I'll be in a reading of a wonderful and dare I say important new play by A Rey Pamatmat at the Atlantic Theater this Thursday at 7 pm. The amazing May Adrales directs a cast of mad talented folks.

For more info and reservations, go here.

About a year and a half ago I was invited to workshop a new play called Trayf by a writer I did not know. She was an MFA candidate at Hunter college. I'll read anything, so I said yes not knowing what to expect. Turns out I'd be embarking on a journey with some folks that have become some of my most favorite creative collaborators. Lindsay Joelle is a fierce, funny and intelligent writer (and a lovely human), and each read we've done (and there have been a few) since that first one at Hunter has been a thrill. Proud to report that we are now in the middle of it's first professional PRODUCTION at Penguin Rep Theatre in Rockland County, NY. Come check us out:

https://www.penguinrep.org/plays

Brunch is the best. Unless you're serving it.

Youngblood Brunches are just like regular brunches, but awesomer. And this Sunday I will be partaking in my second brunch piece of the season, (this time with less nudity, sorry).

Eric March's The Seventh Sense. Directed by the allstar of my brunch life, Colette Robert.

Also in the cast: pretty much everyone you know and love.

THIS SUNDAY.

Click here for more info.

Courtney Wetzel rocks. 

She has invited me to work on some fantastic plays with some truly fantastic people.

Now she's cast me in a second play by Hunt Holman (last one was called Gun Club. Intense. Funny. So. Much. Fun.) being read at the Cherry Lane Theatre; possibly my favorite theatre location in all of NYC. It's a pretty magical block. And a wonderful place to work.

This play is called Shane Bogus and I will be playing the titular character. If you're around tomorrow at 2 pm, please join us.

DETAILS:

Some days I feel like without new play readings, I wouldn't have much of a career. There's the occasional commercial, or voice over (which I thank my lucky stars - and my awesome CESD commercial peeps for!), but in the absence of a gig, or auditions for the aforementioned gig (oy, don't get me started), a lot of actors' day to day acting happens doing readings. And they can be glorious, and for folks like me, necessary. A creative outlet, a chance to take a chance, an opportunity to make some quick choices, AND TO READ A PLAY. Oh, and probably a helpful process for the playwright...assuming your choices aren't completely bonkers...come to think of it, sometimes then too (hi Michael Lew). All this is to say, I'm doing another reading at the Lark this week, one on Sunday and another of a play called Shane Bogus (I play Shane Bogus) at the Cherry Lane on Tuesday June 16th at 2 pm and I couldn't be more thrilled for the work. Some days you write a post on your website and what you're really trying to say is thanks. And read more plays. 

I got a friend request on facebook from James Inverne. We have a couple of common friends. I couldn't place him. I accepted the request. Why not? Shortly after I got a message from him asking about doing a reading of a play he had written. Again, why not? I love reading new plays. I had no expectations. 

Then information starts to trickle forth. Benjamin Kamine will be directing. We've met - not worked together - but I've heard nothing but good things. I was recommended to James and Benjamin by Philip Himberg, who's play Paper Dolls I had recently worked on. The play we were to read is called A Walk with Mr. Heifetz  and is about an encounter between Jascha Heifetz and Yehuda Sharrett in the mid 1920's in what was then Palestine. I was to play Heifetz, the prodigious violinist. These were all wonderful things to find out. Then I heard the kicker. Steve Guttenberg would be participating in the reading alongside the wonderful Yuval Boim and myself. I'm just going to repeat that for all similarly aged peeps. I got to work with Steve Guttenberg.  

Working on the play with Yuval, Steve, James and Ben couldn't have been more enjoyable. It's a complex and profound conversation between passionate men chock full of interesting stories. Ben steered us in some thoughtful conversations, and it was great to have James in the room to share his intentions and scholarship with us. The reading took place in a stunning home on Riverside Drive as the sun was setting over the Hudson. The play went off rather well. There was musical accompaniment and wonderful food. The audience was receptive. If I sound a little glowy and a tad name-droppy, well...yes. Random requests from relative strangers don't usually yield experiences like this one.

I GOT TO WORK WITH STEVE GUTTENBERG!

