New City, New Sights, New Goals (April 2013)

From the Green Room:

This is a week late because, well, I am officially, gainfully, unemployed again (and getting re-situated in NYC is a pain). 'S Wonderful had a strong finish with two full, eight show weeks. It was really sad to see this show go. The show itself is fun and the Gershwin's are obviously brilliant, but the people are what can really make or break a contract... and I couldn't have asked for a better group to work with. While I was finishing up in Tampa, I started a new endeavor of headshot photography. I would love for my "company", AJMPhoto, to become a means of providing supplemental income for when I'm in the city OR out on a contract. I think I've gotten some pretty good shots so far, but I'm still shooting people for free to build my own skill and a portfolio to market myself with. Upon arriving back to NYC, I've been scoping out the auditions and classes I want to get to and looking forward to a nice summer in the city! Summertime and the living's easy...

From Outside the Green Room:

April was a fun month performing because I had some visitors come see the show! Both my brother and his wife and my parents were able to make it to the show. They said they really enjoyed the performance and seemed to have a good time hanging out in Tampa, albeit briefly. We finally had some great weather for the last month, so we hit up the beaches and spent time in Curtis Hixon Park throwing around the "bee" (frisbee). I also was able to get outside and shed the shirt for a photo shoot! I figure, I've been spending time and money to go to the gym, I might as well document it! As I mentioned last month, print work is definitely something that I want to get into now that I'm back in the city. Any type of supplemental income that comes from the "arts" (photography, print, etc...) is better than getting it through survival jobs. Speaking of survival jobs, I'm back coaching soccer which is fun and just worked my first catering event (Costume Institute Gala... every celeb ever was there). Nice work if you can get it, and you can get it if you try...

Lessons Learned:

Hmmm... I've probably already learned this lesson, but sometimes things have to be drilled into my head for them to stick. I'm a little bit like Dori from Finding Nemo, hence why Morgana calls me Goldfish Brian sometimes. haha. Priorities and Patience. After traveling for the better part of the last two years, my priorities have shifted from booking the next gig, to spending time in NYC with Morgana and moving up in my career, not laterally. Everything I've done up to this point has been progress. Starting with ensemble in regional shows, to ensemble in a national tour, to principles in regional shows... now it's time to either be a principle in a tour or take that leap of faith and start working toward the Equity card. I've built my resume, I've proven to myself and the industry that I belong here, now it's time to make it my career. So making progress a priority may mean being patient and not taking the first gig I'm offered. I need to be ready and excited for that. And if anyone can help set me up with an Agent!!! That's progress!! Plus, spending a summer (at least) in the city with Morgana is also something I'm looking forward to! Our love is here to stay...

Peace and Love,
Andrew Mauney
www.andrewmauney.com

'S Modeling? Sure! (March 2013)

 From the Green Room:

Another month is in the books for 'S Wonderful and my Floridian winter and it was a great one! The show has been going great and so much fun to do. I have truly been blessed with an incredible cast and crew for this show. We're all so supportive, positive, talented, and just fun to be around. It makes all the difference in a small cast and long run to enjoy the people you work with and I certainly do! Continuing with that thought, we did get to put our understudies to work the past couple weeks. Chris (who plays Harold) and Laurie (who plays Leslie) were both out for almost an entire week. Our fantastic understudies, Griff and Kali, were incredibly prepared and did a great job stepping in. Way to go guys! On a completely different note, a new venture that I am glad to announce I've broken into is print work! I can officially say I am now also a model! Well... I may not be walking the runways at next years fashion week, but I did do a couple of paid shoots for a stock photography company here in Tampa. It was great experience, nice extra cash, and I'll get some great “lifestyle” shots to help fill out a portfolio to hopefully expand on this in NYC!

