Hello my dear FOD's (Friends/Family of Doug)!
Greetings from beautiful and currently very rainy Annandale-on-Hudson, site of the Bard SummerScape series! It's an incredible place to be, amongst Mark Morris's Romeo and Juliet, a gorgeous production of Uncle Vanya, and the entire country of Poland in the opera King Roger and ballet Harnasie. But, read on to hear more about our show! (Oh, and I'm keeping the same "Please don't panic" section in this e-mail for those of you that missed the "easter egg" last time...)
OF THEE I SING...
I'm playing Francis X. Gilhooley in OF THEE I SING at The Richard B Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College. Here's the information, but, in all fairness, this show is completely sold out. No spouses, no agents, no family members with one month to live. I might be able to swing a ticket for the invited dress rehearsal on Thursday, July 31 at 2:00 p.m.
WHEN: August 1-10 2008
(Click this link for the times on each day. They vary a lot.)
WHERE: The Richard B Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College,
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
It's a college. Street addresses don't apply in their universe. Here's the downloadable
map and driving directions.
COST: Tickets, priced $45, available by calling (845) 758-7900, or by clicking here for their online box office.
"Love Is Sweeping the Country" in this delirious lampoon of campaign shenanigans centered on the romantic entanglements of bachelor candidate John P. Wintergreen. This production of Of Thee I Sing is this my second go-around with the wonderful Will Pomerantz as director, and it will also include the characterysingydanciness of FODs old and new:
CAST: Gretchen Bieber, John Bolton, Michael Dantuono, Marcus DeLoach, John Deyle, Amanda Flynn, Andy Gale, Chad Harlow, Amy Justman, Lauren Lukacek, Natalie Reder, Brian Russell, me, Jennifer Sheehan, Rich Silverstein, Tom Treadwell, Danny Visconti, Mitchell Walker, Don Whitmore, Christopher Williams and Nikol Wolf!
STAGE MANAGEMENT: Kate Hefel (Stage Manager), Annette Verga-Lagier (Assistant Stage Manager), Chris "Chintz" McCloskey (Production Assistant)
MUSIC: James Bagwell (Conductor), Sharon Bjorndal (Assistant Conductor), James Bassi (Assistant Music Director), Kathryn LaBouff (Diction Coach)
CREATIVE TEAM: Will Pomerantz (Director), Louisa Thompson (Set Designer), Caleb Levengood (Assistant Set Designer), Justin Townsend (Light Designer), Adrianna Desier Durantt (Assistant Light Designer), Carol Bailey (Costume Designer), Sarah Cubbage (Assistant Costume Designer), Amy Altadonna (Sound Designer), Scott Brodsky (Properties Director).
You may now send me the "Say hello to..." e-mail for the names of people you've recognized.
Dougbytes
***After the run ends, I'll be back every Thursday at 7:00 a.m. when Jill Burk and I continue to be the voices of New York Times for InTouch Radio reading news and periodicals for the visually impaired over the air. By the way, one can hear the broadcast by registering at intouchnetworks.org, but then must be able to verify that they are visually impaired. Tell your visually impaired loved ones to sign up, and then bring the pizza and beer over at 7:00 am to listen to us!
***I will also return to my Sunday mornings at The Madison Avenute Baptist Church with choir director Paul Stephan, singers Renee Jarvis, Christopher Preston Thompson, and Alexandra de Suze! (Surely you've heard of Alexandra de Suze!) We'll be led by the fabulous Reverend Susan Sparks. The sermons are now podcast! (The choir is not.) I'm still compiling a list of potential subs, so let me know if you're interested.
Please Don't Panic! I'm as busy as a marriage clerk in California (can I hear an "AMEN!"), but for you, I'll find the time. Should you need a face to represent your California winery, a bass/baritone for your musical about the Redwood Forest, or the voice of the Golden Gate Bridge, let's create something great together.
And now the monthly Two Items of Interest for FODs...
Acting Success Now!
If you feel like you're banging your head against a wall in your career, have a thousand reasons why you can't possibly do what you're meant to be doing, and would like to experience a tangible way to have success as an artist now, you need to be taking Robert and Michelle's free one hour seminar, Acting Success Now. They hold these sessions both in New York City and Los Angeles. I attended the free seminar and subsequent (paid) weekend in February and have been working non-stop ever since. It has culminated in this current gig in which I'm sharing the stage with phenomenal talent, a huge staff, and one of the better theatrical contracts I have ever worked. Robert and Michelle Colt have warm hearts, a candid demeanor, and a whole lot of integrity. Check out their website, and then do this one for yourselves. You don't have to be an actor.
Great Chiropractor/Nutritionist
Shawn and I both swear by Dr. Karen Wright, our chiropractor/nutritionist. The beds in actor housing have been...challenging...and I've thrown out my back twice. I returned to the city this past Monday, had an appointment with her, and am back in place. She knows her stuff, is always researching to learn new techniques in the field, and is a joy to be around. Shawn and I have sent about twenty people to her over the past few years and people love her. Give her office a call at (212) 286-2013 to set up an appointment.
Life is good here. The combination of this production's seasoned veterans and promising new talent makes me step back and appreciate what a blessing it is to have been hired and then paid to do what I love the most. Rather than the usual 18-year old who can play piano, we have a team of four accomplished musicians looking after our every cut-off and vowel sound. We have singers who embody the vocal quality I'm working on with Joan Barber. We have comic actors who time their schtick correctly and then throw the focus where it needs to go in order to move the story we're telling. We have vastly different yet equally valid creation processes going on all around us. It's like a cupcake from Billy's Bakery in theatrical form.
I've also been hitting the gym daily and chopping vegetables like crazy for the diet prescribed by Dr. Wright. I've lost 4 or 5 or 6, no wait--5, oh--4, okay--6 pounds. I'm choosing to believe that it's plateauing there because the vast amount of weight I have been shedding is being counterbalanced by the massive amounts of man muscle I am packing on.
Take some breathing time for yourself, tell me your birthday, meet an old friend in person rather than on Facebook, and thanks for being in my life. Please let me know what's going on
in yours!
As Always,
Doug
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