Much to be said for these past couple weeks.

ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER

I've been attempting to relax since the wrap of the T.V. show but alas it was a short lived break. The producers called me to say that we had secured a gig at the brand new Laugh Factory Comedy Club right in Time Sqaure. We are to perform a live version of our T.V. show using our best sketches. We even hired a director for this endeavor which I was most excited about. Finally we were going to really rehearse these skits and perfect the moments within them.

Upon meeting the director I was impressed with the way he entered the room and by the way he bluntly spoke. A familiar feeling came over me and I was reminded of my days in college, studying theatre. The discipline, the technique, the feeling of accomplishment after putting in hours upon hours of rehearsal. Finally we were going to experience that and that is exactly what we needed.

As the rehearsal wore on, my feeling changed to that of uncertainty. Sure this director seemed to know what he was doing, sure he had some good ideas, but I didn't feel that he was going to connect with this group. This crew composed of New York City Comics who are used to being comedians and adhere by that art form. There is a big difference between actors and comics, the actor works with other actors while the comic works alone. So what we needed to do is learn how to work with each other while maintaining a consistency of performance.

I have worked with many directors, some amazing, some not so amazing, and some downright awful. However I could not nor still can not arrive at a definite opinion as to whether this director is working for us. One thing that really bothered me was the fact that he decided not to read the scripts. I have never encountered that before, to quote him; "I don't read comedy, I see it". What I don't understand is without reading the script how is a director supposed to know what moments are lacking. A script is your map and to me thats like an actor saying, I don't read the script I act it. On the other hand I have picked up a lot of good notes from him and he does seem to care about our vision. His job is made harder due to the fact that the executive producer is also an actor in the show, not to mention the fact that we are all loud ass Latinos and he is nice Jewish white guy. Although I saw this as an advantage because we want to reach the masses not just the minorities, also I somehow feel safer when it comes to business, hey call it stereotyping but Jews are excellent business people...

SIDE NOTE:

I don't see race becasue I am color blind

CONTINUED...

Another thing that makes me uncomfortable is that he has a tendency to flirt with the two girls of our troupe. Granted they are very lovely and attractive, hard for any man to ignore, however as a director I don't think flirting is appropriate, it singles out the actress in a room full of men and makes her uncomfortable. I try my best to treat them with equal respect with all the testosterone in the room. Lastly I must say I have learned alot from this director even though I'm still 50/50 whether he is a good match for our troupe. Well with the show opening Sunday, we'll soon find out won't we.

CRISIS WRAPPED IN PARADOX

I'm sure most performers will agree that it's a very hard life with many sacrifices but sometimes you wonder if your not giving up to much of your life. My job for example, I hate it here. For six years I have endured and suffered sitting in one place, burning my corneas from stareing into a computer screen all day. I do it for my career. If I cannot support myself as an actor so I must support myself to become one. Now my company has been sold and who knows if I'll have a job next month. At least their is no arguement about job security, nowadays you can study for years and still lose your job to India. You can't outsource entertainment.

My family and friends have been sacrificed. Holidays are usually the busiest time for a performer because everyone else is on vacation and people go out to be entertained therefore I have missed many a family gathering. Friends don't seem to understand all that well that I am perpetually busy and after a time we start to lose contact. I am used to goodbyes and am not sentimental about it I just wish you could have all your friends around you forever. Ok I'm sentimental. I am glad to have a select few who do understand and support me which will make it easy for me to decide who comes to the mansion when I get one of course.

SICKNESS INSIDE

My dad has been sick for some time now and I'm really worried. This man has been there for me through think and thin even though he was a weekend dad. He never failed to help me even if he was sometimes a little tough about it. When I was a kid I remember how he was. A charming introverted person with a good head on his shoulders. A hard worker, a man of morals and values who never had any vices. So now he is sick, a mental and emotional reck. My Father that I highly respected who never talked about his feeling is suddenly pouring his heart out to me. In these past few months on the few occasions that I have encounted him, it seems like he is expressing all the feelings he forgot to express through out his entire life. So I sit and listen. Listen as best as I can with a sad relief. I'm wondering what to say or not say. Scared of this new person who seems so unstable and yet grateful for seeing his emotions finally revealed.

Not much more I can say...