So its been a month.
A month since I closed The Full Monty. A month since I shot my commercial (which is now airing thank you very much) and a month since I've had a single audition. Yup. A whole month of nothing. A big fat nothing.
After busting my ass with auditions for the fits six weeks of 2018, I have had nothing at all. But that's the nature of the business. Its either feast or famine. Always has been. I've been through this before. But still, it always makes me think..."What am I doing wrong?" or better still, "What can I be doing differently?"
I hate these slow periods. What do I do to keep myself going creatively? Well, I can write. Which is kind of the point of these blogs...to keep my creative juices flowing. I can vocalize and sing. I'm thinking about putting together another cabaret act. Its been about five years since my last one. I haven't vocalized regularly in a long time. All my voice lessons are on cassette tapes and my last cassette player died a couple years ago. So I recently purchased a tape to digital converter off of Amazon and voila! I know have my voice lessons on my computer. No more excuses.
On to the title of this blog, SAG. Why is that there? Well, because I am not a SAG member. Nor have I ever been. I am SAG eligible and have been for about a dozen years since I was Taft Hartleyed on a commercial. But I have never booked another SAG job since. Now eligible means that I can join at any time. I don't have to yet but I can. It also means that I can audition for SAG jobs. Which is why agents tend to say wait until you have to join before joining it's the best of both worlds they can submit you for both union and non-union work. And also because I make money doing non-union commercials, it makes sense to stay non-union.
And then, more and more work is going non-union. So more and more SAG actors are going financial core, which means they can work non-union jobs. This means they are fee paying non-members. You're still a SAG member but you lose your voting rights and the right to participate in SAG events, seminars, etc.
But I have also been in this business for a couple of decades and I am a man of, shall we say, a certain age. Managers say why is someone this age still non-union?
I ask myself, is it keeping me from getting further in my career. Am I not getting auditions for TV shows and union commercials because it doesn't say SAG on my resume? Well, not really because I DO get those auditions, just not often. This last year, I had 7 episodic TV auditions, and the last few went very well. I booked the room as they say. One office called me back a second time and all the casting people in the room laughed at my one line. So I know I booked the room if not the job.
Also, it costs $3,300 just to join the union. That's just to join. Then there's annual dues on top of that. Who has $3,300 lying around? Not me. So, if I join will I get those auditions I so desperately want? Or will I see even less activity because so many commercials now use non-union talent?
That is the dilemma and why agents want me to stay non-union. But I can't help wondering if I might get to the next level if I go SAG.
What do you think? Post your comments in the comments section of this blog. I'd love to know what you think.
Sunday, April 1, 2018
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Another Closing of Another Show
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| The stage after the final bow. |
Yesterday, we closed The Full Monty. I slept in today. I didn't work. I took the day off to rest and recuperate. This was another special show. I've been in many shows over the years and you get used to goodbyes. Its the life of an actor. You go from job to job. You get close, the show closes. You go your separate ways. When you're young its hard. But over the years, you get used to it. You don't take it so hard.
But every once in a while, you get cast in a show that is really special. This was one of them. I was a little emotional. Just as I was when I did another production of this show 10 years ago. There's something about this show. But I won't get into that here because I did that in my previous blog.
What do I want to say here? I want to express how much I will miss doing this show. It is so much fun and so moving. I love playing Harold. It is one of my favorite roles in one of my favorite shows that I have ever done and just wish that more of my friends had seen me in it. I'm very thankful for the friends who did make the trip down to San Diego but I do wish more could have seen me. This role just fits me like no other. It plays to all my strengths as an actor.
The owners of San Diego Musical Theatre (SDMT) welcomed all of us who are new to their them into their family when we started in January. And yesterday, when we closed I realized that it is a family. Everyone who works in that theater treated me with kindness and love. ALL of them. The whole crew. Michelle, our lighting designer, Jessica and Brooke, our sound team, Heather, Jonathan and Sarah, backstage, Stephen our TD, and my rock, the women who were there for me every single night through all the crazy, insane costume changes, Keira and Lexi. I can be a rather quiet, conservative person in life. I tend to keep myself at a safe distance. And yesterday it hit me, how at home they made me feel. And that this really was like a family.
It comes from the top, producers Erin and Gary Lewis, who we didn't see much because of their moving to a new house, created this family atmosphere. Don, our music director, Paul David, our choreographer and the two to whom I am most grateful, our stage manager Marie and director Neil.
It was intimidating to me, playing Harold for a director who himself played Harold about five years ago. But he gave me nothing but support and encouragement from day one.
