Grab a snack and a Red Bull...

Hello everyone!

17 days is a long time for me to not write, but there hasn't been anything too eventful to write about, let alone much time. And even as I write that, I know it's kind of a lie. For some reason I feel like I'm more bogged down than ever even though I'm not working nearly as much as I was back during the holidays. True, it's NYC and I work in Times Square so there must be business. However, even Times Square has slow times of the year.

So to fill any empty time, I've spent a great deal of time reading. Recently, I finished Stephen King's "Under the Dome". I had never read anything by him before and so I thought I'd pick up his most recent read clocking in at a whopping 1074 pages! Let me tell you: it took me a month and a half to finish this book and it was totally worth it, up until about page 1070. The explanation of what this dome that incapsulates this small Maine town seemed kind of cheap after the series of events that develops throughout the narrative. However, I would totally recommend it because it is one of the best books I've ever read--just not one of the best endings. A couple friends of mine at work also read it recently and absolutely loved it, including the ending.

After conquering the Dome, I have begun some lighter fair: "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris. Again, I have never read anything by Sedaris before, but I've heard great things about him and have seen his books in prominent positions at bookstores (where I frequently spend afternoons off). So, as I was walking out the door on Monday morning to go to work, I stopped by my roommates' bookshelf and saw "Me Talk Pretty" and decided to give it a shot. I'm nearly finished reading it and find myself getting lost in Sedaris' essays about his life. The first half of the book deals with his childhood and family, including his sister Amy that appears on "Strangers with Candy" on Comedy Central. The second half deals with his extensive time spent in France, learning the language, the culture, and coming to realizations about American culture. At one point he discusses the fact that we, as Americans, are forced to cater to many people's stupidity in this country. This is a fact I've consisted found throughout my life. Everything from the warning on McDonald's coffee that "Contents might be HOT" to how careful professionals must be to avoid getting slapped with a lawsuit from some angry customer that thinks they have been treated unfairly. In my observation, it seems our nation really is the land of opportunity--opportunity to take advantage of others. Without any reservation, I'm sickened by how our country fights over some of the most ridiculous arguments and think that stating "It's a free country" frees you from taking responsibility for your own rudeness or inability to think of anyone but yourself. (End of rant)

Last Saturday, I began taking an acting class. As I discussed in a previous post I won a raffle at the reading series wrap party for a free 8-week screenwriting class. I decided I didn't have a screenplay in me to write, so the teacher suggested I take the Acting for Writer's class. The interesting thing about this class is that it is centered around character-creation and -development. It is also a very physical class in which we make use of every inch of the space. I left class last week sweating and having to go straight to work for a busy Saturday night. Only seven more weeks to go with it. I think it's going to be a great experience.

Further in the realm of my career, I've seen a few improv shows at People's Improv Theatre where my friend Josh is a student. Josh wrote the screenplay Coming Attraction in which I played 15 characters. A lot of his improv friends came to the reading and noticed me after the shows and have been asking when I'm going to start taking classes. My response so far has been, "As soon as I have the money." This is definitely something I want to start soon because I can see myself doing this stuff with all the characters in my head. I feel so much more comfortable being someone other than myself in front of an audience sometimes, which I guess is why I enjoy being a character actor so much. I'll let you know when something actually happens.

My friends Amanda, Sean, and I have begun a new tradition! Every Tuesday night we cook an amazing dinner and watch LOST! It started as us just deciding to watch the premiere at Sean's after Amanda and I worked the lunch shift at work so we needed dinner and the suggestion was made to cook pizza before the show. I think the second week was sushi, I'm not sure. Maybe I'm trying to forget that whole night because that was the episode entitled "What Kate Does" and I found it to be pretty forgettable. Last week, Sean and I made fried chicken thighs, risotto, broccoli, and peanut-butter swirled brownies. This week was a very special treat as I had my first EVER lobster! Sean and I made a trip down to Chinatown and found a small seafood shop where we picked up a bunch of lobsters and a few pounds of king crab legs. Amanda bought some finish touch ingredients for cheddar biscuits that turned out pretty good, we need to tweak the recipe. For dessert, I made grilled pineapple topped with vanilla ice cream and brown sugar-rum sauce. This has turned into something I find myself looking forward to each week because it features my favorite things: food, friends, and LOST!

On the topic of LOST, I feel like this season is really starting to put itself in high-gear getting some things answered and asking questions that are quickly answered. The last two weeks have been simply awesome. If you don't watch LOST, I am so sorry for your life. DO IT!

Happy Adventures!

A directional shift.

Hello everyone!

After last week's epic post, I decided to just say hey and let you know about a few developments in my life.

Career-wise, I think I may be looking away from Broadway for now. From the look of things here, not a whole lot is happening in the way of unknown talent making much headway in the business. Furthermore, after the reactions from the reading series, I've decided to look more into film/TV. As such, I've been put in contact with some very good resources to get on the right lists to start getting this party started. Who knows? Maybe by the end of this network season you'll be seeing me on your favorite show? So far I've been submitted to the casting directors of 30 Rock and Rescue Me!

In other news, my parents may be coming to visit!!! They informed me that the topic has been discussed in the house and a road trip may be in the works for sometime in the next few weeks. Besides the obvious thrill of having my parents come see where I live/work, they will also be bringing some necessities I've been going without for the last six months: my TV and vacuum cleaner.