From Outside the Green Room:

It's been a busy month, but I've definitely settled into my routine. I make breakfast, I read at Starbucks, I go to the gym, I make lunch, and then I go to work! That's pretty much my routine on weekdays, although I have found a great yoga teacher at my gym and if I'm feeling motivated (which I surprisingly have been), I get up early and take yoga about twice a week. I did enjoy a week long break from this routine when Morgana came to visit! We went to Disney World, played around Tampa, and she was able to see my show. It was so great having her down here... just four more weeks of distance... so close! The weather hasn't really been as Florida-y as I would have liked, so we were only able to squeeze in one beach day... until today! It was a perfect 80 and sunny and Chris, Griff, Kristina, and I had a great time in Clearwater at the beach. I love having a routine. Becoming a regular at the gym and Starbucks and local bars has given me a sense of belonging to a community, which is so nice and something I miss in NYC. I'm definitely going to miss the routine and life I've set up for myself down here, but it's past time for me to get back to New York and spend some time there.

Lessons Learned:

I learned a couple things this month... But I guess I'll focus on what I learned about modeling since that's so new to me (and maybe to you too). I'd really like to keep doing more of this in NYC (so if anyone has any leads... it'd be much appreciated!). It's more than just sitting there. It's so much about the personality that you bring to the shoot and what “character” you're being when that shutter snaps. The best pictures I took where the one's in which I was relaxed but active. If I was just looking into the camera thinking “smile!”, it showed... there was a vacancy in my eyes and body language. This also is very useful as I begin to delve into photography myself. A good picture is making a posed position look like the perfect candid shot. It's definitely a skill that I need to keep practicing because, just like on stage, relaxation and honesty are two very difficult things to conjure up on demand.

Peace and Love,
Andrew Mauney
www.andrewmauney.com

'S More Cheesy Titles (Feb 2013)

From the Green Room:

We're open! 'S Wonderful is thrilling audiences at the Jaeb Theater in the Straz Performing Arts Center every night! But it didn't happen without it's fair share of challenges. Our cast was struck by a stomach bug that hit every cast member and cancelled two shows (including our scheduled Opening). It was awful, but we recovered and have been having great shows since. This show is such a crowd pleaser and so much fun to do. Because we play a 300 seat cabaret venue, it's very intimate and we build a great relationship with the audience. To thank them for being a part of the show, we go into the lobby after for a “joyed it” line, where we shake hands and hear everyone tell us how much they “joyed it”. It's neat hearing little old ladies saying how they knew every song and felt like they were 20 again. Besides the show, I've been organizing postcards to send out to agencies in an effort to hopefully gain representation this summer. I have also been in touch with a few Tampa photographers to see if I can't add a couple more looks to my portfolio for print work as well. No rest for the weary!!

From Outside the Green Room:

I'm glad we're open so now I can start to live a “normal” life again. I love my cast and we've been having a great time hanging out. Chris (Harold in the show) and I spent some time working together to write a song which turned out to be really good. I've also been playing with my new Canon T3i to see if I can create a music video for some of my other songs. I'm really interested in photography and cinematography, so this is a good way to play and learn more about both. I will definitely be looking into classes when I'm back in NYC. Other than that, I've seen a couple movies and was able to see my good friend and fellow Musical Theater Arts Camp alumni Matt Hydzik in Flashdance again. He crushed it, of course... I also knew some of the crew from South Pacific, so it was great seeing them too! I was able to make a quick trip up to NYC to visit Morgana this week. She'll be down to see the show in March. It was great to be back in the city with her, but it was FREEZING! I'll be glad to go back in May when it's warmer! Lastly, I joined a gym, so I've gradually been getting back into that. Gotta get that beach body back... I live in Florida!

Lessons Learned:

This is something I learned on South Pacific, but just gained an even bigger appreciation for this past month. Understudies. In my opinion, it's the most thankless job in all of theater. When the plague hit our cast opening weekend, we turned to our understudies. Now, remember, this was still in previews. They had no rehearsals, no notice, no time to watch the show... and both of them stepped up and were ready to go on. Just the epitome of professionalism. We barely knew our own track, and they had learned all two or three of theirs. Hats off. Now, because the plague took us all out, they didn't end up going on that weekend and we had to cancel the shows, but they were ready... and that will never cease to impress me. We had our first understudy go on this past Sunday for the role of Nina and our talented understudy Kali was phenomenal!

