Superheroes and Sketches

Have you noticed all of the superhero "nods" lately? There are all the summer films, which I'm enjoying, and HBO recently premiered a documentary about real-life caped crusaders, which was just fascinating!

Ironically, I recently wrote a sketch comedy piece about a superhero manicurist named Manny. It was performed last week at  The PIT (The People's Improv Theatre) and received great response. I was surprised by the uproarious laughter my sketch generated and was greatly encouraged to keep writing.


The class itself was my first experience in "round table" writing, though our tables formed more of a square, and I couldn't help but think of us as "knights of comedy" in one way shape or form. Or perhaps we were more like squires. :)

Each week our fearless leader and teacher Alex Zalben, provided us with a sketch format, which we'd write and then read to the class. We'd listen to each other and provide constructive criticism, saying what we liked about the sketches as well as addressing "room for improvement."

It was such a positive environment, and last week's class performance was such a treat, because every writer had tweaked their pieces, following the teacher's guidance, and it made for a really fun evening of sketch comedy.

So what does this have to do with superheroes? Well, one of our projects was to write a superhero sketch, taking a mundane task and finding the funny (and the fantastic) in it. That was my favorite sketch, hence the reason I worked on it for the class performance.

And this makes me think of the Superhero documentary, about ordinary people trying to make a difference in their own unique way. There are a lot of superheroes in my life. I think we all can have an incredibly positive impact on each other. And this gives me hope.

The First Harvest

I love this time of year. There's something so magical about August. It's often the hottest time of the year, and yet heralds the harvest to come. It is a reminder to play and enjoy the lazy summer days before the hard work of Autumn is upon us.

It is a time of Summer fruit and sweet corn.

A time to release fear and take heart, to recognize the star of hope within us.

It is also the time of sunflowers. I don't remember seeing these flowers in the desert where I grew up. But here on the East Coast, the fields are full of them - these tall, radiant flowers that turn to the light.

"I don't think there's anything on this planet that more trumpets life that the sunflower. For me that's because of the reason behind its name. Not because it looks like the sun but because it follows the sun. During the course of the day, the head tracks the journey of the sun across the sky. A satellite dish for sunshine. Wherever light is, no matter how weak, these flowers will find it. And that's such an admirable thing. And such a lesson in life." - Calendar Girls (written by Julia Towhidi and Tim Firth)

Comedy Tonight!

When I was a kid, I had a penchant for drama. No wonder I became an actress! :)

But I also loved to write stories! In elementary school, I didn't wait for the latest class play to surface. I wrote my own plays for my classmates and I to perform. I even got my brother in on the act!

Small wonder I've felt the call the write lately.

After college, I mostly wrote dramatic fare. I consolidated the novel, "The Phantom of the Opera," into a 30 minute playlet for The Edgar Allan Poe festival in PA. In NY, I penned a 10 minute piece called CHEER which ran with The Vagina Monologues for V-Day NY, and my last piece was a one woman show called "Love in 35 Minutes," which was wrapped around love and musical theatre.

Lately, since I've found myself consistently cast in comic roles, I've been taking sketch comedy classes at The PIT to strengthen my funny bone. My latest class has been on the basics of writing sketches. Some of my favorite actors are also writers - like Christopher Lloyd, Emma Thomspon, Steve Martin, Tina Fey, Steve Carrell - so I keep thinking of something my husband says: "Learning one skill can strengthen another."

From an acting perspective, I've found that by exploring the formula of a comic scene, I'm clearer on my own work as an actor. But writing it is definitely different! It's made me open my ears and hear how people talk to each other, hearing the patter and patterns, "finding the funny."

The biggest lesson I've learned is that comedy has to be honest. You can't push a joke at people, or... you can try, but then it's not as funny. Stand-up might be different, but for comic acting, I've learned it has to come from an honest place.

The thing I'm digging about comedy writing is the sense of colloboration. I also love how the halls between the studios simply echo with laughter. That is such a gift, and it makes going to class an absolute blast!

