Plays by Brian Egland

Brian Egland in "Drood"

2011-01-18T21:04:00.002-06:00

My first musical. I played the part of Rev. Crisparkle. The greatest thing about the video in reference to me, is me missing a que. Always great to have your flubs recorded. It might not be noticeable to everyone, but then again. Never the less, the first times are usually a beast.

Brian Egland in One Morning by Charmine Lewis Trailer

2011-01-18T20:59:00.002-06:00

I shot a short film, I can't even remember when, and was surprised to find the trailer on youtube. It's funny. Style wise I'm definitely channeling some Tupac from Poetic Justice, don't you think. Whenever I shot the film I wasn't crazy about my performance. I'm all about rehearsal and perfection or as close to it as I can get, and this was improvisational drama. I didn't do as bad as I thought I did, but I'm still not crazy about it. I wish I had created more of a character. You learn each time, right? Next film...it's on.

New Youtube Movie: Hero

2011-01-18T20:43:00.003-06:00

Been meaning to blog about this for some time now. James Holloway is an up incoming actor on the scene who is taking the steps towards making it big. He recently wrote, directed, produced, and starred in his own independent short action film called Hero. Great quality. The dude can fight, so don't mess with him. And it's brilliant for the simple fact that it is exposing a great talent that he has that he might not have been able to showcase if he had not decided to showcase it himself. Action Star in the making. Check out the Hero movie below, then check out James' acting reel, you'll be impressed.

New Series Milk & Honey

2011-01-18T20:24:00.002-06:00

Ran across a trailer for a new series which features Debbie Allen, Lance Gross, and Chad from Passions (remember him, the second one.) From what I know, the show hasn't been picked up by a network yet....can BET save the day again for another African American series with potential. Check out the trailer, it looks like it could be a pretty descent show.

milk + honey series trailer from brown paper dolls on Vimeo.

The Birthday Dinner DVD!!!

2011-01-17T17:18:00.004-06:00

Happy New Year!!! Better late than never right? Well if the start of 2011 is any sign for the year ahead, I'm predicting progress. The new year has started with me auditioning for a independent film and getting a callback. My first of both so I'm really excited and we will see what happens. Also 2011 has finally brought me the DVD of The Birthday Dinner. The DVD has it shares of flaws unfortunately, but what it does do is captures my show and for that it is a gem of DVD. To the left is a pic of me and some of the case at my house for a viewing of the DVD. I decorated and everything! As far as what I will do with the DVD...I don't know. It's not in a quality I would like it to be to distribute or circulate, but I have seen many DVD's of plays with worse quality, one angle, and other horrible etc's that people buy, watch, and love. So maybe those same people would love The Birthday Dinner DVD in its current state because they don't care about that kind of stuff. We'll see. I'm just happy to have it. My cast....man I really lucked out and honestly had the perfect cast. They killed it. The killed harder then some people who are payed to do it do. It's crazy. Maybe this DVD may bring about an opportunity...you never know.

Random Things I've Been Meaning to Post About

2010-12-05T15:31:00.005-06:00

So I must begin this much overdue post with a huge apology to Thandie Newton. I underestimated her talent in such a huge way. She was incredible in For Colored Girls, as was the entire cast. The movie was a departure from the average Tyler Perry project. I thought the cinematography was actually well done. I thought the movie was powerful. For some the movie may have been “too” much. However I don’t think this project For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enough is something that can ever be simple. The title is not simple. The stories are not simple. The characters are not simple. It to me seems like a composite of “too much.” Which makes it powerful and beautiful. The other argument is th e dramatic black film…people say they are tired of the movie of the black struggle. Point taken…however that is somewhat the difference between movies and tv most times. I say let’s just be happy we have a black film, support it, and allow for opportunities for other films to flood the theatres.

Speaking of Tyler Perry and more uplifting entertainment…where the movies tend to hit one nerve….the plays hit anoth er. Madea’s Big Happy Family is imo the best of Tyler Perry’s plays. It was the usual setup of any of the Madea plays for the one exception, no Cora who has been the only staple character in the world of Madea besides Madea…because Madea has one very confusing family tree if we are speaking honestly taking in both the movies and plays. So what makes this play different…nothing. I just think the format has finally been perfected, has been refined, has reached a certain quality now that Tyler Perry is now Tyler Perry. I can’t find an actual document listing the names of the cast, strange eno ugh, to spotlight certain members of the cast who were incredible. This time around, the acting wasn’t too shabby…though a bit overly dramatic I was impressed they could “go there.” Cause some haven’t been able to go to actual emotional places. I know I and have heard others skip the singing in many of the previous plays. Not this one. The singing is really something to watch and the songs aren’t that half bad. And of course Madea is Madea. Funny and straight shooting. I regret not having paid the high price to go see it live when it came to New Orleans. However, I did not have that high price and still enjoyed the experience watching it for $1 from the redbox, in which I had to stalk via online to get a copy of the dvd. Mr. Pe rry the ticket prices man, the ticket prices. Don’t forget your people. I can’t afford the ticket prices.

Speaking of actors to spotlight…let’s first start with Essence Atikins. She’s been doing her thing since Smart Guy and is still under rated in so many ways. I just recently say her in the movie, Preacher’s Kid which starred Letoya Luckett formerly of Destiny’s Child. This movie would have been just some movie if it wasn’t for Ms. Essence. She had a small role, but to me she stole the movie and carried it on her back with the few scenes she was in. So I just wanted to spotlight her.

So Desperate Housewives keeps finding ways to keep the show alive which is pretty incredible because it has been on the air for quite some time now. What’s the current secret? Vanessa Williams. After the end of Ugly Betty, which broke my heart, Vanessa Williams returns to t he screen in her great diva-bitch fashion that she does so well and completely steals the show. Wilhelmina Slater will always be missed by me, but this will suffice.

Speaking of Desperate Housewives, I s aw this amazing indie film on HBO on demand a few months back titled Don’t Let Me Drown. It was really cool. Carlos, Gabby’s husband was also in the film, which is how I relate it to desperate housewives. The two stars of the movie, E. J. Bonilla and Gleendilys Inoa gave incredible, natural, rich performances. I always like to see what the careers of these young emerging actors are like to try to put two and two together. The two stars of this movie will be in another indie movie that looks very promising. The film is called Yelling to the Sky and has somewhat of a all star cast in the sense of new young emerging promising talent. Of course the two actors previously mentioned are in it. So is Academy Award Nominated Gabourey Sidibe, Issiah fro the old school Halle Berry, Laura Linney film Loosing Issiah, Marc John Jeffries, and Lenny Kravitz's daughter Zoe Kravitz in the lead role.

Speaking of Laura Linney and Gabourey...these two starred in what was probably my favorite new show of the season, Showtime's, The Big C. The season finale had me crying.

Showtime’s other great show, Dexter. Last season Rita, Dexter’s wife, was killed by the season’s serial killer. It was compelling, gripping, shocking, and honestly it pissed me off. I recognized it as great, great writing, but I vowed to not watch the show again as it was just too much for me to deal with, Dramatic right? Anyway, I didn’t stick to the dramatics I silently spoke and have been watching this season faithfully just like the others not knowing how they would keep me involved after such hurt. These Dexter people are smart…they must have been like, what can we do for Brian to keep him with us…I know let’s call Julia Stiles from Save the Last Dance. That worked for me. And Julia Stiles is giving her best performance since she was breaking it down in club steps, breaking it down with Kerry Washington. It has made for the best season of Dexter since the 1^st or 2^nd season imo. BTW, a little disappointed with Weeds this season. The show has been on a decline for me since season 2 and with no Celila...it's been rougher.

I mentioned ABC pulling the plug on Ugly Betty and breaking my heart, well they did it again this season with My Generation. Maybe I was the only one who liked the show. I don’t know. But I did. I thought it was smart and well made and I was into it and two episodes deep it gets cut off on me. I’m like I know I saw a preview for next’s weeks episode. When, how will I ever see it? I was really enjoying the performance from Sebastian Sozzi, who is a new actor I got wind of from the show. The next episode was really going to feature his character, so I'm mad he didn't get that spotlight. All this made for the season of TV rough for me. Not like I have had the time, but then again I have had the time, but what is there really to watch. There isn’t really anything that interests me. Thank goodness BET has done something so profound and has saved The Game. Is it too late to save Girlfriends. What was that, the CW. Man those people really did a number to black tv didn’t they.

My favorite past-time, The Young and the Restless, has been truly good daytime TV for the past week all rolling off of a trip to New Orleans that became a trip of lust and romance between Sharon and Adam. To top that, there's the addition of a new black character and employment of a black actor, Angell Conwell. This girl has been acting for years and has one of those recognizable faces, but hasn't made it big big as I had no idea what her name was. She's killing it on Y&R, and I have to say...is it me or doesn't she look like Jennifer Hudson or Jennifer Hudson's sister/cousin.

Breaks My Heart

2010-10-16T01:59:00.010-05:00

Oh this breaks my heart. So on November 5, 2010 Tyler Perry will release his next motion picture, a film adaption of the play "Four Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuff" which will include an all star cast that originally included Mariah Carey, but now stars Thandie Newton in that spot as Mariah had to drop out for reasons that have not yet surfaced. I'm so bummed. Don't get me wrong, Thandie Newton is an amazing actres and I'm sure she is fantastic in this film, but I was so excited to see what Mariah would bring and looking at the trailer a lot of Thandie's scenes are with Whoopi Goldberg, which would have meant a lot of Mariah's scenes would have been with Whoopi Goldberg. Now that breaks my heart even more. My two favorite women could have been together...acting in brilliance. Wold have been something I tell ya. Oh well, I'm still looking forward to the movie.

Real Talk

2010-10-14T01:26:00.010-05:00

Got a chance to meet and listen to JD and Katelynn from The Real World: Brooklyn speak at ULL this week for ULL’s GLBT week’s activities. I’m really happy I went because first I enjoyed it. Katelynn is realy funny and had the audience cracking up. Second it was just plain nice to be out of the house and return to my old stomping ground and run into a few people and get a few hugs. Third, it was important. I performed a solo piece my senior year in one of my theatre classes that took on the issue of kids committing suicide because of bullying regarding homosexuality. That was a year ago, and now the issue has continued and been brought to more of a national attention, so supporting this cause, hearing the stories, I think all of that can be simple step in the right direction. If more people understood, could put a face to it, maybe they wouldn’t be so quick to judge/hate. Oh the world we live in.

Katelynn

Shots From Drood

2010-10-10T12:11:00.003-05:00

I have no idea when these pictures were taken or who took them, but they look great. Drood was the last show I was in back in March, and it served as my first musical ever. The musical is based on The Mystery of Edwin Drood written by Charles Dickens. I played The Rev. Crisparkle. My cast battled between who I looked like Morgan Freeman or Danny Glover. Lol. I'll take either, they're both talented actors to be compared to.

Testing

2010-10-09T23:28:00.001-05:00

Testing to see if the Microsoft program actually works. Advancement? Possible.

