Announcing the first ever POY Variety hour!

This is a first for POY. We are letting it all hang out and hosting a variety hour on Thursday, August 21, 2008 at 7:30pm. This concept is a little hard for me because I am what some would call a control freak and the concept of this variety hour is fast and loose (and fun)!

We will have a WIDE range of acts from singing and dancing to stand up to monologues to scene work. We've involved a great group of guest artists as well... it's going to be hard to pack it all in to just one hour.

There's free food and prizes, so you'll get A LOT out of your $25 ticket.

Please call 212-613-6138 if you are interested in attending. The official press release is below:

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Point of You is putting on this POY-pourri of comedy, music and entertainment to help raise money for our next show SUNSET MOTEL, opening October 9th! Our Ensemble and guest artists perform like you’ve never seen them before... Johnny (that would be Johnny Blaze Leavitt of BlackRock) and Jeff sing and dance... Chris plays with projectors... Paul rocks the guitar...Melanie swears, for Pete’s sake! It’ll be a fun night to remember.

Thursday, August 21st @ 7:30pm

GOTHAM CITY IMPROV
48 West 21st Street, 8th Floor
New York, New York 10010
(btw 5th and 6th Avenues)

Tickets: $25
Includes one drink and free eats!

Seating is limited, so please reserve your tickets now. Call 212-613-6138.

Featuring: Lizzie Czerner*, Jessie J. Fahay, Chris Keating, Melanie Kuchinski Rodriguez, Johnny Blaze Leavitt, Jeff Love, Alyssa Mann, Leslie Marseglia, Monica Russell*, Gerard J. Savoy, Andrea Scannell*, Jason Spiewak*, Tina Trimble, Felicia Eugenia Velasco, Paul Weissman and hosted by the one and only Marc Adam Smith.

* Guest Artists

Auditions, Round 2

Sorry I have been remiss in posting at least once a month. Here's what you need to know: We have cast both our shows and have started rehearsals.

Marc Adam Smith, director of Family Values referred to our female callbacks as a "grand slam home run" (I'm paraphrasing, so please forgive me if I misrepresented your quote Mr. Smith)!

We saw a great group of female actresses and cast the lovely and hilarious Louise Flory! Check her out at http://www.louiseflory.com

We saw a lot of talented me during our auditons for the role of Jason, but we didn't find just the right chemistry... until we matched Louise up with our very own Johnny Blaze Leavitt! Congrats, Mr. Leavitt.

As I mentioned before, rehearsals are underway and so far so great! Family Values should be lots of fun. Check it out starting October 9th. Tickets will be on sale soon!

Auditons, Round 1

Well, we're only half way through our first round of auditions for Family Values and I just have to say I love this process (and I love having internet while sitting in the holding area!).

I love this process because it's a great chance to meet some wonderful people. Just within the first hour we met some really friendly and talented women. POY is a great company and we are like family, but it's nice to open things up to those outside of our family now and again. Fresh faces, new energy. All good things.

I can't wait to see how things go for the rest of the afternoon!

Variety is the Spice of Life!!

And now a word from our friend, Marc Adam Smith:


When discussing fundraiser possibilities for Point of You Productions, one of the ideas that came up and that I jumped behind 100% was to do a Variety Show. And we are on - Thursday night August 21st!!

For those of you too young to remember, the variety show was a staple of prime time TV, shows like Ed Sullivan, Dean Martin, Tom Jones, Donny and Marie, just to name a few, all had huge followings in the 50's, 60's and 70's. 73 million people watched the Beatles on Sullivan in 1964. But by the 80's the concept faded away. Back then getting your music, comedy, dance, and magic all in one place for 90 minutes was what Americans wanted. Now-a-days, with more choices you can find a separate channel for all of those things. But for one night on a stage in NYC we will bring it back.

All of the folks in POY whom you have seen on stage for the past few years will get up and do stuff that you may have never seen before. Who would not like to see Gerard J. Savoy do some interpretive dance? He isn't for this show, but still who would not want to see that!? But Gerard, Johnny Blaze, Mel, Jeff, Chris Keating and more along with some very special guests will be there to entertain the crap out of you. Also booze and cheese will on hand, so what more could you ask for!

