Lutz Closing

Yesterday was the closing performance of The Lutz Radio Hour. The show proved to be a strange beast, portraying actors in their final radio performance, when in reality we also faced our final curtain. I returned to the theatre after our holday break, completed our final three performances and said my farewells. I send thanks to the fabulous and ever generous Andrew Vonderschmitt for giving me the opportunity to work with a talented cast of players. I am so grateful to have met so many new daces, and developed so many lifelong friendships.

2009 has been a busy year for me, providing another six, magical productions to my experience. In 2010 I plan to focus on finding a new project, and completing my graduate school applications. I hope that this coming year will be prosperous, exciting, theatrically stimulating, and career building. I pray that I will find the path toward success, however vast or rocky that path may be.

Lots of Lutz!

After four weeks of rehearsal for The Lutz Radio Hour, we are ready to open! We have our final invited dress rehearsal tonight at 8:00 PM. At this point in the process I am eager to have an audience to test laughs and fill our empty house with bright buzzing energy. I am very proud of this show and the humor I know it will bring to our audiences.

Enter Laughing closed with a bang! It has been a blustery ride and I am glad to finally close this moonstruck chapter in my theatrical pop-up book. Although I always lament the closing of a show, I was also relieved in many ways. I am ready to devote my entire being to Peggy and move forward with The Lutz Radio Hour.

We both bruise too easily

"All I Know"
Art Garfunkel

I bruise you, you bruise me
We both bruise too easily
Too easily to let it show
I love you, and that's all I know
All my plans have fallen through
All my plans depend on you
Depend on you to help them grow
I love you, and that's all I know
When the singer's gone
Let the song go on...
But the ending always comes at last
Endings always come too fast
They come too fast, but they pass too slow
I love you, and that's all I know
When the singer's gone
Let the song go on
It's a fine line between the darkness and the dawn
They say the darkest night
There's a light beyond
But the ending always comes at last
Endings always come too fast
They come too fast, but they pass too slow I love you, and that's all I know
That's all I know
That's all I know

Peggy Beaudette is born

Rehearsals for The Lutz Radio Hour are begining to come together. I have created the characer of Peggy Beaudette for the project. "Peggy" is my favorite role form The Women, and "Beaudette" is my grandmother's maiden name. Peggy will be grounded in the reality of the play as an actress performing several rolse in the radio performance: Tammy Tap-Shoes, Cousin Effie, Peeler the Elf, Bobbysoxer, etc. I am still developing Peggy as a character, but thus far I find her to be a beautiful perfectionist trying to cope with the pressure of impressing the unknown producers in the audience. She doesn't maintain any relationships outside the walls of the studio, and knows that losing her place in the radio show will leave her lonely and longing for the companionship of her fellow radio performers. I find Peggy constantly evolving as I negociate her through the framework of the play. This is a very exciting time in the process and I look forward to continuing rehearsals this week with our director, the talented Andrew Vonderschmitt, leading the way!

The Lutz Radio Hour Casting!

I have been cast in The Lutz Radio Hour at the Long Beach Playhouse! Last night I had the privilege of auditioning for Andrew Vonderschmitt, the artistic director of the LBPH. This show marks the beginning of a Christmas tradition he hopes to activate, bringing a holiday show to LBPH audiences every year. Not only will I be a part of this new, exciting tradition, but I will also appear in back to back productions in the main stage theatre. I start rehearsals during my run as “Wanda” in Enter Laughing. We have a very short time to rehearse this sketch-like comedy Christmas show of 1947. I am eager to begin the process.

Wanda ("Enter Laughing") inspired collage

Enter Laughing Opening!

This weekend we added the final element to our show: the audience. Previews went rather well on Thursday and Friday night. Saturday's opening night champagne reception proved thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable. Enter Laughing continues to improve with every performance. I would like to take my hat off to Murray Rubin, Jerome Loeb, Sam Dawson and Skip Blas, who seemed to be the audience favorites of the night. Thank you to everyone who came out to support the show this weekend, especially my fabulous family adn friends!

