Just created a reel of original characters & imitations for sketch comedy auditions.
And to think ~ I didn’t even pull my Ricardo Montalban impression from his Fantasy Island days! “Smiles, everyone, Smiles!”
The 5 minute original characters & imitations reel can be seen here:
For a more in-depth view of the “original characters”, the Extended MIX contains:
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* Plus: An Endorsement from Bob Hope!…
(I played “Bob Hope” for the real Bob Hope in college. He said kind words about me, and awarded me a scholarship.)
Don’t worry, all the jokes in it are 99% Fat Free.
Two full, half-hour comedy pilot episodes of LosTiteres.TV have now been posted online for the world to enjoy the Latino puppet mayhem in two digestible, salsa-paced shows… The episodes, which include new and exciting footage, are also composed of existing webisodes, which have been edited down to quick bits. Drink a couple of mojitos, light up your cigar and enjoy some Hispanic Hilarity!…
As a producer, this series has been a cakewalk to make because puppets don’t get paid union wages nor do they need to be fed, they’re funny and easy to shoot. Except for Conchita, but you’ll have to watch the series to find out why. The best thing about this medicine is the pharmacological effect generika levitra 20mg i.e. 36 hours. Unless the blood will not flow properly towards the penile tissue during arousal, which results in erectile dysfunction, there are many other advantages over viagra generico 5mg etc. Living with a healthy heart and a strong penile erection all depends on a good circulation and a lack of effectiveness of brand name medications but reflective of the expensive rates at which those medications are sold. loved this viagra cheap usa Tremendous success rate of ordering cialis in treating male impotency problems? Kamagra is a wonderful medicine for treating sexual problem in male.
I’m currently seeking sponsorship from edgy brands that might wanna reach 2nd, 3rd, 4th generation Latinos by taking a small risk and investing in a bunch of Latino puppets trying to make it to the Bigtime. I’ve spoken to Los Titeres, and they’re ready to take it to the Next Level.
Fresh LosTiteres.TV webisodes will begin surfacing in the Fall of 2011, which will reveal a new iPhone app, as well as Señor Loro’s announcement that he will be running for president of the United States in 2012 under the campaign slogan: “I’m a Puppet and I Admit It!”
I’ll be directing a very fun short film this weekend, written & produced by Joshua Davis, a producing student at the New York Film Academy at Universal Studios in California.
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One of my favorite solo performance pieces is one I created for my solo play, “The Origins of Happiness in Latin,” a series of monologues about growing up in Miami in an immigrant Cuban family in the 1970’s. “Mrs. Martinez” always slays the audience. Everyone has had a Mrs. Martinez, that’s become quite clear to me since I started performing this piece!
This show in its entirety came about when I returned from performing Off-Broadway, circa 1998, and was approached by Luis Alfaro and Diane Rodriguez to join a “lab” of sorts that was part of the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, called the Latino Theatre Initiative. They also had several other minority writing labs going.
Within this program, I could basically come to the Mark Taper Forum and under the guidance of Caridad Svitch, tweezer-picked playwrights would come and take part in what I call the “seance” writing sessions.
There was a round table in the room, around which these brewers of tales would sit together and let the energies of inspiration flow around and touch each other’s artwork. The writing that came out of there was inspired and unique. But sadly, as the economic situation came on, they had to close down all the writing labs. Fortunately, my work there was finished by the time that it all came apart.
I submitted the play for a grant: The 2000 California Community Foundation’s Brody Award. I won it and with the dough mounted a production of a couple of monologues at the Tamarind Theatre on Franklin in Hollywood and performed a couple of pieces from it there. Thankfully, my friend Anthony Rapp (RENT) was in town, for at the time, there was a thing called “pilot season” — a special time when television networks would audition and create a lot of test shows for the next season.
I learned a lot from Anthony. He really impressed upon me the specificity that eventually you now see in the Mrs. Martinez monologue. Before that point I’d played characters doing a full on monologue. I’d never jumped from my own “persona of me” to a character within a monologue, except for while doing moments in stand-up… Rapp is a genius at acting like he’s doing very little in his direction. He’s a master of less is more. But the little choices that he created with me, and for me, are still in the piece… I really believe in working with directors on my solo work. As I tell my students, solo performance is an illusion, it’s never really solo.
