Doin' it well

Posted 8:48 PM by sean
There are times, regardless of what I said in my last post, where auditioning feels exactly right. When I went in to read for City Of Angels, I told the music director that I knew the score really well, I just needed to make sure I had the words right, so he let me read over his shoulder. He later told me that he knew I was sight-reading, and that it was such a relief to know he wouldn't have to drag another idiot actor through a score that hard. That was one of those auditions.

I almost always claim to know the score. For some reason it impresses people better than sight reading, mostly because the director and casting director think you've done a ton of research on the role.

Since I've been in New York, I've done almost nothing but premieres. In fact, now that I think about it, everything I've done except for A Soldier's Play has been the first time anyone's done these plays. Which is cool.

I went in and auditioned for a new musical two or three days ago, and it's one of those situations you really don't dare ask for because it's just so wonderful. The playwright is great, the music director/composer is great, the hall is really nice and they're doing the whole thing with no cues, no sets, no costume changes, so the whole mess is just gonna *happen*, us actors doing material that I actually love. When I went in and auditioned, it was like seeing old friends, except that I've never met these people before. So, it was perfect, and they just called and officially offered me the role.

The role is that of a spoiled Mayor/CEO who's not a bad guy but his heart is in the wrong place. He's obnoxious and larger than life. For those three of you who've followed my so-called career over the last four years, it's Mayor Poppy/ CEO of Buzz Cola and Paul Kelleher's Boss all roled into one.

I've got another show this summer, but rehearsals start about a week after this show closes, so it sorta works out perfectly. On top of that, Gideon Productions had one of the best meetings of our existence last night where we broke down the structure of our new show, coming next year, called "Fleet Week". It's a musical featuring the coast guard, the navy, the city of New York, Ed Koch and The Statue of Liberty. Seriously, she's one of the characters.

If I could make five dollars an hour for the time I spend working on my career, I'd be a millionaire, but in lieu of that, I'll take rehearsal as payment.

Television

Posted 10:51 AM by sean
I am a huge fan of reality TV.

"Which shows do you like best?" I hear you cry out.

Almost any reality show is fine with me. I like the discovery channel and I like the science channel. And PBS almost always has something awesome on it. My favorite channel though is the food network. I actually find myself really liking or really not liking the hosts of these shows based on...

"Wait a minute, those aren't reality shows", you say.

Why aren't they reality shows?

"Those are just shows about people doing stuff and not playing characters... Okay, wait, I know that sounds exactly like The Amazing Race, but seriously, you know the difference."

No, I don't actually.

"I mean, The Swan? The Swan is a reality show"

Right, The Swan is on Fox or something, and MTV has "I Want A Famous Face", which I guess counts as reality, and then the Science Channel has an *identical* show called "Surgery Success" or something and the Discover/Health channel basically shows nothing but cosmetic surgery.

"What about The Real World? That's a bullshit reality show."

Which is identical to "Frontier House" on PBS... You don't actually know what you're talking about, do you?

"You're right, Sean. I'm so frickin stupid. Crap."

Here's what I don't want to see on TV. I don't want to see the insides of a person. That's why I can't handle the surgery shows. It makes me wish I wasn't watching TV. I don't want to see famous people doing stuff that they aren't famous for. So, that cuts out basically everything on the E! Channel, which I wish I could block on my cable box. I'm not a big fan of either special effects or badly written characters suffering for no other reason than to increase "Drama", so the former cuts out *every* sci-fi thing on TV and the later cuts out almost all night time drama. Even The West Wing is punishing its characters just for living, and I'm not enjoying it.

So, I end up watching almost nothing but documentaries and movies. I don't watch the prime time reality shows because they have bad writing and characters suffering purely for Drama. American Idol was fun to watch because I watch it with a group of people who know less about music than I do and they hang on my every word, other than that it makes me feel like I'm at an audition, which is the single worst feeling I've had other than finding love notes written to my ex-wife by someone else.

Actually, even that had a certain possible vindication involved, auditions are like tooth surgery with no pain killers on teeth that are still healthy.

People say they don't like reality shows, but there's something more specific they don't like. Every reality show has something for someone. I personally like the idea of The Swan, that they would take normal people with unfortunate looks and change their lives by shaping their appearance. There's something so Jane Goodall about that, mimicking the monkeys to be accepted. I couldn't watch it because I knew they were gonna put a camera up someone's nose and that makes me sick, but I still thought it was a cool idea.

The Simple Life? Unless these girls are going down on each other, then it's celebrities doing stuff they aren't famous for.

Did you know that on the E! Channel, there is a show called "Celebrities Uncensored", a show where they broadcast video shot of celebrities trying to be left alone while they walk through airports and leave restaurants? It's a show that purchases and broadcasts video of famous people being hassled. The Guinness Book Of World Records stopped featuring records that were dangerous or stupid because people had begun to be really unsafe trying to get in to the book, but the E! Channel not only found an outlet for this hideous behavior, it created a culture for these people, the ones who spend their lives provoking famous people and videotaping it, wherein they could become rich themselves.

So, don't hold your scorn for "Road Rules" or whatever. These people are retarded and they want to be famous and they tried to get on these shows. Think about Sean Penn in "Sweet and Lowdown" or "Dead Man Walking", think of his talent and ability and the harrowing he went through to make the characters he's made, and now realize that there is a TV show dedicated to kicking the door open while he's taking a crap and filming it.

"God, you're right. I can't believe how stupid I am. I think I'll go turn the TV off and read a book... I just love John Grisham, don't you?"