Crazytown

GOODBYE TO ALL THAT

My Last Crazytown Post....For Now
By Sam Perwin

While I think it's safe to say that no one will be sad to see 2016 go, this year brings to the end my time at Crazytown. It's been a wonderful three and a half years and I'm so grateful for what Crazytown has done, not only for my blogging experience but for my writing. The exercise of coming up with a post every week for three years has tested the limits of my creativity - I'm reminded, as I often am, of the Sex & the City episode in which Carrie fears she is about to get fired for writing a column about men as french fries and instead she gets a book deal. Sadly, I'm not about to announce that someone has decided to publish my Crazytown writings (though if anyone in publishing is reading this, the rights are available! We'll talk).

Thank you, Crazytown, for letting me live out all my Carrie Bradshaw fantasies...

I also have always appreciated a good deadline, and my weekly one for this blog has made a habit of putting down my thoughts on (virtual) paper, something I've always done but not with this kind of regularity. There are pages and pages of evidence to show that I am, in fact, a writer. Strangely, that's a moniker I've never been very comfortable with, despite my love for the printed word. Friends and family have been telling me for years to write more, and yet, as I've written about in this very blog (ironically enough), my desire for success as an actor has always been in the back of my mind saying "if you lose focus, you'll never be successful." As much as I know this is true, I have found it hard to make space and dedicate time to writing. Crazytown has helped that immensely - not just by forcing me to write blog posts, but by making think more about my writing and what I want to do with it.

Thus, as you may or may not have known from my post at the end of October. I am going to take my blogging to a slightly wider audience as a new contributor for the Huffington Post. My goal in 2017 is to post there monthly - I've already got something in the works for January 2017. Stay tuned! I'm also trying to make a little room in my life for a new weekly writing project I'll announce shortly on all forms of social media (are you following me!? If not, feel very free to click any of the social media links below). And finally, I've got two plays that desperately need to be finished. This is the year. So thanks, Crazytown readers, David, RSO, and all the lovely writers I've worked with here. You've made me the writer I am today.

SAM PERWIN Actor. Singer. Writer. Tall. www.samperwin.com
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IN THE PRESENCE OF GREATNESS - AGAIN

I Have Talented Friends
By Sam Perwin

This time of year can be exhausting, but I always try to make time to support the supremely talented people I'm lucky enough to call my friends. Herewith, a roundup of some of the amazingness I've gotten to see over the last few weeks.

It starts with a production in November of A Burial Place by my friend and fellow Crazytown writer Owen Panettieri. As an alumna of many a Panettieri reading and production, I'm always thrilled when I get to see a full production of one of his plays. It was a moving, thoughtful meditation on friendship, loss, and just making sense of life as we know it. I can't wait for the next one.

I next want to give a major shout out to a new friend and colleague Brett Epstein, the creator and producer of The Rule of 7x7. Putting up a show like this every other month must be ridiculously exhausting. And since none of us are in this business for the money (ha!), wrangling seven playwrights, an unknown amount of actors, and making theater magic happen is surely a labor of love. He also wrote and starred in what, in my opinion, was the best play of the night. I'm excited to see and participate in this awesome evening again!

Next, I got a rare glimpse at what my brilliant friend, director Mary Birnbaum gets to do in her role as an acting teacher at Julliard. I've seen many of Mary's (similarly brilliant) opera productions over the years, but I was invited to observe an "open class" of the Artist's Diploma in Opera Studies (ADOS). The six singers performed a sort of improvised evening of arias and monologues they had worked on, basically stitching together the works with their own acting intentions. It was visceral and spontaneous and gorgeous to see new life breathed into opera. 

And finally, just last night I finally got a chance to see Ben Rimalower's double bill cabaret act Patti Issues and Bad with Money. Ben is also a new friend, one whose work I've followed, but never had a chance to see. both shows are raw, shocking, vulnerable, and very very funny. They both reminded me of the sacrifices and pain we artsy folk live through in order to justify our commitment to this sometimes difficult - if not excruciating - life we've inexplicably chosen. Ben showed all of that with wit and aplomb.

As this dreadful year comes to a limping close, it's nice to be reminded that there's still creativity and beauty and art and inspiring people who make inspiring things. So thanks friends, I needed it this month.

