To: cynthiaj@ourtheatre.org Hi Cynthia,I saw in the trade today that you are still looking for an actor to be in Carlos' play. I know you had posted auditions to be held last night but they had been sparsely attended. If you folks are interested in someone my age being a part of the play I would be willing to come by this evening.I would be happy to fill a role for you on this late notice.I should remind you that I was i...
The final act.Today, on February 24th of 2017, we open another play. It's Billy Elliot the Musical. I have the role of George, and it's the biggest part I've had since I started acting in plays. This one will be the fourteenth that I've been a part of since I began with A Kansas Nutcracker. That was in December of the year 2013. In this past December, I was in Nutcracker: A Kansas Ballet. This version of our local Nutcrac...
In July there were sixteen dance work shops scheduled. I was able to attend fifteen. Actually, none were obligatory for the cast of A Chorus Line. But it was fun to take part in them and be part of it all. Each session would last for about one hour and thirty minutes. For the first forty-five minutes we were led by our choreographer in an exercise set to get us into shape for a show that is famous for being about strong a...
What are the odds, I wonder. Two different cancers in less than a year. Doesn't seem fair, but I learned long ago that it ain't always fair. I had the prostatectomy done on February 23rd of this year. The year 2015 was on its way to becoming memorable. I seemed to have overcome the prostate cancer. At least, my urologist/surgeon found nothing untoward when we had our check up in June. So it seemed that we might have fair...
Auditions came and wentYou finally got a part.Now make the most of it.Small role, but it's a start. Though others think it's work,Rehearsals are great fun.You see them as free lessons,Since learning's never done. Experience with living,The time you spent in choir,The dancing classes taken,They grew your repertoire. The artists that you meet, Competing for choice parts,This family you joined,The stage has won their hearts....
Today is June 9th, 2015. I've gone in for my first three month checkup with my cancer surgeon. His specialty is urology, and he's also a surgeon, having worked at the Mayo Clinic. I trust he's good at what he does. Over three years ago my family doctor found an elevated PSA level that concerned him. So he sent me to a urologist. That doctor performed a biopsy of my prostate gland and found things were not as they should b...
Put on jazz shoes, do a jazz square, it's time to start making a move. No worries now that it's over;you gotta get back in the groove. Never forget what you've been through,but never regret what you lost.Remember to send those good vibes, no need to be counting the cost. Folks were missing your show biz ways,and wondered just where you had gone. Act like an actor, dance and sing,show them you will always be on. No one nee...
It's winter and the winds do blowBut we are safe inside you know. My metal art upon the wallIs rattling and about to fall. With special hooks I make it tightSo it will stay a happy sight. It's hammered in a gleeful styleTo give arriving guests a smile. Like many pieces round our placeIt makes our home a pleasant space. We've gathered art from distant partsEnriching both our lives and hearts. Along with books that line our...
It was Friday afternoon in mid-June, 1962. I had just stepped out of the shower, and was feeling considerably better for having removed a layer of cement dust and sweat when the phone rang. My mother got to it first, but held it out to me, saying, "It’s Mr. Daniel’s wife. She wants to speak to you." Mr. Daniel had been my high school band director, but I had graduated several weeks before, and couldn’t imagine why his wif...
In 1985 I would face my biggest challenge theater wise. It was to audition and win the role of Count Dracula ,the Fall play at a local community theater. Now, I had done multiple appearances during Halloween as The Count promoting the Jaycees haunted house attraction. I had cut numerous radio commercials, but his would be different. Having only one production to my credit I went to the auditions with a killer hangover. I...
I have alway loved the acting and the stage. My first play was in kindergarten and I soon became fascinated with acting. A popular children's show here on Sunday would feature a well know community theater group that would present short plays between the cartoons. I managed to do two plays in Junior High simply because 98 percent of the other guys considered anyone who wanted to be in a play and not playing or talking abo...
Steffanie's Micro TheaterScene One: I'm In Love With Her Characters and Costumes: SteffanieA petite, nineteen year old blonde. Dressed in a scruffy short denim skirt, black bomber jacket and black, military style boots. HazelA petite, nineteen year old redhead. Barefoot and dressed in a long, slightly revealing, flowing white dress. (Think classical Greek nymph.) Steffanie's MotherAn attractive, but rather dowdily dressed...
It was the last day of school. We must have had band or orchestra practice that day, ‘cause after classes were out, I went to the band room to get my flute. That’s when Mr. Daniel (the band director) collared me, and hauled me into his office. “Close the door,” he said. Like any eighth grader, my first thought was, Oh mercy! What did I do? My second was I didn’t do it! Followed quickly with, maybe if it tell him I had to,...
The Drive In By Tony Radford Some friends and I were driving by when we passed the old marquee and it spelled outright that the show that night was a flick we’d planned to see. It was ’69 and the storyline – starring Fonda, Jack and Hopper, was a tale of blues and a Cajun cruise on a patriotic-chopper. Our plans were set – that night we met at our normal rendezvous, then we climbed aboard my souped-up Ford to catch the gr...
