Last month Sarah got me a really cool birthday present: tickets to see Jim Gaffigan perform at the Best Buy Theater in New York City. Since Sarah’s birthday is only a couple of days before mine, we decided to make it a month-late joint birthday celebration and go up for the entire weekend. Sarah had never seen the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Plaza, she had never seen Jim Gaffigan live, I was itching to get back to the National Comedy Theatre and watch a show, and neither of us had seen our pal Adiperform her stand-up live. What a great way to kill 4 birds with one stone. Or at least a couple of turtle doves.
We booked our train and hotel tickets and made yet another trek to our favorite city within a reasonable train-riding distance. We arrived without incident at our hotel and walked down to the comedy theater on 36th street where I knew our reservations were waiting for us. I had contacted my pal Kevin at NCT and let him know we were coming. There was a bit of a mix-up in our pre-NYC conversation. I thought I was letting him know we would be there to watch the show; Kevin thought I was letting him know I would be there to be in the show. As we got to the NCT doors, which hadn’t opened yet to the public, we had this entertaining text message exchange:
Fri Dec 17 6:45pm. Me to Kevin: Hey dude. What time are you at the theater tonight? Sarah and I have tix for the early
Fri Dec 17 6:45pm. Kevin to Me: You are playing the early show dude
Fri Dec 17 6:46pm. Me to Kevin: Dude you are so mistaken
Fri Dec 17 6:48pm. Kevin to Me: We saved a spot for you to play and you have to play
Fri Dec 17 6:51pm. Me to Kevin: Dude I already paid for my ticket
Fri Dec 17 6:51pm. Kevin to Me: Refund and you are playing
Fri Dec 17 6:53pm. Me to Kevin: Dude who else is playing? I think most of the gang I knew is gone. Improv + strangers = awkward improv.
Fri Dec 17 6:54pm. Kevin to Me: Dave and me and Andrew is all you need to know. You are playing.
Shortly after, Kevin came to the front entrance and let us in. As we made our way down to the green room Kevin continued to insist I was playing while I continued to give him reasons why I shouldn’t. Not only had I not played for nearly a year and a half, I also wasn’t wearing the proper NCT-approved improv attire, which included black track pants and gym shoes.
It wasn’t long before I realized my arguments were falling on deaf ears and I knew I would be playing. I was introduced to Stephanie and Zoe who were also in the show that night and Kevin found me a pair of pants and gym shoes I could borrow. Why they had so many spare pairs of pants and shoes – and whose they were – I tried not to think about.
The show went on and I had a blast. Although it had been so long since I did improv in front of a crowd, it felt like no time had passed at all. It was like putting on my favorite sweatshirt. Just right. In fact, if I hadn’t mis-identified a Justin Bieber song as Ke$ha, it would have been darn near flawless.
After the show – and lots of hugs and promises that it wouldn’t be so long until my next trek to The City – Sarah and I headed down to the West Village to see a night of comedy at the Humor Haus as hosted by another NCT alum, Adi Blotman. My good pal Paul - yet another NCT pal – was our tour guide and we grabbed a bite to eat at Joe’s Pizza on the way there. Paulie promised us it was “the best slice in the city” and I’ll be darned if Paulie wasn’t dead on. He shot some video of us experiencing our first slice of Joe’s and I’ll post a link to the footage as soon as we get it.
We headed down to Bleecker Street in plenty of time for the 11pm start. Adi did a great job hosting and introducing the other comics she’d hand-picked and we enjoyed ourselves and shared a lot of laughs. Although the room was a small one they all took to the stage like pros and it was a great time.
After the show was over, Paulie led our little group – which now included Adi – to what he promised to be “the best place to get pastries” and again Paulie was right on. Where else but New York City can you experience the world’s best cream puffs at 1 in the morning?
Sarah and I were standing on the subway platform waiting to take the A train back up to Penn Station and couldn’t believe it was 1:30am. It felt like 8:00pm and it was a refreshing reminder of why we love that city so much.
