Yesterday, I attended the closing performance of ONCE UPON A MATTRESS. I music-directed this production, and this was the last production I'll be involved with this year, and this decade. Quite a significant event. So I went back and compiled a list of theatrical statistics for myself from 2000-2009.
I was involved with 45 productions.
I acted in 38.
I understudied in 3, 2 of which I got to go on.
I directed 2. (Hopefully that number will be larger next decade.)
I music-directed 6 (in various capacities).
I did a particular show more than once 8 times.
I played the same role more than once 6 times.
The most number of productions I was involved with in a year is 7 (in 2007, 2008, and 2009).
The least number of productions I was involved with in a year (if you don't count the year 2001, which was zero) was in 2000, with just one.
I did at least 520 performances this decade. (It's significantly more than that - I was being conservative when I estimated.)
I performed with 17 different theater companies, 16 of which I hadn't performed with before, and 4 of which are Equity.
That's everything that was of interest to me that I can bore you with.
This past weekend, I went to see ARSENIC AND OLD LACE at Georgia Ensemble. Not bad - I'd give it a 3.75 out of 5. That show is frequently a community theatre cash cow, which made me so glad to see an Equity house doing it. It was definitely the most efficient Arsenic I've seen. Bob Farley, the show's director, cut quite a few lines here and there just to keep it moving, and also placed the intermission in a different spot. In the middle of a scene, actually. He also got rid of a scene break in Act 2, and just made it one big scene. I never understood why there was a scene break there anyway when the dialogue just picked up where it left off. My two favorite performances came from Rob Hardie as Teddy (GREAT energy, and let's face it, this is an easy role for him) and the always-reliable Charles Green as Dr. Einstein, who is Jonathan's (Robert Egizio) sidekick. Charles held his own with Mr. Egizio and even managed to upstage him sometimes.
A couple of performances I wasn't so keen on dragged my rating down a bit. The two old ladies were fine, but they didn't differentiate the roles. That's one of the faults of the script. It's so easy for Abby and Martha to be interchangeable, and that's exactly how they were in this production. There are subtle differences in the women, and if a director chooses to delve into that, they can be brought out more. I don't think Bob really did that. Just my opinion.
I wasn't a big fan of the performance from the actress who played Elaine. She seemed a bit phoney and "acty" - I couldn't really care for her that much. The guy who played Lieutenant Rooney was too nice, and not the hardass the character needed to be. John Ammerman as Mortimer probably would have made an excellent Mortimer 20-30 years ago, but here was kind of a sore thumb because of his age. I could tell he was a gifted actor, and it wasn't a bad performance per se, just a wrong performance (once again, in my opinion). He spent the whole show not walking, but doing this strange child-like skip, and it was the kind of corny over-the-top performance that the theatre-critic character he was playing would have panned. I also didn't see any differentiation between the calm Mortimer who has just made Elaine his fiance and is blissfully ignorant of his aunts' murderous tendencies, and the frantic Mortimer who is abruptly made aware of his aunts' secret. He seemed to be Frantic Mortimer the whole time. Ammerman is married to Kathleen McManus, a superb Atlanta actress/singer who would have fit right in as either Abby or Martha, and maybe would have given the role more texture than the script gives us. I wonder if she wasn't available, or wasn't interested.
All in all I'm glad I went. I don't get out to see skits at the skit-doin'-house these days as much as I'd like, and it's always nice to see a professional interpretation of an old chestnut like AaoL, even if I might disagree with some director/actor choices. No hard feelings meant to anyone who happens to read this. When I write my review for the theater reviewing website, I'll edit it to make it "nicer."
Monday, November 23, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
the quest for Danny
For the next few months, a large part of this blog will be talking about BABY. While nothing new has happened theater-wise since the last post, I'll tell you about the long and winding road it's been to landing my dream role.
In a way, it's a truly romantic story.
I was doing GODSPELL at the Kudzu Playhouse in the fall of 2002, directed by Andy Meeks. In reading Andy's bio, I saw that he had played Danny in BABY, as well as some other roles whose soundtracks I wanted to check out. I was at Media Play one day, and decided to pick up the soundtrack to BABY. (In the "creepy coincidence" department, I remember being torn between getting BABY or BIG RIVER. I later ended up being in two productions of BIG RIVER, one of which just won the Suzi for Best Musical.)
