Hard to believe it has been just over a month since we closed A Midsummer Night's Dream and Urinetown to finish out our time at Circle in the Square Theatre School - but here we are!

Select photos from both shows are now in the Production Stills page. Cladwell, Egeus, and Peter Quince will certainly hold special placed in my heart.

Meanwhile, I am auditioning like mad again, and loving it! Keeping my fingers crossed! It's good to be back at it again.

I am now officially an alumnus of Circle in the Square Theatre School! We finished our rep shows last week, loaded out of Theatre Row, and had a touching graduation ceremony on stage at Circle this past Monday. 

The cherry on top is that we now have our showcase footage! If you would like to watch the entire show, please click here. If you just wanna see me, click over on my media page to see! You can also hop over to my YouTube for the videos of my 1 minute reel or the full numbers, including with my dear friend Katelyn Chiappone.

I cannot thank the amazing team of faculty and staff at Circle enough. It has been a very challenging two years, and I do mean that in the best of senses. I have grown as a singer, as an actor, and especially as a dancer. I am more prepared than ever to get my name out there and start getting booked. 

I was asked if the program was worth it by one of my now former instructors (and dear friend/colleague as they all are now), especially considering my age and experience gap between me and the other students. My response was, "Yes. When I first moved out here in 2015, I thought I knew who I was as an actor. Now, I know who I am, and my god, am I ready."

I have built lasting friendships among my classmates, fostered career- and life-long connections with the amazing faculty (who I am so grateful to now call my peers and friends), and further solidified my foundation and strength as an actor/singer/dancer. I'm already back in the audition game (not that I ever really left), and each one feels better and better. Everyone at Circle has been saying it is a matter of when, not if, I will get work. Let me tell you world, I am ready. Are you?

It is crazy to believe, but my two year conservatory at Circle in the Square Theatre School is now drawing to a close. Last week we had our last official day of classes (though this week is full of make-up classes and seminars). Our little basement family is getting ready to spread their wings and do truly amazing things in the world! I am proud to have been a part of this stunning class!

I am also thrilled to announce that I will be participating in two of the Grad Rep Shows. At the end of the year, the graduating class (and a few first years) participate in a three-show repertory. One show is a Shakespeare, the second is a contemporary piece, and the third is a musical.  Often actors are in one or two of the pieces.

This year, our Shakespeare will be A Midsummer Night's Dream (I will be both Egeus the father of Hermia and Peter Quince), our contemp will be Lunch Bunch, and our musical will be Urinetown (with yours truly as Caldwell B. Cladwell). 

Performances will be at Theatre Row in Midtown Manhattan June 11-15. Details and ticketing info (shows are always free) will be posted shortly!

For those of you have haven't seen yet ... I have some AMAZING new headshots! 

A HUGE thank you to the incomparable Billy Bustamante for our incredible work session and getting these stunning shots. Full gallery of my latest headshots can be seen in the above tab. 
If you're in the NYC area and are in need of new headshots, I strongly encourage you reach out to Billy. Not only is he an incredible photographer but also a brilliant director, choreographer, and all around gem of a human. (And no, I am not being paid for these statements. I just truly think the world of this wonderful human.)

These headshots are just in time because...SHOWCASE IS AROUND THE CORNER!!

In about a month and a half, we are slated to showcase the graduating class of Circle in the Square Theatre School. We will have two public performances (very likely on stage at Circle in the Square Theatre) where we will let the NYC theatre/TV/film world know we are ready to work. As I get more, solidified information, I will be certain to post it here.

I could not be prouder of the work done and the improvements achieved in my two years at Circle. I cannot wait to share more about my journey in the coming months. 

On a different note - please send healing thoughts my way. I am currently on crutches due to a torn calf muscle. Luckily I do not need to have surgery, but it is severe enough to HEAVILY impact my life. Crutches on the MTA? Yeah, it really sucks! 
With the recovery process, I am in the inflammation stage at the moment. It means everything is healing as it should, but my lower right leg is a little like an over-filled water balloon. In the coming weeks, I will go from two crutches, then to one crutch, then to a cane (I ordered one last night), then finally to normal activity. With the projected timeline, I should be fully healed by mid-March - just in time for showcase!

