My Mom passed away a couple of weeks ago. It has been, and continues to be, the worst experience of my life. Granted, my life has not seen much tragedy, so don't feel too bad for me. But it still sucks. It sucks that I won't be able to hear her leave a message on my phone. "Hi Scott, it's just Mom..." On the other hand, now she never has to miss any of my shows, and she can see my career blossom from a front row seat.
It's been easy to fall out of focus with my career, but I think it's time to get back on the horse. I shot my first industrial two weeks ago - my first paid gig for an agency, finally. I'll be shooting a commercial next week as well. I begin rehearsals with Pride Films and Plays for Ten Dollar House November 15th, which will mark a good change of pace from the zaniness of Nightmare in Paradise. Meanwhile, Nothing Special is in a position to expand greatly, and that's a very exciting (if a bit precarious) place to be in. I was recharged when I was invited to participate in Pride Films and Plays' Simply Sensational benefit last Monday night. We performed two scenes from Ten Dollar House as part of a program that included the AMAZING Alexandra Billings, a beautiful costume parade by John Nasca, and so many other talented performers. At the end of the night, Alexandra performed "I Don't Care Much" from Cabaret, which transitioned into "Creep" by Radiohead. Cabaret and Radiohead are two of my very favorite things, so I was GEEKING OUT, and she sang the hell out of those songs, reminding me what live immediate performances can and should be. A friend said she "casually blew the roof off the building" - no doubt. Time to get to work and do the things I want to do. I'm doing it. We just started rehearsals for Nightmare in Paradise 4: A Spooktacular Musical Extravaganza Adapted from the First Folio by Brian Rohde by Brian Rohde. As Rohde would say, "You guys, this show...". It's going to be so good. The script is stellarly silly, the cast is CRAZY talented, the music is catchy and hilarious, the choreography is some of the most fun dancing you will ever see. You need to see this show.
Opening Oct. 12 at the Heartland Studio in Rogers Park, through Oct. 31. I'm also participating in a fundraiser reading this month of Pride Films and Plays' upcoming production Ten Dollar House, in which I play Bob Neal, an architect in 1930's Wisconsin who falls for his handyman. It's a touching and true story, and I'm looking forward to working on this new play! The Lang House Fundraiser for Ten Dollar House happens on Sept. 27 from 2pm-4pm at Lang House (7421 N. Sheridan Road). There will be a full reading of the script at the Evanston Library on Nov. 14. Finally, the play will open January 7 at Piccolo Theatre and fun through Jan. 31. Keeping busy, and chasing that dream! I've had a busy week, working as an actor! Living the dream!
On Sunday, I filmed a short with Abraham Werewolf, a local theater/multimedia company. I'm playing Tim, an everyman corporate cog struggling to finish a report for his boss, who's aided by Ninja Hand, literally a hand dressed as a ninja. It was a really fun shoot, and I'm expecting to have great footage to add to my reel. Their previous "Hand" short film, Fingers of Fury, was featured on Funny or Die, and they plan to create a series involving my character Tim and the Ninja Hand. Yesterday, I got paid for extra work on a student film. I was playing a driver picking up the main character. Three hours, in and out, very basic stuff: move car out, drive car back in, repeat repeat repeat. It was great to work (even in a mechanical tertiary role) and even better to get paid for it. Next Monday at 7pm, I'll be starring in Monday Night Live at iO with my friend Marissa Chastain and directed by Michael McCarthy. The hour-long show is written by the iO SNL Sketch Writing class, and rehearses only 12 hours in the week before the performance. Since SNL is certainly a personal artistic touchstone, working on this kind of project is definitely a blast. Then, starting Sunday, I'll begin rehearsals for Nightmare in Paradise 4: A Spooktacular Musical Extravaganza Adapted from the First Folio by Brian Rohde, by Brian Rohde. I'll be reprising the role of The Bellhop, probably my favorite role of all time. He's spooky, creepy, and screwed up, in all the right ways. Playing him is such a blast, and I can't wait to get him in front of an audience again! So I've been a bit negligent of my website for some time, I'm sorry to my adoring fans. This changes today. Allow me to get you up to date.
I will be reprising my beloved role of the Bellhop in Nothing Special Productions' upcoming Nightmare in Paradise 4: A Spooktacular Musical Extravaganza Adapted from the First Folio by Brian Rohde by Brian Rohde. Performances begin October 12th at the Heartland Studio in Rogers Park. We will have them rolling in the aisles through October 31. I've got a leading role in a play produced by a major Chicago non-equity company, that will be playing in January 2016. I'm not sure if it's been announced, so I'll keep a bit mum on it. But I'm excited! After leaving my law firm job last June, I've been driving for Uber and hosting at iO (Formerly Improv Olympic). This has been awesome. I recently performed at Mary-Arrchie's notorious Abbie Fest 27 with my buddies at Nothing Special, hosted a birthday bash for Lynn Reidl, and will soon be seen in a series of shorts produced by Abraham Werewolf. Keeping busy. Living the dream. In keeping with our promise to release a new video at the end of every month (and our preference to ignore the month of March), we released our wittiest and twistiest episode yet, "The Great Debate" on April 30. Who would you vote for?? Hey Guys! We're releasing a new episode of RedLine to Howard on Tuesday April 30th! In preparation, here's our first published teaser, appropriately and specifically titled, "The Great Pacific Plastic Patch"! |