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

Mimi and Flo at Comix Comedy Club

Remember Mimi and Flo from Choose Your Own Adventure web series?

The two actresses will be live on stage in NYC at 7:30 p.m. on June 4th.

The show will kick off with a brand new Choose Your Own Adventure video special and dance routine by Mimo and Flo. Their performances will be accompanied by The Hazzards, a NY ukulele band, as well as Michael Cyril Creighton, Jimmy Owens, and Becky Yamamoto.

Stage Reading at CSULA

The contemporary re-telling of the play, Mariachi Quixote (or La Sanchi Learns to Play the Guitarrón), will be held at California State University Los Angeles on Monday.

The two-act musical comedy production features 32 actor/readers and CSULA's new Golden Eagle Mariachi Band – or Mariachi Aguila de Oro.  

Mariachi Quixote was a 2000 regional finalist in the Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival.

Filmmaker Wins Sloan Foundation Award

Musa Syeed is the 2008-09 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Feature Film Production Fund Award winner.   

The Sloan Foundation Award supports young filmmakers in creating feature-length narrative projects about science, technology, economics, and the quality of American life. The New-York based foundation, granted its first Feature Film Production Award to the Kanbar Institute filmmakers in 2002.

Panel Discussion with New York Filmmakers

The Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting teamed up with mtvU to present a free panel discussion that will spotlight three New York filmmakers as they address the opportunities of digital media technology in the film world.

The event, Made in NY: A Young Filmmakers Forum, begins at 6 p.m. (doors open at 5:30 p.m.) on June 2. The speakers will include William Caballero, Antonio Campos, Esosa Edosomwan, and Eric Conte (vice president of production for mtvU).

Casting News -- May 29, 2009

Complete casting has been announced for the Roundabout Theatre Company's new fall revival of Bye Bye Birdie on Broadway. Nolan Gerard Funk will star as hip-swiveling rock star Conrad Birdie, with Allie Trimm as teen Kim MacAffee, Tony nominee Dee Hoty as Mrs. MacAfee, Matt Doyle as teen Hugo Peabody, Molly Ephraim as teen Ursula Merkle, and Jake Evan Schwencke as little brother Randolph MacAfee. The cast already includes John Stamos, Gina Gershon, Tony winner Bill Irwin, and Tony nominee Jayne Houdyshell. Previews begin Sept. 10 at the new Henry Miller's Theatre; the limited engagement runs Oct. 15, 2009 through Jan. 10, 2010.

Chevy Chase has joined the cast of Hot Tub Time Machine, a comedy starring John Cusack and Rob Corddry. The film follows a bunch of unsatisfied guys who get thrown back to their younger days in 1987 via their Jacuzzi. Chase plays a mysterious repairman who dispenses pearls of wisdom (and may or may not be behind the metaphysical road trip).

'Bridget Jones' and 'Bonnie and Clyde' for B'way?

Readings of two new musicals in progress could foretell new productions on Broadway. The New York Post reports Working Title, the London-based movie company, recently held a reading of a musical version of the popular 2001 film Bridget Jones' Diary. Helen Fielding, author of the original novel and its best-selling sequels, has adapted her original material into a first draft of book and lyrics. There is no composer as of yet, but Billy Elliot director Stephen Daldry was in attendance as well as Peter Darling, the Elliot choreographer. Will Bridget join Billy on Broadway? It's a popular title which women will flock to--and females are make up the majority of theatre ticket buyers. Look to see the show on the West End first, though.

The Leno Gambit

THR analyzes Jay Leno in prime time: Ad execs say the move is a likely winner for NBC, which should cause concern for actors.

What do you get if Courteney Cox marries Jeff Zucker?

Nikki Finke can tell you.

Dragged to Hell...and Back

Just came from the midnight screening of Drag Me to Hell, Sam Raimi's return to horror after making it big with the Spider-Man movies. I love Raimi, he's one of my top 5 favorite directors, and I've been more excited about seeing this film than anything else this summer. So a group of friends met up with me at the Arclight in Hollywood, where I learned that my friend Ben--horror fantatic and director of the genre pix Alien Raiders (now on DVD)--has a special sentimental attachment for the work of Raimi...his first sort of date"with his wife Alicia was following a screening of Evil Dead 2. Watch the video for details...

If our enthusiasm isn't palpable at the end there, I have to note we were all exhausted by the end of the night. For me, the film was an awesome roller coaster ride, and Raimi did not disappoint. I was a little worried about that PG-13 rating, but the film delivers plenty of scares and "ewww" moments. His place on my top 5 is safe and secure.

--Jenelle Riley

'Birdie' Brings in Funk

As we reach for yet another too-obvious headline, the AP tells us that Roundabout has cast former Nickelodeon heart-throb Nolan Gerard Funk to play the titular character of its upcoming revival of Bye-Bye Birdie.

He is the former star of tween musical hit Spectacular! and has appeared in X-Men 2 and CW's Smallville.