Sean Duggan and David Stavetski are in Pajama Game along with some other friends, Dani Tucci and James Petro. are in Sweet Charity at Actors NET along with Jack Bathke and Vicky Czarnik. The summer season is indeed upon us. I'm particularly interested in Charity because I know Dani is a great dancer and James is an all around talent. It will be a good show and one I'd like to attend. Of course readers know that I take the summer off because I spend the time with family. It's not easy though. I see so many auditions I'd like to make. Even some of the October shows, because they rehearse in August, are off limits. I'm not whining exactly. it's a deal so that the rest of the year is hassle free and so be it. Nevertheless, I always miss not being in rehearsal for something.

Fair Lady does not appear to be happening and so I'm making plans. I received the audition notice for King and I at Kelsey. They audition in August and the show goes up in November. It's being produced by Playful Theatre Productions who are some of my favorite people with whom to work. (I did Christmas Carol in '05 for them). It would be great to work with that crew again. You can pretty accurately guess what role I'm seeking. Still, I'm bummed to get no call back or notice of any kind from Media Theatre. I still feel I would have been strong in the role but what actor doesn't feel that when they've auditioned?

I'm currently on vacation and enjoying myself. Hope y'all are having fun as well.

No word on Fair Lady and hope dims. I've waited longer to hear of roles but, given there must be callbacks, I would have thought to hear something. Oh well. It could still happen or else something else will; always does. Meanwhile, I'm on vacation at the Jersey shore so I really don't have complaints. Today an old friend came by on the beach, I had seen him last week before I went to audition. He asked how the audition went and I related that I thought it went well to which he replied, "I was thinking when you left to audition that acting auditions are probably a time when people see you more humble than at any other time." Of course he was correct, as I've stated before in the blog. It's one of the reasons why so many actors turn to directing; they don't like the lack of control. I on the other hand having to control so many details of my daily life, relish the opportunity to be directed and to focus solely on my own performance; to not worry about all the myriad other details that go into mounting a production. Yes it's sometimes demeaning to strut your stuff for 2 minutes on stage at an audition only to wait in limbo for some indication of whether or not you passed muster, but I can stand it. As the old saw goes; some days you eat the bear...

You all know the drill; audition, wait, audition, wait. I've been indulging myself in some excellent fantasies but each day that passes brings more negative anticipation. Actually three days isn't that long as these things go ( and it hasn't been three days yet) but I'd love to resolve the angst. Come on 7! I've done my part by auditioning so I'm pretty helpless right now. I dislike the feeling. I can't really consider other auditions right now either so...I'm living in limbo.

It's been good to see some old friends on facebook. People from Kelsey and other theaters. It's an interesting phenomenon to get the news feeds and  see a snippet of other's  lives. Kind of like daily postcards.  I haven't tried the chat feature yet and  I've turned down some requests to play some of the games on the site; too whimsical. As I've stated before, I have a whimsy deficit. It's WDD actually. The only cure is...well there is no cure. It's progressive. It starts as sarcastic, moves through cynical and ironic, pushes on to curmudgeon and becomes misanthropic. I'm still in the early stages.

I hope I post some good news soon. Keep a good thought for the Doc.

I auditioned for Fair Lady tonight and it went really well...I think. Who knows? The director seemed interested but I am usually incorrect when I predict; so I won't. If I believed there was meaning in coincidence, I would be freakin'. (Of course, that would go against the very meaning of coincidence though wouldn't it?) Nevertheless, the audition was during my birthday (1); yesterday I had a plumber come give me an estimate for work and he started humming "I've grown accustomed to her face" (2); I got to the audition tonight and, knowing no one, I started chatting with a young woman who worked with an acting acquaintance (Dan Rich) who I had not seen in about three years and just reconnected with via Facebook in the past 72 hours (3); I have a horrid cold and the only other time I auditioned for Fair Lady was when I was 16 and auditioned for Freddy at LaSalle summer theater. I had a bad cold, was totally hoarse and could not sing at all (I didn't get the role) (4).

The Media Theater is beautiful and, when compared with some of the palaces at which I've worked, a veritable Taj Mahal. Tonight was a good night to be anything but an ingenue. There were about 35 young women vying for Eliza and only a handful of men suitable for Higgins; a small handful. Nevertheless, the director shared some trepidation about my schedule. I tried to reassure him. Hopefully it got through that I want this part and will do what I need to do to get it.

I missed the going away party for Scott P. tonight; unavoidable. Good luck Scott! Have a Tres Bon Voyage.