Peace and Love,
Andrew Mauney
www.andrewmauney.com

'S Wonderful Work, 'S Marvelous Weather (Jan 2013)

From the Green Room:

Gotta love 70 degree weather and blue skies in January! I know I certainly have been enjoying them as I've spent the last three weeks in Tampa, FL rehearsing for 'S Wonderful, my new project that opens next week at the Straz Performing Arts Center. What a change in process this has been for me! The show is considered a “reviewsical”, not quite review, not quite musical. It includes over 40 Gershwin songs strung together in several story lines all performed by five versatile actors. The sheer quantity of material was daunting to say the least. Solos, dancing, tight harmonies, dancing, scene work, dancing, quick changes... oh yeah, and did I mention dancing? It has been a real struggle to be a fully functioning triple threat, but our amazing director (and friend from tour) Tripp Hampton has been paramount to this show's success. He's really taken the time to work with each of us on any problem areas we may have. For this show to really work, all five actors have to be on point and working like a well oiled machine! Now that we have it on it's feet, it's such a fun show to do and I know I'll love running it through the spring. Also, I'll have no excuse not to go to those ECC dancer calls now! ...well, let's not get carried away.

From Outside the Green Room:

After the holiday's, I spent two weeks back in NYC which was great. I spent time with Morgana and other friends, did some background work on Orange is the new Black, took a photography class, and just really enjoyed spending time in NYC! I really do miss it and am already looking forward to the summer. Since arriving in Tampa, when I haven't been in rehearsal, I feel like I've been busy with some adventure. Whether is just a movie and dinner with the cast, or seeing my friend in the touring production of Wicked, or something extreme like Gasparilla (Tampa's pirate invasion Mardi Gras... seriously... Google it.). We've been very busy getting this show ready, but it's impossible to not enjoy the perfect Florida weather. Not to brag, but I ride a bike to work everyday... it's that nice. We even made a little cast outing to Disney on a day off! Orlando is only about 75 minutes away from Tampa, so we easily made a day trip out of it and hit up three parks! Other than adventures, I've also been playing guitar more and would love to make it a priority to do more open mic's when I'm back in NYC. Once we open this show, I'm sure we'll have many more adventures... but for now, tech week looms ahead and I've got my homework to do!

Lessons Learned:

Well, it sounds kinda silly, but I think this month I really learned to believe in myself and stop doubting so much. When I got the call to do 'S Wonderful, I knew the role was dance heavy (I kinda play the Gene Kelly role) and I was really nervous because I don't consider myself a dancer. What I've learned, is if I just cast my doubts aside and really focus on the work, I can still surprise myself. While I still would not consider myself a dancer, I am pleased with the work that I'm doing. Yes, it may have taken me a little longer to get than a trained dancer... but I'm getting it and I'm proud of myself for not throwing in the towel, or worse yet, not accepting the contract because I didn't think I could do it. I read a nice article today in Backstage about what people admire about actors and some of my favorites were, “You Train”, “You're Courageous”, “You do everything you can to be prepared”... but I think my favorite two are, “You love the work” and “You live full lives”. I really do love what I do. The struggles and successes. I really do feel like I'm living the life I am supposed to right now, and that's pretty cool!

Peace and Love,
Andrew Mauney
www.andrewmauney.com

An Amazing Year In Review! (Dec 2012)

From the Green Room:

Alright... so the holidays were a little busy, but it's better late than never! I am back in NYC after a fantastic finale of 2012. Hairspray was so much fun. It was really an amazing show and an amazing cast. I think I had mentioned that the Red House Arts Center is an educational theater, meaning they work with professional and community actors to put on a very high caliber show while having community actors exposed to a professional work environment. It was so cool being able to “teach by example” and be a resource to aspiring younger actors. It definitely made me excited at the prospect of teaching or directing at some point in my life... BUT, that will have to wait because I'm headed back out for another four months to do a production of S'Wonderful at the Straz Performing Arts Center in Tampa, FL! S'Wonderful is a George and Ira Gershwin “reviewsical” because it's not strictly a review, but it's also not a full blown musical. There are five actors that sing through over 40 Gershwin songs that have all been strung together with several plot lines. It's a great way to get out of the NYC winter and familiarize myself with some of the greatest music of the 20^th century!

