Even while Gotham shooting was wrapping up, another cool project appeared. I was delighted when my beloved director buddy DJ Salisbury (who directed me in The Mystery of Edwin Drood last January) asked me to take part in a private staged reading of the new, immersive musical “cocktail” he’s creating with composer Andrew Gerle. It’s called Whisper Darkly, and …
Continue reading “Private Performance of Work-in-Progress Immersive Musical “Whisper Darkly””
Another fun (and top secret) project that came out at last in autumn of 2018 was the massive hit video game Red Dead Redemption II. I had great fun in my one day of motion-capture shooting; it’s such a fascinating process, and I can’t wait to do more! I only appear briefly in one segment as …
Continue reading “My First Video Game Role is in Red Dead Redemption II!”
While my incredible experience with Gotham may have taken up a lot of psychic space in 2018, I did fit in a few other fun projects before the year ended. One such project last autumn was a short TV comedy pilot called The Genius. I played Carlton McGibbons, the wealthy, well-meaning, and remarkably naive head of a …
In Spring 2018, Off-Broadway was electrified by Billie Piper’s astonishing and gut-wrenching performance in Simon Stone’s superb updating of Lorca’s tragedy Yerma. And this summer we had another all-too-limited run: the always-remarkable Carey Mulligan in Dennis Kelly’s truly devastating new solo play, Girls & Boys. But while Yerma ends with a loud bang, Girls & Boys closes with more …
Continue reading “Carey Mulligan Was Stunning in Devastating Solo Play “Girls & Boys””
When the Fox network made the decision to order only 10 episodes of Gotham instead of the expected full 22-episode season, and when they further announced this would be the show’s final season, I was heartbroken, along with Gotham fans around the world. I knew the producers and writers had planned all along for seven full …
Continue reading “The Epic Season 5 Premiere of Gotham Will Blow Your Mind”
In 2017, as part of the superb Writing the Rockies conference, I directed a staged reading of Act I of the new opera-in-progress Lottie Silks by librettist Enid Holden and composer Justus (Jay) Parrotta. This year, I worked extensively with Enid on revisions to the libretto for Act II, to deepen the characterizations, simplify the storytelling, …
Continue reading “Writing the Rockies 2018 Opera Workshop Was a Huge Success”
When I went out to give my summer coaching intensive at Western State Colorado University this July, I wasn’t prepared for the number of Gotham fans I would meet among the students and faculty. I had a number of requests to pose for photos, and for autographs–so I had to come up with some autograph cards …
Continue reading “Mr. Penn Has Fans in Colorado–and China!!”
2018 represents my third year as Professor Sellon, member of the faculty at Western State Colorado University’s graduate program in Creative Writing. For those who didn’t already know, WSCU has an extraordinary and intimate grad program for poets, genre novelists, and screenwriters. If you’re seeking an MA or MFA in any of these areas, you …
Wow. As if the fan mail and autograph requests weren’t enough, now a couple of artists on social media have created fan art images of my character Mr. Penn from Gotham. These images couldn’t be more different in style, but they both capture an element of Mr. Penn. I’m so impressed, and also grateful these talented …
If you are in the NYC area, and are a fan of the hit show Downton Abbey, you owe it to yourself to visit the delightful (and extremely well-thought-out) fan experience: Downton Abbey: The Exhibition. It is 2 1/2 floors of recreated settings, audio-visual experiences, and of course lots of those stunning vintage and bespoke …
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