Blowout

Plainly, I'm an idiot. How I could ever believe that after fifteen years of working in and around Pittsburgh theater that no one would come to my going away party, I don't know. I was just struck by momentary panic, I guess. Fact is, my house was chock full of friends, so it was great. So great, in fact, that I had better never come back to Pittsburgh, 'cuz I can clearly never expect this kind of send-off again.

The evening actually started rather slowly - the first guest didn't make it 'til around 7:30 or so, and then no one Plainly, I'm an idiot. How I could ever believe that after fifteen years of working in and around Pittsburgh theater that no one would come to my going away party, I don't know. I was just struck by momentary panic, I guess. Fact is, my house was chock full of friends, so it was great. So great, in fact, that I had better never come back to Pittsburgh, 'cuz I can clearly never expect this kind of send-off again.

Much of the cast of Joseph... also came after their show - which is actually what happened with a lot of people. In the picture to the left (from the left): Joe Pedulla, a sometime houseguest, Chris Saunders, Danny Siford, Chris' girlfriend Becca (I hate myself for blanking on her last name), Tom Schaller, John Burja, Kevin Covert, and Amy Hartman, who's not in Joseph but somehow managed to turn up in this picture. Sort of a "Where's Waldo" thing. I think I just dated myself.

One of my favorite people in the whole world showed up for the party: Americus Rocco - a dear friend from waaaay back. If you take a close look at this picture, you'll see that Americus begins for us what was a recurring scene for the evening: Me taking pictures of my dearest friends when they were looking stoned out of their gourds. Next to Americus (who's on the right, by the way) is, of course, Gavan - looking pretty darn good, if I may say so. I didn't want to shrink that picture down too much, so you can click on it to get the whole effect.

A great surprise at the party was the appearence of John Gresh, with whom I had done The Colonel Bird. He's currently in the cast of The Playhouse's production of In the Shape of a Woman, and I had issued an blanket invitation to the cast, but only a couple made it, and he was one. In the picture to the left there, he's to the right of Marty Giles, another dear friend, who came with his girlfriend Gina Campell (you'll see her a little later). I just found out a day or so ago that Marty & I are going to be doing The Seagull for Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre, which will be cool! I think it'll be the first time since Cyrano de Bergerac that we're working together and one isn't directing the other! It'll be fun to just be a couple of actors causing chaos for the director. Whoo hoo!

Speaking of directors we'll be causing trouble for, here's a picture of Andrew Paul, Artistic Director of PICT and the director of the aforementioned production of The Seagull that we'll be subverting. Andrew's on the left in this picture, and he's with another of the folks from Shape who came over after rehearsal - Ken Bolden. Ken's a great guy who I've only recently been able to get to know, but the good part of that is that he actually lives in New York City and we'll be able to get together once I make it up there after my Picasso gig at the Arden. I'm looking forward to getting to know him better.

Continuing in the tradition of making my friends look like total lushes, here's a picture of Laura Smiley and Doug Mertz. I'd managed to forget to take their picture during the party, so I had to snap a quick one as they were on their way out the door - hence the tired I-may-be-too-loaded-to-drive look. I can happily report that I'm certain they made it home safely! Actually, I think they look pretty good. Grad school is agreeing with Doug, I think - and how can you not love Laura in her faux-leopard coat?!? You should see that thing with the collar up around her head - all I could think of was, "Puppies! I want puppies!!!"

I spent so much of the evening running around, that I was actually pretty lax about snapping candids at the party, so it sort developed into a theme that I had to get people as they were leaving. Here's Nick Ruggeri, a man that many of you know from the Friends page, as he was packing it in for the night. Of all my friends, Nick's been the most vocal about not wanting me to leave, but he also (often in the same breath) tells me that he knows it's right. I can't tell you how grateful I am for the support of all my friends - I would never had made the decision to go through with the move had it not been for them.

Where was Buster during this big shindig, you're asking yourself? Well, funny you should mention it. He was making all sorts of new friends! One of his favorite was Americus, as you can see in the photo to the left. Buster jumped up into Americus' lap, and his only comment to the dog as I was about to snap this picture was, "Don't block my light." Actors. Gotta love 'em.

The evening wouldn't be complete without an appearence by my dear friend Doug Rees - also a staple on the Friends page. Here he appears on the settee with Marty Giles and Gina Campbell. Doug should be in New York City soon, too. Those of you who read this journal often know his lovely girlfriend Janet, who's currently living and auditioning there, and waiting for him to haul ass to NYC. Problem is, apparently he's a good actor - he keeps getting work. These people look pissed off and bored with each other, don't they? I don't think that's really the case; someone was saying something intriguing, apparently - and the picture was taken about ten minutes before the party finally broke up, sometime around 2:30 in the morning. I think they can be forgiven for looking a little hangdog. Doug had to get up this morning and drive up to NYC! I hope he's alright! Gee, can you guess where I was with the camera? Could I be bothered to move three inches and keep from seeing the flash in the window? Nope.

Here's a quick one of Tom Schaller taken around the same time as the picture of Doug, Marty and Gina. I think he had just finished a wrestling match with my dog. It was directly after this that he slipped into his famous (at least in Pittsburgh) impersonation of Doug. Friends, if you know Doug (and even if you don't) it's something to see.

Here's a great picture of some of my friends at the City Theatre. That's Lorraine Venberg, Patti Kelly, and Lorraine's husband Tom. Patti's the fabulous production stage manager at The City, and Lorraine is the resident costume designer - she did the incredible costumes for The Myster of Irma Vep, and it's she we have to thank for the pictures from the show that appear on the Show Pictures page!

I've saved my favorite picture for last. With apologies to all my other friends, this one picture contains some of the people who have most shaped my life over the past ten years, so I have to give special thanks to all of them. From left to right, you see Amy Hartman, Denise Pullen, Americus Rocco, and Bruce Hill. Amy & Denise you hear about a lot, in the Online Journal. But you don't get to hear so much about Americus, except for his blurb on the Friends page, and practically nothing at all about Bruce Hill, since I see him so rarely. Americus and I acted together just over ten years ago in a production of Lemon Sky done by The Upstairs Theatre, and it was really a seminal moment in my growth as an actor. It was one of the first times anyone cast me in a non-comedic role, and it was the first time I got to work with Americus, who is one of my heroes as an actor. I judge a lot of my work by standards that we set back then, and whenever I'm feeling like some piece of text is inaccessible or too difficult for me, I just remember the work we did on that show. I'm not even sure he's aware of just how high in my esteem he's held. So if I haven't told you, dear friend, now you know.

I first met Bruce Hill on the same production on which I met Amy & Denise. He was one of Denise's partners in Patina Productions, and he was one of those people, nearly fourteen years ago now, who gave me the encouragement and support to make the decision that I've put off all this time. Bruce is one of those no-nonsense WASPish Yankees who don't bullshit people - so I always knew I could count on him for the truth. And over the years he's been unstinting in his encouragement and criticism, and I'll always be grateful for both.

All in all, it was a wonderful party. I really regret that there were a lot of people who weren't able to make it, but in retrospect, I don't have the vaguest clue where we'd have put them. The house was jam-packed with people. I couldn't have asked for a better sendoff, and I hope everyone knows how grateful I was for it!!