Mamma Mia!

The latest production that I'm acting in opens next week. If you're in the Highland, IL area July 26-28 or Aug. 2-4, feel free to stop by. I have a funny role.

Sister Act

The latest production I have been working on opens in one week! (Friday, July 28, 2017). If you happen to be anywhere near Highland, IL you should check it out. I'm acting in a role that has been one of the most difficult in my life so far. You should check it out.

HAPPY DAYS the Musical

Beginning this Friday, July 29th, the theatre company I am a member is performing the musical Happy Days. It's based off the beloved hit tv series and was written by show creator Garry Marshall with music by Paul Williams. I play Arnold (the owner of the local diner) in the show. If you are anywhere near the St. Louis area this weekend or next, you should come out and see it!

State and Regional Premiere of DRINKING HABITS 2

This little play I've been directing, DRINKING HABITS 2, opens this Thursday, January 21st. If you're anywhere near Highland, IL this weekend or next, you should make a point to come see it. It's a hilarious farce that will leave you laughing. I'm proud to say that our production is the state and regional premiere of the show and that we are only the second place in the world that you can see this show. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online or can be purchased in person at the Highland Chamber of Commerce or at the door.

SHREK THE MUSICAL

If you happen to be around the St. Louis area this weekend or next (July 24-26, July 31, Aug. 1-2), I recommend making a trip to Highland, IL to catch SHREK. It's the latest theatrical endeavor I've been involved with. The theatre group (Hard Road Theatre) is one I've been a part of for several years and I'm now the Executive Producer. This is our 15th Season as a company and SHREK marks the largest and biggest production we've ever tackled. We've gone all out and have gotten Broadway-style costumes, a massive 12" foot dragon, and lots more to bring this show to life. Plus, if you come you can see me as both an ogre and the Big Bad Wolf (who has a secret revealed in Act 2). It's a show you won't be disappointed in having seen. It's great for families, for a date night, or if you're just in the mood for some great entertainment. So, don't miss out. Come out and see SHREK THE MUSICAL!

The Audition

1. Life is unfair.

2. Theatre is less fair than life.

3. Acting is the least fair part of theatre.

4.  Humans submit themselves to nothing less fair than the audition.

These DRINKING HABITS Aren't a Sin

So, in three days this wonderful and hilarious little show I've been directing finally opens. The show's called Drinking Habits and it revolves around the nuns at the Sisters of Perpetual Sewing, a small convent in Shady Glenn, Anywhere, USA. The Mother Superior of the convent is a very strict teetotaler who won't even allow anyone to mention a name associated with alcohol. However, unbeknownst to her, the two other sisters in the convent have been keeping the doors of their convent open by bootlegging wine on the side and selling it to the locals.  A possible early frost threatens their harvest.  Meanwhile, someone submitted one of the bottles of wine into a major competition where is won a huge sum on money. The only problem is no one knows for sure who made it. A couple of reporters suspect it's the nuns and they show up to investigate, but get mistaken for a nun and visiting priest. Through in a priest who used to do magic tricks, a simple groundskeeper, and another nun who holds a secret and you've got a show full of hilarity and hijinks. If you happen to be in the Highland, IL area this weekend or next, you should stop by and check it out.

9 TO 5

 

I should have mentioned this earlier, but if you are anywhere close near the Highland, IL area this weekend or next, you should come out and see 9 TO 5. It's a musical stage version of the famous 1980 movie that starred Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin. Dolly wrote all the music and lyrics for the show. I play five different characters in the show. The shows are always great shows and often the quality is just as good as some of the professional theatres in St. Louis. Plus, the theatre is air conditioned, so it's a great way to beat the heat. If you purchase your tickets online you can save a couple bucks than if you buy them at the door.

Cher = Potiphar's Wife

Cher and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

On Friday, April 25, 2014, the following two images appeared in the same section of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

 

The first image is of Cher and her latest touring stage show. The bottom image is from the current touring production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Both will be in St. Louis this spring. I saw these pictures and my first thought was, "When did Cher join the cast of Joseph?"

Final Weekend of Hard Road's DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS

Tonight (Friday, January 31, 2014) and tomorrow night (Saturday, February 1, 2014) are the last chances for you to catch Hard Road Theatre's production of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS. Showtimes begin at 7:30 p.m. Seating is limited, so it's recommended you order your tickets online (plus you save money that way).

Help Renovate the Alfresco

A few months ago, I started volunteering at the Alfresco Art Center in Granite City, IL. It's an art complex with a great little theatre in a building that used to be home to a Baptist Church. I've become friends with the owner and CEO, Brenda Whitaker. She's been a lifelong patron of the arts and has invested much of her savings into helping renovate the Alfresco. There are just a few more things that need to be done and you can help out by donating to a Crowdtilt campaign that I set up for her. You can read more about it here: http://tilt.tc/W3Fmhttps://www.crowdtilt.com/campaigns/phase-ii-renovation-of-alfresco-art-center  .

