Waiting for the other shoe to drop

 I am cautiously optimistic...more cautious than optimistic, but still that's an improvement. I am currently rehearsing a play at Little Fish Theatre. This will be my first play inside a theatre in LA county in nearly three years. 

I don't want to give anything away about this play, because the storytelling is so beautiful that the audience discovers what is going on at the same time as the characters. It is touching, heartfelt, and brilliant. We only have nine performances, and I am cautiously optimistic that they will happen, and that COVID won't have another surge and shut us down again. Richard Perloff is directing and it is a joy to work with him again. The cast is fantastic. Amanda Karr is going to give a performance that you do not want to miss in this!  Get your tickets here:

https://shakespearebythesea.secure.force.com/ticket/#/events/a0S5c00000ET9p5EAD

I'm also happy to finally announce that I am going to be playing Iago this summer in Othello with Nebraska Shakespeare! I almost never submit for anything out of state. Honestly, I was so depressed that "Grand Concourse" got canceled this year out in Palm Springs that I submitted for everything. Sent out a million and one taped auditions, and got exactly one callback. And it was for my favorite role in the canon. I was flattered that in a nation-wide search my audition hit the right note. The callback was on zoom, so it was weird. For those of you who don't act, you can probably imagine what it must be like to try to connect with people on zoom while looking into a camera and not into their eyes. For those of you who are actors, you know the hell that is a zoom audition. But I felt like I really vibed with the folks out there, and sure enough, two days later I got the offer. For the last month, I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop, and be informed that the season was cancelled or something, but I just signed my contract, and I'm heading to Omaha in late May. I wish my dad was alive to see me take my talents to his home state. I haven't been to Nebraska since I was maybe 12. I can't wait to see all my Nebraska family, and my friend Lange, who is basically family. I don't mean this as a #humblebrag, or any kind of brag at all, but it is very affirming for me as an actor to audition for one of the greatest roles ever written, and get cast over... I don't know how many thousands of actors who submitted. I take great pride in being an actor that people love to work with and love to work in the same places again and again, but it's humbling and exciting to get something based solely on the work. When I was a kid, I was super-competitive in everything (and by kid, I mean up until I was 30). But I'm not really competitive at all anymore. I think flipping that switch really helped me. I'm not competing against all of these other actors for the role (I mean, to the casting people I am), but when I audition, I get the chance to show what I will do with it. I am enough. Read that again out loud...no, really say "I am enough.").How does that feel to hear yourself say that about yourself? That's what you did. No takebacks!

Speaking of competitive artistic endeavors, on Monday Night, I'll be down in Orange County at an awards ceremony. The OC Theatre Guild Awards. I am nominated for best supporting performer for my work in "The Nether." I didn't see any of the other performances, so I have no idea what my chances are, but it really is nice just to be acknowledged. Plus, The Nether is up for a lot of other awards. Man, what a show that was! I rarely make it down to OC, so I haven't seen any of the other nominees, but I know in my soul that Jackie should win best performer, because at 15 years old, she is the best actor I've ever worked with. Think about that.  So, I'll be so happy to cheer her on and the rest of my Wayward Artist family!

So, I have a lot to be excited about right now. And yet...and yet...

COVID numbers are spiking again, and the protocols are going away. This isn't a political thing, but a self preservation thing--Please get vaccinated and boosted. Please wear a mask. Theatre can't survive another shutdown. I don't know if we are going to make it out of this one. I can't get back all the work I lost over the last two years. And that's not just financially, but theatre is my church, home, and identity. I did get a short run of Richard III to make up for losing it the year before, but what would I have been doing last summer had I done Richard the year before? I doubt I'll get Rabbit Hole back. I really hope Grand Central comes back to me, but it's doubtful.  On the other hand, all signs are pointing to Almost, Maine coming back in the fall.

Unless the other shoe drops.