THE DRESSING ROOM DYNAMIC AS A HOLDING CELL

Sometimes it bugs me when I’m sitting in the dressing room, a room full of actors who auditioned to be part of a production, actors who have rehearsed for weeks and then they state nonchalantly that they’re not really actors as they sit there applying their makeup just before stepping into the spotlight. I think they’re giving themselves a license to fail cause they are saying I don’t have to be professional I’m not really actor.

In case you haven't heard, I'm in a play. My subsequent appearance on the boards clarifies any misconception of who I am for I am an actor. I have been and still am a music supervisor, a professional musician, a producer with experience producing musical artists and even an occasional project in the realm of television, a marketing specialist including traditional, street and digital marketing as well as promotion and also including work in the realm of branding strategies.

My only experience in a holding cell (thank god) has been my appearance in the windowless, hot box dressing room which I find somewhat comforting in this show with it’s lack of rodents and roaches that so many Hollywood dressing rooms offer at no additional charge.

We just went through our first weekend of shows after a 12-14 week rehearsal schedule which is the longest I’ve ever rehearsed for any show. By the time we were on stage muscle memory had taken over after so many rehearsals. Opening weekend ticket sales were brisk which was very positive cause we’ve got a fairly good sized theater to fill. It is amazing how varied the energy has been at each show thus far. It affects all of us up on stage. The other day I heard an elderly woman talking loudly during a pensive moment in the stage action. I thought perhaps we had some improvised dialogue spew from one of the cast members. There was brilliance in the performance when a fellow cast member had a meltdown forgetting his speech but made something up and recovered beautifully with the help of another Thespian who entered at an appropriate moment feeding that actor the comfort of familiar lines to get him back on track. The audience was for the most part none the wiser. At another performance one of the cast could barely get his lines out as thoughts of hot juicy tender fried chicken with a fresh crispy outside kept popping into his head while on stage. I wanted to work fried chicken into my lines in a salute to his gourmet consciousness. After our last show a woman came up to me in the parking lot. As she approached I readied myself for a compliment on the show. She asked me how to retrieve her hidden key from key device used to start a keyless ignition that wasn’t cooperating. Turns out the manufacturer hides the key within the keyless device itself for rapid deployment in the event that their electronic door command doesn't respond. There was no mention of the show but I’d done my Good Samaritan deed for the day.

And what of those actors in the dressing room stating "I'm not really an actor"?! An actor is an actor, if only for those fleeting moments he or she appears on stage and in front of an audience. If you look at it any other way you're robbing your yourself and more importantly your robbing your audience, many of whom may have just paid to see you perform and they want to see an actor! An actor who makes such statements cause they’re not earning a living acting would benefit from a look at the actual statistics with regard to earning a living as an actor. Most of us should actually be called “professional auditioners” cause we spend a much greater percentage of time auditioning than actually acting in projects. And with regard to earning a living I'm not speaking of background work but actual jobs with dialogue.

Literally only 1% of actors earn the exciting salaries we all hear about and dream about someday earning while 11% of all actors roughly earn enough to scrape by. The majority of actors make under $35,000, way under. 80% of all actors don’t even have professional representation cause there are not enough agents or professional management companies to go around. It’s a tough racket made even more challenging these days with less pilots being shot overall and of those an even smaller portion being shot in Southern California. Add the damaging effect of reality television to the shrinking list of available roles and the growing number of film stars accepting television roles which was once practically nil and the challenge is even greater. Sharon Stone is appearing in Law and Order SUV in the next couple of weeks, Lawrence Fishburn is a CSI cast regular, Forest Whitaker is appearing on television and even Dustin Hoffman is slated for television. In todays marketplace, even if you have a brilliant audition and look the part there is a greater possibility you will still not be cast. However, opportunities for actors to create their own vehicle to showcase their talents on the small screen are rising to offset disappearing opportunities in other areas. Content is king in the digital media marketplace and digital media is demanding an even greater amount of it…


Appearing in a stage play there is plenty of time in the dressing room to exchange stories about the goings on in your week. This serves several purposes. It can provide possible source material for any standup comics amongst the cast, is rather uplifting when you compare notes and hear that other actors in the cast are in the midst of similar struggles to your own and such conversation can provide an inspiration for new goals and a greater focus in your own life. Dressing room banter can also provide a source of guy time for those actors such as myself who don’t have a lively social calendar of buddies they hang with and lastly an opportunity to pimp information on any number of subjects from subject experts in those fields as the opportunities arise.

