Those Moments in the Woods

Hi Everyone! Here is a low-down of what has gone down since last I blogged!

The holidays happened. That was HUGE!!! We had the pleasure of my uncles Tim and Duane joining us this year from Canada. With finances being what they are, we don't often get to see each other. I counted myself lucky when Tim came for my wedding in September, but it was the extra joy to have both of them (and their beautiful dog, Kuma) joining in our holiday festivities. I cooked Christmas dinner for everyone! My Italian dinner was a hit, and I will be reusing several of those recipes.

My darling wife, Anna, closed her successful run of Rudolph and returned to me just in time for New Years. My family brought in the new year with amaretto and Cards Against Humanity.

During the holidays, I had posted about A Hunting Shack Christmas with Yellow Tree Theatre. My cast member, Jason, for whom I was initially just the understudy, suffered the loss of his new born. However, the show had to go on, and I was there to keep things going. I closed out Hunting Shack, as the goof-ball Ham, to a slew of sold-out houses. Congratulations to the lovely Peterson's on this very successful holiday romp!

Scenic Design by Benjamin Olsen

Which brings us, basically, to now! Anna and I have been plotting out our upcoming move to the Big Apple. We are both rather nervous but hopeful. More details on that in the months ahead.

Rehearsals for my next production are well underway. Lyric Arts in Anoka, MN opens Into the Woods on February 13th! It is difficult to put into words how very excited I am for this production. Not only is it Sondheim, whose work I love performing, but Woods is one of the most incredibly emotional shows I have done.

I play the Baker. Yes, that is the name. And yes, in the film it is played by James Corden, and it was originated by the wonderful Chip Zein. Needless to say, it is a big role with big shoes to fill.
General arch? My wife and I want a child that we cannot have due to a curse. To reverse said curse, we go to the woods to meet a witch's demands. We go, we find what we need, we get our wish, and all live happily ever after. Then things go wrong. A revenge seeking giant is after Jack (as in "& the Beanstalk") for what he did to get his wish. Chaos ensues, loved ones die, and the giant is inevitably defeated. The survivors are left to pick up the pieces and find a way to move on. The Baker is one such survivor. Who the others are...you'll have to see the show.

I have had the honor to breathe my own life into this character. Acting is never about putting on a character's skin and parading about in it. Rather, it is about melding that which is given to you in the script and score with what you bring to the table as a human. We have just done our second run through of the show (Last night!), and good-grief is intense. I go from very lighthearted and jovial, to heavyhearted and emotionally exhausted during the couple of hours this show takes. This is also going to be a physically exhausting show. Not only is there a lot of movement, but as the above image shows...there are a lot of stairs. That center platform above the tree where Little Red is standing is about twelve feet off the ground. I am very excited to get started working on this set!

I believe that this is going to be one of my best performances to date. What a great show to end my tenure here in Minneapolis.

For more information, visit http://www.lyricarts.org/on-stage/into-the-woods