So I'm off to join my fellow artists in revelry and comic learning. :) Happy Trails!

The Girl Who Chased the Moon

Have you ever picked up a book that just enchanted you?

I'm currently in the midst of The Girl Who Chased The Moon, and it is such a delightful read! I don't want to put it down! It actually makes me look forward to riding the subway, because that's when I have time to dive into this beautiful book!

It's the story of Emily, a 17-year-old girl who goes to live with her giant grandfather in the fictional small town of Mullaby, North Carolina. And when I say giant, I mean her grandfather is 8 feet tall!

It's a whimsical element that makes me think of the movie Big Fish, and like that fanciful tale, The Girl Who Chased the Moon is full of magic and the uniqueness of perspective.

There's a mysterious wealthy family who can't come out at night. There's a charming baker, Julia, who hides a piece of pink hair behind her ear (from her youth as a punk rocker). She also runs her father's BBQ and has her own story she's trying to piece together. Her refuge is in the cakes she bake that fill the book with such sweet scents. Truly, I swear I could smell Julia's Milky Way cake, or her Hummingbird Cake:

"It was made with bananas and pineapples and pecans and had a cream cheese frosting... She would make it light enough to float away."

I actually bought the book because of the Amazon interview the author gave regarding the giant of her novel:

"I remember when I first wrote elderly Vance Shelby into The Girl Who Chased the Moon. He walked into a room and had to duck under the doorframe. I knew then that this was no ordinary man. This was a giant. But how tall was too tall? When would real become unreal? It’s a fine line. I began to research gigantism and discovered the tallest man in history for whom there is irrefutable medical proof: Robert Pershing Wadlow, the Giant of Illinois. At the time of his death at the young age of 22, Wadlow was almost nine feet tall. It’s a stunning number, isn’t it? Nine feet tall. I pored over old film and audio interviews from the 1930s, trying to get a feel for what his life was like, so I could present with veracity this magically tall man in my story. What I discovered was a soft-spoken gentle giant whose legs were so long he walked like he was on stilts, whose body listed to the side like a skyscraper made of soft wood instead of concrete. But he was always smiling, accepting the stares and the requests for photos good-naturedly as he toured with Ringling Brothers and the International Shoe Company. He never hid himself away. He mingled among regular-sized people like he knew he had to savor every moment. And maybe he did know. Maybe he was tall enough to see into tomorrow.

In honor of Wadlow, I took all that I thought a young giant might wish for--a long life, a wife, a family, a place that accepted him as he was, where he was just another town oddity--and I gave it to elderly Vance Shelby in The Girl Who Chased the Moon. And as an old giant, Vance looks back on a life he always wanted to be extraordinarily small, and finds that it was exactly the size it needed to be. Which I think might be truth for us all."
--Sarah Addison Allen

If you're looking for a lovely book with small-town charm and whiffs of magic, check out this novel.

The author also has an interactive website which details parts of the fictional town of Mullaby and offers Julia's cake recipes! :)

Enjoy!

Benefit Concert for The Trevor Project

Last week, I had the immense pleasure of performing in a concert of original music by composer-lyricist, Andy Monroe. This concert was a benefit for The Trevor Project  (preventing suicide among LGBTQ youth) and was a catalogue of Andy's music, some of it performed by Andy himself.

Andy and I worked together a few years ago on the musical, The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun. I played the title character and won the NYMF Award of Excellence.

I sang a song from The Singing Nun and from one of Andy's other works, "Chasing Garbo," based on the 1980s film, Garbo Talks. It was an incredible treat to perform this material, simply because Andy's music is so much fun!

And I was in great company! My co-star from The Singing Nun, Tracey Gilbert, sang a song from the show, and it made me nostalgic to play these characters again. They're such sweetheart heroines!

