In The Big Leagues: Man of La Mancha; Walnut Street Theatre September 4-October 21, 2007

Well I got the offer from the Walnut Street Theatre! I was cast in the ensemble of the of Man of La Mancha and I will be under studying a lead role. I am very excited about this opportunity! I used to walk in the lobby of the Walnut Street Theatre as a 16 year-old boy and dream of performing on that stage and now I will! The Walnut Street Theatre is the oldest continuously-operating theatre in the English speaking world and the largest theatre in Philadelphia. The venue has three stages: the Mainstage, for the company's primary and larger productions, the Independence Studio on 3, a studio located on the building's third floor for smaller productions, and the Studio 5 on the fifth floor, which is rented out for independent productions. Man of La Mancha is a main stage production. It's kind of like a minor league base ball player that finally gets called up to the big leagues. You might be at the end of the bench but hey, your in the majors. I sign my contract next week and start rehearsals on the 21st of August. The show opens on the 4th of September. So come check it out!

TAGP Audition Call Backs: Reconition

I am one of those rare actors that gets alot of satisfaction from getting call backs from theatre companies after an audition. I had my TAGP audition on June 11th 2007. After you audition for over 60 theatre companies you wait to see who calls you in to audition for their upcoming season. I didn't wait long. I had six call backs and counting. I love that! Even if I don't get cast, I love it when members of the theatre community recognize my talent and that I can possibly contribute to their agonizing and extremely difficult task of casting a season. They are looking for the best actors and think I might be one of them. The Interact Theatre Company was the first to call. Interact Theatre is the top political theatre in town and well regarded and respected. It is run by Artistic Director Seth Rozin. Seth Rozin called me in to audition for a play he wrote called Black Gold a couple days after my TAGP audition. The play is about what happens when an African American man living in Detroit's inner-city strikes oil in his back yard? Will newly-tapped resources lead to prosperity or violence? Will the poor get rich? Will the rich get richer? Will America's economy skyrocket or spiral downward? And what will happen in the ever-volatile Middle East? Six actors play over eighty roles in this fast-paced, futuristic satire of class, race, greed and America's insatiable appetite for oil. He emailed me the sides and I went in to the audition a few days later. When I walked in the door Seth Rozin told me thought my audition was incredible and thanked me for coming. The audition went ok and I haven't heard anything. Next to call me was the Prince Music Theatre named after the famed Broadway director Harold Prince. They are one of the largest theatres in town and they were doing Ain't Misbehavin'. Now I have done this show before at the Ritz three years ago so I knew it very well. At the audition I song "Honey Suckle Rose" which is in the show and I sang it when I did it three years ago. The director was Broadway director Michael Bush. The audition went really well and he asked me to sing the song again after giving me direction which is a good sign they like you. After that audition I didn't hear anything. My next call back was from the Montgomery Theatre in Montgomery county. They were doing a show called "The Full Monty" and director Tom Quinn called me in to audition. However, after researching the show I found out it is about a strip club and declined the audition but I asked him to keep me in mind for future shows. Story Book Musical theatre called me and my audition for them isn't until September. Last week I got a call from The Bush Fire Theatre. They are the second oldest professional African-American Theatre in the nation right behind Freedom Theatre which also based in Philadelphia. Bush Fire is run by Al Simpkins. At the audition I did my monologue from the Amen Corner and Free At Last from Big River. It went very well. They were four other African-American actors there and after the audition he asked for a meeting with us. He explained that Bush Fire is an ensemble theatre and they are looking for new members to join and wanted us to accept there invitation! He went on to say he loved our auditions at the TAGP and saw a place for us in their company. Chanta Layton was there as well. We did Purlie together at the Ritz Theatre back in Febuary. The orientation is in September which consists of acting classes in the Method Acting Technique. After the four week orientation Al Simpkins would decide which roles/shows fit which actor the best and they would be put under contract for that show. I am very excited about this opportunity! Bush Fire does classic plays by August Wilson and Loraine Hansberry. Roles I dream of playing! Next I was called by The Walnut Street Theatre. They are the largest theatre in Philly by far. I studied acting and singing at their Theatre School nine years ago and it was always a dream of mine to perform on that stage. Ironically I auditioned on that stage for my TAGP audition this year. They asked me to come in and audition for an ensemble role in their production of Man of La Mancha. If cast I would also understudy the lead roles. That audition was yesterday and it went very well. I sung Younger Than Spring Time from South Pacific. The director then asked me to sing another contrasting song. So I sung Love Me from Smokey Joe's Cafe. She then asked me to sing it again but like a lullaby. After the audition she told me she probably had a role for me in the show and that she would be in touch. So we will see. In July I did a children's show at the Ritz called The Prince and the Pauper and I played the Prince. I will blog about that show next...

