Ben Davis' Acting Journey

Consensus: Backdrop - Ben Davis Arts

2016-01-14T16:18:00.001-08:00

We begin the first of several series introducing you to a more detailed picture of my work ahead:

"What is Consensus", Part 1.

Consensus: Backdrop - Ben Davis Arts

I have wonderful news!

2015-12-31T16:17:00.000-08:00

Hello friends,

First, Happy Holidays. And wishing you a fine New Year's Eve. I'm very, very excited to share this with you:

This is formally both your invitation to join, and my announcement to , and in earnest, introduce my new organization, Ben Davis Arts, and my new production concept, Consensus.

You're here because you've met me over recent years, either when I was in college; or when I've worked as an actor or producer; when following my blog, Ben Davis' Acting Journey; or, when you encountered earlier version of this project, ThreeAxis (also called Meteor Company, more recently). Some of you even know it as it is right now. They have gone by many names, but represent the single evolution of my eight year long quest for a creative family to help myself and other actors flourish in the digital age.

Specifically, to reinvent the way the industry makes film and theater so all working actors receive no less than $15/hr.
Consensus will be the means to do this. This is an experimentation phase that will last for at least the next year or two. It is the first of many, many small steps. Learn more here or here. But, like all great artistic projects, it requires a village of special
people like you. Since there's at least THREE HUNDRED of you reading this, believe me when I say this project already has real attention, and continues to grow.

This process runs on your input. Your attendance and feedback WILL make the difference. Your previous support has sustained me. And now, I want to give back to you through the work you helped make possible.

---

What does this mean:

1. Ben Davis Acting and the old blog will be shutting down for good in another month or so. The new blog begins next week!

2. Consensus will begin new monthly events in Manhattan and Brooklyn starting in next year! And, next month! You'll be getting more details by next year! I mean, next week!

3. Please subscribe following me online, such as facebook, twitter, and google+, to continue to receive updates.

The most important things you can do:

Attend Consensus.
Share my cause.

This moment feels incredible to have achieved. I am grateful to celebrate it with you here and from afar. Thank you--for just being damned awesome. You'll be hearing from me soon. I mean it.

-Ben

Ben's 2015 Stage Debut

2015-01-29T04:02:00.003-08:00

Hello one and all,

I'm at it again. Back at Theater for a New City to act in Barbara Kahn's newest work: Women of the Wind. Come see some of the lesser known heroes that made the movie it refers to (Gone with the Wind, of course) the iconic picture that it became.

From our event page on facebook, here: "The production runs from February 5-22, 2015, Thursdays-Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. at Theater for the New City, 155 1st Avenue (10th Street), New York, NY."

To reserve tickets: You can call the theater themselves at 212-254-1109 (highly recommended) and pay at the door or they can go to the theater's website and order through Smarttix (pre-pay has a small fee). If you are Industry, and wish to attend, please email me at bendavisacting@gmail.com.

See you there!
-Ben

The Most Important Guy I Never Met

2014-08-12T02:07:00.003-07:00

Once upon a time some near twenty years ago, I met on a movie screen one of the best character actors I ever heard. The actor was funny; the characters and voices AMAZING. This person confirmed for me--an aspiring "inventor"--that imaginations can live in the real world...

I STILL can't figure out how the actor did the work, but it was the inspiration to start sounding like the people I created in my head...

One thing led to another, courage or foolhardiness stumbled in, and my acting career was real...

Definitively, at least fifteen productions I've been in had me performing no less than three characters. I made good impressions by being diverse, and those 'voices' always open doors for me...

I owe everything this career has added to my heart from the first actor I ever wanted to know about. This person has never known this blog, the author, or any of his work, but it also exists because of the seed planted by one very important stranger...

Thank you Robin Williams.

Bound to my Craft

2013-11-23T23:34:00.000-08:00

Another Openin'; Another Show. One of the first lines I ever said as an actor. Thirteen to Fourteen years later I got yet another chance to be on stage with a remarkable cast for the Attic Ensemble's production of Sidney Kingsley's Detective Story. Twenty-two people successfully performed as thirty-plus characters bumping into each other in a VERY busy day at the local New York Precinct. These were vibrant spirits that one and all got along famously, which is one hell of a thing to do.

No exagerations: At times it was hard to be the strangers on stage because off it you would hardly know that one or the other had to be antagonists. Moreover, I think only two or three evenings were not sold out. It was a long show and no one ever took issue with the two and a half hour ensemble spectacle.

Ah--the feeling of direct lights in a packed house. We knew what we were doing was making an impression. I get the feeling that we helped make this theater company take another step in keeping its roots in North Jersey as a great community theater. There's a lot of reasons to believe they've got a great future ahead of them.

Neither was it without a good actor's tale. (Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert!)

