Not really, but since I’m performing In the Heat of the Night at Theatre Charlotte starting Friday (get your tickets now!), and I’m nuts-deep in tech and dress rehearsals this week, I figured I’d at least try to knock out a blog post for y’all.
This show is a bag of awesome, and I’m having a hell of a good time working on it. It’s tough, and there’s one costume change in particular that I barely make each night, leaving me panting a little when I come back onstage, but the acting overall is very, very good, and I’ve enjoyed getting back onstage in a show that makes me stretch a bit.
I don’t act much. It’s not just a time thing, there are a lot of reasons. Not the least of which is that I know I’m not the best actor in my age range in town. I’m pretty good, and I work hard, but I don’t have as much innate talent as some other folks. Which makes auditions a little tougher. Once directors work with me and understand that I work my ass off on a show, I can get cast. But auditioning for a new director is hard. It doesn’t help that I’m overweight and have long hair, both of which tend to narrow my “type.” I shaved for this show, though, which I hope shows a willingness to alter my appearance that people weren’t aware of.
But the fact of the matter is that I’m a very good lighting designer, and I can usually find plenty of work doing that to keep me busy. And it pays, while most folks in Charlotte are acting for free. So lighting gigs take precedence over auditions. But I love acting, and I love getting the chance to stretch myself as an actor, which this show does.So if you’re around Charlotte for the next three weeks, I hope you’ll come out and tell me how I’ve done. And feel free to mock my clean-shaven mug. I do.