Are Actors of Color in Film Fairly Represented?

Today I recieved an email on my myspace page from an actress I did two shows with. She was upset that Angelina Jolie was cast in the movie "A Mighty Heart" where she plays the part of Mariane Pearl. The movie is about her account of the terrifying and unforgettable story of her husband, Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl's life and death. Angelina Jolie wears "brown face" in the movie because Mariane Pearl is of color. The actress was upset about an actress of color being overlooked for the role. Angelina Jolie got the role because of her status as a superstar and that is it. Shes not a bad actress either. Her puting on "brown face" is purely theatrical and shouldn't be equated with the "black face minstrel shows". I don't think that is what she was trying to say but rather she was bothered by the fact that an actress of color didn't get the part. I believe very strongly that producers can cast a film and/or theatre production anyway they want to. Why do we as actors of color feel we are owed an equal oppurtunity to be represented in film, television and theatre? We aren't owed anything! They have a right to cast a show or film anyway they want to. They have a right to cater to their subscribers and ratings. It is after all a business and not little league where everybody "gets a turn". Why don't we produce our own projects? Why not produce our own film and theatre projects that shed a more accurate light on how we percieve ourselves? Actors of color are at a steep disavantage when it comes to getting cast, period. Not to mention getting offered meaningful roles! That is a fact that isn't going away. So why not get off our back sides and take an entrapunureal approach to our acting careers? We need to stop all the complaining and whining. After a while it just sounds like noise! It's kind of like the tree that falls in the forrest, does it make a sound? Of course it does but nobody cares! What is the point of partaking in a oppresion derby but not doing anything to get out of it? That is why I am so focused on starting my own theatre company. I am tired of being offered roles of slaves and servants and thugs. I'm puting my money where my mouth is. I am close to raising $50,000 to start my theatre company and producing shows and playing roles that I want to play that are meaningful! So when my tree falls in the forest it will make a big impact and people will care!

