Suit Up!

Return to the Windy City

cwsreddy — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 01:54:22 +0000

Yeah, except it’s been gorgeous here. Today was finally november-esque, but for the last week it’s been mid to high 60s. Unreal. Not that I mind it too much.

But yes, I’m back in Chicago returning to Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre for A CHRISTMAS CAROL. About half the cast is the same as last year, including Bill Dick as Scrooge, and it’s been great working with them all again. I’m doing the same track as I did last year, but this time ALSO playing the coveted role of Turkey Boy. Lemme tell ya, best role in the show bar none. It’s funny though – I’m adding a role (total of 4 now) but my show is actually LESS hectic than last year, because I’m not used on nearly as many set changes. Fantastic.

It’s been fun seeing my Chicago friends, eating my Chicago style pizza from Art of Pizza (best in the city!), and getting my Panera every morning before rehearsal. All things New York lacks. Though on the flip side, I’m finding Chicago a little boring in comparison. Don’t get me wrong – I love Chicago, but being back here is pretty much validation that I made the right decision. There’s just so much more energy in NY. So much more going on. I’m having a good time out here, but I really can’t wait to be back. Oh, and there’s the driving thing… I love driving and I missed it in New York. But damn, the hour commute both ways just to do an hour long kids show can take a toll on a person! Haha. And really, getting anywhere in Chicago is a lot more of a pain in the ass than it is in NY, even with the MTA being a nightmare.

Anyway, lets see… what else… The reading of THE BOWERY BOYS went great. It was a blast working with all those people and revisiting the show, albeit from the perspective of a different character. I think we did a great job highlighting what the show could be if picked up by one of the 650-odd producers who saw it. I mean, it sounded sick. (In a good way!) There was a lot of talent up on that stage. Speaking of which, we performed on the set of Avenue Q, so that was kind of fun too. But I can’t say enough how grateful I am to have been a part of this show to this point, and thanks to David, Jeremy, Aaron, and in this production, Dom and Brad for giving me the opportunity!

Down the line, just have some Classical Kids gigs coming up – three in January – which is great because I can delay getting a real person job until February! Score. Indiana and Buffalo are the less exciting ones, with Vancouver the headliner. Can’t wait to see that city. We’re only there for a couple days, but hopefully we’ll get to have some fun exploring at least a little bit.

Oh! Last but not least, my brother Greg just got a play of his accepted into a One Act Festival produced by The Riant Theatre in NYC! I’m really excited for him. Between this and his internship at New York Theatre Workshop – things seem to be going pretty well for him too! Guess leaving Iowa was a good choice…

How am I so bad at this?

cwsreddy — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 17:02:49 +0000

Updating a blog that is… damn. I feel like “oh hey, I haven’t updated the blog in a while, I should do that.” I look, and it’s actually been over two months. What? … oh well. Lot’s to tell.

TOGETHER THIS TIME went great. It was an amazing production to be a part of. The music was fun, the people were cool, and getting to perform in such a storied theater as the Lucille Lortel was an honor. Safe to say though, skateboarding (which I had to “do” in the show) won’t be going on my ‘special skills’ list any time soon. Thanks to everyone involved. It was really a blast. But, as with everything, it ends and you’re left thinking… now what?

Well first, I left Planet Hollywood. Thank god. It was awful – long hours, little money, breaking my back… not worth it. So NOW I’m working at Eataly – a venture headlined by Mario Batali and Joe and Lydia Bastianich. Yeah not too shabby. Bobby Flay even stopped by last week. It’s quite the experience though, so if you have the cash (little pricey) you should stop on down to 23rd and 5th and get a taste of… Eataly. Get it? See what they did there? Brilliance.

Some more exciting news: I’m going back to the Bowery! THE BOWERY BOYS, by David H. Bell, Jeremy Cohen and Aaron Thielen, is coming to New York! I was involved with the world premiere production at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire a couple years back, and now a reading is being put up at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s (NAMT) Festival for New Musicals. The Festival has been a launching point for countless other musicals to receive further productions, including shows that moved to Broadway, like THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE. It’s essentially a chance for the writers to sell the show to an audience of industry members, and I’m so excited that I was asked to be involved. In the original production I played the role of Paolucci, but for the reading I’m going to be reading Mickey McGuire – the antagonist amongst the boys. Should be fun!

