I put some pictures of the last reading I did up on my website (including the one above). It was a musical written around the music of Peter Gabriel called US. These types of events happen all the time in NYC. It's a chance for writers, composers, etc to see their work performed without having to put up a ton of money for sets, costumes, a venue, etc. Most of these works are "a work in progress", so there are many changes to come.

This was the first public performance of US. It's great for we actor folk because you meet a lot of new people in a short amount of time (a reading usually only take 1 week to rehearse and is only 1 performance). Plus, you have to think on your feet and learn the show VERY quickly. An added bonus is discovering great new music like Peter Gabriel's. I really had no idea of the depth of his work. You should check out some of his stuff from the late 1980s to early 1990s.

Tarzan started like this. In fact, I think there were several "readings" before they moved forward with a full production. Even from the first rehearsals, there were many changes before we finally opened on Broadway. There are actually lots of different things in the German production too. It's fascinating to see how art progresses.

I just got back from another road trip to see two good buddies of mine, one I met last year on Little House on the Prairie and the other I went to college with @ UNC.

I drove down to Philadelphia to see the first buddy in the tour of GREASE! Now, I have to admit I was not expecting to be blown out of the water by the production since I have done over 500 performances of it myself in Europe and tend to go catatonic at the first trumpet blasts of "Grease is the Word"...BUT....I have to say, I was really impressed, and mostly by my friend's performance. He really was tremendous in the show, and THAT's saying something for a performance in Grease! He really stood out.

Then it was on to Baltimore where my friend and his new wife have a wonderful "row house" in the heart of the city. We went to a art festival downtown with tons of free exhibits and DELICIOUS food. We actually sat through an hour talk on the history of "row houses"....again, was not expecting much but it was QUITE fascinating. Ended the evening with a rooftop BBQ. My dessert was a hot fudge sunday on my drive back to NYC tonight.

While I am exhausted, it was well worth the trips to spend time with the people you care about. I'm trying to practice what I preach, "invest in people, not in things".

So, I've finally had some time to clear my desk of all the clutter that has built up this spring and found this gem amidst the rubble. My life is slowly getting back in order, but it was fun with a little chaos actually!

This picture was taken on what I believe was our first and only canceled show. After 40 minutes or so of waiting to start the show, we had to cancel because the sound was not working at all. And so, there we were, lil' Tarzan and me, all dressed up and nowhere to fly :) This was snapped in the house before we went out to announce the final sad news of canceling the show.

It's funny that we play the same character in the show, but we rarely get to see each other on or off stage. Back stage, the young Tarzans are always with the "wrangler" (at least that's what we called the child supervisor in America). On stage, when one of us enters, the other exits. I see him for a brief moment when I fly in for "So Ein Mann". And then, for one magical moment, we get to connect when he descends on the trunk. It's one of my favorite moments.

I love this pic!

This is my first attempt at a blog. I guess to answer the title "where to next?": TO THE BLOG, MATES!

I was inspired to start a blog because my sister and dear friend have made the plunge, so the blog-water is a little less scary now. Plus, there were some lovely people I recently met in Germany that gave me the last encouragement to try.

Hopefully, the content will get better as I learn the art of the blog, so please bear with me.

So, in the past three weeks I have flown from San Franscisco-Kansas City-NYC-Germany-Denver-NYC. Let the frequent flier miles rain down on me :) I finally have a little time to change focus from grunting and singing in Deutsch in TARZAN to riding horses and winning my gal, Laura, in LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE. I get to wear a bit more clothes in the latter.

We'll see what will come in the meantime....!