The Christmas Dinner Audio Preview (Low Quality)

2010-09-03T20:37:00.002-05:00

To anyone reading, it has been a long time. I went away for the summer, but I'm back and posting something that's cool for me to post. I wish the audio was better, but I wanted to put it up anyway.

The Birthday Dinner Photo Gallery

2010-05-07T23:13:00.001-05:00

If you look on the side bar you can check out the photos for The Birthday Dinner.

The Christmas Dinner: A Play By Brian Egland Reading

2010-05-02T17:27:00.017-05:00

So we had the reading of The Christmas Dinner Sunday, May 1, 2010, and I have to say..I was pleased and surprised about how great everything went. I usually don't know if I really ike my script until I get to hear my words. I really liked it. I think it is more powerful than The Birthday Dinner which is a huge statement for me to make. For the reading we were fully casted with 10 actors for the 10 charcaters in the play. Everyone from The Birthday Dinner returned with the exception of Hunter Burke (Miles), he just couldn't make it. That is one busy man. I'll point out the new cast members in some of the pics I will post below.

Sheryl Ned (Pearl Pete) Jasmine Chapman ( Jeryline Pete)

Lance Guidry (Miles Zeeman) Andrew John ( Mason Lite)

My Good Friends Meghan Raca and Trina Auzenne with Kenny Gabriel (Guy Channing)

The Mother Daughter Duo

Jasmine Chapman (Jeryline Pete) & Amandah Baker (Emma Osmond)

Emma and her Boo!

Andrew John (Mason Lite) & Amandah Baker (Emma Osmond)

Allison Schilhab (Ava Stone) & Jeremy Drewery (Kaden "KC" Channing)

The Pete Women

Emma, Jeryline, Judith, & Pearl

Amandah Baker, Jasmine Chapman, Kristina Marshall, & Sheryl Ned

The Men of the Family

KC, Guy, & Boris

Jeremy Drewery, Kenny Gabriel, & Jamel Small

Part of

The Christmas Dinner Reading Cast

Jeremy Drewery, Kenny Gabriel, Amandah Baker, Jasmine Chapman, Me, Kristina Marshall, Jamel Small

And I Finally Got To See

2010-04-29T17:03:00.003-05:00

I finally got a chance to see David E. Talbert's Love In The Nick of Tyme courtsey of BET. Sundays BET has been geting it right. A few months ago they played Polly, and though I missed it, I appreciated them putting backk on the air for new viewers to see it's brillance. Now I was debating on buying Mr. Talbert's new DVD cause well, I'm broke and I can't afford to buy some random DVD that I don't know if it's good or not. Especially when I don't even own some of my favorite films on DVD. But the catch is, I do like Mr. Talbert's work and I really wanted to see it. And the cast line up seemed really interesting. Morris Chestnut, Avant, Treynce from American Idol and Terry Dexter. Luckily enough BET heard my silent cry and BET put it on the air, I of course didn't know about it, but my mom did and recorded it. It was good. Mr. Talbert's work is very professional and refined, though I don't think this was his best play....I really enjoyed it. And I was able to enjoy more, because it didn't jeapordize any of my funds. The one thing in the play.....that was like oh lord...though it's petty of me....he had a character named Jeryline.

Being that my lead character's name is Jeryline....it was like oh man...people going to think I stole that from him....but really I was mor ebotheres by the fact that the name, imo, didn't really fit the character. The name's two powerful for such a samll charcter. But that's just how I see it.

In other news BET is also airing the movie that I rented and posted about, Truth Hall. I debated spending the $3.00 to rent this movie off of Amazon and finally talked myself into and was highly upset that I did. Now.....oh man....hindsight....I should have waited. BET would have played it all along and I would of found out I didn't like it...for free.

But either or....I really do appreciate BET exposing those Black Films and Black Artists...whether the work is great or still aspiring. I wonder what I have to do to get The Birthday Dinner on the Sunday lineup.

I Heart The Color Purple

2010-04-28T00:36:00.002-05:00

Sometimes life work out right. Got a call from Ms. Kristina Marshall who played Judith in The Birthday Dinner. She's doing fine btw. Well, long story short, she stumbled upon two tickets to The Color Purple and was even having trouble giving the extra ticket away...that is until she called me. I had no idea that the tour was coming around here, which I really need to get on cause I don't want to miss anything else.

Needless to go into detail....the play was amazing. It was just amazing. I feel very honored to see a great show like this as I don't have the means to go to New York to catch all of the Broadway show's I would love to see. Though the show was great, I did see the touring production. The cast did amazingly...but I would love to see Fantasaia as Ceily. Oh my. I would love to see that. But I'm happy I at least saw something and what I did see was amazing.

Spotlight: Actors Who Killed It

2010-04-28T00:11:00.005-05:00

Luis Guzman

You most deffinetly recognize this face when you see it. This actor, Mr. Guzman, has been in about every Latin/Hispanic (sorry I'm not sure what term is politically correct) movie/show that has been out, except for Ugly Betty for some strange reason. At least I didn't see him on it. Well he is currently on a show on HBO called How To Make It In America which stars homeboy who played Jake on One Tree Hill, my favorite rapper, Kid Cudi, and one of my favorite rising actors, Victor Rasuk. Well Mr. Guzman is killing it on this show. All of those years of taking part in all of those movies are really showing effect in some great performances by this man. Could he be the next Monique?

Josh Zuckerman

Do you watch Desperate Housewives? You might not recognize him in this picture, but this is Eddie. The homeboy who is killing on the woman and the actor who is just killing it. His performance on this past Sunday's episode hit me like a tidal wave. I was blown away, but the depth of it...but Desperate Housewives imo does provide good quality moments very often. You might also remember this Josh from his role on Klye XY. He was Lori's professor boyfriend who appeared to be double dipping between good and evil, but abc fmaily canceled the show before everything are anything was really cleared. Anyway, proud to see Mr. Josh move on and to something that made him shine like the one I am mentioning.

Wendie Malick
This lady played the principal in the squeal to Alvin and the Chipmunks and killed it. I know, the Alvi and the Chipmunks movie....I like them...my brother who didn't want to watch it...liked it...and this women killed it. I checked out her IMDB and she's been acting for years. I even recognized her once I saw her filmography. I guess some actor's never get into that super bright spotlight, but Wendie: you are killing it. Keep doing it. BTW Theodore is so great. I heart him.

And I Finally Got To See

2010-04-14T18:28:00.008-05:00

I finally worked up the nerve and spent the money buying the beloved Polly. The Disney African American TV Musical Movie Directed By Debbie Allen. Polly is an adaption of Pollyanna. Basically if Pollyanna and her people were black...and the result is it would be good. It was good. It even had a sequel, in which I brought too. The sequel deffinetly pale in comparison to the first, but man is it nice to see a world you love extend and to see those characters and bonds alive once more...even if it's not as great. At least I like things like that.

Well though the sequel fell off a bit, what I really enjoyed most was seeing the realtionship between Polly and Jimmy Bean. I guess I'm a sucker for a good love story or what seems to be a good love story.

Now this is Polly and Jimmy Bean then.

And this is Polly and Jimmy Bean now.

I would love to see a third film. These kids have grown up to be beautiful people and that is of course the makings of a great TV romance. All jokes aside it would be great to see Polly and Jimmy bean togather again as adults in a whole new action adventure story. Come on Debbie Allen...make this happen for me. lol.

Why Did I Get Married Too

2010-04-11T00:05:00.006-05:00

So the man who I get much comparison to,premiered...well ya'll all know...Why Did I Get Married TOO came out last weekend. I saw it twice. By circumstance, but happy I did. I get to view the movie two different ways. I was actually able to watch the movie once and take in the movie for the script, camera angles, acting, facial expressions, plot, etc...and then I was able to take in the movie by how it impacted the audience...seeing what made them react and learning even more what makes an audience tick or in some cases what ticks them off.

I thought the movie was good. I've had this and I've heard that about the film, but for what the film was and for the audience that it was really made for, it was great. The audience was really into it. I don't think it had that same thing the first movie had, but that being said this movie was more grabbing due to it's complex plot that kept me on my toes.

Janet was amzing in the movie. I always thought she was a great actress since Poetic Justice than as I got older I got acquainted with her earlier works TV works. I have no idea why Janet has done more films (then again she is a busy singing superstar.) But there was a apart in the movie and Janet turned around and I looked at her eyes and her face, and Janet was completly gone. I thought that was pretty cool as an actor watching another actor and as a Janet Jackson fan. It was interesting to see her disappear and be totally lost in someone else or another emotion than what is commonly seen.

Overall, I think Tyler Perry...well obviously the man is doing well...I think he's getting better at the movie thing too. I hope he starts to put more focus on qulaity of film. I believe that would be the next step for him to break out of the box he's being put into. Maybe with the next project he'll do it. His necxt film is a movie version of the play Four Colored Girls Who've Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is not Enough. And the movie has an allstar cast. I'll post about it later.

The Christmas Dinner Reading

2010-04-10T23:50:00.003-05:00

Returning from my 2nd trip to the E.R. in a three month span...and amongst other dramas of life, I would like to focus on some positive aspects of life. That being said...The Christmas Dinner is going to have a reading. I'm very excited about it. As of right now I have 8.5 of my 10 actors needed which excites me because putting together schedules is a tough thing...so I'm happy to have 8.5 schedules that had some free time. The Christmas Dinner will only be a reading, not a staged reading, or a production (as of now). I'm just having a reading to kind of hear how the words sound, what works and what doesn't work, and of course to reunite with my incredible cast from The Birthday Dinner with the addition of two new actors for the two new characters that are introduced in The Christmas Dinner. Anyway for those who may or may not read this blog, and for those who are interested in my work, saw The Birthday Dinner and enjoyed, or whatever and would like to hear the reading of The Christmas Dinner...send me an e-mail...or make a comment on this post. I may have a few places avilable and it could be beneficial to have a few ears. IDK. Since it's not a staged reading...I do feel I have to limit what ears hear, since it will be a cold read for the cast. But all that is details. Hopefully everything works out and hopefully I stop needed to go to the E.R.

The Birthday Dinner Cast Updates

2010-04-02T00:44:00.005-05:00

You can see Hunter Burke (Miles) At the end making a cameo in the WWE Film 12 Rounds starring WWE Superstar John Cena. We'll deffinetly be seeing Hunter on the screen more and more and more.

Kenny Gabriel (Guy Channing) has been a very busy man. He was a ina production of a great show called Indigo Blues at Cite des Art, downtown lafayette. He was amazing in it btw. From therem he went on to be in Good Thing, The ULL Performing Arts Production for this semster. I was able to see the show, since Drood ran at the same time, but I did go to a rehearsal and what can I say that hasn;t been said. Kenny is great. He is now going to step into directing and direct a scene from the play, Kimberly Akimboo.

Kristina Marshall (Judith) recently performed a selection from Porgy and Bess as part of a youth outreach put on by PASA meant to bring awareness of issues to teens through the use of art.

