One Month To Go For Dempsey

This update is a few days late since I was busy closing my 3rd show this weekend at the wonderful Montgomery Theater in Souderton. This time, I said goodbye to "Everybody Loves Opal," a charming play that resonated in a special way with audiences. Thanks so much to all my friends and family that made it out to see me play the misogynistic/drunk Brad Winter. Your constant support means the world. And now it's on to full-time Jack Dempsey in Molumby's Million at Iron Age.

This latest Jack Dempsey update:

8/5/10 (Pre-Dempsey Work Out Weight) = 178 lbs

8/19/10 (Two Week Check-In) = 182 lbs

9/4/10 (One Month Check-In) = 183.5 lbs

9/17/10 (Month and a Half Check-In) 184 lbs

9/30/10 (Two Month Check-In) = 187 lbs

11/5/10 (Molumby's Million Opening Night/Dempsey Fighting Weight in 1923) = 188 lbs

One Down, Two to Go

On my quest to become Jack Dempsey, I had my one-month weigh-in this past Saturday. Eating more carbs and adding lots of whey protein shakes to the diet seem to be paying off. I've gained 5.5 pounds so far!

8/5/10 (Pre-Dempsey Work Out Weight) = 178 lbs

8/19/10 (Two Week Check-In) = 182 lbs

9/4/10 (One Month Check-In) = 183.5 lbs

11/5/10 (Opening Night/Dempsey's 1923 Fighting Weight) = 188 lbs

I have 2 months until Opening Night and I'm very pleased with my progress. I have to say, up until this point the toughest part of this workout has been physically training for Jack Dempsey while mentally and physically preparing for my current role as Brad in Everybody Loves Opal at Montgomery Theater which opens this week. I've had to treat the Dempsey workouts as necessary exercise time to keep me balanced with my already busy schedule. When I first started a month ago, I was concentrating too much on both productions and as a result was having trouble focusing in on Brad/ELO initially. I've never had to prepare for 2 different roles at once. This was far from a serious burden, I just have to compartmentalize my focus and make sure that Brad training comes before Jack. Hope to see everyone in the audience of both shows.

Another Reason to Be a Good Proofreader

I'm a poor speller. I look up words online all the time to see whether or not I get the "did you mean [fill in the blank]?" prompt several times a day. I just saw a wonderful production of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" at Montgomery Theater, and had a conversation with the other actors about how I think it would be hard for me to be in a show where I needed to constantly spell crazy hard words correctly. (Side note -- only 4 performances left-- get your tickets now! The show was amazingly funny!)

Nevertheless, because of my spelling deficiencies I constantly read things that I write out loud to catch spelling and grammar mistakes. I'm still not a syntax hawk, but I'm better than the days when my motto was "Who needs to be a good speller? Just have a good personality and spell check will do the rest." FYI -- Hobor3 still follows this adage.

This brings us to this cake celebrating 50 years in baseball for the Atlanta Braves manager:

Now, I didn't give his name yet, but if you've followed baseball at all for the past 30 years, you already know where this is going. The Braves skipper's name is Bobby COX. I'm assuming I don't need to spell out the problem/joke here (and yes, if you're wondering, that lame pun WAS intended).

Being a Phillies fan means I don't like Mr. Cox, but I do love the way he laughed the incident off saying: "That's funny. What bakery did he get the cake? That's what I want to know."

I can think of two people loving this faux pas: 1) Cake Wrecks and 2) The University of South Carolina. (BTW - Congrats to soon-to-be USC Acting MFA student Joe Mallon. Those who know Joe already know that Joe has that hat in at least 5 different colors and styles. (Joe knows that.")

Bus Stop Opens Tonight!!

After a wonderful preview last night, "Bus Stop" at Montgomery Theater opens tonight! There's only a handful of seats left for tonight's performance so go here now to reserve a spot right away. I play Bo Decker, a bullheaded and naive cowboy, along side a wonderful cast that includes:

Paul Dake as Virgil

Jessica Foley as Elma

Tim Moyer as Dr. Lyman

Joy Orlemann as Cherie

Lynn Mastio Rice as Grace

Kristopher Yoder as Carl

Joseph Jude Zito as Will

Here's some pictures from of the production courtesy of our Sound Designer, Mr. Brian Wise:

Big Week for the Class of '99

It's a week of openings for myself and two of my best friends in the world this week:

1) Mike Rady, who is taking Hollywood by storm, continues this trend this Tues, Sept 8th at 9pm on the CW's "Melrose Place." I was lucky enough to be on set with Mike about a month ago and could not be happier for a better guy. Watch the show!!! You know you want another guilty pleasure in your life, right?

2) Locally, Joe Mallon stars in "Little Shop of Horrors" at the Devon Theater in a great role as The Dentist which begins previews on Wed, Sept 9th. Check out the production to see Joe as a variety of characters who make brief appearances throughout the show -- you'll be blown away by Joe's voice and comedic abilities. I'll be there for the 2pm matinee this Saturday.

3) Any finally, a plug for myself -- I'll be sporting a full cowboy outfit as Bo Decker in Montgomery Theater's "Bus Stop." We preview on Thurs, Sept 10th and open officially on the 11th. Word on the street is that Hova himself changed the release date of the much anticipated "Blueprint 3" so that we wouldn't have to go head-to-head on the 11th.