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Jason Schwartz with ROBERT ANGELO. Robert teaches ActNowâ„¢ Workshops & is a long standing stage & screen Professional Actor, heralding from New York theatre and television. Recently, he did a command One-Man stage performance portraying famed historical lawyer Clarence Darrow. 1-13-2020
Summary & transcript
The show opens with Jason Schwartz introducing the program “The Neutral Zone” and his guest, Robert Angelo, a seasoned actor and director with extensive experience in New York theater and now active in Maui and Honolulu. Robert shares his background, noting his work in acting, directing, and coaching professional actors for auditions and monologues. His current workshop, called Act Now, emphasizes the importance of being fully present in the moment during acting. He explains how actors often lose authenticity by thinking ahead or dwelling on past lines, and his method trains actors to stay grounded moment-to-moment.
Robert and his associate Brad Starks are developing new training techniques, including providing actors with short contemporary scenes from TV and movies (e.g., lawyers, doctors, interrogations) to prepare them for pilot season auditions digitally. This approach reflects the industry’s shift toward digital self-tapes and online reels, which have replaced traditional reels. Robert stresses the importance of having relevant material—lawyers, doctors, cops—on one’s reel, as these are the common roles in current TV and streaming content.
- [06:58 → 15:27] Philosophy of Acting and Emotional Expression
Robert delves deeper into his acting philosophy, influenced by masters such as Button and McGill Visser, with whom he studied in New York. He stresses that acting methodologies vary, but the core is emotions—love, hate, anger, fear, frustration, pain—which are universally relatable. The challenge for many actors is accessing and expressing these emotions authentically. He likens words in a script to a coloring book outline; the actor’s job is to “fill in the color” with genuine feeling.
He advocates for watching current TV and film to understand industry standards and emotional delivery. Robert shares a personal anecdote of how acting helped him overcome his youthful shyness by providing a conduit for self-expression and emotional freedom. He emphasizes that expression is a form of freedom and essential for mental health, encouraging people to find safe outlets for releasing emotions.
A humorous story about how he used to stop at a lookout on Maui to scream and release energy illustrates the societal conditioning to “shut up” and suppress emotion. This repression can cause psychological harm, whereas acting and emotional expression provide healing and liberation.
- [15:27 → 23:13] Robert’s One-Man Show: Clarence Darrow
Robert discusses his acclaimed one-man show portraying Clarence Darrow, performed in Maui and Honolulu. The play, written by Brin Tells, features a 62-page monologue, which Robert memorized over six months through disciplined daily rehearsals and walking while reciting. He explains how he stays present during long performances and continuously refines his interpretation, treating each show as a unique experience rather than a repeat.
- [23:13 → 31:07] Theater Development in Maui and Creating Opportunities
Jason and Robert discuss the need for more theater venues on Maui, especially on the west side, to accommodate local productions and tap into tourist audiences. They envision hotel venues dedicated to art, music, and culture, creating ongoing entertainment ecosystems similar to Las Vegas but tailored to Maui’s unique vibe.
Robert emphasizes the importance of self-creation in the arts, especially in smaller markets where opportunities are limited. He credits his own success with Darrow to creating his own work with help from friends and collaborators. This entrepreneurial approach is critical for actors and artists to gain visibility and control over their careers.
They also touch on plans to transition from radio to TV formats for their shows, recognizing the need for greater visibility to attract sponsorship and audience engagement.
Robert describes his role as a director and acting coach, working with actors trained in various methods. His approach is to identify each actor’s unique triggers and integrate their style into his methodology, centered on emotional honesty and presence. This tailored coaching leads to performances that are more truthful and expressive.
He recounts his personal journey of self-discovery living off-grid in Hana, Maui, which deepened his self-awareness and ability to listen to himself—qualities essential for authentic acting.
Robert then shares a new project: adapting a story about a World War II waist gunner into a short film. The concept involves a man in a hospital reliving his wartime experiences through internal monologue and visual flashbacks. The piece deals with PTSD and is designed to be emotionally powerful with minimal dialogue, focusing on facial expressions and sounds. He is seeking screenwriters and collaborators to bring this project to life, highlighting the importance of intergenerational cooperation between experienced artists and younger creatives.
The conversation turns to the challenges of collaboration in today’s more individualistic and media-saturated culture, especially among younger generations. Robert notes that many young people struggle with face-to-face communication due to their immersion in digital devices, making acting classes and workshops more crucial for connection and expression.
He advocates for small, intimate acting groups where everyone participates fully, which fosters deeper learning and interaction. Robert reminisces about past seminars he led internationally, including with Aboriginal women from Australia, which had rich cultural wisdom but struggled with attendance due to cost—pointing to the ongoing challenge of funding and audience engagement in live events.
He acknowledges the shift toward online content, podcasts, and virtual classes as a necessary evolution in the industry, though live performance retains unique energy and immediacy.
- [44:50 → 47:52] Live Theater vs. Screen Acting
Robert and Jason discuss the differences between live theater and filmed performances. While film and TV allow repeated viewing and broader distribution, live theater offers a unique, ephemeral energy created by the immediate interaction between actor and audience. Robert compares performing a one-man show to a high-wire act without a safety net, requiring intense focus and trust in one’s preparation.
They note that modern technology, such as 4K video, can create highly realistic screen experiences, but live performance remains irreplaceable in its communal and spontaneous nature.
