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!
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