We got to our hotel room and immediately crashed. It’d been a few years since I was in the city during the winter and had forgotten some of the city’s nuances. How could I forget the sound of clanging radiator pipes that heated so many buildings and how, because many buildings are heated by radiator pipes with no individual thermostats for each room, you can sleep in the city in the midst of winter with a window open. Little details I forgot I loved.
We didn’t leave the hotel room again until noon the following day. We took to the streets and walked up to 51st to grab a bite at Mars 2112, a space-themed restaurant Sarah had been to when she visited New York with her family a few years ago.
From there we headed to FAO Schwarz, the world-famous toy store neither of us had ever been to. Unfortunately, we decided to make our first visit on the Saturday before Christmas and there was a line to get into the store that wrapped around the entire block. It was quite a daunting line upon first glance, but it moved quickly and we got in some great people watching.
A Santa made entirely of Legos inside FAO Schwarz. Why WOULDN'T we get our picture with it?
We walked back down to our hotel on 32nd Street to rest for about an hour, and then headed back up to Times Square to see Jim Gaffigan at the Best Buy Theater. Todd Glass was the opener and he was just as good as he’s ever been. Poor Jim was suffering from the flu and his voice was nearly gone, but he powered through and put on an amazing show. I’d never seen a show in that venue before, and I liked it a lot.
We headed down to Rockefeller Plaza after the show and somehow managed to make our way through the throng of spectators. We saw the tree, took about 3 photos, and Sarah declared, “OK, I’m over it.”
After that, we decided to brave the middle of Times Square to take some more pictures and grab a couple of quick video shots.
On the way back to the hotel, we happened to walk by a comedy club that was advertising dueling pianos. With a what-the-heck shrug we decided to catch the show. The two pianists – and one drummer – served as human jukeboxes as they took requests from the audience and managed to play each one of them masterfully, much to the mostly-drunk crowd’s delight. We especially enjoyed the show that wasn’t on the marquee: a big guy who looked like Biff from Back to the Future who was getting totally trashed. We watched him throw back bottle after bottle after bottle, wondering why the bartender wasn’t cutting off someone who was obviously as drunk as he was. If his forward-leaning barely-balanced walk to the bar wasn’t a dead giveaway, I didn’t know what was.
Oh wait, I know what the giveaway was. It was when he left the room to go out and throw up not once, but twice, all over the stairs that were the only exit.
I love this city.
We made it back to the hotel, caught a bit of the back end of Saturday Night Live, and then zonked out. We checked out of our room at noon the next day and headed back to Penn Station for the return trip home.
It was a nice weekend; a great weekend. It reminded us both of how much we love the city and also how much we love traveling with each other. We laughed a lot and traded a lot of goofy looks and by the end of our weekend, Sarah was zipping around others on the sidewalk like she’d lived in New York all her life. She made me proud. :)
As our train sped us back home to Lancaster County, I held Sarah’s hand while she slept, a goofy smile on my face. This weekend was my best birthday present ever.
What is comedy? What makes something funny? What the heck is the “rule of three?” These are just some of the topics scholars have discussed – and debated – since the dawn of time.
And when improv was discovered (right around the dusk of time) it spurred on deeper queries. My pals up in Manhattan at the National Comedy Theatre shed some light on the topic. Enjoy.
About a week and a half ago Sarah was in town and I have yet to blog about it. Why? To tell you the truth it seems a little intimidating. Mostly because there’s so much to write. We did so much, I experienced so much, I felt so much, I know that once I start writing it’s going to be quite the tome and I haven’t been able to bring myself to tackle the sequel to “War and Peace” (not that I see our relationship as “War and Peace”, quite the opposite, but that’s the longest book I could think of off-hand. Maybe I should have used “The Borthers Karamazov”).
But I digress. Big time.
