Two Suns: One of City Paper's 2013 Top Ten Stage

So this happened: 2013 Top Ten Stage. Don't misunderstand me; I wasn't surprised to see that Two Suns Over Thebes was one of Baltimore's favorite stage events of the year. In fact, I was right in the middle of thinking over the line that, to me, ties the play together: "I'm back ... to Thebes." First said by the vengeful Dionysus, then the haughty Pentheus, then the dejected Cadmus, this coming back to Thebes -- the announcement of it, the very utterance -- becomes the catch-all verse (since, yeah, Greek tragedy is poetry) for the structure of this play. To first see the twisted virtue, then to identify with the (un-likeable, twisted) culprit, then to mourn his death, this is Aristotelian tragedy. I was so glad to be a part of this play, and I feel that much more confirmed in believing it to be truly sublime. Many good wishes to all the cast and crew. May we see each other and work together again!

New Profile Photo

Just as a follow-up to the last post, I wanted to give you a taste of the selection of pictures from my first real shoot. I'll post just one, and it's just a piece from the full-size image, but it's pretty great, I think. Here it is:

Taken by Britt Olsen-Ecker

UPDATE [1-4-2014]: I've cycled through a few different other profile photos since I wrote this post, most of them also taken by Britt Olsen-Ecker. Here's the one I put up today:

Taken by Britt Olsen-Ecker

And here's the one that's been up on Twitter for a while:

Taken by Britt Olsen-Ecker

If you don't like any of these, use your imagination and pretend I'm the best looking guy who's ever lived. I'm pretty sure that usually works.

Getting New Photos, Losing the Good Old One

Last week I had my first real photoshoot. You might argue that I caved in, and, in a way, I know I did. But too much lately has been communicating to me that, if I want to keep trying out for parts for the stage, maybe even some parts for the screen, I would need some professional shots of me to send out. At the very least, I'd need a headshot in which I look like me, the way other people see me -- with medium-length hair (which is my preference these days) and without glasses (which, thanks to the magic of contact lenses, I'm also growing to like). So I want to give a gentle, friendly "Sucks to you" to the idealist DIY critics out there. (I still love you guys, though. Call me.)

But I also want to bid a warm farewell to my very first actor headshot, directed and orchestrated by yours truly, with my own tripod and my own camera and lenses, and observed and taken expertly by my girlfriend, to which I owe an immeasurable quantity of thanks.

Goodbye to you, my goofy, four-eyed wonder!

Two Suns in the Papers

So it looks like some local press came out about Two Suns Over Thebes. I get mentioned by name in both. In the DC Metro Theater Arts piece, I'm even considered one of the "[o]ther performances of note." In the City Paper piece, half of me (the balder half) appears in the photo. So well, that's a thing. I guess I'm glad about it. Take a look at these for yourself:

http://www.dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2013/10/22/two-suns-over-thebes-at-baltimore-annex-theater-by-amanda-gunther/

http://citypaper.com/arts/stage/the-birth-of-tragedy-1.1576712

Now Appearing in: Two Suns over Thebes

I'll be appearing at 8:00 PM every Thursday-Sunday night between October 17th and November 10th at the Chicken Box in Baltimore, MD. The play is Two Suns over Thebes. It's a new translation of Euripides' The Bacchae, masterfully done by Alex Hacker, and co-directed with him by Mason Ross. Me, I play Tiresias the blind old prophet. I've got, let's say, 20 minutes of fabulous stage time.

Well, by now, the first weekend is actually over, but three more weekends remain, each with four great shows in it. I have to say: The experience, first, of rehearsing for this play with the wonderful writer Alex Hacker and co-director Mason Ross, as well as my talented scene partner, Jonathan Jacobs, and, second, of appearing for just four nights in a row so far has been tremendous. I've learned a lot. And I feel like I continue to learn. Every performance feels like it's better than the last.

Anyway, find out more about the play, how you can get tickets, how you can support more of these shows, and so on, at the Annex Theater's website: http://www.baltimoreannextheater.org/.