Jeannine Frumness performed a song from the award-winning Off Broadway show, The Kid, and Matt Hardy sang the title song. Jeannine then joined Jon-Michael Reese and Raissa Katona Bennett in Andy's latest project, Drive.

Raissa had played Christine in Phantom, and I got such a thrill out of that because it was the first musical I saw when I moved to Manhattan.

Marc Beja and Kate O'Boyle Anderson sang a song from Sally Peaches, and Kate joined Tracey, Jon-Michael, Matt Hardy and Kevin Dozier for Andy's 15 minute musical The Life and Times of Joe Jefferson Blow.

Zach Berger (above right with Jon-Michael Reese) played the title role in this charming musical about the birth, life and death of a simple man who wanted to do great things. Zach was also my partner in Chasing Garbo, and it was such a delight to work with him.

The entire evening was hosted by Andy's partner, George DeMarco (far right with Kevin Dozier, David Gerard and his partner), and we ended the night by singing "Happy Birthday" to Andy. It was a gift to share so much love and music with such talented artists.

Happy Birthday, Andy! :)

The Joy of Doing What You Love

I had an audition for a Broadway show today, and it felt fabulous! It was one of those auditions where nervousness is replaced by sublime joy and the excitement of simply doing what you love.

I could hear the pianist, creating beautiful music for the girls in front of me, and that thrilled me. There's something so delicious about the combination of a voice and a piano.

Across the hall there were male singers auditioning for "Camelot." Potential Lancelots and Mordreds were singing their hearts out.

Then it was my turn. I went in on a wave of joy, delighted to be there and to be singing a song I love (thanks, Chas Elliot)! The accompanist grooved right along with me and it felt like we were playing together, making music and having a grand ol' time.

Ya gotta love auditions like that where you're making music with someone so talented. It makes the room feel like a painter's canvas, and I get to paint the room with my song.

I love to sing, and I've been doing a lot of it lately in preparation for Wednesday's Benefit Concert. I feel so fortunate to be working and playing with such talented artists.

Every day feels lush with opportunity to keep doing that! :)

Music by Andy Monroe - for The Trevor Porject

This week I'll be performing in a concert of music written by Andy Monroe, who recently won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Musical Off Broadway for The Kid.

Andy and I worked together a few years ago on the musical The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun, which also won various awards, including the NYMF Award for Outstanding Individual Performance, of which I was the lucky recipient.

Andy's music is wonderfully contemporary, and I feel so incredibly honored to be performing in this concert with such talented performers, including Andy himself.

I'll be singing songs from The Singing Nun as well as another show Andy wrote called Chasing Garbo, based on the 1980s film Garbo Talks.

Other performers include my Singing Nun co-star, Tracey Gilbert; cast mates from The Kid, Jeannine Frumess and Zach Berger (my partner in Chasing Garbo), Marc Beja, Kate O'Boyle Anderson, Matt Hardy, Raissa Katona Bennett, Kevin Dozier, and Jon-Michael Reese.

This sold out concert is a benefit for The Trevor Project.

Central Park on the 4th of July

It was a gorgeous day in Central Park today. Everyone seemed so uplifted, enjoying this fun summer day.

There were musicians everywhere! As I walked towards the famed Bethesda Fountain, I heard the sounds of Vivaldi, played beautifully on the violin. Lo and behold, there was an older woman with silver hair playing the instrument with pure passion.

 

I love that a statue of Shakespeare was behind her, taking in the scene.

 

Further down the path, there was a Peruvian pipe band, a solo saxophone player, and then a fun jazz band, which was surrounded by a very big group.

These were some sweet sounds, I tell ya! And I was heartily inspired by all the music. I went home and practiced my songs for an upcoming benefit concert July 13th. But first I continued my walk through the park.

I came upon a turtle laying her eggs near the famous lake where rowboats abound. It was so incredible to see her so close! She was protected by a low wire fence, but I definitely could have touched her if I wanted to. She was practically at my feet!

I was amazed that Turtle was crossing my path yet again... laying her eggs no less! It was truly an amazing sight!

