On June 19th, Choreography Media Honors in association with Dance Camera West presented the Choreography, Collaboration and Cocktails event with Choreographer - Marguerite Derricks,
Director - Matthew Diamond, Choreographer - Tyce Diorio, Choreographers - Tabitha D’Umo and Napoleon D’Umo, Choreographer - Daniel Ezralow, Production Designer - Mark Hofeling, Choreographer - Charles Klapow, Producer - John Palermo, and Producer - Barry Rosenbush.

Teresa Taylor, one of the Executive Producers at Choreography Media Honors, invited me to this wonderful event. At the beginning of my career, Teresa was my dance agent and her dedication and encouragement had a great deal to do with my choice to stay in the industry when I was learning about the business. Years passed and both of us went on different paths, but to my delight, we reconnected at the “TV Moves” event last July, which she produced for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.  Over all these years, Teresa has been devoted to promoting dance in the media and her enthusiasm for dance and performers is contagious.  By helping numerous dancers, choreographers and directors navigate and maintain their careers during the past 20 years; she’s built some amazing relationships with gifted artists.  As a producer, she continues to contribute enormously to the dance community by finding ways to bring many types of these visionaries together to collaborate and create inspiring projects.

Instead of an award presentation, a panel discussion was held about how dance affects our society, the collaborative process involved in producing events with choreography and how the use of media can help to continue the art form.  Many of the panelists talked about how they were first inspired by watching dance performed on television, which originally made them want to learn to dance. Over the course of their careers, each one of these panelists have made major contributions to programs and continue to have an active influence on today’s television audience.

“So You Think You Can Dance“, is actually classified as a game show, so the creative team of Matthew Diamond, Tyce Diorio, Tabitha D’Umo and Napoleon D’Umo talked about the rules and regulations they are required to follow.  One of the many challenges is the short amount of time that they are allowed with the contestants for the rehearsals and performances.  On the same note, Marguerite Derricks and John Palermo credited Hugh Jackman’s ability as a performer to bring their collaborative idea to life at “The 81st Annual Academy Awards”, since they also had time limitations for rehearsals and production.  Barry Rosenbush, Mark Hofeling and Charles Klapow face a different set of challenges by creating “High School Musical”, which has specific production design needs in order to showcase the choreography and protect the performers in the process. Daniel Ezralow also talked about incorporating the way a performance is captured into the choreography design on a project.

All of the professionals on the discussion panel have an incredible understanding of the technical aspects production and their creative styles keep performances engaging, so viewers can be captivated by a performance as if it were a live show.  As television becomes more progressive, these artists are the pushing the boundaries to keep the dance community growing, so it can evolve and continue to thrive within our society.  Thanks to them, dance can keep inspiring people to become performers, like it did for me.

Tags: Acting, Dance

My good friend Troy Burgess is currently starring in “Ring of Fire,” at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. Creators Richard Maltby and William Meade skillfully used 35 of Johnny Cash’s songs, relying on song lyrics combined with a few narratives, to give us a glimpse into Cash’s life and his journey.

When I met Troy in 1989, he was already known as a triple threat performer, acting, dancing and singing for a living.  In this show, he really shines by playing guitar as well. Although I’m typically not a fan of Country music, Cash’s songs, with their hints of his gospel roots and wry storytelling style, coupled with the enthusiasm of this multi-talented cast made the show feel more like a live review than a musical. To me, the most impressive numbers were songs like “I’ve been Everywhere”, when the entire cast sings and also play acoustic guitars as they perform.

The show also stars Michelle Duffy, Jason Edwards, Christa Jackson, Brantley Kearns, Jeff Lisenby, John W. Marshall, Tom Mason, Brest Moyer, and Mark San Filippo. “Ring of Fire,” is at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, until June 21st.

Tags: Acting, Local Theatre

June 13th, was “Family Day” at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, where members could bring their families to experience specially hosted events at different booths in the plaza area of the Leonard H. Goldenson Theater in North Hollywood, California.  Two screenings of Pixar’s “UP”,  were also available to members who registered in advance.

My foster Mom, Virginia Montero is also a member of the TV Academy, so we attended this event together.  Both of us just loved the storyline of “UP” and we were discussing the film after seeing it.  What I found thought provoking is how Pixar has keenly come up with a way to use their amazing technology to create such compelling storylines, ripe with adventure and rich with the lessons we may learn throughout our lives.  The Pixar short “Partly Cloudy”, was a wonderful example of how those stories can also be told quickly and with humor.