- [47:52 → 52:18] Honest Criticism and Film Reviews
Robert voices concern about the lack of honest criticism in contemporary media and arts reviews, where political correctness and fear of offending have led to superficial praise rather than constructive feedback. He values critical analysis that digs beneath the surface to truly understand performances and scripts.
They discuss recent films like Joker and The Irishman, noting the depth and nuance in acting performances that deserve recognition even if the subject matter is dark or uncomfortable. Robert, a longtime Screen Actors Guild member, discusses his experience voting for awards and how acting quality is assessed beyond personal taste.
- [52:18 → 55:56] Reflections on Industry Changes and Closing Remarks
The conversation wraps up with reflections on how the entertainment industry has changed, with rising ticket prices and shifts in audience behavior. Robert reiterates his contact information and encourages viewers to visit his website and classes.
He thanks Jason and the audience for the opportunity to share his insights and experiences. The show closes with hopeful remarks about 2020 being a year when long-held plans start to come to fruition.
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- Being present in the moment is fundamental to authentic acting.
- Emotions are the universal language for actors to connect with audiences.
- Contemporary audition material focuses heavily on realistic roles like doctors, lawyers, and cops.
- Creating one’s own work is essential in smaller markets to gain visibility.
- Live theater offers a unique energy impossible to replicate on screen.
- Honest, insightful criticism is vital to artistic growth.
- Collaboration across generations and disciplines strengthens creative projects.
- The media landscape is evolving, requiring adaptability in training and performance.
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- Contact Information
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- Robert Angelo Coaching: actnowclasses@gmail.com
- Website: actnowclasses.com (or productionsllc.com as mentioned)
Transcript
00:01
good morning everyone it’s Monday at 11 a.m. this is Jason Schwartz were here I’m ready okay you and this is the neutral zone welcome to our show [Music] [Music] that is moment of doubt you watch this hand [Music] good morning everyone Aloha this is Jason Schwartz this is the neutral zone it is Monday January 13 2020 why when I say 2020 I still don’t believe it which is your eyesight Jason no I think I just see all I hear is Barbara Walters saying 2020 and I hear me talking about 2020 vision forever an hour in 2020
01:38
that’s another show cuz today this is a show really from my joy I wanted to have a guest on that I like as a person that I would talk about something other than the issues of the day how to make things better how to make things worse what is up what is down but we could get into the world where we get to create and I’m here with Robert Angelo large so thank you for inviting me on yeah that’s so this is fun Robert by the way I just want to ask you neutrals on a wheel Switzerland maybe a bit closer otherwise
02:15
it close without a problem it’s just an echo thing so I get to get too close I’ll have a harassment suit yeah you will yeah Robert is a consummate actor many people know him here on this island but also those of you of my age and around you aren’t a couple of soaps weren’t you years ago I was actually yeah in New York I grew up in New York and I directed about 40 shows there and acted in quite a few shows and then I wound up directing and coaching in New York coaching professional actors for
03:00
auditions monologues etc etc and it’s one of the things I really love to do and I’m doing it here on Maui and now a little bit in Honolulu as well so when you’re you’re I want to say your acting workshop is called act now now that’s correct what is it well it’s about being present in the moment being totally present if you’re thinking about what you’re going to do and which are what you’ve done as you’re performing you’re not in the moment and acting is
03:29
being totally present in the moment moment to moment to moment so you’re not thinking you’re just being in the moment and that’s a discipline and it that’s what we work on among other things so you do individual coaching private coaching and you actually uh you know my associate Brad Starks we’re working on a new project we keep developing new new aspects of how to work with actors and one of the things we’ve done is worked with doing videos for their reels you know so we’ve been giving them scenes
04:05
and Maria Liz when you go out for an audition or even before you without your work and it’s called a real you now it’s all done on on it’s all digital they ain’t no reals anymore no but that’s what they call it it’s uh but it’s all done on computer now you just they want to see you they’ll Skype you they’ll want you to send us and you’re a real online email right so we did that but now we’re about to approach a new way Brad and came up with this idea and I
04:33
really love it we took a lot of short scenes from famous TV shows and movies like 160 second 35 second scenes about lawyers doctors interrogation scenes etc etc and we’re going to be offering that as the next series of classes we’re going to do and we’ll give them these scenes because now we’re coming into pilot season and in Honolulu it’s happening in California it’s happening so we want to get this done sometime later on this month and into February so here in January and into February of
2020 what is the way for people to contact you Oh psychically or just email which is act now classes at gmail.com yeah that’s important that’ll act now classes at gmail.com right good and what I really like is then you’re keeping it fresh so when I hear you putting together thirty five in one minute little pieces about lawyers and doctors is that the direction you see on auditions and television and those kind of roles more than yes a Pinocchio or you know that’s the whole of a different
05:49
category you’re talking about voiceovers for cartoons asoto thinking of that um you know when I watched the anime after a while I stopped watching TV and I could easily switch to Netflix and this stuff because what I see is really get a formula and now the new actors are all doing TV shows now they’re doing medical now they’re doing medical cop shows right then they do a vampire dancing around a medical cop show what one of the most common John Roos you’re seeing on TV Netflix anywhere else it’s doctors
06:22
lawyers cops etc etc and that’s that’s where the auditions are going to be taking place so you want to have that material in your repertoire and on your on your reel so to speak so you can submit those type of parts that’s really powerful things so the reel is really everything that now it is active from Maui and audition everywhere uh yeah you can’t I’m doing it and although I do fly over to Honolulu quite a bit but yeah if they if you’re really showing what they want to
06:58
