Almost

 Thanks to all who tuned in on Halloween Night to see Titus Andronicus!  It was a crazy whirlwind of a process, and I think we all ended up being really proud of how it turned out. If you haven't seen it yet, you still can!  Here is the link:   https://bit.ly/SBTSWatchTitus So, as we come out of this experiment and head into the next one, Measure for Measure, I thought I'd blog about the process and the experience now that it is done. And I am really sad that it is done.  I didn't think I'd get post-show blues from having done a show only one time, but oh how I long for a nice five or six week run of Titus Andronicus.  And I think we all felt like had we had another week of rehearsals (except Jonathan who said he only wanted one more), we really would have cracked this baby wide open.  There is so much to this play that I never imagined.  Love of family and country, and doing whatever it takes to protect what is important to you.  It's a...

  Shakespeare's bloodiest play is coming into your homes from our stage in the parking lot at Little Fish Theatre on Halloween Night!  That's right!  We are getting covid tested.  Spraying down our playing area.  Staying the hell away from each other (mostly) and putting on a play in front of cameras that will stream and you can watch it!  It's free!  You are also free to donate.  Visit shakespearebythesea.org to reserve your tickets. As I have mentioned before, it has been a crazy process.  We have had all of our rehearsals so far on zoom.  And, I think I speak for everybody when I say zoom sucks.  I mean, thank god for it, but it sucks.  It is certainly no way to rehearse a tragedy.   And for me, this has been a really difficult process.  Not to be a whiny, little actor who always has everything go his way, but I'm used to everything going pretty much my way.  Meaning, I learn my lines on my feet.  In...

 2020, amiright?   But as fun as it may be to simply ascribe all of our problems to the calendar year, the truth is, this is where we are.  It is up to you to vote it away.  Please vote!   That was my public service announcement.  I will now continue to write about myself for the remainder of this blog.  Side note:  I had an interesting discussion with a friend of mine recently about narcissism and the artist.  I don't think I'm a narcissist, and yet here I am with a blog about myself in the art and not necessarily the art in myself .  Perhaps technology and social media has made narcissists of us all?  Or maybe that's a cop out.  I don't believe that I am a narcissist (but what narcissist does?) but I know that I used to be at least that, if not a fucking dick.  Those who knew me in my twenties can probably attest to this.  My life is filled with many regrets and much shame.  Most of that takes place ...

"I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream—past the wit of man to say what dream it was. Man is but an ass if he go about to expound this dream. Methought I was—there is no man can tell what. Methought I was, and methought I had—but man is but a patched fool if he will offer to say what methought I had. The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man’s hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report what my dream was."  Bottom's Dream (I got to say that! and be him!) When I decided to become an actor, I was 13 years old.  I played Huck Finn is "Tom Sawyer" because a friend of my parents, David Long, who was a teacher my parents knew thought I should audition. I was going through a rough time.  My Papa (my grandfather who I worshipped) had died, I gave up on my baseball dreams because although I was a crackerjack infielder and baserunner, I just couldn't hit.  Because I was going through emotional turmoil, I...

Covid-19 is wreaking havoc on the world.  People are dying.  People are terrified.  People are weirdly hoarding toilet paper.   It is impossible to overstate the impact of this pandemic, both human and financial. Things are bleak.  And when things are bleak, we turn to entertainment.  But there are no sports to watch.  Disneyland is closed.  You really shouldn't be going out to restaurants, movie theaters, and clubs.  And worst of all, for me, is that theatres are shut down until the curve is smashed. If you are rolling your eyes at that, you aren't alone.  I have hundreds of actor friends on Facebook...(and yes, I've stopped my personal "social-media distancing" for the time being...I'm back on the 'book) and I've seen post after post of actors bemoaning that their shows are being postponed or cancelled.  And I was one of the people rolling my eyes.  How trivial in such a time to care about this?... ...and then it hit...

The in-between is almost over. I just got cast in "Almost, Maine" at the Rubicon! I'm at a point in my career when I almost always get offered roles without auditioning.  But this is one I knew I would have to pull up my big boy pants and go and get.  I am working with Steph again, which is the greatest!  We really do make each other better working together.  But there are times when Steph subtly lets me know that there may not be a role for me in one of her projects.  And early on, she was laying it on pretty thick.  She told me that the playwright thinks the play should be done with a cast of 30 year olds.  And I am not that.  But I have loved this play since two of my friends from Grad School read a scene from it when they were trying to find a showcase scene.  I have been dying to do it for more than a decade.  It's a really beautiful play.  Magical!  And it's all about relationships and some of the scenes are lovely an...