Self Promotion

A theme of self deprecation will undoubtedly run through any attempt I make to talk about myself. Ironic considering the title and location of this blog. As you can see I'm working some things out. So here's the latest:

September marked a milestone for me; my first feature length 35mm film. It's working title is Ghost Images and the ensemble includes Elisabeth Rohm (of Law & Order fame), Roma Maffia (Nip Tuck), Waylon Payne (Walk The Line), Stacey Dash (Clueless), Matthew Del Negro (Sopranos). If it seems too good to be true, there's confirmation here.

I played a nearly low-life character named Stan, an auxiliary acquaintance of an organized crime boss and politician. Everyone knows a Stan; a little too serious, a little too dumb to run things, but smart enough to be in the middle of it. There's something not entirely likeable about him, but he was more sincere than I thought at first.

A business opportunity places him in the middle of a clique of young urbans, but as with his professional situation, Stan finds himself on the outside. As the story unravels, Stan's position on the outside of this catty bunch doesn't seem like a bad place to be, but it comes with a price as he's implicated in the unseemly goings on. It's not what you expect, and in the hopes that this mediocre write up about a secondary character will entice you to ever sit through the movie, I'll maintain the suspense.

As an actor, the experience was full of points of reflection and opportunities to discuss the craft. I'll look forward to getting into more details in a later post.

On the stage front, I've recently been cast in two shows for 2007. I struggled after Medea with the fact that personal engagements would keep me off the stage for the fall of 2006, but looking back now, it was a good stroke of fortune to be available for these opportunities.

Muddy Waters Theatre Company was kind enough to offer my the role of Biff in their upcoming production of Death of a Salesman. It's a seminal role for someone my age and it won't be a walk in the park. I'd forgotten how exciting the role is until the audition which was on very short notice and with no preparation. Luckily, I'd had the chance to do this show years ago in Dublin and at least I could pull from some murky recollections of Biff to patch together a decent cold reading.

Rehearsals will begin in earnest in January, but I hope to start work on it sooner with Peter Mayer (playing the role of Willy). Peter's a good friend of mine here and a connoisseur of the kind of acting I hope to bring to this role. I'm looking forward to working with actors who have the same aspirations for character and the overall production.

I've also been offered a small role in the Wendy Wasserstein's play An American Daughter for The Orange Girls in July of '07. I have not had an opportunity to get into the character much at this point, but it looks like an opportunity to break out of myself a bit and throw off some of my old, bad habits.

When I look back, it's been a fairly successful fall so far. There's plenty to keep my mind busy the next few months and the promise of some great work ahead.