see and basically it’s not always about the talent you gotta remember this Jason a lot of times it’s about the look they if you have a certain look they can work with you so that that comes into play it’s not always about the talent are you your own agent or do you have in it I have an agent and a manager so people that are out there when you train people on how to go at that from here I in my classes and workshops and basically I I have them ask me questions and they’ll come in and they’ll ask me
07:32
what do I do about this that the other thing how do I go about that and I I coach them in all aspects of theirs pursuing their career now a lot of people come to the class that don’t pursue a career don’t want to pursue a career they want to learn more about themselves and be more more who they are and because they have blocks and let me talk about acting for a minute please one of the key things I I know and what I’ve experienced what I’ve learned as an actor from years and years of experience
08:06
and from masters that I work with and who I was taught by well Mike Mike the person that had the most influence on me was a gentleman button and McGill Visser in New York and now back in the 50s he was roommates with Steve McQueen and he’s done a ton of work a lot of here to work a lot of film work but a lot of his philosophies I adopted and they work and right now he calls me maestro master he loves what I do he loves what I coach here’s the thing there are lots of schools of actors and I’ve seen them
08:41
come and they go and they they do the same thing over and over again spouting Stanislavski this one in the at one and Strasbourg or whatever and they’re all valid but every person has a different way of approaching acting and the thing is to find out what what it is that they do now a lot of these coaches they they’ll give it a different name I don’t want to run into names or name people but they give it a name like my methodology is act now and that is basically based on the common
09:15
denominator that I believe all people relate to and that is emotions the one thing that everyone can identify with his emotions love hate anger fear frustration pain you may feel it in one way and I may feel it in a different way but it’s still the common denominator if you see pain or anger in a film you’re gonna relate to that you can say yeah I know what that feels like in your own reality so that’s the common denominator that all actors need to be able to approach and a lot of actors
09:50
have problems with that people in general have problem with that being able to touch their feelings and really express them so it’s about freedom of expression and being able to do that and then you you cloak it in the character and the premise of the scene monologue whatever you’re working on but the emotions are always real and they’re always coming from you and that’s the common denominator every time you go to a play or a movie you know the ones that you walk out of you can’t talk for about
10:19
20 minutes or so because you’ve been impacted by what you saw an experience and felt a little more rare recently yeah I’ll tell you what to look for Netflix by the way that’s the common denominator and it’s usually what not the sets not the costumes but what they made you feel exactly so that’s that’s the school that’s the methodology that I work with and so no matter what type of acne you’ve studied or with who or why or whatever until you can get to that point we can get past your blocks your
10:54
emotional blocks which is where I work and I’ve had a lot of success with that not only for myself but with the people I’ve coached toward now in LA and working in Honolulu working emotional blocks in acting writing an example with that mean that means someone has a scene where they’re gonna be angry and they afraid to write up real anger in their eyes right well you get the excuses like well I don’t I don’t feel that way or they have trouble expressing it you got to find out what’s causing the block
11:28
so it may be a bit yeah and translate into the thing you see from the right they’re not allowing pure emotion to come through right they’re reading from the words it’s someone like singing from the throat right instead of singing from the diaphragm well the words are like a like a like a coloring book that gives you an outline and a lot of times the words will tell you what’s just supposed to feel but can you feel that can you can you actually put the color in there you know and now I’m watching more and
11:58
more TV and a lot of actors tell me oh I don’t watch TV I don’t do this I don’t do that well I don’t watch commercial well but you want it working you better see what’s going on what people are doing so so yeah watch TV watch movies watch you know that that you can learn a lot from just watching and emotionally you got to get to that point where you can express yourself I don’t have a problem with that myself but because I’ve worked at it a long time come on nobody will believe this about me but
12:30
once upon a time way back in New York when I was a teenager and a young man I was very shy very shy you know not anymore I’m sure that the acting gave you a place that it did yeah and learn about myself and that’s what it’s about it’s not just about pursuing a career in acting it helps the individual become more expressive more open about who they are and live life more fully and like you say get in touch with the emotion yeah yeah weren’t you that that’s where we live and breathe really untruthfully
13:09
and a lot of people hold it all in and don’t express and that’s where sickness comes from and everything else I say this over and over expression is freedom we have we all have every right to express what we feel and how we feel and if you don’t want to do it with another person go bury your head in the pillow go underwater scream whatever you have to do but get it out of your system I’ll tell you a funny story if you’ve got time for his funny story when I live when I lived in keep a hole away this is
13:42
Robert Angela Herron kak you I’m giving an acting class on radio but that’s fine yeah what do you when I lived in capable way back in the day when I moved to Maui it was about 33 years ago okay I used to drive of course now you live in keep a who lowered homicide they call everything the other side I’m going so I would get in my car once a week I yeah I’ll say I’m going to the other side and I would drive it I’d make it an all-day Drive yeah take my time because I’m a
14:17
room and not a Russian okay so I would take my time and a drive and I’d stop at a waterfall or being whatever there was this one lookout point mmm they were st. Peters whatever on a brick wall on the drive from I’m hot in the road town over from Hana and I would stop there and I’d get up on the on the wall yeah the ledge there and I’d look down this little tiny village the way down in the now and you look like little toy houses on a Monopoly sit you know or something like that okay and I yeah
14:53
exactly and not too far from there and I would just look that and I would spread my arms and I would fly rip I would rip sound I can’t even if I can do it I gotta sit back and I’d rip sounds out and man that felt so good to get that emotional you think oh yeah yeah I hope that didn’t break that and now in the houses going barking oh and I would do three or four that and just like wow the energy moving through my body I felt very very good but here’s the problem way down in the valley I heard one