And now the cast...Damn! I'm welling up as I think of them. The six as we were called, Steve, Danny, Jon, Ron Jack and myself. I can't believe we don't get to do this again. Sharing the stage, a dressing room and our fears and anxieties about revealing all to the world is something I will never forget. You guys rule MY world! (sorry for the obvious pun). I'm going to miss you terribly.
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| The Six. |
And now, my favorite moments of the show:
Karyn in Life With Harold. Specifically, her stuff with the boys and her big arm gestures as she went upstage.
Ron on his last exit laughing and strutting after he thanks God for putting the burden on "That Poor White Boy."
Oh, and his Big Black Man. Nuff said.
Luke's "I do this thing with a bull whip." Prompting me to run for the proscenium arch and hug it. Oh! and sticking out his big beautiful ass for "What do we think of that guy?" "I've seen better."
Paul''s hilarious audition as Reg.
Danny, breaking my heart every single night when he grabs Jerry and tells him not to ever call him a fat bastard again. I never told you this Danny, but I used that moment to help get me where I needed to be emotionally for my next scene.
Karyn, again, for bringing me up to your level in our final scene.
Jack, your physical comedy astounded me. And the expression on your face when Jon took your hand in You Walk With Me. It caught my breath every night.
Jon, the way you did a little Fred Flinstone dance with your feet before running into Danny and Steve's arms for "C'mon, group hug.", your three act cross in Act Two. LOL "Teddy bought hockey tickets." You Walk With Me. Harold melted in that scene. Every. Single. Night. You and Jack together holding each other. Wow.
The company in the hallway every night at the end of Act One waiting for the six of us to come upstairs and greeting us with high fives, low fives, videos, signs etc...
Alex as the ballroom dance instructor. OMG. My fave costume and wig in the entire show.
Stella as the old woman. Hard to keep a straight face listening to your ad libs. "It's already hot."
Amy, you make a great old Jewish mother. :)
Beth, "I don't think so pop-pops." and all your sass as Estelle in the break room scene. "When are you coming over?"
Joy and Danny. "Who wants to see this?" "Me, Dave. I do." So honest and raw. Every night.
Devlin's stumbling on Jeanette's lines: "Moxyoron" "...and a bad ta, a bad ta, ta, ta, ta...He had a bad wig."
Danny humping the piano and do an Irish jig to "get Harold"
Steve, the anti-wrinkle cream, and my favorite...how you laughed with joy every single night as we walked off stage "nekkid" after the finale.
Keira dressing me as I stripped down to nothing but my g-string before the final scene.
Jon, Jack, Danny and I bumping, grinding and dry humping one another behind the set during "The Goods"
Some of us boys mooning each other from either side of the stage during the bows.
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
Going The Full Monty...Again
This past weekend I opened in The Full Monty at San Diego Musical Theatre as Harold Nichols. Opening night was electric. It felt amazing considering it was a very daunting experience. Six men getting buck naked every night. It's scary. I've done the show before, but it was still scary.
Fortunately, our production team made sure that the six men in the cast felt safe. We were supported by our entire cast from day one. We rehearsed the show for two weeks in a rehearsal space and then moved into the theater for 10 days of rehearsals prior to opening night. We did not strip all the way until two nights before our preview performance in a closed rehearsal with no one but the director, choreographer, and dance captain present.
Coming off stage after the final bows and running upstairs and down the hall to our dressing room was an amazing feeling. Our entire cast was cheering us on as we ran down the hall. The six of us share one dressing room at the far end of the hall from the stairs down to the stage. Once we were all present, I broke out a bottle of champagne for the six of us to toast ourselves on a successful opening. We earned it. We've shared a unique experience with one another that no one else can share with us. We're in it together...a team.
I've done the show before so it was not my first time. So I was not as scared of the final moment in the show as some of the others in this cast. I did the show ten years ago in a small 99-seat theatre production in Los Angeles. A very different experience to say the least. A much smaller theater with a much smaller budget and none of the lighting effects typically used for that final moment of the show. That was a very special experience for me. I had wanted to play the role of Harold since seeing it on Broadway. And our little L.A. production almost didn't happen. But through a series of fortunate events (a benefactor) and good old fashioned "the show must go on chutzpah" we did it. I'm still very close with most everyone from that cast. Getting naked in front of them every weekend will do that. It remains one of the best theatrical experiences I have ever had and one of my favorite roles I've ever played. I've always wanted to play Harold again.
