I learned only recently that my friend and colleague Bill Hart had passed away on Sunday, January 20th. I was deeply saddened by the news. I hadn't seen Bill for a number of years, and wasn't aware that he was ill. He apparently had pancreatic cancer.Bill was well-known by everyone who worked in the downtown theater scene in New York. For many years he served as literary manager at Joseph Papp's Public Theatre. He also directed a famous production of a play starring Robert DeNiro - the only time Mr. DeNiro appeared on Broadway. Bill also had been a long-time friend and colleague of Sam Shepard, directing several of Mr. Shepard's early plays with Theatre Genesis at St. Mark's Church on the Bowery.
I came to know Bill through Joseph Chaikin, when I was invited to join the ensemble of a new collaborative play about disabilities. Bill served as the company's dramaturg, but in many respects was a co-director with Mr. Chaikin. We worked together on the disabilities project over the course of ten years, sometimes with breaks of several months or even a year in between rehearsal periods. Many other artists came to work with the company as writers and contributors. Among them: David Willinger, Charles Mee, Jr., Bell Chevigny, Elizabeth Swados, and John Belluso. The work was presented in its final form as bodySONGS at the Public Theatre in 2001.
Bill had a great sense of humor, although his ideas were sometimes a little dark for Joe Chaikin's tastes. I loved that about Bill. He was always willing to push the work to the edge - exploring the kinky, the perverse, the deviant. This was a nice counter-balance to the kind of humor and levity sought by Joe. It was really Bill who ultimately shaped the piece we performed. He kept track of all of the work that had been created over the ten years, and culled them into a dramatic structure. His intellect was razor sharp.
I enjoyed spending time with Bill. We had drinks and meals together on many occasions. I remember one evening when we dined with Joe Chaikin at the home of Anders Cato. Bill was completely uncensored in his humor. I also remember being at the Acme Cafe on Great Jones Street after a reading of The Late Henry Moss by Sam Shepard. Bill sat across from Sam and the two men talked for hours. Sam needed to hear what Bill had to say about the play. That's how much respect Sam Shepard had for Bill.
Here is the link to Bill's obituary in the New York Times. Like his life, it is much too brief. He will be missed by so many of us.
On Friday I had a reunion with my friend Mark Hall Amitin. We'd not seen each other in far too many years. It truly felt like a homecoming. Mark had been at the center of my life in the theater for over a decade, and has influenced my thinking about the role of theater in society more than perhaps anybody else. He is the very embodiment of the artist/activist, and has spent a lifetime working to advance the evolution of humankind away from cynicism and violence and toward equality, peace and freedom of expression. This he has done both from outside "the system" (such as his work with the Living Theatre) and from within (bringing non-mainstream artists to prominence in Hollywood). His is a lifetime of achievement. I couldn't even begin to recount his accomplishments in this one blog entry. But let me just say this: if you look at every major theatrical movement of the past forty years - every significant experimental theater, many of our most honored writers, actors, and directors - somewhere you will find a link back to Mark. He operated as the hub for the convergence of politics and art at a time when America was most desperately in need of the voice of opposition.
In 1968 Mark began a company called Universal Movement Theatre, sharing an office space with Abbey Hoffman. He has known, worked with, represented, taught, produced and/or influenced artists such as Julian Beck and Judith 
Malina, Joseph Chaikin, Jean-Claude vanItallie, Lee Breuer, Ruth Maleczek, JoAnne Akalitis, Edward Albee, Sam Shepard, Spalding Gray, Ellen Stewart, Shami Chaikin, Joan MacIntosh, Karen Ludwig, Shirley Stoller, Bread & Puppet Theatre, Squat Theatre....the list goes on and on. He also discovered and nurtured many new talents, most notably Steve Buscemi (see photo on left), but also David Cale, Paul Zaloom, Mark Boone Jr., The Kipper Kids, and Peter Facinelli. Mark also earned his PhD. in Theatre from the Sorbonne in Paris, and has been active as a teacher, lecturer, and director for more than twenty years. Quite simply, he is "a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma".
For several years I worked alongside Mark as he ran his theatrical management company World of Culture, Inc. It was here that I first learned the nuts and bolts of show business. I also got my feet wet as an actor. Mark helped me land me first roles in the theater, and also coached me for a recurring role on As The World Turns. It was through Mark that I met playwright Jean-Claude vanItallie, which ultimately led me to Joseph Chaikin. I will be forever grateful to Mark for giving me the opportunity to move among the most revered figures of the American theater.
Mark has overcome much adversity in his life. He came from very humble roots - a small town in 
New Jersey - where he grew up gay in pre-sexual-revolution America. He has always proudly maintained his identity as a Jew, even has he has questioned the deeper meaning of God and religion in his life. His passion for the plight of the Palestinians brought him to Gaza during the second Intifada, where he worked with a group of Palestinian actors to tell the story of their life and struggles. In more recent years he has traveled to Egypt to adjudicate a festival of international theater, and to China where he directed his own adaptation of Peer Gynt.
In the few short hours I spent with Mark on Friday, our conversation wandered from topic to topic - politics, relationships, eBay, death - but always we came back the theater. This is the common ground that we share, a project begun twenty years ago, whose next chapter is yet to be written.
Good to see you, Mark.
Wayne
This is truly one for the book.
There I was, yesterday afternoon, sitting at my computer and trying to solve an algebraic equation! Egads. I was scheduled to take the GREs today in preparation for my application to various graduate schools. At 5:30 pm, I got a phone call from my agent David Cash, saying that Law & Order wanted to hire me for a week, would I be available. Uh...yes. "Your first day would be tomorrow". Huh?
So much for the GRE.
I had auditioned for this new episode ("Tango") last Wednesday, and was completely flummoxed because I waited an hour and a half to get in. It was also the first night of the Winter Workshop which I am teaching with Eva Burgess , and I finally told Suzanne Ryan (Law & Order's casting director) that I had to leave. She squeezed me in, but I was in such a tizzy I assumed that was the end of it.
And it was. They cast somebody else.
But, whomever they cast suddenly booked a commercial and I was their next pick. So lo and behold...the role was mine. Not bad. A week's work on a network show in the middle of a writer's strike. I'm stoked!
I immediately contacted Ted Sluberski, and had a great coaching session.
So today I showed up at Chelsea Piers at 5pm and was rushed into hair and make-up. I got a great free haircut. And then on to wardrobe. Before I knew it, I was sitting in a bustling courtroom watching the work of such esteemed actors as Jeffrey DeMunn, Marlyne N. Afflack, Maria Dizzia, Valerie Whitman, Alana de la Garza...it was wild! Peter Parros was superb as Judge Matthew Alden, as was Eli Ganias who plays the court Clerk.
While I was in hair and make-up, Jesse L. Martin (who plays detective Green on the show) came in to chat. It's Jesse's birthday tomorrow (January 18) and apparently there had been cake. He was talking to Marlyne about The Wire, and was so passionate about the show, wondering why it hadn't been nominated for an Emmy for Best Ensemble. He went on and on about how underrated th
e show is. ( I can't wait to watch it on DVD. I don't have cable, so I've never seen it.) And then the conversation turned to my friend John Doman (pictured on left), who is one of the stars of The Wire. John did a guest-star on Law & Order back in December, and everyone was so delighted to work with him. I was grinning to myself, thinking I just directed John Doman in reading of Orange Alert. How lucky was I to have such a great actor!
All I can say is...thank God for Dick Wolf. I don't know how they managed to keep shooting while everyone else isn't working. But I'm so grateful for the opportunity. And for the paycheck. Maybe now I can have my teeth cleaned.
Ciao for now.
Wayne
