HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I hope you have had safe travels, and that the snow has not blown you too far off course. I lost a Day. Best wishes from Kentucky for a happy Holiday.

Good Things,

MacLeod

Your Friendly Cable Co.

If you live in Kentucky and you happen to catch a delightful television commercial for Insight Cable, then you are listening to me! I am the voice of Insight Cable's current television campaign. A total of ten spots were recorded. I hope some of my family and friends back home in Kentucky will see and enjoy them!

The Lock Artist

Just wrapped recording on the audiobook, The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton. Really a great read. Entertaining and suspenseful. A pleasure to work on. LISTEN TO SAMPLE

Radio Play: Anne Frank by Meyer Levin

Pictured performing a radio play at the Jewish Heritage Museum (in the beige vest there).

Reading

I will be helping out with a reading of Steven Drukman's "The Innocents" Tuesday Oct. 6 at Rattlestick Theater at 7pm. This will kick off the season's Evening Reading Series. If you've never been, it's free and a personal favorite activity of mine.

224 Waverly Place

Just west of 7th Ave. South

If you'd like to come just RSVP to Literary@rattlestick.org

Good Things,

MacLeod

LIGHT THE NIGHT-walking for cancer research

On Oct. 15 I will be walking to raise money for Leukemia and Lymphoma research. The event is called Light the Night. Blood Cancers have touched the lives of many around me and recent advances in treatment have helped some live full and rich lives despite their disease. Below is a link to donate if you are so inclined. Anything from a dollar to $10 or more is helpful and of course tax deductible.

http://pages.lightthenight.org/nyc/Manhattn09/macleodandrews

All the best and thank you!

MacLeod

Play Workshop a Great Success

The Common Swallow by David Caudle

Annie Golden and Me.

This workshop, directed by Kirsten Kelly featured Annie Golden, Doug Rees, Elizabeth Rich, Matt D'Amico, Julie Jesneck and me, in no particular order. We had a great turnout and most importantly got a chance to put this wonderful play up on it's feet (training wheels still attached) in little more than a week's time! Stressful yes-but there could not have been a better group of people with whom to be in the theatrical trenches.

Good Things,

MacLeod

Come See Me This Weekend!

I will be performing in a workshop of The Common Swallow by David Caudle. September 25-27 as part of the Howl Festival at 45 Bleeker st. Theater. Tickets $15

Ticket revenue goes to charity.

A Quick Rundown

Howdy friends!

I've got a few exciting things to report:

First- check out Funkanomics' hilarious new video! This one I am in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwRUyCICLvo

If you really like it, and use digg.com, it would be really great if you dugg us up, as that's a huge way to get hit counts up.

Second- Monday, September 14 at 7pm I will be performing in a reading of

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

A Radio Play by Meyer Levin

at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. tickets $15

Third- I will be performing in a workshop of The Common Swallow by David Caudle. September 25-27 as part of the Howl Festival at 45 Bleeker st. Theater. Tickets $15

Fourth- Tuesday, September 15 at 12pm I will be performing in a reading of Besharet a new play by Chana Porter at Primary Stages. I'm not sure if that's open to the public or not.

Slipping closed Off- Broadway and was a huge success. The entire run completely sold out! Here are some links to some great reviews.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/slipping-theater-review-1004000568.story
http://www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/showpage.php?t=slip8408
photo exclusive from Broadwayworld.com

There are more readings, more excitement, but thus not enough time to report on them all.

Good Things,
MacLeod

Reviews for Sandman Slim

"The reading is performed by Macleod Andrews, who does the narration in a perfect whiskey voice that's 80 percent Tom Waits, 20 percent Clint Eastwood. The performance and production are marvellous, a great interpretive reading that really brought the novel to life for me."

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/08/28/sandman-slim-audiobo.html

http://igcampbell.com/blog/2009/08/01/review-sandman-slim-by-richard-kadrey/

Keeping Busy

I will be doing a couple of readings for new plays in development this month. I will also be performing in the workshop of a new play by David Caudle. Then in October I'll hopefully be getting back into some audiobook action.

