Joanna Carpenter is an Entreperformer who I met through Lia Sumerano, who played Vanessa in "In The Heights" with me, but we made friends waiting at an audition for Aladdin.
Yes, New York City acting is a small world.
This vivacious energetic woman has a passion for BEER, and created http://www.BravingTheBrew.com where she talks beer and brewing. She took a few seconds with me at one of her events to talk about why America creates the coolest and most innovative beers in the world. Listen and fall in love:
Sign up at her site to come to her next event. I had a great time, learned more about beer, and got to try a lot of different beers... maybe too many?
I had this marketing epiphany after seeing The Business of Being Born on Netflix. If you're a midwife, you have a business. Here are 2 things any business should keep in mind when marketing their stuff.
A big mistake many actors make is that since they're actors, they think they can play ANYTHING, and they may be right, but it doesn't matter-
You'll only get booked for what OTHER PEOPLE think you can play.
Just like you would use soft scrub instead of toothpaste to clean your bathtub (even though it would work!), the people who are going to hire you will mostly hire you to do something they've seen you play already.
Case in point: ROB FORD.
Now that he is branded as "The Crack-Smoking Mayor" who is clumsy, fat, and drunk all the time, guess who the internet clamored to play him:
CHRIS FARLEY.
Who died in 1997- 16 years ago.
But being a fat, clumsy, drunk slob was Chris Farley's Brand:
Rob Ford the Movie - YouTube: ""
Someone made a fake trailer for "Rob Ford The Movie" starring Chris Farley because of their brands.
Yes, the video is kinda hilarious, and of course, it fits. But I'm pretty sure that there are other actors, ALIVE ACTORS who could also play Rob Ford. Bobby Moynihan did a good job on SNL, but of course, that was to be expected too.
And that's the point.
You had better control your brand- and HAVE ONE TO BEGIN WITH- or you might not get the work that is exactly for you when it appears.
So, maybe you should find a politician who you look like, and see what kind of scandal they can get caught up in! Good luck!
By the way, The Rob Ford Television Show that was in the works was cancelled recently after the public said they would refuse to watch it. The Canadian Public. I have a feeling the US would have eaten it up!
I absolutely LOVE the musical "In The Heights" by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and I got to see it before it went to Broadway.
When I saw the show, I felt COMPELLED to play the part of "Usnavi", who reminded me of myself a lot.
The character raps, sings a little, and doesn't dance too well- JUST LIKE ME!
So, when I got the opportunity to audition for it, I jumped all in, and got to do the show. I was ecstatic, and after it was all done, I had this promo video made:
Lin-Manuel Miranda's music just moved my soul, and made me reminisce about my family here in New York. I cried my eyes out as I watched "Paciencia y Fe", because it so reminded me of my family's story and struggle to come to America. I REALLY connected with this broadway musical, and a few of my friends really understood. It is a show about US, in the same way that "Fiddler On The Roof" is about the Jews.
And I felt like the show was about ME.
This show is PERSONAL to me, and I hope to be able to write something as powerful for other people.
I got to experience some great emotions, and bring those to the audiences who came, and many folks told me it was the bet show they had seen at that theater. We got to perform for a few of the other people who have done it before (I wish Lin-Manuel could have seen us!) and they thought we were great.too.
That MEANS something to me.
As we continue in the crazy profession, I finally got to cross a life-goal off my list- to perform that show with my Mom in the audience. Thank you to everyone who was a part of making that happen.
Ok, so some friends of mine Shayna Ferm and Katherine Bryant decided to write an hilarious play and titled it Grease 3- or "Threase". It is a parody of "What If.." they made a Grease 3. Although none of us are playing John Travolta or Olivia-Newton John's characters, there are some... similarities.
The show is super hysterical, totally inappropriate, an super-fun at only 45 minutes. I play a dancer from a rival high school whose sexuality is.. well... revved up. It will be the first time I've been on stage with Alex Goldberg since way back when we were in Kundalini Komedy together, and I can't wait!
Every friday this February at the NEW People's Improv Theatre: GET MORE INFO HERE
When I got hired to be Sears' SANTAMAZING, I had no idea that we'd be doing a rap video...
One of my friends said that I look natural, so that's good! I used to do rap performances in college; my name was "Bone-E-Luv"- must be why I'm such a pro here.
