Bonnie Langford Christmas in New York

My partner Tim and I joined my buddy (and composer pal) Eric Barnes recently to see Bonnie Langford: Christmas in New York, a new cabaret performance that is part of the 59E59 Theatre’s “Brits Off Broadway” series.  Eric and Bonnie had worked together on the recent national tour of Chicago, with Eric on keyboards and Bonnie as Roxie.  I also fondly remembered seeing Bonnie as Mel, assistant to the sixth Doctor Who in the long-running British TV series.  Her remarkable career has had a number of other notable highs to date, including playing Baby June to Angela Lansbury’s Mama Rose, originating the role of Rumpleteaser in the original UK production of Cats, and scoring a smash in London as Sweet Charity.

Eric is also old friends with Bonnie’s music director and accompanist, the wonderful Michael Lavine.  As fate would have it, we ended up running into Michael and Bonnie before the start of the show, and they were both so gracious that after two minutes, I felt like I’d known them for years.  And in fact, in a masterstroke of unlikely fate, Michael astonished me by revealing that we had sort of met before: he had actually seen my Harvard College Hasty Pudding show, A Little Knife Music (my personal off-the-wall salute to Stephen Sondheim) many moons ago during the one week it played in NYC.  Very few people can claim that!

Bonnie was delightful in her show, and managed to pack in a lot of entertainment, both in terms of a wide variety of song styles, and some genuinely hilarious ‘coming of age in the business” stories from her own career.  Nöel Coward was particularly catty, but Bonnie has the last laugh.  Bonnie was ably abetted by Michael in a couple of duets (they make a very good team), and his playing throughout served each song beautifully.  While the uptempos and comic numbers were all delightful (and one allowed her to reveal some serious operatic chops), Bonnie was equally effective with a few simple ballads, making each one land gently, suffused with genuine feeling.  And happily, Bonnie threw in a few Doctor Who references for those of us in the know!  She’s had quite a life already, from child star in the UK at the age of 6 to her recent acclaimed performances in the US as Roxie Hart.  In fact, Bonnie finished her set with a sizzling selection of songs from Chicago that sent the capacity audience out on a cabaret high.  Try to catch this fun act if you can before it closes on January 2nd.  If you miss it, keep an eye out–luckily for us, Bonnie and her family have recently relocated to Manhattan, so here’s hoping she’ll be back with a new show in the spring!

You can read more about Bonnie and her career at her web site: www.bonnielangford.co.uk/.  And if you’re a musical performer seeking coaching, or trying to find the sheet music for a tantalizingly obscure theatre song, visit Michael’s site: www.michaellavine.net. He has one of the largest privately-held collections of sheet music in the world.  And he knows how to use it.

Brief Encounter on Broadway

I love good plays.  I love good movies.  So I was glad we found a chance to see Brief Encounter on Broadway.  I had never seen the classic film version, but that didn’t interfere with my enjoying this unique stage incarnation.  In fact, now I can’t wait to see the film!  Britain’s Kneehigh Theatre has done a wonderful job of having their cake, and eating it too.  This version is part homage, part deconstruction, part send-up, part music hall entertainment, and yet somehow it all comes together by taking the story with utter sincerity.  Stars Tristan Sturrock and Hannah Yelland are superb, balancing occasional flights of theatrical fancy with complete commitment to the intensity of the bond between the two almost-lovers.  They are genuinely moving.  And the whole company supports them admirably, managing to move from vaudeville to very real danger without missing a beat.  The production is filled with visually imaginative flourishes, and while I have seen such elements misused in other shows, here the trickery is intricately woven into the storytelling and never feels anything other than fresh and right.  Hats off to everyone at Kneehigh involved in bringing this work to the stage.  And a special salute to Adaptor/Director Emma Rice for envisioning this uniquely bewitching and genuinely charming production.  It’s playing only through January 2nd, so this week is your last chance to catch it.  Navigate your way around the snowbanks and head over to Studio 54 for tickets.  I would call it a genuine don’t miss!

