Dave as "Willy Loman" on the cover of Compass Magazine

http://staugustine.com/entertainment/arts/2010-06-09/death-salesman-stage-through-june-20There is a positive review attached to the link, too. We have had standing ovations for the first two weeks. Four performances are left!

Death of a Salesman (Willy Loman) and The Globe Theatre Trip

I have neglected this blog for too long. But, I hope to use it for documentation of my upcoming theatre work. Today, I was cast as the quintessential American theatre tragic character, Willy Loman, in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. Although I consider myself very young to play this role, the director appreciated the choices I made throughout the audition process. Thank goodness for aging makeup. Dustin Hoffman won several awards for his portrayal in 1985 when he was around 50, I believe. Mr. Hoffman aged himself for the role, but I am ten years younger than Hoffman was at the time. I went into the audition with Biff in mind. And I did read for both sons a few times, but I found myself being called again and again for uilly. I didn't know if she (the director) had a Willy already cast that wasn't at the audition, or is she was genuinely considering me. I think it took pressure off of me and allowed me to be there to support everyone else that was auditioning. Perhaps that's part of the secret: make everyone else look great on stage with you...it will make you seem to "fit" the potential cast. Our first rehearsal is next Thursday, April 29th, 2010. I'll start working on lines before then.

The other major news is that I will be in London for the entire month of July. I was awarded a scholarship from the English Speaking Union of the United States (Jacksonville Branch) to study and perform on Shakespeare's The Globe theatre. We will be working on the four productions in rep. at The Globe: Henry IV, part I; Henry IV, part II; The Comedy of Errors; and Henry VIII. The first three shows are well regarded as works with great merit. Henry VIII is perhaps most famous for the canon shot that burned the orginal Globe down during Shakespeare's life. It was written as fictional propaganda: Elizabeth I wanted her father to be shown in a more postive light that history has come to paint him. I have just finished making all the necessary arrangements for the trip. I cannot express to you what this trip will mean to me; the Globe is my personal mecca. If theatre is my passion, Shakespeare is the heart of it. To help pay back my Shakespeare experience to the ESUUS, I will be directing a Shakespearean play at my high school next season (yet to be determined), and I will direct The Merchant of Venice at Players by the Sea in Jacksonville Beach (Auditions in early December/Performances in March 2011). With any luck, I also hope to be in the cast of Romeo and Juliet at Theatre Jax in the fall. I'll keep you posted.