Amandah Baker (Emma) held the exteme position of Assitant Stage Manager for the ULL PFAR Production of Good Thing.

Jeremy Drewrey (KC Jeremy willbe in two of the driecting scenes this year for PFAR's annual showcase, one being Kenny's scene from Kimberly Akimboo. Very excited to see Jeremy since last semster he gave a really solid standout performace during that semster's showcase.

More updates to come to keep you informed on these talented actors and bright stars.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

2010-04-02T00:25:00.002-05:00

Me(Rev. Crisparkle) Lana Carver (Rosa)

The Singer Part returned for a few months. I've been busy with ULL Lafayatte Music Department's Production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, in which I was offered the role of the Rev. Crisparkle. Drood was my very first musical...and it had a full blown orchestra. I had only sang with a piano and drum before...and once to acoustic guitar. It was a huge stretch. Also it was a musical...and I've mentioned on this blog before...I'm not much of a musical theatre singer...but I felt it would be the best thing for me if I at least try my hand at it. I sucked at first and got better as it went a long, and even had some good moments. I don't believe I had good singing vocal moments...because as a singer...I don't use my voice or don't know how to use my voice under those circumstances. Kudos to those who do...(the other incredibly talented membes of the Drood cast)to have even stood on the stage and sing with such incredibly talented people is an honor and a really great oppurtunity.

The Birthday Dinner Honored

2010-04-02T00:02:00.002-05:00

So I have some great news, that I'm posting about 2 months later. I have to apologize to anyone who may actually be reading this blog, for not updating it more regularly. But off with the news....back in Feburary...amongst having a really crazy week, I get a phone call from a lady named Gretchen Smith who is the chair of The Kenedy Center Acmerican College Theatre Festival for it's Sixth Region. She called me on a Tuesday morning, and told me that my play, The Birthday Dinner was one of the top plays at the festival, she wanted me to go to the festival Friday to be there for a reading of the play on Saturday.

To even add to the honor...I didn't technically submit my play to the Region Six Festival...so that was the first shocker...I did send it to Ms. Gretchen...but I technically submitted the play to the national festival...because the Regional Festival did not have a category for my play. The competitions were 1 acts and 10 Minute Plays...but Ms. Gretchen liked the play enough to make it an exception...now the play is lenghty to say the least and there was not enough time to read all of it...so we were set to only read the first act...Ms. Gretchen re-arranged the schedule so the entire play could be read. The reading was cool. It was interesting to have my play read by Actors from other universities and people I didn't know. I got some great feedback. And now I'm a Honored Playwrite by The John F. Kennedy Center of Performing Arts, Kennedy American College Theatre Festival Region Six For Excellence in Original Playwrighting.

Can you believe? Well yeah...BELIEF...that's what it all took.

Pics From The Birthday Dinner: A Play By Brian Egland

2010-02-16T22:20:00.013-06:00

The Pics are finally in! They blew me away. A big thank you to Mr. Tyler Choate. These are not pictures. They are so real. I got to see what I did for the first time, and these pictures...my show was real...it was a real show. These pictures document a play...a real play. My play. The Birthday Dinner.

The Roe Effect and Other Short Films

2010-02-16T22:13:00.004-06:00

So one night, it was late, I was having one of those days were I just simply needed some inspiration...and inspiration found me via on demand. I found these amazing short films on HBO on demand and Showtime on demand. You can see them now during this month , (Feb). One of the movies was The Roe Effect. It blew me away. It inspired me. Wish I could go more into detail, but it's something one must see for themselves to understand. What blew me most away was the fact that everyone involved was just trying to do it. Like me. And they were and they are. It inspired me. Shout outs to James Holloway and Cher Santiago. They are cool peoples and deffinetly be looking out for these two. They are taking their steps as well.

First Post of the New Year

2010-02-16T22:09:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year! I'm a whole month late, but better late than never. Huh? There's much going on with me, but I'll post once I have details in concrete. Well nothing that big, just steps towards making it. Small steps...but a step foward is always big step to make. One update is that I finished the first version of The Christmas Dinner. It's crazy. It's big. It's deep. I like it. I haven't looke dat it in a while, so I need to finish it up. Not sure what will come of it. I have a few more steps to take until I can do something with it.

DVD's: The Good & The Not So Good (imo)

2009-11-23T19:25:00.007-06:00

Applause For Miss E

I literally just finished watching this and had to blog about how good it was. I was skeptical. I was beyond skeptical, because I rarely so a really good black stage play. So it was to my surprise when I pop this into the DVD to fine that this just a really good....play. It didn't have that stage play quality to it. It was just a play with a strong plot, a good build to it, great acting and characters. The quality of the DVD was incredible and the set was incredible too. I would check it out if I was you.

Truth Hall

I'm not really going to rave about this film as much. I was skeptical. I'm always skeptical, but the dvd had all these awards the film won so I figured I wouldn't judge a book by it's cover. Well...imo....I'm not sure how it won all them awards. I thought for the most part it was entertaining in a mild sense. But a lot of things made no sense to me. The acting was...well I wasn't to impressed with it. I thought it could have been good because I did see a very good independent film and it had won an award. That film is I'm Through With White Girls. If you get a chance...check that one out.

Plays For or About African Americans

2009-11-22T03:28:00.025-06:00

So I'm like having this moment in my life. I'm about to graduate. I'm really trying to figure out what I'm going to do next, so I've been searching the interenet and finiding interesting things online and in other random places. One of the interesting things is how little I know about the oppurtunities I have as ablack actor. That is something I need to know. I need to know what is out there. Who's doing what, who did what, what can be done. I just need to know as that is vital to me as a black actor. Information like that seems to be hard to come by. Especially beign a black actor in Louisiana. If you don't know, you have to be the one to find it out. Well I'm starting with the plays. Most of us black actors, myself included, have no idea of what we have done or what we are doing in regards to theatre. I wanted to make a little list of shows I've found online. I'll try to add a picture for each from random productions of the hsow, just to show another element, bring it to life.

The First Breeze of Summer By Leslie Lee

"Obie Award winner and Tony-nominated “Best Play,” Leslie Lee’s rarely seen drama reveals a turbulent time in three generations of an African-American family. One hot June weekend, the family matriarch reflects on the lessons of her own youth and the three lost love affairs that shaped her life and her family while the conflict between her two teenage grandsons and their father comes to a head. The New York Times called the play, “wonderfully moving,...touching and terrifying"
http://www.courttheatre.org/season/show/the_first_breeze_of_summer/

The Good Negro by Tracey Scott Wilson

A piece about the cilvil rights movement, that has characters that resemeble Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The play is centered around a mother who let's her daughter use a White Only restroom and placed under a citizen's arrest by a white man for doing so.

Ruined by Lynn Nottage

From Lynn Nottage, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of such plays as Fabulation and Intimate Apparel, comes this haunting, probing work about the resilience of the human spirit during times of war. Set in a small mining town in Democratic Republic of Congo, this powerful play follows Mama Nadi, a shrewd businesswoman in a land torn apart by civil war. But is she protecting or profiting by the women she shelters? How far will she go to survive? Can a price be placed on a human life?

Intimate Appearal

The time is 1905, the place New York City, where Esther, a black seamstress, lives in a boarding house for women and sews intimate apparel for clients who range from wealthy white patrons to prostitutes. Her skills and discretion are much in demand, and she has managed to stuff a goodly sum of money into her quilt over the years. One by one, the other denizens of the boarding house marry and move away, but Esther remains, lonely and longing for a husband and a future. Her plan is to find the right man and use the money she's saved to open a beauty parlor where black women will be treated as royally as the white women she sews for. By way of a mutual acquaintance, she begins to receive beautiful letters from a lonesome Caribbean man named George who is working on the Panama Canal. Being illiterate, Esther has one of her patrons respond to the letters, and over time the correspondence becomes increasingly intimate until George persuades her that they should marry, sight unseen. Meanwhile, Esther's heart seems to lie with the Hasidic shopkeeper from whom she buys cloth, and his heart with her, but the impossibility of the match is obvious to them both, and Esther consents to marry George. When George arrives in New York, however, he turns out not to be the man his letters painted him to be, and he absconds with Esther's savings, frittering it away on whores and liquor. Deeply wounded by the betrayal, but somehow unbroken, Esther returns to the boarding house determined to use her gifted hands and her sewing machine to refashion her dreams and make them anew from the whole cloth of her life's experiences

Superior Donuts by Tracey Letts

The play focuses on the relationship between despondent Arthur Przybyszewski, a former 1960s radical who owns a rundown donut shop in Uptown, Chicago, and Franco, his energetic but troubled young African American assistant who wants to update the establishment with lively music and healthy menu options. Dialogue scenes are separated by monologues in which Arthur discusses his past and reminisces about the city as it was in his younger years.

Passing Strange by Stew

A young black musician travels on a picaresque journey to rebel against his mother and his upbringing in a church-going, middle-class, late 1970s South Central Los Angeles neighborhood in order to find "the real". He finds new experiences in promiscuous Amsterdam, with its easy access to drugs and sex, and in artistic, chaotic, political Berlin, where he struggles with ethics and integrity when he misrepresents his background as poor to get ahead. Along with his "passing" from place to place and from lover to lover, the young musician moves through a number of musical styles from a background of gospel to punk, and then blues, jazz, and rock. He finally returns home.

Before It Hits Home by Cheryl L. West

Wendal, a jazz musician who has never managed to make it big, has just been diagnosed with having the AIDS virus. To a string of questioning doctors, he indignantly denies having had any sexual relations with others but by the end of the first act we see him in two simultaneous bedroom scenes, one between him and his fiancee, Simone, who is pregnant, and one between him and his male lover, Douglas, who is actually a married man and father. In these combined scenes, Wendal's denial and confusion are painfully obvious as he tries to hide the truth about his health from both of his partners; he seems especially intent to hide from Douglas the extent of his undisclosed promiscuity. In the second act, Wendal has drifted away from both Simone and Douglas, unable to sustain the lies that had been keeping his two worlds apart and in balance. He returns home to his mother and father, but upon confiding the truth to them, he is abandoned by his mother who, in a wrathful explosion of raw emotion, indicts Wendal for immorality and takes with her his teenage son from a previous marriage. Wendal's father, however, overcomes his facade of masculine pride and takes up caring for Wendal in his final days, eventually enacting a tentative reconciliation between the family members only in time for Wendal to die. The final image of the play lingers as Simone reappears, her own health and the life of her unborn child in question.

Blues For Mister Charlie by James Baldwin

Blues for Mister Charlie is based on the case of Emmett Till, a young black man who was murdered in Mississippi in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman. The murderer was subsequently acquitted. The play is cyclical in its structure, opening and ending with the killing of Richard while occasionally utilizing a series of flashbacks to establish the reasons for Richard’s death. This structure allows for a focus on issues such as race, sex, and Christianity.

Dutchman by Amiri Baraka

The action focuses almost exclusively on Lula, a flirtatious white woman, and Clay, a young black man who ride the subway in New York City. Lula boards the train munching an apple, an allusion to the Biblical Eve. After Lula bends over in front of Clay in an obvious sexual come-on, the two characters engage in a flirtatious conversation throughout the long train ride.