Minute Maid Love Fest

In an earlier post, I shared my tale of auditioning for and landing a Minute Maid print ad.  When the shoot day came, I arrived a little bit early and as expected, the studio was already abuzz with activity.  A series of people introduced themselves to me and welcomed me graciously.  I was hearing a wonderful mix of accents from America, Britain, and more all around me.  Everyone I met had a big smile, and was very eager to have the day’s shooting underway.  It turned out they were shooting one other actor for the campaign first, so while the photographer and executive creative director worked with her, I was escorted back to wardrobe and asked to try on a selection of three different geeky outfits.  The fashion stylist Jennifer Hitzges and I favored one shirt & tie combo in particular, and happily that one was ultimately chosen by the client.  Then, it was time to have lots of kisses applied to my face.  It was decided that drawing them on looked better than actually having people kiss me, so the talented make-up artist, Bertha, set to work.  It took a couple of tries to devise a “kiss” that all the stakeholders felt was just the right size, but then Bertha set to work covering my face with hand-drawn kisses in multiple lipstick colors.  Then she added a couple the traditional way, just for good measure.  People walking by cracked up on seeing my new love-covered countenance, and a number of them asked me to pose with them for pictures.  Stylist Wesley O’Meara put the finishing touches to my hair, and I was ready to go!

When it was my turn to go before the cameras, I found myself striking an unending cavalcade of silly poses, egged on by super-nice and super talented Scots photographer Finlay MacKay, and Doner agency executive creative director Murray White.  Everyone watching was cracking up a lot, and I can’t even remember all the funny things Finlay and Murray said or did to promote an ever-escalating variety of wacky expressions.  They were both fantastic at getting what they wanted for the shots.  Finlay’s three assistants were also great about protecting me from the hot lights when we weren’t shooting, which I greatly appreciated, as we didn’t want all those bright red lips melting.  Props maestra Janine Trott (who is also a wonderful graphic artist) was ready at hand with whatever accessory was needed.

Over the course of the shoot, I found myself romancing various sizes of product packages, from quart to half gallon to family-size jug.  At the end of it all, everyone shook hands enthusiastically; it seemed like everyone was happy with the way the shoot had gone.  Monica Tysell, Doner EVP Account Management Director, and Ashley Schmidt (Brand Director), Sara Litton (Associate Brand Manager), and Andy Deutsch (Advertising Manager) of Minute Maid, all said very gracious and complimentary things.  I did see a few of the many images popping up on the monitor as we said our farewells, and they looked like a lot of fun.  This is a bunch of people I would love to work with again.  It was my first major print shoot, and I couldn’t have had a better experience.  There were also other friendly and efficient people who helped keep the shoot running smoothly as well, including Simone Silverman of 3 Production Inc, and many others.  My thanks to everyone for including me in the project.

My agent called last week to let me know that Minute Maid has decided to run at least one of my images, so I could soon be appearing on a web site, magazine page, or the side of a truck near you!  I have a couple of cute pix from the shoot that I’ll post once the ad campaign has launched, so let me know if you see my ad running anywhere!  The food by NOZ catering, by the way, was really good.

Love and Kisses at the Minute Maid Audition

Every once in a while, I have an audition experience that’s just a hoot.  And sometimes all that fun leads to a great gig!  My agent recently scheduled me for a print ad audition for Minute Maid.  The  instructions were to show up looking like a particularly geeky and dull accountant type, mismatched shirt & tie, pocket protector, the whole nine yards.  My inner nerd always loves to come out for an airing, so off I went the next day.

When I arrived at the audition studio, I opened the door, and was met with a classic sight: fellow nerds were lining the benches on all three walls.  It’s hard to find the words to do it justice, but it was the classic audition visual: a variety of middle-aged guys decked out in intentionally unfortunate blazers, shirts & ties, thick glasses, with a clutch of pens sticking out of their breast pockets.  To make it even more sublime, each guy’s face was covered with peel-and-stick red and pink kisses.  The orange juice product in question was evidently a real life changer!