15:27
little voice go Shh shut up and that’s and that’s what we’re taught to do from the time we’re born were told to shut up right think about it you wake the neighbors the baby’s sleeping it’s we’re always being shush in some way or another yeah so um the ability to really let let loose your sound than your feelings is very powerful yeah it’s that’s why your workshops have such good response and yeah should be aware some are aware and some should be aware know we’re here another reason you
16:04
also you yourself yeah had a performance when was that date exactly in 2016 at the Mac and then 2018 in pro arts I would say really a classic version I don’t think of Clarence Darrow the same anymore oh thank you for that it was a it was a labor of love I really believe in what the man believed in so it was easier for me to step in his shoes the best compliment I was the best compliments I was getting and I got a lot of them and I’m grateful for them both here on Maui and in Honolulu when we did it there in
16:42
let in 2018 was that they came to see Robert Angelo but they saw Clarence Darrow and I got lots of compliments on that and people said well I didn’t recognize you you were no but I was in the moment moment to moment just feeling what I was feeling the passion the humor the saltiness the whole bit how do you study a part like that it’s a long monologue well it was 62 pages of dialogue and yet you but to stay in the moment it’s an interesting combination I know where you’re going but yeah let the
17:25
words as you’re speaking lead you I don’t exactly know well this is their their techniques and that’s one of the things I coach people ask me how do you do that well first of all memorizing a script that took me six months to memorize that Oh better part of six months maybe a little longer every day it’s a discipline and a dedication and the desire and those are the three things that work for me every day I will get up and I would spend an hour or two I’d go on a walk just talking about
18:00
walking I would walk for an hour and hour and a half and I work on a page at a time a page at a time a page at a time and every day I would go for another walk and I would add another page sometimes it would two or three days to memorize that page but every time I went out I started on the page one and worked my way up to that page and kept working way way up so everything became more and more solid and then I started as everything came meshed together for me I started concentrating on the feelings
18:31
the emotions who am I talking to why am I saying this and so on and so forth and then that correlates with what you’re going to talk about what you’re going to say and then also you start correlating where am I going to be when you’re on the stage am I going to cross to the desk here that’s when I say that line and you take the whole thing and it’s like a potpourri of of situations where that’s the blocking the emotions and the fact that you did your homework and memorized it now every once in a while
19:04
you go up on the line that happens I’ve dropped a paragraph here in there but being a good actor you don’t give in to panic you just progress and go on to the next thing you know I I still would like to do the perfect performance which won’t just very rarely ever happens because there’s always something more to shoot for and every time here’s another thing about actors then they need to know this don’t try to repeat what you did yesterday the last performance we created anew every time it’s like
19:37
you’re doing it for the first time and you’ll find more nuances more things to bring to the stage so to speak I know that’s yeah yeah yeah on stage yeah how do you keep it fresh you make it fresh you make it fresh and you find the nuances and new things every time you perform even if it’s one or two little things it just makes it it’s like you know it’s it’s it’s um it’s that it’s the aha moment oh wow I didn’t see that before I’m glad I found that now
20:06
and there and I’m busting to do this again we’re trying to get it on the mainland actually we’ll see what happens oh good so what was it called it was called Darrow what’s called the Clarence Darrow Clarence then yeah who wrote it Brin tells is his name he lives in California he said I got the nicest letter from him was it performed by anyone before oh yeah Fonda Spacey oh yeah and what are the characters like could you compare them you create a unique I mean I can only tell you with four test roles
20:46
they may have Fonda Henry father yeah yeah and Kevin Spacey I’m fond of father yeah your performance was unique it Ruth to me I I recognized your character as quintessential well let me tell you what our Intel’s wrote to me I I sent him we recorded it at the Mac that was those are the first two performances I ever did it of Sderot and I’ve done six or seven since then but those were the number the first the second and we recorded them I we had a three camera shoot and I got to say everybody raved about the video so I
21:26
sent the DVD to rent else for his records so he knew what we did and what how we felt about his play he wrote me back and he said some things this is uh he said he told me that he thought it was a really good actor and it was he saw he thought I performed out or the way he thought it should have been performed you know when you when you get a little like that an email it was and I was just so touched and moved now he’s seen the performances of Fonda and all the other actors that are performed and
22:02
they’ve been several but people have come up to me and said that the show that we did was the best they’ve ever seen of Sderot and whatever I mean is it I don’t know was it I don’t know well you know it you had a good time yourself and you’ve heard good things from an audience I love doing it I love doing it and I’ll do it again first chance I get I gotta talk to you about something we’ve got a good theater on in town kala we’ve got another good theater in Kihei right right but one of the things I
22:39
think needs to happen is a third theater another third theater in Lahaina and the wet on the west side I know that one theater where they were doing Elvis and everything that I don’t want to get into the politics of it I heard it closed down for different reasons but we need a good local theater and the West Side the black box McCoy like 250 to see 200 seats that’ll be fine but what would happen there is that the tourist market is very full and we get a lot in Kihei but we get a lot more in the West Side
23:13
and if you put a production like Darrow or because that was not expensive to produce it’s a one-man show it’s something that could play on weekends or for quite quite a period of time it could be ongoing it doesn’t have to be just arrow any any show that’s funded you know that we got to go to a break here in a few seconds I let um we’ll come back that but imagine your hotel yeah it’s I was thinking about it in the area of music and art cuz that Maui Arts exactly so what I was thinking was in hotels I’ve
