2025

 When I was 28, I was in the best shape of my life.  I even did a solo-flex infomercial.  I wasn't the SoloFlex guy, but I was his buddy who wanted to get a little more fit.  I remember being so excited to get that gig.  I think I made like 2 grand and it was by far the most money I had made acting for a day and a half of work.  Plus, I was on TV! A few months later, I was pissing blood.  I had a bad kidney.  I was (mis) diagnosed with cancer, and that started a huge spiral that ended up blowing up my life.  But that's a story for another time. I'm writing because I realized recently that every time in my life that I have really focused on my physical health and wellness, getting fit and strong, life has a way of beating me into submission.  You see, when I'm suffering trauma, I tend to self soothe with comfort food, beer, and sitting on my couch rewatching films and tv shows that bring me happiness.  And so, I seem to be caught in ...

 There are ups and downs in every acting career.  For most of us, the downs far outweigh the ups.  You learn to celebrate the little victories, because that's all you're likely to get.  I have been luckier than most, to have built a career in the theatre, with little need of side gigs, and even those have been theatre related for nearly 2 decades.  I have been fortunate!  Blessed even!  I've been going through a rough patch lately.   I try to remind myself of something my friend, the great Peter Van Norden told me: "There are more people behind us wishing they were where we are, than there are in front of us."  I try to stay positive, to live my artistic life like a shark...continually moving forward, not bothering to look back.  Sometimes I'm successful. In the last year, I've had some really great experiences!  I spent some time at Asolo in Florida, only as an understudy, but trying to break into a new theatre is not an easy ...

 I haven't really felt like blogging in ages.  I wonder why I have lost this desire to chronicle my shows lately.  I guess the peak of my blogging happened during that fateful summer of the attack.  I was able to power through that because I needed a place to put my thoughts and feelings to parse them.  Since then, I've done some wonderful shows with wonderful people, made great friends and have at times lived my best life!  So, I should probably share those too. Last summer I blogged a bit about my first time at the Utah Shakespeare Festival.  It's a magical place, filled with magical people, in a setting that is about as pretty as you'll find anywhere in the world.  I chronicled chasing shooting stars and my emergency understudy gig in Much Ado.  There were some important things that happened last year.  I was able to finally let go of much of the trauma of the attack, and find a safe place onstage again.  The stage has always bee...

    A long overdue blog for my four loyal readers!  I haven't had a lot to write about this year, and now that I finally have stuff to write about, I've been way to busy to sit down and write. I still wonder about this format.  Maybe I should become a middle-aged white man cliche and just start a podcast. But I think I'll stick with this until blogs come back into fashion, then I'll move on to another dead medium. Anyway, I am working at Asolo Rep. in Sarasota, Florida.  The people here are lovely and kind (in the theatre that is, jury is still out on the people of Florida).  There are so many talented artists in every aspect of making plays here.  Directors are brilliant, the designers are unbelievable, the actors are terrific, the grad students are amazing, the crew are all wonderful, and we understudies are fucking killing it, too! I am understudying two shows.  I'm covering Father Jack in Dancing at Lughnasa, and Bob Sarnoff in Goodnight, Osca...