While Sarah was here we went up to New York City for the day. Her friend Courtney was going to be in town visiting from Scotland and so we hopped on a train and made the journey. We got off the train at Penn Station in the middle of Manhattan. Because we were only a couple of blocks from the improv theater I was part of while I lived in the city we decided to stop by the National Comedy Theatre as we made our way to Central Park and see if anybody was home.
I had so much fun performing at NCT and the people there are like family to me and, in many ways, they’re like home. If you’ve read any of my old blogs you’re used to me gushing about them. When I found I would be returning to Pennsylvania I was excited because I had visions in my head of returning to NYC on the weekends to perform.
It hasn’t happened yet.
I’ll try to explain why, but I’m not a Master Wordsmith so bear with me.
To be honest, I hadn’t felt that tug, that pull, to get back to the city. I just didn’t have the motivation. And I think it’s because of my job.
Nothing against my job and nothing against NCT, but I’m doing what I love to do at WJTL. I’m making movies. I’m filming, editing, tweaking, writing, storyboarding…I love it. And I think because I have that creative outlet I was missing that hunger to perform I might have if I had a run-of-the-mill 9 to 5 office job. Does that make sense? Because my creativity had an outlet, I never had a chance, I never built up that yearning, to perform.
Not that I didn’t want to. I just didn’t have that drive. I don’t know if I’m correctly explaining myself or not, but I don’t have the energy to go back and do it better.
But all that changed last week.
As soon as Sarah and I stepped in front of the theatre, it was back. I could feel the energy and the excitement, and when I saw my friend JT inside it was a little overwhelming. I knew I had been away too long.
Kramer and Jeff were also there and the three of them were downstairs in the green room putting down new flooring. It immediately took me back to my time there, painting the green room, putting all this work into the theatre we loved so much and I missed it.
It was so good seeing those guys again, I wished I would have seen some of the rest of the gang too, and that fire is back. I can’t wait to get back there.
And you know the best part of it? Sarah was happy to be there, too. After we left she was so excited for me. It was encouraging and such a great feeling (and quite frankly, a new feeling for me) to be with someone who was genuinely supportive and eager for me to get back there. Sarah told me she wants to go back soon, and often, so she can watch me in the shows.
I didn’t have that support and encouragement in my last relationship. And now that I do, I can’t believe I lasted as long as I did without it.
My friend Rachael recently posted a blog venting her frustration about her flaky friends…people who just kind of come and go and are there one minute and gone the next. Granted, she lives in Nashville and a lot of people there are part of the CCM music machine, so that’s most of the problem right there. ;) I think we all have friends like that (I’m sure I’ve been that person more than once) but it made me even more grateful for my friends who have always been there.
Yesterday I spoke with Amy on the phone, one of the many talented people I worked with at the National Comedy Theatre in Manhattan. It’d been too long since we last talked and it was great to catch up with her. One of my favorite memories of New York is with Amy. We went to a karaoke bar one night where she entered the big contest and won first prize (an Easy button from Staples). After that we walked through Central Park, despite the fact it was too late to safely do so and then went to a Chinese restaurant. We talked about everything from parents to God and Jesus to relationships. It was one of those times that made you grateful for the people in your life.
Talking with Amy yesterday also reminded me of the rest of the NY gang. Usually when one moves away from somewhere you keep in touch with everyone for a certain amount of time and then that kind of wanes and you end up maybe hearing from one or two of them. Not so with my fellow improv-ers. Adi keeps me filled in on her voice-over work, Chris loves to leave me random video clips, I love hearing what JT is working on, Virginia lets me know how she’s doing, Jeff keeps me in check, Jason keeps me laughing, Jacob shares his adventures, Paulie shares his passion for comedy…I’m going to stop listing individuals because I’m going to forget someone but you get the point.
I have one or two people from each city I’ve lived in that I still keep in touch with and still feel really close to, but New York definitely has the highest ratio. Weird.
And I can’t think of my New York friends without thinking of my friends next door in Pennsylvania. I worked at WJTL there and can safely say I still hear from pretty much everyone on a regular basis. Fred, Stacey, John, Lisa, Ethan, Aubrey, Tim, Tom, Mel, and Jen to name a few. I don’t deserve to be so lucky.
