When Casting a Movie, Look to the Theater

Carlo Fiorletta and Debargo Sanyal

One of the joys of casting an indie film in NYC is the opportunity to work with amazing actors who do much of their work on stage rather than on screen.

I was reminded of that this week when Carlo Fiorletta and I saw the terrific new play Love Sex and Death in the Amazon.  Debargo Sanyal, who is awesome as the rapping motel clerk Rajiv in my just-completed feature film Detours, is one of the stars so we wanted to see it.  He was terrific - no surprise - but it was a great reminder to me that the NYC stage is an amazing source of talent when you're looking to cast an indie movie.  Even though there are hundreds of movies every that shoot at least some scenes in NY, that's dwarfed by the number of plays that are produced every year, ranging from Broadway to off-off-Broadway, plus an uncountable number of readings of new works.

While most directors and producers watch a lot of movies, it can be (very) helpful to see as much theater as possible.  And while that's wonderful and easy in NY, there's a tremendous amount of very good regional theater all across the country.  You'll see some amazing actors who might not otherwise be on your radar, and you may even be inspired to change what you're looking for.

I'll wrap this up with a shout out to a few of the amazing actors from my 2 features Surviving Family and Detours, and some of the great theater work that they've done.

Billy Magnussen was Tony nominated for originating the role of Spike in Christopher Durang's Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike and then starred in the off-Broadway play Sex With Strangers.  Sarah Wilson starred in the well-reviewed The Best of Everything. Tara Westwood was weird and wonderful as a woman who gives birth to a tree branch in Branched; and P.J. Sosko is a staple of the off-Broadway scene.

Richard Kind & Tara Westwood

Michael Cerveris received the Tony Award for Fun Home and Assassins; he was nominated for Sweeney Todd, The Who's Tommy, and LoveMusik and has appeared in many (many) other plays both on and off Broadway. Richard Kind was Tony nominated for his role in The Big Knife, and has starred in (among others) The Producers, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Sly Fox.  Phyllis Somerville most recently appeared in the experimental all-female production of I Remember Mama.  Deirdre O'Connell is a staple of NY's Broadway and off-Broadway theater scene, and received a Drama Desk Award for both Circle Mirror Transformation and In The Wake.  Betsy Aidem played Lady Bird Johnson and other roles in the Tony Award Winning All The Way.  Marguerite Stimpson was in The Elephant Man.  And Carlo Fiorletta recently originated the role of Assbiter (truly one of the best character names ever) in "Is That Danny DeVito?"

So to paraphrase the most famous playwright of all:  "Get thee to the theater." 

My Monologue "Risk" To Be Published November 1

I'm delighted that my monologue "Risk" is a finalist in TentSquare's West Side Stories Monologue Competition!  It will be published on November 1 in W42ST magazine, which is available in midtown Manhattan as well as on line.

"Risk" is inspired by my work-in-progress screenplay "American Casino."

"Available" is Now Available, and Carlo Fiorletta on Stage

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of serving as the script consultant on Michael Gibrall's delightful romantic comedy:  Available: A Modern Fairy Tale.  I'm very pleased that it's now available to rent or own on Vimeo.  Alexa Yeames stars as Anka, a college student who inherits a billboard company and accidentally advertises her dating status, while Carlo Fiorletta and Donna Castellano are terrific as pizza parlor owners whose son (played by Gordon Palagi) falls for Anka.  You can check out the trailer here and rent or buy here.

Meanwhile, back in Jersey City....Carlo Fiorletta is on stage starting Thursday October 8 in the world premiere of Is That Danny DeVito? at Art House Productions.  He plays Ass-Biter (truly the best character name that I've seen in a long time) in Alex Janosek Doyle's absurdist comedy in the style of Samuel Beckett.   Click here to buy tickets; Art House is adjacent to the Grove Street PATH station in Jersey City (click here for train maps and schedules); there's also parking available (pun intended).