So here I am 10 years later playing the role in a bigger theater on a much bigger scale. What's different? Well, I'm ten years older. I have arthritis in some of my joints. I get stiff. My knees bother me. I don't learn choreography as quickly as I once did. The steps come to me fairly quickly, its memorizing the sequence that takes some time. It's frustrating to me because I've always put pressure on myself to be perfect. And I am not perfect. Not even close. My body doesn't work with the agility it used to.
When people hear you are doing The Full Monty, they automatically assume its about the strip. But its not. Its the ultimate underdog story. Six very different men all down on their luck come together and create something. It's about the journey. Not the destination. The audience is so caught up in the adventure that by the time we get to that final moment, they want the men to go all the way. Its not about the strip, its about them following through on what they set out to do despite all the setbacks.
And it feels so good to play that story and to go through that emotional roller coaster six times a week. This cast. These six men are so perfectly cast and all bring something amazing to the show. And the actresses playing the women in our lives couldn't be more wonderful and supportive. There is a lot of love and support from everyone backstage that includes the whole cast and our crew at The Horton Grand Theatre. This is why I wanted to do this show again. The love. The story. I hope if you're in Southern California, you'll come and see us.
We run through February 25. Link below to tickets:
San Diego Musical Theatre
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| Yes, that is actually the six of us on our stage. |
Fortunately, our production team made sure that the six men in the cast felt safe. We were supported by our entire cast from day one. We rehearsed the show for two weeks in a rehearsal space and then moved into the theater for 10 days of rehearsals prior to opening night. We did not strip all the way until two nights before our preview performance in a closed rehearsal with no one but the director, choreographer, and dance captain present.
Coming off stage after the final bows and running upstairs and down the hall to our dressing room was an amazing feeling. Our entire cast was cheering us on as we ran down the hall. The six of us share one dressing room at the far end of the hall from the stairs down to the stage. Once we were all present, I broke out a bottle of champagne for the six of us to toast ourselves on a successful opening. We earned it. We've shared a unique experience with one another that no one else can share with us. We're in it together...a team.
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| One of our show posters in front of the theater. |
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| Another poster in front. |
I've done the show before so it was not my first time. So I was not as scared of the final moment in the show as some of the others in this cast. I did the show ten years ago in a small 99-seat theatre production in Los Angeles. A very different experience to say the least. A much smaller theater with a much smaller budget and none of the lighting effects typically used for that final moment of the show. That was a very special experience for me. I had wanted to play the role of Harold since seeing it on Broadway. And our little L.A. production almost didn't happen. But through a series of fortunate events (a benefactor) and good old fashioned "the show must go on chutzpah" we did it. I'm still very close with most everyone from that cast. Getting naked in front of them every weekend will do that. It remains one of the best theatrical experiences I have ever had and one of my favorite roles I've ever played. I've always wanted to play Harold again.
So here I am 10 years later playing the role in a bigger theater on a much bigger scale. What's different? Well, I'm ten years older. I have arthritis in some of my joints. I get stiff. My knees bother me. I don't learn choreography as quickly as I once did. The steps come to me fairly quickly, its memorizing the sequence that takes some time. It's frustrating to me because I've always put pressure on myself to be perfect. And I am not perfect. Not even close. My body doesn't work with the agility it used to.
When people hear you are doing The Full Monty, they automatically assume its about the strip. But its not. Its the ultimate underdog story. Six very different men all down on their luck come together and create something. It's about the journey. Not the destination. The audience is so caught up in the adventure that by the time we get to that final moment, they want the men to go all the way. Its not about the strip, its about them following through on what they set out to do despite all the setbacks.
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| The view of the stage from the back of the house. |
And it feels so good to play that story and to go through that emotional roller coaster six times a week. This cast. These six men are so perfectly cast and all bring something amazing to the show. And the actresses playing the women in our lives couldn't be more wonderful and supportive. There is a lot of love and support from everyone backstage that includes the whole cast and our crew at The Horton Grand Theatre. This is why I wanted to do this show again. The love. The story. I hope if you're in Southern California, you'll come and see us.
We run through February 25. Link below to tickets:
San Diego Musical Theatre
Monday, January 1, 2018
A Look Back at 2017
On New Years, people make lists. They look back at the last year and list their top 10s or just reflect on the highs and lows of the past year and make resolutions or perhaps set goals for the next year.
I am not one for making New Years' resolutions. Why use the first of a new year as a reason to make changes or improvement in my life? It should be ongoing. Right? However, the end of the year can't help but make you reflect on the past year. And so much has changed in my life this past year, I do want to take stock of where I was and where I am.