Lula then begins to insult Clay, implying that somehow he is not "really" black because he is college educated, wears a three button suit and because his "grandfather was not a slave". She is now dancing in the train and ridicules Clay by asking him to join her and "do the nasty. Rub bellies". Clay, who initially does not respond to the provocation, rises up in extreme anger, menacing the other riders, telling Lula that she knew nothing about him, referring to her and other white people as "ofays". Forcing her on her seat next to him he slaps her twice and tells her that the neuroses of black men can be cured with her murder. He asks his leave and expresses his pity that it wouldn’t work out between them. As he bends over to pick up his books, Lula stabs him into his chest in full view of the other (both white and black) riders who do nothing to stop the attack. She then instructs everyone else to help her throw his body out of the train and get off the subway at the next stop.

The play ends on a chilling note; Lula approaches another well-dressed black man in the exact same way that she approached Clay. As the train conductor enters the compartment, dancing “soft-shoe”, Lula watches his movements.

Fires in the Mirror by Anna Deavere Smith

The play is a series of monologues attained from interviews Anna Deavere Smith did with people involved in the Crown Heights crisis. Each one is titled with the person’s name as well as a key phrase from each interview, which tries to sums up what that person was trying to say or an important aspect of their monologue. There are a total of 29 monologues in Fires in the Mirror and each one focuses on a different character’s opinion and point of view of the events and issues surrounding the crisis. Plot, as defined by David Rush in A Student Guide to Play Analysis, is “the deliberate selection and arrangement of the incidents that the playwright presents” (35). Throughout Fires in the Mirror, every monologue is referring to the same crisis and incidents surrounding, and while they do each have something in common, they are uniquely different. Fires in the Mirror does not follow the typical seven parts of a well made play. The seven parts include: a state of equilibrium, an inciting incident, a point of attack, the rising action, the climax, a resolution, and finally a new state of equilibrium. Instead, Fires in the Mirror is a collection of individual monologues, brought together by Anna Deavere Smith. And while there is no linear plot with developing characters throughout its entirety, there is some logic to how Smith lays out and clumps together the monologues.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Tennesse Williams

This is not technically an African American play, but in 2008 Debbie Allen got an all star cast of African American actors and flipped the script on this theatre classic.

Fucking A by Susan Lori Parks

The story centers around a woman named Hester Smith who works as an Abortionist. Her body was branded with the letter “A” so she can be disgraced with her occupation. Her son was sent to jail by the wife of the Mayor, so Hester is continually making small payments so she can see him and have a picnic with him. The play starts with Hester talking to her friend Canary Mary about her son and how’s she’s working hard to save up and also writing letters to him. Canary tells Hester about her relationship with the Mayor, and it turns out the Mayor has been cheating on his wife (who they call the First Lady), with Canary. To both of their delight, she also tells Hester how the First Lady isn’t able to bear a child and the Mayor’s ready to leave her. Canary is confident that the Mayor will choose her, while Hester is left daydreaming about the day she can see her son again. A couple scenes later Canary walks through a park and ends up meeting an escaped convict named Monster. She notices he has a scar on his arm, and after a few exchanged words she continues on her way. The scene changes to a bar where three hunters are spouting at each other about how each of them is going to be the one to catch Monster so they can get the bounty. Hester arrives at the bar to find Scribe, so he can write her a letter to send her son, but while there she meets another man named Butcher who takes a liking to her. Meanwhile, Monster meets a very emotionally broken First Lady in the park, they exchange some kind words, and in the end she asks if she can kiss him. He says yes, and they kiss. The next day Hester arrives home, and she is met by Monster who broke into her house. He robs her of some of her money and runs off, but Hester is relieved he didn’t take her other hidden money. The next day comes and Hester’s payments have finally added up to enough for her to have a picnic with her son. She sits at the prison waiting for him, getting all the food ready. The guard brings out a prisoner called Jail Bait and she’s ecstatic to finally have seen her son. She embraces him but he is more interested in the food than he is in her. She tries to get him to show her the scar she gave him on his arm when he was first taken away to prison, but he is too busy eating the food. Half way through the meal she finally finds out that Jail Bait is indeed not her son. He claims that he killed her son in prison, and upon finding this out Hester is frozen with shock. Jail Bait finishes eating and begins to rape Hester, but she is still too stunned to resist.

The next scene opens with the First Lady finding that she is in fact pregnant, but with Monster being the only feasible father, she wants to abort the child. In the meantime, Hester is bent on revenge against the First Lady for putting her son in prison in the first place. So she conjures up a plan with Canary and Butcher to kill the First Lady. The next day Canary and Butcher bring a very groggy First Lady to Hester’s house. Shortly thereafter, the First Lady is killed by Hester and Butcher and Canary leave. Just after they leave, Monster runs into the house because he’s being chased by the Hunters. Hester and Monster talk but after she sees the scar on his arm she knows that he is her son all along. The Hunters’ dogs bark in the distance but they become louder. Monster tells Hester that if he is caught they will not kill him but torture him mercilessly. He tells her to kill him, and at first she thinks he’s kidding. The dog barks get louder and the Hunters get nearer, and she finally decides that to save him from pain he must kill him. She goes to him and slits his throat like a pig, which is the least painful way. The Hunters enter and see that he is already dead, and although they are disappointed they still drag his body away because there is “still fun to be had” [3]. Hester stands alone in her house for an instant, but soon gets her abortion tools and goes into the other room to continue her work.

Livin' Fat by Judi Ann Mason

Here is a comedy for and about Blacks written by a talented Black writer. The Cooper family is poor but happy. Father Calvin supports them by holding down two jobs. Mama, a revivalist lady, also works as a cleaning woman. There's also Big Mama the grandmother, a teenage daughter and son David Lee, a recent college graduate who's had to take a job as bank janitor. While he's working, the bank's robbed by two white men in Batman masks. In their haste they drop a bundle, David picks it up, it's $50,000! So he buys presents for the family and uses some of it to give himself a new start and to get married. When the family finds out where the money came from, their scruples are tested but they finally agree that the Lord works in mysterious ways and this time he's working for them.

Jar the Floor by Cheryl L. West

A quartet of black women spanning four generations makes up this heartwarming dramatic comedy. The four, plus the white woman friend of the youngest, come together to celebrate the matriarch's ninetieth birthday. It's a wild party, one that is a lovable lunatic glance at the exhilarating challenge of growing old amidst the exasperating trials of growing up.

Crumbs From the Table of Joy by Lynn Nottage

Recently widowed Godfrey, and his daughters Ernestine and Ermina, move from Florida to Brooklyn for a better life. Not knowing how to parent, Godfrey turns to religion, and especially to Father Divine, for answers. The girls absorb their new surroundings, but not necessarily religion. Lily, Godfrey's sister-in-law, shows up from Harlem, having promised her sister that if anything ever happened, she'd look out for the girls. Lily, while fascinating to her nieces, stands for everything Godfrey dislikes: communism, sexual freedom and the fight against racial discrimination. As the racial and social issues of the late 1950s escalate, personal issues between Godfrey and Lily explode, prompting him to walk out. A few days later, he returns, with a new wife—a white, German immigrant, Gerte. With Godfrey immersed in religion, Lily claiming to be a part of the new revolution, and quiet, stoic Gerte coming from the horrors of Germany, life in the household gets heated. Ultimately, Lily must leave, seeing as she's neither Godfrey's wife nor the girls' mother. Godfrey and Gerte keep the family together as best they can, but nothing lasts forever. Ernie, about to graduate from high school, gets a job offer from her father, but it's not what she wants to do. Instead, as a young woman in the dawn of a new age, she sets off for Harlem in search of her spiritual mother, Lily, and all of the causes she supposedly stood for during the "revolution."

Streamers by David Rabe

Not a full African American production, but has strong roles for Males. I did a scene of this play in an acting class.

The last in his Vietnam War trilogy that began with The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel and Sticks and Bones, it focuses on the interactions and personal conflicts of a group of soldiers preparing to ship out to fight in the Southeast Asian conflict. Among them are middle class African American Roger, upper class Manhattanite Richie, who is struggling with his sexual orientation, conservative Wisconsin country boy Billy, and fearful loose cannon Carlyle, a streetwise black. In charge of their barracks are abrasive alcoholic Sgt. Cokes, who already has served overseas, and aggressive Sgt. Rooney, who is anxious to get into combat.

The Other Cinderella by The Black Ensemble Theatre (???)

In The Other Cinderella, Cinderella was born in the projects, the Brothers are from the hood, the Stepmama works at the post office, the Step-Sisters are ghetto fabulous and the Fairy Godmama is from Jamaica. In this Kindom everybody's got soul! The laughs are nonstop when the King declares that his son must find a wife.

Broke-ology by Nathan Louis Jackson

The King family has been experiencing broke-ology for some time, but things have gotten especially rough in recent years and even staying alive is getting to be an almost insurmountable challenge. Loving mother Sonia (April Yvette Thompson) died of cancer. Hardworking patriarch William (Wendell Pierce) has MS -- which is rapidly worsening. Son Ennis (Francois Battiste) works multiple jobs to support his wife and new baby.
When younger son Malcolm (Gaius Charles) returns from college for the summer, it is clear that the question of how to take care of Dad is going to put strains on all three King men, especially with Malcolm's hopes of going to graduate school.

The Brother Sister Plays (Trilogy) By: Tarell Alvin McCraney
Part 1: In The Red and Brown Water

Part 2: The Brothers Size

Part 3: Marcus: Or the Secret of Sweet

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When The Rainbow is Enuff By: Ntozake Shange.

Sty of the Blind Pig by Phillip Hayes Dean

The place is Chicago's south side and the time the 1950s, just before the civil rights movement began to burgeon. Alberta, unmarried and in her thirties, shares an apartment with her mother, Weedy, an old-fashioned black woman who finds solace for her troubles in religion. Their constant visitor is Uncle Do, a sporty, down-on-his-luck gambling man who is the despair of his strait-laced sister, Weedy. Then, unexpectedly, a wandering street singer, Blind Jordan, comes to their door, searching for a woman he once knew. The others are puzzled and even frightened by their visitor, but Alberta offers to help him in his quest, and when they are alone, all the emotional and sexual frustration struggling within her bursts forth in a scene of tremendous eloquence and power. Out of the unsettling nature of their encounter comes estrangement between mother and daughter, which subsides to an uneasy truce when Blind Jordan departs—leaving behind a disturbing awareness of much that has been lost or changed, and of much greater change still to come.

The Bow Wow Club By: Levy Lee Simon

The Bow Wow Club is a serious comedy about friendship, love, responsibility, and survival. Five teenage friends reunite after 20 year to reconnect emotionally and through discovery, revelation and realities, they are forced to choose between their stunning and fundamental differences or the undeniable power of their lifelong bond. Lee Simon’s riveting tale of what happened to The Bow Wow Club once they left the security of the streets, as insecure a place as one could imagine. It shows their hopes, their dreams, their disappointments, their successes and the surprising changes that took place in their lives as they found acceptance and compromise in the modern world to be as big an adversary as any rival gang they had faced in their prime.