If you’re a friend that doesn’t live in one of those two places, don’t think I’m saying I like my NY and PA friends more than you…it’s just funny to me that there’s this huge block of people all within 3 hours of each other that I am still fortunate enough to hear from pretty regularly.
So although it does stink to think of friends that have gone missing or AWOL, it’s more than comforting to be reminded of those who haven’t.
It’s that time again to bore my friends and loved ones with a capsulated look at 2006. Enjoy. I’ll wake you when it’s over.
2006 – YEAR IN REVIEW A Timeline by Ed Placencia
JANUARY As the year began I was living in New York City. I was a regular performer at the National Comedy Theatre (which I will heretofore refer to as NCT) and the ink on my divorce papers still hadn’t dried. My first year as The Single Guy. Let’s do this. January 1 I ring in the new year by performing at a special New Year’s show at the NCT. We had a blast and it was a great time. January 12 My digital camera breaks. No one has seen a picture of me since. January 31 At the NCT banquet in a weird moment of ironic foreshadowing I was awarded “Most likely to be available for 208 shows/year.”
FEBRUARY February 19 A reporter from The Daily News does a story on the National Comedy Theatre. A lot of pictures are taken and the cast is saddened when the article comes out and they use a picture with none of us in it. February 28 In a stunt of unparalleled proportions, JT and I went to pick up some used carpet to put in the green room of the NCT. Because we don’t have a vehicle, we carry this huge roll of carpeting. From the corner of 3rd & 11th to the theater at 36th & 9th we maneuvered through the busy streets of Manhattan and didn’t bump into anything. And we only stopped to rest once. How manly are we?
MARCH March 8 My good friends John and Lisa come up to visit from Pennsylvania. We checked out a Mountain Dew snowboarding ramp in the middle of Times Square and interview a ukulele expert at a music store for Lisa’s radio show, The Kids Cookie Break. So, it was a usual day for me.
APRIL April 2 Worked on the set of a new FOX show, The Wedding Album. It was slated to come out this year, but haven’t heard anything on it since. April 10-13 For four days straight I work from 6:30pm to 5am as an extra on the set of August Rush, starring Robin Williams, Keri Russell, and Jonathan Rhys Myers. We spent four nights in the middle of Central Park pretending it wasn’t freezing cold as we watched a performance by a symphony. Right now it is slated to release in February 2007. If it’s anything like my last work as an extra, be sure to have your freeze frame remotes ready so you can see me. April 22 My sister Jaime comes up for a visit and we see and do everything in Manhattan in a span of 7 hours. We are, in a word, amazing. And tired. April 27 Fellow NCT comedian Virginia and I witness someone trying to base jump off of the Empire State Building. A crowd gathers. The jumper is arrested. Everyone seems slightly depressed they didn’t get to see someone splat. April 30 Worked on the set of Without A Trace playing an FBI employee. The episode airs the following month and I was nowhere to be seen. So far, no proof of the fact I’ve ever done any extra work exists.
MAY May 4 Realizing a lifelong dream, I get to attend a taping of The Late Show with David Letterman. Even though the guests are Rosie Perez and Danika Patrick I still manage to somehow enjoy the experience. May 13 My final show at the NCT for 2006. I have 81 performances with them under my belt, and all of them were a blast. The rest of the gang is still there putting on great shows so if you’re in Manhattan, be sure to stop by and see a show. May 14 Left NYC for Pennsylvania, where I will hang out for a week before my departure for Indiana. My buddy Ethan volunteers to drive me to PA and while there I stay with him and his wife Aubrey, and also with Jon & Lisa. I get a chance to connect with all of my dear friends from the radio station I worked at in Lancaster, WJTL. Good people. Good, good people. May 21 Dad arrives in Pennsylvania with his truck and we load up the small amount of junk I have and head for Indiana.
