This is always an exciting time of the year for theater-lovers enthralled with the legend of Broadway. The announcement of the American Theater Wing’s Tony nominations was made this morning. It’s a wonderful mix of well-known stars and stars perhaps only known to inveterate theater-goers.

New plays and new musicals, mixed with revivals of productions from times long gone bye, have received the nod from the American Theater Wing this year. Although the Tonys don’t receive quite the same kind of buzz that the Oscars do you can bet you’ll see may of those nominees as guests on the early morning and late night shows.

It’s also interesting to take note of those nominees that are no longer running on The Great White Way. I love the fact that we can honor good work and pay tribute to the craft without concern for the end result. That’s not to say that financial success should be disregarded. In my opinion financial success should be the inevitable result of the passion that wends its way into the fabric of the production. Sometimes however, the slightest ill wind can push a production helplessly off course with no land in sight. It can be as slight as a rumor passed along the internet or a misspoken word by a critic. A downturn in tourism, a harsh winter, threats of terrorism, all can adversely affect ticket sales. Producing is enormously expensive today and many productions can not stay afloat to weather those ill winds when a negative campaign hits them. So thank you American Theater Wing for acknowledging those performers and productions as well.

Speaking of productions, there is no doubt that the Tony Awards take center stage when it comes to producing the best Awards show. Since most of us can’t be in the live audience when the presentations are made let’s make a pact to share it together “live” on television on Sunday June 13th. In the meantime we can begin to form our own opinions of who will be handed that Tony when the presenter says, “And the Tony goes to…”

What will your choice for summer camp be this summer? Acting Camp? Theater Camp or Theatre Camp?

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.” Wm. Shakespeare

We all know the story of Romeo and Juliet whether we’ve read it in Shakespeare’s words, seen West Side Story or any number of movies whose general theme is taken from the original plot. Romeo and Juliet meet, fall in love, and then realize that their families are at war with one another and that their fate is sealed. As Juliet reaches out to salvage their love before seeing its doom she attempts to convince Romeo that his name does not define him.

That’s pretty much the way I feel about acting. You can call it by any name you wish but it’s all still about truthfully inhabiting a character and the technique you employ to come to that place. That is what underlies the craft. To me there is no such thing as a film actor or a television actor or a stage actor. An actor acts in whatever medium is at hand. That said, there are basic skills an actor must learn in order to succeed in each of the mediums.

I always liken an actor’s “bag” to any good craftsman’s toolkit. It makes a great metaphor and one to which we can all relate. Everyone has seen a skilled working carpenter with his tools. The carpenter brings his toolbox to the job and then selects the right tools to put in his/her belt depending on the job to be done. So it is with the actor. First you must begin with the basics. Good sound acting begins with the foundation of an established proven technique. That’s where you establish the essential tools. Every good craftsman must have a hammer, screwdriver, and wrench. Every actor needs to know how to break down a script, find her essential core of emotional truth and how to connect it with the author’s intention of the role the character plays within the story. You don’t learn this in one class or workshop. You don’t learn it in a year or two either. It is an on-going process for the actor. As you continue to perfect your work in class you will become more facile with your tools. You will become precise, specific, a director’s delight, and an audience’s inspiration.

So now with the underpinnings firmly in place how does an actor make the leap to the big and small screens?  With the vocabulary of the actor firmly in place it’s time to learn the intimacies of the camera and to understand what the camera sees. It’s also the time to learn how to work in different environments to achieve the same truth. The process in theater is luxurious. There is time, albeit not as much as producers and directors used to give the actor. In film the process is so truncate that the actor needs to learn how to approach their homework as well as their on camera scene work. In television the process for the actor is almost non-existent. By the way, there’s nothing to stop you from study the craft of the theater and the camera simultaneously!

In other words, the actors’ work is never done. There is always more to learn about your craft and there will always be more to discover about the character you’re creating. Perhaps that is why I am so enamored with actors like Meryl Streep, Robert Duval, Helen Mirren, and Dame Judi Dench. They are at home on any stage, in front of any camera…and I believe everything they do!

Acting Camp, Theater Camp or Theatre Camp? It doesn’t matter what it is called or how it is spelled. What matters is the training it will give you. What’s important is that you commit and that you are fully vested while you are there and that you take the principles you are taught and build on them when you leave.  I guess that’s why at US Performing Arts we say, “Your Future Begins This Summer!”

If you’re not in or aspiring to the entertainment industry the title of this blog might immediately elicit visions of air shows or the testing of new airplanes but for many hopefuls it is “green light” season. The time when the television networks and independent production companies fund new shows in hopes that they will have a “winner” for the coming season.

The very interesting thing about pilot shows is that they rarely make it to air. Often the pilot cast doesn’t make it to the series as series’ regulars or even recurring roles. It is a general misconception that the pilot is the first show of the season. Generally the pilot is used to help the studios have a more visual and concrete sense of the pitch and that can make everyone pretty expendable. By the time a show is finally green lighted for the season the creative team may have done a complete overhaul. However, that doesn’t diminish the excitement of pilot season for new faces. In fact, often it’s the “new face” that has the eventual success.

