PINCH ME! This can't be happening!!
Tomorrow night the short film I shot last summer, Wake, will be receiving its premiere at the Tribeca Cinema. They're showing the film in both theaters, and apparently it's completely booked. As if that weren't cool enough, today I got a call from my agent that I landed a role in August: Osage County on Broadway! How is this possible??
I've spent twenty-four years in New York, working some, mostly regional theater, the occasional TV gig. And just when I made plans to return to grad school this fall (I'll be attending the MFA Directing Program at Brooklyn College)...bam! I start to get work! What does it all mean?
Well, first of all, a little explanation. I'm only going into the show for one week. Yes, one week only on Broadway. I'll be playing the role of Steve Heidebrecht, which means that actor Brian Kerwin must be going on vacation for a week. Which is awesome! I'll be joining a cast that includes the legendary Estelle Parsons! What a way to make a debut!
There must be something to the act of resignation. Not that I ever planned on leaving acting. However, just knowing that come September I will be taking my career into my own hands, no longer at the whims of fickle fortune and the casting powers-that-be, released me somehow. I wasn't desperate. I no longer needed the role. It would simply be fun! That's all. Consequently I went into the audition relaxed, confident, present. My only objective was to have fun and I didn't care at all whether I got the job. This is an important lesson, but one which cannot be replicated mechanically. I couldn't have achieved it simply by pretending not to care, or tricking myself into having something better to do. It had to be actualized. And so it was.
I'll be opening in the show on August 19 and closing on August 24. Get your tickets now!
