The preliminary section of the Great Salty Roadtrip of '07 was a big circle around the state of Florida. I'm a little behind getting this out to you all and I've got a lot of ground to cover, so here goes:
Sunday January 7 - NYC to Sarasota
I returned to New York at the beginning of January from Montreal, where I had been staying with my family for a month as we all tried to pick up the pieces after my father's death. For four hurried days in New York I prepared to begin the Salty Bus & Truck and crammed in quick visits with a few close friends. Then, on Sunday I flew to Sarasota on JetBlue. Had a quick lunch with my Uncle Marty and Aunt Carrie and then went to see my mentor/sister/mother/lover/guide Kim Crow as Golda Meir in GOLDA'S BALCONY at Florida Studio Theatre. Kim was fucking brilliant as Golda - there is some serious channeling going on. Her performance was seamless and powerful and really just knocked my socks off.
I spent the next few days doing more follow-up work and finalizing auditions at various theatres in Florida and beyond for the trip.
Wednesday January 10 - Sarasota to Fort Myers
After much last-minute packing of the car (my parents' sleek Mitsubishi Spider eclipse, a trusty - and speedy! - steed), I finally left Sarasota late in the evening and drove to Fort Myers, where my dear friend, South Florida Diva Carol Provonsha awaited me with baited breath. Carol had waged a successful battle with liver cancer in the past several months and I was anxious to see her and know that she was OK. She was far more than OK - she really seems to be doing tremendously well! The humor and talent of this beautiful spirit are intact and she is eager to get back on the boards. She's also not resting on her laurels while she recuperates - she's writing a (brilliant) script with yours truly in mind for the central character. Carol is currently living with Roberta (whose collection of Beatles memorabilia had me squealing like one of the girls on the Ed Sullivan show at the Fab Four's American TV debut) and Lady the dog (who is spoiled rotten by La Provonsha). Upon arrival, I was treated to a delicious, healthy, soul-healing feast prepared for me by the Diva herself. We stayed up talking until well past the point where I could keep my eyes open. Many thanks to Carol and Roberta (and Lady) for their hospitality, on this, the first night of my roadtrip.
Thursday January 11 - Fort Myers to Boca Raton
A nervous Salty Bitch arrived at Florida Rep's theatre to audition this morning. I was ushered into a rehearsal studio and asked if I could wait about 15 minutes to be seen. All morning (and much of the day before) I had been plagued by the negative voices who like to attack when we are putting ourselves out on a limb. These demons or Fears have a remarkable ability to swarm together and spiral, dragging one's thought processes into a vortex of negativity. I've also noticed lately that the better an action is for you to take in pursuit of your soul's desire, the stronger these Fears will well up to try to deter you from taking that action. This morning, waiting for the first audition of this enormous endeavor that is the Salty Bus & Truck, the fears were merciless. However, instead of simply waiting in the room for my audition to begin, I decided to play the cello (I had brought it in with me since I didn't want to leave it in the car). This was the best thing I could have done! Almost instantly, it calmed me, cutting straight through the Fears and grounding me right back into all the good reasons I had for doing this trip in the first place. No sooner had the good thoughts begun to bubble to the surface when the door opened and my auditors entered. I had a fantastic audition and a lovely conversation with the folks at Florida Rep (they spent about an hour with me). It was the best possible way to kick off the roadtrip.
After a quick lunch and a little one-on-one time with La Provonsha, I jumped back in the car and sped across the state past Alligator Alley to Boca Raton (Mouth of the Rat, sweetie) for my audition at the Caldwell Theatre. I received a very warm welcome there from Company Manager Patricia Burdette (who had been so wonderfully supportive and sensitive of my feelings surrounding my dad's passing), and the audition went well. It was a very different situation from the morning's audition (the whole thing lasted maybe 15 minutes).
I then drove to the Casa del Flamingo - the lavish home of my friend Jerry Gulledge (Flamingo) and his partner Arthur Barnes (Maestro). Jerry's totem is the Flamingo and they are present in his home in great flocks. A neon Flamingo light shines from their kitchen window like a beacon. Once there, I also had the honor of meeting Miss Lily and Miss Lotus, the pussies. I am not kidding when I tell you that Lotus is Barbara Streisand in cat form. The gentlemen took me to a hurried dinner and then I ran back to the Caldwell to see their production of STEEL MAGNOLIAS.
Friday January 12 - Boca Raton to Manalapan to Vero Beach
I left my safe haven among the Flamingos (mille grazie to Jerry and Arthur and the girls) and took a leisurely drive up A1A, the road that runs along Florida's coastal barrier islands) to Florida Stage in Manalapan. The drive was glorious - I got to say a first hello to the ocean, who, exhillarated, leapt up to wave back at me. I passed enormous palatial estates (you know your land is large when you have to name your estate. The winner for worst use of pretentious French in an estate name: Chateau Mer du Lac), posh little seaside towns...and wedged in between two of these, the little blink-and-you'll-miss-it city of Briny Breezes, which was a stubborn throwback to old-school Florida squatting defiantly among upturned noses.
