 |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
PERFORMANCES MAY 2008 Click here to update your San Jose State University Alumni Information | Click here to subscribe to this Newsletter: just fill in your last and first names and email address. You'll get a monthly email linking you to each new newsletter. |
IN THE
MAY 2008 SPOTLIGHT:
SJSU
ALUM DAN BUTLER SEGUES FROM “FRASIER” TO “KARL ROVE”
Actor DAN BUTLER is best known for his role as macho sports broadcaster Bob "Bulldog" Briscoe on the hit sitcom "Frasier." Also notable is his work as a character actor in such films as "Manhunter," "Silence of the Lambs" and "Enemy of the State."
But less well known is that Butler received part of his training as an actor in Hugh Gillis Hall, spending a year as an SJSU theatre major in the mid '70s.
”Performances” caught up with Butler at this year's Cinequest, after a screening of his howlingly funny, madly clever political comedy "Karl Rove, I Love You!" a mockumentary about a gay actor (coincidentally named "Dan Butler") who creates a one-man show critical of Rove, but then slowly comes to have, well, "other kinds of feelings" for the controversial Bush advisor.
Q: Your new film is hilarious and very different from anything else I’ve ever seen. Am I wrong in describing it as a “mockumentary?”
A: We describe it as hovering somewhere between documentary and mockumentary since almost everyone and everything in it is real except the premise.
Q: You have a long history of involvement in indie filmmaking, going back to the groundbreaking AIDS drama "Longtime Companion." And now here you are, once again doing a rather political independent film – because "Karl Rove, I Love You" is very funny, but it's also very political.
A: My writing partner for "Karl Rove, I Love You", Julia Miranda (both in real life and the film), mentioned once that we’re really successful when the scenes are funny, sad, and creepy all at the same time. I agree. I'm proud of the film because I feel it's very unique; I can't think of another film I can compare it to. It is political I suppose, but in the end, Karl Rove and the politics of the 2004 election form the backdrop for what really is a tragedy. My composer, Greg DeBelles, helped me focus on that aspect of the film when he was putting together the score. He was coming up for a theme song for "Dan" in the film and reminded me that it's his/my journey that we're interested in. That's what compels us, not the politics or the humor. It's great that those aspects are also there, but they're not the spine of the story.
Q: Have you sought distribution?
A: It's my goal to have it on screen in theatres and/or television before the election. We're in the midst of sending it out, spreading the word, creating a buzz; we're going regular routes and also listening to our gut, intuitive inspirations. For instance, I just sent a copy of the film to Mr. Rove himself.
Q: I’ve heard that "Karl Rove" started as a one-man theatre piece. And your one-man show about gay life, "The Only Thing Worse You Could Have Told Me…" got rave reviews off-Broadway in 1995. You really like writing one-man-shows.
A: Actually, there was no theatre piece of "Karl Rove, I Love You" outside of the film, but you are proving my co-director's claim that people are going to start saying that they saw the piece in LA when it was going. That said, there is something about one-person shows that compels me. I'd never tried it before "The Only Thing Worse..." but there was a compelling need to process some things about being gay, all the contradictory voices that were swarming around inside me at that time pertaining to that topic, and it was fun using my facility with different characters to give those various contradictory voices life. I've seen some wonderful one-person shows and some not so wonderful ones, and it always distills down to if you've got a good story to tell, it will hold. Tell the stories. And I think I'm a good storyteller. And I love hearing good stories.
Q: In 1989 you starred in the New York production of "The Lisbon Traviata," which was written by Terrence McNally, who by the way will be visiting our campus next year. What do you think it is about McNally's playwriting that's made him so successful for so long?
A: I love how prolific Terrence is and that he seems to keep writing, keep writing, keep writing, just opening the channel to what moves him. I loved being a part of "Lisbon Traviata"; I'd love to do it again, playing a different part, return to it from a different perspective. Hearkening back to being interested in why a certain part has come into my life at a certain time, the play deals with the break-up of a relationship and at the time I was rehearsing and performing the play I was in the midst of a seven-year relationship breaking up and I'd be at rehearsal and have all these weird deja vu's, very "Wait a minute, I said this exact line in real life earlier this morning."