I spent all of 2017 working in the theater. And I got to play a variety of roles in various genres. I started the year playing (don't laugh!) Cornelius Hackl in Hello Dolly. The reason you may be hearing about for the first time here is because it was for a one-weekend only church benefit cast mostly with church regulars and I was one of the pros brought into the production. You may scoff at me playing Cornelius at my age but based on the age of the other actors, it worked and I got to check off a dream role from my bucket list. Cornelius is the heart and sole of this show and I got sing a beautiful, ballad, dance and show off my comedy skills.
I went straight from Hello Dolly to 42nd Street at the Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre in Claremont. I had a great time working there and may some new friendships that have lasted beyond the run of that show. I played Pat Denning and while not a huge role and once again I was back in a musical in an almost non-singing role, Pat Denning sings about 16 bars of one song. But he does play a pivotal part in the plot as Dorothy Brock's love. I played opposite the wonderful Sarah Meals as Dorothy and I know I'll be back to Candlelight in the future.
While performing in 42nd Street, I began rehearsals for Hello Again, the musical which I directed at Chromolume Theatre in the spring. It was a big challenge. Not only is it rarely produced but it is the compete opposite of a Broadway blockbuster like the previous two shows. And as is typical of me, I had some pretty serious doubts that I could pull it off. But I did.
While in rehearsals for Hello Again, I heard from two other theaters in town asking if I would be interested in auditioning for their upcoming shows. Crown City Theatre in North Hollywood was producing an original play written by one of their Co-Artistic Directors. Somewhere in the Middle was a comedy-drama about a Jewish-Catholic family whose college-age daughter brings home a black, Palestinian, Muslim fiancé to meet the family on Passover. Think Norman Lear 1970s sitcom. I played the father and I loved being able to play a straight role as the patriarch of a family. We got great reviews and extended for a couple weekends.
And finally, I was asked to audition for the part of the Old Man in a stage adaptation of A Christmas Story, not the musical recently seen on FOX, but a straight play based on Jean Shepherd's stories. We opened in mid-November and closed on New Years Eve. The show was amazing. We sold out almost the entire run. The set, props and costumes were all top notch and the reviews were all raves. And best of all I had a role that was a real showcase for my talents. It was probably the most physically demanding role I have ever had. I was constantly out of breath backstage early in the run but as the run progressed, I noticed I wasn't as out of breath. And I lost some weight. Like seriously, my pants are hanging off of me.
And next, to start 2018, I return to one of my favorite roles of all time, Harold in The Full Monty, opening January 26 at San Diego Music Theatre and running through February 25. I start rehearsals tomorrow. Its a great to start the new year.
As I look back at last year, one word comes to mind...GRATEFUL. Look at the parts I played this year. All very different. Big budget musicals, small family dramas and comedies. I got to stretch my acting muscles and play so many different roles.
But the biggest step I took this year was quitting my job of 11 years so I could focus on my acting. Scary. Risky. Some might say Bold, maybe even crazy. Time will tell. I am scared but I also know that if I want to make a living as an actor, I need to focus on that and nothing else.
My goal this year is to book some co-stars on TV. I'm already off to a decent start with some auditions in the last couple of months. Based on the words listed at the top of this blog, what shows would you cast me in? Let me know in the comments section of this blog.
Thanks and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Thursday, October 5, 2017
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.
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.
Monday, September 11, 2017
Sixteen Years and it seems like another lifetime
My friend Gary re-posted a blog he wrote last year about the events following 9/11 in which he tagged me. It got me to thinking about that day and everything that transpired. He was among my close group of friends in New York. We spent the next few days following the attack on the World Trade Center in each other's company.
I remember the morning of September, 11, 2001 was a beautiful clear, early fall day. I worked full-time at the NFL as an administrative assistant and was also pursuing my acting career on the stage. It was a Tuesday morning so I had to be at work at 9am. But there was also an Equity Principal Audition (EPA) for the York Theatre Company's 2001-2002 season at their theater at St. Peter's Church art Citicorp on the corner of Lexington and 54th. The NFL office was on Park Avenue between 48th and 49th streets at that time.
My plan was to get in line for the EPA at York good and early, get an appointment for lunch time, then go to work and go to the audition on my lunch break. In NYC for Equity auditions, you typically have to be in line very early in the morning in order to get an appointment sometime later that day. We stood in line outside until the building was opened and then we proceed to go inside and down the elevator to the theater level. Once there, the line wind its way from the lobby, into the door to the theatre in the back row of the house and wound through each row of the auditorium and out the door at the from of the house back into the hallway off the lobby where the Equity monitor was set up at a table with the sign up sheet for the days auditions.