JUNE June 2 Almost a year after doing extra work on The Break-Up with Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston, it is released in theaters. None of my scenes make the final cut. I am not disappointed as there’s always the DVD deleted scenes. And I got to roller blade behind Jennifer Aniston for half a day. And the check cleared. June 4 Fifteen years after its first conception, my brother Ray and I begin production on the long-awaited sequel to Terocus. We film four episodes and post them all on YouTube. The internet community is collectively confused.
JULY July 15 I film an entry for a contest NBC is having to make a promo for the TV show The Office with Ray, Piper, Dad, and cousin Rich. Even though we don’t win, we have fun filming it and putting it on YouTube to further confuse the internet people. July 16 The Placencia family reunion. Or, The Largest Gathering Of Minorities In Indiana Since The Last Placencia Family Reunion.
AUGUST August 3 I am legally a Hoosier again when I get my driver’s license. After finally making it through the DMV line, a week later my money clip is stolen and I have to go through all of it again.
SEPTEMBER September 30 The county fair comes to town and all of Indiana’s finest are in attendance. Mullets and poofy hairsprayed bangs abound. I get together with my friend Amy to hang out at the local coffee shop as they walk by and poke fun. Without recognizing him, I inadvertently end up making fun of my uncle.
OCTOBER October 14 I killed a bird with a ladder. October 17The Break-Up is released on DVD. Although the packaging boasts “17 extra minutes!” I still have not made the film. Nor did I make the deleted scenes. Even my deleted scenes were deleted. But still, at least I got to roller blade behind Jennifer Aniston for half a day.
NOVEMBER November 1 Awarded “Boxer of the Month” for the month of October at the Dekalb County Boxing Club. I celebrate by not going down for the rest of the month. November 9 Itching to get back into comedy, I perform stand-up in front of a crowd of about 350 people at Snickerz in Ft Wayne and it goes well and the crowd goes wild.
DECEMBER
I’m working with Dad and still doing production for WJTL. I’ve been writing a lot of short stories recently and I’ll be back at Snickerz doing stand-up on December 21.It’s been a fun fun year and am eager to see what 2007 has in store.
To keep updated on what I’m doing, I keep a pretty consistent blog online. It’s the easiest way to see what I’m up to and going through. You can also visit that link to get all of the details on the highlights I mentioned above.
Goals for 2007:
*Return to NYC to perform again at NCT.
*Visit London.
*Kiss a girl.
It’s my prediction that the first two goals will be the easiest to accomplish.
Thanks for reading. I look forward to hearing from you to find out how you’re doing.
Funny how something as simple as walking can carry a different stigma depending on where you’re at.
In New York City, everyone walks everywhere. There’s a very small percentage of Manhattanites who have cars and since everything you need is within walking distance (or subway distance), having a car in the city isn’t a real necessity. It’s nothing to walk 10 or 15 blocks somewhere. Because there are so many people always walking around on the street one would never give it a second thought.
But here in Indiana (where walking 10 blocks seems ludicrous) if you see someone walking without an exercise track suit on, you think hey look at that homeless guy.
This blog brought to you by The People Who Talk Without Having A Point.
I don’t think I mentioned it earlier, but JT and I had quite an adventure the other day. The gang at the National Comedy Theatre has been steadily working to improve the basement/green room at the theater. We were able to snag another piece of carpet from someone off of Craig’s List and last Friday we went to pick it up.
And when I say pick it up, I mean it in every literal meaning. It was a fairly large piece of carpet (I believe 10′ x 12′) and after lugging it down 4 flights of stairs, we then proceeded to carry it from the corner of 3rd & 11th to the theater at 36th and 9th.
I don’t know how I don’t have a huge red rug-burn on my shoulder, but I escaped without any physical marks of our journey through midtown Manhattan (but it’s still a little bit sore). Surprisingly enough we were able to make it the whole way without bumping into anyone or causing a huge ruckus.