I play the part of Arthur, a well-intentioned (albeit, not very wise) WWII veteran that has stolen his boss' money to impress a girl--which he's been chasing after for seven years--so he can treat her to an upper-class night on the town in an effort to ward her off a wealthy man she intends to marry. Unfortunately, the attempt fails and he is brought in by a Detective to be interogate and brough to criminal court. In his remarkable up-and-down journey to forgiveness and salvation, there's a moment in the two-and-a-half hour play where me and my love interest, Susan, confront each other before I'm escorted off to my holding cell and inevitable incarceration. Susan convinces Detective McCleod to have two minutes alone with me; which he does only after handcuffing me to a chair. I don't leave the chair until several scenes later, where McCleod's partner, Brody, frees me and us newly-made couple run off into the (offstage) sunset. Including tech, we pulled off this relatively minor feet as reflexively as one goes about tying their shoe.

But of course, one night was very very different.

The chair lockdown went as planned, our scene and the following ones came and went. Brody stopped by as scripted, went about his empassioned speech as he negotiated the handcuffs.

He seemed to be picking at it a bit longer than usual. Within a few fractions of silence it was clear that the cuffs had forgot their own cues. My hand wasn't going anywhere. And neither was the future of Arthur and poor Susan. In the brilliance of true Theater Acting, everyone got back involved in their business, kept the action going and the timing of the lights came down so perfectly, I swore this was a second ending the playwright had crafted himself.

First crisis masterfully averted. However, the chair, the cuffs, and my hand, were still bound.

Which meant that during the blackout I had to get backstage while handcuffed to a chair. And we were all downright in stitches about it. It took every ounce of commitment not to laugh about it ONSTAGE.

But there was no time; another minute later, I had to enter for the curtain call, which I did by holding the leg of the chair, and by it the whole chair, triumphantly high over my head, like a rock star just finishing his signature ballad. (Or maybe something that guy from Shawshank might have done after he crawled out of that tunnel.) The crowd responded well, and only after did I hear that the audience thought it was actually a part of the show.

Alright. So we managed to rebound from my more permanent detention onstage, but my current predicament was quite bound to my present condition.

Several people, by that the whole cast, sat me down in another chair whereby each in turn preceded to attempt saving me from my debacle. Eventually, after at least one key had been broken, several iphone photos were taken, and I was sufficiently less amused, my wrist was unbound. And Ben, not Arthur, was a free man. To make the situation more bizarre, it was learned an additional pair of handcuffs had made their way into the pile that had never been seen before, and this was the set that had been used. If only I were a real detective to solve THAT case!

So there you have it. 2013 done in the Actor Books.

From here, I look into the next twelve months. The actor will be on vacation for quite a bit. My journey does not remove me from my Art, but it does remove me from being a professional artist. You won't hear from me likely until something else emerges, so may your Happy Holidays and New Year, and all other wonderful Occasions, be merry, of joy, with thanks, and in good company. Thank you all for sticking around as loyal readers and hope to see you all in real world!

Love you all.
-Ben

The (Pursuit of) Labor Day

2013-09-02T11:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Labor Day.

Hopefully you're reading this at least a day or two after it's posted, as I assume you are having all the fun (or rest, or both) you can ask for.

There's something incredible about having a job. And it has very little to do with the size of my paycheck. The idea of sustaining myself, making sure I open the fridge and food awaits me. That I pull out a key and know it leads to a door where my things and my bed will greet me, clean and dry. It's a good feeling. And if you read my last post, you understand that the fight for employment is very real to me. The last five or six years have been a great instructor on the the realities of making a living. There really has never been a Labor Day that has felt more important than this one; Providing for myself makes my identity distinctly visceral in a way you all understand only by having it yourself, or having to go out there and fight for it.

As Creatives, it is understood that job security is an illusion. It's really an illusion for all of us, but in our field, as is increasingly common among all job sectors as they turn to contractors and temp employment, you never know when you'll be in or out of the workforce.

About two months ago I was back in that position. I was working for a non-profit and it was a mutually appreciated working relationship, but my employment was never designed to be permanent. The deadline for me to leave was finally a mere few weeks away. Walking around a supermarket here in the city, I was thinking about getting employment and decided to apply for a position there. The company is reputable--many of my friends who have worked for them all gave high marks.

Every once in awhile, I would nudge the manager's desk there. Two weeks to the end of my temp employment, I got hired to a "permanent" position. And that food store is where I support myself now.

It's the first time in four years that I didn't have downtime between jobs and so on my Birthday, I was given the gift of stable employment. So far, I can confirm every good review that has been give about this company. The future here looks very promising.

But it's not artist work. And that pull--that need frankly--to be involved creatively now pulls on me more than ever.

I really believe that we hunger in four different ways: the obvious one is the stomach, but I also need fulfillment in my heart, my mind, and my spirit. While my job is great in so many ways, I have temporarily traded my Creative pursuits that feed my soul so I can feed my body (which don't get me wrong, is also extremely importantly to me). The soul to me has nothing to do with religion, or atheism, or "isms" of any kind: When you are fortunate enough to know what kind of work you want for your soul (which I would also say happens to be the way most people talk about their CAREERS, NOT their JOBS), sacrificing that pursuit for other needs in your life is a hard, hard, compromise.