Good Things,
MacLeod

Company! (not the musical)

I am excited to say that I have been invited to become a company member of Rising Phoenix Repertory. I happily accepted the offer! This is quite an extraordinary company of artists and people. I am honored.

Good Things,
MacLeod

Slipping Closes its Sold Out Run

It was quite an amazing run, albeit short! Thank you to everyone who came and saw us, the audience response has been strong and heartfelt. As of now there is no plan for a remount that I am aware of, but one never knows. For now, here is a photo exclusive from Broadwayworld.com

Good Things,
MacLeod

Slipping into Previews

We have started previews for Slipping at Rattlestick. So far we have gotten great audience responses. It is a difficult show, but very rewarding to perform. More work to be done, but the show is in great shape! Hope you can make it!

Good Things

Audiobook Review

The company I work with just sent me this really nice review. I'm happy to hear that people are enjoying the book and the recording.

Good Things

Crows & Cards (unabr.). 6 CDs. 6:42 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2009. ISBN 978-1-4233-9175-3. $69.97.

Gr 4-8–Twelve-year-old Zebulon “Zeb” Crabtree lives the simple life with his brothers and sisters on a farm in 1849. Then his father gets the notion that Zeb should be sent to St. Louis to learn to be a tanner by apprenticing with his great-uncle Seth. Shipped off on a riverboat, Zeb falls under the charms of Charles “Chilly” Larpenteur, a smooth-talking gambler whom he befriends on the ride down the Mississippi. Trapped inside a ruthless world of gambling, Zeb crosses paths with a slave and a blind Indian who has visions. He becomes mesmerized by a medicine man and charmed by a beautiful woman collecting funds for the orphanage. A modern day Mark Twain, Joseph Helgersen spins an engrossing coming-of-age story (Houghton Mifflin, 2009). The charm of the tale lies in the witty storytelling, fascinating characters, and a spot-on theatrical performance by narrator MacLeod Andrews. The author’s tongue-in-cheek humor sizzles under MacLeod’s lively presentation, especially Chilly’s slick talking ways. Fans of the author’s Horns and Wrinkles (Houghton Mifflin, 2006) will revel in this latest installment of this Mississippi River tale.–Robyn Gioia, Bolles School, Ponte Vedra, FL

Review by School Library Journal

Sandman Slim Released

Listen to a sample of my latest audiobook, Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey. Listen to sample.

Americn Theater Magazine

Plenty to talk about and I will be sure to get to it soon. In the meantime, I was pictured with Seth Numrich in this month's issue of American Theater Magazine for the upcoming show Slipping by Daniel Talbott directed by Kirsten Kelly.

Good Things,
MacLeod

Play Reading

I recently had the pleasure of being cast in the reading of a new play by David Caudle at Primary Stages. It was a great role, in a great play, and great fun to be a part of.

Next Audio Book

I will record one more book before heading into rehearsals for SLIPPING at Rattlestick. It is called Episodes: My Life As I See It by Blaze Ginsberg. He is a high functioning autistic and the son of writer Debra Ginsberg who wrote Waiting and Raising Blaze. The book is a memoir, formatted entirely like television shows and films would be on Imdb.com (Internet Movie Database). It will be a challenging book to record, demanding consistently high energy. It will exercise the bounds of your perspective and raise questions on the workings of the human mind and the different ways we process the world around us. I am excited to get started!

Good Things,
MacLeod

The Amish Project

This intimate show is a reminder of what theater can do better than any art form: allow us to confront our demons with courage in a safe communal space. Jessica Dickey makes magical turns from character to character displaying an impressive vocal range. All the while she maintains the utmost sincerity, carrying this piece off with refreshing humility and humor! This is Theater at it's most human and essential, as the Greeks intended-designed for healing.