I submitted the play to the Arizona Theatre Company and with my playwright friend Elaine Romero as part of that milieu, she really made a push for me. Turns out, in 2001 it won their National Latino Playwriting Award. This was a real honor, but aside from the award money, which was great, all things stayed silent… Little did I know, things were a-brewing…
Doctors would suggest the dosages better depending order generic cialis on your age and the complexity of problem. However, medical science has defeated ED and stopped lowest prices on viagra it from being exceptionally effective. So tadalafil canadian many were mesmerized by this over-indulged hero, an enigma who had done virtually nothing other than to assemble dubious relationships throughout his mysterious past. That’s the terrible reality according to experts who continue to investigate deeper in the ED. levitra viagra priceShortly after this, one of my first and most important acting teachers, Ellen Davis, in Miami, got the show sold as a 45 minute tour for middle & high schools in the Dade County area. I flew to Miami and Ellen did the first staging of most of the material. It was such a thrill to get to work with her. She was the teacher that really grounded me in acting and never let me get away with too much schtick. She was the one who embedded, who always demanded in my work a sense of reality. Her catch phrase for me was: “Feel, stop playing it for the comedy.”
The kids were great during the tour. I had some pieces of the show where I sort of danced around a little. In one of the all black schools, one kid stood up and asked me (mockingly) who taught me how to dance? … I said: Pee-Wee Herman… And that got me a laugh. But let’s face it. You perform for teenagers and you’re putting your artistic soul on the line, because they’ll aim straight for it! They don’t play around… I guess that’s what made me feel the play was pretty funny. If I could keep these teenagers entertained, it works!
A year later, in 2003, the Arizona Theatre Company called and asked if I’d be available to perform in a run of the show and I jumped at it! … Great reviews and word of mouth followed. I adored the ATC production, the director David Saar was a creative powerhouse, and really knew how to craft a delicate, funny show about family. (He reminded me of Jim Henson a little; he has his own children’s theatre company in Arizona called Childsplay).
I sent all the notices to Urban Stages in New York who had produced “Men on the Verge…” and they put me into their season for a two month run, directed by a cool Latino chap, Angel David. Again, New York critics were kind. And throughout all of it, I learned a lot about storytelling and family and what’s important in life… And I guess the greatest lesson is that in the end, even the people that pissed you off the most are important, because they were teachers of what you don’t like. Sometimes knowing that is as powerful as knowing what you do like.
Mrs. Martinez ended up being a great sport about the whole thing and she really did get to see the monologue when I played it in Miami. Gables Stage was the producing theatre of the tour, and she came to a one-night only event where I performed it there. She was very kind to my folks. After all, she also taught my two younger brothers, both of whom she called: “Pheeleeeps.”
Years later, through a friend on Facebook, I found out her low pitched voice came from the fact that in Cuba, she used to be a classical singer. Made me gain a whole new level of respect for her… Who knew?!
Many people went into the making of these webisodes, and the characters have been rolling around in my head for a long time. Originally I conceived of the idea in 2004 when I was working for AZTECA. As a producer-editor-director (or what some people in “The Biz” call “preditor” — I noticed that this particular television network had very flimsy local programming. All of its major soaps and content came from Mexico.
I thought to myself that a good pitch for them would be a show that featured a starlet that they had on the channel, who was starring in an “American Idol Recap-Type Show”, in which she’d come out and sing before the recap. Usually some ostentatious number choreographed and designed by herself and her drag queen acolytes… Given the fact that the program was fourth-rate, she gave her all, and was actually quite talented.
I thought of Latinas En L.A. as a show designed around her, that would feature her talents. So the character of “Nina” originally was a singer trying to make it in Los Angeles… After writing down the concept and story outlines for the show, I approached the young starlet, and asked her if she’d be interested. Immediately, she loved the idea.
But when I went to the station heads, I realized that the content was coming from Mexico, and locally they were only producing cheap gameshows and cheesy people beating each other up onstage talk shows because that’s exactly how the network heads in Mexico wanted it.
So, I went back home and put it back in the file drawer I keep with several screenplays and television shows that I’ve got cookin’. I realize that writing, and getting one’s work produced is not an overnight process. I pay attention to my creative impulses, follow through on them, and when suddenly the stars align, I pull them back out and say, “Okay, now the time is right to make this project”.
Sasha Ramos showed up in my life ’cause my little brother, Danny. (I say little, but Danny’s 35, and a big monster of a guy right out of Where The Wild Things Are.) Sasha had just finished up a featured role in the movie “SEX DRIVE”, and was headed to Hollywood after having shot that in Florida… She showed up, we went to the premiere of her movie, and I instantly liked what I saw.
Personally, we clicked, and I knew I had a Nina. She was the right balance of forceful and tender, and I knew I could work with her long-term. As long as it would take to create a whole series. Originally, this series was all about Nina, and as the webisodes will show, she is the hostess, if you will, of the web series… But as time went on, because of several life situations beyond our control (i.e. this horrible economic time we’re all having now), Sasha had to go back to Florida for a while, and I had to regroup.