If I added up all of the time I've spent auditioning in my life, it would add up to...a long time. Actors don't so much perform as audition to perform. And so I look toward tomorrow's audition for Higgins. I'm prepared; either to do 32 bars from Fair Lady or 32 bars from Kiss Me Kate depending upon the director's whim. I know I can kill in this role. As much as I know it's a long shot to be cast in a lead at a company in which I've never worked, especially a professional company, I nevertheless will be disappointed not to get the role. And yet, to convince a stranger, in 32 bars, that I am the best choice, is a daunting task. But I at least need to perform well enough to be asked to read, and then read well enough to be asked to read with other hopefuls, and then do well enough to be seriously considered. I have excellent diction; a requisite for Higgins. I project like all get out. I have presence. What I never know is; if in fact I am any good. I suppose I'll never know for certain. I just have to climb the mountain each time I audition and at every performance and, should I get the role, be well reviewed, and gain audience approval, then I can feel like an actor; until the end of the run.

I took a lesson with Fred Miller tonight. It was very helpful. Fred may not technically be a voice teacher but his ear is excellent and his knowledge of delivery strong. He really helped me change my audition numbers from songs to musical acting. Now I'll work on the delivery all week and give it the ol' college try; or whatever other kind of try I can think of. It is difficult though to do Henry Higgins without channeling Rex Harrison.

Today I bought some lottery tickets. Not unusual, I often buy lottery tickets. I don't actually anticipate winning, I just enjoy the week-long fantasy of what I might do with the money. Very similar situation with trying out for Fair Lady at Media. Although the director has graciously indicated I could audition, I feel that it is almost as long a shot as winning the lottery. It actually could be as life changing as well. The main difference is that it doesn't take any balls to buy lottery tickets but I am feeling very nervous about auditioning. Really nervous. My testes have ascended to my abdomen nervous. I tend to get like this when there is a confluence of cosmic forces that have been building for 40 years or so. Then again; I don't believe in cosmic forces, or holy mushrooms, or the Great Mandala. I just believe in me...Yoko and me...and that's reality.

Shrew is history. At least for me. Today was a good show but, once again, done in front of a handful of people. The history of this show, for me, is that Collingswood has some work to get it's act together. There's a lot of good people, good actors, dedicated to the company but they need a managing director or someone to coordinate all the efforts. Management by committee never works and it's not working here. Marketing, artistic direction, publicity, outreach, scheduling, fund raising, sponsorship;they can preserve what could be a valuable venue of classical theatre, it all needs to be delegated and managed. Not being able to sell tickets is ultimately fatal to a company and I hope that this company will seriously think about getting the requisite talent in line and developing a hierarchical structure so that they can preserve what could be a gem of a company.

So...does that sound arrogant enough? Look, I'm a businessman; not entirely unsuccessful so, if I sound preachy, well bugger off.

As I said earlier, the show wound up being pretty good. I wish more people came to see it.

I was really pleasantly surprised that Kim, the costumer for the company, and one of the Board, and an actor in the show, gave me a bolo tie that she made out of a picture jasper. It was a thank you for lending the company so many western items. It is beautiful and I will truly treasure it. Thank you Kim. Goodbye cast; I hardly knew ye.

I got an affirmative from Mr. Cline at Media theater so now the difficult part begins. I haven't been singing lately and so I called my "vocal stylist" Fred Miller.
Fred is not a vocal coach per se, but he's a great accompanist and a consummate performer himself with an encyclopedic knowledge of musical theater. At the least I can  rehearse and gain more confidence.

I've mentioned a couple of times that I've lost a lot of weight and that actually factors into my decision to go for the brass ring. I am actually thin. I haven't been thin since I was sick about 9 years ago and, before that, not since I was about 21. I need new head shots big time and I'm arranging to have Kresimir Juraga take them, but not for another month. I'm not going to muse overly long about the possibilities of getting the Higgins role at Media. It would change my acting career; turn me professional. It would affect my practice as a psychologist, at least periodically. But I think I'll keep my fantasies under wraps for the next week or so to avoid looking foolish (or more foolish than I typically appear to be).

Giz Coughlin, an acting buddy and good egg, is collecting gift cards from Home depot, Target, etc. for needy folks affected by the Iowa flooding. Giz has relatives in the area and has been trying to help.he's seeking small amounts to assist the greatest number of folks (like $25 cards). If you desire to help, send cards with your name, address, etc. to Giz Coughlin,

1208 Fonthill Drive, Doylestown, PA 18901.

Today is my last performance for Shrew. I'm happy to see the back of it; although, as I've reported, it worked out somewhat better than I feared. I'll give a more complete postmortem  tomorrow.