Up Next! Aida at the Ritz Theatre July 9th-August 8th

Aida is a rock musical in two acts based on Giuseppe Verdi's Italian-language opera by the same name, the scenario of which was written by Auguste Mariette. The musical was produced by Disney Theatrical, with music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls, and David Henry Hwang. The musical originated from a children's storybook version of Verdi's opera written by the soprano Leontyne Price. The book featured illustrations by Leo and Diane Dillon. The rights were acquired by Disney studios for a proposed animated feature film. Development on the film was shelved, but the source material evolved into the stage version. Elaborate Lives: The Legend of Aida had its world premiere at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia with the production running from September 16 to November 8, 1998. A new, revised production opened on November 12, 1999 at the Cadillac Palace in Chicago. The Broadway production, titled Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, ran at the Palace Theatre from March 23, 2000 to September 4, 2004 for a total of 1,852 performances (and 30 previews). There was also produced a national tour and several international productions. I will be playing Mareb and triple theatre Ms. Gnomia Gre who was in Ain't Misbehain' with me five years ago will be Aida. Come check it out!

Born Yesterday at Walnut Street Theatre: Winter 2009

2008-2009 was a slow theatre season for me. For one my financial services business was really taking off. My client base was growing and was quite busy. So I stayed away from most auditions. I almost did The Music Man in NJ but decided against it. Then in January The Ritz Theatre called me about a play they were doing called A Few Good Men. They did a movie on this play in 1992 with Jack Nicolson and Tom Cruise. The director called me and told me that she remembered my auditions from the TAGP's and shows I did at The Ritz and was a fan of my work and talent. The call was out the blue and was really flattering. She said she wanted me to do it and didn't need me to audition but wanted me to come to the call backs and read with other actors she was considering. She emailed me after the reading and told me she wanted to go in another direction. That was cool. I had one audition for New Candle Light for Forum and got called back three times but didn't get it. I was just about to accept that I would miss the whole theatre season with out doing a show. I am different actor at 28 going on 29 than I was when I was 18. When I was 18 this would have crushed me. At 28 I am more focused on what projects I want to do. I don't want to be in a show just to be in a show. I wasn't auditioning as much by design. I was focusing more on my spiritual goals and my family. I also wanted to expand my financial services business to the point where I could hire a small staff and step away and produce my theatre company. I was keeping my eyes on the prize. So when Kate Galvin with the Walnut Street theatre called me and offered me a small part in Born Yesterday and said I didn't need to audition I was pleasantly surprised! After all they are the largest and most sucessfull theatre company in the world! I did Man of La Mancha there i the fall of 2007. I was offered a very small role as a boot black and waiter and I understudied the hotel manger. The cast was amazing! Truly the most professional and nicest cast I have ever been apart of. Marco Verna who is an actor from Conneticut and was new to the Walnut and the Philadelphia theatre scene played Harry Brock the lead. He was the coolest actor I ever met! He owned a commercial real estate company in Conneticutt so we had alot in common right away. The cast included Philly favorite Greg Wood who has also done a few M. Night Shyamalan movies. He was the mourning dad in at the end of the movie the Sitxh Sense. Fran Prisco was Eddie and was very funny. Kate Farhner play Billie Dawn the not so dim witted blonde. The cast was very good in the show. I never got to go on as the hotel manager but I was off book by the first understudy rehearsal. Working at the Walnut Street Theatre is like staying at a five star hotel! I loved working there again and felt honered they thought enough of me to ask me back! A month before the show closed I got a call from The Ritz Theatre offering me the part of Mareb in Aida their summer production. I was excited like a little kid before the first day of school!

Philadelphia Young Playwrights 2008: Birney MS

Wow! It's been almost a year since my last post on my blog. Life has been an emotional roller coaster! While I was doing my show at the Media Theatre I was teaching a playwrighting/theatre workshop at Birney MS through Philadelphia Young Play Wrights. Philadelphia Young Playwrights is an intensive arts-education program that pairs a professional teaching artist with a classroom teacher. The two work together as an Artistic Team, guiding and supporting students in the process of writing a play. The program fosters student learning, exploring and succeeding. Up to 1500 students are served directly at as many as 50 program sites each year. More than 60 prominent playwrights and many other professional theatre artists have served as teaching artists over the years. This was my first year with the program and I was assigned to Birney MS in the Logan section of the city. Ever since I quit teaching drama full time three years ago I would get moments of really missing teaching. I loved working with inner city students in the arts. I was teaching drama with Congreso for four years and I really miss those students and that program. So young playwrights was an avenue for me to get back into it but I was only commited to teach one 90 minute workshop a week. So it was perfect for my schedule. I first saw a PYPW performance in 2003 when I got of tour with The Top of the Mountain. My friends Nakia and Kamal were in a PYPW show and asked to come. At first I was skeptical. I mean I really didn't want to see a play written by middle schoolers! However, when I saw the show I was very suprised how talented these kids were! Their writing was very raw and honest. Ever since I saw that show I wanted to be apart of that program but I was teaching full-time and was never able to until five years later when I was working for myself. When I was assigned to Birney MS in January of 2008 I was little nervous. I hadn't taught in two years and I never taught playwrighting. As the weeks went by I got more comfortable. My students really loved the workshop and really put alot into their plays. My co-teacher Kelly Compton was great and we had good chemistry working with the students. We had our mini-playwrighting festival at Birney MS on June 6th 2008. Professional actors came and did readings of my students plays in front of their parents and the school. My students were so nervous! It went really well. In fact I found out one of my students Nasheeta Tucker came in 3rd place in all of Philadelphia! Amy Hodgdon who runs the program would ask me over the summer to come back to Birney in 2009 and I agreed. I was really looking forward to coming back to Birney in 2009!