Seasons of love felt at OCPAC

Last night’s production of RENT at OCPAC in Segerstrom Hall, with the original Roger Davis (Adam Pascal) and Mark Cohen (Anthony Rapp), was electrifying. Rumor had it that the two performers were bored and burnt out, after reprising their roles over the past 15 years. My dearest friends, having seen such a re-hashed production, delivered warnings of a disinterested Pascal robotically going through the motions and a genuine but ordinary Rapp conforming his character to the likeness of himself. Maybe it was my distant seat in the front mezzanine, the glittering lights, the junkyard set, or the amplified sound system vibrating my bones, but the whole production gave me chills. Adam Pascal was spellbinding and his vocal quality at its height. “One Song Glory” took my breath away. The quirky Anthony Rapp provided laughs and high energy, delivering a consistent and solid performance. Justin Johnson had several tricks up his sleeve as Angel Schunard, which included song, dance, acrobatics, drumsticks and a very touching ending. I took my parents to the performance, who really didn’t understand the importance or hype of everything that is RENT. My father looked at me blankly when the curtain closed, the entire crowd on their feet cheering, and simply said, “It wasn’t my favorite.” Well, I guess it is a little much to ask my folks to appreciate Shakespeare and modern musicals. I thought they would see something very special from this Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award winning play, but then I realized that perhaps this is not a play that speaks to their generation on the same level that it speaks to mine. Maybe it felt more like a rock concert to them than a theatrical performance. Whatever the case, RENT spoke to me as it always has, through the character portraits of struggling artists, HIV epidemic, fear, acceptance, friendship and love.

Performances at OCPAC's Segerstrom Hall Oct. 20 – 25, 2009. $20 tickets will be available two hours before curtain only at the Center’s Box Office, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Regular tickets are $20 - $70 and are on sale now. They may be purchased at www.OCPAC.org, at the Center’s Box Office or by calling 714.556.2787.

Wanda has gumption

When I got to the playhouse last night I put on my cherry dress with my cream pigskin heels. The hair designer was waiting with a little brown curly wig. He placed it on my head, softening hte hair line and placing pin curls. When he stepped back Wanda stared back at me in the dressing room mirror. I am so thankful to be at this point of the process with such a fabulous crew to support us. We are one rehearsal away from our invited dress, and two days away from previews. I know our opening on Saturday night, which is almost sold out, will be wonderful and exciting. I am eager to have an audience in the empty red seats we have been playing to for the past 5 weeks.

What if Violet was your mother?

When Aristotle described theatre in his Poetics, he said tragedies must include opsis (Greek for spectacle). The Elizabethans also believed in creating spectacle, though too much could be seen as witchcraft. In this regard, the Ahmanson Theatre’s production of August: Osage County did not disappoint. The detailed 3-storied Oklahoma home sitting on the premium stage like a giant doll house was a spectacle in itself, but was not to be outdone by the performance of Estelle Parsons as Violet Weston. Encompassed in a sea of painkillers, alcohol and cigarettes, Violet summons her immediate family to her home after the mysterious disappearance of her husband, Beverly. The first indication that something is seriously wrong with the Weston family comes with Violet, played by the 82 year old actress, tromping down the stairs like a lightning speed bobble-head. With insanity and chaos swarming the house, eldest daughter Barbara attempts to take control of the house. The show is funny, tragic, horrific, engaging and utterly brilliant. Among the pill popping matriarch, missing patriarch, sexual infidelity, incest, drunken brawls, and betrayal is a potent truth that spoke to me on multiple levels. And you thought your family was dysfunctional? The characters are sharp witted with biting tongues. They dealt insults with epic Shakespearian-like power. The 3 hours performance flew by in a flash and standing ovations were to be had for all.

Performances are Tuesdays through Fridays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sundays at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.; No performances on Mondays. September 9 through October 18, 2009. Tickets are $20-80. The Ahmanson: 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A.. For more info call (213) 972-4400 or visit www.CenterTheatreGroup.org.

Off book for Enter Laughing

Last night was the first night off book for the Enter Laughing cast. I think it went well consdiering we were missing our leading man due to illness. Ordinarily I am well off book before the deadlkine, but this time I struggled a little more than usual. It has been many months since I have strayed away form the Bard. I always find Shakespeare the easiest to memorize because of the melody and rhythm of the verse, It comes more natural to me, like learning a song on the radio. With Enter Laughing, I had to adjust my process since I have not had enough repetition to learn my lines solely through rehearsal. I have taken my script to bed with me the last two days, trying to engrave the lines into my subconscious. I once read that encoding immediately before sleep improves recall. I studied my lines for an hour today adn then took an hour nap to cement them in. It seemed to work. Soon they will be second nature and then I can really start to play. Now that the book is out of my hands I have the freedom to create and explore everything that is Wanda.