SAM PERWIN Actor. Singer. Writer. Tall. www.samperwin.com
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ON LA LA LAND

On the Bandwagon
By Sam Perwin

Damien Chazelle's gorgeous film La La Land, about an actor and a musician who fall in love, dance, and sing their way through modern LA, is by no means perfect. You'd think, for all the praise it's been receiving, that it's the Citizen Kane of our time, but in truth, it's much more like the Singin' in the Rain of our time: a movie that believes wholeheartedly in the saving graces of music, dance, and movie magic. 

Watch that broken wrist, Ryan!

There's been a lot of talk about the political situation we're currently in and its many apt comparisons to the rise of the Hitler and the Nazis in 1939. Things were bad - downright terrifying, and out of that climate cinematic artists brought forth some of the most beautiful, lasting, and important films in history: The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind just to name a few. La La Land is arriving at a similar time. It's charm is so undeniable and it's message of believing in yourself and your dreams so important right now, that we and all the critics, are able to overlook its minor flaws and get swept up in its magic.

For example, as much as I adore both Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling as actors (and both do a wonderful job in that department), neither has the singing or acting chops to really sell the musical numbers. This is a shame, because, well, they're delightful. The choreography (by Mandy Moore! Yes, girl!) is playful and perfect. The songs by beloved NYC composers Pasek & Paul (whose Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen is also getting some pretty strong raves), are heartfelt and meaningful. This could have been a wonderful opportunity to give some of the hard working Broadway singers and dancers some well-deserved love. Imagine Tony Yazbek as Sebastian or Pippa Soo as Mia. It's a whole different experience.

But, as I said, these are small gripes. The filmmaking and cinematography are so stunning and the seamlessness of the musical numbers so expert that Chazelle has really pulled off a miracle: a movie musical that is both completely, believably contemporary yet whose heart is firmly, romantically in the past. For me, it was a reminder to keep the faith. [SPOILER ALERT] Both characters get their dreams come true, if not with each other. You just have to believe in a little bit of magic.

SAM PERWIN Actor. Singer. Writer. Tall. www.samperwin.com
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RULES

A New Writing Challenge
by Sam Perwin

One of my favorite quotes that I may or may not be mistakenly attributing to Stravinsky is "The more I limit myself, the more I free myself." (Google was no help). It's almost ironic coming from him, a composer who did so much to shatter boundaries of musical forms, but I like it because I think it's a quote about discipline and structure, particularly when it comes to the creative process. In Stravinsky's case, as in the case of many poets or lyricists, he's talking about the freedom of composing of composing within a structured form like a sonata or a rondo. Similarly for a poet, structures like sonnets and villanelles have conventions and limitations for syllables, rhyme scheme, etc. In short, forms give us rules. And sometimes, counterintuitively, as I think Stravinsky was saying rules and limits can actually help the creative process. As we all know, the hardest part of the creative process is knowing where to start (a blank page or canvas isn't everyone's favorite, George). Having some rules for what you're putting on the page can get you going, tell you to start here with this many words, syllables, lines, or whatever. 

I've been working under a different set of rules recently as a participant in The Tank Theater's Rule of 7x7, a monthly show in which seven playwrights each come up with a rule for the plays. The playwrights then write a 10 minute play that incorporates all seven of the rules. Some are incredibly specific, others are much more open to interpretation. A few friends participated in a round a few months ago, and I was intrigued enough to want to try my hand at it. I e-mailed the producer and here I am, furiously revising my ten pages before the final deadline tomorrow night. Coming up with my rule was actually the fun part. I sent in a few options to the producer and he picked the one that seemed to fit with the other ones. Here's what we're working with:

RULE #1 | Brett's Rule | The play begins with a character holding an item/prop, in silence, for ten seconds. Then, (s)he says the line "I think this is good" or the line "I think this is bad."

RULE #2 | Sam's Rule | Vitamins.

RULE #3 | Lizzie's Rule | Snowman.

RULE #4 | David's Rule | "We're not that different."

RULE #5 | Rosalind's Rule | A fart?

RULE #6 | Rachael's Rule | Someone quotes a poem.

RULE #7 | Cary's Rule | Somewhere in pages 8-10, the characters experience the tenderest moment of their lives.

Want to know what we do with them? Then you'll just have to come out on December 15th!! Tickets available here.

SAM PERWIN Actor. Singer. Writer. Tall. www.samperwin.com
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CHARITY

On Giving Tuesday
By Sam Perwin

The materialistic orgy of the holiday season began, as it does every year, on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. It seems this year that stories of camp-outs, riots, and stampedes aren't nearly as prevalent, so I suppose that's something to be thankful for. Yet, if my inbox full of marketing ads from stores large and small are to be believed, the discounts running through the weekend (Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday) are as pervasive as ever. The antidote to this comes today, the day known as Giving Tuesday, when we're encouraged to take a break from spending money on gifts (or ourselves) and give some money to non-profits and charities. 

