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.)