We tend to grade our jobs by the money they make and the level of acceptance we garner by doing them. But that shouldn't be your only metrics. There SHOULD be love in what you do. There SHOULD be ways that it pays you and those you care about beyond what any paycheck is capable of providing.

As I write this, I come back to the Declaration of Independence and wonder if this is what the American Dream really stands for: to not only surviving life, but thriving in it. I think that's when a job transcends into the kind of position someone would commit to for fifty years. And anyone I've talked to who has been fortunate enough to contribute in such way has fondly described the above.

I wish that for all of you.

And if your job cannot provide such, that you have another kind of work that can.

AND even if you're still searching, make sure you take a moment today and celebrate your pursuit of Life, Liberty, and Happiness.

Wishing you all love and good things.

-Ben

Janus and The Double-Edged Omen

2013-05-21T19:56:00.003-07:00

My lack of posting has been pretty conspicuous of late and therefore I now attempt to tell the tale that has otherwise went silently:

New Years quickly approached.

As in all Holidays, times are heightened; peoples emotions become a rising mercury, and more so, aggravated in the close and chaotic confines of New York City. I had once again made a leave of acting after a very lean summer and a spotty Fall. This was the obstacle that commanded my sole focus of resolving financial concerns. I thought I had lucked upon a good temp gig with a New Years Eve company, just to bridge into the new calender, and spent the ensuing weeks working up my customer service skills and preparing for the Big Night.

I had been assigned to a midtown location as a VIP Host. Lucky Spenders would have a warm and cozy time indoors, with the luxury of a guaranteed spot inside the highly guarded gates where people could see the Drop itself. A great deal of money was paid for tickets--some shelling out five hundred dollars or more per spot. This would be an incredible mix of the wealthy, the influential, and the international, and mostly go-ol'-fashioned sightseers; many investing over a year's worth of planning--thousands of dollars--for the one second when the year would round up a number.

But from the moment I walked in there was the hint of trouble.

The place was a bit... humble. It was clean, but cramped. The room was blank and unwelcoming, with only an hour to liven up the place before the first guests arrived. No one from the upper management told us which of the 40+ unique ticket types would correspond for our event. No one was assigned for restocking food and beverage. Actually, we didn't even know where those goods had been put. There were no TVs in the place (as was advertised). The DJ was not present (also a selling point marketed for this location) and would never show up the entire night; instead we used our VIP Smart Phone Playlists as the sonic entertainment.

And, most importantly, no one had told us that our permit for the outdoor, guaranteed, reserved, this-is-really-why-you-paid-us-cash-money-so-you-could-see-the-silly-ball had not been obtained.

In New York, if you have ever had to work with the NYPD while managing an event, they are not the Finest to deal with when you don't have the proper paperwork.

(Let that sink in for a moment. I'll wait.)

...

(Back to the event:) People are now pouring in from all directions. Hundreds inflate our meager spacing. There is little ventilation. The forests of balloons in the main spaces tie into each other like a giant net. The crowd is tangled, hot, dehydrated, and quickly becoming inebriated.

And with the permit crisis plummeting to disaster with every Countdown Second, I found myself alone to "manage" a floor of 150+ VIP participants. All the other staff had receded like a tide to the floor below--at least this is what I would find out later on. By this point, the party had been going on for at least two hours.

I weaved and squeezed my way downstairs (which took at least 20-30 minutes through the masses), desperate for some reinforcements and a little help, when I heard saw outside my long-missing manager, pleading with a police Captain, a Captain who decided to take his portable loudspeaker out and tell everyone that had a working pair of ears that we had RIPPED THEM OFF. And that everyone was now to leave. Fourty-five minutes out from the end of Countdown.

You could feel the room quiver in exclamation. Then, slowly breathe out a growing, growling, outrage. It was like being in a room soaked in jet fuel and every person was about to light a match.

Above me, still relatively unaware, was a packed, hot, sweaty, smoldering group of well-to-do and well-meaning adventurers. Many of them already bundled up and boiling in winter-clothed lines that were already suppose to be out the door.

The chorus of protestation was starting to swell; at this point we were all on our own. Clean-up was swift and tense.

My group got lucky: our small band missed the near all-out riot that happened on our heels; coworkers told us stories of roving bands of upset customers that nearly jumped several staff members, or plain spat on, along with other happy scenes.

Furious and defeated, I grabbed my backpack from the main area, left the scene without brushing into the congregating mobs, got on the train heading home, and hoped I hadn't been followed. A few minutes into the tunnel for Jersey: It was over.

I was now out of a job again. I was emotionally, mentally, and spiritually drained. I had a deadline to be off-book for a show in the near future, with no future prospects going forward, AND I WASN'T EVEN LIVING IN NEW YORK. After a year of sputtering, near-misses, poor-paying jobs, and other dead ends, I looked through the throng of bright, satisfied faces. I really did wish to be in their shoes.

