When theatres closed down because of the coronavirus, so many people were suddenly out of a job: actors, directors, stage managers, costumers, dressers, lighting designers, set designers, painters, technicians, sound designers, prop masters, conductors, musicians... the list goes on. A massive crew brings a production to life, and I know so many people who've been hurt by this shutdown.
But shutting down is essential because people are dying from this virus. I have so many friends who've lost loved ones to this virus: parents, mentors, students, teachers, friends and family. We had two neighbors pass away from the virus. One was a nursing assistant who died because the hospitals didn’t have enough PPE in the beginning.
This is an unprecedented time, and as an artist I wondered how I could help. I checked in on friends and neighbors. I shared info about what was going on in New York City, and I shared what I knew of how to protect against the virus. My sister-in-law’s friend was living in Shanghai as a teacher, and she immediately told us about masking up. I’m pretty sure she saved our lives.
There was so much trauma. I felt like I lost my voice, but then people in Italy sang, so I sang.
A friend told me New Yorkers were singing, “Lean On Me” to essential workers, so I opened my window and sang.
Then a production company I’d worked with Off Broadway, 16th Note Productions, contacted me about doing a video of a song from the new musical, “Starcrossed,” and I was so thankful to put on some makeup and get into character and sing!
I started filming more episodes for my webseries, Laura Loves NY. In addition to my usual running around the city, documenting life in NYC, I filmed and edited 4 Zoom interviews: rising star Deb Snyder, hilarious puppeteer-comedian Wayne Henry, herb writer and soap makers, Tina Sams and Maryanne Schwartz; and Constance Cooks who's been hosting wonderful weekly cooking shows on Instagram.
I did a Zoom reading of Steel Magnolias with my former castmates. We had done the show in NY a few years ago.
That was my first foray into Zoom theatre, and it seemed to work. People still resonated with the characters and the story. We all laughed and cried.
So when I was asked to audition for Mixing It Up Productions’ Zoom presentation of the new play, “The Broken Closet,” I had a sense of what worked. I put the pdf of my script on screen and looked into camera, so it seemed as if I was talking directly to the other characters. I positioned the lights I had for self-tape auditions around my laptop so I was well-lit. And I did my usual actor work of breaking down the beats of the scene, focusing on what my character wanted.And you know what? It worked! I booked the gig!
Rehearsals were fascinating. Our director, Kristen Penner, helped us with the pacing, because for those who have Zoomed before, you know that hearing and talking to your fellow Zoom participants can be wonky. So imagine trying to do a dramatic scene where you have to break down and cry. Or fall in love. It can be done. Just like any theatrical experience, as an actor, I commit myself to the character living her life in the story of the play. There's just this extra technical experience of doing it all on Zoom.
“The Broken Closet” was about a family grieving the loss of a young woman - a daughter, a sister - who’d died from a heroin addiction. With all the stress of COVID, I wondered how the play would be received, but it seemed to resonate with folks, and we all felt the catharsis of tears.
Then I was asked to audition for and booked “The Cribbage Game,” which dealt with 3 middle aged folks finding the next chapter of their lives at a beach bar in Mexico. It was a beautiful piece, and I enjoyed playing Claire, a breast cancer survivor who goes from uptight spinster to a woman blossoming with love.
These plays have truly been a gift, and I’m so thankful for the playwrights who have continued to write about people trying to connect during challenging times. And I’m thankful to the producers who are putting theatre out there in new and innovative ways.
Theatre will always last because audiences want to be transported by a story that’s happening in real time right before their eyes. Theatre is a shared experience, and it truly can transform us all.
I recently filmed a fun sketch with my friend, Wayne Henry, whom I've done a ton of work with over the years! He's the genius behind Jaws The Musical in which I played Sally, the love interest of the Great White Shark.
So of course, when Wayne said, "Do you want to do a sketch?" I was totally on board!
Enter "Aaron's Uber," written by the hilarious Brad Heller. He's a UCB alum who totally reminds me of a young Jerry Seinfeld.
