acting

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What’s my motivation?

Exactly a week ago, the 7 show run of the “Jukebox Diner” came to an end; meaning I have now completed my adult debut as a “stage actor” at age 44. So I naturally ask myself, “What was my motivation? What inspired me to do that?”

The obvious motivation was knowing all the financial proceeds go to help fund the DeKalb County Children’s Advocacy Center; which is all the movitation needed.

But I think, from a psychological perspective, why was I personally driven to say “yes” without hesitation when being offered a role, then dedicate the next two months to memorizing my lines, going to rehearsals several times a week, and dedicating another two weeks to perform.

My answer: I am challenge-driven.

It makes me feel alive to be able to figure out how to adapt and overcome obstacles.

It makes me feel alive to be able to figure out how to entertain people; to make them laugh and to provide an environment where they can laugh, while seeing and connecting with other people they know in the audience.

It makes me feel alive to be able to figure out how to create a character and bring them to life, based on just lines in a script.

During each of the 7 performances, despite knowing my lines since the very first rehearsal, there was always the reality that I must be prepared to smoothly react if someone else forgot one of their lines- and likewise if I forgot a line myself.

There was also the fact that sometimes, in the moment, on the stage, I would suddenly come up with an idea potentially better way to deliver the line; whether it was my body language or simply by dramatically pausing before I spoke, to add tense in order to intensify the absurdity of the comedy.

And of course, there’s the fact that I was able to get to know an entire group of people in the process; who I wouldn’t have met otherwise.

What was my personal motivation in joining the cast of the DeKalb County Children’s Advocacy Center play this year?

I’m simply wired for it. Some might even say I am dramatic. I know my wife would.

To see my performances, check out the link below and look up the time stamps provided:

1:14:38 through 1:34:04

1:56:26 through 2:02:11

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My First Time Acting Since 1999

I had no idea that a little over a month ago when I threw ramen noodles, instant oatmeal, and old Beanie Babies from the back of my Jeep in the Fort Payne Christmas parade, that I was accidentally auditioning for the upcoming annual Children’s Advocacy Center “dinner and a show” play.

As we slowly rode past what seemed to be the majority of the population of the town in the parade, I was doing my best to shout out anyone’s name I knew, as I sported my ugly Christmas sweater… not giving much thought to how theatrical of a spectacle I was making of myself.

Just a couple days after the parade, I was recruited to be in the play.

Not a coincidence. That was my audition.

Acting was a huge part of my childhood and my connection with the town of Fort Payne. From 3rd grade until my Senior year of high school, I was regularly performing in plays and musicals; whether they were through the local community theater group, or a church, or the school.

Specifically, I am what is referred to as a “character actor”… not the lead. I naturally transform into any version of a character that needs to show up for comic relief. That has always been my speciality.

It is no different for the upcoming “Jukebox Diner”, in which I play two different characters like this:

-An overeager romantic who is on the search for his 4th wife, having just finished a brief stint in prison.

-A grumpy old man who is well-informed of what’s going on in town, thanks to regularly monitoring everyone’s posts on “the Facebook”.

I love the challenge of playing two completely different characters, each with their own personalities and accents, showing up on stage just minutes apart from each other.

Now that I think about it, I haven’t actually been in a play since my senior year of high school, in 1999. So… I haven’t officially acted on a stage in nearly 27 years! But for me, it’s simply second nature to me to do theater again.

We’ve now made it through our first couple of weeks of practice and it is really starting to get fun. Opening night is coming up soon!

Show dates: February 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 13 and 14.

To reserve your tickets, call the Children’s Advocacy Center at 256-997-9700.

4 Comments Posted on Jack-Man, Storytelling, Uncategorized, Writing

My Pitch to the Studios, as a Children’s TV Show Host

dichotomy

Editor’s Note:

I will be emailing the following letter to the same casting agency that reached out to me a few months ago to interview and potentially invite my family to participate in the upcoming reality TV show, The Family Project on NBC.

After that, this letter will then be going out to the all the casting agencies and directors for all the major children’s (and family) television networks; including PBS, Nickelodeon, Disney, TLC, Animal Planet, and The Discovery Channel.

Dear [casting agencies for television studios of major networks that feature children’s programming],

I believe you may be interested in meeting me. I think I can solve your problem in that I am who you are looking for if you are currently in need of a children’s television host.

However, please do not take my word for it…

Instead, simply watch me at work. My passion is creating original content to entertain children; as I have a 5 year-old son, as well as a daughter due to be born in April.

Just watch this quick webisode of my newest web series, Uncle Nick’s Enchanted Forest. Everything you see here is original content. I write, produce, and direct my shows; as well as serve as the protagonist and voices to the animal characters:

I write and perform my own songs, just like the beloved Mr. Fred Rogers did. I play both guitar and harmonica; and obviously sing.

You will see how I simply engage children in nostalgic ways, similar to that beloved uncle everyone has.

To further showcase my acting and production skills, as well as my musical talent and over all creativity, I also ask you to watch a short webisode of my other original web series, Jack-Man; which is a sci-fi super hero show starring my son and me.

In this series, you will see my acting skills as a villain; not just simply the kind and warm “Uncle Nick” character I play on my other series. Again, I created all of this content from scratch, including the lyrics, music, and performance of the songs.

Also, I already have a following on my website, Family Friendly Daddy Blog; where I maintain a minimum of 15,000 views per month. (For 3 years, I had previously served as the official daddy blogger for Parents.com; the website for the legendary Parents magazine.)

