Greetings from a picnic table by a lovely stream in New Hampshire! (I kid you not, there's a man sitting here playing the violin because the place needed to be that much more idyllic.) The summer heat has been sitting on us like an overfed chicken mamma, but she's getting up and it's time to crack out of the egg. And what goes great with eggs? The fizzylicious mimosa that you're sipping as you settle in for this monthly e-journey, and when we reach the e-conclusion, oh yes, there will be the usual 2 (by which I mean three) items of interest for FODs!
BBC Radio Debut!
I voiced the Russian TV Announcer in THE TARGET AUDIENCE, a Waters Company Production for BBC Radio 4's "Russia Actualnyi" series. Written by Igor Simonov, the play centered around a hugely successful TV show in which Russia's famous, powerful, and rich are interviewed by a trio of canny and beautiful young women. Direction by Judith Kampfner, Technical Production by Scott Lehrer, and Music Composition by Gene Pritzker. The characters were voiced by Anne Bobby (Thanks for the recommendation!), Angelique Doudnikova, Michael Levi Harris, Stass Klassen, Moti Margolin, Yasen Peyankov, me, Peter Von Berg, and Tatyana Zbirovskaya.
This experience was doubly exciting because I raced downtown to voice the gig in between the rehearsal and staged reading of THE HARD KILL back in early June. Thank you, Metropolitan Transit Authority.
THE CYCLE is pedaling to film festivals all over the country!
Our short film THE CYCLE, in which I played a diplomacy-challenged police officer last fall, is really taking on the film festival circuit! We'll be hitting Boston at the Roxbury International Film Festival on July 31 and in New York City at ACEFEST on August 28. Check the Mundo Loco Films website for upcoming screenings in Martha's Vineyard, MA; Central Florida; Rome, GA; New Jersey; and more! Based on actual events, THE CYCLE takes place in the modern-day Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, and brings the fallout from an ongoing gentrification process to life through the stealing of a little girl's bicycle. The movie is written and directed by Roy Clovis, produced by Mundo Loco Films and cast by Liz Ortiz-Mackes of Casting Solutions. The cast includes Randy Baisden, Dracyn Blount, Corinne Bobb-Semple, Tanesha Gary, Lynda Gravatt, James Holloway, Sharon Hope, Dennis Johnson, Phyllis Johnson, Royce Johnson, Justin Jones, Jaymes Jorsling, Leopold Lowe, Christine Renee Miller, Tomike Ogugua, Surfin Percy, Sheila Tapia, Benja K. Thomas, and me (as Officer DeLuca).
The Barnstormers 9.0
I'm finishing out my ninth season, tenth year with The Barnstormers in Tamworth, NH and have played great roles with crazily talented cast and crew. One-week summer stock, baby. Make your acting choice and MOVE SOLDIER, MOVE!:
Hysterium in A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM: Director: Michael Grayman, Choreographer: Andrew Parkhurst, Music Director: Bret Silverman, Trumpet: Tasha Jost, Stage Manager: Darrell Keene, Set Designer: Emily Nichols, Costume Designer: Michele Macadaeg, Lighting Designer: Karen Perlow, Hair & Makeup Designer: Molly Jae Chase.
Cast: Amy Dresser, Kathleen Fiorto, Trey Harrington, Cloteal Horne, Joe Longthorne, Val Moranto, Cope Murray, Rebecca O'Sullivan, Dale Place, Amy Prothro, Kelly Rypkema, Jeremiah James, Scott Severance, me, Evan Siegel, Pim Van Amerongen, Frank Wells, and Vinette Wells.
La Flèche in THE MISER: Director: Bob Shea, Stage Manager: Darrell Keene, Set Designer: Jesse Beecher, Costume Designer: Michele Macadaeg, Lighting Designer: Joe Deleault, Hair & Makeup Designer: Molly Jae Chase.
Cast: Bob Bates, Billy Butler, Bill Coyne, Kelley Curran, Josh Gunn, Trey Harrington, Joe Longthorne, Ryan Malyar, Dale Place, Hillary Polier, Penny Purcell, me, and Angela Smith.