Alms...alms...for a miserable woman...

I suppose I'm writing this to muse on the fact that I'm terrible at asking people for money. For anything, really - even myself. This is a common problem in both the theater and freelance communities. Many of us are so desperate for work that we're willing to settle for rates and fees far below our worth. In my case, if I'm trying to raise money for a project or a worthy charity - something I've thankfully only had to do a few times - I find myself cringing at the prospect of doing a Kickstarter or IndieGoGo video and begging friends and family to support my endeavors. 

And yet, in the wake of the disastrous election, I'm thrilled to see so many liberal friends willingly donating to causes that need it the most right now: the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Lamda Legal, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the like. Similarly, we should all be renewing or signing up for subscriptions to legitimate media sources like The New York Times and The Washington Post - all the "liberal media" sources that the President elect is whining about not representing him fairly simply by reporting verbatim the things he says. These are excellent ways to give and protect our democracy from this unhinged madman we've somehow elected.

And yet, of course, there's an ulterior motive in this post. Last year, my father and some of my mother's friends started a foundation in my mother's name, the sole purpose of which is to raise money for female law students. So, if you're reading this and are looking to throw some end-of-year donations away, please consider donating to The Jean Perwin Memorial Fund. All instructions are in the link. There, now that wasn't so bad was it?

SAM PERWIN Actor. Singer. Writer. Tall. www.samperwin.com
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RUNNING AWAY, LET'S DO IT.

Where Did You Have in Mind?
By Sam Perwin

I write this post from a sunny patio at The Ritz-Carlton in Naples, FL. We're here for a wedding and spending the week in Florida - my husband's parents live nearby on Sanibel Island, so we're visiting with them for a few days then driving to Miami to spend Thanksgiving with my family. Coming to Florida this time of year is nothing new for me, but coming to Naples, to the Ritz, especially right now, feels a little off. As I look around this hotel, I'm overwhelmed by privilege: by my own for having the means to fly down here and spend two nights at this hotel (even at the reduced wedding rate, it's not cheap), the flexibility in my schedule that allows me to work remotely if I have to, and the fact that the protests, action, and outrage going on back in NYC feel so very far away.

Something like that...

More alarmingly, I'm shocked by the whiteness here. The only people of color I've seen anywhere are working behind desks or cleaning hotel rooms. This feels like the surprising part of America that voted for Trump: white, educated, affluent, and unaware of what life looks like outside of manicured lawns, golf courses, and beachfront properties. Indeed, a little quick googling informed me that 61% of Collier Country, where Naples is, voted for Trump. Part of me feels a slightly uneasy sitting here in public view with a Hillary sticker pasted on my laptop. We'll see if I suddenly become a victim of the harassment that's become all-too-common in this strange and weird political environment. 

A few days ago, my husband said he was looking forward to this week away from everything. He's still in denial - staying off all social media and turning off news alerts on his phone. He doesn't want to know about the white supremacists that are being appointed to top positions in the white house, about the conflicts of interest running wild throughout the transition process, about the misdirection from the fact that the president-elect just settled a Fraud lawsuit to the tune of $25 Million. So here we are, burying our heads in the Florida sand. I understand his reaction - even this far away from the results. We all grieve and cope with tragedy differently. I'm writing, organizing, plotting, planning, donating, but right now I'm along for the distraction ride. At least insofar as it involves sunshine and a pool. 

There is, of course, a grave danger in keeping these blinders on, and we've talked about what we can and will do to fight the normalization of bigotry and misogyny in this country. I think a lot of it will start with a recalibration of how we view and digest media, continue with an understanding of what drove so many people to ignore fascist rhetoric (not to mention common decency and behavior) and vote for this ridiculous excuse for a man, and end (in the recent future anyway) with a decisive victory in the 2018 midterm elections. There's work to be done.

 

SAM PERWIN Actor. Singer. Writer. Tall. www.samperwin.com
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DOWN BUT NOT OUT

Working through the Unimaginable
By Sam Perwin

I am at a loss. Still. It's been a week and I'm not yet able to wrap my head around what happened to our country last Tuesday. And it's really not just about the vast Republican takeover (though that is depressing enough), it's about the man we just elected president. This is a man who represents the worst of us - the nationalism, the xenophobia, the isolationism, the racism, the egoism, the selfishness, the sexism, the anti-intellectualism. This man will be President of the United States. We should all be ashamed that this man was taken seriously as a candidate. Those who voted for him - even with the understandable (though absurd) motivation of "draining the swamp" or of voting only with your wallet (also absurdly short-sighted and self-interested) - should be ashamed. 

