"Backup Plan" to play Boston March 31st!

Dear Friends,

I am WICKED excited to announce “Backup Plan”, the short film I wrote, directed, and act in, is an official selection of WICKED QUEER: Boston LGBT Film Festival. This is one of the oldest and most established LGBTQ film festivals in the world and the largest LGBTQ cultural event in New England.

If you happen to be in Boston at the end of March or know of anyone who lives in the area, invite them! We’ll be in a group of other wonderful short films. Tickets are only $13 and it’s followed by a Q & A with some of the filmmakers, including me and my star Jennifer Bobbi!

For more information and for tickets, visit: https://www.wickedqueer.org/events/trans-shorts-program

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Sean O'Casey Reading Series with the Irish Rep

It has been sheer joy working on Sean O’Casey’s lesser known plays Within the Gates and The Silver Tassie. Here’s a cast photo with our director, my dear friend, Nicola Murphy, and our music director Stephen Kennedy Murphy. I had a blast playing opposite veteran character actor Joe Grifasi (known for Law & Order: SVU, Naked Gun, and Natural Born Killers). We had a great time playing off each other as Cockney chair attendants in London’s Hyde Park, limping and complaining about the pain in our legs, begging for a schilling from the Bishop, fending off ridicule from the antagonistic Dreamer, running from the eerie “drumbeat of the Down and Outs”, and singing merrily about how we’ll all soon be dead. (Yes, it’s a bizarre play, so if none of this makes sense to you, you’re not alone!) Plus, as you can see in the photo, Joe and I got to wear matching hats!

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The Silver Tassie - Sean O'Casey Reading Series

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I am so pleased to be playing in the ensemble of soldiers and stretch bearers in Sean O’Casey’s expressionist, hauntingly poetic anti-war play The Silver Tassie. As my beloved friend and director of the reading Nicola Murphy points out, O’Casey wrote about the state of the nation and was heavily influenced by my personal favorite playwright, Eugene O’Neill. O’Casey proves that great writers transcend their era. My character actually shouts at one point, “build the wall of force”. This was written in 1914.

If you are in New York this weekend, come to the Irish Rep and let O’Casey’s language and the music of the times wash over you.

Saturday Feb. 2nd @ 8pm

Sunday Feb. 3rd @3pm

Irish Rep, 132 W. 22nd Street

Free admission.

"Dad" by Shawn Belpanno at the Actors Studio

Happy New Year, friends!

This month, I have the privilege of playing the lead role in a staged reading of Shawn Belpanno’s “Dad” on Wednesday January 23rd at 6PM at the historic Actors Studio in New York.

About the play: Vinny (played by David Beck) is in desperate need for guidance. He is clueless on how to handle his life when the spirit of his deceased father (played by Mike Jankowitz) comes to him to offer him advice and a chance to explore his past and reinvent his future.

Seats are very limited, but if you would like to attend, please contact me for a reservation.

Last month was a flurry of staged readings, including playing the role of Lee Strasburg in Ronald Rand’s screenplay Group Paradise. It was such a treat playing the iconic acting teacher during the formation of The Group Theatre (with Harold Clurman, Cheryl Crawford, and Stella Adler). These theatre artists forever changed drama, and we are all indebted to the great strides they achieved in the evolution of the craft of acting.

Stay tuned on updates for my short film “Backup Plan”, produced by my non-profit The Great Griffon and production company Blue Slate Films, now being submitted to film festivals nation wide!

The Good Book of Pedantry and Wonder

This is one of those plays that makes me fall in love with acting all over again. I'm thrilled to be taking part in this invited staged reading of the beautiful, funny play "The Good Book of Pedantry and Wonder" by Moby Pomerance tomorrow at 2pm. If…

This is one of those plays that makes me fall in love with acting all over again. I'm thrilled to be taking part in this invited staged reading of the beautiful, funny play "The Good Book of Pedantry and Wonder" by Moby Pomerance tomorrow at 2pm. If you don't have a day job, come on over to the Acorn Theatre at Theatre Row and be swept away to Victorian England! There will be a reception to follow.

Marymount Manhattan College Alumni Panel on Making My Own Work

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This past weekend, I had the privilege of being a part of a wonderful panel at my alma mater Marymount Manhattan College.  The topic of discussion was "Creating Your Own Work", geared toward graduating seniors.  I hope we were able to bring a bit of illumination to these kids about to plunge into the professional world of theatre and filmmaking!    

Spring Street is featured in The Huffington Post!

Dear Supporters,

I am so thrilled to announce that Spring Street has received its first bit of press from The Huffington Post!  Thank you to JamesMichael Nichols for endorsing our webseries and Kickstarter campaign.  There is less than one week to make a tax-deductible contribution.  Onward we go! www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/spring-street-web-series_us_57bb2bc5e4b03d513689aebd?

Spring Street - The Webseries has launched!

Dear Friends,

I am beyond thrilled to share with you my latest adventure, Spring Street - The Webseries!  

I wrote this psychological thriller as I was influenced by New York's grit, it's diverse community, and the strength and resilience of its community.  Please take a look to view our video pitch in the link below, and please share it will your contacts!  

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/320676168/spring-street-the-webseries-season-one?ref=user_menu