So, I shot the stuff for SEARS a few weeks ago, and now the website is up! It;s all about doing Christmas shopping at SEARS, and my character, "Santamazing" gets great gifts for people by learning about them and going all out. I like the behind the scenes footage they shot in the parking lots and just all around the place. I hope they crank out more stuff!
Let me make something clear- this is the ART to me. This is 21st century, popular art, and it is the HEIGHT of the accomplishments on the internet. Watch the first 2 minute clip, which is a news story. Then watch THE REMIX...
"Former NBA star Manute Bol, the 7-foot-7 Sudanese tribesman who died at 47 on June 19, succumbed to kidney failure and a baffling, deadly skin disease called Stevens-Johnson syndrome."
Well, I'm not 7 foot 7, and I'm TERRIBLE at basketball- but:
I had Steven's Johnson syndrome too!
Yes, I'm making light of a pretty horrific time in my and my families' life, but that's how I do things.
That's me at 5 years old, in the hospital with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. I was in the hospital for about two months, and my parents were told to prepare for my death. I had an earache, and was given penicillin for the infection. Normally, that would be great, but in this case, it was pretty bad. We never found out if it was an allergic reaction to the penicillin, or if the penicillin was a bad batch...
-the hospital "lost" it.
Yeah, really.
It was a long time ago for me, and I figured there was a cure and everything by now. When I heard that Manute had died from it, I found out that we still know so little about the disease... like there are no mandatory reporting rules for adverse drug reactions!!!
Now, I wonder why that is? Well, I guess big pharma doesn't want anyone to know that there drugs might be dangerous! Look, penicillin is a miracle drug, but shouldn't we also try to prevent deaths from it? If you search for "Stevens Johnson Syndrome" on Youtube, you'll be horrified. It can strike anyone from any drug, and it mostly gets little children. You'll be horrified.
I didn't know it, but my case is kind of a miracle. I'll tell you more later; for now, Please help me to support the Stevens Johnson Syndrome Foundation thanks!
This is us today backstage at a Freestyle Repertory Theatre show of THEATRESPORTS. I absolutely love doing these shows, and don't get to do tham as much as I'd like:
Yesterday I asked "Mr. Triumph" to help me through the day- what a great job he did! What was at first a crappy reading turned out to be an awesome acting adventure where I ended up performing on the Alvin Ailey Stage! Today has to do with Conquering Fear:
What ACTION will you take today to conquer a fear? For me, it will be making some sales calls- I'll let you know how they go!
Today I am officially 38! I am also kicking off this reading everyday blog, which will (hopefully) bring a lot of people some value, and enjoyment. I start with one of my all-time favorites, the magic of thinking big by David Schwartz- Enjoy!
Today, I am going to remind myself to use "Mr. Triumph" in my situations. In fact, I am using him right now to change my attitude about something I'm doing today! What about you?
This movie may change your entire life... not a joke. Lately I've been talking about a lot of different ideas that are in this film, and I think I somehow asked the Universe to send it to me. I hope you watch the whole thing:
My name is Bones Rodriguez, and I met Laura Valpey doing improvisational comedy in New York City. We were friends first, fell in love, and had been living together for two years when I had to start deceiving her.
We had so many funny conversations that I had made some of them into short sketches, and even turned one of them into a book- “Captain Kirk’s Guide To Women”, due out in February from Simon and Schuster.
I told her I wanted to perform seven sketches during my birthday party that year- which was to be held 3 weeks AFTER my birthday.
That was a lie.
I also told her that my mother was coming up to visit because she had a reunion that weekend, and she would come see the show- just to spend time with us.
That was another lie- but it just snowballed after that.
All of the friends I invited to the birthday party had to lie to her too- they all knew the truth, but were sworn to secrecy. The comedy group we were in together had to lie- they all memorized lines, and produced a show all built around the same secret:
I was going to propose to her that night.
In fact, I had written seven sketches all to set up for the fifth one- the one where “the couple” (we played ourselves) discusses engagement rings, and the unskilled guy needs tips from the girl.
We performed sketches about looking for the TV remote, sketches about internet dating, and sketches about sex. The audience started out nervous- we were all waiting for the big scene- but after a while the laughter came and they seemed to forget why they were there.
But I couldn’t let it go; The entire night I was unfocused, stuttering, and forgetting my lines left and right. My poor girlfriend had to keep feeding me my lines, but she just figured I was nervous because I had written the entire show.