Love In The Nick of Tyme

2009-11-20T23:29:00.009-06:00

Very excited to see some more work by David E. Talbert. He is an African American Author and film and playwright. His plays are under the genre of stage plays, but his plays are very well written and well crafted. I was very impressed with Love on Lay-away and He Say, She Say,But What Does God Say. Don't be fooled by those titles. They sound sketchy to the non stage play person, but those plays are really good.

Love In The Nick of Tyme stars veteran actor Morris Chestnut (Boyz N The Hood, The Wood, The Best Man) Treynece (Former American Idol Season 2 Contestant) and Terry Dexter (Recording Artist, she would sing Spend My Life With You with Eric Benet when Tamia wasn't available.)

I don't have my copy of the DVD yet, but I will and I'm looking foward to seeing it.

The Dream of the Marionettes'

2009-11-20T23:19:00.004-06:00

So I did something that I don't usually do. I took myself out. It was nice. I treated myself to a night of theatre. My friend Katrina (pictured above) is in a burlesque musical at Cite des Art called The Dream of the Marionettes. The show is about a group of marionette puppets who come to life and take control over their puppet master.

It was a good show. It was good to be back at Cite. And it was even better to see Theatre in Acadiana blooming. The show was completly sold out. I got there and Cite was packed. I had to be placed on a waiting list and was lucky to even see the show.

Now the people behind the show had it going on. They took over Cite. In the lobby there were belly dancers, the greeters were in costume, there was a tarot card reader. I did want to get my tarot card read, but I didn't get a chance to...I'm also fearful of what might be said. Maybe one day, if the oppurtunity presents itself again. Also there were many stops during the show, as part of the show where they collected money. Part of one of the songs, the girls start selling candy, literally. That's one hell of a way to make some cash. There was even a merchandise stand where you could buy postcards of the cast. I mean, The Dream of the Marionettes were on their grand hustle.

Be on the lookout for my friend Katrina's play. She will premeire her own original play at Cite des Art in June of 2010.

Plays By Brian Egland Spotlight: Precious

2009-11-19T18:10:00.001-06:00

This movie looks incredible. It looks like it has incredible performances. I ahven't seen it yet, but I plan on seeing it this weekend. I'm sure it is incredible. Not having even seen the movie yet, I'm inspired. I've seen the cast on the web adn on tv and they seem to be having an experience and it reminds me of me and my cast of The Birthday Dinner. That's how we felt. I understand them when they speak. I understand how they feel, to a certain degree. It inspires me because it leaves me thinking that maybe I could do what Lee Daniels is doing and I could be where Lee Daniels is at in his career one day.

What's Next?

2009-11-19T17:48:00.005-06:00

I don't know. The Birthday Dinner working out so well leaves me optimistic and leaves me confident. I could do a lot of things. I could do things with the play, but what will I do. I'm not sure yet. I'll keep you posted, but I am working on my next play......

The Christmas Dinner

This play is a continuation to The Birthday Dinner following Jeryline and her family again with a few new characters this time. Still working on. I'll keep updates available.

The Birthday Dinner: A Play By Brian Egland

2009-11-19T17:29:00.001-06:00

Wow! Can't really believe it happened. I did it. We did it. My cast and I. Man. Just thinking about the journey. Scraping floors at the applebee's. The reading of the play in which only two actors made it into the production. My time writing the script. Rehearsing in an Uncle Bob's Self Storage. The actual performance. When I think about it, it blows my mind.

The Production went so well. So well. It could have been a complete nightmare with the wheather and the time period that the show ran, but it everything worked. The show was greatly receieved. The actors were greatly received, and they did great work. I couldn't be more proud of what they did.

Now my mind is at What's next. That's another post. Right now, what is it now. A proud, proud dreamer.

Fletcher Hall

2009-10-14T15:03:00.001-05:00

The Birthday Dinner will be performed in Fletcher Hall's Auditorium.

The address of Fletcher Hall is:

421 E. Lewis St
Lafayette, Louisiana

The Birthday Dinner Trailer

2009-10-04T23:04:00.004-05:00

The trailer for The Birthday Dinner is finally finished. Very excited for everyone to see it. Many thanks to Jacob White and The Acadiana Open Channel for all their support and help. The trailer is clickable on the side bar to your right and on youtube.

Here is a direct link to the youtube video that is also on the sidebar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QLV--jkZ04

Introducing The Cast of The Birthday Dinner

2009-10-04T22:15:00.013-05:00

Very, very pleased to introduce my wonderfully amazing cast.

Jasmine Chapman – Jerýline Pete

Jasmine Chapman is a 22 year old native of Mamou, LA. She attends ULL and is both majoring and minoring in Biology and Chemistry, respectively. Hr stage credits include the productions of Crowns, Rosa’s Children, End of a Perfect Death, Jitney, Inspector Call, and Love Can’t Be Real. Jasmine plans to further her studies by enrolling into medical school and focusing her career towards dermatology.

Jasmine on Jerýline

“Jerýline is a very strong woman. The way she conducts her household is the epitome of a successful single-parent raised home. She is very grounded and rooted; the qualities that make Jerýline a rock that holds together and secure her family. Jerýline, even in the midst of troubled times, is able to step back and re-evaluate the situation and try alternate approaches to resolve the problem. She is completely opposite of me. In some instances, thinking of her character inhibits me from acting out my normal impulsive behavioral responses. I find myself thoroughly evaluating situations before I make decisions and before I speak. She is so humble and I wish I could be more like her. The way she eliminates stress in her life is really effective and less mind draining. However, one faulty characteristic of hers is that her method of absorbing and releasing stress is slightly disproportionate. She doesn’t seem to vent out enough, holding too much in, which could lead to a potential emotional breakdown. Overall, she’s awesome.”

Hunter Burke – Miles Zeeman

Hunter Burke is a 25 year old native of Broussard, LA. Graduating in the fall of 2007 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre from UL Lafayette, he has since been hard at work on a career in film. His stage credits include the UL productions Closer, The Laramie Project, The Boys Next Door, and Hamlet.

Hunter on Miles

“In my first introduction to the life of Miles Zeeman, I came to the conclusion that he is not that different from me and the company I keep. His personality, attitude toward others around him, and character traits were all similar to people I interact with on a day to day basis. I considered this an easy character to undertake. But soon I realized the difficulty in portraying someone so steeped in reality. It is much easier for me, to play someone furthest from the person that I am, because it involves very little personal risk and vulnerability on my part. It’s all an act. But when the “real me” was under the microscope, I found it harder to make convincing and believable choices because I was constantly questioning the validity of them in relation to reality. Everything else I have done has been so theatrical. For me, Miles Zeeman is the first time that I have portrayed a living breathing person, on the stage. Finding myself unable to do this, I just did my best Sylvester Stallone impression for Miles. Enjoy…”

Amandah Baker – Emma Osmond

Amandah Baker is a 21 year old native of Baton Rouge, LA. She is a Junior at UL Lafayette where she is majoring in Performing Arts with a concentration in Theatre. In high school Amandah was a part of the school’s production of A Raisin in the Sun. At UL Lafayette, she was a part of Rape: The End Starts Now. After college, Amandah plans to continue her studies on a graduate level and follow the opportunities as they unfold.

Amandah on Emma

“Emma is a young woman in the midst of finding herself and a reason why she is so lost. Her confusion and her feelings of being lost in life leave Emma longing with a relationship with her father. Digging deeper into it, Emma finds anger towards her mother needing a reason or someone to blame for the absence of her father in her life. Jerýline is the person Emma chooses to blame, because she is the closest to her.
I’ve had a wonderful time unfolding this character, Emma. There were times when it felt like it was easy to connect to Emma because we are alike in many ways. However, there were also challenges in getting to the heart of Emma. Overall, I have enjoyed everything about my character and the whole process of this show.”

Jeremy Drewery – Kaden “KC” Channing

Jeremy Drewery, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a student at UL Lafayette where he is a Performing Arts major with a concentration in Theatre. Jeremy acting credits include Baton Rouge Magnet High productions of High Style Heist, The Haunting of Hathaway House, and Commedia del Arte Style For the Love of Three Oranges. At UL Lafayette Jeremy performed in Rape: The End Starts Now!, a production for the Hearts of Hope Crisis Center of Lafayette. With great dreams come great things and Jeremy is young, talented, and eager for opportunities to unfold. He plans to continue growing in his craft and upon graduation Jeremy hopes to travel to New York to pursue a promising career.

Jeremy on KC

“Many times have we all wished we could step back into our childhood recreating great memories? Playing the character of Kaden “KC” Channing has allowed me to do that. Surprisingly, playing a 15 year was quite the challenge, but I loved every second of finding KC and myself in him. I am grateful to be a part of this production and communicating the message of change to the audience.”

Jamel Small – Boris Osmond

Jamel Small is a 22 year old native of Lafayette. He is a Junior at UL Lafayette where he is a communications major with a concentration in Broadcasting and a minor in Theatre. Jamel made his theatre debut at UL Lafayette in 2007. His stage credits include UL Lafayette’s productions of The Exonerated and Subway 12. Jamel was also cast in a local film, Caught In The Mix, Directed by Tony Livings. Jamel’s plans are to pursue a career in Television and Film.

Jamel on Boris

“Playing Boris, I found myself being, depressed at times. I became depressed when I discovered who Boris actually was, how he was brought up, and how what he went through prevented him from being a father figure. I found myself somewhat connected to Boris through my own personal experiences of growing up without my father present, as he did. All together, becoming Boris made me wiser as a person; making life altering decisions. Although I’m not a father in reality, Boris made me never want abandon my kids when I’m blessed with them.”

Kenny Gabriel – Guy Channing

Kenneth L Gabriel is a 22 year old resident of Rayne, LA. He is acclaimed in productions such as What’s done in the Dark and Love to Hate at the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center. He also appeared in Livin’ Fat and Fabulation: The Re-Education of Undine at Cite Des Arts and Rape: The End Starts Now at UL Lafayette. Attending UL Lafayette as a senior, Kenneth is a Theater major with a minor in Fashion Design. He is a member of Alpha Psi Omega, the Anthony Bean Community Theater in New Orleans, and Omni Artiste Production Company headed by Dr. Alexander Marshall. Upon graduation, Kenneth plans to continue his training and studies at the Mason Gross School of Performing Arts in New Jersey.