This is the time of the year that managers, agents and casting directors are looking for any young actors that fit the breakdowns. I get calls constantly for referrals. We tend to be pretty protective of our young artists knowing how easy it is for them to be used by unscrupulous individuals out to achieve their own agendas.

Every year during pilot season we receive calls from students who have been in our workshops telling us that they are in Hollywood and need advice on where to go for coaching, how to get signed with an agent, how to wait out the waiting, etc., etc. Quite a few go on their own for several months with their parents to see if they can “make it.” Others have been enticed out to Los Angeles because they participated in a weekend workshop that talked about the fame that can come or they have a local agent that suggests they might get cast. Families are separated for a couple of months while the kids go the through the process. They are often home schooled or sign up with a studio teacher. It’s all a big gamble and there is a better approach.

Earlier this season we decided to find out how many of our students were thinking about throwing their hat in the pilot season ring. We thought there would be about 10 or 12 and that we could get them connected with the right people so that no one took advantage of them. We offered them an opportunity to receive coaching from a well-established acting coach who could get them prepared for any auditions. Did we ever underestimate the response. An e-mail was sent announcing what we were offering and within five minutes the response overwhelmed us!

I personally took calls as our phones lit up all over the office and e-mails poured in. It was a quick and decisive learning curve. We confirmed that we have an important role to play in facilitating the next generation – this generation- of artists. We also confirmed the fact that it isn’t enough to teach the craft, it is imperative to teach the business of the craft in order to protect and benefit our artists. We’re in the process now of planning some very exciting things that we think will be very helpful to promoting the growth of today’s artists.

Film festivals abound these days. It wasn’t too long ago that festivals were extremely elite and few and far between. If you were lucky you either went to Cannes, San Francisco, New York or maybe Toronto. Then came Sundance and suddenly filmmakers were able to really attract attention. Soon film festivals began to proliferate and each have a purpose. Every major city and small hamlet alike have some type of festival these days. They are a great way to have your films seen, be noticed and eventually distributed.

Now many festivals are sporting a youth division and that by the way, is exciting. These divisions highlight student films and often have reviewing and critiquing panels well suited for making comments that guide young filmmakers on to making better and better films. We hope and expect our summer intensive students to take their knowledge gained in our workshops and make films outside of camp. We encourage them to look into entering their films in local and national film festivals and ask them to keep us informed of how their films are received. We want to celebrate their work.

Today we received an announcement of the 11th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival and its call for 2010 Youth Division Entries. There will be a free screening of the chosen films on April 25, 2010 and a Q & A with the audience. For more information and entry form instructions visit the festival website.  The Newport Beach Film Festival runs April 22-29, 2010 and whether you enter a film or not go and enjoy the films. You might discover a new favorite filmmaker…or revisit an old favorite.  Even better, maybe your film will be in the spotlight. Let us know.

I’m usually a first weekend movie-goer. That comes from spending my life around the “business” and knowing the importance of the first weekend box office receipts. To be truthful, it probably really comes from hearing dinner table talk as a child. My father was a television executive in the early days of television and his company ABC merged with Paramount Theaters. Leonard Goldenson, President of Paramount became head of the merged companies and to the day he died he checked the theater box office numbers every day! If it had been a good night at the theaters it was a good day in television. So out of habit, I drag my husband to two or three movies on the weekend.

For that same insider’s reason I don’t like overly hyped movies because I know why they are generally hyped so I usually avoid them. That’s the reason I didn’t go see “This Is It” when it opened on the 28th of October. That, and the fact that I was a little Michael Jacksoned out. The reasons I had been a HUGE fan of his had been obscured by all of the bad press and the subsequent doubts about the man himself over the past six years. Monday night I acquiesced to a movie date. What I saw and what I’m writing makes no allusion to the persona of the off stage Michael Jackson. It speaks only to what I saw in the film and what I think we would have seen in the London concerts. This is my reaction.

Wow, awesome, fantastic, brilliant, tremendous, incredible, extraordinary! Are those enough adjectives? And that’s just about the cut together pre-production footage documenting what was to have been an unprecedented London 50 sold-out Concert residency. Now let’s talk about the genius, yes, sheer genius of The Man.

By no uncertain terms, he is a genius. You see it in everything he touches. Perhaps we expect, and have even grown to accept it, in his music and his dance. But it shows in everything. Even in the way he handles other creative people who bow to his superior ability. Watching Michael Jackson in action is a lesson in professionalism. From conception through execution his eye oversaw everything. Nothing, not even the smallest nuance escaped him.

TRILLER might be what the audience comes to see, and you have never seen THRILLER like this, but thrilling is what you get to see. Every production number is a winner and the sad thing is that we will never have the exhilaration of seeing it live.

Most of all, I saw a man who was devoted to his profession. His passion for writing and performing music and to dancing comes through loud and clear. From his insistence on perfection from everyone from the musical director, to the choreographers, to the lighting and costume designers, he demanded their best. His demands were issued with grace, professionalism and kindness. His love for the world and its people sweeps us in. His ability to discern exactly how to manipulate an audience to a near frenzy through his impeccable timing is hypnotizing.

I attended a memorial service for a friend recently and her son said to us, “If you loved my mother, find one quality of hers and emulate it. That’s how she will live forever.” I challenge all of us to take one of MJ’s professional genius qualities and make it our own.