The thought of 2013 felt like a Sentencing. If this was an omen for the year to come, I would hop in the nearest cryogenic chamber and wait for 2014 to save me. My Journey was SUPPOSED to land me off-Broadway gigs and TV roles and make me a known and respected actor through the performing world. Even the five year plan I wrote in College said so! I wasnt sure how I would fall sleep when I got back to my bed.

By overwhelming temptation, I kept thinking about the New Year, and wondered what I was actually doing when 2013 arrived. I always remembered those movies that abruptly cut into what should be some other happening: in those flickering moments, how did I "bring it in"?

Believe it or not, I was trapped on 42nd street and 8th, unable to make it back to HQ for my bags and Evacuate across the Hudson. We looked up, and found ourselves staring at this strange tower that looked powered up in a way that would blast a hole in time for the DeLorean to cruise through. It was a mere pen point, so tiny: but there was the Ball!

We were at least a good ten blocks closer than we would have been for work, witness the main event, in the centrifuge of arguably the biggest party in the world, and I was going to get paid for it. That is how I began Twenty and Thirteen.

The earlier nightmare was a consistent summary to a very hard 2012. Perhaps, this double-edged omen had merely cut a line in the sand. The step before this divide had summarized substantial hardships. The idea of my struggles birthing equally sizable blessings gave me a Buddha like exhale. An actor shouldn't be surprised, but how crazy is it to end such a night like that!?

Perhaps the fight to Live well makes us appreciate the power of the Phoenix. We all, in our dearest endeavors, cannot rise until the ashes of older excuses, and unproductive methods, are burned away, leaving only the diamond-hard brilliance of truth in our own living selves.

-----

Except for a few edits, this is what I scribbled down a few months ago. My writer's block has unwrenched itself, thank goodness.

In review: the Prophecy progresses. After a year of short-term answers, I have a steady supporting job to hold me up through the summer. I did a show a few weeks after this "episode"; where I got my first review, and boy was it a good one. Many fond thanks again to the wonderful cast and crew of Crossing Paths in Washington Square, who are all up to even greater and grander things. That was a show good for an actor's soul in a business that loves to feed and fester upon the passionate.

Quietly in the background, is a larger project that is gaining strong and steady growth. I look forward to sharing that with all of you. That, however, will require a little more time to reveal.

This year is a defining moment in my transition.

Stay tuned.

Critically Acclaimed!

2013-01-29T11:23:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

Well, it appears a critic came to see Crossing Paths in Washington Square, and had some really nice things to say about the cast, along with Yours Truly. Check out the remarks from Show Business Weekly's Gena Hymowech. Thanks for the kind words Gena!

-Ben

What's in a Name?

2013-01-15T12:01:00.003-08:00

Welcome all and hello 2013!

So much has been on my mind, and this year feels fresh to me in many news ways.

Right now, the first step is to find my definitive stage name. Now many people have said, "what's wrong with Ben Davis?"--nothing at all. It's just that someone else has thought to use it first.

Actually, my name is SO GOOD, that people couldn't resist putting it to good use before I came along (hard to believe, huh?).

When I was at college, I once had to replace my I.D. When I told them my full name, Benjamin Davis, they asked me, "which one"--because there were 19 others(!).

According to the inter-webs it's a pretty catchy name for other things, too; with a clothing line, a high school, and even some delicious produce, named after "us". One father and son even used it to make history. Oh, and a major Broadway caliber actor, too.

Clearly, my name is meant for the kind of big things my Life Journey is all about. It's time for me to take this wonderful title provided from my parents and find my own Ben Davis Flavor.

And, being the wonderful fans that you are, it wouldn't be right to decide without hearing your thoughts!

You can join the discussion I've started on facebook. There's a place to vote there, or post a comment of your own. You can email me, too, of course. But, please, take your two cents and spend it here.

Below are just some of the ideas already suggested for bringing the "real Ben Davis":

Ben Davis (stick with the one I've got)
Ben W. Davis
B. W. Davis
Ben Davy
Benjamin W. Davis
Ben Davis Seuss
Wells Davis
B. Wells Davis
Ben Davi
NEW SUGGESTION:
Ben Davy Jones (or some spelling thereof)

UPDATE: LEADING NAMES THUS FAR.
Ben Davis
B. Wells Davis
Wells Davis
Ben Davi

I'm making my mark in New York, or bust. This will be the first big step to getting out there. Good to be writing to you all again.

-Ben

Return to the Stage

2013-01-10T09:40:00.000-08:00

I don't even how to commence the explanation of how the journey winded, so I will simply cut to the chase and provide you with some good yule tidings of Twenty and Thirteen:

I am in another show called Crossing Paths in Washington Sqaure. Performances are from January 17 to February 3, 2013, Thursdays-Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. That's twelve shows in all, so there's plenty o' time for you to make your way to 1st Ave, between 9th and 10th street, in the N-Y of C.