Thank you so much for your time and consideration today. Even if I never hear back from you, please know I will continue creating original content to entertain and engage children in the YouTube world; knowing that one day I will get my big break.

Granted, I hope that “big break” comes from you.

Sincerely,

Nick Shell of Family Friendly Daddy Blog

1 Comment Posted on Health, Nostalgia, People, Recaps, Spirituality, Storytelling, Uncategorized, Writing

dad from day one: Proud Papa

Twenty weeks.

*Did you hear about this blog from American Baby magazine?  If so, click here to get to the main page (table of contents) for “dad from day one”.  There’s a whole lot more where this come from…

During the closing credits of my favorite movie of all time, I Love You, Man, Barry (Jon Favreau) finds out his wife Denise (Jamie Pressly) is pregnant after she vomits on him at the wedding reception.  With puke on his shirt, he says to her, “Please, try to make it a boy.”  Barry is a Type A jerk, inhabiting every memory and idea of a typical beer-guzzling frat boy.  So of course, having a boy (instead of a girl) would be very important to him.

Being that I’m nothing like that character in the movie, instead being much more like the main character, Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd), I had just always assumed I would have all daughters.  Here’s the picture I had in my head of my future family: Me, wifey, three daughters, and two Cockapoos (or Labradoodles).

It just makes more sense that a guy who has no interest (or talent whatsoever) in sports or hunting (or anything proving I’m man enough by showing my “game face”), but instead has always been enthralled in everything artistic (drawing, entertaining, acting, singing, songwriting, writing) would somehow automatically make a better father to daughters instead of sons.  So that’s part of the reason I was so authentically surprised to learn that our baby is a boy.  Like somehow I deserved a son less because I’m not a certain macho stereotype I’ve memorized from three decades of watching sitcoms and movies.

And now, I have to admit, there’s a part of me that can’t help but laugh that without any preconceived hopes or crossed fingers, I get what every man secretly hopes for- a son.  There’s an unspoken concept (at least in my mind) that raising a son is a rite of passage for a man.  A coveted elective course, a special honorary badge, an engraved trophy so easily received- to be a father to a son.  A chance not so much to relive my own life, but to enhance another future man with all the life experience and knowledge I’ve learned the hard way.

The movie I Love You, Man is built around the fact that male friendships and bonds don’t often come so easily.  By a man having a son, he is automatically given that opportunity- to nurture a male the way every boy and man craves to be taught and directed.  What I lack in knowledge of fixing cars and football statistics and home repairs, I can make up for in teaching healthy communication skills and anything that falls under that categories of “literary”, “artistic”, “psychological”, and “entertainment”.

In other words, I have a feeling I will be raising  the likeness of a future Jewish comedic actor, maybe the next Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the next Shia LaBeouf, the next James Franco…

A well-rounded people-person who is confident in who he is, that’s who I predict he will become.  Who knows?  Maybe he’ll be a quiet, mild-mannered, studious, future accountant.  But with a dad as quirky and Hawaiian-shirt-wearing as me, I just don’t think he has a chance of being anything like Clark Kent.

Here’s what The Bump says about Week 20:

Baby’s digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. And, speaking of the diaper situation… baby’s genitals are now fully formed!

To return to the “dad from day one” main page, click here.

All pictures with the “JHP” logo were taken by Joe Hendricks Photography:

Blog- www.photojoeblog.com

Website- www.joehendricks.com

3 Comments Posted on Nostalgia, People, Spirituality, Storytelling, Uncategorized

The Invisible Touch, Yeah (The 2nd Installment)

It takes seeing bad acting to know what good acting is.  Bad acting isn’t simply defined by an actor who conveys no emotion (Ben Stein).  But there is a thin invisible line between a person who is a good actor (Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise, Paul Giamatti) and a person who simply plays the same character in every movie (Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, Arnold Schwarzenegger).  Of course there are also the in-betweens (Adam Sandler, Ashton Kutcher, Robin Williams) that only seem to play the same character in all their comedies but in dramas actually become a different person.

 

But ultimately for an actor who has appeared in a string of successful/popular movies, the question of how good of an actor is, is irrelevant.  It doesn’t matter.  Because there is some unseen force that causes people to keep watching that actor’s movies.  It’s not simply professional acting skills that audiences follow, it’s that invaluable quality of “I like this person”.

Friendships don’t grow just because of common interests.  Now that I think about it, I’ve never made a conscience decision to be a person’s friend.  It just happens.  I never have to say anything like, “You’re cool.  Let’s officially become friends.”

 

It starts with a few joking insults through text messages, leads to several Sunday afternoon Mario Kart Wii tournaments, and before I know it I plan a whole Saturday around rowing down the Harpeth River in a canoe with him, trying to forget about the movie Deliverance as we paddle our way through the quiet waters.

 

The “I like this person” quality transcends to romance as well.  There is something extremely ironic about “Singles” events and groups.  For my first year living in Nashville I attended the Singles Sunday School class at my church (around 80 in attendance) plus I went to Kairos (another Singles event every Tuesday night with an average of 1200 people).  It seems with all those single-and-looking people in the same place with the same wishful thinking, it would be easy for people to match up.  But that’s not where I met my wife.  (A mutual friend unintentionally set us up.)

 

And when she and I started dating, I knew right away she was the one.  Aside from all the obvious reasons I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, it was those subconscious connections we had that caused both of us to know right away that the search was over.  The greatest occurrence of “I like this person” that I have ever known.

“We are all a little weird, and life is a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.”  -Chinese fortune cookie

The Invisible Touch, Yeah

The 1st Installment
The 2nd Installment
The 3rd Installment