What have I been doing? What have I been up to? If you have a few moments I’ll fill you in with my First Annual Year In Review…..
2005 – YEAR IN REVIEW
A Timeline by Ed Placencia
JANUARY
As the year began I was still living in Nashville, working at the Opryland Hotel as a tour guide on the Delta Riverboats. Deanna was living in New York City
January 19 My good friend Aaron Marrs was lost at sea during a deep sea fishing excursion. He lived his life in a way that inspired me to chase my dreams and changed my year. January 24 I began rehearsal for Sunday in New York at Chaffin’s Barn Dinner Theater.
FEBRUARY February 11 Opening night of Sunday in New York marks my first time on the stage in over four years.
MARCH March 12 The final performance of Sunday in New York. March 29 Deciding it was time to get off my butt and put my money where my mouth is, I performed comedy at an open mic night, marking my first time doing stand-up since my years in college, 15 years earlier. Despite the long hiatus, it went well.
APRIL
Still not earning enough money after losing my job the previous year, expenses finally catch up with me and our house is foreclosed upon. This marks one of the most difficult periods of time in my life but with the help of loved ones, especially Davy and Jenn Baysinger, I somehow make it through. All of our belongings are put into storage and the Baysingers allow me to stay with them while I prepare for the next phase. I plan to move to Chicago along with most of the cast from Sunday in New York.
MAY
I make the move to Chicago. Things (housing and job situation) don’t unfold the way I was led to believe they would, and I am forced to improvise. I begin writing again and crank out the first of three short stories.
JUNE June 19 I go to a bookstore where Cheech Marin is making a presentation on Chicanos in the arts. To say it was inspiring would be an understatement. June 22 I film 2 different scenes for The Breakup, a film starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn. Keep your eyes peeled and you may see me as a Roller Blader and Guy At The Beach Walking By. The film is currently scheduled to come out in the Spring of 2006. June 28 Another day of shooting for The Breakup at Wrigley Field. I’m 99.9% sure you won’t be able to pick me out of the crowd, but it was a day at the park and we got paid for it.
JULY July 9 I had an opportunity to work on the film Smile, Darling for the 48-Hour Film Project with director Keith Soljacich. Not only was it a great experience (our film won an award!) but it also gave me a chance to meet and work with a great upcoming director and visionary. Remember Keith’s name! You’ll be hearing it a lot in the future! July 18 Being away from Deanna for so long has not helped mend a rocky relationship and I decide to move to New York City so we can be together and try to patch up what we have. I leave for Indiana, where I will be staying for a short time to work with Dad and earn some money for the trip out [since gas is now $45 per gallon]. While back in my hometown in Indiana I get a chance to reconnect with family and rejuvenate.
AUGUST August 11 I leave Indiana for New York…via Nashville. I make the drive south to get all of our belongings in order and put away in storage. I’m in and out like a ghost. I then leave and head for Lancaster PA and the home of John & Lisa Blowers. They are kind enough to let us keep our car at their place so we don’t have to take it with us to the City. While there I also get a chance to visit and catch up with Stacey Gagne and Linda Spuck. August 15 I arrive in New York City. I know I’m going to love it. August 17 I shoot a scene for Court TV’s Parco P.I. It’s my first time doing green screen and I feel like a Jedi. August 19 I audition for [and land] “Accomplice: NY,” an improv/interactive theater/walking tour-type experience that is one of a kind. A great way to see lower Manhattan. That same day I shoot a scene for an upcoming Discovery Channel show, Cash Cab.
SEPTEMBER September 20 I do some work on the film Devil You Know where I am chosen from all of the extras to play the maitre d’ at a restaurant and get to shoot a scene with Lena Olin. Apparently she’s famous.
Also in September I read the entire series of “Fletch” books. Highly recommended!
OCTOBER October 8 Auditioned for the National Comedy Theater. Got to do some improv again and a few days later received a call from them asking me to join the troupe. Rehearsals start in just a few days! October 26 Shot four scenes as an extra on the upcoming film The Devil Wears Prada with Meryl Streep. Look for me in the fashion show scenes and in a post-fashion show party.