This play developed out of a reading I did with playwright Barbara Kahn late last year, and am very happy to be working with her collaborative team again. She has a knack for exploring identity issues using the unique culture of Bohemian Greenwich Village. We are very excited to see the words come to life and are moving full-steam towards the realized production.

Can't wait to see you all.

-Ben

The Extra Good

2012-07-24T07:32:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I was on set as an extra, and it was a great time. The folks working behind the scenes at Boardwalk Empire do an amazing job and I am very proud to have taken part: here's hoping they will call my number again!

Now, there's no certainty of being seeing when doing background work. Although, the great thing about being an extra is that your position within the film can change rather quickly. It's like throwing your name into a raffle and you could win some face time on screen and with a few people you might really like. This is also a great chance to network and meet people. I've learned over time that it's more important to have fun and enjoy the people you're around than always looking for a selling angle. So, I do what I naturally enjoy doing: making some friends and neat acquaintances. This show was an excellent example of that.

But you WILL see my face on T.V tomorrow night. It's Discovery I.D's Dates from Hell, and I'm a lead! It'll air at 10pm tomorrow.

Happy Fourth

2012-07-03T18:25:00.002-07:00

This is one of my favorite Holidays. I love that, tomorrow, we can all embrace each other as country-kin. And, in spite of the fact there remains great difference, I hope you find camaraderie that is beneficent and wide-embracing.

I'm already thinking of the wonderful mellow heat that will fade away into quiet darkness--before the booms of fire flowers make their brief glows across the sky--with the comforting scent of grilled embers, wafting through the background.

Yeah, yeah, I'm getting poetic,

but no matter where you are, or where you have come, or by what category you define yourself, I hope you'll find time to be safe and enjoy!

-Ben

Discovery I.D. and Me!

2012-06-21T11:33:00.001-07:00

Well, the secret is out and you're all the first to know! My humble debut on television will be with Discovery I.D's Dates from Hell. It's a series covering really wild encounters told by the survivors of some very scary first dates. And all the stories are true, which makes the tales all the more fascinating. I guess I won't reveal too much about my own character, but needless to say tha,t if you know me, it's the last kind of person you'd expect.

My episode will air July 25th at 10pm. Huzzah.

-Ben

The Original Starship Enterprise

2012-06-07T08:21:00.002-07:00

I just so happened to be working a gig on the water last night, and saw the Enterprise. And took the photo you see now. It's incredible to finally see it in person. Let's all cross our fingers that we are merely delaying out 'reentry' into American space endeavors.

(Like this picture? I did it WITH MY PHONE.)

The Best Thoughts on the Arts I have ever Heard.

2012-06-06T10:24:00.001-07:00

There are so many of you who are graduating, and many of you who have passed beyond the years of academia, watch the video linked below. The speaker is Neil Gaiman. And his words are the complete truth about the careers in which we artistic souls embark.

The best thoughts on the arts I have ever heard.

This. Is. ACTING.

2012-05-16T07:51:00.002-07:00

Update Report (or "Repor", if you will...):

Yesterday I auditioned for the Philadelphia Shakespeare company season. And since it's Shakespeare, I had to go. This was my first time doing long distance from up North: the challenge was to make a noon audition and then return to New York before 4pm for the start of one of my Supporting Jobs. This was so only because the original day was in conflict and there was no other sane approach to make the commitment possible. Buses saved the day (anything else would have been prohibitively expensive). Although I had somehow lost my charger. My phone was completely out of power when I woke up. By the time I got to Philly, the location was a bit fuzzy and, to my astonishment, no one in the N. 30th street train station or the bus stop had any idea that where this place was. I managed to find an odd-looking charging replacement, looked it up once again for good measure, and made it with seconds to spare. Sometimes, even the best planning has it's foils! I then went in, where I was warmly welcomed, did what we actors do, and then managed to catch another bus 15 minutes later to get back to the Sleepless City. In all, I had been to the land of Cheese Steaks (I still haven't had one from there!) for barely 30 minutes. And there you are.

I have a lot of acting work coming up this weekend and more thoughts on being on my first major Film set.

See ya soon.

-Ben

Incredi-densed!

2012-05-09T07:45:00.002-07:00

Ah....

...

(Is this thing on?)

Oh. There you are. And here I am.

Surprised to see me?

I'm a little surprised myself.

You can take a wild guess that if I haven't been able to post for awhile that a lot of pretty amazing things have happened!

As of now, I no longer return to my dwellings down by the Jersey Shore (not the Show!). I took a look at my bank account. And then I took a, well metaphorical, look at New York City. It's this magical place where actors of many kinds and all directions converge. Four years ago, the light came on and my love for the city has grown ever since. So, OF COURSE, I know how much fun was being missed.