I’m also going BACK TO CHICAGO (!!!) for the holiday season to reprise my role as Peter/Dick/Ghost of Christmas Future in A CHRISTMAS CAROL at Drury Lane Oakbrook. I can’t wait to be back in the Chi. I love it during the holidays. All lit up and pretty like. Speaking of which I should probably change the backdrop of this blog… seeing as how I no longer live there… eh. Maybe someday. (meaning I’ll never get around to it)

Aaaand lastly, in a couple days I’m heading down to DC to see my friend Greg Maheu in CHESS at the Signature Theatre. Hope he doesn’t suck.

It’s Hot. Seriously…hot.

cwsreddy — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:08:32 +0000

Yeah it’s been hot. Y’all know it. But hey, who doesn’t love sweating through a shirt 4 times a day? Oh… wait, you mean other people have normally productive sweat glands? I wish I knew what that was like. And I bet you wish you didn’t know that. Well too bad – I’m a sweaty person.

ANYWAY…… It’s been an exciting couple weeks out here in the NYC. Exciting and busy and overwhelming. I’m apartment hunting, which is always a blast. I think I’ve found a place up on 181st but just waiting for things to get approved/finalized/etc. I’m stoked about having my own place so I can stop subletting. That said, my roomies for the past 3 months have been really great and I really couldn’t have asked for a better place to crash while I got settled. I also have officially started as a server at Planet Hollywood. That’s right – super corporate, super touristy, and potentially super money. A tad better than the job I had at Argo Tea making $8/hr… in New York… yeah that doesn’t fly. Alright, alright, but all this is boring stuff. Here’s the excitement:

1) I’m taking part in a cabaret on August 24th produced by Seth Bisen-Hersh at Don’t Tell Mama, a piano bar/theater space. I’m doing a quick little set but y’all should come out! It’s sure to be a good time.

2) For all of you who think mass agent mailings and self-submissions don’t work, you’re wrong. They do. I’ve gotten Bway auditions, Off-Bway auditions, and yesterday, I had an audition for an agent who responded to my mailings. It WORKS y’all. So take the time, make the effort, and do it! And the audition yesterday went very well – despite the 4 hours of sleep, no rehearsal with my accompanist (we had to bring our own), work keeping me late, and battling a sinus infection – I killed it. So we’ll see.

3) And this is the big one – I’m excited to announce that I’ll be appearing in Together This Time, a new rock musical performing at the Lucille Lortel Theater as part of the 2010 NYC Fringe Festival. I’m playing the role of Jamie, and the show runs August 18th – 26th. I’m so excited to start working on another project so quickly. Like I said, moving to New York has been a great, great experience so far and I’m very grateful for the amazing opportunities I’ve had in the short time I’ve been here. I’m sure the well will dry up – it always does – but I’m enjoying the ride for now! More information will follow!

Going Down a Different Road

cwsreddy — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 04:05:16 +0000

First. Day. Off. In a month. Assassins closed yesterday and I didn’t have rehearsal for BJ, so I took advantage of it. Returned my uniform to the barista job I quit, signed up with a gym, got prints of my headshots, and am currently putting together a mega-mailing to send out to agents. Now that I have half my life back I can finally hit the bricks and try and get things moving on that front. I love productive days.

Assassins went great. Really great actually. So many wonderful, talented people, and I’m going to miss working with all them. For two days. Because actually a lot of us are all going to be working on a workshop reading of a new musical called Oil Change for MRC with a performance on Saturday. So really I only have half my life back for today and tomorrow. But I’m ok with it. Otherwise it’s time to shift my focus to getting BJ ready to go. We open a week from tomorrow and lemme tell you, the show is going to be a riot. Everybody is just so brilliant. Go down a different road and check out http://www.bjamusicalromp.com and get your tickets NOW because… you do NOT wanna miss this. And if you’re up for Beer Pong, we’re having a BJ Beer Pong Tourney/Fundraiser on Wednesday night at Pat O’Brien’s pub. Come on out and show your support!!

I love this city. Seriously things are just amazing out here. I’ve come across an incredible writing duo – Carner & Gregor. Their work is gorgeous and poignant and witty and ridiculous, and they’ve been awesome enough to share some of it with me. And just like working on new plays is one of my favorite things, so is listening to, learning and performing fresh, new music. Please surf on over to http://www.carnerandgregor.com. Here’s a video of one of their songs:

And I may also be performing in a cabaret coming up too, so stay tuned!

