The SF Bay Area Theatre Blog

Byron Westlund used to be a Bay Area theatre regular, having appeared up and down Northern California, from Monterey to Davis. He hasn't done a show in the Bay Area in over 8 years now, though, with the last local appearance being as Quixte/Cervantes in Man of La Mancha at Cabrillo Stage in Aptos.

About 15 years ago he appeared at Foothill twice, as Frank in Jay's first production of Merrily and as Robert in Company. And he's actually played Frank Butler once before, at the Mountain Theatre in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Byron was so kind as to answer those same questions that Inside The Actors Studio creator and host James Lipton asks his guests to answer from the famed Bernard Pivot questionnaire, so without further ado, here are his answers:

What is your favorite word?
Smile or peace

What is your least favorite word?
Hatred

What turns you on?
The lights dimming before the curtain rises

What turns you off?
Intolerance and injustice

What sound to you love?
Children playing and laughing

What sound do you hate?
Leaf blowers

What is your favorite curse word?
I don’t think I can put it down here, but is has four letters.

What profession other that yours would you like to attempt?
Therapist

What profession would you not like to participate in?
An Accountant….not good with numbers

If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Thank you for being a loving and compassionate man.

Local impressario Miss Molly Bell is putting on her second annual Divas for Life tonight, June 19th.

It benefits the American Cancer Society and features a number of local divas, including a couple of Foothill alums, like Diana Torres Koss:


It's tonight; it's in Los Altos; it's not that pricy, and it's for a good cause, so consider going! Learn more here.

My personal review is, appropriately, over at my personal blog.

We're going to bring you tidbits about the various performers in Foothill's production of Annie Get Your Gun, and our inaugural "Meet the cast member" will turn the spotlight on Katie O'Bryon, our Dolly Tate...and a clown school alumna!

One of Katie's earliest theatrical memories is the same as one of mine: seeing the Nutcracker Ballet, but here...let's let her tell it:

The first show I ever saw was when I was 3 years old--my grandmother took me to see a production of the Nutcracker in San Jose. I loved it! (We still go every year).When I was old enough, I began taking dance lessons, and by the time I was in High School I became involved in theatre when I started performing for a local Shakespeare Festival. I've been performing ever since!

I'm lucky-- my day job is in the theatre. I work for Peninsula Youth Theatre in Mountain View as a choreographer, teacher, and director. During the school year, I also teach drama at the elemetary schools in the Saratoga School district.

So what about the clown school?

I went to clown school in Blue Lake, and then spent about 3 years touring as a performer for a number of companies. And I have an interesting Annie Get Your Gun-related story:

In 2000 I was working for a magician/illusionist in Philadelphia-- we toured all over the country in a van and a very LARGE truck. One time, when we were performing in New York, we made a wrong turn onto a parkway that did not allow large vehicles. We promptly got the truck stuck under a small overpass. I can remember singing "There's no Business Like Show Business" (AGYG's opening song) from the back of the van as we waited for a very angry New York cop to stop traffic and escort us off the road. For the rest of that tour, the song was our anthem whenever anything went wrong. :-)

Now, isn't there a story/joke about a truck that gets stuck trying to enter the Holland Tunnel, and it's a little kid who figures out that they should let some air out of the tires to lower the truck and get it out? Anyone? Bueller?

Anyway, perhaps that was Katie's truck!

Are posted here.

I visited rehearsal of AGYG last night, and of course pre-rehearsal talk was about the Tony's. EVeryone seemed to agree that the show felt rushed and un-heartfelt. As one person put it...you had to choose between looking at the pictures of those who passed away this year (during the In Memorium section) or read their names.

There's always next year, Tony's!

The following message was sent out to Theatre Bay Area members today, but Dean Goodman has been a friend of FMT, so it may be of interest.