This is actually my first blog post about Trump himself. I wanted to dedicate my lowly platform here to advancing Hillary Clinton, a politician, candidate, and person I believed deeply and wholeheartedly would make a fantastic President. I also wanted to heed the advice from John Oliver in the early days of the campaign. He argued that Trump was drawing on his name as a brand of success, which was ultimately distracting from the fact that he had absolutely no political experience, was threatening the constitution, and making a mockery of the political process. Seconding that advice was the ever gorgeous and gracious Michelle Obama, who never once mentioned his name in any of her rousing speeches. 

But here we are. This man will be our President. The only solace I can take right now is actually the one thing I know about Donald Trump: the man is a cipher. He stands for nothing and no one but himself. For just about every horrifying thing he's said, you can find a tape of him saying the opposite. He has proven himself to be uninformed, uneducated, and unversed in every aspect of governmental precedent, constitutional law, and basic civics. My greatest hope for the future of this country is that his presidency will be as empty as he is, that the dysfunction that reigned in his (miraculously successful) campaign will reign in his White House and nothing will be accomplished.  This is especially possible if we organize now and take back the Senate and House in the 2018 midterm elections. 

There's one other thing I want to get off my chest. To anyone who voted for Trump: you have been fooled. This man does not care about bringing back jobs - every thing with his name on it is made in China, the steel in his hotels and casinos (the ones that haven't gone bankrupt yet anyway) are built with foreign steel and on the backs of undocumented workers. He is a charlatan and a hypocrite and yet he has someone fooled you into believing he will do you or this country any good. Is it any wonder that in his home town of New York City, the very place he built his "empire" he is reviled and was overwhelmingly voted against? I will never understand how white, suburban, rust-belt, working class America saw in Donald Trump a savior. How does a sleazy, orange con-artist from Queens speak to the heartland? I will never understand it.

Meanwhile, friends, as many have noted, here's the agenda. We're all grieving, we're all hurting, we're all scared. First, self-care. Second, love and support each other. Third, organize, act, donate, volunteer. 2018 is closer than we think. 

 

SAM PERWIN Actor. Singer. Writer. Tall. www.samperwin.com
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REASONS TO VOTE (FOR HILLARY)

In Case You Didn't Already Have Enough
By Sam Perwin

Hello Crazytown America. You all know where I stand in this election. I would venture 99% of you guys reading this blog feel similarly. But here's the actual most important thing that happens today (besides Hillary getting elected president): you. voting. Yes, you. Putting the ballot in the box.It matters more that you actually vote (for Hillary), than who you vote for (Hillary). I've written about this before, so now I'm just going full list. Here are some awesome things about voting (for the first female president of the United States).

1. Not everybody in the world gets to do this!

Yeah, that's right, democracy is a privilege. There are many many countries in the world where people still don't get to do this. This is your responsibility as a citizen. Do not take that lightly.

2. Women and minorities didn't even get to do it until very recently!

For the first hundred years, it was only white men. Black men didn't get the right to vote until 1870 and women couldn't vote until 1920 (that still blows my mind every time I think about it - half the population!?). Conservatives have been trying to keep minorities and women from voting for at least the past 200 years - it's still going on right now. The only way to show them how much it matters is to exercise that right!

3. You get to participate in things that matter!

Voting is actually how most things get decided in this nation. We vote for the people. They vote for the bills that become laws. They vote to confirm judges to the Supreme Court and many many other appointments. The people we choose to send to Washington have a direct effect on our lives. It all starts in the voting booth.

4. It shows you care about people other than yourself.

Not voting is the definition of privilege. The decisions made by the people you vote for today matter to a lot of people. They matter to women, minorities, LGBT people, and, well, everyone. Politics is personal. Silence and apathy will only harm us. 

5. You get a sticker!

Well, at least you do in New York. Then everyone knows you voted! Also, it's public record. So if you don't vote, someone will google it and shame you.

So, do it, America. VOTE (for Hillary. Because, duh. Seriously, how is this even a contest!?)

