Name:Cole Country:United States State:Ohio Metro:Columbus Birthday:4/26/1985 Gender:Male
Interests:Acting Writing and Directing. Talking and discussing over coffee. "What?" you might ask? Everything. Expertise:Soon, I'll claim expertise in theatre and the creation and direction of performance, in both film and stage. Until then, I'll talk big. Occupation:Student Industry:theatre
Kiana and I are moving to Chicago in less than a month. After an intense summer of prepping and working, and a two and a half week stretch of work with no day off and mostly doubles, we took a three day "vacation" in Chicago. This was amazing, not exactly relaxing, but amazing. In the first two days, we looked at over 14 apartments through Apartment People, a free service that gets a commission off the landlord they pitch. Our first day wasn't disappointing, but frustrating to an extent. It took a few apartments for the agent, Dave, to really understand what we were looking for as far as space and budget. We found a few places on the maybe list, but decided to come back again the next day. An hour after we left, in an almost theatrical turn of fate, we got a voicemail from Dave saying "I think I found your new home!" After an evening of exploring the "L" (fantastic...just fricking amazing) the next day we met again with Dave for about 6 stops, the last of which being his trophy show. The anticipation mounted as we got into the door, we clenched our fists as he fidgeted with the keys. We whispered "If this is it, you're coming to our housewarming" and he opened the door.
Huge, spacious, beautiful, natural light galore, brand new kitchen, a nook for Tempest, a back door to a VERY safe alley, a fantastic neighborhood, closet space, heat included, a two blocks from the "L" and within our realistic budget. We could barely contain our excitement, or our nerves. We drove around the neighborhood with Dave and took in all of the shops, restaurants, and cafe's nearby. We took note of the theatre company a few blocks away, and we raced back to the office to fill out the application. We filled out our renter's history and work info, and suggested we don't need a co-sign. The next day we were up early, nervous and trying through breakfast under the "L" not to put our eggs in this basket until we'd heard from Dave. Through a few turns of the plot, which can be shared over coffee or phone, we found ourselves at the office, once again, to expedite the processing, and then racing to the landlord to sign the lease to our new apartment, which will be waiting for us with a fresh coat of paint on September 24th. From here, we drove back to Columbus.
My time with Kiana was amazing. We gelled like we'd just started dating, like best friends, like old lovers. Chicago will just be GOOD for us, we can both tell. We baffled each other regularly with smiles and laughter. On the drive home, we were so lost in conversation we missed our exit. Without issue or panic, we re-routed to drive a bit farther south and jump onto 65-S through Indianapolis. About half an hour later, still in heavy traffic, we decided to stop off an get dinner and caffeine. Random exit later, we teamed up with a semi on the off-ramp who was blocking a-holes in really fancy cars from taking the shoulder to try and bypass everyone waiting in the jam. I've always had a deep anger for people who do that, who use the emergency only lane (ambulance, fire truck, etc) for their own schedules to keep. As the semi cut two cars off, they reversed to try and get behind him, but we pulled up too close to let them in, and four or five cars behind us followed suit. Lesson learned, Mercedes. You're waiting in line with the rest of us. (of course, then some guy in a pick-up truck trumped us all by just driving through the grass right alongside the ditch, and leaving us all in his dust. Inconsiderate sure, but man he had some balls.)
Now, here is where the adventure continues. During this vacation, a topic that came up, less out of fear than excitement, was the idea of affording Chicago. Especially the rent. But we're surely not the first artists to upgrade to a major city. And where there is a will, there is a way. Kiana is also a die-hard, tried and true, Jackson NUT. And her profound respect has rubbed off on me. As we're finally about to get back onto 65-S from the random exit we took, after being on a road we weren't supposed to be on in the first place because we missed our exit, Kiana catches her breath and grabs my chest with an "Oh My God."
Ahead of us, on the right, we see a sign. "Gary Indiana: Childhood Home of Michael Jackson. One mile ahead, turn right and left on Jackson Street. 2300 Jackson Street."
We flew for it. We had no idea where we were and suddenly we were at a major chapter marker for our lives, (especially Kiana's). Gary, IN, had been forgotten by the US. All of the houses were too small, and most of them were boarded up or gutted entirely, with no businesses open as far as the eye could see.
Jackson's house, as you can see, was about 20'X20'. Merely a box, which 11 peolpe lived in.
