Can you see what the fuss is about? Jay and Conan and NBC's "mistake", or "experiment" with the time slot…? So then.. what we're learning is that the folks that are given the well paid task of TV programming…um, don't always know what the public will watch long enough to sell the commercial space in … Read more
Today…the first day of the second week of the year…it feels like that weird hump of inertia is working it's way toward motion. Be sure you find a way to shove the stone a bit farther up the hill and defy the constant flak of impossibility. gosh I'm tired of bad news.
For the new year everyone puts out their top ten of 2009 list so as to sum up the year and give it a rating. Inspiration can be rated! How about that! Don't ever let this very bad (but organized and tidy!) system influence who or what inspires you. Never apologize for what or who … Read more
Yesterdays blog got me to thinking about why we stagnate as artists and what it takes to remain vital. If Elton John or Billy Joel can write amazing songs in the 80's why do they suddenly lose their touch years later? Wealth can make you lazy and the ambition to reach a certain level dissolves … Read more
There is that lovely and yet forlorn feeling of returning to your old school where your earliest epiphanies and your deepest sorrows took place and stained the woodwork with your toil. I love this building and I love the school. I love that I can walk into a classroom and see that only the furniture … Read more
As Neighborhood Playhouse Graduate I'd always heard about the program at Rutgers because it was run by William Esper a Neighborhood teacher and because my dad went there so he touted it as a great school. Mr. Esper has left so one might wonder how strong the teaching is now that he's gone. I can … Read more
Shocked to see I haven't written for a month. I was busy but still I should be writing more often. I am now back from two weeks of doing talks for the book in NY, NJ and Philly. I usually talk with an acting class of 20ish at a time. 50 students is big class. … Read more
A tip of the hat to Kanye for handing me that blog title. You have to wonder how someone who professes he wants to use his celebrity for "good," ends up grandstanding through someone else's moment. Or maybe you don't have to wonder at all… Sure this is way after the fact, everyone has had … Read more
I received this email from a friend in NYC. He went to The Neighborhood Playhouse with me after getting an degree in English from Stanford, now he’s a commercial producer. He points out how accepted the concept of form over function. For me it started with MTV and Madonna. Even when the world around me … Read more
I saw this on a friend's Facebook page… "I have an audition next week for a teen comedy with —– —–….omg thats a train wreck of a film waiting to happen….I can't wait till I can audition for some quality films." I bet this sounds like something you've said in the past. We've all read bad writing … Read more