I play a country gal who has no problem squeezing into an already packed Uber:
Last weekend, I filmed a sketch with the fabulous Wayne Henry, whom I've worked with for several years. He brought me on board with this wonderful cast, all of whom were deliciously talented. We spent most of the shoot cracking each other up! And afterwards, we were all abuzz with ideas and stories about Art and The Biz.
This is something I just LOVE, the energy that bubbles up amongst artists when they're in the groove and creating something as a team.
I've been so lucky to do a tremendous amount of that this year, working with terrific teams to create wonderful productions for the stage and on various screens.
Then I joined my Pageant Princess creators, Lorelei McKenzie and Kristen Penner, for a reading of the new pop musical, Pieces:
I went back to Stomping Ground Theatre Company to sing for their cabaret, Perspectives:
And I just wrapped filming with the incredible team behind Human Telegraphs:
What a crew!
I feel so thankful to have worked with so many talented people this year, and I'm grateful they've invited me into their wonderful worlds, telling unique stories with heart and humor!
This has been a busy month for me, working on new projects by wonderful writers I'm lucky to know! :)
On May 4, I had the honor of singing in a cabaret honoring female writers of musical theatre:
Clare Cooper asked me to sing one of her pieces from her show with Bryan D. Leys, "How to Marry a Divorced Man." This re-teamed me with Richard Binder, who's played my husband in many shows! In this piece, we played exes who have a tender moment, much to the chagrin of his new love interest, played by Tiffan Borelli, who also rocked a song from "Urban Momfare" by Pamela Weiler Grayson:
Then, on May 18, I played a sister mourning the loss of her brother in Rob Cardazone's new play, Terribly and In Private. It's an exquisite 5 character play that re-teamed me with my "Petunia" co-star, Wayne Henry, and gave me the opportunity to work with Andrew Schulz, whom I met in Heidi Marshall's on-camera class. Andrew is an incredible actor from The Actors Studio who recommended me to my current acting coach, Susan Aston.
Rob was mentored by Romulus Linney (father to Laura Linney) and Arlene Hutton, whom I met when I auditioned for her play, Gulf View Drive. Small world! Rob and I worked together a gazillion years ago at the PA Renaissance Faire, which was the basis for his play, "Ren Rats," which premiered at the Hunter Playwright Festival in 2013. Reading a play like Terribly and In Private took me back to my drama roots and was such a delicious piece to dive into! Hope to do so again soon!
On Monday, I performed in the concert reading of the new musical, "Merton of the Movies." It's about a young man in the silent film era, who dreams of making it as a "serious" actor in Hollywood, only to discover he's a born comedian! AJ Shively, the recent lead in Steve Martin's and Edie Brickell's new musical, "Bright Star," was our amazing Merton. He cracked us all up! As one audience member said afterwards, "I'll never look at eyebrows the same way again!
I played one of Merton's buddies, Edna, a jazzy comedienne who stars in one of the old pie fight films. My big song was "The Chase," and though we had no props or set, so many audience members said they loved when I pantomimed getting stuck in a trunk, trying to evade the Keystone Cops. It was a BLAST!
"Merton" was composed by the dynamic Doug Katsaros, who also wrote the lyrics, and the book was by my "Sasquatched the Musical" director, Donald Brenner. In fact, the reading was a mini Sasquatched reunion, as I got to play with my old "sweetheart," Patrick John Moran....
And the incredibly versatile Jonathan Randell Silver, who played Harpo Marx in "The Most Ridiculous Thing You Ever Hoid," had a pivotal role as Merton's friend, Elmer, from his smalltown beginnings.
Jonathan's heartfelt performance actually made me cry! He was so sweet!
Our marvelous music director was Jeffrey Lodin (above top L). Patrick and Jonathan are also above, followed by the fabulous Martin Van Treuren, who was hysterical as the madcap film director of the Buckeye Comedies.