Theatre Alliance of Philadelphia Anual Audtions: June 2007

I had my theatre alliance audtion today. There were represenatives from 60 theatre companies there. Alot of Philly actors think it's a waste of time because they don't get call backs. I always did except for in 2005. While I was waiting for my audition time slot I walked upstairs to watch the audtions of the other actors. The auditions were being held at the Walnut Street Theatre on the main stage. So I could watch the audtions from the lobby moniters. They were painful! I always tell actors the best auditon acting class you can take is to watch other actors audition! You will see all the things that you do and it will make your skin crawl. The way the audition process is set up it is very difficult to gage talent. The actor is out of their element. There isn't another actor to act off of. There isn't an audience. If your a singing actor there isn't an orchestra. Only an a piano player who more than likely will play your song wrong and in the wrong key. There isn't lighting or costumes. You get the point. So I always tell actors to get to the point of your audition piece. Pick monologues where you charecter has alot at stake! Where their are emotional peaks and valleys. And please keep it short!! If a director I'm auditioning for ask for a two minute monologue I keep my monologue to one minute. If it's a singing audition and the director ask me to sing 32 bars I sing 16 bars. This is so important. I'll explain why. The actor is at such a disavantage at the audition the more time you spend "acting" the more likely you are to have dishonest and manufactured moments in your audition. Pick monologues where the charecter clearly wants something really defined. Where there are high and low emotional peaks. This will show your versatility. Keep your monologue well under time. Keep your auditors wanting more. If you picked the right show to audition for you will more than likely be called back. The same thing applies for songs. Songs are monologues with music. Treat it that way. I had to get that out. That's what I was thinking watching the audtions today. This one actress picked a monolugue where her first line was "I don't have any ambition." Talk about boring! Put yourself in the auditors seat watching bad audition after audtion and then an actress walks in and her first line is "I don't have any ambitions." You'd be looking for the nearest rusty nail to clean your colon out with! So many actors would sing these boring songs with out any peaks and valleys. Boring! Snore!! You want to pick a song that is charecter driven where the charecter has alot at stake. Much like a monologue. So important. I'm not claiming to be an audition guru. I'm not. I've done all of those things and worse! My first TAGP audtion in '98 I did a monologue and song I made up! It sucked! However, I always seem to let my talent shine through. I got ten call backs from that audtion! Alot of actors look at directors like the enemy. Big mistake! Again put yourself in their seat. You have to cast a show or a season. You set aside a whole day to sit in a dark theatre to watch debutant actors audition badly and hope to find the talent to cast your show! Trust me they are your biggest fans and they are really rooting for you! Back in 2002 when I was about to go on tour with SAIL Productions with The Top of the Mountain I went to New York and helped SAIL with audition process as an moniter. My God it was horrible! The actors weren't untalented just bad auditioners! I saw so many things that I did in these actors performances. It was painful and I have been audtioning alot better since then. So today I did a monolgue from the "Amen Corner." The charecter I played was named David. He is in an intense argument with his mother about leaving home and pursuing music. I've been doing this monolugue for ten years and it went well. I then sung " Younger Than Springtime" from South Pacific. I like this song because I edited the music down to 16 bars and I sing the high G note at the end of the song. Short, simple and to the point. My whole audition was under two minutes and I really felt in the moment and like I comanded the stage! My talent was beaming! I can say that objectivley. I've had so many horrible audtions I know when I hit mark. I'll let you when I get my first call back. Stay tuned...

Purlie at the Ritz Theatre: January 10-Feburay 11th 2007

I was cast in the ensemble of this show and had three solos. It was a very talented cast. I was honered to perform with Keedra Carroll again who I was in Dream Girls and Ain't Misbehavin' with and Jason Michaels who I was in Big river with. I met some really cool and talented performers like Dawn Marie Watson who was in the Prince's production of Dream Girls. The show was about Purlie Victorious and Ol' Cap'n Cotchipee who is dead. His glorious funeral shakes the halls of Big Bethel, the place he sought to destroy. The man on the spot is Purlie Victorious, a new kind of preacher man, who sings the praises of life rather than the uncertainties of life. But it wasn't long ago when Purlie arrived with Lutiebelle and a scheme to deceive the Ol' Cap'n into giving him money that rightfully belonged to his mother, money that would buy Big Bethel. Ol' Cap'n is holding the inheritance due to a long-lost cousin. Purlie has searched the country for a look-alike that would fool the Ol' Cap'n. When the girl, Lutiebelle, realises the danger in the plan she tries to run away; it's her love of Purlie, not money or any church, that brought her here. But Purlie and Aunt Missy, wife of Purlie's brother Gitlow, persuade her to go through with the hoax. Gitlow and Purlie arrange a little softening up by naming Ol' Cap'n the "Great White Father of the Year." Lutiebelle manages to fool him but signs the wrong name to the receipt for the money. The game is up. Back at Gitlow's shack the failure and frustration are rehashed. Gitlow enters and reveals that Ol' Cap'n gave him money to get Lutiebelle up to the big house. Soon after she comes running in decrying the advances of the dirty old man. Purlie is outraged and charges up the hill to defend her honour. Lutiebelle and Aunt Missy stay up all night worrying. When Purlie returns, they demand a blow-by-blow description. He obliges with elaborate detail of his strengths and power, but he soon admits not a word is true. However, enraged by the attempted fraud and Lutiebelle's rejection, Ol' Cap'n has ordered his folk-song-writing son, Charlie, to buy Old Bethel for burning. Charlie buys, but has Purlie's name recorded on the deed. When the Ol' Cap'n finds out, he drops dead.
So here is Purlie dedicating Big Bethel with the funeral of the man who made it both necessary and possible for such a festive occasion. The show is hillarious with a weighted message of racism after slavery. I loved this show...