So here is the picture: a 144-seat black box theatre under a church in a modern high rise complex in mid-town Manhattan filled with actors standing in a line that weaves through each row of the theatre. Someone in the line has a radio of some sort (this is before iPods) and announces to the room that a place has hit one of the towers downtown. I immediately picture a little Cessna where maybe the pilot has passed out or had a heart attack and lost control of the plane (just like in Airport 1975) and hit the side of the building.
About 15 minutes later, we get word that another plane has hit the second tower. Someone in the room says, "We're being attacked!" A few people yell at him for suggesting such a thing. What an asshole. Way to make people panic, etc...
Then other's start checking to verify the info. It's true. Mind you, the line is progressing through all of this. A few people run out to check on their loved ones. I stay in line as it moves forward. I get my appointment time for later that day and leave. I head to work.
I walk up to Park Avenue and turn left towards downtown. Wherever there is a storefront with TV monitors in the windows, there are people gathered around watching it unfold. The towers are still standing at the point. When you look towards downtown, you can see the smoke in the sky.
I get to my office and sit down at my desk and start my usual Tuesday morning routine. I was responsible for sending credentials to all those who work games that are offsite, like umpires (who are local hires). I go about my day. All the execs have TVs in their offices. The TVs are on in everyone's offices. At one point, we receive an email blast that at 10: something we are all to go to the main conference room on our respective floors where someone from upper management would speak to us.
The conference room has a big projection screen on one wall. Its tuned in to the live coverage. As we are all standing there waiting for the Commissioner to come in and speak to us, we watch one of the towers go down on live television. Now I honestly don't remember at this point if that was the first or second tower we saw go down. I'm guessing it may have been the second one. This meeting had probably been called after the first one went down.
We watched in horror. I still remember Lisa Hatter getting on the phone trying to get one of the attorneys she worked for on the phone. He had gotten in a taxi to go get his wife who was in one of the towers trying to make her way out. She didn't make it.
Everything was shut down. We were stuck there. No public transportation in or out of Manhattan. The subways were shut down. I lived in Manhattan but way up in Washington Heights. An email was sen tout asking who lived in Manhattan and might be willing to let employees stay at their place if they couldn't get home that night.
I got a few emails from friends and family back home checking in to see if I was okay. I was fine. I was doing my job like I would any day. Because at this point, the NFL had not made a decision about that weekend's games, and wouldn't for another two days.
So I sat there working until finally at some point in the afternoon, it was announced that some of the subway lines were opened. I left and went home to my empty apartment on this beautiful sunny day. And I turned on the TV. There was no cell service because the cell towers were on top of the Twin Towed. Fortunately, in 2001 cell phones were not as ubiquitous as they are now. I had only owned one for about 5 months and barely even used it.
All channels were using the CBS 2 feed because unlike all the other major NYC channels, CBS had their tower on The Empire State Building. So essentially, everyone was using CBS's feed that day. I sat there watching as Building & went down on live TV. There was nothing else on TV. The only thing to watch was the events unfolding. My friends invited me to an impromptu service at their church on the Upper West Side. I declined because I'm uncomfortable in churches and with sermons.
So I stayed home, by myself. At one point I couldn't take it anymore and I turned off the TV and went outside for a walk. But even there I saw reminders. It was in the air for God's sake. I also lived about 3 and a half blocks from the George Washington Bridge which was all lit up like Cinderella's Castle at Walt Disney World at night. There were helicopters over head and military vehicles at either end. There was no escaping it.
Wednesday, everything was closed. None of us had to go into work that day. However, the EPA for the York Theater which was cancelled on Tuesday, would be happening on Wednesday and they would be honoring your appointment time from Tuesday on Wednesday. So I went to that. It was empty. Mid-town Manhattan was somewhat empty with only some restaurants and cafes open for tourists that were in town. Everything else? Closed.
I went back up to Washington Heights and met up with my friends Gary, Tracy and Mark. We wanted to hang out but there wasn't much to do but watch the events on TV. I couldn't take that. I needed a break. I suggested we go outside for a walk. So we did. We walked up from Fort Tryon Park in Washington Heights in to Inwood Park and then back down. As we were headed back down to Washington Heights, we detected a smell in the air. A sort of burning smell. Someone said it was from the Towers. I said that was impossible, we were too far away. As walked further down, I realized they were right. The winds were blowing in our direction. That's exactly what it was.