The rest of the cast was completed by gorgeous voiced Tony Castellanos, the lovely Loni Ackerman (former Broadway Evita and Grizabella - she
had the BEST stories!), Janine Divita as Merton's love-to-be (who also
recently played Evita) and Lara Hayhurst, a former Elle from "Legally
Blonde."
Everyone was so wonderful, and it was such a charming show! I hope we go somewhere with it! :)
Last but not least, I ended the week with a turn as Blanca Vacuous, a maid of dubious origin in "The House in Beverly Hills." I also recorded demos for "The House in Beverly Hills" on the weekend.
For my next trick, I'm back to the writer's table with Wayne Henry and Roberto Cambeiro, fleshing out "Petunia's Coffee House."
It's been an amazing year, and I'm blown away by how quickly it's zoomed by!
I'm thankful for my family and friends, that everyone is healthy and happy. There's definitely been some health scares for our dads, so I'm glad they're staying strong.
(my little bro and me with our Dad - love you both!)
I'm thankful for my husband, Robbie, who keeps me laughing and looking for "the funny." You are my best friend, and I'm so glad to be sharing this ride with you!
I'm thankful for my friends who keep me laughing as well, and who've supported all my artistic adventures. I have a core group of 4 friends who've seen every show I've ever done, and I'm so thankful for you: Michael and Carl, Ataman and Jayne! Love you guys!
Michael, Carl and me clowning on the beach. :)
A special shout-out to Tina Sams from "The Essential Herbal" who gives me a kick in the pants when I'm feeling blue and reminds me to look back and see everything I've accomplished. She and her sister, Maryanne Schwartz, who makes incredible jewelry in her Torchsong Studio, keep me inspired!
I'm thankful for all the incredible people I've worked with on so many fun artistic adventures! The year started with the international recording of "Roberta." Larry Moore had seen me as a tempestuous spitfire in the Off Broadway revival of "Johnny on a Spot," and asked if I'd like to play a devious debutante, or "debutramp," as Larry called her. Well, who wouldn't want to play that kind of character? ;)
I got the best review on Amazon: "Laura Daniel deserves a special award for bitchiest bitch this side of the Bitchissippi." And I love being on the album cover!
Huge thanks to Andy Monroe for asking me sing his great song, "The Grand Gesture" for the NY Theatre Barn, which was taped for YouTube.
Thank you to my fabulous acting coach, Susan Aston, for challenging me with larger than life characters like Martha in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf," and Alexa Vere de Vere in "As Bees in Honey Drown." What a treat to work with you every week!
We unveiled "Petunia's Coffee House" last night in the Colleen Dewhurst room at the Aurora / Friedman building, which is part of the Actors Fund. It was a full house, and there were a lot of laughs.
Elizabeth Bell plays LeeAnn Cumberpatch (L), Wayne Henry plays Petunia Lee Swanson (top right), and I play Darlene Yvonne Kramm, a blast from Petunia's rock n roll past.
LeeAnn and Petunia are trying to open a Bohemian coffee house in NYC, but every stone has been left unturned, and Dar shows up to wreck havoc.
The show is part improv and partially scripted with music from the 80s. We have one more developmental performance on July 28th, and then it's back to the drawing board!
I've been writing and developing a show with my friend and UCB alum, Wayne Henry. He created a character named Petunia Lee Swanson, who's had some segments on YouTube, and he wanted to expand her horizons in a somewhat musical way, so Petunia's Coffee House was born!
We started improvising scenes, and then writing them. I've written some pieces over the years: one for the Vagina Monologues, one was a cabaret called "Love in 35 Minutes," and I've been taking writing classes at The PIT.
In "Writing for SNL," Ali Farahnakian talked about the Writers' Table, and with Petunia's, we've definitely been there! I love the roundtable forum. It's been a blast to toss around comic lines , seeing what makes us laugh. A lot of those sessions have ended in laughter through tears, because we've been cracking each other up!