2005-2006 Theatre Season: Bully for You and Speak For Yourself

After I had done Big River I was ready for my next role. I was really seeking one that challenged me like playing Jim did. However, those roles are few and far between for African-American actors. In May and June of 2005 I had several auditions lined up. Nothing came of them. My Theatre Alliance audtion was in June and I've allways got multiple call backs in the past. The audition went well. Very well in fact. The best I've done at these auditions in nine years. I didn't get one call back! That summer I was teaching drama at Congreso again for the third staright summer. I loved that program and the students. That fall I was layed off from Green Tree School where I was an drama instructor and I began teaching at DCIU High School in Media PA. This was another school for children with behaviorial problems. That school was a long comute. I had to leave my house at 5 am! In September of 2005 I had an audition for Side by Side for this theatre company in Media. I was called back but wasn't cast. Also that month I auditioned for Dream Girls at the Prince Theatre in Philly. I had done this show before at the Ritz so I felt I had an edge. I had four call backs up aginst stiff New York competition. I didn't get cast.

In October I auditioned for Amaryllis Theatre Companie's out reach show called "Bully For You". I did "Main Streamed" with them last year and they really liked me and wanted me to do the show. The show was about Bullying in schools and I played Mr. Raymond. The cast included Sara Doherty (who I was in Main Streamed last year), Josh Sauerman (who I was in Big River with last year) and Josh Totora. This was the only show I did for the 2005 and 2006 theatre season. It toured on and off for year. It was a tough year for African American actors. Alot of theatre companies who normally did at least one black show didn't include them in their season. At this time I was also getting in to real estate. I wanted to quit teaching drama act full time and raise enough money to start my own theatre company. However, supporting my family was allways my main concern. My friend Chris Yustin from my Tom Sawyer tour had partnered with me in this endeavor. In November of 2005 we bought our first property. 6336 Baynton Street. The house I grew up in. We bought from my parents who were going through a divorce. They sold it to us for $88,000 it appraised at $146,000! Not too shabby for our first home. We got our company incorporated, Cutting Edge Funding Group, LLC in December of 2005. In January of 2006 Shavonne and I found out we were pregnant with my daughter Michaela! I had left the DCIU High School and was now teaching drama to 5 year olds at Wissahickon Charter School near my house. In the summer of 2006 I was cast again in Holcomb Theatre Out Reach production of Speak For Your Self. It was show geared towards 8-12 year olds about the dangers of smoking. I hestitant at first because I had done the show in 2003 but it had a horrible scipt. But Rachel Wolf the director assured me the script was revised and I went in for the audtion and I was cast. The cast included my buddy Miranda Thompson, Rachel Cevoli and Andy Petrowski. This show toured from October of 2006 to January of 2007. My next show would be Purlie at the Ritz Theatre. The fourth show I would do there...

