outbreaks

just a quick dispatch from busy, busy BTP to say things are going well!

this summer the project has been hit by a few external challenges: the threat of a gunman on campus, lice and bedbug outbreaks, and some minor harassment by a mysterious man in a pickup truck. but it's only helped us internally to come together. we're madly rehearsing our various shows for the upcoming festival weekend. i've got students stretching telephone cords across the stage as they chat on a singles line, bumping around wildly as mind-controlled zombies in "time warp," and carrying out the assassination of julius caesar. fun stuff!

monica came for one measly day this weekend, but we had a ball team-teaching a round of classes together, and i was very glad to see her on her birthday. 

austin's shadow

i've had a couple more grueling and wonderful days at btp. a large portion of the past couple of days i dedicated to shuffling along behind austin pendleton, a theatre legend and bona fide genius. you might remember him as the stuttering lawyer in my cousin vinny or as gurgle the fish in finding nemo, and he's been in countless plays and movies and tv shows, in addition to getting a tony nomination for directing elizabeth taylor in little foxes, as well as penning several plays!

i had the honor of introducing him for his Q and A, and i sat with him during his master classes, using my audition notes to select kids to perform their monologues for him. his coaching and teaching were at once both simple and profound, and i tried to absorb as much of it as i could!

i've also had the pleasure of hanging around with an old friend of mine from my early btp days, josh cooke. he's here for the week as a master teacher, and was an apprentice here along with me in 96 and 97. he's been living the LA lifestyle, driving his motorcycle to auditions- he's worked very consistently in commercials, movies, and tv. we see eye to eye on teaching philosophy, and it's fun to have a generational 'peer' here with me in the acting department.

i finished directing my first scene, and we tech it tomorrow morning. in the evening we'll begin my next great opus- a full-out production number of rocky horror's time warp, which i'm directing at debbie's request. it's gonna be a big, loud, freaky, and fun party number, and it's sure to overwhelm me!

classes continue to go really well, and i'm thoroughly enjoying being down here surrounded by so many friends that i only get to see once a year.

(in the picture: austin pendleton giving his Q and A. you can see my bearded self seated in the background. photo by tom porter.)

she's huge in russia

my russian friend evgeniy sent the following message this morning:

"Hey Neil!

 

Great news! "First" channel - the main one in Russia - started to broadcast "Lie to me" this week - http://www.1tv.ru/anons/16.07.2009/id=147866 Now it's on TV every weekday night. Furthermore, "Lie to me" has entered the top three most popular subjects in Russian blogs.

Hope this will gladden you and Monica.

 

My best,

Jenya"

btp 2009!

it's the second day of BTP here in tampa, and things are in full swing. i've already seen 180 monologues from the students, and taught two acting classes. tonight i begin rehearsing one of several numbers i'll be doing this year. i'll also be guest blogging sometimes on the official BTP blog, which is at broadwaytheatreproject.blogspot.com, so feel free to check in there for updates!

i had an EXCELLENT week on lake winnipesaukee, teaching with my friend ron piretti at the heifetz international music institute. it's a beautiful lake, a classy program, and the students are full-on virtuosos. they were a bit shy at first, but they made amazing progress in our public speaking classes, and by the end were like old pros. not bad for a week!!

(in the picture: master teacher patrick wilson and btp artistic director deb mcwaters on the first day of classes. photo by tom porter.)