Living in Los Angeles as an actor is not the amazeballs excitement that most people have fixed in their minds when they think of Hollywood. There is a huge and sprawling landscape that everyone calls Los Angeles, but it is too big to actually be just one city. Rather, many neighborhoods make up a "feeding frenzy" of desperation that breeds an eat-or-be-eaten mentality. The best survival tip I have is to find those individuals or groups that, without you asking, remind you of why you came to Los Angeles. I am lucky that I have a phenomenal partner in life, my husband Mark, as well as good friends and family who support my choice to be an artist. They have no idea how grateful I am to them every minute of every day for that support. Yet, we all need more, don't we? We need validation that what we strive for is respected by those we work with and for on a daily basis - artist or not; butcher, baker, candlestick maker.... What we do for a living is just that - a life. And wanting validation for that life is human.
One place I am honored to have found a "home" at is The Production Company, of which I am a proud member. We are currently in rehearsal for a musical titled WORKING, a show that, without detriment, has no clear cut or traditional beginning, middle, or end. It is a slice of life, a kaleidoscope of working Americans in all different kinds of occupations telling their life stories. You'll meet many characters - real people - who were interviewed by
Studs Terkle for his book, "Working - People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do," which was adapted into a poignant musical with a book by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso, music by Schwartz, Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Mary Rogers, and James Taylor, and lyrics by Schwartz, Carnelia, Grant, Taylor, and Susan Birkenhead. In our production, the musical has been skillfully updated by our phenomenal Director, August Viverito. He has given its already timeless subject matter a new millennium face lift by infusing the economic and political issues of today. (To see how, come see the show. I can't give it all away...).
Randy Wade Kelley, Kurt Andrew Hansen, and Michael D'Elia rehearsing Fathers and Sons from WORKING
I can tell you that one of the many characters I portray is Pam "Babe" Seccoli, a women who, after high school graduation, started working full time at The Treasure Island Grocery Store and genuinely loves her job. I think there are very few people in the world who actually do love what they do for a living. I myself, as an actor, am one of them. In fact, I just joined both SAG and AFTRA this year and this week attended what could historically be the last orientation for AFTRA as it now stands. (At the end of this month there will be a vote on whether or not AFTRA and SAG will merge.) I felt (both individually and collectively) powerful as I sat listening to the Orientation Panel discuss how my choice to join the Union was a statement to the world and to myself that I am a professional artist. An artist who, in standing with other artists, demands respect and a safe place to land in the chaos of the working world.
I learned about many programs and education events now available to me, including The Actors Fund, a phenomenal collection of people all working to help actors find housing and day jobs, learn new skills to become eligible for jobs they may think they're unqualified for, and so much more. As we stood in the hallway of the AFTRA offices getting the tour, one of our guides told the story of how The Actors Fund began: "Going back to the Civil War era there was an actor and journalist, Harrison Grey Fiske, who felt that the way actors were viewed by society was as the lowest of the low, next to prostitutes. They were buried in unmarked graves and considered as not really contributing anything to the needs of society, because they don't physically manufacture a saleable product that moves commerce forward. Even though, as Shakespeare wrote, "We are the chronicles of the time...holding a mirror up to nature". And furthermore, when people and anthropologists look back and try to figure out who we were, what made us tick, they will look to TV, film, theater, etc., to do so. Therefore, having a place to nurture and support artists - so they can do that very important work - was born with The Actors Fund and AFTRA, SAG, AEA, etc. All do their part to do the same. So if you are feeling down about your current position in your career, you only have to look around this building to remember why we do what we do."
So, here I am in a play about the working class in America and what it means to fight every day to be heard, respected, and credited for the jobs we perform (no pun intended). And as I was getting a little choked up inside listening to the AFTRA rep discuss all this history that I am a part of both as an actor and in the world's workforce, I couldn't help but feel how my work as an actor in this play and in my life as a human seemed eerily full circle in that moment. To clarify, there is a song that closes WORKING titled, "Something To Point To," whose lyrics actually state:
Everyone should have something to point to, something to be proud of.
Look what I did. See what I've done. I did the job. I was the one.
Everyone should have something to point to, some way to be tall in the crowd.
See that building, day after day, after day, after day.
That's where I put myself on the line, that's where I sweat to earn my pay.
As an actor, multiple union member, and human in this rat race of an industry and, more so, world economy, I am proud to point at the buildings that house those safe havens for the delicate nature that is arts entertainment. Proud to point at the buildings and spaces I have performed in. Proud to point you toward The Lex Theater, home of
The Production Company, and invite you into the world I have been working in for the last few months, with a cast and crew that are truly exquisite, to share the stories of WORKING, The Musical.
The Production Company, and invite you into the world I have been working in for the last few months, with a cast and crew that are truly exquisite, to share the stories of WORKING, The Musical.
The Cast of WORKING
WORKING opens at The Lex Theatre Friday, March 16th. Performances are Friday & Saturday 8PM, Sunday 3PM. For tickets: www.theprodco.com