NOVEMBER November 17 I turn 35 years old [physically]. Mentally, I turn 6. November 22 My sister Jaime gives birth to her new baby, Maya.
After 6 years of marriage, Deanna and I decide to separate.
DECEMBER
I’m still working with the National Comedy Theater and look forward to performing soon. There’s going to be a huge New Year’s bash at the theater that will be a lot of fun, so if you’re in the New York area at the end of the year, come on out! I’m working at Entertainment-Link and enjoying that as well [if you need tickets to Broadway shows with some great discounts, then check it out!].
I am looking forward to seeing what 2006 has in store. By the beginning of the year the divorce papers will be filed and it will be a new chapter for me. Who knows what new adventures lie around the corner but I am eager to tackle each and every one of them.
And that’s what I’ve been up to. I look forward to hearing from you and finding out how the past year has been to you. I’ve done a lot this year and been through even more; it’s been one of my favorite years.
One of the things that excited me about living in Manhattan was the fact I knew I would eventually run into a celebrity on the street. Who would it be? Where would it be? When would it be? I have heard rumors of SNL actors frequenting my grocery store, but alas, nothing. I have also heard that Steve Buscemi still rides the subway with his son. Nada. So who would be my first New York celebrity sighting???
Today I found out.
As I left for work this afternoon, it was a dark, rainy day. Everyone had their umbrellas and, like myself, those who didn’t had the hood on their jacket pulled up to protect them. It wasn’t a real rain, more of a heavy mist. You may not know this about me, but I have adapted very well at becoming a New Yorker in that I walk fast. I zig and zag down the sidewalk with the best of them, and just before I entered the subway station on 42nd street I hit a crowd of people and someone in front of me walking too darn slow. They were short and round and all bundled up and I thought nothing of them except for the fact that they were walking too slow.
Just then this guy who was hanging around outside the Hilton Theater ran up to her and shouted, “Frenchie!!!! Are you Frenchie??!!”
Frenchie, to refresh your memory, was the blond-haired black girl who got kicked off American Idol and went on to appear on Broadway in Rent.
And all I could think was, Frenchie is my first celebrity????!! What a freakin’ ripoff!!! Booooooooooo!!!
Yesterday I had an audition at the Jekyll & Hyde Club in Manhattan. When I was living in Pennsylvania and came up to visit friends here in the city, they took us there to eat. I’d never heard of it before, and it was a blast. Even now when I mention it, I am surprised at how many people haven’t heard of it. Don’t be fooled. The website almost makes it look like a haunted house attraction like every other scary website you see at Halloween time. It’s so much more than that.
If you’ve been to the Adventurer’s Club on Pleasure Island at Disneyworld, then you will be familiar with the concept. The Jekyll & Hyde Club is a 4-story restaurant that, legend has it, was opened by the infamous Dr. Jekyll as a place for him and his friends to gather and share their adventures. In fact, your meal will often be interrupted by the appearance of some of Dr. Jekyll’s more noted friends and acquaintances.
The club was holding auditions for improv actors, who spend much of their time lingering with the patrons, doing shows, and also working the animatronic puppets scattered all over the place. The concept is actually very similar to what I am already doing with Accomplice NY. I would be given a back story and a few bits of information to pass along, but most of the time is spent riffing and improvising with the diners.
I got there and the front door was locked. Hm. The guy on the phone didn’t say what to do in that case. There was a guy hanging out in front of the building who told me he thought the side entrance was opened. I thought he was there for the audition as well, but it turns out he was just a guy hanging out. I made my way downstairs toward the kitchen area and saw some stairs that looked like they headed up into the main lounge. Can I just tell you how creepy it is to be walking through a place that has been designed to look creepy and you have no idea where you’re supposed to go and it’s totally quiet and deserted? I would be lying if I said a few chills didn’t tickle my spine. And on Halloween no less.