According to my research (I think I could be proven wrong here, Jackson street didn't have a different name before the Jacksons moved there in 1948, first generation out of slavery. However, they lived on the corner, and the other street has been renamed to Jaskson Family Blvd.
The ride home was energized but solemn for a while. Mostly silence and "I can't believe that just happened." 11 people grew up in the box, and all of them went on to be amazing successful and life changers. We aren't to worry about finances again, that's for sure.
There was also this ironic feeling of poison, us being there. Part of the draw of onlookers is that it's not a living museum, but a dying one. The grass on the lawn used to be green but it's dead now from being trampled by tourists. They left stuffed animals and disney characters there to honor Michael, now dirty, soaking from the rain, and rotting there. It is fascinating in that people live there, THE JACKSONS lived there, and yet there is no relief for these people. It's close to being a third world country in most aspects. I'm standing here with my Iphone, shooting away and thinking "Wow, 11 people lived in that box" and at that moment, a family of at least 8 (three generations) comes out of the box-house across the street to pile into a car. Myself and two other cars that were there to see Gary's Golden Child averted our gaze, but one child, maybe 12 years old, most likely and understandably fed up with all of the attention the abandoned house across the street gets while his family gets no relief whatsoever, came up to the house and spit on the property before getting into the car. I couldn't blame him. I'm sure I could understand how he felt. Shafted comes to mind.
We are lucky. We do not begin to grasp all of our privileges. But we have many and much to focus our positive energy on. This was possibly the best vacation I've ever had, and the most amazing road trip.
I’ve always been one to believe in signs. That’s not to say I believe in signals. I don’t necessarily believe that someone is up there dropping hints when the road gets hard to see. But I believe in pattern. In the pattern of human nature. In the pattern of geography. I believe that once you start to notice these patterns, it’s like seeing the laces on the ball, and you can start to feel more confidant in your gamble.
These are signs.
So here I am. Feeling fairly confidant after the unified auditions, working on shows and more and more the image of living in Chicago with Kiana and working as a real actor while working with Glass City Films is becoming tangible.
I’ve been trying to follow up on theatre companies that were at the auditions, just a little digging to see if it’s the kind of company I want to work with, sending post-mortem e-mails to keep discussions open, etc. I did a little more digging on the theatre company, Steppenwolf, than some of the others because, well, they are a staple of Chicago as one of the most respected theatre companies in the world and they have a rich, risky, history.
I found these facts: Just after graduating from high school, Gary Sinise was approached by friend and classmate Rich Argosh to put on a play. He agreed, and they began performing in a church basement. One of their first shows was Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, where Gary played the role of Rosencrantz, after which Gary, Rick Argosh, decided they wanted to continue working together and to find a permanence. It was then that Gary relocated to Chicago. Gary also directed, from the beginning, for this company. It wasn’t until his senior year that Gary Sinise realized he was devoted to theatre.
Compared with my own story: I loved theatre in high school, but never realized I could DO it with my life. Just after graduating, I was asked to be in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead under John Klein’s company, which has a checkered past with performing in a church basement, which is, in fact, where we rehearsed the show. I played the role of Rosencrantz. I would later direct for this man, just one year older than me, and we would realize our artistic relationship was so much more than an affair and thus the elope to Chicago.
Yes, admittedly, I believe in signs.
As soon as I find them, I’ll post pictures of our production of RaGaD. But, until then, here is The Steppenwolf production shot. It’s a wonderful reminder that juggernauts begin somewhere on the ground, just like us.
I'm pretty sure that's Gary, on the right, as Rosencrantz.
Chicago... Is amazing. Kiana and I road-tripped to Chicago for the Illinois Theatre Association annual unified auditions. The excepted 300 auditionees and we were among them and then had to find out how to make two contrasting monologues last only 90 seconds...altogether.
Why were we working so hard for an audition for a community of theatre 5 hours away? Why, because Kiana is graduating from Ohio State with her MFA in a matter of months and, love this city though I do, it doesn’t have much to offer us in the way of career paths.
And Chicago juuust might.
So we set out for the weekend and met up with as many artists we know of who have made Chicago their home. We got dinner with Sarah (a young actress from OSU, like myself), with my great friend Terrence (another actor with a BFA from Syracuse who really knows his shit), Tanya (an MFA from the last OSU class who had wonderful insight for me and especially Kiana), then off to dinner with Jen (a Duel major in Theatre and Social work, recieving her graduate degree at the University of Chicago in Social work and hoping to use the two for her therapy in the future) and of course the man who needs no introduction, John Klein (BA, like myself. Toledo like myself. Love me, like myself. And a full-time film maker.)