Sasha Smirnoff in ROOM SERVICE: Director: Victor Warren, Stage Manager: Darrell Keene, Set Designer: Kathryn Kawecki, Costume Designer: Michele Macadaeg, Lighting Designer: Karen Perlow, Hair & Makeup Designer: Molly Jae Chase.
Cast: Bob Bates, Billy Butler, Will Cabell, Andrew Codispotti, Dick Cook, Kelley Curran, Josh Gunn, Blair Hundertmark, Greg Pike, Dale Place, me, Ken Sheldon, Angela Smith, and Patrick Tierney. Special thanks to Barbara Rosenblat for coaching me on my Russian and Polish dialects.
and special mention to: our other stage manager Tim L'Ecuyer, Artistic Director Bob Shea, Company Manager Dale Bragdon, and our crew under Technical Director Dane Leeman: McKenzie Beaver, Justin Booska, Lauren Duffy, JD Falotico, Jordan Maltais, Robyn Warfield, and Courtney Wrenn.
During down time, I've been coaching Savvy Actor clients locally and over the phone, leading Mailings - Faster, Smarter, Cheaper! webinars from the Cook Memorial Library, and running a few seminars on the business of acting for the cast and crew.
Cavorting with Composers and Whisking about with Wordsmiths...
My FOD Composers and Wordsmiths continue to bring amazing things into the world and I get to be their vehicle! Here's the latest:
ALIEN ADVENTURE: THE ADVENTURE
Some time in Late August/Early September, I'll be reading multiple roles in ALIEN ADVENTURE: THE ADVENTURE by Jon Freda. The cast is slated to include Mac Brydon, Rachael Jarvis, Joyce Laoagan, Julian Leong, me, and Lin McEwan.
Coaching with Clients...
Such clients I've got! In my side career as a career consultant with The Savvy Actor, founded by two fabulous actor/business mavens Jodie Bentley and Kevin Urban, I have been helping my savvy clients set up systems for themselves to treat their acting craft as a business through classes, coaching and seminars. (Yes, we coach by phone, too.) Recently, my clients have been getting callbacks for national tours, booking films, learning French, and getting things DONE. Interested in doing this work for yourself? Click this link to set up a free half-hour intro session with me. I also recommend our amazing book The Savvy Actor Career Manual. Let's get your career going too!
And speaking of getting your career going, my next webinar: Mailings - Faster, Smarter, Cheaper! is coming up on Monday, August 9 at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time and you can be there from your own computer. Click this link to register for this webinar!
Dougbytes
***I'll be studying voice again with the amazing Jeff Halpern. In the past few readings and recordings I've done, I've been singing F's above Middle C! This is a huge deal for me. Oh, Jeff is just great. And guess who just started studying with Jeff too? Alexandra de Suze! (Surely you've heard of Alexandra de Suze!)
***Every other Monday at 9:00 p.m. I have a mastermind phone gathering with fellow voice actors Brett Barry, Cristina Doikos, Tercio Bretas, Marc Garber, Lucien Dodge, Maggie Phillips, and Jamie Hurley. We have our own demo CD! Let us know if you would like one for your casting needs.
***I'll be singing again Sunday mornings at The Madison Avenue Baptist Church with choir director Paul Stephan, singers Helen Lyons, Karen Rich, Christopher Preston Thompson, Brian Long, and Alexandra de Suze! (Surely you've heard of Alexandra de Suze!) The congregation is led by the fabulous Reverend Susan Sparks. The sermons are now podcast! (The choir is not.) Click on the link to check out Susan's exciting new book!
***I'll also be singing again this year with the Park Avenue Synagogue for the High Holy Days. Pay attention people! Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are much earlier than usual this year.
***Animator extraordinaire Ken Truhan has completed the animated storyboard and continues to create the animation for the second installation of DougToons (Give him time, this one takes a bit longer and there are a lot of characters)! In this episode, the character Doug is sent on an audition by his agent, only to find out that he is applying to be a henchman to the evil Mr. Mayhem! If you have yet to see the work of animator Ken Truhan, writer Crystal Skillman, producer/engineer Brett Barry and voice actor me, the first installment of DougToons is also on YouTube. Please log on to the YouTube site, give it a rating, and share with your friends!