From outside the Green Room:

Syracuse was nice to me... We never got more than a dusting of snow! That allowed us to really enjoy the end of the contract with daily trips into Armory Square to read at Starbucks, go out for a nice meal, or see Polar Express in Imax at the Museum of Science and Technology. A fellow castmate and I also took a road trip to Elmira, NY to see my good friend Christian play Lord Farquaad in the national tour of Shrek. He was brilliant and the show was a blast! I spent a few days back in NYC after Hairspray ended before returning to Pittsburgh for the holidays. Both my brothers and their wives were in town which meant a very full house and an awesome Christmas. One of my favorite gifts was a DSLR camera (Canon T3i). Morgana got me a NYC photography class too, so I'll figure out how to use the thing and be ready to take anyone's headshots! I really enjoy photography and am looking forward to digging more into it! For the New Year and Morgana's birthday (she's a new year's baby) we saw the world premier of Flashdance in Pittsburgh, starring my good friend Matt Hydzik! It's a great show and I highly recommend everyone seeing it when it comes to a city near you or Broadway in the fall!

Lessons Learned:

Wow, what a year. I have been so blessed to have had the year that I did. I spent almost ten of the twelve months working in this crazy industry, did four shows including the tail end of my first national tour, started exploring on-camera work more, and had work for 2013 booked before 2012 had ended. I guess my lesson learned is from the whole year, not just the last month. This industry is crazy... when you're high, you're high... but when you're low, you can be very low. When you've got work, make it count! Enjoy it! The importance of showing up everyday ready to have fun and work hard is paramount... I love what I do and it has really paid off for me so far! Do a good job and don't make any enemies. I got my audition appointment for Buddy because of a recommendation from the choreographer of South Pacific. I got Hairspray because the choreographer was a friend of Morgana's. I got S'Wonderful because the director was on tour with me... It's such a small world that your reputation will make or break you. So here's a tip of the hat to a great 2012 and wishes of happiness, health, and prosperity to all!

Peace and Love,
Andrew Mauney
www.andrewmauney.com

Welcome to the 60's! (Nov 2012)

From the Green Room:

I can't believe it's only been a month since last G2GR, so much has happened! The Buddy Holly Story had a great, albeit short, run. It was so bittersweet to say goodbye to that production and cast. We were really just hitting our stride when we closed. The day after Buddy closed, I flew right from Sullivan, IL to Syracuse, NY to begin rehearsals for Hairspray at the Redhouse Arts Center. I landed at about 7pm, and was in rehearsal by 8pm! I've been having a blast playing the role of Link Larkin so far (we open this weekend). This has been the “bridesmaid” of roles for me... Always a callback, never a call. I think I've been called back for this role for nine different productions, so it feels very good to finally be able to do it. This production is very special too because the Redhouse is an educational theater that utilizes professional actors (Equity Guest Contract), community members, and inner-city youth. It's so neat to be performing in a professional caliber show while passing on my knowledge to upcoming and community actors! Something I can definitely see myself doing more of later in my career.

From outside the Green Room:

As I mentioned, the Buddy contract was too short but I had such a blast doing it. That is quite possibly one of the most multi-talented casts I've ever worked with. Everyone could play several instruments, so we enjoyed several pretty awesome jam sessions. We also treated ourselves to a “Hallow-giving”, a huge potluck feast on Halloween. We ate amazing food and watched horror movies all night. Since being in snowy Syracuse, I've been very busy with rehearsals, but did get a chance to get away for Thanksgiving. I took off to St. Louis for a few days to spend Thanksgiving with Morgana's family. They have a HUGE family reunion feast with tons of people and food... such a great time! I also got to see where she grew up and spend some quality time with her family. It was a much needed break from rehearsal... although it was a little daunting to come right back into a 10 of 12 (12 hour tech rehearsal)! Besides that, this cast is great and I've loved working/living with the other “NYC professionals”. We live in an amazing apartment in the same building as the theater. Obligatory theater shenanigans ensues... Very “Real World” -esk!