23:49
venues mmm but to dedicate a venue as a theatre in one of the hotels based on a larger theme of art music and culture on the west side we should talk yeah I think that’s a good idea a crime a really good addition right to a picture you know how Vegas has a show and then yeah exactly almost is that same idea of entertainment on set yeah there’s no gambling but to bring up the entertainment in the West Side and and and rightfully so because because of the fact you have a transient audience
24:27
it’s constantly it’s constantly refreshing every week or two it’s an amazing how less and less venues look at we have to go and talk to let our sponsors and supporters get a word in edgewise then I’ll be back here with Robert Angelo I’m Jason Schwartz on the neutral zone Roberts thank you for being here you just hang on a couple of minutes love to it I’m having fun with you okay the neutral zone with me Jason Schwartz would like to thank Maui Arts and Music Association tree makers Foundation of
25:02
Maui for their support since 1991 hundreds of television shows and their Maui arts and music comm website they have champion self sustainability on Maui the neutral zone is earned live Mondays at 11 a.m. and replayed Saturday at 7 a.m. on kak u 88.5 FM the voice of now do you have something to say but can’t find an outlet did you know that ikkaku offers a service called open mic here you can come in and make a statement on any topic you want and it’s for explore song you wrote recite a monologue do a funny dance comment on a
25:45
recent event the floor is yours come speak mine for free appointments are available Mondays and Wednesdays between 1:00 and 3:00 call eight seven one five five five four today to reserve the spot hi I’m Danica Patrick watching my niece’s grow play and learn is amazing but not every child gets to be carefree one in six kids in the US are hungry this breaks my heart and it’s something that feeding America is working to change each year the feeding American network of food banks rescues billions
26:17
of pounds of good food that would have gone to waste and gives it to families in need to help visit feeding America org brought to you by feeding America and the Ad Council Aloha this is still best inviting you to join me for my show on kak u 88.5 FM it’s off the record and I have a chance to speak with some of the most interesting people on and off the island so be sure to listen in every Tuesday and Thursday from 11 until noon dear on kak to the voice of Maui 88.5 FM hi I’m Jason Schwartz host of the
26:56
neutral zone hey aku is a listener-supported station this means that all the great programs you hear like mine is sponsored by you as well as our underwriters if you would like to help keep the voice of Maui looking loud and clear go to kak UF m dot org slash donate today and give and don’t miss the neutral zone Mondays at 11:00 a.m. on 88.5 FM the voice of Maui [Music] we are back I am here with Robert Angelo kak you 88.5 FM but we’re also gonna be ikkaku Maui community media I call it TV
27:39
and we’re gonna not be on radio soon and we’re gonna be on TV and TV because we want to be I think your word is known as television show more than a radio show and on the ikkaku kak you banners sponsors have talked to me and if they don’t see me there as a TV show they’re wondering why should we talking about revenues within that funny so that’s what we’re doing alright so look that’s the same kind of thing you’re talking about no revenues you know you who on Maui starts these things at a hotel and
28:16
says hey let’s dedicate this space to theater crime it’s gotta have people with some vision you do and that’s the hard part getting people to see the the vision you know some some people just don’t have 20/20 vision they see that it’s a very close-minded closed approach and we need to open their eyes one of the things I tell actors a great deal to do and why I did Darrow one of the main reasons I did Darrow is because something you could be the greatest actor in the greatest performer whatever
28:52
but if they’re not seeing you the people the powers that be that people are casting in whatever if they’re not seeing your work or not seeing you in the parts whatever you’re not getting the work then what you have to do is what I did create your own create your own I created the show I had with a lot of help from my friends Carol Lam Brad Starks they all helped me to get this Darrow show up and and that’s what you have to do it now people recognize me as from the Darrow show and Eric Gilliam
29:26
has done that yeah I do i with Brian Coe I just saw that on Facebook I’m looking forward to checking that out more I know that is true in in Maui right where there aren’t things around and they don’t have that vision exactly you have to create your own and put it out there a great your own company or whatever it takes create your own create your own work one-man shows whatever yeah I just said with a lot of help from your friends people that that you do you believe in you and believe in what
29:59
you’re doing Brad Starks big time you need to get him on your show Carol Lim major player it with a Daryl of show that we did at the mayor now we’ll do it on TV we don’t have to sit here at 11 o’clock on a Monday we yeah and wherever well that’s doing that years here this radio pass was supposed to be a springboard to the TV I’m gonna have to be recognized as family by dropping radio which is yeah what sponsors that it’s tough to do this and maintain them you know that’s some kind of cash flow
30:35
and I’m not working for anyone so it’s just unnecessary well it’s all about the Benjamins really no he’s really a funny animal I mean yeah when I think about your work your work should be out there more because I’ve seen the way you work with people you know real hard you know it’s all about that your New York experience you know Gil Fisher right well I I don’t know him I’ll send you a tape of his life yeah he just showed in New York and you mentioned I was looking up online and it
31:07
talked about Sanford Meisner all right coach and I remember him in LA I was with madam Alaska right right yeah he said right being in the moment and delivering right with genuine emotion well here’s a key Jason now as a director I step into a situation I got to work with a lot of different actors probably of studies 6 or 7 different methods of acting different coaches different ways they approached my job is not to teach him one it’s to find out how they work and find each individual’s
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trigger and and then work with that because I have to find a unified purpose for the whole for the whole cast and once I start getting them into my methodology bringing their met the way they work into my methodology it just jumps it’s just a lot I’ve had actors come up to me and say I saw so-and-so in the productions in New York and I’ve seen him in several productions but that’s and I’ve seen him and they show you just directed that’s the best work I’ve ever seen him doing because some I
