On The Happy Hour Guys: Passion, History, and Episode #300.

We've come a long, long way.

Yesterday we dropped the 300th video episode of The Happy Hour Guys.

Looking back on GABF 2014: BEER-icon.

300 fully edited, 'have production value' episodes. That's hours, if not days of fully produced shows. And days, if not weeks, of raw footage. 12 years in the making.

How the f*ck did that happen? Well, I've always been a lover of History (bars, booze, and otherwise), so in that spirit, here's some history that I lived:

The McSorley's pilot, 2006.

In 2003 I started my film company, Back40 Films. Around that same time I was playing Thomas Jefferson in a production of 1776 at the Ford's Theatre in DC - and in the cast was a guy named Mark Aldrich. We kept running in to each other at some of DC's best watering holes, including Old Ebbitt's Grill, and the Brickskeller (now the Bier Baron). We found that we shared a love of Historic & Remarkable Bars, as well as Craft Beverages. At some point, being voracious History and Travel Channel watchers, we came to the idea that there may be a show in all this. So I said something along the lines of "Okay, well, I have this spiffy new film company so - Let's shoot it". 

And The Happy Hour Guys was born.

It didn't rise completely formed right away, of course. In fact, quite the opposite. In 2006 we paid what seemed to us a mint to some guys who then shot a professionally produced pilot at McSorley's in NYC - it was exciting, nerve wracking, we sent it all over the media universe that we knew, and... and it just sort of sat there.

Can't take your eyes off of him for a second.

Alright then...

So then we started a website. And then we started blogging.

And finally in 2008, we thought, "Well, no one seems to want to produce these for us, and we're enjoying ourselves mightily, so... let's see what it's like to produce them ourselves, on a regular basis." So, we decided to use our theatre careers to subsidize our TV show (which sounds totally BASS-ACKWARDS, doesn't it?) At that point we had shot maybe 8 episodes total, just messing around. I had even shot one on a point & shoot camera that did archaic video, pointing the cam at myself in prehistoric Selfie mode (this would have been, like 2007). 

We had a terrible, used mini DV camera and one microphone. No lighting. We had no idea what we were doing, and IT WAS THRILLING.  We made episodes in which we talked to potatoes. To say we were 'Pre-HD' would be an understatement: This one looks like we shot it through a pinhole camera.

And then, besides our YouTube Channel, we added another video carrier (thank you, @BlipTv) and others (Vimeo and Bitlanders) and our stuff began showing up in other regions of the inter webs - in fact, all over the place. People began to recognize us. These were heady days for us. I can remember them like they were yesterday. In fact, what day is it?

Drinking at the Colorado Governor's Mansion.

Cut to the present: These days, we sometimes have multiple shooters handling several cameras on a shoot (people will do a lot of work for free beer), we have portable lighting and sound, and I edit on a 'big boy platform' now, (Final Cut Pro) and... we have a GoPro. (A freaking GoPro! It's so fun!)

So what do we know now that we didn't know then? We've witnessed personally that many of the good folks who are making these beverages have risked nearly everything to do so, and continue to fight that good fight, between debt, fear, and their own personal vision, each and every day. As Artists, let me tell you... they could not be more inspiring. So we've dedicated ourselves to being a voice for these people who are making a change in their community. (And producing life-alteringly good liquids while they are at it!)

Bev-Tour with us sometime. It's a terrific ride. I recommend you jump on.

CHEERS!

Jamaica. Yup.

A Code of Ethics.

As some of you may know, I have a pretty long history with the show The Full Monty. After my ex-wife was in the original cast on Broadway I was a huge fan. I finally had a chance to play the show last summer in Aspen. And while I was researching the cast, this came up. I respected this woman before - I love and respect her now. Enjoy.

Kathleen Freeman, the original Jeanette in the musical version of The Full Monty.