Ever put a play up in less than two weeks? If the play itself wasn't already intense, it's gonna be. This one's had it's inherent intensity umm...intensified (yup, I said it) by a super-fast rehearsal process and I think we've got something here. It's sad and funny and sexy and dangerous and it stars myself and Diana Ruppe. It's directed by the awesome Abigail Zealey Bess (who sounds like she's from London) and it's currently playing at the 13th Street Repertory Theatre.

Details here:

http://www.13thstreetrep.org

Tis the season of the readings, lalalalala la la la la...

Fruiting Bodies by Sam Chanse, directed Shelley Butler (twice!) was awesome (and mushroomy).

Tiger Style! by Mike Lew, directed by Jaime Castaneda was a mad funny way to lose my O'Neill Theatre Center virginity.

Safeword by Mariah MacCarthy, directed by Jessi Hill was challenging and funny and really good.

Jane of the Tree by Andy Bergh, directed by Abigail Zealey Bess was stupendous good fun.

Domesticated Queer, also by Andy Bergh, also directed by THE Abigail Zealey Bess was also stupendous good fun.

Read to Me by Brendan Pelsue, directed by Sherri Barber was heartbreakingly great.

Walking Shadows by Chris Ceraso and DS Lliteras was pretty harrowing and what a freaking great cast Chris put together.

I'm sure there have been others I've forgotten and I'm sure they were delightful. If I were a more responsible website updater...suffice it to say that aside from the weather, all these readings might very well be my favorite thing about summer.

I've been rehearsing a new play. I play a guy *SPOILER ALERT* that gets sick after meeting a (possibly) wonderful girl, and not telling her about my illness. Good times. I think it's pretty lovely. And difficult. And sad. And hopeful. 

Come see it.

After approximately a million (rough estimate) short plays, readings, workshops, etc...at the Ensemble Studio Theatre (where I happened to become a lifetime member at the end of 2012) I have finally booked a mainstage show. I'll be playing a variety of supporting roles in this show about a group of artists during the blacklist. I am thrilled for so many reasons. I'm doing a play - I don't do them neary often enough. I'm playing some characters. This play takes place during a time, and references so many artists who's work has really affected me - specifically my former teacher, the late Phoebe Brand and her late husband Morris Carnovsky (who wrote a book that you should read if you love acting - The Actor's Eye). The play is called Finks. Performances begin March 28th at the Ensemble Studio Theatre.

What happens when you transpose the WWF storyline between "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan and Miss Elizabeth to an office setting? Come find out Sunday at 1pm at the Ensemble Studio Theatre. 

I'm participating in the first set of Brunch plays of Youngblood's season at the Ensemble Studio Theatre. It's a partnership with the 52nd Street Project. Our piece has vikings. i have an axe. And impulse control problems. Click here for tickets.

We've gathered a beautiful ensemble of theatre makers from around the world to devise a new adaptation of Richard Brautigan's novel  IN WATERMELON SUGAR, a strange and dazzling meditation on the imperfection of human endeavors.  This story, set in a world where the sun shines a different color every day;  the houses are made of watermelon sugar; and each inhabitant is marked by dreams of gorgeous and terrible talking tigers,  cracks open the myth of an American utopia. With the gift of space from SPACE at Ryder Farm, Christopher Burris, Megan Carter, Pia Furtado, Jason Liebman, Tina Mitchell and Kristen Sieh will spend five days developing the novel’s text into a play.

http://www.indiegogo.com/IN-WATERMELON-SUGAR-a-new-theatrical-adaptation

Every Monday in November at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn we are presenting an encore of the award winning production of Can I Really Date a Guy Who Wears a Yarmulke? The production was a sellout smash at the Midtown International Theatre Festival this past summer, and I received a nomination for Best Lead Actor for my performance (as did the leading lady, the madly talented Catherine Lefrere). It's kind of a funny story how the revival came to be - suffice it to say it very nearly never happened and the Beatles are largely to thank for it (and a few other things...). We opened last Monday after nearly no rehearsal (seems to be a trend with this show..) to a great crowd and some very appreciated laughter. It's pretty nutty performing once a week - you just never know what you're gonna get (other than a good time, of course, what else could I possibly mean?) We have 3 performances left and I urge you to check us out. It's good fun, and the bar is open. Here's the skinny: Play, Fun & Bar. Details at www.yarmulkeplay.com