The Greatest Role of my Career: Big River, Spring 2005

I was January 29th 2005. I was in the middle of my run with the Ritz's production of Some Enchanted Evening. At this time I was teaching drama at Green Tree School and I was still at Congreso After-School program. I was on the train going to Villonova to auidtion for Villonova Theatre's production of Big River. Big River is a musical about Huckleberry Finn and a run away slave Jim and their unlikely friendship. Jim was running away from slavery. Huckleberry was running away from responsibility. So they took a journey down the Mississippi on a make shift raft. The beauty of the story was watching the these two unlikely companions develope an unbreakable bond. They became brothers. Huck had to unlearn all the things he was taught about blacks being sub-human and see Jim as a father figure. Jim had to learn to trust Huck. The story was written by Mark Twain but was developed into a Broadway musical in 1981. I only wanted to audition for Jim and I expected stiff competition for the part. When I got to the audition I allways size up my competition. I heard him before I saw him. I heard a loud booming voice laughing and talking when I got to the theatre that sounded very familiar. It was none other than Gary Giles. He was a fine African-American actor in Philly. I met him when I understudied him in the fall of 2001 in Baby Case at the Arden. I also saw him in a lot of shows around town. I immediatly conceeded loss. Not because I thought he was more talented than me but because he was a better fit for the part and his work was well known. I knew he was going to get cast. So I felt like this was a waste of time. But then I felt a sense of calm. I wasn't getting the part now, I thought, so be loose and show them what I have. I first sung "Love Me" from Smokey Joe's cafe. The director Peter Donahue remarked that I sounded just like the actor from the broadway recording of the show. He called me back to read for Jim. I had a very good reading. I really put alot of energy in that audition as I tried to capture Jim's anger and fustration in my reading. I was then called back for the dance audition. I never claim to be a dancer. The first time I danced in a show was when I did the national tour of Tom Sawyer. But I move well. I had a very good dance audition. So that night after the audition on the long train ride home I felt very good about my audition. The last two male African American actors were Gary and I. So it down to me or him for the role of Jim. I told him he had it in the bag. He said I would get it. When I audition well I don't care what happens after that. I can't control people's opinions. The next day Peter Donahue called me and offered me the role of Jim! I was shocked! I beat Gary for the part! I really thought he was going to get it. He called me to congradulate me and promised to come see me in the show and he did. (Ironically Gary and I went out for the Center Theatre's production of Big River a year later. I did The Secret Garden there in 2001. It came down to me and Gary again and Gary got the part.) I was very excited to land the part of Jim! It was a dream role for me! The highlights in the show for me was my monologue in act two where Jim is missing his two children and he is telling Huck a story when he slaped his little girl because he told her to do something and she wouldn't do it. It turned out she was deaf and couldn't hear him. He felt very bad about that and the memory brought him to tears. I loved that monologue. My solo song at the end of act II called "Free At Last" was an exceptional song and I sang it very well. The musical director, Jim Ryan, let me sing the song my way. I liked to change notes in songs to show my higher range. Jim liked it and let me keep it. This show really displayed my acting skills. I was starting to think theatres in Philly were starting to see me as a singer first actor second. So I was out to show I could really act! Larry Cox Jr. played Huck and he was excellent. We had great chemistry! This show received alot of press and was reviewed by five newspapers. I got glowing reviews in four of them and a luke warm review from the Philadelphia Inquier. This was the greatest role of career at this point and would be very hard to top.