After a recent show I was attempt to relax and began seeing people in the halls of my home that aren’t really there. One might wonder, were they ghosts? angels? spirit guides or maybe just leftover digestive enzymes swimming about in the brain from an over stimulation of my frontal lobe during the performance? I’ll let you know when I do.

Should you attend you may find my character a bit un-likeable. What can I say except, there’s only so much you can do with your like-ability quotient when you’re a greedy, murdering adulterer. Se la vie. I’m really not a bad guy. I get to let out all that darkness under the lights so I sleep well at night. For tickets go to www.conejoplayerstheater.org. and don’t forget to use GOD12 for a discount. See you under the lights! Feel free to write me, comment or stop by after a show to say hello. Was hoping to work in a picture of my dogs but I’ll save that for another post. Oh and if you do stop by after the show or write me please feel free to recommend the winning lottery numbers, there’s a big jackpot in the coming days!

DYING TO GET IT RIGHT

Heaven is a state of mind, another dimension or to some maybe even a sea of dark chocolate. For Joe Pendelton it’s a realm where the spirit resides when his body is accidently taken by an overzealous angel before it’s time. “I only want what’s comin’ to me” he states but once he meets and begins to fall for Bette Logan he just can’t seem to find an acceptable replacement though angelic guide Mr. Jordan wants him to know he’s still himself inside and states emphatically “It’s just like “donning a new overcoat”.

Heaven Can Wait is a play about the antics of one Joe Pendelton, snatched from his body like a wine before it’s time. It’s about unrequited love, stocks bonds and greed and the fight game…The 1941 film “Here Comes Mr. Jordan” is based on the 1938 play which was produced on Broadway after the film, not to be confused with an unrelated 1943 film starring Don Ameche and Gene Tierny of the same name that takes the stars to hell. A subsequent 1978 film entitled “Heaven Can Wait” reflects an updated version of the stage play with some changes in direction, though keeping much of the plays premises intact.

Heaven Can Wait features an accomplished ensemble cast with award winning Director Lucien Jervis at the helm. Cast members include; Daren Dukes as Joe Pendelton, Bob Farber as Mr. Jordan, David Tinsley as 7013, Greg Philippi as Tony Abbott, Linda Shaver as Julia Farnsworth, Dawn Meyers as Bette Logan, Paul Newman as Max Levene, Penny Krevenas as Mrs. Ames, Martha Hules as the maid, Nat Gertler as Inspector Williams, Elena Mills as the nurse, Ken Endress as the Doctor and Ian McLean as the plainclothesman.

Conejo Players Theater boasts 180 comfortable plush (well sort of) almost stadium seating seats (they’re nice anyhow), fabulous lights and a Hollywood set like no other in Ventura County plus the costumes of Shawn Lanz. The show is Produced by Ken Patton and Paul Duffy.

Heaven Can Wait
April 23-May 15
Conejo Players Theater
351 S. Moorpark Rd. Thousand Oaks CA
3 blks south of the 101 Freeway on Moorpark

Thursdays 8pm $16
Fridays 8pm & Sundays 2pm $18
Saturdays 8pm $20
For tix www.conejoplayers.org or call 805-495-3715
Use code GOD12 for discount tix

Acting is to Auditions as Icing is to Cake

The other night I drove into the city for an acting audition stopping at a favorite Chinese food haunt and proceeded to close out the meal consuming a traditional Fortune Cookie and in my zealousness half the fortune as well…From what I could make out (the uneaten half) read something like “A project you’re (missing bitten half) … (next line) will receive (missing bitten half)… Having just come from an audition I saw this not as the indiscriminate digestion of mere wood pulp but a sign from the heavens. Yes, the universal consciousness, smiles down upon me this night. I guess that’s a good way of seeing the glass half full.

In this land of youth driven culture that celebrates the 20 something mind and often the 20 something mind coupled with sex, there is a movement neath the covers toward really celebrating our elder statesmen, as audiences grow in age and more importantly as audiences grow in tolerance of all ages.

Overnights for the latest NCIS episode show 17.6 million viewers, numbers which should put the show in second for the night. However, NCIS appears in third place for the night due to a 3.4 share in 18-49 year old viewers while Lost which only garnered 8.8 million total viewers claimed that second position for the night ringing up a 3.8 share in 18-49 year old viewers. Years past the 18-49 year old share would have almost always mirrored overall viewers for most shows. Television audience demographics as a whole are skewing older as niche programming and viewing habits also take hold.