Starting to take notice; The Full Monty at the Media Theatre

That is how I would define this theatre season for me. The major theatre companies in the Philadelphia area were finally starting to take notice of me after auditioning for them for the past ten years. It was a very gratifying feeling. First the Walnut Street Theatre casts me in Man of La Mancha. The Walnut is by far the largest and most successful regional theatre company in the world! Then the Arden calls me in to audition for Our Town. I got called back three times. I didn't get it but they liked me and Our Town isn't a musical. So they liked me as an actor not a singer which is important to me to establish myself as an actor first then a singer. So it is late March 2008 and I was lining up auditions for shows for the spring slot. I had three auditions and I thought I would get at least one. The first audition was for American Family Theatre and their production of We The People. Usually AFT show tour the country. I did the Tom Sawyer tour with them in '99 but this show wasn't going to tour. It would be at a theatre downtown. Next was for Theatre Horizon and their production of Working and then Media Theatre's The Full Monty. The Media Theatre is one of the top equity regional theatre companies in the tri-state area. I auditioned for the Media Theatre the last week in March before I went to Alaska. I got offered the role a week later. I would play Gary and a few other ensemble roles and understudy the role of Horse. Rehearsals started on the 14th of April and only lasted for two weeks. The show opened on the 30th of April. The show was very good and the audiences loved the show about six guys down on their luck and reduced to make it ends meet by going to drastic measures. Stand outs were Tim Quinlan as Jerry, Jayson Elliot as Dave, Mathew Hultgren as Nathan, Artie Sievers as Malcom, Rick Delancy as Horse and Deborah Jean Templin as Jeanette. I had a blast doing this show. This was by far the coolest cast I ever been cast in. I had alot of fun back stage and made some new friends like Alisa Stamps, Eric Hogan, Leandra Ramm and Lauren Rooney to name a few. I was sad when this show closed. Now lets see how next year's theatre season shapes up. I hope the major theatre companies keep taking notice...

The Seeds of Freedom with Family Stages; November 2007

I got cast in this show right before I closed Man of La Mancha at the Walnut Street Theatre. I had auditioned the first week of October. The artistic director Steve Seyfried was the writer and performed in the play with us. The cast included Angela Pomo (who was the girlfriend of Andy Wertner who was in Man of La Mancha with me) and Nicolas Wilder. This dynamic production follows Kosciuszko's path from his native Poland to America in 1776. His duties as a military engineer brought him into most of the major fields of battle during the American Revolution including: Philadelphia, Fort Ticonderoga, Saratoga, Dan River, Charleston and more. At West Point he designed and built fortifications that stopped the British advances up the Hudson river. He also constructed a rock garden that is still there, tended by cadets of the U.S. Military Academy.His amazing military skill was matched by his unyielding dedication to the cause of freedom, for countries and individuals. Thomas Jefferson called General Kosciuszko "the purest son of liberty I have ever met". I played a variety of charecters which is something I do really well. The show performed at the Independence Center in Olde City and we had a blast doing it.