 

SPECIAL SKILLS

A Guitar Player is (Re)born
By Sam Perwin

Almost two years ago on the eve of 2015, I wrote a New Year's post about some resolutions. The first one was to add to the special skills portion of my resume by learning to play the guitar. I was pretty gung-ho. I bought a guitar, found an awesome teacher, and was taking lessons weekly for the first two months of the year. Then, as I wrote in my 35th Birthday post, some major life stuff got in the way. My Mom's battle with cancer and her subsequent death consumed most of the rest of that year. 2016 was about getting married and all the joy and mishigas that goes a long with that. Obviously, guitar lessons and practice sessions fell a bit by the wayside. 

But, as I also wrote in that 35th Birthday post, I'm doubling down on making my artistic dreams come true. In a wonderful way, the universe (not to mention my representation) has really risen to the occasion. My team has realized a few awesome opportunities for me recently. On the performing side, without giving away too many details, I've had some pretty major audition appointments recently, and while they haven't yet yielded a job, those are the rooms I want to be in. I've got another one this week - and, as luck (?) would have it, I have to play the guitar. At an audition. In front of people.

Who needs Dan Smith? I've got Mike Rosengarten!

My first response was panic - I called my agent and she suggested I "practice until my fingers bleed." I texted my guitar teacher, who came over for a lesson and gave me a totally manageable song appropriate to the show. This was infinitely better than my first choice song: Edelweiss, a.k.a. the only song I felt comfortable playing in front of people. But here's the real joy about learning something new: you remind yourself that you can, in fact, learn anything with the right guidance, attitude, and enough time devoted to practicing. I'm also reminded of the wisdom of my awesome guitar teacher, who reminded me that I'm not going to "fool" anyone into thinking I'm a professional guitarist. If that's what their looking for, then I won't get the job - it's that simple. But I'm right for the part in other ways, and if I can sing and play well enough to seem at least competent, that might be all they need. I have no idea how important guitar skills are for this role. 

Another adage I'm reminding myself of as I go in to this audition is "If you want something you've never had, you have to do something you've never done." Well, I've never played guitar at an audition before. Here's hoping that gets me this job.

SAM PERWIN Actor. Singer. Writer. Tall. www.samperwin.com
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THIS IS US

The New Parenthood
By Sam Perwin

Sometimes you just want to be emotionally manipulated. I've just caught up on the first four episodes ofThis is Us, NBC's new tear-jerky emotional roller-coaster dramedy about (SPOILER ALERT) triplets and their parents. For anyone not caught up, the show follows four storylines, three of which feature grown triplets (well, technically, twins and one adopted sibling) all turning 36; the fourth features their parents, raising them in the 80's. We get glimpses into their lives simultaneously as we move back and forth between the past and the present. This twist is revealed at the end of the pilot, and I'll admit I did not see it coming. In fact, I was relieved about the time shift. I thought we were heading into some kind of synchronistic "life moves in predictable yet unpredictable cycles" kind of thing. Thankfully, at it's heard, This is Us is a show about a family.

To its credit, it's also a show that deals with and speaks frankly about relevant issues. The female triplet, Kate, is extremely overweight, and she talks openly about how it feels to be a heavy person (in L.A., not less! No easy feat, to be sure). The adopted sibling, Randall, is black, and we get glimpses of his struggles with growing up in a white family. To top it off, in the pilot, Randall tracks down his biological father - a former drug addict who left him at a fire station that fateful day - and takes him in and gets to know him. The third sibling, Kevin, has become a famous TV actor on a terrible sitcom. In the pilot, he melts down on set and quits in order to reinvent himself as an actor. All three pull at the heartstrings in predictable yet effective ways: Kate meets a guy at her weight-loss support group; Randall's biological father is dying of stomach cancer; Kevin (like all actors) is insecure and emotionally needy. The New York Times critic called it "theater of the verklempt." I'm inclined to agree.

I never intended this post to be a review of the show (though suffice it to say, I like it). Rather, I want to acknowledge that I find shows like that to be so satisfying, precisely when you need them to make you feel a particular way. Grey's Anatomy (yes, I still watch) hits that button for me too. It can be ridiculous, but it's well-written enough and grounded enough in reality not to seem too soapy (though that's exactly what it is). I often cite the musicals of Flaherty & Ahrens as accomplishing the same thing. Something about their music hits me in a way that few others do. I know the chord progressions aren't overly clever or innovative, but boy do I feel things whenever I hear "Back to Before" from Ragtime. This is Us is filling that gap left behind by parenthood. A show about people and families, with characters you can relate to and fall in love with, great performances, cheesy music and...wait, someone pass me a tissue.

SAM PERWIN Actor. Singer. Writer. Tall. www.samperwin.com
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