So we performed “Lessons Learned” in the Newark public library.  This was interesting because the audience was closer to us during our performance and we had a mixture of students from all different age groups.  All in all, we performed really well and the audience enjoyed and I believed learned some pretty good lessons.

I also had my first taste of “stardom” with some of the kids from the audience wanting to take my picture after the show and wanting to take a picture with me.  Was a great feeling and at the end of the day I hope they were able to learn some valuable lessons through our characters.  Pictures of the show can be found in the gallery and stay tuned for a brain dump from our next show which should take place in mid-Nov

So I’m sure you want to know how the shows have been going for me, well I’m happy to report a lot of good things.   I have the opportunity to play two characters in this show.  I play Jose and Celia Cruz’s father Simon.  Jose is a HS student who has just completed his HS journey and is about to embark on the new challenges of college.  Jose’s teacher, Mr. C., recognizes that Jose has no real plan in life and he is trying to help him out and put him on the right track to succeed in his future endeavours.  Mr. C. uses examples of 3 famous Latinos in history to help Jose see that he can be whatever he wants to be and that no one can keep him from his dreams.  The story starts off in the classroom where Jose is basically saying goodbye to his former HS and classroom and is a bit taken back as he is about to leave what is known and comfortable for him and embark on journey that will change his life.

Mr. C. guides Jose by teaching him about a Nationally recognized talk show host Geraldo Rivera, who learned about his roots and identity through his struggles to make it as a journalist.  He then speaks about Celia Cruz, one of the most recognized music legends who came out of Cuba and concludes with discussing Antonia Novello, the first Puerto Rican Female Surgeon General of the United States.

On Oct. 13th we performed the first show of the season for a group of middle school kids in a school in south Jersey.  We had 2 shows to perform and as expected we were all a bit nervous.  Just before the show started there was a bit of drama, one of the main characters and my co-star didn’t show up for the show.  So the understudy John had to prepare for the show in a hurry as we were about to start our first of two performances in under an hour. 

As they say in showbiz the show must go on and so it did.  John being the professional that he is got up to speed and we ended up having a great first performance and the crowd loved us.  Great teamwork on our parts also led towards a great show.  There were a few moments in the show that John didn’t remember his lines and we worked through it and the audience had no idea what was missing, let alone that we were missing the main actor that had worked with me on the scene.

This marked for me, only my second live performance in my acting career and I was greeted at the end by the audience with loud cheers and applauds.  That gave me a good boost of confidence and a boost of energy leading into our our second show which ended up being superb.

Stay tuned for our next show and pics of the performance…

I have been picked up to be part of a, what I’ll call an “actor troupe”.  The company is called Winceyco and they are contracted to perform in schools all around the NY/NJ Metro area. 

This is a great opportunity for me to do what I love and give back to my community by performing shows that will hopefully help educate our youth.  Therefore, keep an eye out for me and pics of some of the performances that I’ll be acting in.  Above all, wish me luck as this will be only the second time that I’ve ventured into the realm of stage acting

Calling all those who are in the entertainment industry and want to stay connected with those friends you’ve made over time or just want to meet new ones to let your creative juices flow.  Check out ActorsConnect.com

Site was inspired by all the other social networking sites i.e. Myspace.com but the main difference is that this site is geared towards those in our industry, it’s free, it’s made by an actor —>Me for actors, directors, photographers, etc…

So check it out and let me know what you think… www.actorsconnect.com

So I hadn’t been to the theatre in a while and when I heard Julia Roberts was going to be on Broadway, I figured why not go see her performance.  Well, to say I was dissapointed in the show is not saying enough.  Julia is good on screen but on stage she lacked a bit of stage presence although I did like the second act of the show.

Could it had been the two Corona’s I drank before going to see the show?  Well, honestly I don’t know but hey it was a Cinco de Mayo celebration weekend and I did have a lot on my mind that week, so maybe :/  But if there is any advice I can give, one is don’t spend the 100 bucks or more for the tickets to see this show, which is ending in June I believe and second, don’t go see the show if you had a long day, because once they turned out the lights and started the show it was an ongoing struggle to stay awake… lol

I do have to give the actors credit, there were a lot of scenes that were very dialogue heavy and all the actors did very well with just about every scene.  The second part of the show was probably my favorite, not because it was ending soon, but because it tied all the scenes from the first act together and gave a complete picture.  The actors also ended on a very strong note and it was very apparent they had warmed up to the audience and if there were any early butterflies still present, as just about every actor has initially, they were all gone. 

So all in all, “Three Days of Rain” was not the best of Broadway shows I’ve seen to date.

So I went to Hong Kong and well I had a great time but if I had to choose the place I enjoyed the most, I’d have to pick Tokyo.  Why you may ask?  Well, Hong Kong was a very good experience don’t get me wrong, I think I liked the fact that I was challenged more in Tokyo.  Challenges with language when trying to order food and get around and it forced me to learn certain keywords and phrases in Japanese.

While I learned a few words in Cantonese, it was very easy to get around with just speaking English in Hong Kong, mainly because HK was a British Colony.  Transportation to/from the Airport was also pretty straightforward.  When in Tokyo, it was like stepping into a totally different world and looking for symbols and colors which identified the Bus I needed to take from the Airport to the Hotel was very key.  In Hong Kong it was very easy to get around.

All in all, a very excellent experience and would love to do it again soon, if not for business like this most recent trip, definately for pleasure!

Andy, see you in Dec. buddy and congrats again!

Pictures of my experience can be found in the gallery