THE Show to See

If you happen to be around the Highland, IL area this Friday-Sunday, I highly recommend that you come out and see ALL SHOOK UP! It's a show you don't want to miss. I've been in several musicals and I can honestly say this is the favorite musical I've ever been in. You don't want to miss out.

ALL SHOOK UP!

If you happen to be around Highland, IL this weekend or next, you should check out this musical, I'm in:  ALL SHOOK UP! It's a regular musical, but features all Elvis music. I play the father in the show, Jim Haller. The plot is loosely based on Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT. Basically, a young roustabout comes to a small Midwestern town and starts changing people's lives through the power of love and rock and roll. Plus, you can see me in an Elvis-style wig!

Striking the Set: TEN LITTLE INDIANS Blog 10

It'll be two weeks ago this Sunday that we struck the set of Ten Little Indians. It takes so long to build and paint a set; the number of manhours involved is enough time to be working a full-time 40+ hours job for a couple of weeks. Then, when the show is all over in a matter of a few hours everything is gone and the stage is left bare.

I like set strikes more than set builds. However, it's because I feel more helpful at tearing a set down than I do building it. At the same time, set strikes are usually bittersweet moments. For several weeks, sometimes a few months you have been working with a group of people on a production. You've all been working toward the same goal of putting on a great show (outside of the plot for The Producers, I've never heard of anyone trying to put on a bad show; even those places that do really bad theatre consistently try to put on the best possible performances they can give). When strike arrives, you know that the little company you've been a part of, that has been a family away from your family, is breaking up for good. You know things are over when the final curtain falls, but it's not until when the set is struck that things can really sink in. The fellowship is broken forever by that point and even if you were all to meet again and do the same production at the same place, it wouldn't be the same.

The sweetness part of a set strike is the realization that you're actually going to have a little free time now, that you can spend some time with your family and friends, and catching up on the things you've been neglecting the past couple weeks (or in the director's case months). It's nice to not have to be in an anxious and frenetic state of apprehension and excitement. But, sooner or later you hear the siren's lull again and the process starts anew. It's a different cast and crew; faces old and new; new memories to be made and old skills to use and strengthen.

Ten Little Indians was a fine little show. I was privileged to have a great cast. Some of my cast were theatre veterans and a couple had never acted in a production before. Each of them had to stretch and grow and reach new boundaries. They did a wonderful job and I'm proud of all of them. I know that some of them I will probably work with again while there are others I might never see again except perhaps in passing. That saddens me a little because though I'm an introverted extrovert, I really do enjoy people and it saddens me when I meet someone and get to know them and become friends with them, but then have to say farewell. No matter how big I try to make my tent, I can't keep up with everyone (not even with Facebook).

The stage is dark now, the seats are empty, and the theatre is cold. The experience was a good one for me. I was incredibly stressed at times (partially because of the show, but mainly because of things happening outside the production) and I had to not be as sociable after rehearsals as I would have liked (when you have to get up at 6:00am every morning and drive at least 45 minutes to work by yourself, staying up to 1,2, or sometimes 3 in the morning is just not an option). I probably made everyone mad at some point. However, I think overall everyone had a good time and the final product turned out great. I don't know when or where, but someday I'll direct again.

Director's Notes: TEN LITTLE INDIANS Blog 9

For those of you who weren't able to see the show, below are my director's notes that appeared in the program.
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“Good evening.” That’s such a pleasant greeting. Yet, that greeting is forever attached in my mind to a rather large and rotund British man: Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock used that phrase regularly at the beginning of his tv series to greet the audience. It’s such a pleasant phrase, yet when spoken by Hitchcock that greeting took on an eerie and almost supernatural aura of suspense. That’s why it’s the perfect phrase to welcome you to Hard Road Theatre’s production of Ten Little Indians.

Though we’ve updated the setting, Ten Little Indians is a play written by another Brit: Agatha Christie. Christie adapted the play from her novel of the same name. Originally published under a very un-politically correct title, the novel is one of Christie’s best known novels and the play is one her most performed plays. Both works are now usually published under the title of And Then There Were None.

Though murder mysteries have become fairly common, as far as I know Christie’s novel is the first of its kind. It’s the first story where a group of unrelated people who have never met are invited to spend a weekend together in a somewhat exotic locale by a mysterious host none of them have met, but the host turns out to be a killer who murders each of them off one by one and in a twist, the host…well, I don’t want to give too much away now, do I.

I hope you thoroughly enjoy tonight’s performance. The cast is a great mix. Some have never acted on stage before while others are hardcore theatre veterans. They’ve been lots of fun to work with and almost every night I reveled in seeing them discover and reveal different nuances of their characters. I’ve enjoyed working with each and every one of them and thank them for all their work and for making this experience such a positive one. I would enjoy working with all of them again.