Lessons Learned:

Green to Green Room was started to chronicle my journey from businessman into working actor. Ironically enough, if I keep it up, it may follow the journey back into the world of business, just with a brand new focus and much more direction. I say this because my new long-term career goal is to someday own/executive direct/artistic direct my own regional theater company. Don't get me wrong, I hope to still have plenty more performing days ahead of me, but I've started to take note for the distant future. My past several contracts have really allowed me to pin-point aspects of each theater company that I really enjoy. I love the production value and reputation of Ogunquit's main stage shows, the venue at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, the “school” of the Little Theater, and the diverse educational aspects of Redhouse. So now my request to everyone, if you know of anyone that could set me up with a “theater biz” job, especially in NYC, I'd definitely be interested in speaking with them. Paid internships, production assistant, etc... Although, performing jobs still take priority! Thanks!

Peace and Love,
Andrew Mauney
www.andrewmauney.com

Another Openin', Another Show! (Oct 2012)

From the Green Room:

This month's G2GR is coming to you live from the dressing room of The Little Theater on the Square in Sullivan, IL where upstairs Buddy Holly is currently rocking the Apollo Theater! We are currently in our opening weekend for Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story after only ten days of rehearsal. This show is more of a play with music, as all the songs performed are done in a concert style with the actors playing all the instruments. This has made it a beast of a show to tackle in such a short period. Our director, Erik Hayden, is a fantastic musician as well as director and has been very helpful in assuring everything runs smoothly. Another big help is that many of the cast members have done the show before which allows more focus to be placed on the technical aspects of the show (sound, lights, sets, etc...) than scene work and music rehearsals. This is all well and good, except if you've never done the show before! I definitely had to put in many extra hours for line memorization, scene work, and music rehearsals. But it's all fun work to do! Overall, it's been a great experience and wonderfully refreshing to work on a new project! It is, however, a little overwhelming getting emails about my Hairspray rehearsal schedule before I've even wrapped my current show, but that's a good problem to have!

From outside the Green Room:

Things wrapped up nicely in New York before I left for my current contract... I had finally gotten back into the swing of coaching and was really starting to love ushering as well, but those things will always be waiting for me when I get back. I packed up my room and got it ready for my subletter a few days early because Morgana and I were headed down to the Washington DC area for my brother's wedding. It was a great venue, beautiful ceremony, awesome party, and all-around perfect weekend getaway with Morgana before I had to leave. You can read more about it on my new sister-in-law's blog! On the day of the wedding, we had some extra time to kill in the morning, so Morgana and I went horseback riding through the country. It was so nice to get outdoors! I don't think I've been on a horse for over a decade... I left Sunday and flew into Chicago where a theater representative picked me up and we drove the four hours down to Sullivan. It's a very quaint little midwest town but we've had some fun at a local Chili Cook-off and The Great Pumpkin Patch, among other fun little adventures!

Lessons Learned:

I was going to talk about how preparation and personal practice time are key in such a short rehearsal period (we put the whole show up in ten days, I remind you)... but decided to focus on something else because today at the Saturday Matinee, I got a little emotional at the Clearlake Concert which is basically a giant 20 minute concert of all of Buddy's greatest hits to finish the show. I play Keys 2 during this part so I get to look out over the audience and watch everyone. It really hit home that the majority of the people in the audience lived these moments for real... They may have never seen Buddy Holly live, but they definitely went and saw other shows like this and are very familiar with the music. It must have felt like a time-warp for them to be there. I saw elderly men and women literally dancing in the aisles like they were 16 again, smiles ear-to-ear, because the last time they shared this experience they were 16! The pure power of music and theater was made very evident to me today... and it's always nice getting reminded of that every now and again.

Peace and Love,
Andrew Mauney
www.andrewmauney.com