While working at ABC Television, I once had a conversation with the late Vic Mizzy (composer of both the Adams Family and Munsters television themes among many others). Some 20 odd years ago this movie music great complained that he couldn’t get interest from any studio or production company to compose anything, even with his very successful track record…Mizzy felt he had such creativity to share but the system didn’t even want to hear it because he was too old. For what it’s worth I told him I’d have hired him if I could have…

Flash forward to 2010. A Betty White fan in Texas starts a fan page suggesting Betty White should be given a chance at hosting Saturday Night Live. The fan page takes off virally garnering over 500,000 fans nudging the Producers of the NBC stalwart series to take note. Now sometime in May of this year, Betty White has been booked to host Saturday Night Live. At 88 years old, Ms. White is somewhat of an anomaly. The point is that the world today is instantaneous. With the advent of real time social networking the collective consciousness takes on a whole new urgency. It appears we’re speeding toward on demand programming customized to our individual needs by us and for us…

So what does this all mean for the here and now? Definitely change for one and that for the time being we’ll all have to peddle a little faster to keep up!

Greg is appearing as Tony Abbott in Heaven Can Wait at the Conejo Players Theater in Thousand Oaks from April 23rd – May 15th Thursday – Sunday. Call theater for showtimes and ticket availability or just write me direct Greg@firesofaugust.com.

EVEN SEA SLUGS CAN BE INTERESTING (though a bit slippery to hold…)

While doing laps around the Beverly Hills High School track one afternoon I spied an older gentleman dressed in sweats with a towel tucked around his neck and donning an English driving cap. I felt his energy from the moment I arrived and though focused on my own training I was drawn to him. He appeared to be mumbling to himself and oblivious to the outside world. By the second mile I was acutely aware of his incredible focus. He appeared to be concentrating, working from within on some problem perhaps, but doing so with laser precision. It didn’t hit me till a few laps later that this man was an actor learning dialogue and developing his character on that track.

Somewhere between my second and third mile and this was some years ago, I realized it was Burt Lancaster. To this day that afternoon has made an indelible impression on me. I learned that even after all the success a screen legend enjoys, he still must work hard at his craft and still give 150% in doing so.

My journey thus far has been on both sides of the camera. I’ve tasted success and failure, hard times and good but one constant throughout the journey has always been that the people I meet and places I’ve visited make life interesting…

A chance meeting in an elevator or at a gas station with someone far from the world of entertainment is often a valuable source for character development as an actor as well as a rich addition to the fabric of my journey.

And life is full of “stuff”. My life is no different. The typical acting coach will tell an actor that if they’ve had a bad day or some misfortune or are depressed they should use all that “stuff” in their performance. That same acting coach will also tell you if you’re angry use it or if you’re sad use it and so on. They’ll explain that adding your “stuff” to a performance will make that performance rich. If you’re that actor going through the “stuff”, that turmoil you feel inside may not be so easy to use in an audition or performance. The advice to use your “stuff” may be sound advice. However, we’re not always comfortable wearing all the armor needed to do so. It does get heavy.

So tonight I’m gonna take off my armor,set my stuff aside and relax a little bit before tomorrow's challenges present themselves...Of course all that happens sometime after a long night of rehearsal giving 150%. It's hard work being a murdering adulterer. Oh yeah,that's my character Tony Abbott in "Heaven Can Wait". We open April 23rd at the Conejo Players Theater in Thousand Oaks.

CREATING HOLLYWOOD FAME IN THE DIGITAL AGE?

Recently creating Hollywood fame in the new digital age was the topic of a successful Pasadena Convention Center seminar entitled the Hollywood Hook-up; Creating Hollywood fame in the new digital age.

Speakers included Shadow Mihai, Esq. Entertainment Attorney and Producer/Director of four independent feature films and Co-Creator and Director of the online series “Coming 2 Hollywood”, marketing guru/actor Joseph James, artist Manager Cordell Capone currently representing several Grammy Award winning singers and Casting Director Anna Miller.

Actors, musicians, singers, models and dancers were in attendance, all with a single purpose, to build their Hollywood celebrity and move their careers forward.
Actor Greg Philippi, an attendee with an industry resume in both the creative and business sides of entertainment commented; “The seminar was a pleasant surprise. Building my brand in the digital age has proved to be an exciting challenge in the face of an ever changing technology landscape that is constantly providing both new hurdles and new opportunities for exposure, distribution of product and the ability to immerse one self into the creative process. There seems to something for everybody at this type of industry event. From an actor’s standpoint the Hollywood Hook-up provided a platform from which to network with potential scene partners, a means to share valuable casting and production tips, analyze market trends and to really spur creative thought. With changes in technology moving at lightning speed it won’t before long before we’ll need to have another just to stay current”.