While appearing on Broadway in her Tony-nominated role of Jeanette in The Full Monty in August, 2001, Equity member Kathleen Freeman died of lung cancer. Equity Councillor Jane A. Johnston, a longtime friend and executrix for Ms. Freeman’s estate, later discovered among Ms. Freeman’s papers a document containing A Code of Ethics for Theatre Workers. Ms. Freeman was a daughter of a small time vaudevillian team. Her childhood experience of touring with her parents inspired this Code of Ethics, Ms. Johnston writes. She also notes: “What is particularly interesting about this list of dos and don’ts for the theatre is that it was written in 1945 when Kathleen was establishing one of the first small theatres in Los Angeles and she was 24 years old. I wish I had been told some of ‘the rules’ when I was a young actress instead of having to pick them up as I went along.”

The El Centro Theatre, home to the Circle Players.

The theatre was the Circle Players (with Charlie Chaplin among its backers), which later evolved into the Players’ Ring. Although there is no record that either company used an Equity contract (they certainly pre-dated the 99-Seat Code in Los Angeles), Ms. Johnston confirms that all the participants were professionals.

Foreword to the Code
“A part of the great tradition of the theatre is the code of ethics which belong to every worker in the theatre. This code is not a superstition, nor a dogma, nor a ritual which is enforced by tribunals; it is an attitude toward your vocation, your fellow workers, your audiences and yourself. It is a kind of self-discipline which does not rob you of your invaluable individualism.
“Those of you who have been in show business know the full connotation of these precepts. Those of you who are new to show business will soon learn. The Circle Players, since its founding in 1945, has always striven to stand for the finest in theatre, and it will continue to do so. Therefore, it is with the sincere purpose of continued dedication to the great traditions of the theatre that these items are here presented.”

The “rules” follow:

1. I shall never miss a performance.
2. I shall play every performance with energy, enthusiasm and to the best of my ability regardless of size of audience, personal illness, bad weather, accident, or even death in my family.
3. I shall forego all social activities which interfere with rehearsals or any other scheduled work at the theatre, and I shall always be on time.
4. I shall never make a curtain late by my failure to be ready on time.
5. I shall never miss an entrance.
6. I shall never leave the theatre building or the stage area until I have completed my performance, unless I am specifically excused by the stage manager; curtain calls are a part of the show.
7. I shall not let the comments of friends, relatives or critics change any phase of my work without proper consultation; I shall not change lines, business, lights, properties, settings or costumes or any phase of the production without consultation with and permission of my director or producer or their agents, and I shall inform all people concerned.
8. I shall forego the gratification of my ego for the demands of the play.
9. I shall remember my business is to create illusion; therefore, I shall not break the illusion by appearing in costume and makeup off-stage or outside the theatre.
10. I shall accept my director’s and producer’s advice and counsel in the spirit in which it is given, for they can see the production as a whole and my work from the front.
11. I shall never “put on an act” while viewing other artists’ work as a member of an audience, nor shall I make caustic criticism from jealousy or for the sake of being smart.
12. I shall respect the play and the playwright and, remembering that “a work of art is not a work of art until it is finished,” I shall not condemn a play while it is in rehearsal.
13. I shall not spread rumor or gossip which is malicious and tends to reflect discredit on my show, the theatre, or any personnel connected with them-either to people inside or outside the group.
14. Since I respect the theatre in which I work, I shall do my best to keep it looking clean, orderly and attractive regardless of whether I am specifically assigned to such work or not.
15. I shall handle stage properties and costumes with care for I know they are part of the tools of my trade and are a vital part of the physical production.
16. I shall follow rules of courtesy, deportment and common decency applicable in all walks of life (and especially in a business in close contact with the public) when I am in the theatre, and I shall observe the rules and regulations of any specific theatre where I work.
17. I shall never lose my enthusiasm for theatre because of disappointments.