I listened to BABY and instantly fell in love with it. "What Could Be Better" is not only my favorite song in the show, but one of my favorites in all of musical theater. It's not a perfect show (in my top ten favorite musicals list, it's only #6), but the role of Danny has really resonated with me ever since. A young, idealistic musician with perfect pitch. That, and he gets to sing all the best songs in the show.
Ever since that, I started bugging several theaters in town to do the show. It was done only once in the Metro Atlanta area (in 2001), and that production was the Southeastern Premeire apparently. After years of several parties (who know who they are) leading me on and saying "yeah, we'll do it, we'll do it" and then not doing it, the Legacy Theatre in Tyrone scheduled it for April 2010 at the last minute. Trouble is, I really wanted to do GREASE at Georgia Ensemble Theatre, so I was afraid I'd have to make a Sophie's choice between the two. I did two shows with the Legacy earlier this year. I'm quite fond of the artistic director and his wife - they let me literally live with them for 6 weeks (actor housing since I lived so far away). The AD told me that he couldn't really picture me as Danny, but I was welcome to come give it a shot. I appreciated his honesty, but it made me wonder what it was that made him not see the Danny potential in me. I auditioned, and didn't make callbacks. Shortly after that, I got offered GREASE, so I went ahead and took that.
It was around this time that I saw that Centerstage North in Marietta was doing the show in February, and they are submitting the show to the M.A.T. Awards, which is the awards organization for the theatres that aren't qualified to be considered for the Suzis. Plus, Centerstage North holds their own awards at the end of the year (or at least they did, not sure if they still do), so whoever was in their BABY had the potential to be up for two awards. Not that I'm awards-hungry or anything, but it's nice to be in a show that's being considered since the last time I won an award for acting was in 1996. I auditioned last Saturday. Sang "Shiksa Goddess" from THE LAST 5 YEARS. They had me read for Danny and Nick, and had me sing "I Chose Right" (a Danny song). They said they would be letting people know either later that day or the next, since plans for callbacks were cancelled. I got out of there at 3:30. They were seeing people from 2 to 6. At 6:01, the director called me and offered me the role of Danny.
After years of empty promises and discouragement along the way, I finally got my dream, AND I get to do GREASE as well, which is how I wanted it in the first place. The read-through is Monday, and what a thrill it will be to say those lines, sing those songs, and create this character. Finally. And for only the second time on a metro-Atlanta stage.
And the best part is, the story goes on.
Two footnotes:
Certain things I say above are meant to be read as sarcasm or mock anger. I hold no true hard feelings toward anyone.
Baby is not higher on my top ten list because I think its biggest flaw is that it's top-heavy. All the best songs in the show are scrunched together in Act 1. Most of the stuff in Act 2 is nice, but pales in comparison. That's why I like to listen to it on shuffle.
In a way, it's a truly romantic story.
I was doing GODSPELL at the Kudzu Playhouse in the fall of 2002, directed by Andy Meeks. In reading Andy's bio, I saw that he had played Danny in BABY, as well as some other roles whose soundtracks I wanted to check out. I was at Media Play one day, and decided to pick up the soundtrack to BABY. (In the "creepy coincidence" department, I remember being torn between getting BABY or BIG RIVER. I later ended up being in two productions of BIG RIVER, one of which just won the Suzi for Best Musical.)
I listened to BABY and instantly fell in love with it. "What Could Be Better" is not only my favorite song in the show, but one of my favorites in all of musical theater. It's not a perfect show (in my top ten favorite musicals list, it's only #6), but the role of Danny has really resonated with me ever since. A young, idealistic musician with perfect pitch. That, and he gets to sing all the best songs in the show.
