Picasso at the Lapin Agile
The blog is back! Which is always good news for me and my four loyal readers. Good for me because it means I am working as an actor. And good for my loyal readers because they are tired of pictures of my beautiful children and endless political rants. Win/Win.
I just started rehearsing "Picasso at the Lapin Agile." By Steve Martin. I'm playing Freddy. I'm really excited about it.
I don't audition a lot anymore. And almost never for people that I don't know. There are many reasons for this. (And not just because I'm lazy, don't care about actually having a career, and am afraid of both failure and success. Although, if I'm honest, at least half of those things are accurate). Mostly my life is a delicate balance of all the stuff I have to do, the many things I should be doing, the things I instantly regret not being able to do, and the wonderful stuff I get to do. (This blog is already very Lapin Agile-y). To speak (write) more succinctly, I am a stay at home dad who belongs to a few wonderful theatre companies, and knows many people in LA. So, I get to do a lot of work. With people I love. When I can make it work.
I just got back from Ventura, where my loyal readers will remember that I played Major Arnold in "Taking Sides" at the Rubicon. It was great. I lived in a beach house and got to be onstage with the greatest people. I had no plans to do anything for awhile, because being away four nights a week from my family is tough (not for me...mind you. But for my loving, patient saint of a wife, Annie...and a little for me too, because I miss my little monsters when I am away from them). But then my friend Tara sent me the call for "Picasso..." saying, this is right up the street from you, you should audition. (Tara is now my de-facto manager, so any and all offers can be sent directly to her, since she is clearly more qualified to deal with my career than I am). So I sent in my resume and got an audition.
I was really nervous. Auditioning is a muscle of sorts. And mine had atrophied. But I have been on both sides of the table. I know that the director really wants every person who comes in to kill it. So, I took a breath and went in. I auditioned for Orestes (the director) and Chris (the producer). They could not have been warmer or more welcoming. This is always a good sign. If you walk into a room and you are made to feel uncomfortable, chances are you are in the wrong room. (that there is a what we call a "pro-tip"). I did the sides and they were both very effusive with their praise for my work. I walked out of the room feeling about as good as I ever have after an audition. I was pretty sure I would be called back. We got an email saying we would hear if we were called back by the end of the next day. I didn't hear and thought: "Oh well." The next morning I wrote an email thanking them for the opportunity to audition and hoped they would consider me in the future. A couple of minutes later, Chris sent me an email saying he just got in and would call me. The reasons for such a call raced through my mind. And the auditioning actor mind experiences a wild range of possibilities. I may or may not have checked my phone every five minutes for the next few hours to make sure my ringer was on. But Chris did call to tell me that they weren't going to call me back... because they were just going to move on to cast me in the role. (Haven't had a lot of calls like that in my career. I have to say, that I'm a fan of it). And we started talking about the show, and he said that they considered having me come and read with the woman who plays my girlfriend in the show, but they didn't really think it necessary. And then he said her name was Trisha Miller. And I nearly lost my mind. Trisha Miller is one of the finest actors I have every worked with. I had the extreme good fortune of her walking into my audition room when I directed "Chapter Two." She is a radiant genius! And I am not an idiot. So I cast her. And we became good friends.
Two days later, I woke up and saw a post from my friend Richard Perloff who wrote that he was excited to announce that he was going to play Gaston in the play. Rich also came in to audition for Chapter Two. He is also brilliant. I was still not an idiot. And he and Trisha were my leads. And then I cast him again in "Time Stands Still" the following year. The three of us share a language in this art we all love.
And last night we had our first read through. And everybody is so good!
This is a play about art and magic! And about love and perfect moments! And about relationships and the biggest ideas!
Apparently some things are meant to be. I'm so glad that this is one of those.
I just started rehearsing "Picasso at the Lapin Agile." By Steve Martin. I'm playing Freddy. I'm really excited about it.
I don't audition a lot anymore. And almost never for people that I don't know. There are many reasons for this. (And not just because I'm lazy, don't care about actually having a career, and am afraid of both failure and success. Although, if I'm honest, at least half of those things are accurate). Mostly my life is a delicate balance of all the stuff I have to do, the many things I should be doing, the things I instantly regret not being able to do, and the wonderful stuff I get to do. (This blog is already very Lapin Agile-y). To speak (write) more succinctly, I am a stay at home dad who belongs to a few wonderful theatre companies, and knows many people in LA. So, I get to do a lot of work. With people I love. When I can make it work.
I just got back from Ventura, where my loyal readers will remember that I played Major Arnold in "Taking Sides" at the Rubicon. It was great. I lived in a beach house and got to be onstage with the greatest people. I had no plans to do anything for awhile, because being away four nights a week from my family is tough (not for me...mind you. But for my loving, patient saint of a wife, Annie...and a little for me too, because I miss my little monsters when I am away from them). But then my friend Tara sent me the call for "Picasso..." saying, this is right up the street from you, you should audition. (Tara is now my de-facto manager, so any and all offers can be sent directly to her, since she is clearly more qualified to deal with my career than I am). So I sent in my resume and got an audition.
I was really nervous. Auditioning is a muscle of sorts. And mine had atrophied. But I have been on both sides of the table. I know that the director really wants every person who comes in to kill it. So, I took a breath and went in. I auditioned for Orestes (the director) and Chris (the producer). They could not have been warmer or more welcoming. This is always a good sign. If you walk into a room and you are made to feel uncomfortable, chances are you are in the wrong room. (that there is a what we call a "pro-tip"). I did the sides and they were both very effusive with their praise for my work. I walked out of the room feeling about as good as I ever have after an audition. I was pretty sure I would be called back. We got an email saying we would hear if we were called back by the end of the next day. I didn't hear and thought: "Oh well." The next morning I wrote an email thanking them for the opportunity to audition and hoped they would consider me in the future. A couple of minutes later, Chris sent me an email saying he just got in and would call me. The reasons for such a call raced through my mind. And the auditioning actor mind experiences a wild range of possibilities. I may or may not have checked my phone every five minutes for the next few hours to make sure my ringer was on. But Chris did call to tell me that they weren't going to call me back... because they were just going to move on to cast me in the role. (Haven't had a lot of calls like that in my career. I have to say, that I'm a fan of it). And we started talking about the show, and he said that they considered having me come and read with the woman who plays my girlfriend in the show, but they didn't really think it necessary. And then he said her name was Trisha Miller. And I nearly lost my mind. Trisha Miller is one of the finest actors I have every worked with. I had the extreme good fortune of her walking into my audition room when I directed "Chapter Two." She is a radiant genius! And I am not an idiot. So I cast her. And we became good friends.
Two days later, I woke up and saw a post from my friend Richard Perloff who wrote that he was excited to announce that he was going to play Gaston in the play. Rich also came in to audition for Chapter Two. He is also brilliant. I was still not an idiot. And he and Trisha were my leads. And then I cast him again in "Time Stands Still" the following year. The three of us share a language in this art we all love.
And last night we had our first read through. And everybody is so good!
This is a play about art and magic! And about love and perfect moments! And about relationships and the biggest ideas!
Apparently some things are meant to be. I'm so glad that this is one of those.
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