Patience and Process

Tomorrow is our last day in the rehearsal studio. As of next week we're tech'ing in the theater, and pretty soon it'll be previews.

The last 4 weeks have been truly Dickensian: it was the best of times, the worst of times, at times time flew by, at times it crawled...

I haven't slept much. I don't think anyone has. Too much adrenalin. Too many thoughts and ideas about character and structure and plot and emotion and on and on and on. Even tonight I think I've just discovered the underbelly of a scene with my Uncle the Marquis that I am excited to try at tomorrow morning's run through.

I have learned that patience is key. And I am the least patient person I know. But putting a new epic musical on its feet is a massive undertaking. As equally exhausting as it is thrilling. And as I have learned, when you're consistently impatient, your creativity shuts down. It gets locked. You want answers before exploring the questions. And it is the exploring of the questions that will make your acting compelling. In the exploring, you will try things you may never have imagined, you will find the pool of choices in which you will swim in front of an audience.

If you are patient you will experience the process AND the results, instead of simply being frustrated by the elusive answers.

Title of Show Opening

Dreams do come true.

For everyone of you who's ever checked in to read this blog: Stop reading this right now, buy a ticket or 3 to see Title of Show at the Lyceum Theater on Broadway, and you'll know why I started this blog almost 3 years ago.

Michael Berresse, Hunter Bell, Jeff Bowen, Susan Blackwell, and Heidi Blickenstaff (Let's go Duke!)--you are an inspiration. Thanks for leaving a piece of your souls on that stage last night. I am in awe.

There's nothing else to say really. (BLACKOUT).

Week 1 Done/3 to go!

What a week! It absolutely flew by. The prinicipals spent the week blocking the show with the creatives, and it was thrilling.

We have so little rehearsal time every minute counts. Next week will be busy with meeting/greeting the rest of the cast, visiting the set in its NJ holiding warehouse, the publicity/press meet and greet, etc; So it was great to dig into the show this week, start exploring the relationships, defining characters, clarifying plot points and laying the foundation for the work we will do the rest of the month and into previews.

The biggest discovery I made is how Shakespearean the piece feels. Stylistically we're a period piece (not much room for naturalism) and I look forward to continuing to explore that idea. There are a few massive full cast scenes that are going to be stunning (both visually and in their impact on the story telling) and some set elements that remind me of my experiences in London visiting the Old Globe and seeing RSC shows at Stratford on Avon. Very cool!

It's also been wonderful to start to get to know the people I'm going to be spending this run with. A few are veterans of the show, while a few of us are not, and we've established an intensely thorough collaboration.

Today...rest.

The Tale begins!

Happy Belated 4th of July everyone!

It's only fitting I celebrate the birth of our nation in 1776 by with the birth of rehearsals for my new Broadway show A Tale of Two Cities, which takes place at that time in history (I even get to mention George Washington in the show :).

Rehearsals are going well. It's a massive show with a massive cast of characters and a massive cast of actors (I think we're close to 40!). And we have such a short rehearsal process--only 4 weeks and then tech in the Hirschfeld!!!

Jill Santoriello has written a wonderful adaptation of Dickens' novel, balancing an epic story with a gorgeous score. Warren Carlysle, our director choreographer, is simply amazing, and Kevin Stites our MD is ever an inspiration and master of music. (It's my third Broadway show with Kevin--I consider myself a lucky man.)

And ladies beware! I can't think of stronger cast of male voices I've ever worked with: Gregg Edeleman, James Barbour, Kevin Earley, Nick Wyman...and those are only the fellas I've heard sing so far!

Stay tuned...I'll keep you guys posted on all the fun stuff. Like Oh! The costume fitting I had yesterday--thrilling!! David Zinn has designed some magnificent clothes . I can't wait to see them (and wear them) finished!

Red Fern Shout Out

Just a shout out to a great new theater company called The Red Fern Theater Company. A Non-Profit Socially Conscious theater group that pairs each play they put on with an appropriate charity and donates a portion of all ticket sales to the charity.

I just saw their production of A Piece of My Heart up at 78th and Broadway. Melanie Williams did a bang up job of casting and directing. You will be moved to tears, schooled about Vietnam from the female soldiers' POV, and leave the theater pondering what we could've learned from Vietnam that would allow us to be in Iraq. Oh and if you're lucky you may be privy to a talk-back after the show with any real life Vietnam veterans in the audience. It's a truly wonderful night in the theater.

Hurry Up and Relax

All you young performers out there--i'm talking to all you guys finishing up college or grad school and thinking about/moving to New York/LA to begin your careers...GET TO IT!

There's about a 10 year curve to "master" any profession you may choose (somebody famous said that righ?), and that doesn't exclude the arts. So pick NY or LA, pick theater or film or television but start working at it. Start auditioning, start studying in NY/LA, start meeting casting directors, start building the foundation of your career in your cells.

