words mean anything coming from me?

Yes, the mere fact that I thought to myself, "A woman director? I don't think I've ever worked with one on a commercial." But my next thought was, "Wow! Sad. It's 2017. I thought we'd come further than this." There's a reason women are being more and more vocal these days in their right to get equal pay and opportunities. Despite the progress made by the previous couple of generations of women and blacks and Latinos and Asians and LGBTQs, there is still along way to go.

The point that struck me the most standing in that room waiting for my callback to start was how sad it was that I had that thought at all. I shouldn't have those thoughts because there should be more women directors making commercials and TV shows and films, etc.  I look forward to the day that I don't have those thoughts because it won't be the least bit unusual.

It's been three weeks! What am I doing with my life?

In my last blog, I shared that I had left my job of 11 years.  My last day on the job was June 30.  Today marks three full weeks since leaving the job. What have I been doing with myself since then?
Not a damn thing. Well, that's a slight exaggeration. I have been out hiking in the hills and I've taken my bike out on a couple of rides on the beach and along the LA River. And I've been going to the gym.

And last week was spent in my hometown of Albany, NY visiting family, which means I went to Saratoga Race Track and Lake George.

Saratoga Race Track Opening Day

I have managed to roll over my retirement plan to an IRA and I have elected options for dental and eye care plans. But I still have not figured out the health care.  I did manage to go online to the Obamacare site and to the CA State site and look around at all the options. Its overwhelming! And as soon as I put in my personal information, my phone starts ringing off the hook with calls from sales reps trying to sell me insurance plans.  Within 5 minutes of putting in my info, the phone rang. And while I was on that call, the phone was ringing with another. I told the guy I wanted to research on the Internet and decide what I wanted. I hung up. Within the next 40 minutes, the phone rang several times. I continued getting calls every day through this past Friday. Today is the first weekday that it hasn't rung. Phew!


In the meantime, how is the acting career going? Well, I have the play I'm rehearsing. But we're off for the month of July so I'm on my own learning lines. Although I managed to get 2 of my 5 co-stars over to run lines one night. I'm interviewing for a directing job tonight. And I met the Artistic Director of another theater 10 days ago about directing and/or acting there next season.

But other than that...cricket. cricket. Hello? McFly?  Is anybody there? This is what happens. I take time off so I can have the freedom to go to more auditions and not a single audition since I left the job. My last one was two days before I left the job.

I have no income at this point. But I do have a savings account. And there is the IRA. And I rolled over my retirement plan into an IRA to make it easier to access the funds IF NEED BE. its only for emergencies. But its there. So I'm not panicking. At the same time, I am worried. Because, well...there's no income!! And I am a worrier. This is tough.  One of the reasons I've worked full time is because I need the daily structure in my life. Being freelance feels weird. Like I'm skipping school! "What's he doing home in the middle of the day?" "Why does that man have to time to be hiking during a work day?" Those are the voices in my head talking to me.

I've got a couple jobs I've applied for online. And I'll be spending the next couple weeks applying for more. Ideally looking for a couple of part time jobs to give me enough to live off of.  Till then, I'm writing and learning lines. And submitting myself for everything that sounds remotely possible for me.

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!