Actor-Preneur

In my “Actorpreneur” workshop yesterday in Avery Hall at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln I used the analogy of steps on a ladder is parallel to an actors career.

A recent
article in the May 7th Daily Variety, “Soap operas: Actors’ training ground” by Paula Hendrickson articulates the subject.

Paula write, “soap operas double as boot camp for actors. Any notion of
a stigma is a thing of the past, and savvy talent scouts already scour soaps
for future stars.”
She continues, “Already bridging daytime and primetime are Caitlin Van Zandt,
doing double duty as Ashlee on “Guiding Light” and Allegra Sacramoni, Johnny
Sack’s daughter, on “The Sopranos” (though she is no relation to “Sopranos” actors
Steve or Maureen Van Zandt) and “Dancing With the Stars” co-champ Kelly Monaco
of “General
Hospital,” who nabbed a role on the U.S. adaptation of Brit series “Footballers
Wives.”

Read the entire article here.

DramaBiz Magazine is a publication you should add to your reading list if you are running a theatre. The publication I have been receiving for almost a year now always has excellent articles that are current and useful. This month an article on how Theatre professionals are enriching the curriculum of college theatre departments.

Ranking the popular college theater productions of 2006, Princeton Review ranks them here.

Hate to break the news, while you are spending $25,000 - $40,000 a year pursuing a college degree on that beautiful college campus in that magnificent college town, your competition is earning their degree of hard knocks, auditioning, training and working in TV, Film, Theatre and commercials in New York and Los Angeles. Earning actual Film, TV, Theatre credits on the resume, as opposed to college credits to get you out of school. Will an agent care that you have a theatre degree from XYZ college? I am confidant that they will not.

There are certain schools and profs that are adamant that you also learn about the business as you train and learn your craft. Coming to mind, Richard Gang and Fred Rubeck at Elon College, Robert Cohen at University of California/Irvine, in DC, Henrietta Edmunds at Howard and Gail Humphries Mardirosian at American University.

Of course I am leaving out many others, but what really upsets me is the majority of mid-West college theatre faculities that insist their graduates go first to Chicago to gain some experience. What there professors do not recognize, there is little union employment in film, TV or theatre in Chicago so there alum are now further from gaining paid employment in the two major entertainment markets, NY and LA.

Enjoy this post, run and buy David Mamet’s book, ” True and False: Heresy and Common Sense for the Actor “.

One caveat to the above post, a college degree is a must in today’s society, and a theatre education at a four year school is an amazing opportunity and experience to learn the craft in an educational environment, just do not expect a talent agent to be over joyed that you just graduated with a degree.

The group on stage at the Kennedy Center after the presentations.

This week the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival commences in Bloomington-Normal, IL. Hosted by Eureka College and the University of Illinois, Normal.

The festival has grown into a network of more than 600 academic institutions throughout the country, where theater departments and student artists showcase their work and receive outside assessment by KCACTF respondents.

For up-to-date news about all the regions festivals, see bloggingACTF.com.

Last week in Elon, North Carolina, Peter Kaiser and I  met with the students of Ricard Gang and Fred Rubeck at  Elon University for a very energetic Actor-preneur Workshop.

Afterwards, they invited us to see their production of Picasso At The Lapin Agile.  Written by Steve Martin, it tells the tale of a meeting between Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso at Paris’ famed Lapin Agile although there is no evidence that this meeting actually occurred. Add into the mix a barkeep, a barmaid, a countess, several other patrons and a singer in blue suede shoes and you have all the makings of a hilarious evening in the theatre.  Associate professor Fredrick J. Rubeck directed this production that featured a talented young cast including John R. Kernodle III and Shawn Richardson as Einstein and Picasso, Elizabeth Oller as Germaine, Mark Duncan as Charles Dabernow Schmendiman,  Greg Maheu as Sagot, Dan Belmont as Freddy, Jay Briggs as Gaston, Pamela Pare as Suzanne,  Holly Hansen as The Countess, Ronnie Shoffner as A Female Admirer and Preston Ellis as A Visitor (the Singer).  Thank you to Fred and Richard, the cast and Elon for the tickets, the terrific seats and a great night at the McCrary Theatre.

While in Paris at the Conservatoire national supérieur d’art dramatique we ran into 1200 actors auditioning for the 30 slots open for next years class.

The American students at LAMDA and I met today, discussing the progression of their careers as they get ready to graduate the LAMDA program and launch their acting career stateside.

I also had the pleasure of lunching with the London Academy of Dramatic Arts principle Peter James. Peter explained to me their involvement with the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama and how the aim is to put the future of dance and drama vocational training in higher education on a secure footing. Peter unfortunately could not stay and see my presentation as he was expected at Buckingham Palace for dinner! Seriously.

The schools that are part of the Conservatoire are:

London Contemporary Dance School
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
Central School of Ballet
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
The Circus Space

Playwright Robert Caisley (“The Lake”) emailed me the other day with news that he is producing the 3rd Annual DNA
FESTIVAL OF VERY, VERY, VERY SHORT PLAYS AND FILMS. at the University of Idaho, Moscow.

In addition, he will be producing four shows for Idaho Rep this Summer.

Rob was the architect of TVI‘s college academic program, though he needs to update his faculty bio. TVI’s program in an educational sponsor of the Kennedy Center’s “American College Theatre Festival”, offering theatre majors scholarship opportunities to study at TVI Actors Studio in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.