Because it takes time. It takes time and luck and hard work and change and money and a whole lot of joy, pain, fear, and love for a casting director to BELIEVE in you. To know that you are capalbe and experienced enough to carry a $15million musical or a $20 million dollar pilot or $30 million dollar film. It takes years.

You will audition thousands of time for hundreds if not thousands of people over the years. You will model, you will do voice overs, you will do commercials, you will do readings, workshops, favors, concerts, benefits, plays, musicals, soaps, tv, student films, films, industrials...you will write, you will direct, you will produce, you will style, you will coach...

You will cry, laugh, celebrate, whine, seek guidance, ...this is life no matter what profession you're in. But for some reason people think in showbiz, you just show up and overnight you're famous. Well Katherine Heigl's been acting since she was a kid and Morgan Freeman didn't have a regular film career until he was 50 (after 20 years in the business). So sure, there's a chance you could be the next Tom Cruise. But what if you're the next Morgan Freeman?

Ordinary Death

Anyone catch the final episode of John Adams on HBO this weekend? I thought it was, at times, brilliant. And I experienced one of those blissfully rare moments when art informs, educates, and enlightens. This particular episode put death in perspective for me.

I've always struggled to grasp death as a reality. It's part of life, yes, but it's also part of human nature to struggle with the concept of death. I've found it odd and terribly sad finally reaching an age when you begin to understand it; when grandparents push into their 80's and start dealing with "the end" every day, and you realize they're as alive as you are just old, tired, unable to keep up, keep at it anymore.

Death is terrifying. It's surreal.

And yet in this episode, death is ordinary. Two brilliant extraordinary men (John Adams and Thomas Jefferson) who inspired, willed, and created our democracy and free world simply grow old, and die. I'm not doing justice to the beauty of their deaths as portrayed on screen, but my point is that for the first time I got it--I understood the idea that death is something we all face. It's inevitable. It's ordinary.

By watching the deaths of of the most extraordinary men in our world's history I felt calm. I realized,

No matter how ambitious we are, no matter how much we achieve, no matter how strong willed and determined to make change, to better ourselves and others--no matter how extraordinary we may be, from John Adams to Barack Obama, we will all die an ordinary death.

It puts things in perspective. It slows things down a bit yes?

So New?

So it's been 10 months since I left Broadway, and though I miss it I've been enjoying life on other stages.

CONCERTS
From Israel to Los Angeles, Boston to Washington DC, Little Rock Arkansas to Midland Michigan , I've performed in some truly great cities with some truly great symphonies. It's magic working with 50+ piece orchestras singing some of the greatest music ever written. And I've really enjoyed meeting and working with some of the most talented maestros and musicians in the world. With symphony work you really focus on your voice, your mic technique...you're out there just you and a full orchestra making music...it's a beautiful thing.

MUSIC BIZ
I've learned a lot about the music business this year as well. I was working with Sony/Epic in London as member of Broadway 4 (now Teatro) until I decided it wasn't for me. But for all of you interested in making a record/landing a record deal, I can tell you it's a very complex affair. Since there is no union protecting recording artists, contracts are negotiated by lawyers, managers, and record executives. The economics of how record labels and managers make money is incredibly convoluted (just read Secrets of Negotiating a Record Contract)and the artist usually has to put his trust in his lawyer and just sign on the dotted line. Add to that the changing nature of the music industry (i.e. itunes, 360 deals, starbucks, livenation, plummeting CD sales) and you've got a tough tough business to be successful in as a new talent.

But it can be done. One thing you can't argue with is the label's power to spend millions on promoting and marketing you and your music. It's a platform for stardom. Just ask my friend Sara Gettlefinger in The Three Graces (Universal Decca). They're touring with Paul Potts right now and they're GREAT. They're HOT, they can SING, and their songs/arrangements are BEAUTIFUL. A shout out to my man Jeff Cohen who with his writing partner Michael Ochs and the girls has written 2 of the best songs on the album.

TV
I learned a lot about the TV world spending a few months in Los Angeles and starting a relationship with Greenlight Management. TV moves FAST. During episodics (when shows are casting day player/recurring roles) often you audition for something that shoots a day later and airs the following week. During pilot season it's intense. You're reading multiple scripts a day and auditioning back to back for roles in new television shows that if picked up could give you the platform to launch into into the homes of millions of Americans. Actors are cast from a wide spectrum of experience (i.e. compare the careers of the ladies in Grey's Anatomy). If you're in New York you get put on tape. I prefer being in the room in Los Angeles. Let's hope this year's pilot season (just under way) is not affected too badly by the strike.

MENTORING
So last night I hosted Scott Alan's New Voices Series with Vicki Clark and I gotta give these ladies a shout out--Marissa Dargahi, Leslie Henstock, Addi McDaniel, Sara Weiss, and Kimberly Chesser--Brava! The series features actors/singers who are great but have yet to debut on Broadway. Congrats ladies--you ARE GREAT! It was a lot of fun. And it reminded me of passion for mentoring young performers and why I started this blog in the first place.

My thanks to you guys for the inspiration.