BIG IMPORTANT UPDATE and looooong overdue.

cwsreddy — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 03:19:58 +0000

Why all the hoopla in the title? Well because yours truly is now a resident of NEW YORK CITY! How bout that!? Yes, it’s true – April 18th I boarded a plane with my one way ticket and moved to the Big Apple. Why is it called that? Anyway… I’ve been couch surfing the last week and a half, but finally will be moving in to my 3-month sublet this weekend. Can’t wait.

So why did I do it? A few reasons. First, I’m working on a production of ASSASSINS with Momentum Repertory Company – the same folks I did GODSPELL with a couple summers ago. I’m playing the Balladeer and Lee Harvey Oswald, and it’s going to be a blaaast. To complicate things, I just finished training for my new job as a barista at Argo Tea, another Chicago transplant. Oh and it doesn’t stop there. I also got cast as the title role in BJ: A Musical Romp… which… is… exactly what you think it is. But a friend of mine, Kate Bodenheimer, has also been cast in it as my love interest, so it’ll be a heckuva ride for sure. I can’t wait to get started on it. Both these shows will be performing in June – I’ll keep y’all posted… for serious.

Yeah I’m not busy at all! … Lies.

What’s the other reason I moved out here? Well, it has to do with what I just described. In Chicago I wasn’t busy. I was sitting around on my ass waiting. And I hate waiting. Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE Chicago. I love the city and I love the people in the industry there. It’s great. But the lack of opportunity was driving me insane. For every audition in Chicago there are at least 10 more in New York. Every audition in Chicago has such added significance because there are so few in the first place. If you don’t book it, there are only a couple other big equity houses in the area, and they all like to use the people that are known commodities, who they’ve worked with before. And that is GREAT if you’re in that circle. But breaking in is just tough – thems the breaks. In NYC though, there are SO MANY theaters and SO MANY companies. And not just ones in New York, but regional theaters from across the country audition here, and not in Chicago. It just makes waaaay too much sense for me. I should be in a place where I can audition for the shows I’m right for. And you know what? At the end of the day, you’re not going to get on Broadway living in Chicago. That’s just the truth of it. (Unless you’re Morgan Karr )

So there you go. I’m in NYC. I’m here to stay. Bring it on.

Something New

cwsreddy — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 06:20:44 +0000

There really is NOTHING like working on a new script. Something no one has ever done before. Reading the words, hearing the music, and knowing that you’re one of a privileged few who’s gotten that opportunity. It’s great. And it’s a lot of fun. I’m going to be doing a quick little workshop for a new musical called 1ST AND TEN next week for the Marriott Theatre. And yes, it has to do with football. Awesome. Won’t really talk about anything else detail-wise, because I wouldn’t presume to have the right to do so, but I will say the music sounds GREAT and the script is a lot of fun. And how often do you get to do a musical about football? The other perk is that Marriott has really pulled together an all-star cast for this little two day shindig. It’ll be an exciting opportunity to get to work with all of them, as well as director Joe Leonardo, who directed THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA at Marriott last year. Looking forward to it!

It also looks like a big move is on the horizon. My friends at MRC (Momentum Repertory Company) have offered me the role of the Balladeer in ASSASSINS, and it looks like that’s going to happen, which I’m all sorts of excited about. But the upshot is… I’m going to be moving to New York! Finally! Kind of daunting, but man will it be incredible to finally call NYC home. In the very early stages of it all, and don’t have a lot nailed down… but these are exciting times… (and I think I’ve used that word about 103,352 times already in this post). Alright I’m actually already running out of things to say. It’s late. So I’ll call it quits.

2010? How weird is that?

cwsreddy — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:17:10 +0000

It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 11 years since I moved from Jersey to Iowa. Hard to believe that ringing in Y2K was 10 years ago. Man, how time flies. Anyway, here we are at the beginning of a new decade – and who can tell where the next 10 years are going to take us…

Christmas Carol came and went – and was a heck of a good time. I managed to not fall ONCE on those 2 foot stilts of mine, much to my relief. I mean between the height, the fog, the darkness and – oh yeah – the black hood and mesh mask I wore over my face, that’s quite the accomplishment! Worked with so many incredible people and here’s hoping I get to do it again.

After the show closed, I got to spend a couple weeks with my family doing a grand tour of the east coast visiting friends and family in more states than I care to list. While in New York we managed to catch a couple shows: Finian’s Rainbow (“starring” understudy Brian Sears from Bowery Boys) and Superior Donuts featuring Cliff Chamberlain from Lt. of Inishmore. How cool is that? It’s so exciting to see people you’ve worked with up there on the B-way. Congrats to both of them for great shows!