A very pleasant young woman came up to me, signed me in, and dutifully applied a healthy amount of plastic kisses to my face.  As I was waiting for my turn to go in, I addressed the other guys in the room in general and said “This is a photo moment.  We really should get a picture of this.”  To my delight, three other guys took me seriously, and we decided to ask one of the other people there auditioning to take a few pictures of us with my cell phone’s camera.  The casting director, Donna Grossman, came out to call in her next actor, looked around at her room full of kiss-covered nerds, and laughed out loud.  I had never met Donna before, but already I liked her.

When it was my turn to audition, Donna welcomed me into the room where she and her assistant were recording the images.  I slated my name, and then provided a left and right profile for Donna’s video camera.  We were all having a good time, joking as we went.  Then Donna told me that we were going to be doing a little improv, and she would interview me in character.  Donna made a great interviewer, and I just winged it, responding to her questions in my role as bland accountant turned love object.  Donna and her assistant were smiling and cracking up at my responses, and they were such a great audience that I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.

Two weeks afterwards, I finally found a minute to e-mail the cell phone photos to the other three actors, and received nice notes back.  I had mentioned that while the photos weren’t art, they did capture the giddy silliness of the experience.  One of the gents said in his reply “”Silliness” is a good word; “hired” would have been even better.”  I wrote back to say I could only agree.

The next day, Joe from my agent’s office called to say that I was on hold for the Minute Maid ad.  I had thought the selection process was long over and that one of the many other worthy hopefuls had landed the gig.  I was delighted to be mistaken.  The next afternoon, Joe called back to say “Congrats!  You booked Minute Maid!”  I was thrilled.  More on the shoot itself in another post. 

I was going to post one of the silly pictures that four of us took at the audition, but now that I’ve booked the job, I won’t post it until after the ad campaign has launched.  So if you see me out there anywhere looking even more geeky than usual, covered with kisses, and clutching a container of Minute Maid orange juice, let me know!!

A Classy Casting Director

I have to say, by and large, I genuinely like the casting directors I meet.  They tend to be smart, positive, and enthusiastic audiences.  Occasionally, I run across the rare exception.  I remember being at a studio with multiple auditions going on a few months ago, and at one point a casting director came out of one room to address the hopefuls lined up for him, people who were expected to display themselves on camera in very little clothing.  His instructions were curt and dismissive, as if he was expecting each and every one of his auditioners to do something very stupid.  I thought, what on earth is the point of that attitude?  I was relieved that I was not auditioning for him.  The real pros know that part of their job is to provide a welcoming environment that encourages the talent to really shine.  A successful audition is in everyone’s best interest, and it takes so little to make that positive choice. 

By contrast, I had a wonderful experience with a casting director recently that I wanted to share, even though I didn’t book the job.  I was at a studio in Chelsea for a couple of auditions that didn’t require much in the way of preparation, and while waiting for my turn, I noted another audition being held in the next room that seemed to be for a male voiceover artist, based on the conversation snippets I was hearing.  As I’m always looking to expand my voiceover work, I strolled over and read the audition side/copy, which turned out to be for a major telecom company.  I really liked the writing, and it seemed like something I could do well.  But there was a very short list of guys signing up and waiting for their auditions, so it seemed like a pretty exclusive event. 

After I finished my own audition, I decided to do something I’ve never done before: I waited for the woman hosting the voiceover audition to come out to check her list, and I spoke to her.  I introduced myself, told her that I was not someone on her list, but that I’d read the copy and loved it, and asked if she might be willing to consider auditioning someone she hadn’t invited.  She looked at me for a moment, sizing me up, then pointed to a couple of crossed out names on her sign-in sheet and said, “You know, two guys have already tried to crash my audition this morning….”

My heart sank, and I was abashed.  I stammered, “I would never…”  And then she continued.