Less than a few weeks to go in this year's Oscar Race and things are really starting to heat up: The Hurt Locker has been gaining some much needed momentum in this home stretch and it is kind of poised to be the film to beat some March 7. Avatar is still a favorite with the populous crowd, but the artsy folks are gunning for James Cameron to sink like the real Titanic. I just hope that ten years from now people aren't saying they hate Avatar and deny seeing it in theatres, much like some are these days with Titanic--you saw it and you LOVED it! Sadly, I am one of the four people on the planet that have not seen Avatar yet, but I plan to remedy that fairly soon. However, I did catch Colin Firth in A Single Man--highly recommended. It's not a huge film, by any means, and it is incredibly subtle in its drama, as is Firth's performance. Additionally, I finally saw Nine. Nothing to run home about, but fairly enjoyable. Marion Cotillard, I love you.

Be sure to vote in the poll. Just FYI, if Fergalicious (Nickalicious) wins, there better be some good suggestions coming my way for new lyrics...

Happy Adventures!

Six months, and so much to talk about...

Hello everyone!

It's been two weeks since I've last been on here, and to be honest, you may need to take a break in the middle of this one. (Sorry, Charlie.)

My last post was titled FRIENDS because I had lots of stories surrounding friends visiting, or just great nights of hanging out with new friends. When something needs to be said, it needs to be said: I have the greatest friends in the world! The city was graced with the presence of my pint-sized friend Drew last week. He was in town with his law school's Mock Trial team and was kind enough to pencil me in for an evening of catching up over drinks and dinner, followed by breakfast at Brooklyn Diner. (Just to clear the air, it wasn't that kind of visit...minds out of the gutter.) Anyway, it was really nice to see Drew, especially he was one of the last people I saw in Ohio before moving. Drew, come back anytime.

In the continuing saga of Nick's Reading Series, I bring you the final episode:

On the evening of January 28, I participated in the reading of a new screenplay titled Breaking Fences by William Morton. The story surrounds a young man falling in love with a girl (played by my good friend Emily) that crashes into the fence of his apartment late one night. My characters included the main character's supervisor at work (whom serves as a father-figure to him), a Fussy Man, a Serious Man, a Young Man, and Tommy a 6-year-old boy that has just found out his dog has died. Yes, it's a comedy. Our reading was very well-received and I think the writer is definitely got something great right there. Kudos to Emily for turning in an incredibly well-read and nuanced performance of the leading lady! So proud of YOU!

January 29 brought what can only be called as my TOUR DE FORCE performance of the screenplay Coming Attraction by Josh Berman in which I played (count them) 15 characters: Jason (a club doorman), Cinnabon (an Lebanese body guard), Dr. Marcello Salvadori (an Italian Sex Therapist), a dorky Bookstore Attendant, 3 friends of the main character on Answering Machines (Jon, Marcus, and Steve), a flamingly gay Clothing Guy, Hick #1, the Guy Who Works There ("There" being the rodeo), the Rodeo Announcer, Alan (a man who has recently returned to American from working with elephants in Sierra Leon), Adam (the main character's older brother--think Old School Vince Vaughn), and Fred (a 19-year-old prick), and the actual Answering Machine itself. This was quite possibly the most fun I've ever had in performance, for obvious reasons. And yes, I had accessories to help distinguish between the different characters.

January 30 was a double feature of A House Divided by Minette Greenberg about a Jewish family and an African-American family dealing with the aftermath of a tragic accident in Queens in the early 90's. Among my roles in this script was Schlomo Pinsky, a "husky" man that has an eye for the main character. Definitely the high drama of my weekend, but such a satisfying experience. To be honest, I enjoyed listening to the rest of the incredibly talented cast reading the script more than my own scenes--which I enjoyed immensely, of course. Immediatley following I read the roles of Fr. Flanaghan and a Pinkerton Guard for Frankie & the World's Fair Pear by Debbie Klaar. This is a family film taking place during the 1964/65 World's Fair that set up shop in Queens, where I live. Watching the main characters played by child actor's of appropriate ages doing such a fantastic job was just a treat. I can't wait to see what happens for these kids, honestly.

Sunday, January 31 brought about my fifth and final script entitled Another Goode Life by Nadia Tabbara. The best way to describe this script is to say it's Eternal Sunshine but reversed: the main character actually has his memory erased so he must put the pieces together himself. Truly beautiful writing and such an insightful process of working through this script. I was the narrator, as well as a Guitar Player, the voice of the Subway, a boxing ring Announcer, and a Construction Worker.

If you were keeping track, that's about 30 characters in 4 days within 5 scripts! To be honest, I didn't know who I was the end of it all, but WHAT A WEEKEND!

To celebrate the work and success of the series, we had a wrap party at the Playwright's Tavern on 49th where we all gathered to have a few drinks, laugh at goof-ups, and wish each other the best on our next endeavors. For me, this was the best networking I've ever done. From all the people I met because of this series, I have invites to join an improv group, an offer to take a part in a play that is hopefully going to be produced off one of the scripts from the series, help in tackling the industry, lots of advice and where to go and what to do, and a FREE SCREENWRITING CLASS! To say nothing of the phenomenal new friends I've made, this was quite possibly the best weekend of my life and the greatest thing I could have ever done for my career.

It's the next step that scares me, to be completely honest. After this series, I got some of the best reviews of my life and all the hope for a fruitful career. But it's not the people in this series that will be casting anything I'll be auditioning for anytime soon. My only hope is that the reactions I receive out in the audition rooms will be as enthusiastic and encouraging as those from this series.

In other news, there is a new poll on the right-hand side of the blog. Check it out, take your pick, and wait to hear which song I'll see at the Lebanon Show Choir Classic on March 20!

So, how are YOU all?

Happy Adventures!