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get them to be honest truthful and expressive and then really because like I said the common denominator is your feelings always what you don’t know he is a good I’d like to say sex drugs and rock and roll the weather yeah I had enough of a East Coast storms and stuff and it’s the weather then thought you’d be an actor from Hawaii I came here to be my suit to find out who I am to find out to be more in touch with myself I lived in Hana on my partner Ariane there yeah anyway way back one yeah so I I did that I
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lived in the jungle no off the grid for quite a few years and I got I got to really know myself and like myself and and and and learn I learned to talk to myself but even more so I learned to listen to myself and and it made me fuller and more in touch with everything I do and I’m grateful for that time in that experience I ever really am so now I’m looking at a new project I’m looking I came across this 85 year old man knew and saw me and Darrow in Honolulu and he said I have a couple of scripts I’d like
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you to look at I looked at him and one was a short thing and it was not a script it was more of a story more relating facts and stuff like that but the the basic premise of it was very powerful and I really loved it and I’m now I’m in the process of trying to find the right people to work with this it’s it’s a piece called waist gunner it’s about a Air Force guy it was a waist gunner in World War 2 and a bomber you know the waist waist waist got up in the Bombers that used to have the the
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the side guns and the turrets underneath and the turrets on top and I read it and a lot of facts a lot of facts but the premise of the whole thing was very powerful so I told him about it and I read it and I said I liked it I said I’d like to see it done but I don’t see it as a play I see it as a short film maybe a 10-minute 12-minute film something that could be done in festivals and cetera et cetera and he said well how do you how do you see it I said I see it in a hospital I see it with the man and
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something I’d like to do is the actor personally but I see the man sitting in a chair by the window and you here playing bombers and planes and gun you know going off and and all of a sudden you hear all these sounds and then you see him sitting there and he’s he’s he before you even see him you him yelled get out bail out bail out and and you see him when you see him he’s actually sitting by the window like this an imaginary shooting down of the attacking planes and then a nurse comes
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in and gives him his meds and he doesn’t talk but the whole film revolves around his experiences and what he experienced in about the plains and this Anatomy things that he saw of his family his brothers died etc but you know he never talks to the camera all you do is see his facial expressions and he’s talking oh yeah oh what you’re hearing is his his thoughts even in the action scenes limited words yeah very limited I mean the dialogue would be done by the actor but he would be speaking his thoughts
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he’d never seen him speak you know so it’s just visual of his face like a fun accident I think so I’m looking for the screenwriter to turn it into a little screenplay no well I’m the you know I can give a plug for Maui Community College there you know I just took a course called find your voice and it was about screenwriting right and it’s interesting there are a lot of young people learners who I’m talking to all you guys out there when you hear things on our show like this you should think
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hey I want to contact Robert Angela I’d like a stab and writing something there are a lot of things here and then filming it all of the screenwriters I keep thinking we who are actors and we who want to do things need to pull from the younger collaboration it’s always collaboration I was thinking how can I bring something along as an industry you and I I want to say I don’t want to say we’re at the twilight of our career but say we’re on you know we’re more than halfway into a
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lifetime and there’s a lot of people who here right use involvement with the older more experienced people like and the wisdom yeah it’s like who’s gonna they can stand on the shoulders of those that are gone be front well here’s a key place now yeah here’s bringing it up to them what I’m talking about what this piece is about PTSD oh for sure so the funding is out there for things like this this project that I’m talking about yes you want to bring that subject to the forefront because it was happening
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it was a way to do it in World War two so the funding is out there it just has to have the right yeah right people involved and like I just shouted out to you collaboration and cooperation makes things happen I was gonna use the S word but yeah but that’s what that’s the way it is and and there’s not enough collaboration and cooperation going on I mean there is but it’s a lot of times its contained it needs to open up more well you know well you there is not enough in almost every area oh of course
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something has happened in our lifetime and I’m sure you connect to it the word selfish remember wonder was us generation and then the next generation now things are very different the media is a different thing it’s created totally different marketing experience alright it creates people as individuals getting into their own world so there’s more cooperating yeah it amazes me I heard people tell me all the time I’ve heard it that these kids don’t know how to talk to each other and as openly
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because they’re involved through there right right little media boxes mmm that’s all new to me right that’s why acting is so fun they also improv after that I’m great oh yeah well they’re you know what in love is right I mean it’s called life doing here is improv no this isn’t scripted what we’re doing is not to be Robert says something and I respond from that yes and on and I’m not a scripted guy and I don’t have any agenda I take it from the moment free free form it’s good and it seems to
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be a very effective a lot of times I almost don’t want in acting I’m sure you ever go into a thing like that I am probably half in probably you have sort of a direction yeah you do yeah absolutely do a play where you did improv inside a lot of times when actors can’t find the scene can’t find their way through a scene I said I can’t feel this I’ll tell them forget about the script improv the scene let’s see what it brings up you know right yeah an improv is very very beneficial
