Arol the Expatriate?
It is tough to succeed in the entertainment business. You have to have a modicum of talent, be able to network well, sell yourself well and have a knack for being in the right place at the right time. In addition, you have to be persistent and keep getting yourself out there, in whatever capacity that may be.
A perfect example of this happened to me recently. A fellow actor, Bill Fairbairn and I had always wanted to work together since appearing in a couple of Shakespeare plays several years ago. He brought to my attention a wonderful two person play called “Mass Appeal” about an alcoholic older priest and the young, maverick seminary student he tries to mentor. The play was written by Bill C. Davis and first appeared in 1991 with a very prominent Off-Broadway theatre company (Manhattan Theatre Club) and subsequently moved to Broadway staring a then relatively unknown Eric Roberts (Julia Roberts brother). Bill Fairbairn and I both thought this would be an excellent production for both of us – easy to mount (just one set piece), easy to cast – me and him, done! - and a prize winning playwright.
I contacted the playwright’s agent at ICM, Buddy Thomas, and had a few email exchanges about obtaining the rights to perform the play which he seemed to think wouldn’t be a problem. While I was in the process of gathering the necessary information – venue, dates, ticket prices, etc. I heard back from Buddy saying that the situation had changed, that some big NY theatre company had optioned one of Bill C. Davis’ other plays and now they were holding back rights to his other titles hoping that there might now be renewed interest in them by more prominent theatre people than Bill Fairbairn and me (if you can imagine that). we were very disappointed since we had really planned to make this production as high profile as possible in an attempt to get the attention of agents and casting directors and try to further our careers.
Buddy was very apologetic for having led us to believe the rights were a done deal and at the end of his email he said that the playwright Bill C. Davis liked our resumes and our energy and enthusiasm and thought we would be perfect for a new play of his called EXPATRIATE that was hot off the printer. He wanted to meet with us to potentially do a reading of the play and then take it from there. Bill F. and I were totally jazzed up thinking about the possibilities of working with a prize winning published playwright.
Our first meeting with Bill C. was at the Algonquin Hotel in midtown and, by all accounts, it went very well. He is a very down to earth guy. Very humble. It's hard to believe he is such a successful playwright. During lunch we talked about the play mostly and about the characters. It is a very well written play about a dysfunctional family from Massachusetts. The plot centers around a son who has decided to leave the country and move to his ancestral home in Ireland because he is disillusioned with the way the country is going. I normally wouldn’t be interested in a politically based play, but that is only on the surface. Underneath is a rich web of family relationships that is very interesting. We have met twice since then to read through the play and try to find the third character, Muddy, the grandmother. It is unclear where this will go – Bill C. is careful not to promise too much – but we will at least do a reading probably for a small group of people so he can see how it reads in front of an audience. I am trying to keep my excitement in check, but I know that while it could end up going nowhere, it could also lead to a full production of the play Off-Broadway or otherwise which would definitely help to further my career. It’s all about getting out there, making it happen for yourself and meeting the right people. We’ll see. I’ll keep you posted.
A perfect example of this happened to me recently. A fellow actor, Bill Fairbairn and I had always wanted to work together since appearing in a couple of Shakespeare plays several years ago. He brought to my attention a wonderful two person play called “Mass Appeal” about an alcoholic older priest and the young, maverick seminary student he tries to mentor. The play was written by Bill C. Davis and first appeared in 1991 with a very prominent Off-Broadway theatre company (Manhattan Theatre Club) and subsequently moved to Broadway staring a then relatively unknown Eric Roberts (Julia Roberts brother). Bill Fairbairn and I both thought this would be an excellent production for both of us – easy to mount (just one set piece), easy to cast – me and him, done! - and a prize winning playwright.
I contacted the playwright’s agent at ICM, Buddy Thomas, and had a few email exchanges about obtaining the rights to perform the play which he seemed to think wouldn’t be a problem. While I was in the process of gathering the necessary information – venue, dates, ticket prices, etc. I heard back from Buddy saying that the situation had changed, that some big NY theatre company had optioned one of Bill C. Davis’ other plays and now they were holding back rights to his other titles hoping that there might now be renewed interest in them by more prominent theatre people than Bill Fairbairn and me (if you can imagine that). we were very disappointed since we had really planned to make this production as high profile as possible in an attempt to get the attention of agents and casting directors and try to further our careers.
Buddy was very apologetic for having led us to believe the rights were a done deal and at the end of his email he said that the playwright Bill C. Davis liked our resumes and our energy and enthusiasm and thought we would be perfect for a new play of his called EXPATRIATE that was hot off the printer. He wanted to meet with us to potentially do a reading of the play and then take it from there. Bill F. and I were totally jazzed up thinking about the possibilities of working with a prize winning published playwright.
Our first meeting with Bill C. was at the Algonquin Hotel in midtown and, by all accounts, it went very well. He is a very down to earth guy. Very humble. It's hard to believe he is such a successful playwright. During lunch we talked about the play mostly and about the characters. It is a very well written play about a dysfunctional family from Massachusetts. The plot centers around a son who has decided to leave the country and move to his ancestral home in Ireland because he is disillusioned with the way the country is going. I normally wouldn’t be interested in a politically based play, but that is only on the surface. Underneath is a rich web of family relationships that is very interesting. We have met twice since then to read through the play and try to find the third character, Muddy, the grandmother. It is unclear where this will go – Bill C. is careful not to promise too much – but we will at least do a reading probably for a small group of people so he can see how it reads in front of an audience. I am trying to keep my excitement in check, but I know that while it could end up going nowhere, it could also lead to a full production of the play Off-Broadway or otherwise which would definitely help to further my career. It’s all about getting out there, making it happen for yourself and meeting the right people. We’ll see. I’ll keep you posted.
posted by Dan & Fran at 11:30 AM
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