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The rehersals for Dracula proceeded with out a hitch. One of the scariest moments was my first vanishes. I am giving instructions to Renfield and my line is " You are to obey and nothing more, if you fail to obey the punishment is death" At that point all the stage lights go out and a small trap door built into the flat is open and I literally dive for it as the lights will only be out for 2 seconds.
The first time I tried it I slid on the floor backstage and headfirst into the railing to the stairs that lead down to the makeup room, I let out a very loud "SHIT"and the director who is in the back of the theater yells, " Where is that in the script?".Everyone had a good laugh but me, I had a violent headache, the stage crew padded the railing after that..
The 2nd vanish was relativley easy. As Van Helsing, Harker and Dr. Steward rush in as I am about to put the bite on Mina. I run to the balcony, spread my cape and disappear in a flash of smoke and flame,
There was a long u shaped strip and held a charge of flash powder that ran along the top stair and as soon as I opened my cape one of the stage crew ignited it and POOF, no more Dracula. All I did was step to the side.To this day there are people who will swear to this day that I was dropped through a trapdoor or had wires attached to me and was pulled up..
The 3rd was also easy.Dracula is grabbed as he attempts to run to the balcony , his back is to the audience and there is a struggle and suddenly they drop my cape and I'm not there...The cape and collar and a heavy metal rod that ran through it when the actors rushed in I slipped out of the cape and crawled through a trap door.All the effects looked great.
This was a very large set , it ran from the apron to within one foot of the back wall. If the doors to the balcony were closed you could pass from stage right to left with no problem, if they were open you had to crawl combat style to reach the other side.
It happened to me one night when I did not hear places being called and the curtain went up for the 2nd act and I had to enter from the left. Try crawling on your belly wearing a full tux and cape. Our stunning lady Producer got stuck stage left once and she had to do it in an evening dress and heels..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The final effect is Dracula's demise. Van Helsing hammers a stake into Dracula's chest as Mina is held my Harker. The coffin the Producer procured was beautiful, except when I laid down I was invisible to the audience. So she brought in a pink satin pillow that was a gift to her husband when he was recovering from surgery, the front was tuffted pink satin and in the back there was a pair of tits..
Well one night I slip out and get into the coffin and one of the stage hands comes out and slips the pillow under my head and the lights come up.From the wings I hear " Oh my God, the boobs are showing".
Now the actress playing Mina was a very modest thing and at this point in the play she is under Dracula's influence as her dress and mannerisms reflect it. She is wearing this black tight bodiced gown that was cut to the navel and black lace had to be sewn in to satisfy her modesty demands.
She overhead the stagecrews comments and believes that it is HER boobs they are talking about, and as she goes through her lines one hand goes to her chest to insure that she has not had a costume malfunction.
Those in the wings were treated to the sight of the back of my head nestled between a pair of breasts.The audience was never the wiser..
Now comes the staking. My Father had heard all the horror stories of actors being injuried by attempting this effect. Being and old school tool and die maker he built a chest piece out of scrap stainless steel with a long neck. I slipped the piece under my shirt prior to climbing into the coffin. I then puff out my chest and Chi breathe, so when I played dead nothing moves . Nothing short of a teflon bullet could ever hope to penetrate that base. Because Van Helsing is standing above me he can see the opening of the device and insterts the point and hammers it in...I hiss and expire ..
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The play was such an overwhelming sucess and got such high praise from the audiences, and the demand for tickets was so high we were required to add an extra weekend to meet the demands, the houses were always full. By the closing night of that extra weekend the whole cast was pretty much burned out, as much fun as it was it was time to close. We welcomed the cast party as it was the offical sign that the play had run its course. We made new friends and sharpened our acting skills.. What more could you ask for???
