That summer after I got back from tour Shavonne and I had just started dating that May. I stayed with her family in Virgina for two weeks. I still was holding the apartment in New York City. I decided to stay in New York. I went back to New York that August to start auditioning and looking for a survival job. I also started taking musical theatre acting classes at the HB Studio in Manhatten. I was going to start a new chapter in my life in a new city! However, it proved to be a very short chapter. First of all I had a difficult time finding a "survival job." Thats what actors call their day job. Most NY actors temped during the day doing clerical work. This was convienent because it was flexible and allowed actors to go on auditions during the day. Alot of actors also waited tables. I had a hard time landing a temp gig because I had no experience doing clerical work. I also couldn't land a restaurant gig because I lacked experience. In NY there are so many experienced waiters why hire somebody with absolutely no experience. So I was unemployed and watching my bank account dwindle by the day. I worked so hard to save money while on tour and now it was evaporating. I quickly realized that I hadn't thought this out. I didn't have a job, an agent, work experience and I barely had an apartment because I wasn't on the lease at the apartment where Chris and his roomates stayed at in Queens. So one day in August of 2000 while on the subway to Manhatten to go on an audition, I decided to end this brief chapter in my life and go back home to Philly. So I did. I moved in my parents house and re-enrolled at Community College. I still needed a day job. So I called up my old friend Judy Nelson from my Peace Theare days. She was working for the Department of Recreation and started her conflict resolution theatre program that toured after-school programs. We performed for the students and we also taught theatre, improvisation and conflict resolution. The teacing thing was new to me. I loved performing for kids but teaching was different. You had to be good cop and bad cop at the same time. I at first started teaching drama just because I needed a job. But I grew to love it. I became very passionate about teaching. At this time I also started working at the Germantown Friends after-school program with my brother Omorro and my future sister in law Wendy. So I was back at home, back in school studying theatre and communications and a teaching artist. Now all I had to do was land a an acting gig and this would have been a great year that was shaping up. However, I was an Equity actor now so there weren't nearly as many auditions I could go on. That September I had an audition for the Arden Theatre. They were doing a production of Jungle book. I went to the audtion and it went well. I had a call back but I didn't land the gig. I auditioned for Freedom Theatre, The Prince Music Theatre, ArtsPower Theatre based in New York and even auditioned for Theatre Works again. Even though most of the those theatre companies called me back for different roles, I wasn't cast. It was not January 2001 and I hadn't been on stage for six months. I was antsy. I loved being on stage. I was missing it. I felt like I was in a slump and the Equity status wasn't helping. So I made a career choice. I decided to give up my Equity card. I called Actor's Equity Association in New York and told them I didn't want my card. They told me to mail in my card with a letter stating I was leaving the union. I wouldn't be reimbursed the Equity dues I paid and if I wanted to return to the union I would hve to be offered an Equity contract and pay my entrance dues all over again. That was fine by me. What was the point of being the union if it prevented me from working! Don't get me wrong. There are alot of advantages to being Equity.
It just wasn't the right time for me at that point in my career. So I was starting to get down because I wasn't on stage. This was my first dry spell. A slump. All actors go through it. After working two years staright as an actor I had cooled off. In March of 2001 I auditioned for The Center Theatre in Norristown PA and their production of The Secret Garden. I wasn't going to go at first because I didn't think there were any roles in it for me. So I called the director Fran Doyle and she told me they were looking for minority actors. So I went and auditioned. A couple of days later Fran called me and offered me the rols of Lt. Peter Wright. It was a small ensemble role at a smal theatre in Norristown. It was a good show and good learning experience for me. One lesson I had to learn was humility. I had just done three national tours with leading roles in all the shows. I performed in front of thousands of people in some of the oldest respected venues in the country! Now I was being offered a small role in a small theatre in a small town at a fraction of the pay I made on tour ! My friend Kirk Wendell Brown used to tell me there are no small roles only small actors. He used to tell me how he relished smaller supporting roles because he had less lines to memorize. And when you choose to do the smaller but more juicier roles you couuld have a bigger impact on a show than a leading role. He was right. I remember watching a production of "Tin Pan Alley Rag" at the Wilma Theatre. My friend Gary Giles was in that show and he had a small role. He had this scene where his daughter was dating this guy he disapproved of. He walked in on them while on their date. He just simply walked across the stage without saying a word but you feel his contempt for this guy. The audience erupted in laughter! He got the biggest laugh and had one of the smallest roles! So I was going to let my talent shine through no matter what the size of the role was. So I swallowed my ego. I enjoyed the run of this show. One of the actors in the show was Jason Stockdale. He was our road manager on my Aesop's Fable tour. I went into this show open minded and ready to learn new things. I learned alot about singing with an ensemble. The music director Fred Crumbrine taught me alot about harmonies and learning your parts. The Secret Garden closed in June of 2001. Shavonne and I were engaged by this point. 2001 proved to be one of the most challenging years in my life...
It just wasn't the right time for me at that point in my career. So I was starting to get down because I wasn't on stage. This was my first dry spell. A slump. All actors go through it. After working two years staright as an actor I had cooled off. In March of 2001 I auditioned for The Center Theatre in Norristown PA and their production of The Secret Garden. I wasn't going to go at first because I didn't think there were any roles in it for me. So I called the director Fran Doyle and she told me they were looking for minority actors. So I went and auditioned. A couple of days later Fran called me and offered me the rols of Lt. Peter Wright. It was a small ensemble role at a smal theatre in Norristown. It was a good show and good learning experience for me. One lesson I had to learn was humility. I had just done three national tours with leading roles in all the shows. I performed in front of thousands of people in some of the oldest respected venues in the country! Now I was being offered a small role in a small theatre in a small town at a fraction of the pay I made on tour ! My friend Kirk Wendell Brown used to tell me there are no small roles only small actors. He used to tell me how he relished smaller supporting roles because he had less lines to memorize. And when you choose to do the smaller but more juicier roles you couuld have a bigger impact on a show than a leading role. He was right. I remember watching a production of "Tin Pan Alley Rag" at the Wilma Theatre. My friend Gary Giles was in that show and he had a small role. He had this scene where his daughter was dating this guy he disapproved of. He walked in on them while on their date. He just simply walked across the stage without saying a word but you feel his contempt for this guy. The audience erupted in laughter! He got the biggest laugh and had one of the smallest roles! So I was going to let my talent shine through no matter what the size of the role was. So I swallowed my ego. I enjoyed the run of this show. One of the actors in the show was Jason Stockdale. He was our road manager on my Aesop's Fable tour. I went into this show open minded and ready to learn new things. I learned alot about singing with an ensemble. The music director Fred Crumbrine taught me alot about harmonies and learning your parts. The Secret Garden closed in June of 2001. Shavonne and I were engaged by this point. 2001 proved to be one of the most challenging years in my life...
No comments:
Post a Comment