How would I tell the story without Sasha, who had been so great? Although she promised she’d return, I wanted to shoot a series and now, I only had one two-part web story in the can. These came together by bringing along two young male actors I know, and the beautiful and talented Ana Asensio.
I had worked with Ana though NALIP (National Association of Latino Independent Producers), as an actor in a Sundance-style project they do yearly (this time in New Mexico), where we performed scenes from the screenplays of young filmmakers. We were both in a film by Hugo Perez, who was wonderful to work with, and is now a great friend… Ana was a delight. She played my sister, whom I was madly in love with. I know, it’s messed up: Perez’s brilliant comedic mind on display there.
Ana was going to be in town for another NALIP Conference in L.A., and I asked. Immediately she liked the character and so the first few webisodes happened. Thanks to those first pioneers who wanted to do some acting on a little webisode show that said something about the state of Latinas and their loves in Los Angeles.
The clinic helps you to get unica-web.com cialis price complete solution for your sexual problem at the best price and quality of the product. Below are 5 simple tips to rekindle your discount levitra unica-web.com love-life and make the live even more enjoyable- Develop some common habits-Apart from enjoying and developing partial hobbies, it is better to indulge into some worst habits of drinking alcohol, smoking, etc. It is also used for the treatment of erectile dysfunction but not all of them are said to be the real victims of this issue and that was the insufficient supply of blood to the penis of the man and that happens only when the person does not face a proper blood supply to their penile levitra generika organ. This is an absurd excuse on viagra online delivery the part of this category. The next angel to the production came not as a Latina who wanted to perform in it, but rather in British actor/associate producer Emrhys Cooper. I mentioned the project, and not only was he interested, but also procured the locations where I shot the next two multi-part webisodes. So, everyone pitches in — and I’m amazed at how freely everyone steps forth to make creative things happen!
I’ve realized one thing: Actors always want to Act, and there is such rare opportunity, if you give them one, against odds or inconveniences, they’ll make it happen. Of course, the silent deal I have with my actors — (being an actor myself, this is what I would want) — is that they trust that when the project moves forward, I’ll come and get ’em for that.
I knew Susan, originally from the Bally’s gym I used to go to here in Hollywood. She’d agreed to work on my puppet series, LosTiteres.TV, and donated generously of her talents to it. She always claimed to love my writing, and I really felt like I owed her a role that would enable her to work with other actors.
Plus, Susan is brilliantly talented, and during the shoot, I marveled at how accurately she would inflect the lines that I’d had in my noggin. It’s as if I were up there doing the lines myself. I couldn’t help but giggle to myself when line after line, she would utter with exactly the inflection I would have chosen. Synchronicity is always wonderful.
Karla Menjivar was a student of my solo performance class at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Hollywood. She is pretty and passionate, and even back in the AZTECA days, I knew I’d put her in this. She actually auditioned for me there when I was thinking of putting together some kind of reading for it. After I saw what she could do, I knew she’d be a great for a part.
I like to work with actors by asking them what roles the want to play, and generally knowing their sensibilities. Then it’s easy to write for them. Although Emrhys Cooper told me that he wanted to change some lines in order to put in some British-isms, he also made remaks to me to the tune of: “It sounds like me talking” … Bingo.
The shoot is so bare bones, and fast and difficult, I usually make sure I drill my actors before showing up to the set to REALLY know their lines. Things rolled along on every one of these for that reason. Everyone was amazed about the vast amount of pages we shot in a day.
I should say that I’m very proud of all of my actors. They are all dear friends who have helped this vision come true. Also, the music of my New World School of the Arts buddies, Eliah Levy (who oftentimes plays live at the 3rd Street Promenade and worldwide venues), and New York based composer, Onel Mulet. Without them, there’d be no life behind the Latinas!
Erik Anderson has kept the cuts brisk, and the show moving along at a great pace with his editing. I had to give that up in the hands of someone who I really believed wouldn’t mess it up. Luckily, my instincts were right. Erik not only edited an award winning short I performed in called “DEMPTION”, he is also editing a follow up short film by the same director I’m in, called “HITMAN”.
Enjoy “Latinas En L.A.”! … I’m continuing to meet young Latina actresses who want to play a role in the series. It has changed, and developed itself over time. Originally following one character, but then my having to veer off from that and create these self-contained episodes where a young actress or two are featured — seems to want to be the formula that it wants.
It’s like the old “Twilight Zone” episodes, every one of the Latinas episodes is self-contained, but takes place in the same world. All the characters are in L.A., and it’s fun for me to discover who might know who as I write it. I imagine, as in the real Los Angeles — through one friend or another — everybody knows everybody.
Now we’re searching for SPONSORS to help the production pay for itself…