Ever since that, I started bugging several theaters in town to do the show. It was done only once in the Metro Atlanta area (in 2001), and that production was the Southeastern Premeire apparently. After years of several parties (who know who they are) leading me on and saying "yeah, we'll do it, we'll do it" and then not doing it, the Legacy Theatre in Tyrone scheduled it for April 2010 at the last minute. Trouble is, I really wanted to do GREASE at Georgia Ensemble Theatre, so I was afraid I'd have to make a Sophie's choice between the two. I did two shows with the Legacy earlier this year. I'm quite fond of the artistic director and his wife - they let me literally live with them for 6 weeks (actor housing since I lived so far away). The AD told me that he couldn't really picture me as Danny, but I was welcome to come give it a shot. I appreciated his honesty, but it made me wonder what it was that made him not see the Danny potential in me. I auditioned, and didn't make callbacks. Shortly after that, I got offered GREASE, so I went ahead and took that.
It was around this time that I saw that Centerstage North in Marietta was doing the show in February, and they are submitting the show to the M.A.T. Awards, which is the awards organization for the theatres that aren't qualified to be considered for the Suzis. Plus, Centerstage North holds their own awards at the end of the year (or at least they did, not sure if they still do), so whoever was in their BABY had the potential to be up for two awards. Not that I'm awards-hungry or anything, but it's nice to be in a show that's being considered since the last time I won an award for acting was in 1996. I auditioned last Saturday. Sang "Shiksa Goddess" from THE LAST 5 YEARS. They had me read for Danny and Nick, and had me sing "I Chose Right" (a Danny song). They said they would be letting people know either later that day or the next, since plans for callbacks were cancelled. I got out of there at 3:30. They were seeing people from 2 to 6. At 6:01, the director called me and offered me the role of Danny.
After years of empty promises and discouragement along the way, I finally got my dream, AND I get to do GREASE as well, which is how I wanted it in the first place. The read-through is Monday, and what a thrill it will be to say those lines, sing those songs, and create this character. Finally. And for only the second time on a metro-Atlanta stage.
And the best part is, the story goes on.
Two footnotes:
Certain things I say above are meant to be read as sarcasm or mock anger. I hold no true hard feelings toward anyone.
Baby is not higher on my top ten list because I think its biggest flaw is that it's top-heavy. All the best songs in the show are scrunched together in Act 1. Most of the stuff in Act 2 is nice, but pales in comparison. That's why I like to listen to it on shuffle.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
what a journey, what a ride
Hello, this is my first post, but my second blogspot blog. I have another one (www.smokeandmvp.blogspot.com), but kinda painted myself into a corner with it because the title and purpose of the blog was way too specific. I will be using this one to document my experience in this crazy profession we call being an actor. Here, I will be talking about what I'm up to in all areas of theater, be it performing, being a pit musician, or a director/MD, etc.
My name is Mark, and I have done theater every year since 1991, except for 2001. I average 5 shows a year. You can currently see my work as a Music Director in ONCE UPON A MATTRESS at Roswell's Rosewater Theater (www.rosewatertheatre.com). I am currently music-directing PARADE at the Blackwell Playhouse. Following that, I get to play Danny in BABY (my dream role!) at Centerstage North. That runs in February 2010. After that, I'm playing Eugene in GREASE and then reprising my role in the remount of BUDDY: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY, both with Georgia Ensemble Theatre (www.get.org), though the latter will be performing downtown at the 14th Street Playhouse.
That's about all I have the energy to talk about right now. Just wanted to get this blog up and running, and introduce myself. Stay tuned for many stories, thoughts, and other things related to my theater career.
My name is Mark, and I have done theater every year since 1991, except for 2001. I average 5 shows a year. You can currently see my work as a Music Director in ONCE UPON A MATTRESS at Roswell's Rosewater Theater (www.rosewatertheatre.com). I am currently music-directing PARADE at the Blackwell Playhouse. Following that, I get to play Danny in BABY (my dream role!) at Centerstage North. That runs in February 2010. After that, I'm playing Eugene in GREASE and then reprising my role in the remount of BUDDY: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY, both with Georgia Ensemble Theatre (www.get.org), though the latter will be performing downtown at the 14th Street Playhouse.
That's about all I have the energy to talk about right now. Just wanted to get this blog up and running, and introduce myself. Stay tuned for many stories, thoughts, and other things related to my theater career.
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