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There is one story that needs to be added to this blog. It seems that even the Prince of Darkness can be put in his place. As I said we were playing to full houses every night, and the demograpics could not be measured easily.To continue. It was intermission and I was in the makeup room, I was standing there with my cape across my arm smoking a cigarette (ah the great days before the smoking ban) when the producer came in. She was a stunning woman that always dressed to the 9's and she had a young girl of about 12- 13 yoa in tow.It seems that despite all the scary movies she had seen on TV and in the movies she was really frightened. " Dan", the producer said, " Would you please tell this young lady that you are not really Dracula". I looked at them, gave a faint smile and said in my Dracula stage voice, " Why should I lie to the child". Now despite all my years of martial arts training I did not see it coming, I got a pointy female elbow in the stomach that caught me by total surprize. Coughing and sputtering for air I managed to say " No kid, I am not really Dracula. "I am just an actor in make-up." In a very sweet voice the producer said " Thank you" and exited the room. The rest of the cast was in tears..
In 1985 I would face my biggest challenge theater wise, to audition and win the role of Dracula. Now I had done appearences during Halloween as The Count and radio commericals, but his would be different. Having only one production to my credit I went to the auditions with a killer hangover, I had forgotten about the auditions on Sunday and spent Saturday night partying.
There were even more people reading for this play than the previous one, and doubt in my abilities began to creep in. I stood on the fire escape smoking and to chatting with a few other hopefuls while I waited for my name to be called. There were a couple of male actors also reading for the role of The Count and did a dammed good job, my confidence was fading fast..
I finally was called to read and it was opposite one of the other guys that had done a great job reading for Dracula, at the end of the first 2 paragraphs this guy said to the director " Can I read for the role of Renfield? I can't beat this guys voice and looks". While waiting to be called up again I wandered around the theater and found the pictures of the actors and actresses for the last play, among them was a stunning dark eyed brunette.
One of the Renfield hopefulls walked up and asked " What ya got there?",and I showed him the picture along with comments of what I'd like to do to her..He looked at the picture and said in a depressed voice " Oh, that's my sister". I apologized and said if he slugged I would understand."Naw, he said.."If she wasnt my sister I'd want to bang her too".I laughed out loud and was forced to apologize for interupting the tryouts. About an hour or so after I got home I recieved the call saying I had won the role of Dracula
The first Sunday after tryouts we had a read through at the Producers house. It gave the cast members a chance to meet and we read through the whole play.There would be a new wrinkles to this production that was not in the last show, " Special Effects". Dracula had to vanish and apprear on stage a few times as well as the final scene where a stake is hammered into his heart..
I have have alway loved the stage. My first play was in kindergarten. I managed to do 2 plays in Jr High simply because 98% of the other guys considered anyone that wanted to be in a play and not playing or taking about sports was a fag. Sr High was better, but the Drama coach always seemed to cast his favorites in the lead roles. I was offered 2 roles both of which I declined because it would mean missing work and I knew I was better than those he had cast. My involvement with the haunted house project gave me a little taste, but I wanted to be on the stage. 1980 was not a good year..The Haunted House project had been burned to the ground and my attempts to join another one did not go well,unlike the one I worked for they were leary of outsiders. My plans to get engaged went South as my love dumped me. I spent the Summer drinking.. Around Fall I needed to sober up and find something to occupy my time. Karma led to see an open audition for the play Arsenic and Old Lace.
I had seen this play in High School and was familiar with it, so casting aside all low self esteem feelings I showed up..Casting calls attract a lot of people all wanting the part that you would like. Some had impressive professionally done resumes complete with head shots, all I had was Dracula appearences, being a puppeteer and 2 plays in Jr High to my credit.
Auditions are a long process as the hopefulls are called up to read the part they desire and other parts so the Director and Producer can come up with what they believe the character should look and sound like..
The auditions end for that day, normally there are 2 days of auditions to accomindate those who couldn't make the first one. This time I believe there was only due to the amount of people showed up. Auditions end and we all went home to await the call saying we got the part.
Well I got the call from the Producer informing me that I had won the role of Johnathan Brewster ( the villian) originally played my Boris Karloff in the movie.
This would be my first semi -professional stage appearence...The Director Bill C. and the Producer Diane M. had taken a chance on someone with no previous experience, I shall be forever grateful..The Stage Manager and crew had been selected so we were ready to begin..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now would come rehearsals..Besides learning YOUR lines you have to learn the lines of the person you are playing the scene with so you don't miss your cue and can carry on a conversation..Then there is how your character enters and exits and moves about on stage called BLOCKING, this too has to be learned and remembered. For me it was going to be a real challenge as at one point I have to lower a body into a window seat. There was no dummy, but a live person. I would have to side step between the flats with this person in my arms and lower him to the seat.. Thank God I was younger and very strong and the man didn't weigh more than 100 lbs..Then all the props are introduced, you have to know where they are and when to carry them on stage.