Kenny on Guy

“I feel good about Guy—comfortable and confident on playing him. My eyes have been opened by actually learning about him and growing with him. Tapping into a mirror-like world with real situations and relatable characters made transforming me into Guy much easier. Guy is a good guy, with a big heart and a big plan for himself. I like him because he was always hungry for more—never settling for what was in front of him. That became his tragic flaw in the end and he did lose out on someone who loved him more than he could imagine. I discovered Guy wasn’t afraid to follow his heart, but his insecurities placed many stumbling blocks in front of him. There is a plethora of things I can say about Guy, but the most essential truth about him (aside from his good looks :o)) was how genuine he was. He took all the opportunities that came to him, but he only used them for himself. Nonetheless, he was driven and was emotionally tied to whatever he did. He recognized and admitted his faults being very sincere through the whole process. I learned many things from Guy—I learned about humility, right vs. wrong, selflessness, and trust. He taught me that no matter what the situation, to address it with the utmost urgency and never to delay anything deemed important. I also learned that once you burn your bridges with some people, there is no going back to the world as it was before the problem began, thus remain honest and do what is right.
The most difficult thing I had to do was get into Guy’s heart and find what he ultimately wanted and needed. Trying to connect his heart to my own seemed near impossible, but in time it began to get easier. I’ve discovered that Guy, like everyone else, wants freedom. I feel the same way—I want to be freed from the shackles of societal stigmata and the guilt from mistakes that have been made in my life. Ultimately, aside from freedom, Guy wants atonement for something he knows can never be reversed, but he wants to at least try to change who he is for the better. Guy taught me to forgive and be forgiven, to love harder, be stronger, and embrace every moment good and bad moment of life because each moment shapes and molds us to be the dynamic individuals we are.”

Kristina Marshall - Judith Channing

Kristina Marshall is a senior majoring in Arts and Humanities at UL Lafayette. Her stage credits include UL’s productions of The Exonerated, Godspell, Medea, Auto DeFe, and Down Low. Kristina has also appeared in the productions of Insurrection: Holding History, The Apple Tree, and Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know. Most recently Kristina wrote and directed Rape: The End Starts Now!, a production that wrote for Hearts of Hope crisis center of Lafayette. Kristina plans to continue pursuing acting and music opportunities and use art as a means of changing the world.

Kristina on Judith

“Judith is a woman that is not easily figured out and is initially not easily tamed. Creating Judith has been a challenge and yet humbling experience. I hope that her strength and humorous approach to life and its situations are things that I will carry with me in my life.”

Allison Schilhab – Ava Stone

Allison Schilhab is an 18 year old resident of Lafayette. Allison is in her freshman semester at UL Lafayette where she is majoring in Performing Arts with a concentration in theatre. She was a member of the Lafayette Performing Arts Academy where she performed in Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Skin of Our Teeth, WASP, The Beggar’s Opera, and Twelfth Night. She also performed in the St. Mary’s players productions of Carousel and Fiddle on the Roof.

Allison on Ava

“When I first read for Ava, I felt at home immediately. I thought Ava would be just like all the other libido-driven roles I’ve played in the past. Much to my surprise, Ava revealed herself as a complex character with deep emotions and motivations and an air of immaturity that made her challenging to play. Ava is this amazingly confident model who takes comfort and pride in the fact that she always gets what she wants. However, throughout The Birthday Dinner, Ava’s comfort and pride are shaken by change and the reality of life we all must face. For Me, Ava brought out the confidence we are all afraid to show for fear of being thought of as egotistical. And yet, with such confidence being revealed, a certain insecurity surfaced. An insecurity that rears its head when uncomfortable changes begin. As humans we are habit driven creatures and run from change as quickly as possible. This is the lesson Ava taught me the most – that, sometimes, change is positive and beneficial. She made me realize that you can’t hold on to things that aren’t right for you just because they feel comfortable and safe. Change makes us who we are, and change makes Ava grow and mature.”

Thank You

2009-09-26T21:52:00.003-05:00

The Birthday Dinner had a very important day today and with the help of some super great people the day went amazingly and the stuff produced from this day should just add to the success of the show. So I want to say a big

THANK YOU

JACOB WHITE

AND

TYLER CHOATE

Thank You guys so much. You were great today. I appreciate you.

The Great Long Rehearsal

2009-09-21T00:31:00.004-05:00

Saturday, turned into this long rehearsal. It wasn't on the schedule, but I felt we needed a long day to just make sure we were in a good place due to changes and other goals we have to accomplish. Since my cast were not pre-warned about the long rehearsal day, I brought them lunch...well my dad brought them lunch. Little Caesars. Little Caesars is Pizza of convenience. It's good while it's hot, but more importantly it's cheap. I was able to feed my cast for under $40 bucks and that includes 4 Pizza, 3 orders of breadsticks, and 2 drinks. That's a steal. But hey no good deed comes unpunished. I do think they should take away that Pizza! Pizza! and change it to read, Little Caesars, Big Problems. That's an inside joke from me, to my cast.

So the rehearsal. We went from 10AM to 5PM. I know. Long. But my cast was amazing throughout the whole thing. We rehearsed. I'm seeing some really strong moments. I'm seeing some discoveries. I witnessing some people really nail things. And we laughed. I am having a good time with my cast, who in which I adore. They are great together. And it's not just laughing it's enjoyment. We are enjoying making our show. It's so cool to be apart of, to be in front it leading the way. Of course I see all that's ahead, so not everything is as enjoyable for me, but as long as they keep their spirits and continue working hard, it keeps me with so much drive to do what I do. On top of everything, we bonded. That's special. Here's to some more great rehearsals.

The Birthday Dinner Cast

2009-09-17T23:59:00.004-05:00

I just wanted to write short blurb. Tonight's rehearsals were our weekly Thursday solo work. It is really great to work with my cast one on one. Show them individual attention. And let them know it is okay. I think sometimes they need to hear it and they just need reaffirmation from me with no one being around. I really feel like this intimate rehearsal process brought about by the storage facility may be a huge key in the success of the show.

The other thing is that my cast is amazing. They inspire me to keep going and I love them for it.

The Birthday Dinner: Bringing It To Life

2009-09-13T23:42:00.002-05:00

It is completely amazing how my feelings toward my play, parallel maternal feelings. The Birthday Dinner is my baby. I worry about it constantly like a parent does a child, though the worry is not one of stress. I've carried it around with me as if it were a part of me. It's all I talk about, think about, and no matter what I'm doing, I'm also doing something with The Birthday Dinner. Even if I'm just thinking about it in the back of my mind.

Anyways....the rehearsal process has begun. It's all been such an interesting journey and this rehearsal process is no different. In just the first week, I feel like we accomplished a lot, though I feel like we haven't even reached the halfway mark of our journey. We have a lot of work to do. The actual rehearsal space provides us challeneges in blocking the play. It's also rather hot at times in that storage facility, but hey....at least we have a place to rehearse cause at one time we didn't.

I feel that my cast has so much potential and I don't want to let them down as their director. I want to help lead them to the promise land. The rehearsals have been really intimate. I think overall it is, and will prove to be a good thing because The Birthday Dinner has so, so many moments and if those moments are not made, the play can become lost. Moments come in so many different ways too, and I've been trying my best to make sure I make all of them happen.

Outside of getting the cast together to act out the play, I feel like I am a one man army trying to get this play off the ground. In a sense...I am? Costumes, props, marketing, organizing, etc...right now I'm doing it all. I almost feel like I have to, but that's just how I am. I've always been like that. There's going to come a point when I have to rely on others, I'm just hoping that there will be others and they can be relied on.

ANNOUCEMENT!!!! THE BIRTHDAY DINNER CAST

2009-09-02T18:54:00.008-05:00

The Birthday Dinner

Cast List

Jasmine Chapman…………………………………………Jerýline Pete
Amandah Baker………………………………………...Emma Osmond
Jeremy Drewery…………………………………Kaden “KC” Channing
Tylor Clark…………………………………...Miles “Mr. Zee” Zeeman
Jamel Small……………………………………………….Boris Osmond
Kenny Gabriel…………………………………………….Guy Channing
Kristina Marshall………………………………………Judith Channing
Allison Schilhab………………………………………………..Ava Stone

Tough decisions had to be made, but ........... It's really happening! I'm excited.

The Birthday Dinner Reading!

2009-09-02T18:38:00.007-05:00

I've been working on The Birthday Dinner for a long time now. A year ago, I had the first reading of the first version of the play. It was one of the best days of my life and that reading help me and inspired to continue pursue my dream to have this play become a production. Now that it is happening I would like to share pics from the day.

The Reading Cast of The Birthday Dinner

Derick Turner (KC), Jamel Small (Guy), Brionnie Andrews (Emma), Jasmine Chapman (Jerýline), Me, Kristina Marshall (Judith), Brandon Norman (Boris), Emanuel Segura (Miles)

Jerýline and Her Children

Brionnie Andrews (Emma), Jasmine Chapman (Jerýline), Derick Turner (KC)

The Men

Brandon Norman (Boris), Emanuel Segura (Miles), Jamel Small (Guy)

The Birthday Dinner AUDITIONS!!!

2009-08-31T04:12:00.002-05:00

The time has come. After such a long time, The Birthday Dinner Auditions are only hours away. It's 4AM right now and I'm up away doing work. There has been so much going on that I have been completly consumed. Everything, everyhting that it is taking for me to get to this point and to the eventual show, is is an experience that I need and is making me feel like "I'm stronger than it is hard."

Plays By Brian Egland - The Singer Part

2009-08-22T16:54:00.004-05:00

So in the title description it deffinetly says aspiring singer though the title of the blog is Plays By Brian Egland. I know that favors more of theatre, acting, writing, and the singer part can be assumed to be singing in musicals....which is not exactly me. So let me introduce to you Brian Egland the aspiring singer.

Hi! Long Before theatre and acting and plays...there was music. Singing is my first love, but unfortunatly it is not something that I have much oppurtunity to do as of this moment, and it's not something that I view as a door opener for me as of this moment.

Once I discovered acting, oppurtunities started to fall from the sky allowing me to move foward and possibly turn the oppurtunites into something tangible.

Now, there is singing in the realm of theatre. MUSICALS! Currently I've never been in a musical as an actor/singer, but I have been in a production of Grease as a dancer??? Notice that in the title it does not say aspiring dancer.

Music to me is very personal, so my musical aspirations revole around Brian Egland and not Brian Egland as a character which is why I weary around from the idea of musicals sometimes. I fell in love with music, writing songs from my personal experiences, singing those songs and expressing these hidden emotions I just could never release or express deeply enough through normal speech. I love that. It is the true love at the core of my heart because it is so personal.

Theatre and acting is the other love of my life, but it's not the same though it is art, it is perosnal, and it is expressive. I think the difference between let's say me writing a song and writing a play is what makes it all make sense. Each are my own words, my own thoughts, my creativity, and in a sense my own story, but the songs and the music are the story of me...and that hits a different place of my heart. I don't get that same "thing" from musicals because most leave me feeling like it's not as personal. Now of course musicals come in all sorts of fashions, and have many different goals and objectives. Some are not suppose to be "personal." But I don't hate musicals or the idea of singing/acting because...I love to sing so any way or method of singing is an opprtunity to express myself in a way I can't through ordinary life or regular comunication.

