Summertime!
Yes, people, it's summer. Already. It's slightly exciting and slightly frightening. It only seems like a couple months ago I was in New York traveling day in and day out to New Jersey to work on Assassination of a High School President. I came back to rehearse and perform in Guys and Dolls at American Musical Theatre, and then went to Boston for an extended stay to visit
theaterguy11. I then came home to California again for the Holidays, and ended up staying for another stint due to the Gus Van Sant/Sean Penn extravaganza that was filming in town known as Milk: The Harvey Milk Story. That wrapped up a few months ago, and I've continued the life of the struggling actor, submitting myself, networking, calling, and, of course, auditioning, auditioning, auditioning. Tonry Talent had been decent to me recently, and I've been sent out on auditions for Kaiser and Nike. Callback for Kaiser, but no booking, and Nike was just the other day.
So, all in all, not bad for a year. It sounds cliche to say, but life really does come at you so fast, if you don't savor it, weeks, months, or years can go by without the consideration of "Is what I'm doing making me happy and is it worthwhile?" I'v ecome to realize that an ideal job should be a combination of three things: a) How happy it makes you, b) How good you are at it, and c) How lucratve it is. The last is the pain in the ass. It's so hard to find the happy medium between the three. Obviously, one isn't going to procure a position that can offer the highest ranking in all three of the categories. If you have, screw you, and I pretty much hope you die very soon, because there is a special place in hell for people like you. That place is especially hot and dark. Look for the signs, they'll be clear and rude.
So, right now, I'm working for Theatre 39 at Pier 39, and the shows Insignificant Others and Peter & the Pirate, A New Musical for Kids. I'm working on group sales, contacting Bay Area DMC's (Destination Management Companies), submitting our information to newspapers and event calendars, researching guilds, groups, schools and programs who may be interested. I even got to do a touch of work in casting. While I'm here, it's good for paying the bills. That is, until I leave to work on my next theatre project...
Becoming Britney, a snarky musical adventure at the New York International Fringe Festival with five to seven performances (based on popularity...maybe more, we hope!) August 8-24, 2008. This is the show: How does a pop sensation wind up bald and trapped in her own musical? A caustic (but loving) PG-13 fable that chronicles the rise, dip and salvation of a foolhardy celebrity phenom. Are you ready to face your inner Divas, y'all?
The website has a bunch of video and song clips, as well as more info on the show's creators, Daya Curley and Molly Bell. The show is going to be pretty huch laugh out loud, fall out of you seats hilarious, with songs like "Push 'em Out" (a bubble gum pop song about birthing two children, and featuring the lyric "I gotta squeeze 'em through/Feels like I gotta poo.")
Yeah. You guessed it. I'm excited. I mean, c'mon! BRITNEY?! MUSICAL?! MY LEGITIMATE NY STAGE DEBUT?! These are all good things.