Man of La Mancha at the Walnut Street Theatre Fall of 2007

When I was six teen years old I used to go down town to the Walnut Street Theatre and sneak into the lobby and watch their shows on the moniter. At the time I was with Peace Theatre and had already decided I was going to pursue acting as a profession. While I was standing in the lobby one night I was watching "The Good Bye Girl". I remember thinking that I would perform on that stage one day. I knew I had the talent. I remember thinking that the actors on that stage weren't better than me. I knew I could perform on that stage and hold my own even though at that point in my career I had never performed in front of an audience of the caliber. Not even close! But I was confident. Eleven years later I got my chance. There are several major theatre companies in Philadelphia. The Arden Theatre, The Wilma Theatre, The Prince Music Theatre, Peaple's Light and Theatre Company which is in Malvern and Freedom Theatre. The Walnut is the largest and the most prominant by far. I had auditioned for all the other major theatre companies before and most of the time I got many call backs but I never landed a role with any of them. I did understudy at the Arden in 2001 for Baby Case but that is understudying. So when Kate Galvin, the Casting Director at the Walnut Street Theatre called me in July of 2007 after seeing my TAGP audition to audition for The Man of La Mancha, I wasn't overly excited. At this point in my career I don't get excited about auditions. I don't care if I get the role because I can't control it. The only thing I care about is that I do well and that I am prepared. I can control that. I went to the audition on August 10th and I sang Younger Than Spring Time from South Pacific. Then Kate Galvin asked me to sing another song. I've been doing this a long time so I am allways prepared to sing two or three songs even though they only ask you to sing one when you schedule an audition most of the time. It went well. Kate told me after the audition that she might have a role for me in the show. I knew rehearsals started in 2 and a half weeks so the role had to be a very small one. I was okay with that. Two days later I recieved a call from Jessica Doheny the company manager at the Walnut and I was offered the role of a prinsoner and an inquisitioner and I had to understudy the Duke and Governor. Two principal roles in the show! Show basically I had two learn four roles! I was very excited about the oppurtunity. Finally I had have been called up from the minors! I now know how career minor league base ball players feel when they get called up! They are paid professionals but they never got that chance to shine in the big leagues. Even if they are at the end of the bench. I was at the end of the bench but happy to get called up! I remember feeling anxious going to the first rehearsal. I was nervous about how I would be recieved. Were the actors going to be stuck up snobs? Most of whom have Broadway and television credits. I was relieved when I got there and everybody was so nice and welcoming. I never felt like an outsider. I actually saw a familiar face. Danielle Herbert who plays Fermina was in Peace Theatre with me in 1997! She is extremly talented and she was great to work with. As we went through the reahearsal process I found it challenging to learn four roles. I got my roles down quickly but trying to learn two other roles with lines and blocking and music that I wasn't performing in during the show but was understudying was difficult. The way the Walnut did the understudy assignments was interestering. Everyone in the cast except Paul Schoeffler who plays the lead role of Cervantes, understudys someone else. I even had an under study. An actor named Brian Curtas. So if someone gets sick and can't perform it causes a chain reaction! I had to worry about three actors getting sick! I felt stressed but I knew I could do it. At understudy rehearsals I impressed the music director Edward Reichert and the rest of the cast with my voice and my grasp of the music so quickly. I did get a scare toward the end of the run. Paul was sick and wasn't sure if he could perform one night. Bruce Winant who plays the Duke understudied Paul and I understudied Bruce! It was crazy! When Lori, the stage manager, called me one afternoon and told me I might be going on my heart was racing! I was so excited! I was so prepared! I knew the role well enough to act and sing with out thinking about it and being in the moment. This was the chance I had waited for since I was sixteen! It wasn't to be however. Paul felt better in the 12th hour and the show went on. At the theatre that night I joked with Paul to take a show off and fake being sick. We both laughed. Two months after the show had closed I got a call from Danielle Herbert. Her voice was cracking on the phone when she told me she had some bad news. Jorge Maldonado who played Pedro in the show died suddenly of an anuerism at the age of 30! My heart fell in to my stomach! I was shocked! He was young and strong and very talented. I had just saw him at Peter Pan opening at the Walnut a month earlier. His partner Steve Pacek who played one of the muluteers in the show said later that he had no previous medical conditions that any one knew about. It was truly devasting! The Arden Theatre held a memorial for him on the 28th of December 2007. Most of the Man of La Mancha cast was there. Steve asked people to share a story about Jorge and I told the story when we did a school matinee all the high school girls were screaming when he took his bow at the end of the show. I joked with him back stage that if they only knew he was gay! Everyone laughed. He was a very nice and welcoming person with a good heart and was truly very shocking to hear he had died so suddenly. I went home that night and hugged my little girls a little tighter. Tomorrow is not promised. I loved my experience at the Walnut. I was anxious to see what was in store for me next....

The Prince and the Pauper; The Ritz Theatre Summer of 2007

I played the Prince naturally! I actually was offered the role at my TAGP auditions by Bruce Curless the Artistic Director of the The Ritz Theatre. I had done four shows at the Ritz and when Bruce saw me after the audition in the bathroom he offered me the role right then and there. The show opened July 20th 2007 at the Ritz and the last show was August 10th at the Dell in Camden an out side theatre. I had performed the last show of Ain't Misbevain' there 3 years earlier. I love that space! The cast was Kim Valde (Bruce's wife), Denny Pompenelle and Brenda Dribben. We had a blast doing this show and the kids loved it. My next show was like being called up to the Majors. I was ready!

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...