When it was time to open, I told everyone in the world that I knew. By this time, I was totally consumed by this play and ready to put it all on the line. I sent flyers to every agent in town and called the ones that said" let me know when you are in something".
Opening night came and we had a full house, about 50 seats, with a few standing. The lights went up on Peter, already on stage reading his book. I was dressed cleanly but not trendy, no jeans but khaki work pants. I entered through the back of the audience and stood there just staring at Peter. Out of the corner of my eye I saw people turn and look at me standing at the top of the stairs. They must have thought that I was part of the show or some nut that wondered in off the street. When I finally walked on stage I could feel the tension in the audience and the creative juices in me were flowing full force. I was momentarily enjoying having the audiences acute attention. I had to grab all my powers of concentration and put the audience out of my mind. I had to grab onto Jerry who was going through the worst period of his life while I was going through one of my best.
I concentrated on my overall objective which was to commit suicide, this triggered the minor objective to have a stranger kill me. And if I was going to get him to kill me, first I had to gain his confidence.
" I been to the zoo" got a big release of tension laugh. Then it happened, the audience hung on every word that was said and laughed heartily 3/4ths of play until it takes a dark turn.
When we went out to take our bows at the end, the audience was silent at first then erupted in loud cheering and applause. I looked out at the audience and there was many a wet eye. There were a few friends that thought acting was a phase I was going through, a good way to meet women, but now they knew. I saw it in the way they reacted when we went out afterwards. It was like I had become someone else.
We had just 8 performances and everyone went great except one. On the second weekend of the run as I entered through the audience I could not help but notice that this was not the normal scruffy audience that went to this theater. This was an uptown audience scrubbed and well dressed, the kind of people that never go below 34th Street unless they were going to the New York Shakespeare Public Theater. Who are they, I thought and it threw me. When the laughs did not come as usual, I pushed, which made it worse for me. I was able to gather myself finally and the rest of the show went ok but not the power it normally had. Maybe they were agents or casting directors that came to see this unknown awesome talent and I didn't deliver. Maybe if I was warned before I went out that important people were there ,it wouldn't have been such a surprise. But that is live theater.
I am leaving a link here of a monologue from "The Zoo Story" that I did with the web cam. It will give you an idea of Edward Albee's writing. I did it originally 35 years ago.
http://youtu.be/BjSNndzPZko
Opening night came and we had a full house, about 50 seats, with a few standing. The lights went up on Peter, already on stage reading his book. I was dressed cleanly but not trendy, no jeans but khaki work pants. I entered through the back of the audience and stood there just staring at Peter. Out of the corner of my eye I saw people turn and look at me standing at the top of the stairs. They must have thought that I was part of the show or some nut that wondered in off the street. When I finally walked on stage I could feel the tension in the audience and the creative juices in me were flowing full force. I was momentarily enjoying having the audiences acute attention. I had to grab all my powers of concentration and put the audience out of my mind. I had to grab onto Jerry who was going through the worst period of his life while I was going through one of my best.
I concentrated on my overall objective which was to commit suicide, this triggered the minor objective to have a stranger kill me. And if I was going to get him to kill me, first I had to gain his confidence.
" I been to the zoo" got a big release of tension laugh. Then it happened, the audience hung on every word that was said and laughed heartily 3/4ths of play until it takes a dark turn.
When we went out to take our bows at the end, the audience was silent at first then erupted in loud cheering and applause. I looked out at the audience and there was many a wet eye. There were a few friends that thought acting was a phase I was going through, a good way to meet women, but now they knew. I saw it in the way they reacted when we went out afterwards. It was like I had become someone else.
We had just 8 performances and everyone went great except one. On the second weekend of the run as I entered through the audience I could not help but notice that this was not the normal scruffy audience that went to this theater. This was an uptown audience scrubbed and well dressed, the kind of people that never go below 34th Street unless they were going to the New York Shakespeare Public Theater. Who are they, I thought and it threw me. When the laughs did not come as usual, I pushed, which made it worse for me. I was able to gather myself finally and the rest of the show went ok but not the power it normally had. Maybe they were agents or casting directors that came to see this unknown awesome talent and I didn't deliver. Maybe if I was warned before I went out that important people were there ,it wouldn't have been such a surprise. But that is live theater.
I am leaving a link here of a monologue from "The Zoo Story" that I did with the web cam. It will give you an idea of Edward Albee's writing. I did it originally 35 years ago.
http://youtu.be/BjSNndzPZko
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