Another valid point to restate is that I've never been in a musical. Maybe being in one could change my mind...however I have performed a musical selection. I've been taking Vocal Lessons with the head of music department, Mr. Shawn Roy, and we study musicals. The second song I learned was It Ain't Necessarily So from the African American Musical, Porgy and Bess. Like I said, the theatre thing just creates oppurtunities. Continuing it's creation, Porgy and Bess is one of the shows PASA is bringing to The Heyman Performing Arts Center for it's season. To celebrate the season PASA held a party, Lafayette Social Life kid of thing, and had performances from the msuical to add a certain zest to the evening. I was one the performers. I had a good time performing and I did just that. I really got into it. Anyways, found some links online briefly describing the evening.

The Advertiser

PASA Party

Summertime, and the livin' is easy — particularly chez Dr. Jay. Culotta hosted a summer-themed party à la Porgy and Bess for invited guests, and treated them to mint juleps, music and lots of white linen. The opera is scheduled as part of the 2009-2010 performance series, and Brian Egland, Rafael Henry and Sasha Massey sang for their supper and potential season ticket holders.
http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=LGALLERIES

The Independent

In mid June PASA held a party at the lovely home of board member and host with the most, Dr. Jay Culotta. The party celebrated Porgy and Bess, George and Ira Gershwin’s American folk opera appearing on the upcoming PASA performance series. Invited guests donned their finest white linen and lounged and mingled at draped tables on the beautifully decorated lawn. The party was a fun way for PASA to introduce the series to the guests in a more intimate environment, as well as an opportunity for them to become new series ticket holders. Soprano Sasha Massey, tenor Brian Egland and baritone Rafael Henry were accompanied by pianist Marcus McCullough as they performed selections from Porgy and Bess to the delight of everyone in attendance. Guests then spent the rest of the party treated to delightful fare, delicious mint juleps, and of course lots of great music.
Party On!

http://www.theind.com/content/view/4713/1/

While the advertiser reiterated the starving artist I am (and literally cause I'm currently starving) the independent said I was a tenor. That surprised me. I consider myself more of a baritone, but I may indeed be a tenor just a very lazy one. I feel more comfortable in lower register.

But to close, I'm an R&B singer mostly, but I love playing with different genres. I have my own voice and my own style and sound. People say I sound like Brian McKnight, but I truly truly think they say that solely because of the connection of our names. I have songs recorded that I think are great and could be hit singles, but they are just demos and not qulaity enough for me to put online or want to share them with an audience. So for now and probably for awhile I will keep it to myself and I'm okay with that because I listen to my songs and it's like reading a diary. In moments of complete solitude it comforts me and keeping it to myself is something I'm okay with because of that.

Thanks-a-Million

2009-08-20T15:23:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to make a post thanking people for early on support of me, Plays By Brian Egland, and The Birthday Dinner. Firstup...

During the Salute Your Shorts Festival, I got a message on facebook event wall from someone from CajunFun.com saying that they were adding the event to their website. It was very random, but totally appreciated. If you haven't checked out CajunFun.com you should. It has listings of a lot of things going on in Acadiana area from nightlife, to family evets, to art events. Check out. Next Up!

Acadiana Theatre Blog

Acadiana Theatre BlogYesterday, I got e-mail from a good friend of mine and fellow actor's mom, Marie Delahoussaye-Diaz. Ms. Marie runs the Acadaian Theare Blog and snet me an e-mailing asking if she could put information about my show on her blog. Her blog is awesome and it is full of local theatre evernts and notices. It's a great resource for local theatre and I am very appreciative of the support from Ms. Marie and her blog. If you haven't checked the blog, please do so. It's very cool. Here's the address. http://acadianatheatrehappenings.blogspot.com/

Spoken Red Entertainment

Corey Frank is the CEO of Spoken Red Entertainment. We were also in the second run of Love Can't Be Real, an Original Play by Nyetta Faye Meaux that was performed at Cite Des Art. Mr. Frank has been very supportive and has offered the services of Spoken Red Entertainment. I appreciate it. Check out http://www.spokenred.net/index.html for more information about Spoken Red Entertainment.

Plays By Brian Egland's 1st Follower

I know blogger is not twitter. Not everyone has a blogger account to become a follower, (maybe I should get a twitter?) but anyway, we have our first follower, my good friend Kelly. Thank you Kelly.

Mae Jason Chapman

Thank You Ms. Mae. You might know this name. Miss Mae is the organizer of the local meetup group for film, tlelvision, and theatre that meets at the AOC monthly (I believe). Ms. Mae's an actress, a teacher, a playwright, and the list just keeps going on and on. She's also a mother...she gave birth to one of my best friends, Jasmine, and we thank her for that too. Ms. Mae is one of those people who is doing her part ot help improve the arts in Louisiana. She sent out audition notice to people and I've gotten response and I appreicate it.

Me and Ms. Mae backstage for the 1st round of Love Can't Be Real

To everyone thank you very much. Thanks-a-million. I appreciate it, your help, your support. Thank You.

The Birthday Dinner: MISSION POSSIBLE!!!!

2009-08-17T17:58:00.003-05:00

Now that Salute Your Shorts is over The Birthday Dinner is in full force. I have my work cut out ahead of me. But this mission is very much possible. The first thing on the list....AUDITIONS!!! So let me repost the audition information just in case.

AUDITION NOTICE FOR

The Birthday Dinner: A Play By Brian Egland

Monday, August 31, 2009@ 6PM in McLaurin Hall (ULL Campus)

104 Boucher Dr. Lafayette, LA 70504

4 Men 4 Women

LIST OF CHARACTERS

• Jerýline Pete – Main Character/40 years old

• Emma Osmond - Jerýline’s Daughter/18 years old

• Kaden “KC” Channing – Jerýline’s Son/15 years old

• Miles “Mr. Zee” Zeeman – KC’s Teacher/Late 30’s

• Boris Osmond – Emma’s Father/Photographer/Late 40’s Early 50’s

• Guy Channing – KC’s Father/Jerýline’s Ex-Husband/Soap Opera Actor/Early 40’s

• Judith Channing – Guy’s Wife, Jerýline’s Half Sister/35 years old

• Ava – Miles’ girlfriend/21 years old

The Birthday Dinner is a story that follows a family with a few missing pieces. Those pieces are brought back to complete the puzzle of a family only to find that the picture has changed and the pieces don’t fit the puzzle the way they once did. Laughs, tears, and everything in between arise in the attempt to place the pieces back into the picture and with the addition of a few extra pieces to make the picture complete.

Also in search of a Stage Manager and other Technical Crew!!!

***To audition have a one minute monologue ready to go, and a headshot and resume (if you have one). Also be prepared to read from the script individually and with someone else.***

Show dates are October 29, 30, & 31

For More InformationVisit:

http://playsbybrianegland.blogspot.com/

Or Contact

Brian Egland @ bboy7677@yahoo.com

337-278-0852

Take A Bow

2009-08-17T17:32:00.006-05:00

Salute Your Shorts had its final show Sunday. The festival went very well with all things considering. I'm happy Alpha Psi Omega was finally able to have an event that involved theatre and performance. I didn't get any pics from the performances. The festival was also not taped, so it lives only in the memories of those who performed it and those who were there to witness it. What I do have or cast pictures.

The Cast of Coping: A Short Play By Brian Egland

George Silvertooth and Me

The Cast of A WIndow In The Kitchen: A Short Play By Brian Egland

Samantha Riley (Linda), Me (William), & Ashley Brown (Jessica)

I am really proud of the work of all of the actors. Guys, take a bow. Thank you. Also thank you to the other casts, directors, and crew in the festival. Thanks to everyone who came to see the show, wanted to see the show, but couldn't, and those who just offered their support the best way the could. I appreciate you.

Plays by Brian Egland Is Going To Be On The News!

2009-08-10T15:06:00.002-05:00

TUNE INTO KATC TV 3 Thursday August 13, @ 5:30ish AM to see me on TV! Okay or Tivo it. I will be on along side Josh Cohen who is also a director for Salute Your Shorts, the short play festival sponsored by Alpha Psi Omega.

Nathanel Trahan and David Huynh will be on KLFY TV 10, Thursday August 13, @ 6:30ish AM.

Coping: A Play By Brian Egland UPDATE!!!

2009-08-10T14:57:00.003-05:00

I haven't updated the blog it what seems and may very well be a long time, but I have been extremely busy juggling the three plays I'm involved in right now, which leads me into the news I had to blog about.

I have some sad news. Unfortunately Brionnie Andrews had to leave the cast of Coping as of yesterday, Sunday. The show begins Friday, so action had to be made quickly and I am pleased to announce the newest cast member to coping..............Me. lol. Sometimes you just have to do it yourself. Now I will not be doing Brionnie's part in drag, I actually rewrote the script to fit the situation. The rewriting process was fun. Coping isn't the same play anymore. It is a concpet piece so the concept is still there, but it's different. I havent had a chance to rehearse it with George yet to see if I'm truly finished with the rewrite, but as of ten minutes ago I pressed save and I feel like I'm making the best of what could have been a nightmare for me. The theatre is live people.

Salute Your Shorts: A Festival of Short Plays UPDATE!!!

2009-08-03T17:55:00.004-05:00

The show dates are Agust 14th, 15th @ 7PM and August 16th at 2:30PM.

The event will be held at the Acandian Open Channel in downtown Lafayette. (704 Lee Ave.)

There is a suggested donation of $10 for admission into the show.

A Window In The Kitchen: A Play By Brian Egland UPDATE!!!

2009-08-03T17:47:00.005-05:00

I am pleased to annouce the cast for A Window in the Kitchen: A Play By Brian Egland that will be featured in the Alpha Psi Omega sponsored short play festival, Salute Your Shorts, August 14th through 16th.

The Cast is

Ashley Brown

Samantha Riley

and

Myself, Brian Egland (as of this point)

Plays by Brian Egland Is STRESSED I TELL YOU, STRESSED!!!!

2009-07-29T13:09:00.008-05:00

So back to reality. The Birthday Dinner: A Play By Brian Egland has a huge and I mean HUGE road block I am seeing ahead of the path of its success. That roadblock is REHEARSAL SPACE!!!!

(Gasp, Gasp, Gasp)

No! Seriously. It's becoming a bit of a problem. I'm starting to stress. With the mainstage show and the many dance pieces that make up State of La Danse, the annual ULL Dance show, there is no space in McLaurin Hall for The Birthday Dinner to rehearse.

I've thought of everything I could think of, but nothing really seems to be a viable option. I looked into recreation centers, but those aren't free. lol. I honestly can't afford to rent a space and pay per rehearsal. The Birthday Dinner is going to be a free show, and I'm planning on going to Grad School...so I'm not trying to go broke before I graduate.

I've thought about the A.O.C which is my strongest option. The flaw is that the A.O.C is not open on the weekends. I also need to have a regular rehearsal schedule and I'm not sure if I can just take over the A.O.C like that.