“But you asked.”  And she gave a small smile.  “As it turns out, I should have a little time later, so yes, I’ll give you a shot.”  I thanked her and assured her I would never presume to go ahead and sign up for an audition where I hadn’t been invited.  When she found a lull in her scheduled appointments, she invited me in to read.  I gave her my resumé, and she explained that she mainly works with the top seven voiceover agencies, but that she’s open to new talent regardless.  I gave three reads, and she contributed brief and helpful adjustments for what she wanted to hear.  She was professional, pleasant, and committed to bringing out my best.  When I finished, as she worked on finalizing the audio files, she said “Those were three good reads!  I can’t say what will happen, but that was good work.”  I thanked her again for taking the time to see me, and she gave a slight smile again.  “Well, I could tell outside you had a good voice.”

So, I didn’t get a callback or book a job from this experience, but that’s almost beside the point.  I felt like I’d met another real pro, someone who really enjoys all the aspects of her job, and who is open to new talent.  It also affirmed for me that casting directors like to know they’re respected every bit as much as actors do.  I’m not including the casting director’s name on this post, as I wouldn’t want people descending on her next audition, asking to be seen.  It’s something I’d never done before, and will probably do very rarely in future.  But I sure hope to read for her again somewhere down the road, as I really liked the way she worked.  I did get called back for both of my other auditions that day, including a larger role for one, so it was a good day all around!

If you have a story about a classy casting director (regardless of whether or not you were cast), please share it!

In Loving Memory

Emily Sellon, my mother, with one of us
Gordon Sellon, my father, with my older brothers

I apologize that I haven’t posted a new entry in a number of weeks.  My beloved dad passed away on November 8th, and I’m just now gearing up to get back into my blogging.  While I don’t know how much personal information I’ll discuss on this blog over time, I’d like to share a story about both my parents and how they responded to my chosen career. 

I think it was my sophomore year at Belmont High School in Belmont, MA.  I had started doing theatre my freshman year, when to my surprise I had landed the role of Malvolio in the BHS Shakespeare Club’s production of Tweltfh Night.  At one point in my sophomore year, I was simultaneously rehearsing in the auditorium as part of the barbershop quartet in the school’s production of The Music Man, and as Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest across the hall in the cafeteria.  It was tricky, but I was making it work.  One evening, my parents, who had been very supportive of my freshman year thespian efforts, sat me down for a talk.  

They were concerned that this theatre thing might be getting a little out of hand, and distracting me from my school work.  I pointed out that in fact my grades weren’t suffering.  And besides, I told them: “This is what I want to do for my life.  I want to be an actor.”  They both looked at me quietly for a moment, then looked at each other, and said we’d talk about this some more another time.  The next night, they came back to me and said, “Okay, if you’re that serious about acting, then we’ll make you a deal: you can keep doing your shows, as long as your grades don’t suffer, and you agree to go to typing school this summer.  If you’re going to be a professional actor, you’re going to need to be able to support yourself.”  Now, neither of my parents had a background in theatre, or to my knowledge any friends in the business.  But they followed the theatre life in Boston closely, and obviously picked up on some realities along the way.  Of course, I agreed!  That summer, I found myself in a summer school class for typing, complete with fold-over typing manual, old IBM selectric machines, and a room full of female students.  I embraced my fate, and over the summer became a superb typist; a skill I retain to this day.  

And my parents couldn’t have been more right: after I graduated from Harvard, I moved to NYC to be a writer and performer, without knowing a soul, or how I’d make ends meet.  My dear dad, who did business with a number of law firms, got me an interview for the typing pool at a large, old Wall Street law firm.  I still remember the secretarial supervisor’s astonishment when she tallied my score from her typing test.  I still wonder if perhaps she made a mistake, as she calculated 94 words per minute, which seems like an awful lot.  But she hired me on the spot, and I was off and running. 

