Ordinary Man » Acting

Witch Prison scenes

ed — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:26:12 +0000

Even though the buzz has come close to sizzling out, I finally got around to editing the video, I recorded of the show, of just my scenes. I wish I could post the entire play but it would be kind of difficult to do so of an hour and a half length movie on any site. Sure, I could do it on Vimeo, in 20 minute chunks, but it would be very time consuming. Also, my recording isn’t the best of quality. There was another recording of the last show in HD, but it hasn’t be distributed to the actors yet.

A brief summary of the play, as best as I can: A young witch, sister of The Dry-Eyed Widow, has been admitted into The Ginger House, a prison for witches ruled by the Wardlock – a warden type character with powers of a warlock who loves imported coffee. A private investigor, Sam Fleming, and his secretary, Diana Huntress, were hired by The Dryed-Eyed Widow, Dame Rebecca Eveningstar, to investigate The Ginger House and her sister’s occupancy at the witch prison.

That is a very brief summary of the play, there is so much more to it than that. I just wanted to give that much information so that you will get the gist of the following clips.

Act 1 Scene 5 – This scene takes place at City Hall where Sam and Diana are trying to talk Fergus and Cillian, two police detectives, into helping them get into The Ginger House.

Act 3 Scene 7 – Takes place in a cemetary where two witches, Violet and Tabitha, have escaped from The Ginger House and are hiding out. Fergus and Cillian are showing Diana a good time on their date at the cemetary where they discover something peculiar is going on, besides the aftertaste of bat wax.

Act 3 Scene 9 – The Dry-Eyed Widow, Dame Rebecca Eveningstar, has cast a spell of confusion on Sam (“that old black magic…”) in which Sam finds she is simply irresistible by all. Enter Fergus, Cillian and Diana flabbergasted at what their eyes can’t seem to believe.

Enjoy!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Witch Prison trailer

ed — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:10:16 +0000

Little Jimmy Craft, from the play, posted a trailer of Witch Prison he created. He did an incredible job.
Beware, mortals, there be profanity in this video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Update: Replaced You Tube video with a better version posted on Vimeo.

Dates over, baby

ed — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:16:58 +0000

As I type this, I sit at La Guardia airport waiting for my return home to Orlando. What an exciting and wonderful trip to The Big Apple this time around. I met many wonderful new people during this adventure; some I hope to become lifelong friends.

Yesterday was the last day of the show, a 2:00 p.m showing. It was, yet again, a smooth show and full of fun. I made one minor flub but was able to easily recover without skipping a beat. After the show we had the cast party at the theatre, and what a grand party it was. There was no doubt, by the evidence of the smiles on everyone’s faces, that it was time to celebrate a successful, and exhausting, five day run. Simon and I, plus a few other nice people willing to help, closed out the day by spending a few hours cleaning up the theatre before retiring to Slumberland. The theatre was trashed so it really did take a few hours before it was cleaned. I think we overdid it. We left it cleaner than it was when we first entered the theatre last Monday.

After we woke up from sleeping in a little, we met our new friends from Rhode Island for lunch at Fanelli’s Cafe near SOHO (apparently, one of the oldest restaurants in NY). It was a really cool cafe with some really good food. We ate, said our goodbyes and returned to Simon’s place so that I could grab my items and leave for the airport.

Reflecting back on all my previous trips to New York, I would say that this was probably the best time I have ever had and it will be extremely difficult to top in the possible future visits to “the city that never sleeps”. I’ll probably have pictures and videos posted within the next couple of days, after I have had time to decompress.

Wonderful Independence Day

ed — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 16:59:22 +0000

The play yesterday was another wonderful success. We had a early showing of 4:00 p.m. so that the cast, and audience, could enjoy the fireworks and such after the play ended its two hour run.

One of the cast members hosted a Independence Day party in Brooklyn in her gorgeous three story apartment(?) where the top two floors had a terrace with a grand view of Manhattan and the area where the NYC fireworks would take place. It was a great time of meeting new people (a few that were actually from Florida) and enjoying the wonderful fireworks.

