Blog Stage - Acting in Film, TV, Theatre - Backstage

Chow Down and Mull Over

I just found article about what stars order and eat during interviews, and it got me thinking. This is a little puff piece that carries surprising weight, if you start to consider all the issues involved, especially for extremely public, well-known people having their decisions and behaviors analyzed so carefully by the press and the public.

Bedbugs!!! The Musical

Embarrassingly enough, it was personal experience that led me to see Bedbugs!!! The Musical at the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Two years ago, I fell victim to those linen-dwelling vampires in my Brooklyn apartment, and mentally I have never recovered.

The problem with bedbugs is not so much the blistering, itchy warzone on your body. It's the uncertainty, the insomnia, the isolation, the plastic wrapping, the vaccuuming, the self-loathing, the pesticide-induced delirium, and worst of all, the paranoia that never ever goes away.

But looked at another way, bedbugs are a sci-fi 80's rock musical comedy waiting to happen. They emerged out of nowhere after a half-century hiatus having mutated into stronger, pissier creatures. They come out at dawn to suck your blood, they breed in droves, they conquer entire buildings within a few weeks, and they create more anxiety in human beings than airborne carcinogens and nuclear war put together.

McMahon the Rapper

As reported by Derrik J. Lang over at AP, Ed McMahon is going to appear in a series of online videos -- wait for it -- rapping. Oh yes. Rapping.

McGangsta: Ed McMahon to rap in viral videos.

"The videos feature McMahon wearing a tracksuit, being chauffeured around Los Angeles in a Cadillac Escalade golf cart and waxing lyrical about his very public financial troubles."

You can catch the videos in October.

I for one hope that the 85-year-old man with the infamous intro rocks it out.

--Anna Bengel

Renovated TKTS Booth Opening at Times Square

The New York Times reports that TKTS is scheduled to reopen on Oct. 16 at 12:30 p.m. in Duffy Square. The new discount theatre ticket sales booth will be located at the intersection of Broadway and Seventh Ave. at 46th St. The booth is made of fiberglass and has an amphitheater-style staircase, with 27 slip-resistant steps that will be able to seat more than 500 patient bargain hunters.

TKTS also opened a booth in downtown Brooklyn in July.

-- Daniel Lehman

Talk Back

Art, and acting in particular, has the power to raise a society’s collective consciousness, which then can be catalyzed into impact and action. During this election year, it is important to consider what actors can do to serve a cause that is larger than they are. That’s right, present and future stars of the screen and stage: America needs you.

West Coast Casting Highlights - 9/25/08

Every week Back Stage publishes hundreds of notices -- casting notices, entertainment-industry job notices, and calls for submissions to talent contests and film festivals. Back Stage is the premier resource for actors, dancers, singers, comedians, and all performing artists -- plus those talented individuals working behind-the-scenes, including writers and crew -- looking for quality opportunities.  BackStage.com's casting database includes all of the notices from  the  popular Back Stage East and Back Stage West  publications, plus hundreds of additional items.

WEST COAST:

Below are a few highlights from this week's West Coast notices, compiled by West Coast Casting Editor Cassie Carpenter:

Naked Clown Calendar Coming to Haunt Your Nightmares

The Contra Costa Times reports that graduates of San Francisco's Clown Conservatory class of 2008 "have stripped down to their birthday suits to make a 2009 Naked Clown Calendar," a tongue-in-cheek project to be sold as a fundraiser for multiple sclerosis (MS).

Signed, Kitty Face

Anonymity opens up split personality zone: Faceless communication online or over the phone often turns nice people nasty.

Pretty soon this will be a psychological diagnosis, a mental condition with its very own designation by the American  Psychological Association. Could we call it "anonymity disorder"?

--Anna Bengel

Raise Money and Win Prizes!

The first of three super fundraising days for New York Cares starts tomorrow, Sept. 25. These days offer special prizes to volunteers who can raise the most money in 24 hours. You could win an Apple 4GB iPod Nano, courtesy of Tekserve!

New York Cares helps create greater learning environments for New York City school children by cleaning and painting murals and classrooms, adding new line games to playgrounds, organizing libraries, and planting flowers at more than 100 public schools throughout the five boroughs.

Get started on the New York Cares website.

Testing the Fertility Waters

I don't usually feel for super-famous, super-rich, super-successful actors, especially if they court attention and ink. Those that want to stay mainly out of the public eye manage to do that (Julia Roberts out on her ranch, for instance). But I felt a little pang of sympathy for Nicole Kidman because of this headline: "Kidman credits 'fertility waters' with pregnancy." The headline is heavy and meant to be taken in all seriousness, but doesn't it sound in the article like Kidman is basically kidding? Just being light-hearted?