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After each rehersal we would retreat to a local piano bar where the senior members of the cast would tell me stories of their stage experiences, and I would relate tales of being on the road..It was a dammed good time. As the weeks pass the schedule will call for certain parts of an Act to be OFF BOOK...Which means just how it sounds..You are up there relying on your memory.There is a BOOK HOLDER that will feed you cues if you get stuck, but for the most part you are on your own.. After awhile the bookholder is no more and you are REALLY on your own.
There was only one bad moment during the 2nd to final week of rehersals. The actor playing my side kick didnt have anything memorized, he had been in a few productions before so it was not like it was his first show. The Director blew up with such anger the cast decided that the rehersal had come to an end and we retreated to the local lounge. The Director arrived a bit later and apologized. He then informed us that he had dismissed the actor playing Dr Einstein (my side kick) and that he would take the part of Teddy and the actor playing Teddy would become my side kick..They only had 2 weeks to accomplish this as Hell Week was coming up fast.
------------------------------------------------- Hell Week in theater lingo is running the play from start to finish every night of that week..It usually starts on Sunday of the week that you will open with a double run through.Sound and lighting are added as the week progresses until finally you reach the FULL DRESS rehearsal, that is running the show as you would if there was a audience.
Sometimes people are invited in to view it, usually its the Director and the Producer..Final notes are given at the end and sometimes there is a days rest in between opening night. Finally opening night arrives and I don't think I had ever more nervious..I arrived better than a half hour prior to the start and I still had a devil of a time finding a place to park, I was told we had a full house aka every seat was paid for and occupied.
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The make up people went to work on me and I changed into costume, I was as ready as I was ever going to be. There was a ceremonial break-a-leg toast of elderberry wine which figures into the story line and then the stage manager called PLACES and the curtain went up shortly there after.I was off stage waiting for my entrance cue, probably one of the longest waits in my life.
After what seemed like forever I got my cue and made my entrance..This was NOTHING like Jr High, there were adults in the audience reacting like adults and not kids.There were a couple of times we had to wait for the laughter to die down so we could continue the scene, it was a dammed good show.. We went out to celebrate and I was on a high that lasted all night..Saturday was a repeat of Friday and I was a lot more comfortable and gave a better show and so it went for the remainder of the month. The cast party given on the night of the final performance is a joyous and a sad night..We were celebrating an excellent run and everyone received some great reviews, and saddened by the fact the show was ending. It would be 3 years before I would venture on stage again..
Yes, I was a wedding DJ. I started in biz when DJ's were still considered a novelty. Here is some of what I experienced. Wedding receptions fall into 4 catagories,Great, Good, Bad and The Worst.. The GREAT ones are comprise about 15% of the receptions.The GOOD ones are about 75% The Bad and Worse ones are the rest. These receptions are usually the fault of the people that contracted me and their guests...They are the people that can't seem to have a good time no matter what, and are looking to blame someone for their lack of a good time, usually the DJ gets the blame...Let me give you some examples.. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My first was a wedding reception was among the GREATEST ones.This was was for a police officer, the bride was the cop. During the interview we hit it off right away ignoring her Dad, Fiancee and my boss as we talked shop, I was a cop too at the time. Her father looked at my boss as he reached for the contract and said "She likes him, he'll do fine".
The hall was small and at max capacity..I had to stack my equipment in a corner to make room for the catering staff to enter with the food..I wasn't able to sit at a table to eat cause they had so many guests so they set one up in that hallway, it wasn't too bad..I got first dibs at the food as they walked by..
This was a FUN group and danced to everything, no complaints..I also learned that the bride couldn't drink very much as she was scheduled to go on duty at 6AM the next day due to a scheduling snafu I was informed much later from one of her bosses that it was a scam..She would report to the station where during roll call they would present her with 2 round trip tickets to Hawaii and a police escort would take her and her new husband (that she believed was at home in bed but was actually downstairs with their luggage packed) to the airport..