The next day Thursday, back to work. However, there was a bomb scare around lunch time and we had to evacuate. There were reports of bomb scares around Grand Central, Penn Station, Rockefeller Center and The Empire State Building. When we walked outside, we could see at least three other buildings nears being evacuated. My boss told me to just go home. I called Tracy and told her what was happening. She was afraid to take the subway by herself so we had gone to work together that morning. I waited for her so we could meet and ride home together.
I was scheduled to leave for a trip to London on Monday the 17th. My friend Mark called immediately after the attack on the 11th and told me to cancel my trip. I said no. That was silly. I would wait and see what played out over the next few days before making my decision. On Saturday, air travel returned to the United States and I would be able to make my trip on Monday to London. But at this point, I was scared at what world events might unfurl while I was there. What if London was attacked? What if the US declare war on whoever was responsible and I was stuck oil a foreign country away from my family and friends. So I cancelled my trip.
I went to Albany, NY and visited my family for a week instead. A couple weeks alter, I turned 40. A couple months after that, my father was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). My friend Mark and I decided to move to Los Angeles. Eventually, I moved to LA on my own. But turning 40, my dad's death and 9/11 were the main contributing factors. What was I waiting for? Life is too short. Go for it!
I have now been her e over 14 years. That's longer than I loved in NYC. And now NYC seems like another lifetime. Was that ever really my life? Did that really happen? It did. And every year on 9/11, I am reminded of that day and my life in NYC and my friends. Tracy, Gary, Mark, Jason (who moved to Baltimore only one week before the attack), Noelle, Michael and Peter. Tracy and Peter are the only ones of us left in NYC. I see them whenever I go back to NYC. I miss them. But I think this was the right move.
I remember the morning of September, 11, 2001 was a beautiful clear, early fall day. I worked full-time at the NFL as an administrative assistant and was also pursuing my acting career on the stage. It was a Tuesday morning so I had to be at work at 9am. But there was also an Equity Principal Audition (EPA) for the York Theatre Company's 2001-2002 season at their theater at St. Peter's Church art Citicorp on the corner of Lexington and 54th. The NFL office was on Park Avenue between 48th and 49th streets at that time.
My plan was to get in line for the EPA at York good and early, get an appointment for lunch time, then go to work and go to the audition on my lunch break. In NYC for Equity auditions, you typically have to be in line very early in the morning in order to get an appointment sometime later that day. We stood in line outside until the building was opened and then we proceed to go inside and down the elevator to the theater level. Once there, the line wind its way from the lobby, into the door to the theatre in the back row of the house and wound through each row of the auditorium and out the door at the from of the house back into the hallway off the lobby where the Equity monitor was set up at a table with the sign up sheet for the days auditions.
So here is the picture: a 144-seat black box theatre under a church in a modern high rise complex in mid-town Manhattan filled with actors standing in a line that weaves through each row of the theatre. Someone in the line has a radio of some sort (this is before iPods) and announces to the room that a place has hit one of the towers downtown. I immediately picture a little Cessna where maybe the pilot has passed out or had a heart attack and lost control of the plane (just like in Airport 1975) and hit the side of the building.
About 15 minutes later, we get word that another plane has hit the second tower. Someone in the room says, "We're being attacked!" A few people yell at him for suggesting such a thing. What an asshole. Way to make people panic, etc...
Then other's start checking to verify the info. It's true. Mind you, the line is progressing through all of this. A few people run out to check on their loved ones. I stay in line as it moves forward. I get my appointment time for later that day and leave. I head to work.
I walk up to Park Avenue and turn left towards downtown. Wherever there is a storefront with TV monitors in the windows, there are people gathered around watching it unfold. The towers are still standing at the point. When you look towards downtown, you can see the smoke in the sky.
I get to my office and sit down at my desk and start my usual Tuesday morning routine. I was responsible for sending credentials to all those who work games that are offsite, like umpires (who are local hires). I go about my day. All the execs have TVs in their offices. The TVs are on in everyone's offices. At one point, we receive an email blast that at 10: something we are all to go to the main conference room on our respective floors where someone from upper management would speak to us.
The conference room has a big projection screen on one wall. Its tuned in to the live coverage. As we are all standing there waiting for the Commissioner to come in and speak to us, we watch one of the towers go down on live television. Now I honestly don't remember at this point if that was the first or second tower we saw go down. I'm guessing it may have been the second one. This meeting had probably been called after the first one went down.
We watched in horror. I still remember Lisa Hatter getting on the phone trying to get one of the attorneys she worked for on the phone. He had gotten in a taxi to go get his wife who was in one of the towers trying to make her way out. She didn't make it.