In addition, the document continued:
“I understand that membership in the Circle Theatre entitles me to the privilege of working, when I am so assigned, in any of the phases of a production, including: props, lights, sound, construction, house management, box office, publicity and stage managing-as well as acting. I realize it is possible I may not be cast in a part for many months, but I will not allow this to dampen my enthusiasm or desire to work, since I realize without my willingness to do all other phases of theatre work, there would be no theatre for me to act in.”
All members of the Circle Theatre were required to sign this document. And they must have-because the theatre, and the group into which it evolved, was successful for many years.

Much of the time Professional Actors lose track of the idea of CRAFT in their work. Being a Craftsperson is in many ways sacred, and when I forget that... I'll be re-reading this.  Thanks Kathleen, and thanks to the Circle Theatre.

Revelation in a $43 cup of Starbucks.

I just had a major revelation rise out of a $43 cup of Starbucks. Story:

I'm in Vegas this week, doing an Industrial show (or what we like to call Business Theater) for just a couple of days. We've been staying at the MGM Grand, and our show, for Country Financial, was an interesting little presentation on a huge conference center stage, woven through some long speeches being given by the top brass of this company. The greatest piece of Art? Absolutely not. But it's been a terrific gig. We've been paid well, got housed in a beautiful hotel in a fairly warm climate (while the East Coast was getting pounded by a huge snowstorm), got fed like Kings and Queens, and I even got to the gaming tables - and it looks like I'm actually going to leave Vegas 'up' about 100 bucks. Happy days!

So yesterday morning just before I checked out, I went downstairs for a $43 cup of Starbucks. Well the Starbucks cost $8 - (8 dollars for a cup of Starbucks drip and a scone! YIKES!), so where the other $35 come from? As I was stirring in some milk, I noticed that on the gaming floor not 10 steps away there was a five dollar Blackjack table with a nice, welcoming looking dealer standing behind it.   I sat, and I was the only one at the table – you can do this when it's 7 AM on a Wednesday, even in Vegas.

When you play Blackjack and it's just you and the dealer, it can be really fun. You can really play the game, and if your dealer is personable, you can strike up a conversation that can ramble nearly anywhere. My dealer's name was Audrey. And as she was casually hammering me with a very unfriendly shoe, the questions began: "What do you do for a living?" "I'm an Actor.". Usually, Actor gets some kind of reaction, but she barely blinked. Because this is Vegas, and she gets every kind of everything at her table. For a moment, I mused that in a certain way, she's a priest, and this is her confessional - but then I thought, no that's not right; she's a zookeeper, slinging cards and jokes at whatever kind of animal runs, flies or crawls by. "Could you break this for me please? " "Well I'm not strong enough to break it, but I'll definitely give you change." Bah-DUM-bum. 

She dealt me a 20 and then proceeded to deal herself 21 the hard way, and as my head sagged and she reached for my chips, another casual question: "What's your favorite thing you've ever done?"

Now as a person who makes their living as a Professional Actor I've easily been asked this question a thousand times. I usually have some kind of stock answer for it, and so I began my usual "Well, that's a really hard question, but..."

Revelation. BOOM.

And I realized that in that silly little industrial show, I had just as much fun in the moment, in the doing of it, in the performing of it, as I've ever had in any show I've ever done. Anywhere.

So who cares? Why does this matter? PROCESS. That's why. It is all about the doing of a thing, not where you are doing it. (As long as you're getting paid, of course - I mean I am a professional and all.) I've been on Broadway, on television, in film, I run my own series, and even in a conference venue at 7AM, I was having a fantastic time with fantastic people.

Perhaps getting hammered at Blackjack is a method for making that clear. (This is not a method that I would advise participating in frequently - but it is quite effective.) Thus: Are you enjoying what you're doing at the moment? If not, then you should probably find something else to do. Me, im going to keep finding every opportunity I can...  just to be in the show. Wherever it is. As long as it's paying.

Thank you Audrey. You took my money... but in the end, I owe you.