I have never forgotten that conversation with my parents, and will never forget their wisdom and kindness.  My mother died over 30 years ago, and my father just last month, but it still seems impossible that they’re both gone now.  I don’t know how many parents would have taken seriously their teenager’s statement that “I want to be an actor.”  But to my own dying day, I will always be grateful to my parents for understanding that I meant it with all my heart.  And come what may, I still do.

Praise for my Nonsense Poem Audio Recordings

I was delighted to learn that Jenny Woolf, author of the fascinating new biography The Mystery of Lewis Carroll, greatly enjoyed the two free nonsense poem audio downloads I created for Storypods Audiobooks over in Oxford, England.  On her Facebook page, Jenny wrote:

“I’ve been in email correspondence with Andrew Sellon, LCSNA president, but never heard his voice. I am enchanted by his wonderful readings of these nonsense poems, winners of an Alice contest run by Oxford Storypods.”

Thanks, Jenny!  I had great fun doing the recordings for Liz and Francis of Storypods.  Both poems are very clever, and it’s great to be able to share some free poetry with the online community.  I hope to record a lot more poetry to share.  If you haven’t already listened to or downloaded the two contest winners, click the image on this post to visit the Storypods site.  While you’re there, check out their own recording of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland  and selected letters of Lewis Carroll; it’s delightful.

Voiceover for e-Learning for Kids Guided Tour

Click here to visit the e-Learning for Kids web siteIf you have or know kids grades 1-6, check out this great free e-Learning site! I contributed the voiceovers for the Guided Tour, and all the content is created by e-Learning professionals volunteering their time, which I think is fantastic.  Kids don’t need to register to use the site, so parents don’t have to worry about any personal information being collected, etc.  It’s a global initiative to give kids access to fun, free learning experiences from any pc with an internet connection.   Congrats again to Michael Williams, Director of Courseware Development, and to everyone involved in this worthy web site.

To visit the site, click the image on the right.  To see (and hear!) the Guided Tour, find the same Guided Tour image on the site’s home page and click on it there.  Enjoy, and spread the word!

Storypods Nonsense Poem Voiceovers

I became acquainted with Liz and Francis, the brains behind the Oxford-based Storypods Audiobooks when I reviewed their charming audio production of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland a couple of years ago.  This year, Liz told me they were going to sponsor a nonsense writing competition, and asked me to be one of their judges.  I thanked her but declined since I felt that as President of the Lewis Carroll Society of North America I should remain neutral.  But I offered to record the two winning poems if my schedule allowed.  Liz thought that was a great idea, and happily there was time, so you can now listen to and download the two charming poems that won the competition.  Just click the image on the right to visit the Storypods site, and enjoy!

Mamarosh Shoot Wraps

I’ve completed my two days of shooting as Dorian, the tense gay TV producer, for the feature film Mamarosh.  My second day of shooting also happened to be the last day of shooting for the entire film, so I was there for the final wrap.  Over the course of shooting, I met and worked with so many nice and talented people it would make a long blog post to list them all, so instead I’ll link to the film’s IMDB info here.  In addition to the film’s stars, my first day of shooting involved a beautiful SOHO loft (supposedly owned by my character), a Persian cat, and a large pot of Army Bean Soup that changes my character’s life.  In the middle of the shoot, the skyline showing through all the loft’s many windows darkened ominously, and a massive lightning and thunder storm ensued, so we had to wait that out.  I found out later that the storm ended up sending tornadoes through Brooklyn and Queens!  My second day of shooting was for a brief non-speaking reappearance of my character on the set of the cooking show my character produces; it’s a cute bit.  And this time there was a vat of that Army Bean Soup!  After shooting wrapped, director Momcilo Mrdakovic made sure the soup was added to the table for the closing meal.  Word has it that they intend to show the film at Cannes next year.  My thanks again to Casting Directors Harley Kaplan and Brandon Powers for this opportunity, and to Moma, the cast, crew, and producers for an exciting experience.  Thanks also of course to my agent Renée Glicker and her team.  I can’t wait to see the finished film.  If you haven’t already viewed the trailer, you can click the image at the right to view it on YouTube.