I'm Back

Hey all! So I'm back from a beautiful trip to a sunny, warm, breezy island and can't wait to get back to work. Hopefully the R&R gave my knees and my hip a chance to heal. It was incredible to get away for a bit (hadn't had a break since August), but I missed my Piazza family! Back to business tonight!

Bart's back

So this week our director Bart was back in town checking in on us and working on pre-production for Awake and Sing (should be thrilling!).

It was a LONG week, but a great week. Katie and I are starting to find more and more levels to Fabrizio and Clara's relationship. And with Vicki out for the weekend, Patti got a nice run at Margaret. She was fantastic!

I've been struggling to find the levels in the church scene when Signor calls off the wedding. Michael Berresse and I talk about the scene every show and I've tried exploring so many things over the last week. Like Einstein once said, "I've got plenty of results. I know dozens of things that don't work." That's kind of the essence of acting too. Go out there and explore (hopefully in rehearsal) to find what doesn't work but leave the rest of the playing open to moment to moment discovery. What I LOVE about this show and this company is that it always feels fresh. Even on Sunday's when everyone's exhausted--we're all out there trying to live in the moment.

In the church scene, so much is happening so fast and then BANG! Dad calls off the wedding and humiliates/infuriates Fabrizio in front of Clara and Margaret. And I've struggled with really working moment to moment in that scene. Anyway, I think Bart and I cracked it open talking about it after the show today. If I key into the humiliation and anger it should carry me to the next moment of seeing Clara and not being able to look at her. Then that moment will lead me to the next, etc;

Looking forward to a day off tomorrow. Gotta hit the orthopedic doc for the chronic pain in my hip (I think it's from running around in dress shoes 8 shows a week on a hard deck), the gym, and then VEG OUT!

Thanks to all who came out to see us this week! GREAT audiences. Particular thanks to the kids from Florida who came up in a group and were so moved by the show. You guys were inspiring to talk to afterwards. Keep in touch!

Wake Me Up!

I felt good when I arrived at the theater before the matinee today and went through my usual warm up:

1 hour--prep water/gatorade for the show, get humidifier and shower going (to steam the room). Clean up dressing room from previous show.

45 minutes--start physical warm up (warm up my legs with squatting and lunging, plyometrics; warm up my whole body with jumping jacks/push ups; then do some light yoga for breathing and stretching; roll out on a foam roller.)

Half-hour--start make-up/hair and depending on how voice feels, light humming.

5 minutes--read through a passage of Romeo and Giulietta in Italian and do short vocal warm up.

By the places call I'm still warming up my voice (I have about 3 minutes extra before my entrance) and then we're off!

Only today I got out on stage and just had nothing. After a great warm up I got out on stage and felt like I had heavy legs, heavy eyes, and difficulty keeping my energy up. Because Fabrizio is such a physical role, I was not looking forward the next 2 1/2 hours.

Instead of faking it or pushing an energy I didn't have, I took the opportunity to try and find new things in the show. I figured it was a matinee audience and maybe they'd be a bit sleepy as well? :) But despite my efforts to just let things be, I kept having to push through my body's feeling of being asleep. It was such a struggle. I whined backstage the show about how tired I was and yada yada yada.

In the second act, things brightened a bit. And by the end of the play I felt more myself.

Ultimately I realized that without my energy Fabrizio just isn't the same and the story isn't nearly as strong. Romeo and Juliet can't possibly grab our interest if Romeo is a zombie when the two lovers first meet.

By the time I got back to my dressing room I just wanted to put this show behind me and gear up for show number 2. Of course as I'm leaving to grab some dinner, I see Rob Marshall in the hallway who introduces himself. You never know who's coming to the show and when right?!

So I did exactly what I just wrote about not doing and I beat myself up and felt it difficult to accept Rob's compliments. But you know what, with 8 shows a week, they ain't all gonna be perfect. I'm proud I got through it and went on to have a better show at night.

Our worst enemy

Beware: This entry is a bit self help.

I've touched on this before and want to stress again, "Get out of your own way!" I'm talking to all of you out there who, like so many of us, beat ourselves up over every little thing. Whether you're the young perfectionist at school or in sports or the young professional working towards living your dream, stop being so hard on yourself.

I grew up with the 2 best parents and 2 best siblings a kid could ever wish for. I also found myself in the blessed position of finding success in all I tried my hand at. It was thrilling but unbelievably difficult. Why? I didn't know it then, but to keep achieving, to keep besting oneself, to strive for perfection--it is an exhausting and ultimately futile ideal. Maybe not if you're a rocket scientist, but if you're an actor, you're doomed.