Dean Goodman has dictated the following message for us here at Theatre Bay Area and all of our members. There will be a tribute, which he plans on attending, on Monday. See below for details. Theatre Bay Area extends our deepest respect to Dean Goodman, who has been such a positive force in the history of Bay Area theatre and who has so deeply contributed to its successes.
"Dean Goodman is terminally ill and in the last act of his long, fruitful life. He is grateful for the outpouring of concern and respect from his friends in the theatre community and wishes good luck to all artistic directors and managers, performers and actors, technicians and all associated with the theatre. He urges all of them to continue to strive for excellence."

So, here are the details:

A Celebration for Dean Goodman

A pre-birthday bash (his real B-Day is actually July 2, but time is of the essence) and/or a chance to say thank you for all he has given to the Bay Area theatre community.

DATE: Monday, June 19
WHERE: At A.C.T

SCHEDULE:

5:30pm: Doors open
6:00pm: Schmoozing
6:30pm: Dean arrives
7:00pm: Staged Reading

A reading of Dean Goodman's new play Bloody August

R.S.V.P to Phoebe Moyer at 415-464-0578

Refreshments: Contact Kenna Hunt (415-492-1179) if you can donate food and/or beverages, and/or paper goods.

Readings: Contact Elizabeth Holmes if you want to participate in a tribute to Dean or if you can't attend and would like a tribute read by George Maguire in your absence.

Please pass this invitation on to your friends and colleagues.

FOOTHILL COLLEGE DRAMA DEPARTMENT PRESENTS 2ND ANNUAL FOOTHILL NEW WORKS FESTIVAL

This years' Foothill New Works Festival includes six short plays ranging in style from realism to farce to surrealism both comedic and dramatic. These works address technological innovations ranging from developing remarkable building materials to instant HIV test results. The Foothill New Works Festival is dedicated to developing and promoting the world premiere work of upcoming playwrights as well as providing opportunities for developing directors, actors and designers to further their advance their experiences.

The featured new works are:
Anansi and Chameleon by Rebecca Royce - Director: Linda Christensen
Community Property by David Schreiber - Director: Manuel Zaefferer
I Dream of Nadia by David Hartig - Director: Judith Ogus
Single Line Please by Robert Clem - Director: Jacqueline Powers
Strings by Dennis Carter - Director: Jezebel Barraza
Widowed to Hope by Jennifer Ebrahimi - Director: Shane Olbourne

Audition Details:

When: Monday, June 19th OR Tuesday, June 20th at 7pm. Please plan to arrive by 7pm.
Prepare: Cold readings from the script.
Appointment: No appointment necessary. Please arrive at indicated time (7pm) and be prepared to stay up to three hours.
Location: Foothill College Playhouse, Rm #1301,
Directions: Junction of Interstate 280 and El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills. See parking notice below.

Rehearsal Info:

Rehearsals begin July 5, 2006 weeknights (M-T-W-TH).
Specific schedule set based on actor and director availability.

Performances: August 11 to 20, 2006.

Roles: There are 19 roles available. Some gender flexibility. Some multi-character casting is likely. Ages 16 and up. All roles open. Actors of all ethnicities encourage to audition. This production has a particular need for female actors of East Indian decent as well as a few roles for male actors over 40.

Participation: Non-equity. No pay. No Fees.

Information: (650) 949-7268 or
www.foothill.edu/fa/theater/auditions.html

Please note: Parking regulations require a $2 parking permit at all times.
Please avoid costly tickets and purchase a permit; If you are cast in the
show you will receive a free permit for all rehearsals and performances.
For closest parking to auditions, park in student lot 1 immediately to your
right as you enter the campus. Walk up the stairs to the Playhouse (Room
1301) which is on your right at the top of the second flight of stairs.
Foothill Drama Dept enthusiastically endorses "non-traditional" casting,
and is open to actors of all races in any of the roles in these productions.

So, just a heads up that Annie Get Your Gun rehearsals are starting to night, so pretty soon the blog should start percolating with its usual backstage gossip, pictures, stories and cast bios. If you want to know what that looks like, just go check out the archives for last June and July. Those Brigadoon cast members were very bloggy. Let's see if the AGYG-ers cam live up to that high bar!