Now playing at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater

Recommended Shows

The Amish Project @ Rattlestick Playwrights Theater

Groundswell @ Theater Row presented by The New Group

Our House @ Playwrights Horizon

American Hwangap @ The Wild Project presented by Play Company

Joe Turner's Come and Gone @ The Lincoln Center Theater

Some Nice Press

This is fun. A nice blurb on TheaterMania.com about the show I'll be doing in July and August, Slipping by Daniel Talbott.

Back Off-B'way

I will be in the Off-Broadway production of Slipping by Daniel Talbott, directed by Kirsten Kelly at Rattlestick Theater. Presented by Rising Phoenix Rep and Piece by Piece productions in association with Rattlestick Playwright's Theater. July 28-August 15.

Back to Michigan

I will be recording at least two more audiobooks in May! Hopefully three.

Seeing Shows

I always try to see as much theater and film as I can. Recently:

Groundswell (I highly recommend) presented by the New Group
Desire Under the Elms
Offices by Ethan Coen
Hallway by Adam Rapp (reading)
Showgasm at Ars Nova
New York Downtown Short Film Festival

Work-shopping Film

Today at Columbia University I had a great time work-shopping some fantastic scenes from a feature script in progress by Jonathan Stewart and had the pleasure of working with John Rubin of LAByrinth Theater Company. Really a fine character driven thriller in the works. It was also a pleasure to act opposite such a talented scene partner.

Good Things,

MacLeod

New Play Reading

I recently participated in a staged reading of a new play, Slipping by Daniel Talbott. The reading was a huge success and producers were present, so don't be surprised if you find me in another show sometime soon!

Good Things

Private Play Reading

Earlier this week I participated in a private reading of a great new play for the production staff of Rattlestick Theater.

Music Video

Last Sunday I helped American Trash Comedy shoot a music video for their rap-pop song, We Gamin'. The song is brilliantly produced and hilarious! The video is going to blow YouTube up. Expect that to drop in about a month.

Corporate V.O.

I've been recording corporate voice overs fairly regularly for Quantum Leap, a Louisville based company. You could say I'm the voice of Quantum Leap.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSgXzJba_mc

Crows & Cards now on sale!

The Audio Book Crows & Cards by Joseph Helgerson, read by Me, is available for purchase on Amazon.com!! Check it out. It's a great fun story for the kids! With animated voices and adventure.

Nobody Closes

Nobody closed its sold out run on Saturday night. If you didn't get a chance to see the show, here's a nice review:

http://www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/showpage.php?t=nobo8025

Audio Book

Next week I will be flying out to Michigan to record an audio book, Crows and Cards.

Nobody update

Nobody has begun it's sold out run at the intimate Seventh Street Small Stage at Jimmy's 43.
Crystal's play is such a pleasure to work on! It's one of those challenging pieces that you can never really "get right". Every night is an experiment, a search, which as an actor is exciting because I get to let go and move on after every performance in anticipation of the next night. This offers me the freedom to live very much in the moment on stage rather than trying to manufacture a "correct" performance. Of course I learn more every time and build upon each show.

Daniel's direction has really made this possible. He established for us the tone and the goal-the idea of the piece-but offers us the freedom to find it on our own. But what's most important is that he's constantly pushing us to find more, never to be completely content or set in our performances. For me, this is a most crucial attribute for a director to have. Obviously a director must be sensitive to different actors' insecurities, offer encouragement, but as soon as we are satisfied with our work the theater is no longer vital and we are merely entertaining. In a long run this can be incredibly tiring, searching endlessly, never having the security of a finished or lasting product. That's why the work of the actor is so challenging. I strive to remind myself that it's never enough to merely show up. Acting, though hopefully fun, though hopefully fulfilling, is hard work. I highly recommend reading Sean Penn's interview in Rolling Stone which reinforced this idea for me.

