The Muppets

I’m almost in tears. Reflecting on my time out at the movies tonight, it was the greatest movie viewing experience I’ve ever had. First of all, how often does a night spent sitting in a movie theater have enough happen in it where you can reflect on it? Not very, that’s how much. But tonight was unique. It was magical. It was sensational. It was muppetational.

My super amazing girlfriend Sami surprised me with tickets to go see The Muppets earlier today. I have been waiting for this movie longer than I can remember, erupting with excitement and laughter at every news tidbit, promo, music video, and parody trailer that came out of building this movie. And when it finally came… I had no money to go see it. So Sami’s surprise was more than welcome, it was uplifting! Still, neither of us knew how surprisingly joyous her joyful surprise would be. She picked two seats in the second row of the El Capitan Theater, just to the left of center. We knew there would be some sort of show involving Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy, and she figured we want to sit close enough to see it. So we arrived to the El Capitan, I checked in on FourSquare and got a free ‘50^th Anniversary of Kermit the Frog’ pin for doing so. We got our complimentary popcorn and sat down in the second row, right behind the organist, who soon played a medley of Mary Poppins and then followed it with “Rainbow Connection”. The show hadn’t started yet and I already got a little prize and felt the magic in the air resonating in me.
Sitting in the orchestral pit of the El Captain, I got to take in more of the theater than I ever had before. It was like I was seeing for the first time again. It’s a beautiful theater. The organist wrapped up his pre-show organing, exiting with “The Muppet Show Theme”, and the curtain rose, and once again, beautiful. Sitting as close as I was I really appreciated the classic Hollywood charm the curtains and lights all had. Then the final one parted and there was a series of boxes lined up across the stage, which I knew was for Kermit and Piggy. A Christmas-sweatered man came out with a microphone to sing Christmas carols with the audience. Then shortly after, Kermit and Piggy popped up from behind the boxes and joined in. Then the three asked the audience to join in, and we sang Christmas carols with Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. We also rung jingle bells which we had been given earlier. The whole thing was wholesome yuletide merriment. As the songs continued, a spotlight popped up on Kermit, who leaned on his elbow, musing to the thought of snowfall in Hollywood, then to Piggy who sang sweetly to her frog prince. The host snuck behind them with a bucket of white confetti and threw it over the couple to make it snow for them. That was sweet enough, but the magic in the air ended the Christmas medley with snowfall in the theater itself. Kermit and Piggy waved goodbye and the theater went dark.

The movie started.

I’ll do my best not to spoil any of the fun and nostalgia of the film, but I will say that it was perfect. It began in a way that made you smile with childhood delight and fondness of yesteryear. The next scenes featured a whimsical and happy musical number in the genre that is distinctly Muppets. Optimistic songs and silly humor are expected in a Muppet movie, and this one did not disappoint. The jokes were signature of their style, but still fresh and new. The audience was laughing over and over again, and I can only imagine they were smiling between the laughs. I expected all the silliness and whimsy, but still found myself impressed with just how much was on the screen. Everything was bright, shiny, and fun!
Then the plot took our characters to Los Angeles. Immediately the bright, shiny, and new was gone. The movie addressed the unhappy reality that the Muppets have not been around much before now. Rather than seeing the brand new songs and dances, the film focused on the past. While I love nostalgia, and am excited to see relics of the past, seeing Kermit’s banjo covered in dust and Jim Henson’s picture on the wall was heartbreaking in the sweetest way. The plot continues to remind us that the Muppets have been all but forgotten. Essentially, The Muppets comes out and says the Muppets are no more. But here’s what separates the Muppets from every other beloved gang of iconic characters; they find inspiration out of nothing, support it, and believe in the most absurd of dreams. If dreams go to die in Los Angeles, they are resurrected at Muppet Studios. From there they set off to do the impossible and do what they do best. And of course, there’s optimism and silliness the entire time.
Moving right along, the majority of the movie takes place in Los Angeles, and I’m so happy to be living here because I feel I appreciated some jokes on a stronger level. Also because there are a number of locations I can “I go there!” to, and one I could say “I’m there right now!” to! In this movie, the Muppets’ Theater is the El Capitan Theater on Hollywood Boulevard, the very theater I was watching The Muppets. I was watching the Muppets perform in a movie in a theater where they perform! It was the next best thing to actually watching the show by being in the movie. That surreal dream was realized by my friend Jack, who I am now jealous as hell of. I’ve never thought I’d regret not doing more extra work. It’s always been a dream of mine to perform alongside the Muppets, and I’d totally settle for being part of the magnificent moments the people at Hollywood locations shared with them.
The Muppets gave us so many of those moments. My heartstrings were tugged repeatedly. Not just through nostalgia and fandom, but in the characters relationships, their struggles, their triumphs, their defeats, and more than anything, their hopes. While The Muppets has everything you’d expect in a Muppet movie, I was still surprised in their actions. The little things they do that make a big difference. The things you’d never see coming but for some reason are so glad you did. It was perfect. And there was also more celebrity cameos than I can count, so it had that going for it too.