***CHAMBERET FOR EQUALITY!
What do we want? MARRIAGE EQUALITY!
When do we want it? NOW!
When will we do the planned benefit? UM...LATER!
The Chamberet will indeed return, this time as a fundraiser for Marriage Equality New York, but it has been postponed from June to some time in October/November. We started booking other work and wanted to make sure we didn't slap you with something sloppy. So, be patient a little longer and Jennifer Wren, Marissa Rosen, Karla Mosley, YOU (If you're a baritenor/tenor who would like to sing love songs with me), and I, along with Musical Director Paul Stephan, violinist Yury Shubov, and Director Ilana Becker, will bring the work of my FOD composers and lyricists to the masses. To tide you over until then, go to YouTube and enter "The Chamberet" in the search engine or just Click Here for some of the bits a friend was able to get with his video camera.] I love my husband and value the commitment we made before the rabbi and our friends and family, so it's time to take action and raise some dough. Still in the planning stage. More details to come.
Please Don't Panic! I'm busier than a one-eyed cat watching two mouse holes-- but for you, I'll find the time. Should you need me to speak the spot, give face time for the photo, or sing the song, let's create something great together.
And now the monthly Two (by which I mean Three) Items of Interest for FODs...
You deserve a little Lovin' from me to you...
You know those projects that you want to do but they're not quite important enough to make it to the top of the priority list and then they become too big to handle? Well, 15 minute intervals are your friend. I keep a list of a few projects to which I can devote attention to for just 15 minutes, whittling them away until they're complete. Some of these include clearing items off my computer desktop, clearing e-mail that I've put into "read later" folders, updating my address book with the Facebook acceptances that I've saved, and checking out the websites for the casting agencies on my target list. Set a timer for 15 minutes. When the buzzer rings, stop and move on. Many business books point to this method, but I first learned about it from FlyLady.net which bills itself as a personal coach to help you gain control of your house and home, using the 15-minute intervals to clean out that cluttered room or attack the dead things in the fridge.Treat yourself to this one.
There. Thou has been coached.
You deserve an amazing dessert...
Those of you who came to FODapalooza: 40Palooza! this past June will definitely recall the amazing cupcakes by Dawn Doran of The Cupcake Connection. You know how I feel about cupcakes. They facilitated the moon landing. They parted the red sea for the Israelites. They shall bring the nations together with love. These cupcakes fulfil every one of those promises. Dawn caters all kinds of events and also caters to the wholesale customer. And yes, oh yes, my FODs of restricted diets, she has sugar-free and gluten-free options!
You deserve financial guidance...
Of course I must brag on my husband. After eighteen years as an actuary, Shawn brought his industry savvy to the people side of the business five years ago to be a financial advisor. His business has grown wonderfully and he is helping a lot of people start to save money and protect their loved ones. Have you been reading the news lately? Perhaps it's time to talk with him. He knows his stuff, will not try to sell you something you don't need, and is quite easy on the eyes. Send him an e-mail at scowls@mac.com to start the conversation.
Life is good here. Shawn and got in more travel than usual this summer: Gay Days at Disney World and visiting my beautiful sister and her stalwart man in Raleigh, NC. Right now, that husband of mine is on a week-long flotilla with the Knickerbocker Sailing Association: NYC's Gay and Lesbian sailing club...for those with boats and those without. If this sounds like something in which you'd be interested, their next meeting is on Tuesday August 10 at People Lounge. I will wave to you from shore and wish you well.
Take some breathing time for yourself, tell me your birthday, and thanks for being in my life. Please let me know what's going on in yours!
Enjoy Yourself!
Doug Shapiro
Fearless Mensch
(917) 929-0998
www.dougshapiro.com
doug@dougshapiro.com
A Career Coach with The Savvy Actor!
The Savvy Actor Career Manual
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and, oy vey, I'm also on the Borg Collective, otherwise known as Facebook
Doug's song stylings on BroadwayDemo.com
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