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION BONUS: We at Point of You would like to give our Variety Show a title (other than "Variety Show"), so here's where you can directly participate in the fun. Post your show title ideas on this blog. We'll make our selections by July 9th!

Auditions: Sat, June 21st for Sunset Motel

Greetings readers,

I thought you would like to know POY will be holding auditions for the female lead in our comedy Family Values. Not to worry 'gents, we'll be casting the male lead within the next few weeks, so stay tuned... You can see the full posting at http://www.backstage.com:

Point of You Productions is casting the comedy Family Values as part of a night of two One-Acts to be performed at the Sanford Meisner Theatre from October 9th-25th, Wed-Sat at 8pm. Paul Weissman, Writer, Marc Adam Smith, Director. No Pay.

Seeking-Amanda, Mid-Twenties, Lonely, Unpredictable, Ex- Child Star.

Auditions will be held on Sat, June 21st between 1-4pm by appointment.

Please email headshot and resume to marcadam@pointofyou.org or mail hardcopy to:

Marc Adam Smith
C/O Point of You Productions
FDR Station
PO BOX 673
New York NY, 10150

www.pointofyou.org

Good Help is Hard to Find

And now a few words from our Technical Director, Gerard J. Savoy.

Well technically it’s not hard to find good help, but it’s going to cost you. So what better place for me to hang my technical hardhat but with a non-profit theater company. POY members wear lots of hats as do most who work in the wonderful world of Off Off Off... Broadway. I’m an actor, a writer, a set designer, a carpenter, a painter, a prop master, a lighting designer, a stage manager, a script reader, a tech, a gopher, a confidant, the muscle but what I really want to do is direct... not really. If it needs to get done, we as a group take charge and get it done, even if it is out of our realm of experience. My feeling is that one learns by doing. Now here’s the rub. I’ve got a Superman complex. (Johnny’s got one too, but that’s material for another time.) I have a difficult time with letting things go. Not in the “I can forgive but will never forget” sense (although my family will beg to differ) but in the sense that there are others out there who are fully capable of doing what needs to be done. So where are these people?

Well, they’re all over the place. Put an ad anywhere, do the word of mouth thing and you will get an influx of talented techs from the 4 corners of the earth. Once you weed out the nuts (and let’s be honest, in this business there are plenty to go around), you compile a list of people who can get the job done. You’re set. Now it’s time to get down to the details. Availability, experience, personality are all things that you’re looking at... after all, we’re not desperate here (snicker). So, you finally get that together and you’re left with the one person who fits the bill. They are going to be your Rock Star! They are finishing your sentences for Pete's sake! Everything’s ready to go, Set Phasers to Stun (you’re welcome, Johnny). Then the question comes up: How much does it pay?... Aw Man! You just killed my puppy. Did you not read the ad? Did the person that recommended you not fill you in? Non-Profit means, we ain’t got no cash. “Oh I’m sorry but I thought it was a mistake.” Or even better yet “Oh…you were serious?”

So what’s a company to do? Well you manage. You double, triple, and often quadruple the tasks that your team is responsible for. You make do. And hopefully, you think to yourself, "Someday we’ll have the money to hire the truly wonderful people that require monetary compensation for their efforts." In the meantime, you know that you have what no money could pay for: people you think of as family. Who devote their time, talent and love to do whatever it takes to put on the best productions possible. I’m fortunate to be surrounded by those people.

So if you are out there and have the time, talent and passion for what you do, let us know. We’d love to meet you; even if you are a little nutty (emphasis on little). We’ve got plenty of a lot nutty already. (Talk to Marc Adam Smith for two minutes if you don’t believe me).

A Note About Peripherals

Hi there blogging audience,

I thought I'd take a moment to mention that even though I referred to some of our colleagues as being on "the very peripheral" of our group, that doesn't mean we love them any less!

I didn't realize my previous post could be considered slightly dismissive with that phrasing, so if I offended anyone, I do apologize. We are truly grateful for any and all involvement!