As if all this wasn’t enough, I got a text from a friend of mine who works with Kermit. Yeah. Apparently he saw me sitting in that perfect spot, front and center, while he was waiting in the wings before the show. I saw my friend in the movie. Kermit saw me in the audience. Everything was awesome. And to top it off, the El Capitan put a display in their downstairs area featuring Miss Piggy’s wardrobe from the movie. There was also a mural to get your photo with, and two small sets from the movie. I got to see the dust covered banjo and picture of Jim Henson hanging on the wall. We sat down to get our picture. I got my picture in front a mural of the Muppets, in the building which housed their stage, wearing my Kermit the Frog pin, having just gotten a text from him saying he was glad I liked the movie… I’m glad I got the picture, but I’ll be reflecting on this forever.

An actoring lesson.

A week or so I participated in the first annual Experience NoHo Arts Festival. And by participated I mean I went to it. I wanted to see the great unknown wonders my community had to offer. I love these kind of things. I planned on perusing through art galleries and checking out what sounded like some pretty cool bands, but while killing time til other friends could join me, I thought I'd do some personal-minded stuff. There were acting classes being offered. I figured there's no better idea than being a part of the festival while actively being engaged in the betterment of my career. I'd see the galleries later with friends.
So I went to three classes. The first was at a place I think I had been getting newsletter emails from, so I decided to see what it was all about without really having an idea of what I'd be participating in. I walked into a Meisner exercise. I will admit, I was disappointed, as the Meisner repetition exercise is one of the few acting tools I know I don't like. But that's no reason not to participate, so I sat down and re-affiliated myself with Meisner. When the acting coach asked me if I was familiar with it, I told him I dabbled in it. I knew of it, I had done it, but I never really studied it. Even though I don't really care for it, when my turn came to go through the exercise, I felt comfortable with it and did my best. After two rounds of repetition, he told me that I've clearly done this before and knew what I was doing. I kinda found that surprising.
After the short workshop, the acting coach encouraged everyone to leave their information and consider checking out the full class. He came up to me and one other person specifically to tell us that we really should look into it. I forget the specific reason why, but it was very much the ‘you’ve got something in you’ kinda thing. So when they called me up to see if I was interested in auditing a class, I went for it.

This morning he interviewed me to learn a little bit about where I was in my career, as well as to tell me what the class is like. He gave me a scene to read over and told me I’d be working it later in the class. I have to say, the character he had me reading for was perfect. Anyway, we did the repetition exercises, which were a range of experiences in comfort and sincerity. The class continued with some improv scenes, which was interesting to watch. Then it was time for me to do my scene. I had read it enough times to connect to it, not enough times to be stuck in an idea of how it should go, but unfortunately still not enough to have the lines down. I had a good idea, but at one point I had to close my eyes and hope I got the words right enough not to throw off my scene partner. I had a fair grasp of the scene, but still had to look at the pages repeatedly. I wanted to keep eye contact with her and not risk breaking the connection I was making with her, but those damn lines were not there! The first read was not to my level of standard. Much to my surprise however, the coach said it was a good read. The next one was much better. We connected. Eye contact was there. It was real. I wasn’t reading the lines, I was in it. At the girl’s request we did it a third time, and that was just as good. I was much more satisfied with myself. The coach said it was a great read, though it still wasn’t perfect, and didn’t have any notes to give me. At least not yet. He wanted to speak to me after class.
He asked me what I thought of what they did, and whether I got something from it. He said he could tell I knew the exercise and had done it before. Then he told me I was a good actor. And he said it in a way that meant more than just "good". I don't know what, but he made it clean I should feel proud and confident in my acting. He restated it, then continued to tell me that I was a good type, I looked young, and that I should be getting a lot of work. But he also told me that I need to be anchored somewhere. I told him I had been in LA for two years and I hadn’t gone to any classes. I performed weekly with iO West for about six months, but that was about it. I wasn’t with a class, a company, or any acting institution where I was getting myself seen, meeting with people, or just plain being involved in my business. If I had that I could grow, get opinions from peers, and network. Which is important! His biggest advice for me over anything else was simply to find someplace that worked for me and be a part of it. I was a good actor, and I’ve got a lot going for me, I just needed to be somewhere.

