I haven't been posting very much lately and for good reason. I've been cast in lead roles in two one-act plays that will be running at the Repertory East Playhouse in Santa Clarita.

The first is the venerable and clever comedy by Tom Stoppard entitled The Real Inspector Hound. It's a farce that spoofs Agatha Christie as well as skewers theatre critics (almost literally). I'm playing theatre critic Moon who is completely consumed with bitterness over the fact that he is a second-string critic. He is partnered with critic Birdboot (played by old friend George Cummings) who is entranced by some of the lovely actresses onstage. Neither pays much attention to the play and it leads to their comedic downfall.

The second play is called Black Comedy and is written by Paul Schaffer (best known for Equus and Amadeus). This comedy centers around a young and struggling artist named Brindsley (my role). He and his fiancée Carol have "borrowed" the fancy furniture of traveling neighbor Harold in order to impress Carol's Colonel father and a rich art collector. Things go awry when the lights go out, and one by one, characters arrive, including Harold and an old flame of Brindsley's.

The really interesting part of Comedy is that it starts out on a dark stage while the characters act as if the lights are on. When the power goes out, the stage lights come up and the audience can see the characters while they grope around in the dark. Very fun and a bit of a challenge.

The tough part has been that, besides having to juggle work, family, a class, auditions, and rehearsals, I'm also working on memorizing my lines. The director has asked that we be off-book (not dependent on the script) by June 22nd for Hound and June 27th for Comedy. I'm putting my numbers method into action and am also using some other methods to help stuff the 800+ lines into my busy little head. I'll share more about the new trick I've learned in the future.

The plays go up at the end of July and I'll share the details for anyone who is interested. As per usual, I'll keep you posted as best I can along the way.