The choice came down to move NOW, and hope that all will move forward as dreamed for a long, long time, or wait at least another year or two and see if any traction would put tread beneath my determined toes.

I
am an impatient man.

The plan has been evolving and striving for realization ever since. We're about an annum from the difficult first attempt.

With lessons learned, and new wisdom now conscript, I made another effort into the battle to push North. And, at last, I have arrived!

Well, I'm in Newark. But it's a heck of a lot closer! Put in Long Branch, New Jersey, in your favorite online map program (I google it myself...the hopelessly Big Brother'd person I am). Then put in Herald Square, New Yorkk. Hit the public transportation icon for directions. This was the first 45 days of my plan to hold the job that will pay for the permanent move. And, by golly, I did just that.

I pounded pavement; got employed. On the first day of official training, literally a week before exhaustion and expenses would, again, have made the whole thing grind to a halt (mind you, I'm up by 6am and not home until 1-2am the next day, not to mention that New Jersey Transit prices from the shore are almost highway robbery), I'm talking to a coworker/mentor the first day of training. He begins asking about where I'm from and why I'm up there (and not a bit further south). I tell him journey thus far, and my serious need for a new living space.

"Well, actually, one of the guys here just got a new place and really needs someone."

A few hours later, I'm finding myself working next to my future roommate and landlord (?!).

This house has the PATH train within walking distance. And the surprisingly charming Ironbound, filled with the influences of Brazilians and Portuguese, is now my home.

Now you may be saying, if you had the fascinating impulse to talk to your computer/smarter-than-you phone screen,

"Hey Ben, but weren't you in that show thing in New York already?".

Yes I was.

And then immediately afterwards, was cast in another show with the good folks at The Attic Ensemble.

When that closed its curtains, I proceeded to allow myself to curl into a warm, crumpled ball and focused on my survival work. And a little rest.

In the past month or so, I put my foot down again and started submitting. There will be a commercial, a TV program, and a new HBO series, all with me somewhere within. And the Attic Ensemble guys called me in for another kids show, which just wrapped up.

There are also a whole snowing of other auditions, including more independent short and feature films, a new musical, a tour, and yes, maybe some more theater dashed in there. All the while, finding more survival employment to extend my stay here and really start investing towards the big stuff.

So there you have it. The incredi-densed version of the last three months.

Caught. Upon the January Wind.

2012-01-30T19:00:00.001-08:00

It seem like I turned around and the month is gone. There was all this cool stuff I was gonna do! Didn't the Joker say something about people who try making plans?

Anyway...

January has been about getting Unreachable Eden ready for next week (!), networking, job hunting, and of course, auditioning.

I have been commuting from the Shore (yes, that one; thanks to Monstrously Trite Viewings) to New York City. The goals as of now have been to live in New York City by the end of the year, develop a steady stream of creative activity in my daily living, and push myself to be in position to sign with an agent and/or manager.

The immediate concern turned to income, with housing a very near second. If this sounds familiar, I was in the exact same place last spring and remember all too freshly how vastly unprepared I was for the labored carnage that is our economy. Acting is a business as much as an artistic endeavor. Consider it more like running a theater company: you're the self appointed artistic and managing director. One gives you vision, the other, the provisions. The challenge is to never compromise one for the other. Both are necessary for creative survival.

The hope has been for actor employment, but I learned from last time, that the only ideal job is the one you can get. I opened my search more widely, but this time, only New York would do. I'm teaching myself wines in response to restaurant hirings. It's been really fun actually.

The added bonus of The Hunt is the presence of this freakishly useful smart phone, with which I type to you now. The laptop has been down all month due to a faulty charger (soon to change), which has made communication itself a radical transition.

The Third War of Unemployment has officially ended as of last week. The result is a new job and I'm very close to having a place near the city. So much money and time soon to return!

Acting itself has gone well. Unreachable Eden runs on schedule. Can't tell you how happy I am to be an actor amongst actors again. Again, the show starts next week. I have to relearn how to post links through here, but we've had press releases published throughout the New York websphere. I also got a featured on Monmouth County Arts Council twitter site. These folks are directly responsible for a lot of the creative scholastic and theater fundraising back where I grew up. Much thanks to them! Rehearsals are very different from the touring work I've done. We only go for 4-6 hours (sometimes less) at a clip. And we'll have had this entire month to put the whole thing together (for those wondering, that's quite a luxury!).

As for networking, there are companies you can pay a nominal fee to meet agents and managers. For the unfamiliar, these are what the business calls Sellers. They are the sales force partner that fights for you out there, grabbing the attention of casting directors and producers-otherwise know as the Buyers.

Now to be clear, since 'getting an agent' becomes a bit of an obsession among performers, now is the right time for me, as I've already got training and professional experience working my chops on the past three tours. I'm even garnering regional theater interest now. The response at auditions has been incredibly positive. Although the most surprising discovery so far has been how many of these talent-pros think I'm a camera friendly guy.

Hey: acting is acting, to me!