A half an hour or so after the fireworks, Simon and I left for another party taking place at The Lafayette House hotel in Manhattan. The host and hostess were friends of Simon in town from Rhode Island just to see the play so they invited us over to hang out for a while. When we got there we were greeted by the wonderful hosts and more unmet friends from Orlando. Surprisingly, after I met everyone there, I found out that the host and hostess and two other super nice people at the party were originally from Orlando also so we ended up all being instant friends. It was really a good time thanks to the generous hospitality of all these new friends.

Tonight the play starts a little later than usual (8:00 p.m.) so it gives us all time to rest after a long night of celebrating Independence Day.

Action Shot

ed — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 05:58:47 +0000

A friend of Simon’s took some photos from opening night. Here is a shot of myself in one of the scenes.

It was another good night. This time I didn’t drop any lines. In fact, I don’t think anyone dropped any lines tonight and everything went smooth.

It was another fun night.

Post Opening Night

ed — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:21:23 +0000

I just got back from eating out at a diner in Manhattan called Westway Diner on 9th Avenue between 43rd and 44th Avenue. It was around the corner from the theatre so we decided to go there for a bite to eat after the show. It was a good night. It was a good opening night for the play, for myself and everyone else. Sure, I missed a couple of lines in my big scene but I wasn’t the only one, so I didn’t feel so bad. One thing that really surprised me was that I wasn’t nervous or stressed at all before the show. I think I realized, with Chelby’s helpful pep talk today, that I was there to have fun and wasn’t trying to impress anyone. And it was fun. I am actually looking forward to the rest of the run of the play, just so I can have the chance to improve.

What an exciting adventure I am a part of in my life right now. It’s really difficult to explain in words how happy I feel right now.

New York Times Notice Of Witch Prison

ed — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:30:12 +0000

Sitting in the internet cafe today while indulging many a caffeinated beverage, Simon discovered the posting in the New York Times of Witch Prison.

Pretty impressive and exciting.

End of the First Day

ed — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:15:22 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

First Day of the Trip – Before the Flight

ed — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:30:10 +0000

It’s close to 4:30 a.m. and I’m fully awake. My alarm went off at 3:30 a.m. with one snooze button selection but I was able to get up to start my Monday at 3:40 a.m.
Right now I am drinking my coffee and catching up on the internet news going over the list of items in my head I need to take with me to New York. I believe everything is packed and ready.
I went over my lines last night with Chelby and I seem to have it all down pretty well now. We’ll just have to see how well, for sure, as tonight is my first rehearsal, most importantly, a dress rehearsal.
Chelby and I spent most of Saturday shopping for clothes for the play, shopping for my Fergus costume, if you will. Fergus is the name of the character I will be playing in the play (for details read this), a police detective type depicted in classic film noir. I was able to find a couple of good choices of black fedoras, a nice pair of black slacks and a white long sleeved shirt. I will be using a few choice ties that I already own to go with my costume.

Late afternoon yesterday, Chelby had a good idea of wearing a vest to go with my costume. I didn’t know what Simon would think of that but we went to a couple of places quickly to search for the item but had no luck. If Simon approves, I may shop a little more while in New York before the opening Wednesday night.
I will be leaving for the airport in about 45 minutes so I better hurry with the coffee and shower.

I have a part in the world

ed — Tue, 20 May 2008 01:29:13 +0000

Just an update to my last post. I got word from Simon today that he wants me to play a small role in the performance. Needless to say I was totally shocked.

Of course, I am excited. I’ve never been in a play before, unless you want to count the parts I had in kindergarten. The most exciting thing about this first experience is that it will be – should I call it – an off-Broadway play right in the theatre district of Manhattan. BRILLIANT!

I need to thank Simon for having faith in me. I’ve acted before, if you call working as a gangster on the Great Movie Ride in Disney’s Hollywood Studios acting. But trusting me with this task, even if it is a small part, is something powerful.