Then I headed home, walking with a horse and carriage on my way out of the park. It was a such a lovely Independence Day. Hope yours was just as sweet.

Turtles and Travels

This past weekend, my husband and I flew out to CA to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday, and it was such a fun trip. It started with an early flight that was delayed because of a turtle crossing. I kid you not.

Over 100 turtles were making their way across the tarmac to lay their eggs on the sandy shores of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. And you know what was neat? No one on the plane complained about the delay. Everyone thought it was cool! Mother Nature at work.

I'm a descendent of the Cherokee tribe and have always felt an affinity for totem animals, so the appearance of turtles seemed like such a cool omen. Turtle "is the personification of Mother Earth." She teaches us to "honor the creative source within you, be grounded to the Earth, and observe your situation with Motherly compassion."

With this spirit in mind, we flew to CA and had a great time. It was a really quick trip - we only had a few days - but I wanted to be out there to celebrate my mom's special birthday.

(my husband, Rob, me, Mom, my brother, Sean, and his lady, Meri)

As I watch my parents age, I am so mindful of how precious each day is. My mom was a little unnerved about turning 60, but my husband was telling her what an accomplishment it is to have had 60 years of adventures! And there's more to come! Plus my mom looks 50 anyway. She is still so beautiful, and I'm glad she is my mother and my friend.

Concluding our trip, my honey and I headed back home to NY. There weren't any turtles on the tarmac this time, but there were turtles on TV, and I had to smile at that.

The Miracle is You

One of my friends recently went in for a very rough surgery, so I've been thinking of her and all the special people in my life. We were texting a great deal before her surgery - about life and really living each day to the fullest - and one of her texts struck such a chord. She said, "The miracle is YOU."

(photo by Paul Bates)

It makes me realize how precious life is, how each moment is so entirely unique and new unto itself. What happened yesterday will never happen the same way it did. It was what it was. Now we're onto a new moment.

"The gift is the present."

It makes me appreciate those folks who have shared this life ride with me all the more.

My friend, Tina, and I often talk about being surfers on the cosmic waves of life. And I feel like that with all my friends.

 

Sometimes we share an incredible wave together. Sometimes one of us wipes out, so we're there to support each other and help each other get back on our boards. Sometimes only one of us catches an incredible wave and the rest of us watch them surf the heck out of it. But no matter what, we're there for each other, sharing it in one way or another, and that is such a gift!

This Week in Liffe Lessons

Do you ever have a week chock-full of life lessons?

When something comes my way, especially if the message is repeated more than once, I realize it's a sign to pay attention to the lesson. It's like the fortune in the cookie. :)

So what were the big lessons for me this week?

1) Practice. When you practice something - any kind of activity from sports to the arts - you improve your skills and your game.

This week I performed in a small staged reading of a new musical, and it was wonderful to be immersed in the material for a full 2 days. The music was very complicated with lots of different time signatures and harmonies, and it could have seemed daunting. But by practicing my part, I went into the performance feeling strong and had a great time! :)

I also started a writing class this week. I've written dramatic pieces over the years, so I wanted to try my hand at comedy, and so I enrolled in a class at The PIT. The teacher is great, and he also affirmed the lesson of practice. The more you write - again, the more you practice anything - the better you get at it.

2)  Find the positive and cheer each other on.
This lesson was also gleaned from my new writing class, and I thought it was a great philosophy.

Too often, in art especially, people will rip each other apart. There's a great scene in Mel Brooks' "History of the World Part 1" where a caveman artist is born, promptly followed by the birth of the critic.

But if we can find at least one positive and expound on that, who knows what other treasures we might find?

Next week we're going to get into constructive criticism, but this also reminds me of a lesson from one of my first musical theatre classes at AMDA. We had this great teacher named Karen, who was quite old... "as old as the hills," you might say. She reminded me of a combo of Ethel Merman and Aunt Clara from "Bewitched."