Everything was shut down. We were stuck there. No public transportation in or out of Manhattan. The subways were shut down. I lived in Manhattan but way up in Washington Heights. An email was sen tout asking who lived in Manhattan and might be willing to let employees stay at their place if they couldn't get home that night.
I got a few emails from friends and family back home checking in to see if I was okay. I was fine. I was doing my job like I would any day. Because at this point, the NFL had not made a decision about that weekend's games, and wouldn't for another two days.
So I sat there working until finally at some point in the afternoon, it was announced that some of the subway lines were opened. I left and went home to my empty apartment on this beautiful sunny day. And I turned on the TV. There was no cell service because the cell towers were on top of the Twin Towed. Fortunately, in 2001 cell phones were not as ubiquitous as they are now. I had only owned one for about 5 months and barely even used it.
All channels were using the CBS 2 feed because unlike all the other major NYC channels, CBS had their tower on The Empire State Building. So essentially, everyone was using CBS's feed that day. I sat there watching as Building & went down on live TV. There was nothing else on TV. The only thing to watch was the events unfolding. My friends invited me to an impromptu service at their church on the Upper West Side. I declined because I'm uncomfortable in churches and with sermons.
So I stayed home, by myself. At one point I couldn't take it anymore and I turned off the TV and went outside for a walk. But even there I saw reminders. It was in the air for God's sake. I also lived about 3 and a half blocks from the George Washington Bridge which was all lit up like Cinderella's Castle at Walt Disney World at night. There were helicopters over head and military vehicles at either end. There was no escaping it.
Wednesday, everything was closed. None of us had to go into work that day. However, the EPA for the York Theater which was cancelled on Tuesday, would be happening on Wednesday and they would be honoring your appointment time from Tuesday on Wednesday. So I went to that. It was empty. Mid-town Manhattan was somewhat empty with only some restaurants and cafes open for tourists that were in town. Everything else? Closed.
I went back up to Washington Heights and met up with my friends Gary, Tracy and Mark. We wanted to hang out but there wasn't much to do but watch the events on TV. I couldn't take that. I needed a break. I suggested we go outside for a walk. So we did. We walked up from Fort Tryon Park in Washington Heights in to Inwood Park and then back down. As we were headed back down to Washington Heights, we detected a smell in the air. A sort of burning smell. Someone said it was from the Towers. I said that was impossible, we were too far away. As walked further down, I realized they were right. The winds were blowing in our direction. That's exactly what it was.
The next day Thursday, back to work. However, there was a bomb scare around lunch time and we had to evacuate. There were reports of bomb scares around Grand Central, Penn Station, Rockefeller Center and The Empire State Building. When we walked outside, we could see at least three other buildings nears being evacuated. My boss told me to just go home. I called Tracy and told her what was happening. She was afraid to take the subway by herself so we had gone to work together that morning. I waited for her so we could meet and ride home together.
I was scheduled to leave for a trip to London on Monday the 17th. My friend Mark called immediately after the attack on the 11th and told me to cancel my trip. I said no. That was silly. I would wait and see what played out over the next few days before making my decision. On Saturday, air travel returned to the United States and I would be able to make my trip on Monday to London. But at this point, I was scared at what world events might unfurl while I was there. What if London was attacked? What if the US declare war on whoever was responsible and I was stuck oil a foreign country away from my family and friends. So I cancelled my trip.
I went to Albany, NY and visited my family for a week instead. A couple weeks alter, I turned 40. A couple months after that, my father was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). My friend Mark and I decided to move to Los Angeles. Eventually, I moved to LA on my own. But turning 40, my dad's death and 9/11 were the main contributing factors. What was I waiting for? Life is too short. Go for it!
I have now been her e over 14 years. That's longer than I loved in NYC. And now NYC seems like another lifetime. Was that ever really my life? Did that really happen? It did. And every year on 9/11, I am reminded of that day and my life in NYC and my friends. Tracy, Gary, Mark, Jason (who moved to Baltimore only one week before the attack), Noelle, Michael and Peter. Tracy and Peter are the only ones of us left in NYC. I see them whenever I go back to NYC. I miss them. But I think this was the right move.
Friday, August 25, 2017
Show Opening and New Works
For the past two months I have been rehearsing a new play. An original piece called Somewhere in the Middle or Guess Who's Coming to Passover? Tonight we have our first preview performance at Crown City Theatre in North Hollywood. Official opening is next Saturday September 2. For more info, click here:
Crown City Theatre
Its been a challenging experience for me, having the opportunity to create a role in an original piece. Typically, I am in a well known play or musical that most everyone is familiar with. In the last two years I've been in productions of Hello Dolly, 42nd Street, How to Succeed, Putnam County Spelling Bee and The Odd Couple. You get the picture.