Q: You've moved to Vermont with your life partner, acting teacher Richard
Waterhouse. Won't that make it difficult to continue your busy TV and film
career? Also, I'm told they have lots of snow there.
A: They say they've had more snow than they've had in 20 years up here. It's incredible experiencing the seasons again. Both Richard and I were in an adventurous spirit and wanted change, and the move seemed to fit that itch. I'd wanted to move back east, having lived and worked in New York City during the '80s. Regarding TV and film, I think it will all work out. I'm discovering the back-and-forth between Vermont and New York City for auditions and work, many times putting myself on film up here and sending it via the web down to the powers that be. An added bit of fun and excitement is that Richard and I are teaching weekend workshops and seminars on "Acting for Film" at various universities around the country.
Q: You grew up in Indiana, so how did you come to be in San Jose?
A: I was at San Jose State University (if I'm remembering correctly) from the fall of 1975 through the end of the school year in 1976. I had been at a regional campus of Indiana and Purdue in Fort Wayne, Indiana (my home town), and had been nominated for and won a National Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship in a production of "Marathon '33" that we'd mounted. I knew it was a sign for me to get out of the Midwest, but I was still skittish about going to big city schools. After some research, I came upon San Jose State and after visiting and being shown around by acting head of the theatre department Dick Parks, I decided to make the plunge.
Q: Were you in any shows at SJSU?
A: Yes. It happened to be Robert Jenkins' first year at San Jose State and I was in two kids’ shows with him – one, a fairly standard show about a young Abe Lincoln through which we wove a filmed sequence, and two, a fantasy wizard show that we toured to elementary schools. I also performed "Scrubb" in "Beaux Stratagem" and a part in a remounting of an original piece that was competing in the American College Theatre Festival that year.
Q: Do you recall any particular professors you worked with?
A: Robert Jenkins, Grant McKernie, Dick Parks. Randy Earle, I knew. There
was an instructor in the film department whose name escapes me; he was a
Zen archer as a hobby. He taught a very good course in film history. There
was a great fencing instructor who taught stage combat, too, that I liked.
The other names escape me.
Q: What was the department like in those days?
A: At that time it seemed to be stuck hovering between the old and the new. I remember the hallways still had pictures of productions done in the 1940's on the walls and that old tradition seemed to freeze things. Hal Todd was just leaving and there was fresh blood coming into the department with Bob Jenkins and others, and you could feel the thaw beginning to happen. It was an inspiring time for me, though. It made me realize that I really did want to focus my life completely on being an actor and that that future for me did not reside in university theatre productions.
Q: Were there classes in other departments at SJSU that were memorable?
A: I remember taking a sensational physiology and anatomy course. (I had to have science credit and thought this was the closest thing to complement my theatre arts major). The lab was run by the guy from Berkley who would toss bones in the air and you'd have to catch them and immediately say what bone it was and on what side of the body it was located. Very cool and lively. I was astounded one day when I came in and saw a body bag in the front of the room. I had no idea that we were going to work on real bodies; I was sure that that was reserved for medical students on down the line. But no, there they were. The instructor explained that they were all from the homicide department at the police station and that the faces would be covered up to help keep us detached and scientific. Most of the times we didn't actually work on the bodies ourselves. Instead, the different body parts and sections would be laid out in pans for us to identify on tests. It was still a startling moment. A new opening.
Q: Presumably Fort Wayne didn’t have a wide selection of theatre. Was there interesting theatre in the Bay Area at the time?
A: An added
plus being at San Jose having come from Indiana was the opening of horizons.
It was grand to go up to San Francisco on the weekends and see theatre,
experience the city. Also equally fun was going over the pass through Los
Gatos. There was a terrific theatre there too; I saw a sensational production
of Pirandello's "Henry IV" with Dakin Matthews there. And over
to Santa Cruz. For a flatland Hoosier, California was a great awakening.