She was wonderful and would encourage the class to give feedback after each in-class performance. But we were not allowed to say a performance was "good" or "bad." We were encouraged to say what was "effective" or "ineffective" about a performance, and this language created a healthy playground for us all.

This takes me to...

3)  Love your self.

As a petite woman and actress, I've always been aware of caloric inntake. In high school and college, I used to skip meals and even went on the Atkins diet to rapidly lose weight for an audition for "Days of Our Lives." This worked for a brief while until my body rejected this way of living. My blood pressure plummated during an audition and I passed out, literally falling flat on my face and breaking a tooth. It scared the heck out of me, and so I've made sure to eat healthily ever since.

I'm really into juicing right now and simply love it. I'm still working on losing the pounds. I hit the gym and power-walk everywhere, but I'm not a stick-thin actress - never have been. I'm curvy and I like to dress in sexy attire, so I wore a dress for this week's performance, and one of the gals in the cast complimented me on my figure. That made me feel great, and I told her how great she looked.

"Well, I can't dress like you," she said. "You have such beautiful arms, but mine... I need to cover them up."

I was astounded because A) I didn't see myself that way, and B) she was GORGEOUS! I mean, seriously, I hope I have this woman's figure when I get older.

So this made me realize that we don't see each ourselves as others do. Yeah, there are many harsh critics out there, but often, we're our own worst critics.

(artwork by Rita Lloyd)

We really need to love and appreciate ourselves as we are RIGHT NOW. Sure, there are pounds to lose. Yes, there are things we may not like about ourselves, but can you imagine how good we would feel if we really loved, supported, appreciated and took care of ourselves right now? To really love every part of ourselves.

Some good things to think about.

Marty's Magnificent Day-Glo Dream-a-Thon

About a year ago, I hopped on a plane to my hometown of Hemet, CA and spent a weekend filming a scene for the independent feature film musical, Marty's Magnificent Day-Glo Dream-a-Thon.

The film is built around the concept album by the psychadelic folk rock band, Hippie Cream. It's about a young man who seeks to find the cure for his grandfather's illness by undertaking risky dream therapy.

My brother, Sean, is the drummer for the band, and I have long been a fan of their work. When he told me they were doing a feature film musical in the style of a science fiction B movie influenced by The Ramones' "Rock n Roll High School," I knew I had to be a part of it.

The director Daniel Philip Maggio cast me in the cameo of Marty's Dream-Mom, and it was a pleasure to play such a role.

The cast and crew for Marty were simply stellar. Everyone asked about the New York scene, and it was fun to bring my experience to their party, so to speak.

The young man who plays Marty, Wesley Houdyshell, is a natural! And director Dan Maggio is really one of the most professional, patient, encouraging directors I've ever worked with.

I feel very lucky. All of my film experiences have been really great with top-notch casts and crews. I've played leading roles in NYU shorts and won the Craft Award for the 1/2 hour film Sincerely Yours. I've done big-budget stuff, worked as a stand-in on The Sopranos, played an extra in Spiderman, and walked by Sarah Jessica Parker on Sex in the City.

The cast and crew of Marty were just as professional as any of these cinematic teams. Everyone put their hearts and souls into the film. Plus it was SO MUCH FUN!

Marty's Magnificent Day-Glo Dream-a-Thon premieres tomorrow June 17 at 7 PM at the Historic Hemet Theatre. If you're in town and feel like taking a walk on the wild side (artistically), check it out! I have no doubt it's going to be a blast!

Power-walking to an Audition

Today I power-walked to an audition at the York Theatre Company. This lovely little theatre is on the east side of town, so it provides an artist like myself the opportunity to take in the sights of Manhattan whenever I boogie over there.

I come from the West Side, so I get to pass all these landmarks and beautiful buildings like the MoMA.

I had met Kara Herold and her folks there when she came to show her film, Bachelorette 34.