Then came the “ring sketch”, and the audience stopped laughing.
You could hear a pin drop as we went through the scene, a chuckle here, and stifled laugh there. About 2 minutes into it, they loosened up, and they laughed easily again. I was playing the incompetent guy, not knowing how to look for a ring, classify a ring, or buy a ring. Laura said her lines about the weight, color, and style.
Then Laura’s line came: “I wanna be surprised”
Unbeknownst to her- this was my big moment. This is why I had written these sketches, and this is why I was onstage. This was why 50 people were in the audience, and why my mother flew up from Miami. This is the moment when I could stop lying, hiding and misleading.
I went off-script, and delivered a different line: “Are you sure?”
But she had been feeding me lines all night, and since we’re both trained improvisers, she just went with me:
“yeah”
But then she could see the look on my face when I called my best friend over to the stage:
“Ok… Hey Rick….”
The audience held their breath, and Rick brought the ring he had been holding in his pocket all night- the ring that I had bought months before, the ring I had hidden in a piece of furniture after staying up late nights doing “work”.
That’s when it hit her.
A sketch about looking for engagement rings? A birthday party three weeks after my birthday? Calling her parents to tell her all about the party and inviting them? She hid her face in her hands as I got down on one knee,
And asked her to do me the honor of becoming my wife.
And the best part?
She said yes!!
-And we got it all on video.
As my girlfriend-now-wife says in the video, I AM a show-off, but I initially got the proposal on video because I knew I would want to remember it forever. I also figured family members all around the world would like to see it too; Laura’s family is in Seattle and mine is scattered throughout Florida.
Watching it on video two years later, I still get the same butterflies in my stomach now as I did then. I was so happy, and so thrilled with that moment, I just wanted to share it with as many people as possible. I even made a website www.BonesLovesLaura.com just to let cyberspace share in it too.
What I didn’t expect were the comments! So many people have written in and the comments are so wonderful. Many of them are married people, or engaged people who were looking for innovative ways to propose, or just wanting to know what other people have done.
Our video is one of the most popular REAL proposal videos. There are some companies that have tried to copy our success by putting “rejected proposal” videos, but they’re all just bad advertising, and in my opinion, bad taste. Why ruin such a nice moment?
I think people like to see other people happy, and that’s why “feel-good” shows like Extreme Makeover Home Edition and Oprah do so well. Strong emotions bring us all together, and tears of joy are the best. I do a lot of things, I write, I act, and I have businesses, but this is far and away the best thing I have ever done.
************************************************** I wrote the above for an article that someone asked me for. I found it on my computer, and didn't know what to do with it, so here it is!
My name is Bones Rodriguez, and I met Laura Valpey doing improvisational comedy in New York City. We were friends first, fell in love, and had been living together for two years when I had to start deceiving her.
We had so many funny conversations that I had made some of them into short sketches, and even turned one of them into a book- “Captain Kirk’s Guide To Women”, due out in February from Simon and Schuster.
I told her I wanted to perform seven sketches during my birthday party that year- which was to be held 3 weeks AFTER my birthday.
That was a lie.
I also told her that my mother was coming up to visit because she had a reunion that weekend, and she would come see the show- just to spend time with us.
That was another lie- but it just snowballed after that.
All of the friends I invited to the birthday party had to lie to her too- they all knew the truth, but were sworn to secrecy. The comedy group we were in together had to lie- they all memorized lines, and produced a show all built around the same secret:
I was going to propose to her that night.
In fact, I had written seven sketches all to set up for the fifth one- the one where “the couple” (we played ourselves) discusses engagement rings, and the unskilled guy needs tips from the girl.
We performed sketches about looking for the TV remote, sketches about internet dating, and sketches about sex. The audience started out nervous- we were all waiting for the big scene- but after a while the laughter came and they seemed to forget why they were there.
But I couldn’t let it go; The entire night I was unfocused, stuttering, and forgetting my lines left and right. My poor girlfriend had to keep feeding me my lines, but she just figured I was nervous because I had written the entire show.
Then came the “ring sketch”, and the audience stopped laughing.
You could hear a pin drop as we went through the scene, a chuckle here, and stifled laugh there. About 2 minutes into it, they loosened up, and they laughed easily again. I was playing the incompetent guy, not knowing how to look for a ring, classify a ring, or buy a ring. Laura said her lines about the weight, color, and style.