The only difficult thing about this is that I will not be up there for all of the rehearsals. I did, however, change my plane reservation so that I would be up there until the 7th instead of leaving on the 5th. Getting there on the 30th will allow me a couple of rehearsals before the play starts on the 2nd. Crunch time!

I don’t have the part

ed — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 00:20:03 +0000

Well, kiddies, if you have been following along, you know that I auditioned for a play a couple of months back. If you don’t know the history, you can catch up here: Acting
Yes, it’s true, I didn’t get the part. I found out the hard way at the beginning of the week, I went to the web site of the theatre company and perused the Glengarry Glen Ross section. My name was not in the cast list.
Oh well. I didn’t really expect to get the part. I honestly didn’t expect to get as far as I did when I was called back after the first audition in February.
I’m striking this experience up as…that…a learning experience. I’ll keep on trying and hope that some day I will be cast in a play.

Do I have the part?

ed — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 00:13:31 +0000

I just got back from my callback audition for Glengarry Glen Ross. I don’t know what to think other than I don’t feel positive that I have a part.
When I arrived at the theatre, I checked in, sat down and waited in the lobby with about 10 other guys, you could cut the tension in the air with a hot butter knife. Not long after 2:00 p.m., the director came out to invite us all into one of the auditoriums. We all listened to his speech about the play and he gave us a rundown of how the process would work. We all were paired and given scenes from the play from Act I of select conversations between two characters. Some of us got the same scene, and some got different scenes, each of us were supposed to act out both sides.
My partner and I got the scene of Moss and Aronow in the restaurant. While we waited for our turn, we both went over both sides of the short scene many times until we both were comfortable. After close to 45 minutes of studying our lines, it was our turn.
We entered the auditorium where we found the two directors seated at a table ready to take notes and two chairs in front of them for our use, if we decided to sit down. One of the directors informed us first what he wanted to see, he wanted me to be Moss first. We delivered the scene pretty well standing up, still working off of the scene sheet they gave us, but trying not to use it as much as possible. He then wanted us to reverse the roles in which I assumed the role of Aronow. After we delivered this roll reversal, he wanted us to do it again, but this time sitting down.
After we were done he simply thanked us and then proceeded to inform my partner to stay because he wanted my partner to deliver lines from the play of a different character.
I immediately left after thanking them not knowing what was next. I would have thought that if I was considered for a part in the play that they would have said something to me. Remember, I am new to this, I have never auditioned for a play before so I am extremely new to the procedures. However, I noticed that while we were waiting for our turn in the lobby that the other gentlemen that went before us were also leaving immediately after their turn. So, by viewing this example, I can only assume that they will inform us at a later time after studying all performances.
I really hope I get the part.

Audition update

ed — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 00:28:28 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

Post Audition Thoughts

ed — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 00:54:48 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

Headshots p.2 – Received…not bad

ed — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 11:38:07 +0000

Click images

I finally decided on two prints (see above), with a little help from family and friends. I chose black and white prints because it looks better. I’ve always thought black and white had that classic feel, and it just looks so damn professional.

Now, I await my audition. It’s tomorrow (Saturday) at 1:40 P.M. I’m starting to get a little nervous. I know both of my monologues pretty well but there is always that fear that once I get in front of the casting director and/or director that I am just going to draw a complete blank.

I want to thank Scot Lerner for doing such a great job photographing this mug. If you are in the Orlando area and need some professional photography, I would highly recommend him. Check him out.

Headshots – Just shoot me in the head

ed — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 04:55:58 +0000

For the first time ever, I had a photo shoot with a local photographer for a headshot to take with me for my up coming audition. The shoot was pretty easy; choosing two photographs from over 150 shots is not.

I tell you, if I wasn’t so used to looking at myself in the mirror everyday, I would shoot myself after browsing all these photographs so many times. I’m tired. There are so many to choose from – just from the fact the photographer did such a good job – and yet I have no idea what I am going to pick to take with me to the audition.

Audition Callback

ed — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 20:45:39 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.