That's when I was rockin a platinum blonde look. :)

I also passed the Irish pub across from the MoMA where I had met The Twisted Sisters, Tina and Maryanne, for lunch with their college kids, Rob and Molly.

Obviously a fun group! :)

Then I passed HA! Comedy Club where The Sisters came to see me in the musical Hell's Belles last year. I usually give the club a smile as I dash by, but today I was seriously power-walking, so I zoomed by and suddenly found myself at Rockefeller Center.

It was a particularly beautiful day at 30 Rock. The flags were flying, the sun was shining, and a nice breeze was moving through the trees. Just gorgeous!

Then I zoomed by the south side of St. Patrick's Cathedral. The grass smelled freshly cut, and it was such a heavenly scent. The city doesn't usually smell so nice - in the summertime especially.

Then I boogied over to St. Peter's Church where The York Theatre abides. It was such a lovely walk, and I had a blast at my audition. What a great way to spend the day! :)

SciFi Girl

Ok. I'm coming out.... I'm a scifi fantasy girl. :)

I have been loving HBO's miniseries, "Game of Thrones," based on the novel by George R. R. Martin (my husband's reading the book now, and then I'm stealing it). And apparently I'm not the only one! :) There are a ton of awesome blogs about the series - and the books - all over the world! Just Google "Game of Thrones," and you'll see.

For those who need a quick overview, it's a tale of one throne, seven kingdoms, and a bunch of families vying for power. It reminds me very much of the War of the Roses, the Medieval civil war in England, which I studied in preparation for my characters in the acting company at Penn Ren (we covered A LOT of history in rehearsals).

I think that's why "Game of Thrones" works. It hearkens to a time we're familiar with, drawing upon tales of old like Ivanhoe, but it's definitely an original tale that has the fantastical inclusion of dragons and the undead.

The characters are also very rich. My favorite is Tyrion, a dwarf, played by the marvelous actor, Peter Dinklage, who proves his wit is sharper than than the swords most men carry. He is the son of a rich and terrible family, and his sister, Cersei, is a cut-throat queen with a "win or die" attitude. Her cold, cold smile speaks volumes.

Actress Lena Headey is obviously doing her job with this character, because... she scares me.

Then there's the rightful heir to the throne, a young girl named Daenerys, who is sold in marriage by her brat of a brother to a horse warlord named Drogo. But instead of withering under the strength of her warrior husband, Daenerys blooms and becomes a very strong woman of her own. I love that she's finding her power!

This theme of empowered women actually correlates to a book I'm reading called "A Discovery of Witches," by Deborah E. Harkness. The heroine is a brilliant Yale historian named Diana, who is a reluctant witch from a very powerful magical family. She's actually afraid to use her power, but the more she denies it, the more it becomes imperative that she must accept her supernatural talents and learn how to use her power.

There's also a delicious vampire and several daemons, and of course, lots of witches! It's a fun world that Ms. Harkness has built, combining fact with fiction, chemistry with alchemy. Think Bones meets Charmed (or more like the movie, Practical Magic) with a lot of classical references and wonderfully smart, sensual story-telling.

Of course, it's not lost on me that the theme of women finding their power is very prevalent in my life right now. And I'm excited to turn the page of my own adventures. :)

Stay tuned!

Broadcast Music, Inc.

For a few years now, I've been privileged to work with emerging composers and lyricists, "the musical theatre writers of tomorrow," at Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI).

Andy Monroe introduced me to the group when he asked me to sing a song from his new musical "The Kid," which has since gone on to win countless awards, including The Outer Critics Circle Award for Best New Off Broadway Musical.

I've also worked with Robby Stamper, who was the musical director for The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun, and has had recent success with the musical, "Helen on 86th Street."

Next week, I'm performing in the final presentation of a new musical by Glenn Bassett and Adam Cohen, and it's incredibly exciting to be part of something so new. I've done some song presentations for this duo in the past few weeks, so I know their musical groove, and it's cool to be on the ride.