Eveybody was dancing and having a great time. While playing "Shout" I noticed a large beefy gentleman holding his chest while dancing, I mentioned my concern to the bride who said "Not to worry, he's an on call detective who loves to dance and doesn't want his gun to fall out of his holster"..Later she approached me and asked if I carried the "Rodeo Song"..If you never heard the Rodeo Song its hard to explain...It's an X rated song set to a real country beat.
I said I have it, but she needs to check with her Dad about me playing it. As he was paying me I did not want Dad pissed off at me for playing it. Dad walked over and and asked if I had the song in question, I said "Yes" and attempted to describe it, he said to "play it"..So I did, 5 times before the end of the reception.
When I got back to my bosses house to turn in the car, equipment and the check I told him about the reception and the request..His face went white and he yelled ,"You don't play the fucking Rodeo Song at weddings" " They tipped me 100 bucks", I told him..Without missing a beat he yelled "play what fruckin you want"...
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I did another great wedding for a cop. He was explaining to me during the set-up that most of the Grooms, Bridesmaids and bartenders were cops. " "The only one here that isnt a cop is you", he didnt say it to be mean or condesending. I started to laugh and he looked at me puzzled. I took out my wallet and "badged" him. "Oh my God", he yelled to his wedding party. "The DJ is one of us."It was a GREAT wedding and I cant remember driving home.
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At another one of those GREAT receptions a very pretty young lady flirted and talked with me most of the evening. She brought me beer and we did a few shots, she even suggested a couple of songs that were big hit with the crowd.
.Later we even shared a few slow dances as the evening was winding down and I put the system on remote control. So the reception ends and I begin to tear down my equipment. I then head out to the van to get the 2 wheeler so I can start loading.
This very pretty young lady is waiting by the side of my van. Words were not necessary and after a passionate embrace and a long lingering kiss we go at it like two sex starved maniacs in the back of the van.. When we finish I return to the hall (on shaking legs) and begin wheeling my equipment out. Upon completion I go to say goodbye to the bride and groom, they thank me for a great job and tip me, and they invite me back to the after party being held on the 5th floor of this hotel which they rented out.
As I approached they had been engaged in conversation with a man that I found out earlier was the pretty young lady's Father.."Pardon my observation", I said. " You have a very pretty Daughter".." Don't I know it" was his response.." I am going to have my hands full when she turns 18"..My heart froze.." When she turns 18?", I managed to say to a surprized voice free of the fear I was feeling " How old is she now?" "She just turned 17", was his response, "so dont get any ideas", he joked..I almost fainted. Even a DJ can get into trouble if he is not careful.. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One of the WORST wedding receptions I ever did was for a group of Deadheads, you know those morons that are still mentally stuck in the late 60's and follow the Grateful Dead.. I was contracted by the brides Father who said " I don't want to hear that shit all night"..This was a large wedding with 98% of the guest over 30 and not fans of the Grateful Dead..I played my butt off and all except the the Deadheads had a good time..
When it came time for the bridal dance I was given a cassette tape to play. it was a poor bootleg copy of a poor bootleged copy..The volume was so bad as I'm sure the recoder was hidden under jacket or in a purse that at one point I though it was over and began to lower the volume. Both the Bride and the Groom yelled that " It ain't fucking over yet"..I finally said "Fuck It" and put on one of their albums. The Maid-of Honor (a 300 pounder stuffed into a red satin dress) came over and said something to the effect of "At least you're playing some decent music"..To which I responded " That's YOUR opinion, personally I think this is garbage"..They filed a complaint and the boss gave them a small refund outta my check. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This last story has been repeated to me word for word, so there must be some truth in it. Who the actual DJ was that was performing at this event is still a mystery, although I know 3 that claimed they were. Anyway it seems one of my DJ friends is performing at a large reception and everything is going well. Dinner comes and goes without a hitch and now its time for the bridal dance ,so the bride goes off in search of her groom. She returns a bit later and asks the DJ if she may use his mike, not an uncommon request. So he lowers the music and hands her the mike. " I have an announcement to make", the Bride says. " The reception is over and so is this marrage, I just caught my new husband with the Maid of Honor. " Please take back your gifts and cards and good night". She hands the DJ the mike and exits the building..
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