Then Laura’s line came: “I wanna be surprised”
Unbeknownst to her- this was my big moment. This is why I had written these sketches, and this is why I was onstage. This was why 50 people were in the audience, and why my mother flew up from Miami. This is the moment when I could stop lying, hiding and misleading.
I went off-script, and delivered a different line: “Are you sure?”
But she had been feeding me lines all night, and since we’re both trained improvisers, she just went with me:
“yeah”
But then she could see the look on my face when I called my best friend over to the stage:
“Ok… Hey Rick….”
The audience held their breath, and Rick brought the ring he had been holding in his pocket all night- the ring that I had bought months before, the ring I had hidden in a piece of furniture after staying up late nights doing “work”.
That’s when it hit her.
A sketch about looking for engagement rings? A birthday party three weeks after my birthday? Calling her parents to tell her all about the party and inviting them? She hid her face in her hands as I got down on one knee,
And asked her to do me the honor of becoming my wife.
And the best part?
She said yes!!
-And we got it all on video.
As my girlfriend-now-wife says in the video, I AM a show-off, but I initially got the proposal on video because I knew I would want to remember it forever. I also figured family members all around the world would like to see it too; Laura’s family is in Seattle and mine is scattered throughout Florida.
Watching it on video two years later, I still get the same butterflies in my stomach now as I did then. I was so happy, and so thrilled with that moment, I just wanted to share it with as many people as possible. I even made a website www.BonesLovesLaura.com just to let cyberspace share in it too.
What I didn’t expect were the comments! So many people have written in and the comments are so wonderful. Many of them are married people, or engaged people who were looking for innovative ways to propose, or just wanting to know what other people have done.
Our video is one of the most popular REAL proposal videos. There are some companies that have tried to copy our success by putting “rejected proposal” videos, but they’re all just bad advertising, and in my opinion, bad taste. Why ruin such a nice moment?
I think people like to see other people happy, and that’s why “feel-good” shows like Extreme Makeover Home Edition and Oprah do so well. Strong emotions bring us all together, and tears of joy are the best. I do a lot of things, I write, I act, and I have businesses, but this is far and away the best thing I have ever done.
**************************************************
I wrote the above for an article that someone asked me for. I found it on my computer, and didn't know what to do with it, so here it is!
************************************************************
"Leblon James" slam dunks Miami nightlife
Never bet against King James.
What does famous basketball star Lebron James have to do with my hangover?
Well, it's not what you think...
I decided to go out in Miami with a rather tall chilean female friend of mine,
and we ran into a bunch of Spaniards who kept saying that Miami was "puta madre",
which by my understanding means "whore mother".
Well, by the end of the night, I would know what they meant.
The four of us went out to The Delano, one of Miami's hottest, swankiest hotels,
where women can just stand around and be bought drinks, rooms, and
bentleys if they're patient. I turned my head for a second to talk to the spaniards
when some guy with a glint in his eye offered to by my vertically advantaged friend a drink:
"Have you had a Leblon James yet?"
"huh?"
"It's Leblon and Orange Juice"
I laughed, and maybe interrupting his flow,
"That's hilarious" I said.
Of course, I got the joke, that LebRon James (with an r) is a basketball star,
and so having Leblon (a brand of Cachaca) with orange juice was representative of him.
It was sweeter than a vodka and oj,
but not girlie, so I liked it.
We all liked it.
Well, the guy was nice enough to get us all a round,
and then another, and then another.
And at the Delano, that got pricey.
Frankly, I was thinking about going home with him myself!
We eventually left (sorry Delano guy) and went on to The Clevelander,
which is pretty much the opposite of The Delano, with people dancing
and rapping along to hip-hop beats all night.
We thought it was appropriate to order a couple of Leblon James' at the Clevelander
(Lebron plays for The Cleveland Cavaliers), but the bartender hadn't heard of it yet.
Once we explained it was Leblon with Orange juice,
the bartender laughed, and gave them to us on the house!
That's probably when we should have called the game,
but since we didn't pay for the first round, we made it up by ordering two more.
Well, about an hour into the dancing, just about when
Biggie was talking about how his crew does run-run, I felt it-
Leblon James had slam dunked on me.
I decided that I would put some money down on the next Cavaliers game,
because if King James' drink could do a number on me,
I'm pretty sure we'll see them in the final four this year.
******************************
by David Schwartz- Enjoy!