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in a lot of ways but there are rules to how it’s done I can I’ve done classes on that now I’m thinking about going back into doing more semo’s you know I used to do seminars no you know way back in the day in Australia and and where else would I do it here among other places and now you can do a seminar sitting in your living room yeah and I’m thinking about that too I used to do Maui we should have them come here you don’t you do it in a living room I did seminars on on fathers and sons
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I have about three generations of fathers and sons sit around the campfire and weed and get everybody to talk freely and it was amazing when you give you know talking stick to someone and especially the youngest child and he knows he’s safe to say whatever he wants without any repercussions because that’s the rules we create it’s interesting cuz in that one situation that father said I didn’t know you felt that way but he was safe to say it it was very powerful I did a seminar for men on how to be
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with women in Australia it was very powerful yeah the guy I had a seminar leader actually take that workshop mmm he was taking notes like what was going out of style and a lot of it is incorporated with the acting stuff you know and he invited me to dinner at his house and his wife said I don’t know what you said in that seminar but thank you well basically I tell them to do it unsolicited acts of love you know so he went home for no apparent reason I brought her roses and she just like said
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Wow instead of being let me not get into it I’ve been doing a seminar understand that’s right yeah but you know I incorporate a lot of what I’ve learned over the years and what I’ve experienced and and I did those seminars I mean I brought I brought a Aboriginal woman over from Australia to do a seminar and she came out in all her you know tribal stuff and everything and it was attended by about 80 people but when it came time to actually pay for the seminar only 8 or 10 people came it and that was a
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shame because she had so much wisdom so much to share you know so much but for that for the $10 intro everybody came so I sort of wrap well you know that’s why I thought about doing it from a distance because uh these are very different times I mean so I don’t really know what the magic is if there is any magic in getting people to live events versus having less people in their live because of the price I don’t know you know I don’t mind having smaller groups and you know like even at
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my acting classes I don’t want more than ten or twelve people I used to remember when I was having an event or at an event when there were less people who had great lastly camera yeah and then the after thing was really well of course what people saw it after it was recorded than the live event and here’s another thing with a smaller group and I like doing this with my workshops in classes is with a smaller group everybody gets to do things everybody gets involved and nobody feels left out because I want you
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up and doing things I mean the only way to learn how to act is by acting right you know really you have to get up and do it and that’s a good reason to have intimate groups I like it so the Farrell that came from Australia did a big intro night but yeah relatively few people took the actual yeah yeah it’s money and of course let’s face it we flew her over here from from Australia sure so we had airfare we had to pay for her housing and room and board oh I understand the whole thing and we you know we wanted to
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send her back with some money sure yeah which we were able to do it cost us some money but it just needs to be supported more and now these days I get what you’re saying it’s it’s more online podcasts YouTube blah blah blah and I’m gonna look into that myself the whole industry has changed hasn’t it though could remember the days you know it’s really interesting how it’s switched used to be the things on stage people would pay a lot of money for a ticket to come see a lot right right and in the
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music business they’ve made a little money and buy it that music starts getting everywhere right and so people pay a lot of money to go live and see a live music mm-hmm but the thing on stage with an acting thing I prefer maybe I prefer seeing it on right I like I like being home with Netflix and right in Jing and our last night I think I watched four and a half hours about Dracula that really the story but a very interesting tell you an interesting show to watch it’s known Netflix there’s a show called Messiah oh
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yeah on Netflix I just started looking at it yeah good you did oh very timely very timely and it’s I don’t want to say too much more about it but I’ll keep you guessing the saying is he or isn’t he yeah and it has to do with the Middle East and blah blah blah it’s a really high watch that’s very good but I was thinking about the effect of prices now that I want to see a live music show right and the tickets are 45 to 75 125 for a seat at a concert and I used to think was great to have large crowds I
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so try to have low ticket price alright but yet they’re going for all the money at the live shows because they can’t get penalties in this new age it’s a very the changing world there’s there are there’s a lot involved it depends on the the level of celebrity you’re dealing with oh yeah and ticket prices at venues everybody wants to get paid down you know and you’ve got a celebrity coming in with the music about twelve musicians yeah how the money builds up so it’s
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understandable the thing about live theatre though when you go to see a live show it’s not it’s not quite the same as watching it on film although that’s very good and I love watching things on TV but the experience of a live audience the live performance with one hundred two hundred three hundred people there and the energy of that whole thing and when you can get up on stage and perform and you can hear a pin drop for an act there a live experience it’s not really something right at that
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and also for the audience because they’re in the moment with the actor and they’re like if the actor is doing his job they’re in the moment it’s not it’s a different energy and and for an actor like what I did with the one-man show and anybody that’s ever done in one-man show like that will say that it’s like being a tightrope walker without a net there’s nobody in the wings giving me lines or prompting me I it’s like stepping out and doing a high-wire act without a net so you have to trust
