I’m a Marine now, mom. HDR effects make me look much grittier than usual.

After finishing up Two Diabetics back in November, I immediately got started with auditioning and then rehearsals for “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo,” which opens tonight. I originally heard about it over a year ago from a fellow actor-turned-producer who knew I spoke some Arabic, and he was interested in either having me act as a language consultant (which was flattering but probably not the best idea!) or as an actor. Fast forward a year later and the play has been finalized for the 2014 season of Strollers Theatre, and I was given the part of Kev, a part which the Madison.com preview article describes as “a child with a machine gun.” Hooray!

In the program, I thank the rest of the cast and team for bearing with the fact that my Camaro doesn’t handle snow very well, and this winter has been so cold and snowy compared with last year that the issues were exacerbated.  Needing rides to practice or being slightly late was par for the course. Rehearsals were all the way across town (30 minutes if I’m lucky, 45 minutes in the rush hour traffic that I was sometimes required to go through if rehearsals were earlier). As someone who lives 15 minutes from work by bike, or 20 minutes by bus, I’m not used to being stuck in traffic. It’s quite irritating.

But the show is at the Bartell Theatre, a 15 minute bus ride from my home, so those rehearsal days are behind me now (although I feel for my castmates who now have to make 45 minute ride from the west side of town!) It’s a physically and mentally exhausting play for me, I know, and I’ll bet it is for some of the other actors too. Getting across PTSD and all of the symptoms associated with it wracks your body. I’ve had to do rather graphic things for this show I’ve never done before – and once again, I’ll bet other actors will say the same thing!

Here’s a trailer that was put together a few nights ago:

If you’re in Madison and interested in seeing it – here’s the ticket information!