New York actor auditions Pittsburgh
Erik Schark |
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
When I moved to Pittsburgh from New York City with my wife six months ago, I must say I wasn’t entirely convinced I’d have the same (or even remotely comparable) cultural and artistic outlets. You see, my main gig is acting. I’ve been a professional actor for the last ten years or so. You may recognize the back of my head from an episode of “The Sopranos”. No? Look closely. Still no? Well, I’m hardly a household name, unless that house happens to belong to my mother, but I did have a fair amount of success. I’m a member of Actors’ Equity, the union for stage actors. I’ve sung for Frank Wildhorn, Jason Robert Brown, and Stephen Schwartz, to drop just a few names. I performed in a fund raiser alongside former Miss America Kate Shindle and Delisco, the guy who won that Wayne Newton show on E!, “The Entertainer." I never quite cracked the nut that is Broadway, but I’ve toured the country in a couple shows and performed in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. My limited film career consists of an indie shot more than six years ago that has yet to be finished and a short that was screened at Cannes, although I did actually interview with Ron Howard and Russell Crowe for a role in "A Beautiful Mind." Didn’t get it.
Anyway, most of the people I’ve met since moving here have posed the same query, “Why’d you come here?” with a slight curl of their lips. I tend to give a rather Byzantine explanation involving family here, friends moving away from there, and something about wanting a dog, but I’d always have the same question in my head. Why did I come here? It seemed to me I was moving away from work.
How wrong I was. In the past six months, I’ve gotten an agent, a feat that always eluded me in New York; shot a webisode that will be available as an iTunes podcast; workshopped two new plays for Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre; and played the ghost of Jacob Marley in Pittsburgh CLO’s "A Musical Christmas Carol," a seasonal show that’s been going strong for 14 years and will hopefully turn into annual work for me. Plus, I’ve averaged an audition or two a week for commercials, industrial films, and voice-overs and I feel like I’m just getting started here.
I’ve also seen some really great theatre.
The Pittsburgh theatrical scene has really surprised me with its wealth of talent, enterprise, and diversity, not to mention the sheer quantity of theatre companies, especially the number that use professional Equity actors. Quantum Theatre, for instance, staged a lovely al fresco version of "Dark of the Moon," and Karla Boos, the artistic director, seems to revel in putting her shows up in wonderfully bizarre locales that heighten the audience’s experience. The Pittsburgh Playhouse presented a powerful staging of "The Exonerated," which, in my humble opinion, was even better than the off-Broadway production. City Theatre, Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre, Open Stage, Pittsburgh Musical Theatre, all employ Equity actors.
There are, of course, the big boys, Pittsburgh CLO and Pittsburgh Public. Both theatres put on shows that rival the quality of Broadway. Seriously. "Doctor Dolittle kicked off at CLO. Granted, it tanked soon after, but we were the first (and about the only ones) to see it. The Public got the Old Globe production of "Measure for Measure" before it hit New York, and that is without question in my top five all-time favorite performances I’ve ever seen. Plus, the Public has been a frequent space for development of new works, most notably August Wilson’s, and this coming season will see the world premiere of a new Ahrens & Flaherty musical.
Quite a few other theatres don’t use Equity actors (yet) for their full productions but frequently use professionals for readings and workshops. Among these, I have a soft spot for Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre. They produce the work of local talent and have that great, kooky “the show must go on” vibe that pulls in volunteers who give tons of their time for no reward other than artistic satisfaction. Although I’ve yet to see any of their full productions, I’m very excited about Bricolage’s upcoming reading series, largely because it includes a rock musical take on "Jaws." Yes, that "Jaws." And barebones productions just mounted one of the first regional productions of "Frozen," quite a coup for both the company and the city.
In addition to all the theatre companies, two legitimate talent agencies in town, Docherty and The Talent Group, both have a steady stream of auditions they send their clients out on for commercials, industrial films, voice-overs, and occasional big studio pictures: "Flashdance" and "Silence of the Lambs" to name just two and of course there’s great pride in George Romero’s "Living Dead" pictures. Not to mention “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” which was produced at WQED. The latest activity? A television pilot called Smith was shot downtown in late March.
So, yeah, there’s a lot going on in this city, and I’ve auditioned for just about every company I’ve mentioned. That was a pleasant surprise as well. I’d gotten so used to being treated as just another face in the crowd, it was a little discombobulating to actually be looked at and listened to during an audition. Not once have I felt like I was just one more actor they had to get through in order to make it to their next Starbucks fix. I’ve really felt like the local theatrical community has welcomed me with open arms.
Now if I could just get used to driving a car again.
Erik Schark is an actor, writer, and composer who lives in Highland Park with his wife, Gwen, and their newly acquired dog, Dusty.He is currently the stand-in for Ray Liotta in the television pilot, "Smith," now shooting in downtown Pittsburgh.
Photos:
The author waiting for a reading
Erik auditioning
City Theatre Sign
Erik at an audition
All Photographs Copyright Tom Altany