An Evening To Remember: Some Enchanted Evening; The Ritz Theatre January 2005

In November 2004 near the close of Main Streamed, I got an email from Pat Mangano, the production manager at the time, to audition for the Ritz's production of Some Enchanted Evening. I ignored it. I was well aware that the Ritz was opening their 20th anniverary season with the show but knew it was a very "white" show. I just thought she emailed me to be nice. Sometimes theatre companies will call black actors to audition for white shows so they don't seem like they are ignoring ethnic talent. I find this annoying. It wastes my time. There was time when I would go audition for these types of shows. I don't anymore since I do my research on shows before I audition for them if I'm not familiar with the show. Some Enchanted Evening is a musical revue like Ain't Misbehavin' and Smokey Joe's Cafe. It puts 40 songs by Rogers and Hammerstien in a loosely themed concert. Songs like: Sound of Music, Oklahoma and of course the title song Some Enchanted Evening from South Pacific. These shows are predominantly cast with white actors so I didn't think the Ritz was really interested in using me in the show. Pat called me twice before I called her back. After she called me the second time I realised my performace in Ain't Misbehavin' really opended some eyes at the Ritz and they wanted me to do the show. So when I auditioned it felt like a formality. There were a lot of white male actors at the audition but I knew they really wanted me. After my audition Bruce Cureless ( who directed me in Ain't Misbehavin' last year) asked me to come to the call back audition. I told Bruce I couldn't make it. I honestly didn't feel like going all the way to New Jersey to audition again when I knew they were going to cast me anyway! Bruce said that was fine and said he would be in touch. He called me the next week and offered me the singing role of Billy. It was a five actor musical revue. The cast was Maureen Corson ( who's brother stared on ER as the doctor who had a helicopter fall on him), Janet Wilkie, Fernado Gonzalez, Ellen Kirk and me. They were alot older than me and they could all read music fluently. I was behind my music by week two of rehearsals and Ellen secretly went to Bruce and suggested he replace me. I found out from Bruce. I wasn't offended. I understood. I am an extremly confident perfomer and I have a bad habbit of not going all out in rehearsal. I tend to mark myself. I'm a gamer. I need an audience. Rehearsal tend to bore me. So I took it as an challenge. Four weeks before the show opened I was off book before everyone in the cast. I knew my lyrics, harmonies and choragraphy and quickly regained the confidence of my castmates. I have genius when it comes to acting and performing. I just know how to do it well. I never had the training of my counter parts but I could allways hold my own and out shine them. Not upstage them, out shine them. There is a difference. I am a generous performer. I learned early on that you can never over commit to a role only over act. You over act when you haven't totally commited. I was totally comitted. The show opened to very good reviews though I recieved a luke warm review in the local newspaper. Robert Baxter who gave me a glowing review in Ain't Misbehavin' the year before gave me a medicore one for this show. It was jaring at first but I didn't have a good show by my standards the night he came so I agreed with him. Our last performace was actually after the run at the theatre had closed. We had a mini concert at the Kimmel Center for Perfoming Arts downtown to close the run. My next show was the role of my career...

Main Streamed: Amaryillis Theatre fall 2004

Every year in Philadelphia the theatre communtity has annual audition called the TAGP auditions. That stands for Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia. They have this big audition where representaves from 60 or more theatre companies gather together in one location and hold auditions for Philadelphia actors. I did the auditions every year and would allways get alot of calls from theatre companies. This year was no different. After my audition I got a call from Amaryillis Theatre company to audition for their touring production of Main Streamed. It was a musical about the deaf community and the "hearing world" and how difficult it is for the two worlds to co-exist. The story took place in a highschool where two students, James and Allyssa, become friends but first have to get over the obstacle of Allysa being deaf and James hearing. I auditioned in August of 2004. A week later I was offer the role of James from the late Veronica Griego (she was killed in a car accident in November of 2006) the production manager of Amaryllis Theatre. The show was directed by Stephen Smith. This was a unique production for me because I was working with deaf actors. Half of the cast was deaf. The deaf actors were Tracy Webber ( Allysa) and Robert DeMayo (Tony). David Stanger (Allysa's father), Sara Doherty (Denise) and I played James. My charecter in the show was learning sign language so I had to learn it too. That was hard! Fortunately because my charecter was supposed to be learning sign language in the show I didn't have to be perfect but it was still hard. I still had to learn my lines and music! The show was going to tour highschools in the Philadelphia area in September and this was August so we had alot of work to do. We had sign language rehearsals seperate from the regular rehearsals. This show was one of the most unique experiences in my career. I learned alot about acting with deaf actors and the deaf world in general. Once we had a show in Manahtten and after the show we had a radio interview and Tracy said she loved being deaf! She went on say that if she could change being deaf she wouldn't do it! That was also a topic in the show. This show will allways special place in my heart.