Don't tell me you're a stepping stone

Alan Cumming performed “I Bought a Blue Car Today” at OCPAC on Sat. night. I bought tickets for my mother and myself, and attended the 9:30 performance. I was in total awe of him from the moment he walked on stage singing “Shine” to the last bow. I have never experienced such complete immersion and emotional connection as Alan brought to the stage. I drank up the sparkle in his eye when he took his moment before each song to connect. It was so brief one could easily miss it, but I saw it clearly and it was beautiful. I bought the album after the show and I can't stop listening to Lance Horne's "Don't Tell Me". I keep marinating myself in its potent truth. Why do I always connect so strongly to the tragedy in life? Alan is quirky and fabulous and I love him. He is truly an inspirational artist. I strive to be like him, to find the truth in everything I touch and share that magic with the audience.

"Don't Tell Me"
By Lance Horne

Don't tell me you're a stepping stone
'Cus I'll step all over you, and won't mean it

Don't tell me I'm not capable
'Cus I'll prove that I am if it kills me

Don't try to hold me in your hand

'Cus living things move, and I surely will

You've got your friends and I've got mine

And wouldn't you know, they were right

I won't tell you that your beautiful

'Cus you'll think I want sex, and don't mean it

I won't tell you that I want to spend the rest of my life with you.... again

I won't quote the four agreements though you'd get f*cking centered if you'd read it

I won't think of you the way I do

Don't tell me....

Take me away from the other you

The one I thought I never knew

I'm not the man you'd thought I'd be

I'm ready for another me

I've gone away from other days

I've weighed my change and changed my ways

Been crazed and turned for turns of phrase

And now I'm left with you

Why can't I love just that

Instead of all the loves that leave my bed?

And all the lives I've never led

Looks like there's still another blank page to fill

Until I've had my fill of you

So thanks for the tips on carpet

And thanks for your taste in shoes

If we could learn to love those little lessons

There'd be a little less to lose

But if you find another love whose going to hold you like me

And have these little talks until a quarter to three

And wait until you're ready for intimacy

Don't tell me

Don't tell me

Reading Wanda...

It is 10;00 PM, and I just got back form my first read-though of Enter Laughing. I always think of the first read-through as a spectacle all in itself. Everyone is getting to know one another, making introductions, trying to remember names, nervously looking around. I love the moments when discoveries are made, or when bold laughter fills the empty rehearsal space. I am very excited to work with this talented cast of players in the historical Long Beach Playhouse.

I am still trying to figure out my character. Who is this young woman named Wanda? Why does she love David? What fuels her fire? What does she dream about when she snuggles down under the sheets at night? Where does her sense of forgiveness come from? Where does she hold her pain? Her happiness? Her love? I find her quaint, but wonderful in every way. I know I will find the place where Wanda lives in myself.

Quoting Shakespeare

On Quoting Shakespeare
By Bernard Levin

If you cannot understand my argument, and declare ``It's Greek to me'', you are quoting Shakespeare;

if you claim to be more sinned against than sinning, you are quoting Shakespeare;

if you recall your salad days, you are quoting Shakespeare;

if you act more in sorrow than in anger; if your wish is farther to the thought;
if your lost property has vanished into thin air, you are quoting Shakespeare;

if you have ever refused to budge an inch or suffered from green-eyed jealousy,
if you have played fast and loose,
if you have been tongue-tied, a tower of strength, hoodwinked or in a pickle,
if you have knitted your brows, made a virtue of necessity, insisted on fair play, slept not one wink, stood on ceremony, danced attendance (on your lord and master), laughed yourself into stitches, had short shrift, cold comfort or too much of a good thing, if you have seen better days or lived in a fool's paradise -why, be that as it may, the more fool you , for it is a foregone conclusion that you are (as good luck would have it) quoting Shakespeare;

if you think it is early days and clear out bag and baggage,
if you think it is high time and that that is the long and short of it,
if you believe that the game is up and that truth will out even if it involves your own flesh and blood,
if you lie low till the crack of doom because you suspect foul play, i
f you have your teeth set on edge (at one fell swoop) without rhyme or reason, then - to give the devil his due - if the truth were known (for surely you have a tongue in your head) you are quoting Shakespeare;

even if you bid me good riddance and send me packing,
if you wish I was dead as a door-nail,
if you think I am an eyesore, a laughing stock, the devil incarnate, a stony-hearted villain, bloody-minded or a blinking idiot,
then - by Jove! O Lord! Tut tut!
For goodness' sake!
What the dickens!
But me no buts! – it is all one to me,
for you are quoting Shakespeare.

Penache!