I eventually made it up to the main floor and found the rest of them there in the dining area in front of the stage. There were about 15 or so people at the audition. Apparently the director of entertainment received more than 300 headshots from people who wanted to audition and he had it narrowed down to our group and another group of about 20 that is auditioning Thursday morning. He said he’s looking to hire about 7 or 8 people.
We started out by doing a simple improv exercise and then played a game of “Freeze Tag.” It was a little weird. Kind of like when you’re playing volleyball and you realize that most of the people on your team don’t really know how to play volleyball, and you end up getting slaughtered by the other team. I’m not trying to sound pompous, those of you who know me know that’s really not my style, and there were some people there who were really good and made me laugh. But it was my suspicion that not everyone was as adept at improv as they may have indicated on their resume (“Hey, I took a class once, so sure I can do improv just as good as anyone else!” If you’re new to improv and have indeed taken a class, you know it takes a bit of time to really get it down and be able to make the rest of the team look good).
When I auditioned for the National Comedy Theatre, the founder and Guy in Charge Gary said it best. As an actor, when you go to an audition your natural inclination is to want to get up on stage as much as possible and show off all of the crazy characters you can do and prove how funny you are. But that’s not what improv is about. It’s about making the whole bit work and giving the other people up there a chance to shine as well. So, as you can see, the concept of improv at an audition is an interesting dichotomy. The best way to look good is to make others look good. And sometimes the best thing to do is realize you shouldn’t enter the scene at all. If a new character isn’t called for, then hang back and wait for your chance, not unlike jumping rope Double Dutch style (like I’ve ever done that).
I realize this blog has taken a weird turn and has suddenly become a lesson on improv, but I’m just trying to explain that it’s hard to have a good improv audition if the person you’re up there with isn’t right there with you. If I go to a basketball tryout, the 4 other schmucks who get stuck with me on their team are going to look bad because I don’t know what the heck I am doing and it’ll throw a monkey wrench into the whole thing.
So, I guess it’s needless to say, I’m not sure how well the audition went. Maybe I’m making excuses, but that’s not my intent. You know, I’m just saying. After doing a few rounds of Freeze Tag I wasn’t feeling on top of the world.
Thankfully, the next phase of the audition had us go onto the stage individually where we commenced with “10 characters in a minute.” You basically get up there and start doing a character. As soon as they got an idea as to the character you were doing, their traits, et cetera, they would yell CHANGE and you had to start doing a totally different character. The object was to see how many different characters you could create in a minute; the goal was to try to get to 10. I got six (most of us got 5 or 6…there were two people that got in 7). It was a lot tougher than I expected…even if you go up there with characters planned out that you want to do, when you’re up there doing one of them, the others all magically escape out the back door. It was a fun exercise, though. My first time doing that one.
The final phase of the audition was character voices, and I was glad they had saved that for last, because I was feeling really confident (and those who know my radio background will understand why I was ready to get it on: I love doing voices!!).
We had to do read some lines as a Wolfman Jack-type voice, Peter Lorre, a guy from Jersey, and a crazy clown. I had a lot of fun doing those and think it went well.
So who knows. I felt like I killed at the voices and did pretty good with the characters (got some good laughs), but the improv is the main part of the job and that didn’t go so well for me (or at least I didn’t feel like it did…maybe that’s just me. I was second-guessing my audition at the National Comedy Theatre as well, and here I am). They are having callbacks on Monday morning and then they will have a second round of callbacks from there. I’d like to at least make it to the first round of callbacks but again, who knows. I did what I did and that’s about all I can do.
If I sounded at all egotistical in this post, that wasn’t my intention, and I apologize. But if I still came across as a know-it-all, feel free to call me out on it. Gotta keep myself in check, right?
I am thinking, since the other audition is Thursday morning, that maybe I’ll hear something on Friday about the Monday callbacks. I’ll let you know. And, if Monday comes and goes and I haven’t posted anything about getting called back, then we all know what that means, too.