Does talent translate to fame or do those who’ve achieved fame then have an opportunity to show their talent? How do we re-define and monetize an industry that is being turned upside down with a never ending sequence of rapid fire innovations? Is it possible to monetize “change”? As fast as these questions are answered new questions raise themselves. One thing is for certain, now is the time to think digital. What are your thoughts?

Tragic end of former "Faces" / "Humble Pie" vocalist Steve Marriott

Early "Humble Pie" were so talented... I still play their classic "Rockin' at the Fillmore", loud! With former "Faces" vocalist Steve Marriott at the helm performing at 150% every night they just had to break through but that kind of light eventually burns itself out as was the case with Marriott.

On the night of his death a close friend of mine was the last person to see Steve Marriott alive. Here's what my friend recounted over the phone; Marriott was out here in the Los Angeles area on the coast drinking heavily in a local watering hole. He was consuming so much alcohol he could barely walk let alone drive, doing so at 150% as he had in his performances on stage. He and my friend, a fellow musician, began chatting about trival matters of drink as they embibed together. It was bar talk and they proceeded to get crazy as the night wore on. As my friend told me the tale he began with "you know that guy that used to sing with "Humble Pie", well I met him last night and..." All I could think was of course, Steve Marriott is a rock legend, a blue eyed soul singer with a chitlin' circuit grind that always gave 150%. I was anxious to know if he'd been able to get inside Marriotts head and pick his brain on matters of music. What inspired the early "Humble Pie" material and forming of the band? What was it like playing the Fillmore in it's early days? What was it like working with Peter Frampton in his teen hearthrob years? And working with "Faces" guitarist Ron Wood (now a "Rolling Stone") as well as "Faces" vocalist Rod Stewart? What road stories there must have been... I had so many questions. None had been answered...None would ever be answered. What a waste.

The pair visited several local bars that night and as the darkness was about to become day, my friend dropped off Marriott at his place in the Santa Monica/Venice area. As Marriott stumbled from the car and they mumbled their good byes that was the last anyone would see of Steve Marriott. Marriott was so wasted that he lit a cigarette and passed out in bed burning himself to death. The next morning as my friend relayed the tragic story, I remember being in shock and speechless. I was so saddened by his senseless death and I think he was as well. I still am. And though I was tucked away beneath the covers early that evening, sane and sober, that night has haunted me for years. And I wasn't even there... To loose a talent in such a senseless way...Marriotts flame burned bright and eventually had burnt itself out and perhaps he was ready to go...

What do "Eagles" guitarist Joe Walsh, the dawn of the digital age and the House of Blues have in common?

Subliminal distinction of instinct is what drives us all... As I revolve around the massive injection of direction from those in my sphere of influence I take the time to halt my brain waves and focus on the road ahead. Of course, there are no answers that appear. Maybe they're already in place.

Going back a few years, I recall hangin' at the House of Blues with my buddy who happened to be the head of artist relations for Gibson guitars. Digital cameras had just been introduced and I'd never held one, let alone taken photos with one. As it is I'm quite a fumbling baffoon when it comes to electronics...Guitarist and Eagles member Joe Walsh was touring solo. It was about half an hour before he was to appear on stage. We went up to the dressing room and I was handed a digital camera and told I was the cameraman. Handling one today is rather a rote push and click exercise...but it was different then. Joe was in quite the jovial mood. That was good for me. The Gibson rep positioned Walsh and I held the camera up...only I couldn't quite find the viewfinder. What was the frame of the picture? What button should I push to adjust the framing? What button would actually take a photo and then what should I do to get ready for the next photo. I turned the camera vertical then horizontal then vertical. Luckily Walsh was amused. My Gibson friend was not quite so amused. He sort of guided me in a direction that would be the path of least embarrasment. I glanced up while I was fumbling and Eagles bassist Timothy B. Schmidt was looking over. Schmidt didn't seem amused but then again he always seemed to have that serious look on his face. Professional photographer Henry Diltz who took that Morrison Hotel "Doors" album cover photo among many others, was now staring as well. Worse, Diltz had a camera in hand albiet an old 35mm workhorse. Beads of sweat appeared on my forehead. I focused back on the digital camera in hand. Walsh was laughing and made a couple funny comments. I'd heard he was quite the jokester, thank god for little blessings. My buddy said I should 'take the damn picture' and I somehow managed to focus and squeeze one then two then three. We left the dressing room for the concert hall with only moments to spare before Walsh was to take the stage. It was a great show and I laugh about the incident to this day. Should have had Walsh sign something. I had all his solo albums and was quite familiar with his work but my mind was elsewhere that day. Thanks Joe for being so lighthearted and though I'm certain you don't remember that night I do...