A big thank you to Ms. Rocci Chatfield.  She’s produced so many of these fantastic Television Academy events, all of which bring members (and in this case their families) the opportunity to share some wonderful experiences together.

Tags: Academy of Television Arts & Sciences

David Ackert was kind enough to allow me to be a guest in his “The Working Actor” course at UCLA Extension. The panel discussions that David hosts, with professionals who are well recognized in the entertainment industry, give actors the opportunity to hear directly from people who have extensive work experience.  Panelists were:  Brian Altounian, Todd Justice, Vahan Moosekian, Randy Vasquez, and Gary Zuckerbrod.

David asked the panelists a series of questions, giving them an opportunity to share their background, knowledge of the business and insights with the class.  “Understand what you are getting into”, said Todd Justice, when he gave us some staggering statistics citing the number of actors submitted online for some recent television roles.  Although the number was high and those odds might make some individuals uncomfortable, Brian Altounian reassured us that producers, directors and casting directors are usually rooting for the actor when they audition them for a role.  To better explain that idea, he used the analogy of when people go to watch a stand-up comedian, where audience members are really hoping that the performer can entertain them and want to see the performer succeed.

I was particularly impressed with the consistent reminders from the panelists to remember the   professionalism required to attain and maintain success. Gary Zuckerbrod had 3 tips -  1) Acting is an artistic craft and performers need to constantly renew their craft. 2) When you audition it’s a job interview, so be prepared, assess a room and adjust accordingly.  3) Make sure to do your homework to know the series and the tone of the show.  Vahan Moosekian added “show your point of view in your reading, really bring yourself to the role and be creative in your interpretation”.  It’s also important to network and be creative to keep working, so Randy Vasquez has expanded his career by producing his own projects, which is something that David Ackert does as well.

David’s “The Working Actor” will be co-taught with casting director Pam Dixon this fall at UCLA Extension.  Classes are on Mondays at 7pm starting September 21st, 2009.

Tags: Acting, Acting Classes

On June 7th, the 5th Annual Fred Rogers Memorial Scholarship Event celebrated this year’s scholarship winners along with presenting the Innovation in Television Award to Josh Selig, the Founder and President of Little Airplane Productions, Inc.

The event was hosted by Tom Kenny, best known as the voice of “SpongeBob Square Pants”.  Cast members Nathan Kress and Jerry Trainor from the hit show “iCarly”, along with Mrs. Joanne Rogers, were award presenters.  After the awards, the celebration continued with an ice-cream social reception.  Mr. McFeely known for the saying “Speedy Delivery” on the award-winning “Mister Roger’s Neighborhood”, was on hand for autographs.

The Fred Rogers Memorial Scholarship honors his ample contribution to children’s television and his devotion to creating quality programming.  Applications are available on the Television Academy Foundation’s website.  Entries are evaluated by two governors representing the Television Academy’s Children’s Programming Peer Group. In addition to the monetary award, children’s programming professionals mentor winners during the academic year. The Fred Rogers Memorial Scholarship is made possible through the generous underwriting of Ernst & Young.

Tags: Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Scholarships

Stuart W. Howard and I met when I had the pleasure of working with him on “Days of Our Lives”.  He’s currently performing as “Captain Keller” in “The Miracle Worker” at the Edgemar Center for the Arts in Santa Monica, so I headed over to catch him in action.

“The Miracle Worker” by William Gibson, explores the relationship between Helen Keller and her sign language teacher, Anne Sullivan.  Based on Keller’s autobiography and Sullivan’s letters, the story depicts some of the challenges these two women faced and were able to overcome, giving hope and inspiration to generations of individuals dealing with disabilities.  The play also reveals the intense and sometimes profound effect that coping with a special-needs individual can create for the family and the primary caregivers.

Stuart’s portrayal of “Captain Keller” embodied the deep emotional conflicts that any parent would face, trying to balance the love of his family with the moral standards of society during the 1800’s.  The entire cast gave rich, captivating performances, incorporating the physical outbursts and emotional metamorphosis of their respective characters, making each one of them interesting to watch.

“The Miracle Worker” is running until June 28th.  For the frugal theatergoer, discount tickets can be purchased through Goldstar, Plays411.  The Edgemar also has tickets available on their website.

Tags: Acting, Local Theatre