We "open" Petunia's Coffee House in July as a workshop-in-progress. It'll be interesting to see if people want to go along for the ride! I hope so! :)
This year has been zoomin by, so blogging has taken a backseat.
I just wrapped playing "Martha" in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf for Susan Aston's acting class. What a RIDE! Greg Connelly, who plays the Osborn butler in The Amazing Spider Man 2 was my George, and it was a delight peeling back the layers of this combustible couple.
In the midst of this, I've been writing and developing a show with my friend, Wayne Henry. We met a few years ago when we were cast in the Off Broadway revival of the 1940's comedy, Johnny on a Spot. While our characters never had a scene together, we just clicked and said, "Let's make something happen!"
He then brought me onto JAWS the Musical, a mini musical he wrote and composed. It was fabulous fun, running 35 minutes.
While he's been fleshing JAWS out, he wanted to write a show around an improv character he created a few years ago named Petunia Lee Swanson.
And so Petunia's Coffee House was born! It's a lesbian love story about a couple trying to open a Bohemian coffee spot in NY. I play Petunia's ex-girlfriend, Darlene, aka DAR, and it's been a blast to develop this wild, dark woman who doesn't care about anything but getting what SHE wants. WHAT FUN!
Most of our initial rehearsals were improvised, but we've been writing as well, and it's been fascinating to feel the piece taking shape. I wonder if Christopher Guest works this way, taking a bunch of improvised larger-than-life characters, marrying them together through story, song, and edits, and then unfolding... something fun. :)
It's been an interesting way to work, and I'm enjoying every step of the way! We "open" Petunia's Coffee House in July as a workshop-in-progress. It'll be interesting to see if people want to go along for the ride! I hope so! :)
As I prepare to step into the New Year, my friend, Tina, reminds me to look back at the strides I made the year before. I am so thankful for friends like Tina, my family, and especially my awesome husband, Rob, who joyously share The Ride with me and encourage me to make my dreams come true!
Thanks to David Gerard, my former Singing Nun producer who called me in to audition for a radio spot for Toyota. I booked the gig and recorded a spot with Laurel Coppock, who's the fabulously funny spokesperson, "Jan."
Thanks to Donald Brenner, who directed me in "Sasquatched! The Musical," and asked me to sing the opening number for the Abingdon Theatre Company gala, Swinging On A Star. That was an incredible night! Meeting Cherry Jones was the cherry on the cake! :)
Thanks to Phil and Jules Darg who brought me on board as "Pat the Park Ranger" for the New York Musical Theatre Festival production of "Sasquatched! The Musical." That was one of the highlights of my summer, working at The Pearl Theatre Company, including a special performance at 54 Below.
Thanks to great composer-lyricists like Andy Monroe and Wayne Henry, who asked me to perform demos of their material for BMI and The Dramatists Guild. Thanks also to Bryan D. Leys, James Campodonico and Matthew Gurren for inviting me to play lead roles in readings of their musicals at The Abingdon and York Theatre Companies.
Great gratitude to the awesome casts and crews I've worked with this year. Incredibly talented people! And let me tell you, an exceptional Stage Manager is worth their weight in gold! :) David S. Keaton-Cohen, I'm talking about you! ;)
I am thankful to have reconnected with childhood friends like Kara Herold, who is a fascinating filmmaker. I got to work with her one day on her new film, 39 and 1/2, and it was a blast from the past mixed with the Gift of the Present. Good growth! :)
Huge thanks to the terrific teachers I've worked with this year: Susan Aston (acting), Heidi Marshall (film), Tim Phillips (on-camera), Scott Wojcik (commercials), Ali Farahnakian (Writing for SNL) and Seth Weinstein (voice). I've realized this year more than any other how incredibly important it is to keep studying!
"It takes a village" to mount any production, and it's been my pleasure to be part of so many great teams!
January is already filling up with rehearsals and classes. I can't wait to see what the New Year brings!
While doing a show, its very common to hear people ask, What are you working on next?