Q: Where did you go after leaving SJSU?
A: While at San Jose I auditioned for and was accepted into the acting conservatory at American Conservatory Theatre up in San Francisco. Bill Ball was still the artistic director at that time. And both the company and conservatory, as well as San Francisco itself, were vibrant and alive with creativity and possibility. I was in the professional training program for two years and then followed stints at a lot of the major repertory companies across the country before moving to New York City in the 80's, where I performed On and Off Broadway and started my film work. I moved to LA touring "Lisbon Traviata" in 1990 and lived and worked there for 16 years.
Q: Thanks for talking with us – and good luck with your film.
A: You’re welcome.
MAY 2008 CAMEOS
SAN JOSE
STAGE COMPANY ON A ROLL WITH “BLADE TO THE HEAT”;
“ALTAR BOYZ” NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE
Theatre Arts alum RANDY KING’s San Jose Stage Company got knockout reviews for “Blade to the Heat,” a boxing drama co-produced with Thick Description. Set in the late ‘50s, “Blade to the Heat” has been described by several longtime Stage Company subscribers as “the best thing the Company has ever done.”
A special treat was the casting of Theatre Arts alumna MELISSA NAVARRO (pictured, left). The Metro described Melissa as “stunning and svelte in her tiered black skirt,” adding, “Navarro's Sarita is at once comely and kind.”
The show closes April 27 and they’re following it with the South Bay premiere production of the hilarious musical “Altar Boyz,” which won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical. According to the Stage Company website, “'Altar Boyz’ tells the holy inspiring story of five small-town boys - Matthew, Mark, Luke and Juan and joined by their Jewish member Abraham - trying to save the world one screaming fan at a time. Their pious pop act includes hits like Girl You Make Me Wanna Wait and Jesus Called Me on My Cell Phone. With angelic voices, sinfully spectacular dancing and a touching story, Altar Boyz is destined to rock the masses of all denominations!” The show opens May 28. For tickets and information visit the Stage Company website at www.sanjose-stage.com/, or call (408) 283-7142.
JOHN ROMANO ACTING AND DIRECTING
December ‘07 master’s grad JOHN ROMANO is busy acting and directing. He performed in Pear Slices 08, which opened April 4 at the Pear Avenue Theatre. The show featured eight short plays by local playwrights. John played five different characters, including surrealist painter Salvador Dali, vagabond sculptor Theo Petrakis, and zany Dr. Martin Mathews who believes in near death experiences as therapy for criminals. Next, he directed "A Covering" by local playwright Leah Halper, in the New Playwright Staged Readings at City Lights Theatre – that was April 8. And starting May 26th John will appear as Jack Worthing in The Importance of Being Earnest produced at the Bus Barn Stage Company in Los Altos. (www.busbarn.org). When not on stage John flies through the Bay Area Skies in “Chopper 11" as an aerial photojournalist for NBC 11 News and on the weekends he is a Broadcast News Editor working on the 5,6, and 11 News. He’s also a Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Survivor in his sixth year of recovery and says, “I am so not looking back!”
GWEN TEMPLETON GETS MFA
Former acting lecturer GWEN TEMPLETON(pictured left, last on right) is finishing her MFA Acting studies at Southern Methodist University. SMU hosts showcases for their graduates, and if you’re in LA and a pal of Gwen’s you might want to check out her now even more brilliant thesping. The event is May 5, 2008 at 7:00 P.M., preceded by a reception at 6:30, at the Matrix Theatre, 7657 Melrose Avenue, in Los Angeles. To RSVP email smu2008showcase@gmail.com. And visit the SMU showcase website for additional details, including Gwen’s individual headshot and resume: www.smu2008showcase.com.
