A Whole Lotta Movin' and Shakin' Goin' On

When Dean and I decided to move to NYC, I vowed to needlepoint us a pillow that said, "We Did Not Move to NYC to Work in a Crappy Office." The pillow would remind us why we are here, especially on days when working other things (besides acting and writing) was getting the better of us.

While it's fun to update y'all on the crazy things we see here, I thought it'd be a good idea to let you in on what I've been doing professionally lately. (Mainly, so you won't think I'm roaming around the Upper West Side all day, hoping to run into Catherine Zeta Jones.)

Things have been going great lately. Tonight, Week Two of the Estrogenius Festival begins, and I have one of the main roles in the one act, Little Goldie and the Shines. It's been a great way to meet new people, and I was happy to be cast in the very first thing I auditioned for when I moved to NYC. It runs through Saturday at the Manhattan Theatre Source in the West Village.

Almost every day, I submit myself for roles in theatre and film, and have had lots of auditions and callbacks in the last few weeks. I've been offered two leading roles in two different plays, but I turned them down for different reasons.

In one play, the director (who is also the playwright) felt the leading role of a schizophrenic woman was too demanding for one actress to play for 14 performances, so she double cast it. (Apparently, she didn't know who she was dealing with- multiple personalities? I got that DOWN.) So, I graciously thanked her, and explained I'd prefer to be cast in a smaller role that was all my own than to share a role with another actor. Comparisons would inevitably be made, and it just seemed like a sticky situation to me.

In the other play, I was cast as the mother (I'm getting that a lot lately) in a play that I just didn't feel was well-written. It dealt with a lot of gay themes in very stereotypical ways, and while the role was substantial, it didn't feel right. It seemed to me there was a better way to tell that story, that the target audience deserved something more meaningful. But what do I know? I'm not a playwright, nor am I a gay man. It'll probably be a huge hit, and I'll be kicking myself.

But when we close one door (or two doors, in this case), a big ol' window opens, and THAT leads me to a really exciting project I'll start working on next week. The play is called The Dog(run) Diaries, by Andrew Kramer. It's a four-person show about the relationship between a teenage boy and an older man, and it's fantastic. It's well-written (even Dean says so), the characters are REAL, it's funny and touching, and I believe it will have a life beyond the two performances we're being given by the Prospect Theatre Company, as part of their Dark Nights Series. I play the boy's mother (told you so), and the role is a really nice one. The entire team on this project is smart and talented, and I'm just excited to be in there somewhere. If you're in NYC, we play at 3pm on Saturday, October 23, and 8pm on Sunday the 24th, at the Hudson Guild Theatre, 441 W. 26th Street.

I'm taking classes at a place called One on One, and am looking forward to a two-day intensive, on-camera audition class with Bob Krakower next week. (For kicks, you can click here to see my Actor Webpage on the One on One site.) I've just started there, so I'll keep you posted on what that place is like.

One final thing that was fun: I auditioned to be a member of The Bats at The Flea Theater. I had a callback Monday, and it went well, so we'll see how that goes. I may have been the oldest person there, but it was a great audition with a respected, really cool director (Jim Simpson), and that can be every bit as important as getting in. Hopefully, writing this won't jinx it.

It's sometimes tough to wrap my brain around the fact that is is my JOB right now. When I read plays to find new audition pieces, I am WORKING. When I go to class or to an audition, I am WORKING. And when I go to the park to get some exercise (or to the gym, if I can remember where it is), I am WORKING. Am I being paid in money to work? Not right this second, but I will be...soon.

And when I get back from working out, maybe I'll finally start on that pillow.