Almost out of beer

These doors don't open
til after dark
and it really a party
Til you find a place to park

On that spoken word note....GUESS WHAT? Today marks my 100th post to this internationally acclaimed blog...

It's Thursday...I shoot my Under-five on ONE LIFE TO LIVE tomorrow. I picked up my script at the studio yesterday and I'll be playing a bartender in the A.C. Lounge...whatever that means...I'm not THAT familiar with the show, so I dont know what the AC Lounge is...it looks like we shoot first in the day, which is great...but I guess thats always subject to change. The air date, according to my script is Wed, April 12th, 2206...but then again...THATS always subject to change...as I've learned before...the hard way...

I did a few days of U5 work on GUDING LIGHT last year and spread the word that I'd be airing on the date that was indicated on the script....so all my friends and family either had their Tivos set, or gathered themselves around the TV set...my poor grandmother had them roll her wheelchair up to the TV in the Lutheran home in Hickory...and the DAMN THING AIRED three days later...frustrating to say the least...thats what I get for mouthing off...

This morning there were a few emails going back and forth about RED LIGHT WINTER, by Adam Rapp, assistant directed by Christine Henry, my director from FISH BOWL. This first email is from a well known casting director in New York:

Talk about plays to recommend-

Hello, red light winter?!!! Adam Rapp in general. Did anyone see Stone Cold Dead Serious a couple years ago? (Brutal Ninjas?) RLW is by far the tamest of his work and still jaw dropping. Does anyone watch the L-Word? He is a very ballsy writer and has a film that opened this weekend -if anyone has seen it, i would love a review. JE

I saw Red Light Winter in previews, my director, Christine Henry, from my recent show FISH BOWL, was Adam Rapp's assistant director on RLW. I thought it was fantastic. I was also surprised when I read a few of the reviews (Especially the NY Times) that offered less than praise. Most of the reviews I have read for RLW have not been so great, which is a shame because its a great show. The performances are solid and the writing is funny, tragic and really moving. I walked out of that theater and couldnt get it out of my head for days.

As for his film, WINTER PASSING, which I have not seen, I read a short review in the "L magazine" which, once again, was not so flattering..but considering how much I enjoyed RED LIGHT WINTER despite the reviews, I'll definitely check out WINTER PASSING and let you know how it goes. JH

Just to offer another opinion. I saw Red Light Winter in previews also and found myself extremely wrapped up in it, but left the theatre feeling like it was a mixed bag. In my opinion it is a very theatrical piece and had me asking questions like how could she not remember him and how do these well read characters not know certain literary references. I liked the performances for the most part, but found her to be a little actory when she dropped the accent and don't know if it's the writing or the direction they went, but the friend (shit, I'm bad with character names) becomes sort of this one-note evil character to the point of actually saying, "I'm not a good person" and I found that less than three dimensional. I liked the themes of the show, but it is not, in my opinion a perfect show. Really loved the main guy (again, me and character names...and actors names for that matter). His performance was worth the price of admission...which, for me, was free. JC

We had our weekly ProActive meeting last night at CHAMPIONS STUDIOS and it was good one. I brought in material for everyone to work on, so everyone got up and performed the same short monologue...with very little preparation. Its a great exercise that I learned when I used to study with Susan Batson. There is so much to benefit for everyone when we do the exercise, plus, it brings us together as a group. Its been a while since we had some good group bonding and I think it did us all alot of good.

I was talking to Meg Scibona after the meeting and she had noticed that the paper I used to print out the material for last nights exercise was recycled, and that I was using the same paper that I had used to print out THE PALOOKA when I was auditioning for that play a few weeks ago. The funny thing is she recognized the tex and told me that she knows the playwrite really well. It's too bad I didnt know that a few weeks ago. I was called back for the lead role and it was between me and ONE other guy. I did NOT get cast.

Obviously it's way too late to put in a good word, but Meg sent him an email this morning on my behalf, which was an incredibly nice thing ...

Hey Brandon,

I just wanted to let you know that if you ever need an actor, James is really one of the best we know. He always does his homework and always comes up with interesting choices. He is really great to watch. I actually directed a short last January and James was the star. He was awesome! We belong to a group called PROACTIVE (the PROfessional ACTors CollectIVE). We are actually screening a bunch of shorts we shot last year. Take a look at our website. The screening is this Monday 2/27 at 7:30pm. Come and join us if you're interested!

See? That really does the heart good.

We have our big screening event coming up this Monday. I'm excited about that. I think we'll have a good turnout. There are a handful of films being shown that I haven't seen yet. Should be very interesting. I have no idea at this point what kind of VIP turnout we'll have, but there are rumours flying around about certain producers, casting people and even a few ONE LIFE TO LIVE cast members. Regardless, its going to be a good party.

Okay, I'm up and outta here
Cuz I'm almost outta beer