THE WILDEST ONES: a reading of a new play at Hunter College

Playwright Sari Caine and I met years ago at Primary Stages/ESPA and she's been kind enough to keep me in mind for readings of her work ever since.

Last week I participated in a reading of her truly wild new play THE WILDEST ONES at Hunter College, where Sari is an MFA playwright. Six adult actors play six teenagers who are living in a rough and tumble world in the 1990s and fending for themselves. It's a sexy, dangerous play and I loved every minute of it. Thank you Sari!

iPhone FILM FESTIVAL at THE STUDIO

As a member of The Studio, I study on-camera acting technique with Brad Calcaterra every week. Among Brad's many passions is the do-it-yourself creative process, and to that end, he commissioned all of his students to create a two-minute short film on a smartphone.

On November 8, the short I made with fellow actor Michael Finley had its premiere at the New York LGBT Center as part of the Studio's first-ever IPHONE FILM FESTIVAL. It's called TRUTH. There's exciting work going on at The Studio these days.

Sundays@Six with THE WORKSHOP THEATER

The Workshop Theater is one of New York's great Off-Off Broadway theater companies and they have an excellent reading series called Sundays@Six. Last week, I participated in a reading of my good friend Tony Sportiello's newest play, IRRELEVANT CONVERSATIONS.

A university president has to decide whether or not to fire a beloved football coach who was caught on tape making racist remarks. As always, Tony went right to the heart of the matter and showed a lot of, well, heart. I played the university president's suffer-no-fools assistant. My thanks to Tony and the Workshop Theater folks for a great evening.

A FEW THINGS BEFORE I LEAVE YOU: table reading

Dan Kitrosser is my favorite up-and-coming New York playwright and he invited me last month to participate in a table reading of his newest play, A FEW THINGS BEFORE I LEAVE YOU. I played a character wrestling with his relationships (what else?) with his depressed older brother, his cerebral palsy-afflicted boyfriend, and his brother's girlfriend, who may or may not become his girlfriend. It's complicated.

Dan's sense of humor was all over the place. Imagine a few well-placed quotes from The Producers (the film) and you get the idea. It also started off with a Shel Silverstein excerpt; see below.

Kristin Skye Hoffman directed. Wishing Dan all the best with it going forward.

SLOOSHA'S POETRY: a reading of a new play

Mike Poblete has written a great new play called SLOOSHA'S POETRY and he invited me to take part in a reading of it last week. Mike and I first connected at Primary Stages ESPA, where he cast me in a short reading of the same play. Here we are, years later, working on this sweet, hilarious piece once again. I got to act with one of my favorite accents: Russian! My thanks to Mike and I hope he'll have me back again.

a voice over spot for PEPSI

Last week, I recorded a radio voice over spot for Pepsi as part of their new campaign as the official soft drink of the NFL. I spent a few hours in the booth at Phantom Audio with the fine folks from Tracy Locke agency.

LA FLACA: a short film

On August 9, I shot a scene in a new short film called LA FLACA. I played a cop who's a total racist, trans-phobic jerk. LA FLACA aims to be a documentary/narrative hybrid piece about Arely Gonzalez, the Mexican transgender activist who leads a community in Corona, Queens, dedicated to Santa Muerte. Santa Muerte, or "Holy Death," is a spirit worshiped in Mexico as a miracle worker. This article here was a very informative read. A fascinating subject and a great group of people to work with for a few hours on a Sunday afternoon. Thiago Zanato directed and my friend, filmmaker Sebastian Diaz brought me to the project.

GAY BAR: a reading of a new play

Monday, August 3rd, I participated in a reading of Will Fellows and Dean Gray’s new play GAY BAR. James Heatherly directed.

GAY BAR is based on Will Fellows and Helen P. Branson’s book Gay Bar, which tells the story of Branson, a retired grandmother who ran a gay bar in 1950s Los Angeles.

I play the lead character of Martin, a highly intelligent and openly gay man whose world is turned upside down when a young stranger arrives, fresh off the bus from Idaho.

The play explores what Dean and Will call "America's most homophobic decade."

The reading was well-attended at HERE Arts Center. Now we work towards a full production of the piece. 

ACCENTS OF THE MIDWEST

This past spring, I completed another five-week accent class with Jane Guyer-Fujita at Primary Stages/ESPA. The class covered accents of the American Midwest, with each week focused on a different city: Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, Fargo, and Milwaukee, my home town.

It was interesting how challenging the accents were for me; as a native Midwesterner I thought it would give me a head start. That was not the case; the subtle changes between these cities’ accents required extra practice and focus. 

THE RED BANK / WHITALL PROJECT

I love playing real people from American history. This past June, I took on the role of Colonel Christopher Greene (below) in the RED BANK-WHITALL PROJECT, a Revolutionary War-era historical re-animation written by NYU Professor Joe Salvatore.

The Battle of Red Bank took place in 1777 near the Delaware River, just south of Philadelphia.

The project highlighted the major players of that conflict, including Colonel Greene, who commanded the 1st Rhode Island Regiment (America’s first primarily African American military regiment), and Ann Whitall, a Quaker woman whose farm was occupied by Green and his Colonial forces.

     Colonel Christopher Greene

      Portraying Col. Christopher Greene