-Ben

The Post-Post New Years Post

2012-01-09T22:59:00.000-08:00

First off, Happy New Year! Whether it was loud or quiet, I hope your celebrations were good ones. I was truly blessed with the number of you I bumped into this past month. There's no better gift than getting time with those you care about most.

Some interesting facts about the blog: it's been viewed almost 1800 times and it has been read in 10 countries (whoa is right!). So thank you for helping me make a grand splash for 2010. We'll be making a lot more waves this year!

Let's look at remainder of the month at all the happenings.

Now, many of you have been expecting stories of the tour. Those will be coming shortly. I promise. I am sorely behind and intend to at least give you one good account.
A few of you suggested I make a list and of all the places I've went to stuff my face during my travels...consider that one an on-going project (too many eateries for me to remember!).
My actor thoughts and plans for Resolutions.
And what I'm 'bout to say below...

Ok, now for the REALLY REALLY good news: I'm in another show! In New York City! And it's a brand new play called Unreachable Eden. (WOO-HOO, ticker tape!)

The show opens February 9^th and runs through the 26^th of the same month. Thursday through Saturday shows are at 8pm and Sunday's will be a 3pm matinee. You can already get tickets through the theater's website here.

This is based on the true story of a woman named Eve Adams, a Polish Immigrant who lived in Greenwich Village back in the 1920s. And through some great misfortune, found herself deported into Europe...right in the middle of the ensuing chaos that was soon to come. It's been really exciting since we have primary documents (their letters, transcripts of trial cases, etc.) and other research the author has collected on Ms. Adams, as well as some well-known authors that she happened to know—like Henry Miller and Anais Nin, for instance. A lot of work and love has, and continues to be, poured into this project. The whole cast and crew has been absolutely awesome and rehearsals are moving with haste. We're also extremely grateful to have Theater for a New City supporting us. If you don't know who they are, check them out: they've spent over 40 years devoted to the creation of new artistic endeavors.

Given the number of people already asking about this show, I've posted all the show information and more in a box near the top left part of my blog page titled “UPCOMING EVENTS”. For the facebook inclined, there's also a facebook event for the show you can get to through this link, with lots of cool graphics and stuff (sorry folks, still a bit on the low-techie end here). However, I have attached some very purdy digital postcards here...

so spread the word!

-Ben

P.S.- Look below for the digital postcard(s)!

Shameless 'Unreachable Eden' Postcard(s)

2012-01-09T22:52:00.002-08:00

The title says it all. Some eye candy for ya while you're waiting for the show. If you haven't already heard, listen on how I got these guys and plans for the coming year. Enjoy!

-Ben

P.S.-And while you're at it...wouldn't hurt to let some of your friends seem them, too (just sayin').

Gulliver's Tour

2011-11-28T20:09:00.001-08:00

My dear friends. You have all been most patient with me: We pulled out of Boston, drove all the way over to Wisconsin...and then found ourselves lost in the mysteries, oddities, and kindness of the Midwest.

Or at least the incredible amount of work that laid ahead.

So, time flew by. We had our truck break down multiple times, I drank and ate wonderful local things with my cast, I managed to win at chess (whoo-hoo!), and even had time to take A LOT of pictures. Our adventures have stretched from the Great Lakes to West Virginia to Minnesota to Connecticut. Oh yeah, and there's a lot more to talk about...like my time at Niagara Falls and how we had to end a show early because of a teacher in a dancing chicken suit. It's so much more fun to tell stories when you know they're true...and thus I will have to find ways to catch you up with all of it. Of course, I'll break down my duties a bit more, too. I promised myself as a person and an artist to plunge more thoroughly into the world beyond the digital and have succeeded to the sharpest of my sleepy perceptions. The writing muse also needed some conjuring, but here I am! (Must've been all the turkey and ham I ate this past week that has revived my energies...thank you, to parents for a fantastic feast.)

As for today we were in Pennsylvania and then bounced back into Dover, DE, for our show tomorrow. We then head for Scranton. Hope you all had a great holiday weekend; I'll be talking to you all soon!
-Ben

More than A Feelin!

2011-09-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

So you might be wondering what all my more mysterious, symbolic, highly dramatic talk is all about. Today, I ship up to Boston. And there's a touring company up there that I've been in conversation with for awhile, and at long last has come to fruition. It's another children's tour. I'll be serving as understudy/ house manager/ sound tech. But this time it's national: well, at least across the midwest (but that's a pretty big chunk of land right?), but it's a legit national tour for which I will be working. So excited and nervous and all of those things. This is just another step in the journey-march. It all began while auditioning for these fine folks right around the time I was accepted into Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.

It is here that I will live. Boston : the town is awesome. A lot of good friends and family have gone here for college (being that it's THE college town on the planet!). So different from NYC and that's part of its charm. No two East Coast cites are alike and that's the fun of the travel my friends. Oh and gettin' ready for some chowdah time (one of my all-time favorite bowl-meals of childhood). It's a complete 180 from where I was working close to this time last year.