This was all very nice to hear. I appreciated all he had to say to me, and I was grateful to discover he thought I was so good at what I do. But I’ll admit the comment needing to find a class and stick with it was a bit of a bummer. I always enjoyed my gyspy-esque lifestyle, bouncing around a number of places without being tied to any particular one. I completely understand his opinion, and I agree with it, but I just like variety. It’s fun.

So now my goal, aside from finding representation, is to figure out some singular place to work on my skills. I already have a class or two in mind, but then I also have to find the money for it. Which would be a lot easier if I had an agency backing me up when I’m auditioning. But it seems I’ll need to take a class and network with all of them first. But then again… that means I need to… Gah. It’s a tough business out here. And I’m well aware of that, don’t get me wrong. I’m going to take everything he said in consideration and keep working at all of this from all the angles I can. I’ll find my way into this cycle and then things will really get moving. I’m very confident in all of this. Nevertheless, it’s great to hear that I’ve got a lot going for me as a very good actor.

I survived Halloween Horror Nights. For the seventh year.

I woke up and my muscles are sore. My legs, my right arm, and the muscles in my fingers are all tense and aching from Halloween Horror Nights.  A little bit in my abs too. …ladies.

I’ve been involved with Halloween Horror Nights since 2004, and for seven of those years I’ve been a scareactor at the event. Four in Universal Orlando, and the last three at Hollywood’s park.  And now, I have finally made the choice to retire from it. And before anybody who knows me says anything, Yes, I have said that before. I decided not to do it in 2008 and instead enjoyed being a guest at the coolest event yet (in which they finally took my idea to do nothing but fairy tales gone wrong), but the next year I auditioned for Hollywood’s event while visiting Los Angeles, and was back in the game. And I’ve said it would be my last year plenty of times… but I think blogging this will make it official.

It’s a great event, and I’m proud to say this was the year that Halloween Horror Nights became the number one Halloween attraction in Southern California, beating Knott’s Scary Farm, which has been leading the race since they came up with the idea thirtysome years ago. I’m also proud to say our house, “Alice Cooper’s: Welcome to My Nightmare”, was consistently leading in points (or something) through the entire month. And personally, I loved our haunted house. I haven’t been so proud of a house or it’s cast since I first joined HHN with Castle Vampyre, a house that won House of the Year and was repeated the next two years. Alice Cooper’s Nightmare was just an awesome, ass-kicking house, full of tons of crazy, scary stuff and Alice Cooper references. Not to mention the rockin’ soundtrack. And for it, I got to play an 8’ tall version of Alice Cooper who was commonly mistaken for a pirate. All of this together made this the perfect year to go out on. I don’t know if I could top that role or that house.

All in all it was a good year. It was exhausting, grueling, demanding, physically stressing work, like it always is. We had to endure cold weather, hectic schedules, lots of prosthetic makeup, and a crazed guest who trashed our backstage break area on the last night. The other stilt walkers and I also had to deal with cheap stilts that were always unstable, until most of us upgraded to the much better, but much heavier stilts. Then we started this rotation system, it was weird. The point is, we had it tough in having to deal with a set of nine pound metal stilts; carrying them around the Scare Base where there wasn’t always room for us to do, waiting for a van to take us down to our spot that would still have room in it for us and all our stuff, and then performing quick, repetitive movements with weights strapped around our calves. Which is why so much of me is sore.

And like I said, this year will be my last. I got some brutal scares, a richly colored bruise (which you get every year), and I broke the set (like I do every year), and I was there almost every night, still coming up with crazy new ways to freak people out. The event really is something special, and it has always made the Halloween season epic. But while I'm working, I can never go to other Halloween events or parties, or even see all of HHN for myself, and it pretty much takes over my entire life for the time. I'm either working or recovering. But I want my October back. When next year comes around, I’ll find something else to do. It’s time for me to move on… I’ve done as much as I can... yada yada. Point is, Horror Nights was fun, but I’m done now. I went out on a "hell week" as a stilt walker in an amazing house in an impressive year... that's a good way to finish.

Plus I scared Alice Cooper's family.