I've come to learn from my Yoda (my acting teacher Joan), it's our imperfections that make us interesting on stage.

When I first contemplated that it blew my mind, but it's so true! And I don't think that applies only to people in the theater. I can think of more than a few people in my life who have nothing to do with the arts and would be much happier individuals if they cherished their imperfections a bit more and stopped beating themselves up over things that are past &/or out of their control.

As actors we are in the unique position of having our work put out for it to be immediately reacted to. And often the reaction is not what we expected. So, either on stage or in the wings, we beat ourselves up. The cumulative result of these endless beatings can be a lack of confidence in ourselves and our talents. No matter our successes, our standing ovations, our hugs and compliments, we feel unworthy...perhaps we were ok, but we could have been better.

I say bullshit! Say goodbye to your inner critic, your worst enemy. That parent's voice you're trying to impress, that teacher you're trying to impress, that standard you've simply GOT to live up to. Let it all go. Embrace your talent, believe you're here, doing what you're doing for a reason, and live life both on stage and off with an open heart and no pre-planning. You'll find yourself smiling in the moment. And you deserve it.

Piazza Perks

So LCT threw a big New Year's party that our cast was invited to and I found myself, with my wife LeAnn, mingling in a beautiful apartment with everyone from Deborah Monk to Edward Albee. I remember reading A Zoo Story in 10th grade honors English and now here I am at a party with the great playwright! It was kind of surreal. Looking around at Bob Crowley, Diane Weist, Howard McGillin, etc; I remembered a night I spent a few years ago as part of the cast of Oklahoma on Bway...

I was understudying Curly at the time, and one Saturday night after the show, I found myself partying in our mens' ensemble dressing room with Antonio Banderas, Melanie Griffith, Chita Rivera, and the ladies of NINE. (Club 'O.K." as it was called was the brilliant brain child of my dear friends Harvey Evans and Steve Buntrock and is worthy of an entire entry:) Anyway, there I was with entertainment's elite and I remember thinking, "I'm so close...yet so far away."

I had that same feeling at the LCT party--only with Piazza, the 'close' is a big step 'closer'. Working with Adam Guettel, Bart Sher, LCT, Michael Berresse, Vicki, Chis Sarandon, Sarah, Patti, and the greatest cast on Bway...it doesn't get much more fun than this. ...Does it? :)

So Much to Catch Up On

So it's been too long since my last entry. First off--HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I hope 2005 was a year to remember for all of you!

My 2005 was nice:

Jan-May Gabey in On The Town in London at the English Nat'l Opera; my buddy Tim Howar who played Ozzie is actually here in NYC now rehearsing Roger in RENT on Bway so everyone go check him out at the end of the month...he is fierce!

June In L.A. recording the lead role of Adam/Silva on the new MASADA cast album featuring the Jerusalem Philharmonic Orchestra. For any of you wondering about this project, the latest is that the album will be released via direct marketing (alla JCSuperstar back in the 70's) in early 2006. Concert version in London....? Also stars my good friend Jenny Powers.

August-TBD Fabrizio in TLITP. We're extended through July and rumors are flying about extending through September. By then, LCT has a new show coming in so if we're still selling well, we'd have to move to another venue?! I can't picture Piazza in another theater. Anyway, a lot can happen between now and then: we could lose cast members, our ticket sales could dip or take off?, I might even be eligible to be nominated for the new Tony award for best replacement :) Who knows? Through July our cast is as is and we're selling well so far. Rumors are also flying about a sit-down national tour in early Fall...

Plans for '06:
I'm aiming even higher! 1) Test for at least 1 pilot 2)shoot an episodic 3)shoot a role in film (indie or feature) 4) get nominated for the Tony 5) Continue work on my debut album (I'm meeting with a former record exec. next week who I hope will help me get this off the ground.) 6) Get ready for life after Piazza (LA here we come).

I'm looking forward to you guys writing me with your plans for 2006! Need new headshots? Looking for an agent, a voice teacher, an acting class/coach? Hoping to add extra income with a day job? Graduating from universiry and moving to NYC? Let me know and I'll help in anyway I can.

Lastly, my apologies to anyone who was hoping to catch me in Piazza this past Xmas weekend. I got spent Friday in the hospital with food poisoning. Thankfully after 24hrs. the symptoms subsided and I was able to make it through a full 8 shows this week. So I'm back.

Footnote: Katie is settling in as Clara and is wonderful. If you haven't seen her in the role, you should!