As the 1994 went along, I wound up in a meeting with Chris Deluca, of the Staten Island writers group. He was producing a show(case) at the local Art Center, a comedy troupe he had pulled together, and he was looking for some material. Naturally, I inundated him with sketches. As it turned out, the show was “half my material, half Chris.”
I also started working on a rewrite of “Closed Set.” Nothing much else happened as August began.
I also started working on a rewrite of “Closed Set.” Nothing much else happened as August began.
Deluca’s group, Generation Sketch, was set for September. It was now mid-August. They were rehearsing hard, this rag-tag band of players, about 10 years my junior. I was asked to perform in one sketch, it was a Twilight Zone parody and at one point the writer of the sketch has to come out. They wanted me to play the writer of my sketch. But it was exhilarating to be part of a group again. And it was a salve to my inner-ham.
Meanwhile, Aron’s agent passed on my script. But the agent did get Aron’s script optioned somewhere. He would be coming east with his brother, also an online acquaintance, and we were hoping to get together.
Then, a guy I knew in our IT department was quitting. He hated the job and his wife just got a job with a low-budget movie producer, as a script reader. And John in IT mentioned me to her and now she was going to read my “Peking Duck” script. That was a quirky end to August.
Well into September I finally write again. Playwright Bill has put “The Three Scrooges” on the back burner while he hunts for a day job.
Meanwhile, Aron’s agent passed on my script. But the agent did get Aron’s script optioned somewhere. He would be coming east with his brother, also an online acquaintance, and we were hoping to get together.
Then, a guy I knew in our IT department was quitting. He hated the job and his wife just got a job with a low-budget movie producer, as a script reader. And John in IT mentioned me to her and now she was going to read my “Peking Duck” script. That was a quirky end to August.
Well into September I finally write again. Playwright Bill has put “The Three Scrooges” on the back burner while he hunts for a day job.
Generation Sketch survived a “shaky rehearsal period” to perform quite well in front of an audience. It could have been tighter (it ran long) and Chris was in every sketch, so that hampered running time and order. I did ok in my Art Center debut. It wasn’t until after the show, at the cast after party, that I realized I knew Chris the least; the troupe was made up of Chris’ friends. I left early, being the only one with a wife and kids. I did get to learn about each; Paul, Stacy D., John; they were all working hard and aspiring actors. The show was taped to be on the public access channel, which was good, I’d have a copy of that always.
Back at the ranch, the WGAE elections were coming up, so I had that going on. And my scripts had been rejected by a couple of guild sponsored script programs.
Meanwhile, IT John’s wife, Bernadette Phillips, read my script and loved it. She passed it on to her boss, Ralph Cooper, who also loved it. This guy had worked at the Apollo Theater, the Cotton Club and had 2 movies in production. We set up a meaning, after work, in Manhattan, at his “partner’s club,” Club USA. I wrote the he “sounds goofy on the phone but we’ll see.”
Now I had to let them know that “Duck” was tied up with Night Hawk Entertainment, but Bernadette made it sound like that was just a sample and I’d be working on something else. This was the start of an interesting relationship for a time.
Meanwhile, IT John’s wife, Bernadette Phillips, read my script and loved it. She passed it on to her boss, Ralph Cooper, who also loved it. This guy had worked at the Apollo Theater, the Cotton Club and had 2 movies in production. We set up a meaning, after work, in Manhattan, at his “partner’s club,” Club USA. I wrote the he “sounds goofy on the phone but we’ll see.”
Now I had to let them know that “Duck” was tied up with Night Hawk Entertainment, but Bernadette made it sound like that was just a sample and I’d be working on something else. This was the start of an interesting relationship for a time.