Which all brings us to now – back to work at Flat Top Grill, trying to make a little money, and auditioning wherever and whenever I can. I’ve got a couple more tours with Mozart this winter/spring, but otherwise just trying to fill the void! And also… and here’s the big one… contemplating that move out east. I’m really starting to think it’s in the cards this year, and I may try a little trial period early this year – say for about a month. But all of this is speculative and, as it always is with this business, we’ll see what happens. It’s hard to make any sort of plan when you might book a gig tomorrow – or not. In any case, I’ll hope to update this a little more often this year. Happy New Year to all, and may 2010 kick a whole lot of ass!

Let’s get it started!

cwsreddy — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:40:01 +0000

Hey y’all. So to follow up on my last post, The Jeff Awards were last Monday, and unfortunately neither The Bowery Boys or The Lieutenant of Inishmore took home any hardware – save for SFX for the latter… which was a given. Nonetheless, crazy proud of everyone involved!

As for me, things are about to get busy. I’ve been working at Flat Top Grill makin’ dat cash, and next week I fly out to Hartford Connecticut for a couple performances of Beethoven Lives Upstairs. Upon my return, I’m going to be starting rehearsals for A Christmas Carol at Drury Lane Oakbrook! Very exciting and looking forward to it. I’m going to be playing a small handful of roles – Dick Wilkins, Peter Crachit, and the ever-popular Ghost of Christmas Future. Lot of lines for that last one. I think it’s going to be a blast. The kicker? The show’s turning me Equity as well, so from now on that resume says Andrew Redlawsk AEA. Which… yeah. Kind of cool, if I do say so myself. So things are going well and I can’t wait to get it all started.

In the mean time, I’ve finally started working out. To the P90X tune. And if you haven’t heard about it, it’s a home workout program that is as intense as all get out. The basis of the program is muscle confusion, so that there are no plateaus. Your muscles just keep getting stronger because they’re constantly being surprised with new workouts. I’m two weeks into the 90 day program and loving it. In fact, today’s the rest day and my body feels like it NEEDS to work out. I’ve never felt that way before and it’s fantastic. Can’t wait to get back to it all tomorrow. So if anyone out there needs a good program, I’d recommend it. I’ll letcha know how it goes. Expect ripped city.

Jeff Award Nominations!

cwsreddy — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 02:12:43 +0000

I’m writing because The Bowery Boys was nominated for 3 Joseph Jefferson Awards for Excellence in Chicago Theatre. The three nominations are:

Best New Work/Adaptation (Musical) – David H. Bell & Jeremy Cohen
Best Principle Actor – Brian Sears
Best Choreography – Matt Raftery

CONGRATS you guys! No way. Bull shit. Drinkin’ out of cups!

Additionally… The Lieutenant of Inishmore was nominated for Best Production (Play)! How bout THAT!? I feel so lucky to have been involved with TWO Jeff Nominated Productions this year. Congratulations and Thanks to all.

For a complete list of Nominees Click here!

It’s been soooo long.

cwsreddy — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 02:40:55 +0000

Wow. So what’s new? I’ve moved – I’m living with my buddy Jack from high school in a bigger and cheaper place. I’m hoping to save some money to eventually make the NYC plunge. Crossing the fingers that’s within the year.

Speaking of money, I’m now a leasing agent with The Apartment Guys, an apartment locating service in Chicago so if you need a place to live in the city, call me and I’ll hook you up! I show and rent apartments. Who’da thunk I’d ever be doing sales?? Not exactly the plan I had in mind, but it’s good money and it’s only gonna be for a little while because after 3 or 4 months I have to apply for my full real estate license to keep working and btw the classes, tests and fees there’s no way I’m doing that. Hopefully my bosses don’t read this…

Right now I’m doing a staged reading as a part of Theatre Building Chicago’s Stages festival. It’s a fun time, but I can’t wait to start my next actual show. Though who knows when that’ll be. I do have a couple of gigs with Classical Kids though, so I’m looking forward to those this fall. That’s about the excitement of things though. Hence the whole… not writing for 3 months. OH! but I got a new car. A brand new 2010 Kia Soul. It’s alien green and super awesome. Check out my facebook – my profile pic is the car… so pretty.

Ok so THAT’s the extent of the excitement. I’ll try and keep this better updated…