Hello my friends!!!
Well, I’m sitting here, post appendectomy surgery with nothing to do and that means it’s time to write, lol… First of all, can we talk about how useless and stupid the appendix is, not only because it can randomly become inflamed, but also because mine decided to randomly become inflamed the day before my FINAL CALLBACK for the new Broadway musical Holler If You Hear Me. I felt so bad for the Surgery Doctor who came to tell me the news Thursday night, because my girlfriend and I both sat there mouth agape in silence. The doctor thought it was because I was worried I needed surgery until we told her it was because I had a HUUUUGE audition the next day. The staff at Lower Manhattan New York Presbyterian Hospital were all so nice though, every time one of the surgeons or assistants came in to check on me, they would ask if my agent had received any news from the casting team if I would be able to audition for them again. So nice of them… The answer to their question, is not at the moment. It’s all good though, in my previous auditions for them, I gave it my all and showed what I can bring to the table, so though it may not happen on opening night – if the show is received well and remains for a little while, i should get a shot on the next round of casting.
So far to start out this year I have had very little free time, which is a good thing. I booked back to back shows to start the year. One was a very Off-Broadway play called Philosophy for Gangsters and the other was a musical showcase called Sweetie. I did not have a single day off from February 2 – March 31…. That was ROUGH!!! Neither gig payed well enough to pay the bills, so any second I wasn’t working on the shows, I was at my day job making up the difference. I definitely felt what it was like to be on the 70-80 hr work week. For those of you out there that live that as your normal work week, God Bless You because I almost went crazy, lol… It’s very very difficult to stay focused on the stage, which always takes a lot out of you, and then find the motivation to care enough at the restaurant you work to make money. You can be a server and not care, but your tips will suffer; I’m not about that. I’m going for 20% tip every time and thusly am equally exhausted after day job work as acting work.
The Sweetie showcase was soooo much fun. First of all it was directed by Pat Birch – don’t know who that is? Look her up right now, if you’re in musical theatre, she is top tier. Secondly, it was the first time I’ve ever performed in anything as an actual musician. Last year for Storyville, I fake played the trumpet while an actual trumpet player played behind me. For Sweetie, I actually played harmonica in the show… Now, for those of you who didn’t know I can play the harmonica, I’ll let you in on how that came to be. Up until I went to college my top sport was Tennis (yes this is going somewhere, I promise), and I was pretty doggone good at it. Definitely could’ve gone somewhere to play, but I was no where near good enough to play at a top Div I school nor had the desire to put in that kind of sports effort once I got in to Notre Dame on an academic scholarship. As a kid though, my dad (who used to play professionally in the 80s) was a Tennis teacher and my coach. One of my favorite things to do with one of his summer camps is that we would get to go to the Legg Mason USTA tournament in Washington D.C… Well, one year at the Legg Mason they had this little mini-tennis court and they had a “tournament” to see who was the best mini-court player, hosted by the Jensen Brothers. (waaaay before the Bryan Brothers, who are all clean cut and amazing – there were the Jensen Brothers in the early 90s who both had long hair and acted like rock stars. They only ever ended up winning one Grand Slam title, but to kids they were the shit) Anyway, I won the little mini-court tournament and my prize from the Jensen Brothers was a harmonica (why, I have no clue). Since that day, I always played it for fun and once I moved to LA and had no job and was just figuring my way around, I used all of my free time to actually learn what the instrument was about. Eventually I got to the point where I realized I needed a real instrument instead of a hobby toy to get better, so last year my girlfriend bought me a professional harmonica… and now, after doing the Sweetie musical, I can actually say that I am a harmonica player, instead of just a person who can kind of play harmonica.
Well, time to get up and walk around a little bit, sitting in bed is making my legs stiffen up… ugh, this surgery thing is no joke!!!
Adios,
Kyle