Not only am I working on a new piece, but the director is also the playwright so its especially daunting knowing that you are bringing his vision, his creation to life. Unlike an already published or well known piece, and depending on the author/director, you have some input on the development of the character. Its been a very nice experience. If any lines don't make sense coming out of my mouth, I can bring it up. If I have trouble with a line it will get cut or re-written as we fine tune the piece.
It's also a small ensemble piece, meaning there are only 6 in the cast and there are no lead roles. We are all equal. Its the story of a family: mother, father (me), college age daughter, teenage son and grandmother (my mother) and the daughter's new boyfriend who she brings home to meet the family. They are a white, Jewish-Christian family. The bf is Black, Muslim and Palestinian. Wacky chaos ensues. Just kidding. Chaos does ensue as the various family members argue the various sides of several issues including race, religion and the middle east. But its not wacky. Its thoughtful and intelligent with a great deal of humor thrown in. If you're in LA over the next 6 weeks, come see us. Tickets are only $20.
In other news, I've done some writing and I have ideas for sketches and short films I want to film. I have also thought about doing a vlog on youtube. But I'm having trouble deciding what it should be about. I have followed several on youtube. They always seem to be made by young people under 35. And their vlogs are not about anything in particular. They just show their lives. Every day they release a new video to youtube or maybe once a week. Its just their day. Nothing special. But hey are always well put together, nice editing, photography, music etc. But, again, nothing special. Just their lives.
And they get thousands of hits per video. Thousands! They get sponsors and merchandise. Just from posting videos of their days. Why is that? What makes them go viral? And why don't I see any made by people of my generation? Is there a market or need for that? Is this a generational thing just for the young whippersnappers out there?
If I were to do a vlog, what would you want to see on there? Something geared towards my generation? Something like education on how to use youtube? or the many apps and new technology that are out there? Advice? Ask Richard?
Write in and tell me what you would like to see on my vlogs. Seriously, write me and let me know what you'd like to see. And check out my updated website when you get chance:
RichardVanSlyke.com
Crown City Theatre
Its been a challenging experience for me, having the opportunity to create a role in an original piece. Typically, I am in a well known play or musical that most everyone is familiar with. In the last two years I've been in productions of Hello Dolly, 42nd Street, How to Succeed, Putnam County Spelling Bee and The Odd Couple. You get the picture.
Not only am I working on a new piece, but the director is also the playwright so its especially daunting knowing that you are bringing his vision, his creation to life. Unlike an already published or well known piece, and depending on the author/director, you have some input on the development of the character. Its been a very nice experience. If any lines don't make sense coming out of my mouth, I can bring it up. If I have trouble with a line it will get cut or re-written as we fine tune the piece.
It's also a small ensemble piece, meaning there are only 6 in the cast and there are no lead roles. We are all equal. Its the story of a family: mother, father (me), college age daughter, teenage son and grandmother (my mother) and the daughter's new boyfriend who she brings home to meet the family. They are a white, Jewish-Christian family. The bf is Black, Muslim and Palestinian. Wacky chaos ensues. Just kidding. Chaos does ensue as the various family members argue the various sides of several issues including race, religion and the middle east. But its not wacky. Its thoughtful and intelligent with a great deal of humor thrown in. If you're in LA over the next 6 weeks, come see us. Tickets are only $20.
In other news, I've done some writing and I have ideas for sketches and short films I want to film. I have also thought about doing a vlog on youtube. But I'm having trouble deciding what it should be about. I have followed several on youtube. They always seem to be made by young people under 35. And their vlogs are not about anything in particular. They just show their lives. Every day they release a new video to youtube or maybe once a week. Its just their day. Nothing special. But hey are always well put together, nice editing, photography, music etc. But, again, nothing special. Just their lives.
And they get thousands of hits per video. Thousands! They get sponsors and merchandise. Just from posting videos of their days. Why is that? What makes them go viral? And why don't I see any made by people of my generation? Is there a market or need for that? Is this a generational thing just for the young whippersnappers out there?
If I were to do a vlog, what would you want to see on there? Something geared towards my generation? Something like education on how to use youtube? or the many apps and new technology that are out there? Advice? Ask Richard?
Write in and tell me what you would like to see on my vlogs. Seriously, write me and let me know what you'd like to see. And check out my updated website when you get chance:
RichardVanSlyke.com
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