WES HOFFMAN STAND-UP AT ROOSTER T. FEATHERS
WES HOFFMAN (BA in Theatre Arts Fall 2007) has been doing stand-up comedy for four years now and will be in the Rooster T. Feathers Comedy Competition Semi-Finals on Wednesday, May 7, 2008, at 8 P.M. The audience votes for the comedians who advance. More be found at Wes’s website, http://www.wesjoke.com.
ADREINNE MULLER AT THEATREWORKS IN KUSHNER MUSICAL
Faculty members ETHEL PITTS-WALKER, BETTY POINDEXTER, DAVID KAHN and SCOTT SUBLETT, along with costume shop manager DEBBIE WEBER, recently enjoyed a group outing to see alumna ADRIENNE MULLER in the TheaterWorks production of Tony Kushner’s “Caroline or Change.” All agreed Adrienne was superb.
NICK COLLA IN LOS ANGELES
NICHOLAS COLLA is working as an assistant editor for a small production company in LA, where he moved after resigning his job at Apple.
DAWN DALTON CHICAGO UPDATE
DAWN DALTON ('00 M.A. and '98 B.A. Radio/Television), along with her husband Jeff, last May welcomed her first child to the world – daughter Gianna Marsha Dalton. In August, they moved to Chicago and bought their first home (a goal they felt unattainable in the Bay Area). Dawn continues to work as a freelance video/event producer, with two major clients in California and one in Illinois that keep her quite busy. Dawn reports, “Life is good!”
That’s it for May! Until next time, PERFORMANCES leaves you with the
lines spoken by Bibi Andersson in Ingmar Bergman’s “Persona”: “Leave
me alone. I’m cold and rotten and indifferent. It’s all lies
and imitation.”
RACKING
YOUR BRAIN FOR A THOUGHTFUL GIFT?
How about tickets to a University Theatre production? They buy a lot of fun for
not much money. At $15.00 apiece ($10.00 for students and seniors), they're hard
to beat. To find out more, or to buy tickets on line, click on Our Link
to the Season
ALUMNI UPDATES
Performances is eager to report on your life and career! Send updates on
absolutely anything you're doing (or have done) click here to email
to me.
If you'd like to include an email address that old friends can use to get
in touch with you, we'll happily print it. And try to include your major
and date of graduation.
ALUMNI GIVING
Looking for a way to give back to the Department of TV, Radio, Film and Theatre?
Consider a tax deductible contribution to one of our two Newsletter Funds.
1) Newsletter University Theatre Fund. This fund is earmarked for the improvement
of the University Theatre and scene shop. Our top priority: paying for a
professional study of the acoustical problems of the UT. Difficulty hearing
in the University Theatre is a big, ongoing problem that many alumni have
commented on and urged us to address. Click
here to read Prof. Jim Culley's
grant proposal outlining the problem. Contributions of $2,000.00 and over
qualify you for a producer credit on a university play production, as well
as reserved, priority seating at UT productions for five years, and a mention
in the Donor Honor Role in the programs of all departmental productions.
2) Newsletter Film Production Fund. These monies are earmarked for the Department's
feature film productions. To our knowledge, we're the only undergraduate
film program in the country regularly producing feature films. Two of our
films, "Pizza Wars: The Movie" and "Intentions," have
received national DVD distribution and given our students the opportunity
to work with noted professionals. Prof. Amy Glazer's "Drifting Elegant" is
complete and looks great. Our current feature film, "Generic
Thriller," now in post, is a deconstructed comedy about a gay writer
trying to complete a play despite the opposition of rebellious fictional
characters, a peevish Muse of Comedy, and a mysterious band of African tribesmen
wandering through his mind. Click
here to read the screenplay! Contributions of over $500.00
qualify you for a screen credit. Contributions over $4,000.00 qualify you
for an on-screen producer credit.
Donations to these funds are fully tax deductible. Make out your checks to "The
Newsletter Film Production Fund" or the "The Newsletter University
Theatre Fund" and send them care of our chair: Prof. Mike Adams, San
Jose State University, One Washington Square, San Jose, CA 95192-0098.