At Florida Stage I had the pleasure of meeting Artistic Associate Javier Chacin, who immediately set me at ease and welcomed me warmly. The audition was OK...I did only one monologue and didn't feel as good about it as I'd hoped, but I was happy I had the opportunity to be seen and Javier was a gracious host.
Having had nearly all of my professional gigs in Florida, my resume is packed full of names that have been known to the people at the theatres I'd visited thus far. I bore personal greetings from various well-connected acquaintances to the auditors and spent time schmoozing the auditors by talking about the common threads of our network. Each theatre received me with open arms because I had worked with people they recognized immediately, and each stop felt a little like a homecoming of sorts. I had to keep reminding myself that this was not going to be typical as I moved north of the Florida border.
From here I made my way up to Vero Beach, home of my beloved Riverside Theatre. I have worked at Riverside on and off both as an actor and stage manager for the past eight years. This truly was a home away from home. However, returning there this time was a little difficult. It was here that I received the stunning, terrifying middle-of-the-night phone call from my mother telling me that my father had died. I was glad to be getting back here to clear the air, to see that things were still OK at the theatre and to have them see that things were starting to be OK with me. It was an important step. I spent the afternoon talking with some of my friends among the staff, including Ro(sida) van Dright (the self-styled Beach Bitch), Ericka Fera (the Company Manager, also known as Ericka Fericka), and Allen Cornell, the Artistic Director and the man who had consistently given me opportunities to explore my craft in interesting and unexpected ways - and also the man who gave me my Equity card (with a little prodding from my friend Sherrie Dee Brewer). I grabbed a quick dinner with Ms. Fericka and then high-tailed it back to the theatre to see their production of FOREVER PLAID, for which my friend Ken Clifton was the musical director. After the show I said hello to the ocean from the same spot where I had bid it farewell a little over a month earlier. After hanging up the phone from my mother and regaining my senses (courtesy of my castmate Terry Loughlin), I drove to the ocean and sat there, crying, wailing, screaming, talking to my father and trying to get my mind to accept what had happened. It was an important step to be able to return there. Then it was back to Ro's house, where I was lodged in swanky comfort for a good night's sleep.
Saturday January 13 - Vero Beach to The Forest
I took my time driving up the coast of Florida again today, recharging my Salty self with the salty ocean air. I stayed on the coastal islands until I reached Kennedy Space Center, which had always fascinated me - it is our portal to the universe - and then turned inland and set my sights on Ocala National Forest, where Kim Crow and her husband Drew Strouble have a secret getaway - a little house on stilts which they have dubbed the Stiltin' Hilton.
As a Witch, I try to be in tune with the natural patterns of energy in a place. The ancient Ocala National Forest is a huge energetic node in the landscape, a pulsating powersource that feeds the surrounding area. It is the heart of Florida.
Thanks to Kim and Drew, I was fortunate to spend three whole days in the Forest (one of them with Kim's sister Jeanette, or Doll "She's the Coolest"), recharging my batteries, becoming addlepated, playing the cello on the deck of the Hilton and hearing it resonate in the trees, hiking through ancient groves of oak trees that change the temeprature and the smell of the air when you are among them, eating soul food at Shellcrackers and basically allowing the forest to heal me (sometimes in spite of myself). I could write endlessly about the Forest and its many wonders, but I will save that for another time.
Tuesday January 14 - The Forest to Orlando to The Forest to Sarasota
I made the two-hour trip into Orlando, feeling the ancient Forest energy melt away from me as I sped southward, to audition for the Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festival. The audition went well and I was told I would be able to be seen by their people back in New York when they are casting things for which I would be appropriate. I'm told that's a successful audition.
I returned to the Forest, having decided that I would stay there one more night. But at some point late at night, I knew, as clearly as if the Forest had spoken to me aloud, that it was time for me to leave. After a shocked response of "really?" I began to pack up the car and drove back to Sarasota in the wee hours of Wednesday. Thus ended the actual road part of the Florida leg of the audition roadtrip, however one audition remained...
Friday January 15 - Florida Studio Theatre
I did an internship at FST in Sarasota immediately after college ten years ago. At the end of the internship, I was cast in their mainstage production of THE COMPLEAT WORKS OF WLLM SHKSPR (ABRIDGED), brilliantly directed by the aforementioned Kim Crow (aka Kim Kro - which, I postulate, has much better "Hollywood" alliteration). We have had a few near-misses, but I haven't been back to work there as a professional actor yet. And after the audition I gave on Friday, that is not likely to happen any time soon...
However, it was very nice to see many old friends from my days at FST. Although I have been to Sarasota regularly since working there, I rarely have made it back to the theatre. In addition to Richard Hopkins and James Ashford, whom I had actually seen (or at least spoken to) a couple of times over the years, I got to see Dona Walter (who's still meaner than a junkyard dawg), Beth Duda (whose eyes are still twinkly periwinkly) and Kelli Karen (who had no Nestle Crunch for me).
I had also had the opportunity to see, over the course of the past couple of days, my NYC friend Jeffrey Plunkett, who is in rehearsals for the next mainstage show at FST, PERMANENT COLLECTION, in which he is starring as the token white boy.
And so, with five auditions behind me, I began to put a cap on the Florida leg of the Salty B&T, which was a mere prelude to what lay ahead: the long road home from Florida to New York.
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