Good Things,
MacLeod

ABC reader

Last week I was called in last-minute to be a reader for ABC's casting of the pilot Happy Town. It was incredibly fun; I read as at least six different characters many of which were either not my age or gender. The people in the casting office were all so gracious and accessible. They really made me feel welcome. It was a very fun morning, playing with great sides, with some wonderful actors, amongst good people. Now just get me on the other side of that camera! : )

Good Things,
MacLeod

Playbill article for February show

Playbill has just released a short write-up for the show I will be performing in this February, Nobody by Crystal Skillman.

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/125982.html

Good Things,
MacLeod

Video Addition

I have permanently added another video to my Reel/Video page. Some of you may have already seen it on my News & Views page. Take a gander.

To Catch Y'all Up

January has proven to be a time of eclecticism. I have found myself writing a fair amount. My good friend approached me with a concept for a comedy web series that I think has solid potential. I've written an episode for the show and we have talked much about the various aspects of development. It draws inspiration from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which is far and away my new favorite comedy series. I've been catching up on Hulu. I've also found myself returning to a film script that I've been nibbling at for the past three years. Aside from scripts, I've really been enjoying writing character snapshots for an audition that I am preparing.

I am in the midst of auditions for an independent film for which the process is heavily based in improvisation. I prefer using a possessive form of the word that in place of 'for which the' but I am fairly confident that the word that's in reference to something being owned by that is a fabrication. And I do so strive for grammatical correctitude, for my father's sake. I oft stray in service to expressiveness. But I digress and regress and must redress my wandering prose by addressing the matter of the audition that I spake of moments ago before I figuratively blow my brains out. I'm an idiot, forgive me. The next round of callbacks entails the presentation of four characters before the director. I am to 'exist' for ten minutes in the skin of each character. That means a total of forty minutes for the strictly literarily minded. It has been a fun and interesting challenge to prepare for such a callback.

The challenge primarily has been in creating a structure of some kind. Typically in any audition the actor is grounded by the structure of the script. The character is revealed through their written language and behavior. In this case I literally can do just about anything for my ten minutes. I may talk to the director, deliver a monologue, or completely ignore the circumstance and have what's called a "private moment" as the character. But the most illusive question has been, who are these characters? What do they do? There is no answer, because it's up to me to create them. This offers complete artistic freedom which is great fun but initially daunting. Exploring physicalities is certainly a useful and critical step. Vocal qualities are also such. But these, for me, are to be developed subsequent to basic background work. Where do these people come from? How do they interact with people? To answer these questions I simply had to start writing. Writing specific stories from their pasts, who their parents are, what they're up to in the present, and for some of them what kinds of phone messages they leave for people. Now, some actors reading this might say, "well that's character development 101 for any script you tackle," but I've never been much of a character biographer. I admit it can be extremely helpful for building depth and subtext, but I find at times that focusing on "filling in the gaps" distracts from the more pressing matter of discovering what needs to happen in a scene as dictated by the script in hand. In this circumstance however, character biography seems to be an inevitable, unexpendable, and primary concern (the Oxford comma is a shout-out to my peep on the West Coast). All this rigamarole is more or less to say, I've enjoyed the experience of writing these characters. Next step is actually preparing some kind of presentation, and then letting it go to leave room for improvisation.

Aside from the aforementioned proceedings, I will begin rehearsal soon for a show with Rising Phoenix Rep who brought you such crowd favorites as Too Much Memory. I can't wait!

Another exciting development is the convocation of a number of talented Middlebury Alumni living in New York City with the intention of starting a theater company of our own. Things are in a nascent stage but the will seems to be there.

Amidst all, I have been attempting to breach the world of recording audio books. Another challenging yet enjoyable endeavor.

Also, I have been urged by MacLeod Andrews Management to acquire new headshots, so if anyone has actually read all of this and knows of a good and cheap photographer, please holler!

Excruciatingly sorry for this verbal masturbation. But I hope it has given you something to do while at work.

All my best! If you're reading this, chances are you're one of my favorite people, so all my love too!


Good Things,
MacLeod

Time to tend the machine

The Holiday is officially over and I'm greasing up the engine. It's good to be back under the hood.