This is also teaching my a great lesson in asking for help. Throughout the majority of my tenure at Circle, I have gone above and beyond to help my classmates. I'm always the first to get up an help move furniture, one of the first to try any new dance move, and usually volunteer (or volunteered) to be an additional scene member. At the end of last semester I said a goal of mine was to do less. Well, my leg took that note too seriously. Now I have no choice but to do less and ask for help along the way. I must give a huge thank you to my friends who have kindly kept me in check at school and an even larger thank you to Anna for being my part-time nurse.

Happy New Year! It's incredible to think what a journey the last few years have been, but I am excited for what this year has to offer.

New headshots are coming soon, more work with Circle in the Square Theatre School, showcase! SO MANY THINGS! I will be much better about updating these forth coming events.

I am so incredibly proud and honored to be a part of this wonderful production!

The graduating class at Circle in the Square Theatre School always does three shows in rep. This year they are producing Small Mouth Sounds, As You Like It, and the late Sondheim classic A Little Night Music. 

I am pleased to have been asked to work with this talented group of actors and perform the role of Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm. Count Malcolm has been a very fun role to create over the last few weeks, and now the time is near to show what we have created!

The performance dates and times are listed in the photo on this post. To reserve your FREE tickets, go here: A Little Night Music. 

​Hope to see a full house!

Jiggity-jig! Took this photo last week as Anna and I were joining her sister at Caveat in lower Manhattan. 

It is now midway through the month of June, and we have had our new apartment for a few weeks. I have resumed work at New World Stages and will begin working at a local Doggie Daycare called Disco Paws at the end of this week.

I have had a couple of video callbacks, no bites yet, but still like that. As of yesterday I am officially a New Yorker again as I now have my (temporary) license for NYC. 

God, it feels good to be back. 

This week, we have been attending the graduate rep productions for the current class at Circle in the Square. Overall, I have been enjoying the performances. Tonight I'll see the third of their three shows and am looking forward to it.

Beginning Monday, I'll be taking a class at the People's Improv Theatre on Musical Improv. I am very excited for that!

And with 4th of July coming up, Anna and I will be FINALLY reuniting with our darlings Jesse and Elizabeth to belatedly celebrate their engagement, puppy, and the four of us being together again. 

While there are many wonderful things happening, I must be honest...I've been having a rough go mentally lately.

I won't get into too much detail here, but suffice it to say that I am trying to try, y'all. 

I will say that my fundraiser for school has become stagnant.
If you are able to help out, please visit ​https://www.gofundme.com/f/hwpcpn-help-joseph-go-back-to-school as any donations will help us out. 

Otherwise, more to come in the days ahead!

After 2-years of the COVID crazies, Anna and I will finally be saying adieu to Milwaukee. We are returning to NYC this upcoming June!!!

We have out first ever apartment in New York. Sure, we'd lived with others before, but this is the first time we have a place all to ourselves. We have an adorable studio in Astoria, Queens, and we are so ready to make that space our own.

We were always planning on returning to New York, but we received an additional push/kick in the pants to help us move even faster. A few weeks ago, I was accepted to Circle in the Square Theatre School's 2-year Musical Theatre Conservatory beginning in September! Right before the pandemic began, I was strongly contemplating returning to school to bolster my actor's toolbelt. The MFA programs I auditioned for did not pan out, but luckily for me, this one did. Beginning in the fall, I will once again be immersed in theatre, challenging myself to grow further as an artist. 

Now, I am looking for a little help. If you are able to, I invite you to contribute to my GoFundMe. My goal is to get the majority of my first year covered before it even begins (so that the saving for year two can begin now). If you are able to help at all, please consider donating. Or if you're unable to give at the moment, please share my fundraiser with others as you can.

Over the past couple of years, I have finally begun to embrace my body. I am a fat actor, and I am proud of the body I have. Many who cast aren't sure what to do with a body like mine. Well, I plan to show them and make them challenge what their notions are about a body like mine. I have to thank a few sources who helped to push me over the edge from hating myself to loving. Obviously, my amazing wife, Anna, who has said she has always loved me no matter my size. To my family for their support. To Ryan Donovan, PhD, whose dissertation (and soon to be book) Broadway Bodies provided me with such inspiration.

An especially heartfelt shoutout to Aubrey Gordon's amazing work with both her book What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat and her incredible podcast with co-host Michael Hobbes ​Maintenance Phase. Humor, hope, a dash of sass, and a lot of poignant information combine to make these lifelines for me. Read her book, listen to their show, and remember to think twice about looking down on anyone who looks different from you.