The information we gleaned from them was priceless. About living style, about neighborhoods. About art in Chi-town. About how to get by, keep happy, have fun, meet people, meet professionals, etc. About how to be a professional in a world without excuses.
Another thought. Kiana and I got in Friday afternoon and decided to see Terrence in his show “Stage Black” at MPAACT theatre. I am conditioned, from living in Columbus, to set my standard low. I don’t want that to come off wrong, I have been really moved by some theatre here. But when I go see friends in a show there’s usually something about it that you just have to try an forgive, be it the lack of direction, the weak link in the cast, etc. But this show blew me away. I’m saying that I stumbled into one of the theaters that my friend Terrence is in and was completely blown away by the quality and the talent. There are real artists in Columbus and there are real artists in Chicago. But the thing is, I didn’t have to look that hard to find them in Chicago. That was a nice sign. And the talent was diverse in age, race, and type. That’s another nice sign.
So...THE AUDITIONS.
We opted to get them done in the morning slot. Kiana wanted the morning so we could get on the road back to Columbus at a decent hour. I needed the morning so I could get it over with. I mean, this is intense man. To date, probably the most major audition I’d been on. (Most major...is that appropriate?) We worked monologues each day up until that morning. We showed our pieces to friends to lessen the sudden nerves of going up in front of 40-something directors. With these cuts and the time constraints, the monologues had to be practically choreographed. There was little room for pause and the pauses we decided to keep had to be to the T. I grew a lot as an actor on just working on this. I like to think I already had the intensity. I’ve been growing a lot in nuance. But here I developed a very powerful sense of precision. Everything was planned and still fresh.
There was only one professional company actively holding callbacks that day because they were located in western Illinois, about 2 hours away from Chicago. They are called Timberlake Playhouse. They were just grabbing actors as finished and taking them into the other room.
They tapped me. Brad Lyons tapped me and read me heavily for their season, and paid a lot of attention to me for Wait Until Dark, as well as Grease, Lend me a Tenor, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Wedding Singer, and Buddy Holly. I know...that’s two plays and a lot of musicals, right? Yeh...they asked if I could sing and dance. They had me learn and 8-count and sing anything from any show-tunes I know. It’s a professional summer stock company, so if I’m in Wait Until Dark I’ll have to be a chorus member in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, so I need to at least fake it, they said.
Gah.
At last, I was released and Kiana and I began our trip home, back to reality. Dazed and excited and terrified.
I will not deny that we are looking ODDS in the face. But we always have been. And we took on even worse odds with Glass City and we came out with history for Toledo, career boosts like some young artists (including myself) could only dream, and best nominations across the board. We’ve got what it takes. And to say we will do it ignores that fact that it’s already being done. Nerves are to be assumed, but I’m done doubting. Me and Kiana dude...what a team.
Lastly, this morning I got an e-mail from Circle Theatre in Chicago. They want me to read for Brick in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
I shit my pants.
It’s gonna be difficult to swing the stipend but they are Jeff award winning (that’s the Chicago version of the Tony award). They were very complimentary of me and it just bumps up on when we were looking to move. Can it work? I don’t know. But will I say no just yet? Hell no.
My friend and the creative yin to my yang is John Klein. An inspiration on so many levels to me, he is a kind and generous soul, he is talented as a producer and a DP of film. And he has made those bearers of the Bachelor of Arts, such as myself, proud by working hard in school, saturating himself with knowledge, and going on to his third straight year out of college as a professional filmmaker in Chicago. Because "Glass City" which John co-wrote, produced, and DP'd was competing in Oklahoma, John drove down there as a representative. In doing so, he had to say "nay" to a lucrative film project. This sacrifice has him scared for the first time in three years. He'll be okay, he knows it and so do I. But faith, being nothing without action, needs a little help. And he just did the same for me with a director he's working with in Chicago. So I leave you today with the reel for John Klein, (www.windycitycamera.com) one of my best friends, my favorite filmmaker, and your ticket.
Bigger Screen version and more info :http://www.youtube.com/user/WindyCityCameraND