In the midst of Sasquatched, I received the script for an international
recording of Jerome Kern's "Roberta." I play Sophie Teale, a devilish debutante
(my friend, Larry Moore calls her a debutramp!) who abuses the sweet but naive
leading man. Larry said he needed someone who could give a bitch a sense of
dimension, so he came to me! ;)
The recording is being done like a radio play, so while I don't get to sing some
of the famous songs in the show like "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," I have some
wonderfully wicked scenes! It's a blast to work on this script!
I also start rehearsals next week for, "Come and Get It," a musical revue about
food at the Abingdon Theatre Off Broadway.
I get to sing a jazzy take "On the Good Ship Lollipop," and a purrfectly delightful
number about a cat's view of suppertime. ;)
In September, I'll be doing another concert reading of Hell's Belles, playing my
favorite icons, Janis Joplin and Judy Garland.
And I'm starting rehearsals for "Petunia's Coffee House," an outrageous
musical event with my friend Wayne Henry that's a wee nod to Pee Wee's
Playhouse. I get to play Petunia's butch ex-girlfriend.
As one of my friends said, "You get the funniest parts!"
This was a presentation for the Dramatists Guild in which writers met and discussed their work, looking to grow. It was such a cool experience and reminded me of some of the BMI presentations I've done over the years. It's always cool to be part of something like that, to sing for a composer I adore, to share his or her work with others, and to hear what other writers are working on. There are a lot of cool ideas out there, and it'll be interesting to see if these musicals get on their feet.
I think that's one of the most interesting parts of being involved in a musical in development. It takes years for a show to grow.
It's been a really weird year, seeing people go through incredibly traumatic times, doing what I can to help. I am hopeful that each day brings people closer together, hopeful that people will let go of hate and really let love light the way.
Not to get heavy. I just care.
My husband always says that laughter is the best medicine, and I found in 2012 that my artistic adventures were indeed more skewed towards comedy. It was cool to hear many a casting director discover, "Oh! You're funny!" ;)
Most of my work was Off-Off Broadway, and I took part in several readings. At the Manhattan Theatre Club, I played Judy Garland and Janis Joplin in the musical, Hell's Belles, which has a Forbidden Broadway vibe. I've been involved with this show since 2008, and the audiences are incredibly loyal. Many folks have come up to me after each presentation, telling me that I remind them so strongly of Judy Garland, that they can see and hear her entire career in my performance. I'm always moved by how people respond to my take on Judy, and I'm thrilled to take them down memory lane.
Wayne Henry, a friend of mine from the Off Broadway play Johnny on a Spot, caught me in Hell's Belles at HA! Comedy Club, and asked if I'd be interested in playing Sally, the quirky female lead in JAWS: The Musical! Wayne wrote the book, music and lyrics; took the basic premise of JAWS and made it entirely his own, focusing on a love story between the shark and a woman while finding plenty of humor for all the characters that inhabit "Amity Island." It was one of the most joyous experiences of the summer and ran from June to September at the Broadway Comedy Club.
Wayne is working on extending the 40 minute show into a full length musical for 2013, and I'm hoping we record some of the tunes, because they ROCK!
I also got to work on the new musical, "How to Marry a Divorced Man," reprising the role of Glenda, a punk rock mom going through a divorce, trying to find love and reboot her punk rock career. It was a lot fun! We did the reading at an art gallery in Manhattan, and as one of the producers said, I was the art! :)
I also found fulfillment, preparing for auditions and callbacks this year. I was called back for Martha in "The Secret Garden," received great response in my audition for Clarice in "Silence! The Musical," and was called in for leading roles in "Educating Rita" and "Urinetown."
Studying with LA acting teacher Tim Phillips was life-changing. I also took a 5 week commercial workshop with Brette Goldstein and video game voice overs with Kim Graham.
It was a good year, and I look forward to many more adventures in 2013. Hope your New Year is very happy!
Originally from sunny CA, I'm an actress in NY, performing in new works Off Broadway and in independent films. Thanks to my husband, friends and family who make the ride an absolute blast!