It takes a tremendous amount of time and effort to put together a show. It takes more than just actors and directors to make a show work. A theatre production needs people to design and help build sets, gather props, find and create costumes, set-up and run the sound and lights, stage help to set and remove props, businesses and individuals to donate money, etc. If you have any interest at all in being involved in a future Hard Road production in any way, please let us know. We would love to meet you and help get you involved! Talk to one of us after the show, sign the registration book, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

So, sit back, but don’t get too comfy. This is a murder mystery, after all. But, do have a “good evening."

Opening Night: TEN LITTLE INDIANS Blog 8

Tomorrow night, the show opens. I'm excited and a little nervous. I'm not on stage, but my cast will be. I know they'll do fine, but for whatever reason, I've got those pre-opening night jitters. There's still some stuff to do. It'll get done, but nevertheless I still find myself thinking of several things at once. I've grown more absent minded in the past few weeks. A play production in and of itself is more than enough stress for a person to have at a particular time. However, there's a lot of other things going on that have increased my stress several times over: lack of money, vehicle problems, troubles at work, and the approaching anniversary of my Dad's sudden death two years ago. All of this compounded with the problems associated with directing a local theatre production in the final weeks has aged my old soul even more. Yet, I'm excited. A theatre production is a strange cocktail composed about half nervous apprehension and half pure exhilaration. I've had enough of the nervous apprehension and am looking forward to the pure exhilaration. So, if you're in or around Highland, IL this or next weekend, come on out and stop by and see TEN LITTLE INDIANS. You won't regret it.

Fading Away: TEN LITTLE INDIANS Blog 7

I mentioned in a previous post that I've been telling my cast for a little over a week that, "I must decrease and you must increase." That's really my function and role now.

Ten Little Indians opens this Friday. Hopefully, it'll be a big crowd. I began working on this show back in February. I read the script over and over and over. I talked to people about helping out with the show. I talked-up and promoted auditions. This summer I was busy gathering together the pre-show music. Up to this point, I've done all I can to make this a great show. However, things are just about out of my hands now.

When the curtain opens for the first time on Friday, it won't be me on stage. It'll be the actors I've been working with for the past 7 weeks. The show is their show at this point; I'm just some guy's name in the program. In the final days leading up to opening night, there's only so much I can do. The set is built. The crew is gathered. At this point, I'm more of a custodian than anything else. That's not to say my job is done, because it isn't. Yet, most of the job is and after Wednesday it will be completely out of my hands. I must decrease and they must increase and as a director of a theatre production, you must be comfortable with that. Some directors can't handle that; they micromanage things even after a show has opened. That's no good because all it does it create unnecessary tension. As a director, you have to have faith in your cast and trust your crew. By the time the show opens, you have to fade away-though you still might be needed, your job is done.

The Joy of Directing: TEN LITTLE INDIANS Blog 6

For me, as a director, one of the greatest joys is watching someone who has never acted before and see them evolve before your eyes over the course of a few weeks from a complete novice into the character in the play. Someone who has never acted before often begins with a characterization of what they think they should be doing; it's as though "acting" in their mind is completely removed from reality. It's true that the "acting" we see on tv, movies, and often on stage is lifeless and nothing more than cardboard characterization. However, real acting and theatre aren't like that. This can be a difficult concept for someone who has never acted before to understand. Yet, as a director, if you are patient, even the most untrained person can appear as a seasoned veteran. It doesn't always happen, but when it does it's an amazing thing to behold.

I've seen it happen in Ten Little Indians. There are two people in the show who have never been on stage before. They have grown leaps and bounds since I first saw them on stage 6 1/2 weeks ago during auditions. I'm very proud of them.

I'm proud of the whole cast, actually. The cast is an eclectic group with a huge variety of personalities. There have been some struggles, but they are starting to find their groove. I've been telling them for over a week that "I must decrease and you must increase." They are. When showtime comes, I'll be there, but it's not really my show. It's their show.

Set Builds: TEN LITTLE INDIANS Blog 5

Two Saturdays ago was the main day of set building for the show. I hate set builds. I'm not a very mechanically inclined person. I can use tools, but I can't build anything; I need someone to tell me where and what they want me to cut or drill. I was lucky enough to have a set designer/technical adviser for the show. Unfortunately, that person had to leave before noon which ultimately left me in charge. When your the director of the show, there are thousands of questions people ask of you during the process. At set build, the number of questions intensifies. You try to keep people busy and involved while they are there, but the work never seems to get done and before you know it the day is done and most everyone has left.

I've been lucky in the shows I've been in charge of so far, because the sets have been kept fairly simple. Yet, on the set build day that doesn't seem to matter. Things always become more complicated than they need to be and the straight-forward plan you started with gets bogged down in the slime of reality. It's even more frustrated when your set designer isn't there and even though you're an incompetent Doozer (that's a Fraggle Rock reference), everyone still looks to you for answers. I hate set builds.