A couple of days ago I stumbled across a second-hand copy of Cyrano de Bergerac, from the Broadway production with Kevin Kline and Jennifer Garner. I immediately bought it. I watched it last night and found myself deeply touched by their performances and the characters. I thought about a production I had seen at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. I remember sitting with my father in their outdoor Elizabethan theatre and forgetting myself in the play. It just so happened that the Cyrano that night was an understudy, who had learned the lines in 24 hours, studied the blocking by watching a taped rehearsal and had only one performance the previous night under his belt. A prompter sat in the front row, but forgetting their presence I was jolted back into reality when he called for a line in the third scene. After that he was picture perfect. I cried for 20 minutes after the show, thinking about the beauty of Cyrano under the guise of a circumstantially large nose, and the tragedy of unspoken love. I never thought I would feel that conneciton again, but Kevin Kline brought that back to me last night. I cried as he recited his love letter to Roxanne in the last scene, stained with his blood and tears, and I continued to cry as I removed the disk from the DVD player. I think Cyrano de Bergerac is one of those plays that iwll always touch me. Moments like these remind me of the magic theatre brings to its audiences.

"I think the moon is a world like this one, and the Earth is its moon."

Enter Laughing Casting!

Good news! I have been cast as Wanda in Enter Laughing at the Long Beach Playhouse, directed by Glendele Way-Agle. After 5 nerve racking hours of callbacks, I survived all 4 cuts and landed the role. The cast was announced in the theater lobby and my friend Brandon squeezed me tight when we saw his headshot on the bottom of the pile smiling at us. In a room full of talented actors I was thankful to have him there. We haven't attended the same audition in over a year, but we seem to bring each other luck. I breathed a sigh of relief when my name was called. I hardly get nervous anymore, but I have to admit my stomach was in knots fo rhte last half hour. It is a gratifying feeling the first time I hold the script in my hand, knowing that the risks I took were validated. Our first read-through is Monday! I am excited to begin Wanda's journey

My name is Inigo Montoya so don't cry for me Argentina

When I attended An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin at the Ahmanson Theatre, I was naïve to the impact these two performers have had on musical theatre. Let’s face it; my first memory of Patinkin was not his Tony Award winning performance in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita, but his portrayal of Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride. I only discovered Yentl last year when I became obsessed with watching Barbara Streisand movies, although I did buy his self titled album and knew him to be a strong vocal talent. As for LuPone, well when my roommate attempted to describe who she is the only pop culture reference I knew was playing Harrison Ford’s sister in Witness. Now, since I have been so honest in my failures as a musical theatre historian, let me remind my readers that I was not born when LuPone played Evita Peron or originated Fantine in Les Miserables. I do however remember her Tony win for Rose in the 2008 revival of Gypsy, as I had visited New York earlier that year and cursed myself for not buying a ticket. I also have in my possession the original cast recording of Evita, which I have been listening to for years. That being said, I have three words to describe this show: AMAZING, AMAZING AMAZING! Mandy Patinkin’s voice is 20 times better than it is on his album, and his handling of the Sondheim... Wow! They sparkle together, know each other like the back of their hands, and their energy is illuminating. When LuPone sang “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” I had chills running up my spine, and when they rolled out in office chairs to grace us with an original dance I almost gave them a standing ovation before the show had concluded. My roommate and I talked about it all the way home, well at least until we got off the freeway in Long Beach and started belting out “Buenos Aires” with Patti.

What is "Art"?

I am in Chicago! What a beautiful city! Oh, just a heads up for out-of-towners, your GPS will not work between skyscrapers. However, if you have to get lost, Chicago is the place to be. Between visits to the Billy Goat Tavern, Sears Tower, John Hancock Observatory, Navy Pier, Buckingham Fountain, Field Museum, Millennium Park and the Shedd Aquarium, I was able to visit the Steppenwolf for their production of Art. (fshew! I am exhausted.) When I walked into Chicago’s Steppenwolf to see Art by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton, I thought I would see a play about art, as the title suggests. What I found was a play about the power of friendship. This was my first visit to Chicago and I have to say that the theatre scene there is astounding. I enjoyed the intimacy of the theatre. I found the play to be thought provoking and tragically comical. The story begins when Serge purchases a piece of abstract “art” featuring a white on white canvas with hints of white for purchased for 200,000 francs. His choice to spend a fortune on such a controversial piece causes friction between him and his best friend Marc. Their mutual friend Yvan, finds something tranquil in what he sees, but Marc only sees Serge as caring more for a piece of blank canvas than their friendship. The three not only clash over the painting, but over their private lives, and their treatment of each other. They test each other’s limits through hilarious anecdotes, which left me rolling with laughter. In the end there are revelations made by all parties, and Serge makes a shocking gesture to prove his commitment to their friendship. It makes me question: What is art? What makes art valuable? What makes a friendship valuable? What does it take to be a good friend?