The only other thing I can think about is renting a storgae facility. I hope it does not come down to it, but it seems like it could be my only option. I would be able to physically store all the things I would need for rehersal there. It would be my space so I wouldn't have to worry about being out of rehearsal at this time or that. I could probably afford it, since there are monthly rate options. Some are climate controlled (and I'm hoping that means fisable to have 10 people in at a given time and not pass the hell out.) lol. It could work...I think...I'm not sure if it is allowed. I probably should say I got the idea from some friends of mine that were in a band in high school. I remember them saying that they rented a storage building and rehearsed in it. Amazing what the brain remembers.

Anyone have any better ideas????

Plays by Brian Egland Spotlight: POLLY!!!

2009-07-29T12:47:00.004-05:00

So I want to start off today with something good. I want to give a spotlight to what was probably my favorite movie or at least one of them as a kid......POLLY. This was a Disney TV movie made in 1989 and starred Keshia Knight Pulliam (Rudy of The Cosby Show), Brandon Adams (90's Childstar, he was in The Sandlot!!!), Phylicia Rashad (The Cosby Show and the first African American Woman to a Tony for best performance by a leading actress in a play for her work in A Raisin in the Sun), Vanessa Bell Calloway (She was Akeem's first bride in Coming to America. The one that barked. lol), and to top it off it was directed by Debbie Allen who happens to be an actress, dancer, choreographer, and Phylicia Rashad's sister.

What I didn't realize when I was a kid was how special this movie is. It is very rare to see an African American TV movie musical......and a good one that has amazing DANCING!!! Before there was high school musical, there was Polly. The DVD is available, but it is rare so a copy will cost. I'm still searching for my tape. I know I have a VCR tape of this somewhere. I know VCR...for those who may not know that is the tool that was used before Blu-ray and DVD to watch a movie. lol. I do not miss those days of rewinding.

The song is called Angel Eyes.

A Window In The Kitchen: A Play By Brian Egland

2009-07-28T17:22:00.001-05:00

A Window In the Kitchen; A Short Play by Brian Egland and one of two plays being featured in the Alpha Psi Omega sponsored short play festival, Salute Your Shorts is still in need of A female actress. The festival is August 14, 15, and 16. Let me know if you are interested. I can't pay you, but hey I can feed you once it's all done with. lol.

Adios Mr. Bates

2009-07-28T17:12:00.000-05:00

It is only right to give mention to my acting teacher, Mr. Bates (not the guy in the picture btw), on my blog. He is going to teach at a different University next semester. Mr. Bates is really important to me and this blog, not only because he was my advisor and my acting teacher, but I do believe that The Birthday Dinner would not have happen without him. He literally took me under his wings, taught me how to fly, given me the oppurtunity to fly on my own now that he's leaving. For that I say....

Thank You Mr. Justin Bates.

Worker Bee's

2009-07-28T16:46:00.000-05:00

Okay, so this summer I took on a job at the local Applebee's to save money for The Birthday Dinner. It was my first time working as a waiter. I have friends who are servers in the food industry at various restaurants, and they all say once they got the job they had a lot more respect for servers. I am the same. Waiting on a table, being a server is a really hard job. It may not look like it, but it is. It is fast paced, it is time consuming, it is uncertain, it is a gamble. I would go from 10 AM to 5 or 6 PM without a break, without food, sometimes without stopping to get water, and never stopping to use the restroom. Doing this all from $2.13 an hour. I never worked so hard for such little pay. It is crazy.

I'm a little weird about my view of tips. The way the food industry is set up, we are employed by the restaurant, but we are really paid by the patrons. I don't think it is the patrons responsibilty to pay me as they do not know me or employ me. It is their sole responsiblity to pay for their food. That being said.....the person that has brought you your food has made a short journey to hell and back to bring it to you....so a tip is the least you could do. The patron has made a decision to go to a restaurant and whenever anyone makes a deccision to go to a sit down restaurant know that you made a choice not to go to a fast food restaurant so your food may not come all that fast, know that the server literally only brings out the food and has gone through a lot to get it out, and reward them. If you do not want to wait on food or tip someone for bringing it to you, then don't go to a restaurant. Honestly.

That being said, I am no longer a waiter. Not for those reasons. The Birthday Dinner is slowly approaching and I really want to focus on it and make it the best show I can. That is going to take me a lot of work so I had to leave Applebee's because that also took alot of work and time that I cannot sacrifice at this point. I was able to leave Applebee's having doubled my budget for The Birthday Dinner and feeling really rpoud of myself for working hard despite it all. My bosses told me they were sad I was leaving and told me I can come back anytime I want to. Literally. If I want to work for a day. I can. That's good to know, as I may need money and may only have a day to work. But it's also good to know when your hard work is appreciated. I plan on working just as hard and harder for The Birthday Dinner and I hope to have this same feeling of appreciation once everything is all said and done.

The Birthday Dinner Artwork!!!!

2009-07-28T16:36:00.000-05:00

Now of course this is not the artwork for my show. At the end of last semester I approached a good friend, former dorm neighbor, and great artist Toren Hill to do the atwork for The Birthday Dinner cause he was probably one of the first people I told about the play. The idea for the play came to me while taking a shower in the dorm that both Toren and myself lived in so he was one of the first people I told about the idea cause he was next door. Toren is a busy man...he is a working artist now so he would try to, but suggested I get someone else just in case.

I then asked my good friend and fellow theatre major Amanda Lyon to also do artwork for the show as she herself is not only an artist of the stage but a visual artist as well. Today Amanda e-mailed her artwork and it blew me away. It's like my baby has a face. Seeing the sonogram that is so detailed you can almost see your baby. Now all that's left is to see it with my own eyes. The artwork is amazing. It has the right feel for my show.

Strangely enough the day Amanda sends the artwork, Toren sends a message....his plate finally cleared and he can start work on artwork for The Birthday Dinner. I am very pleased and happy and thrilled with Amanda's work and I'm excited to see what Toren will do as well.

I wish I could post Amanda's artwork to blow you away as it did me, but we'll save that for later. All good things come with time.

The Birthday Dinner: A Play By Brian Egland AUDITION NOTICE!!!

2009-07-21T21:13:00.000-05:00

I still need to work out a few kinks with the auditions for The Birthday Dinner. That being said, Auditions are Thursday August 27, 2009 at 6PM in McLarin Hall room 104.

Technically these are the auditions for Noises Off the mainstage ULL fall 'o9 production being directed by Mr. Nyalls Hartman. Myself and the other student director, Katie Lamson, are sitting in on the Auditions to save on time since all majors are required to audition. If there are any non majors who would like to audition for Noises Off, you are welcomed. Callbacks for Noises Off will be Friday August 26 at 6PM and Saturday August 29 at 1PM.

Callbacks for The Birthday Dinner will be Monday August 31 at 6PM in McLaurin Hall.

For the people who are particularly interested in working with me and being apart of The Birthday Dinner, and you're not a major in performing arts at ULL....I need to check to see if there is a way you would be able to audition for The Birthday Dinner exclusively. I am thinking the callbacks would be a great oppurtunity for this, but I can't official give the word. So check back and I'll post once I know something.

To audition for any of the productions, have a one minute monologue ready to go, and a headshot and resume (if you have one). Also be prepared to read from the script individually and with someone else.

The Birthday Dinner is a 4 Men 4 Women play and here are the character details.

· Jerýline Pete – Main Character/40 years old
· Emma Osmond - Jerýline’s Daughter/18 years old
· Kaden “KC” Channing – Jerýline’s Son/15 years old
· Miles “Mr. Zee” Zeeman – KC’s Teacher/Late 30’s
· Boris Osmond – Emma’s Father/Photographer/Late 40’s Early 50’s
· Guy Channing – KC’s Father/Jerýline’s Ex-Husband/Soap Opera Actor/Early 40’s
· Judith Channing – Guy’s Wife, Jerýline’s Half Sister/35 years old
· Ava – Miles’ girlfriend/21 years old

Plays by Brian Egland Spotlight: SARAH JONES

2009-07-19T13:25:00.000-05:00

Sarah Jones is a Tony Award winning performing and huge inspriation to me as an artist. I feel it is only right to give her a Spotlight on my blog. The video features clips from Sarah performing her poem, Your Revolution, on HBO'S Def Poetry, and scenes from her Tony Award wining One Woman Show Bridge and Tunnel. BTW, I made the video...I'm not bragging about it though cause it might be out of synch.

Coping: A Play By Brian Egland UPDATE!!!

2009-07-19T13:12:00.000-05:00

Brionnie Andrews and George Silvertooth have joined the cast of Coping: A Play by Brian Egland. They will perform August 14, 15, 16 as a part of the Alpha Psi Omega Sponsored short play festival, Salute Your Shorts.

Coping is a play about two strangers ways of coping with the internal pain they feel.

The Birthday Dinner: A Play By Brian Egland UPDATE!!!!

2009-07-14T23:44:00.001-05:00

So we offically have a date for The Birthday Dinner. You can expect to see the show Oct. 29th through the 31st in Fletcher Hall Auditorium. Yes we got the Halloween weekend. Is that good? Maybe? We'll make it work.

A Window In The Kitchen: A Play By Brian Egland

2009-07-12T18:54:00.000-05:00

A Window In The Kicthen is the 2nd play that I am scheduled to direct for the short play festival, Salute Your Shorts.

Ragin' On The Stage

2009-07-12T14:30:00.000-05:00

A year ago, in the summer of '08, I wrote a series of skits called Ragin' On the Stage for ULL's Student Orientation performed by the Student Oreintation Staff. Ragin On the Stage was the highest rated program from the 'o8 ULL Orientation program receiving an 80% satisfactory rating from the student surveys.

The Birthday Dinner: A Play By Brian Egland

2009-07-12T14:15:00.000-05:00

4 Men 4 Women

The Birthday Dinner is my first full lenght play. It will premiere in the Fall of '09 serving as my Senior Project in completion of my BFA in Performing Arts from the University of Louisiana, Lafayette. I don't have many details at this moment, but information will be posted once I get it.

The Birthday Dinner is a story that follows a family with a few missing pieces. Those pieces are brought back to complete the puzzle of a family only to find that the picture has changed and the pieces don’t fit the puzzle the way they once did. Laughs, tears, and everything in between arise in the attempt to place the pieces back into the picture and with the addition of a few extra pieces to make the picture complete.

Coping: A Play By Brian Egland

2009-07-12T14:12:00.000-05:00

Coping will be one of the plays featured in Salute Your Shorts: A Festival of Short Plays.

Salute Your Shorts: A Festival of Short Plays

2009-07-12T13:20:00.000-05:00

The Univeristy of Louisiana Lafayette's Alpha Psi Omega (The National Theatre Honor Society) is sponsoring a festival of short plays, Salute Your Shorts. The performance dates will be August 14, 15, and 16 at the A.O.C. building in downtown Lafayette. Acadiana Open Channel A.K.A. Acadiana Film and Media, 124 E Main St.

The three directors who will be presenting work are Joshua Coen, David Huynh, and myself, Brian Egland.

The festival is still looking for actors at this time. So if you are interested, let me know.