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yourself and you have to have done the work and yeah I can see we’re in the audience watching you live mm-hmm is a different experience than right tape but I’m just really it funny that the runner thing you know 4k day right now it’s as if it’s it feels so real yeah that’s too many K’s there that needs to be okay this is what it needs to be that’s right very funny well you know improv here’s the thing and I think it’s really important at this time point to make our statements
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and say it like it is I’m gonna say something it probably not going to be well-received right now but I see reviews that just basically constantly praise everything nobody ever criticizes anything or says it could be done this way I could you know or that performance wasn’t exactly up to snuff they beat around the bush and then you know you know I think I saw on your website you had a review of you of a berry worst yeah berry worse does a show here with your legs Barry and Barry wrote a very praising
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commentary to you I had him at the uhm see if the rheology er he’s very interesting like when he saw ya Joker yeah he minced it apart now it’s got an Academy Award now did you see it no I liked it I’m in a Screen Actors Guild member since 1974 okay so I get the screeners I get the disks on all the movies that are nominated for the Screen Actors Guild and I get to vote when you’re actually I actually got was a nominating committee but at the point being is ice I saw it but I saw it in
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the theater and I got the screener so I watched it again it’s a dark movie for sure but the performance is his ability as an actor is incredible and it’s a study in the descent of madness to somebody who is not it’s mental it’s a it’s a mental mental illness movie really and watching him portray that it was very powerful very powerful so although a lot of people didn’t like it because they did was they found it disturbing I say but that wasn’t the point of the film the point was a great
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character study in the other man’s being neglected and not cared for and overlooked and his descent into this mental state well I think your point though on that’s why I brought Barry up because yeah he gave that his review yeah praise what he needed to praise right but also gave it some zingers yeah taking his class was really a good experience here someone take apart movies run in a different way right now cause of the it seems like most of the reviews are all surface some may not like the film but they don’t dig down
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yeah I cannot be pronounced the society we’re living in which is going lateral there’s so many people and so many sources everything’s to PC these days does that mean politically correct everything is you can’t when we were kids we were able to say and do things that were fun and but now you would be ostracized beyond belief you know hugging now is a real problem you know I I’m very careful not to touch anybody you know except animals because they don’t object they want to be bailed but
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the point being yeah the point being is our society has got is it’s over the top over the top this is a lot of backlash on a lot of stuff um but it’s important I think about review write reviews yeah yeah they’re just be honest to see what you call it like you see it needs his shows spend a little more time and actually I really like to breed berries reviewer he probably points out a lot of good things I saw it from different eyes the thing is I see it through an actor’s eyes through a you know somebody who’s in the
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in the business so to speak more like you say when you’re voting on categories right and you’re looking for Best Screenplay all right it may not be something you like but you like the way the screenplay did certain things well those interesting things in that film I mean that’s how it evolved into him being the Joker and the whole Batman trip at the end it was very very like oh really that’s interesting it would that was a good perspective from there filming but it is dark and then again I
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lived in Washington Heights with that big stairwell was that he does the dance up and down I know that stairwell well I was there for a few years so so is interesting for me to see the parts of New York that were in the film but his performance deserves a nomination but there are a lot of great ones me personally I like Joe Pesci in you and the Irishman I thought his performance was very controlled very on point because Pesci always plays maniacal men whatever mafia guys in it but here he is playing that same type of role but
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much more control much more controlled not a a and I really loved him in and I loved the movie I thought that was a very good movie it was taken from the book you know I paint houses or was a good film and I saw I watched though I forget what network that’s on it’s I think it’s a cable network the morning show oh yeah like that I mean right now it’s all about the me to stuff I mean I just watched last night I got that cuz I got the screener in the mail from Screen Actors Guild I watched um bombshell oh
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good well it’s yeah it’s topical it’s me too you know about all the women coming about coming out about Roger Ailes and again I thought Charlize Theron was very good in the part the acting was very good I could see why these films are being nominated you know you may not believe it because I can hardly believe it oh we’re running out of time we have about I wish I wish lose our sense of time and gain a sense of timing really well first of all I want our orange – no Robert Angelo give
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us your email address act now classes act now classes at gmail.com and I have a website also I have a website it’s called what the heck is it but act now classes I will find it will host WWF my classes calm okay all right now Productions LLC calm that’s so that’s why we’re gonna post it we’re gonna make sure exactly what it is okay I’ll give you a card I’m a car carried have to watch the show go to Maui neutral zone calm you can watch this show again and the rest of our shows and
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then if you really get adventurous we got hundreds of shows you see the history of Maui on Maui Arts and Music done yeah so I’m gonna tell you thanks a lot Jason for getting me on today and whatever shady get Brad stalks he’s a great interview you’ll well maybe we’ll get them on again we’re gonna be doing TV things that’d be great yeah well thank you guys for being here today thank you for listening to me and Robert Angelo we only have a few seconds left but you know I really appreciated you as
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an audience and we’re just beginning this is 2020 this is when the plans we’ve made all these years start to move into action and come on music end of show thank you guys [Music]