Really. I can't wait.

New England and I aren't strangers in the least. I used to come through New England to Boston and part of Rhode Island and Maine. My family has even skied upon the Catskills of Upstate NY (if you count that as NE...) It's practically my second home.

So here I am on Bolt Bus (which if you don't know about you better, because it's next-to-nothing to travel through the BosWash corridor.

Now here's the even BETTER news. I'm getting a smart phone. Which means I will finally have a decent portable camera. Which means you'll be seeing a lot more pictures from me. Which is nice, because I wouldn't mind having a few for me-self.

Let's get green and jolly...and make the luck o' the Irish be with me.

10 Years ago today...

2011-09-11T08:34:00.000-07:00

I saw people in this country show more genuine care about each other than I've ever seen before--strangers doing things for strangers that "best friends" might not even do.

Ever since, I've been wondering where that selfless spirit went.

I think today should be about helping someone else. And not just the person you find laying on the side of the road or at the Food Bank. Go out of your way to do something needed, maybe it's small...for someone who's not looking to be saved.

(A thought for today. More writing soon to come.)

-Ben

My American Dream

2011-09-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

We're on the verge of a precipice.

Both at the apex of one mountain and the foot of the other.

The end of the valley and the beginning of the climb.

I've been auditioning again. I've been advertising my presence again. Like the early morning bulb of a train that meets the horizon, the light has come back. And with it, the echoes of opportunity.

Took awhile. Had to get through an earthquake, a hurricane, a recession, poorly paying survival jobs, long travels, and a slump. Had to swallow a lot of pride. Had to learn an awful lot. Had to make a good share of mistakes.

I couldn't tell if it's because I've payed my dues or that I'm just dumb lucky. But it appears I will get another shot.

Amazing how life goes on. How the first bird gets the worm...even if it's most likely that crazy bug-eyed feathered fiend was there the night before, watching. Or that the other fowl crossing the road needed courage because there really was no reward on the other side.

Sheer persistence and love of the pursuit: even in failure. When your reward no longer depends upon success, when your self-esteem has nothing to do with a popularity contest, you will be a force. That is why I'm still here. And that's why I'm still writing. It's also the reason why I'm being overly-dramatic. Because I'm dealing with feelings so big it's only natural to exaggerate.

I saw this movie for the first time a few months ago. I think when you take into account the probability of ever being a paid, liked, and respected (you should consider yourself in good stead to be any one of these qualities) actor, writer, director, producer, stage manager, stage crew, or friend of the arts, understand that the ones who stay, hopefully, aren't doing this just because they're looking to obtain something that will assure them they've 'made it'. I'd bet everything in my bank account that they believe they already have.

So, today, no matter what happens, I feel rich. I feel successful. I feel like I've climbed Mount Everest and I'm still on this couch. Where I'm writing to you right now. THAT'S the gloriously unrefined charm of creative optimism: blind and relentless. The survivors have it. The best at least emulate it. Or they're completely miserable (angry energy also seems to go far, but remember how Mr. Montana turned out?). And the rest of us struggle like mercury in the thermometer, hoping for a cooling rationale against a red roaring hunger to climb.

My life got dark. Like so many others out there, I've had to scratch and claw my way to September 2011. And the way I've made my march has been based upon the fact that I don't give a Hoover Dam about whether I obtain an accolade, a pat on the back, or some flimsy paycheck. Or whether or not you think I'm easy to deal with, or my writing's any good, or that I'm with the in-crowd with the big names, or can rock it with a Black Swan's grace. In the end, my choice is all that matters and where I am at any given moment ought to be enough for a celebration. Because even when I take judgement seriously, even when I have my moments of weakness, I'm still going to be here. Waiting for the next thing. Because this journey is the only reason for me why it's worth being here in the first place.

And I friggin' love it.

Irene, so mean!

2011-08-26T17:23:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

The situation with this current Hurricane looks to be pretty serious for the east coast (at least FOR ONCE the news is not completely exaggerating). Make sure to pay attention to the info from the sites below if you're within 50 miles of the storm because there's a good chance some these reports will pertain to you. This is literally the biggest storm New Jersey has seen in over 110 years (!!??!!) with wind, rain, and storm surges starting to affect the shoreline and tributaries as far as 100+ miles from the eye. Don't kid yourself into thinking you know how this Lady's going treat you when she arrives for the party.

Above all, be save, and remember no possession is more precious to you or others than your well being.

As for myself, I've got a lot of good books, candles, batteries, flashlights, and water. Food too of course. I'm far enough inland that there's a good chance we'll be OK riding this one out. But fear not as my eyes and hears are glued for more information as it develops.

PLEASE BE SAFE AND CHECK THESE WEBSITES!

Dr. Jeff Master's WunderBlog
WunderGround Website (type in your zip code to find out what's going to happen in your area!)

-Ben