Sheldon Morley

Hi everyone!

Sorry it’s taken me so long to update, but I’ve been a busy little monkey! Busy with what? Well, I’m glad you asked!

There was always music in my house while I was growing up. Some of my earliest memories involved the simple, joyous act of appreciating music: dad rocking out to Led Zeppelin; mom singing Good Vibrations while doing the dishes; me sitting in the living room with my father’s enormous hi-fi headphones on my tiny head, raptly listening to the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack (on vinyl, no less!).

When I was seven years old I decided I wanted to be just like “that funny looking guitar player in AC/DC” – the one with the prep school outfit on. I started noodling around with my mom’s guitar, and was horrified to discover that what came out sounded nothing at all like Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. In fact, it didn’t even really sound like music. My mother, perhaps sensing my crisis, taught me a few chords and I was well on my way to sounding just like Angus.

Fast forward to 2011. My friend Kryss tells me that her band is auditioning guitar players and asks me to come out. Truthfully I’ve always been a little shy about playing guitar in front of people – singing has always kind of been more my thing. But if I’ve learned anything about auditioning in the past six months it’s that fear can be your friend. I walked into the audition, harnessed those nerves and booked the gig.

So I am now officially the new lead guitar player for The Bad Bad Things! I’ve spent the last couple of weeks rehearsing and learning the tunes, and I think I may be just about ready! to play a show…

It must be official... I'm on the flier!

Speaking of which, there’s a free show tonight at Joxer Daly’s in Culver City! We go on between 9:30 and 10:00, but if you get there a little early you can drink!  It’ll be my first show with them, and I’d love it if you came by to say hi!

Thank you all for your love and support. Over and out, peeps!

-Shelly

Hi!

It’s been a while, so I thought I’d post a quick update to let you know what’s going on in Sheldon-land. As you may have guessed, our very successful run of High Fidelity finally closed last month. And though I am sad to see it end, I can at least take solace in the fact that I made some wonderful friends among the cast and crew. I’m also grateful that so many amazing audience members came up to me after the show and complimented the actors on the quality of the show. Actors are fueled by praise, and thankfully there was plenty of that for High Fidelity!

Speaking of praise, I received a rad surprise last week from Steven Stanley over at StageSceneLA. If you don’t already know Mr. Stanley, he has been a fixture in the Southern California theatre scene for years now, and is a true theatre lover. If there’s a show produced in SoCal you can pretty much bet he’ll be there, sitting in the front row, supporting it. Unlike many reviewers he hasn’t grown cynical about theatre, and genuinely seems to love it.

Every year he compiles an amazingly comprehensive “Best Of” list and publishes it on his website www.stagescenela.com. Unlike many theatre award organizations he gives equal attention to smaller productions that might otherwise get only minimal press. And I’m proud to say that for this year’s StageSceneLA awards, I was honored with the Best Lead Actor in a Musical award. It’s a true honor to be recognized by someone who has been so supportive of our craft for so long.

Thank you, Steven, for providing an amazing cap to the wonderful experience that was High Fidelity!

Oh, and if you haven’t already checked it out, go see his site!

-Shelly

For me, one of the most rewarding aspects of being an actor is the audition. If you’re on top of your game, you can have several in a week, sometimes several in a day! And each one of these auditions can be a wonderful (and humbling!) chance to learn a little bit more about yourself as an actor, and even as a person.

Over the past few weeks I have been to more auditions than I can count. I have read, sang, recited, danced and schmoozed for everything from local community theatre shows to multimillion dollar productions of well known musicals.  And though I am absolutely interested in getting cast in every single one of these shows, my goal right now is actually much simpler: I really just needed to learn how to audition. You’d think it would be easy – go in, sing, recite your monologue, dance, etc. – but it’s not.

From top to bottom it can be an intensely intimidating experience. For instance, yesterday I went to my first big Equity “cattle call” audition. The monitor opened up the list at 9:30 am and the casting directors started seeing the Equity singers promptly at 10:00. Immediately I was confronted with my first lesson: be ready to sing at any hour, even if it’s wretchedly early! A true pro is always prepared. I wasn’t warmed up, so I immediately began psyching myself out.

Then I started hearing the other singers doing their auditions, and that’s when i really started to shake! These were performers of the highest calibre: opera singers, musical theatre professionals and highly trained vocalists who had traveled from as far as Missouri to take part in this audition. Talk about being psyched out. And that’s when I learned my next big lesson: stay focused on your own performance, and blot out the rest of the world. Because after three hours of focusing on other people’s awesome auditions, I was ready to sneak out of there and never look back.

But since “giving up” isn’t really an option for me, I walked into that audition room, handed the accompanist my sheet music… and immediately started by singing the wrong note. I had to start again, and as soon as I did, I saw the auditor’s eye immediately go to the next person’s headshot. That’s when i learned my third, and possibly most important lesson: Preparation, preparation, preparation!

You see, you’re only allowed sixteen measures of a song for auditions at that level, and though I sing my song beautifully from the beginning, I hadn’t rehearsed singing just my chosen sixteen bars, so I was unprepared. The accompanist, bless his heart, played that first chord expecting me to find my note, and I was lost. I eventually found the note and powered through my verse and chorus (cracking on the high notes because I wasn’t warmed up!). I finished big, but by then they had already moved on to reviewing the next resume.

Yes, you could say that the audition was a “failure” in that I probably won’t  book the gig. I’m not really concerned about it though, because I know that it was a success in other ways. I did something I was terrified of doing and I learned so much more about what it takes to be an actor. And I know that I can apply those lessons to my next big audition to get better results!

So yeah, the final lesson I learned in relation to all of this is probably the least intuitive (for me, anyway): The only way you can improve is by stepping outside of your comfort zone and staying there. You can’t improve yourself by settling for mediocrity.

Gotta go now, friends. I have an audition and a callback. Wish me broken legs!

Over and out!

-Shelly

The reviews have started to come in! I don’t usually like to read them until after the run, but I just couldn’t resist…

The Fullerton Observer has has this to say about yours truly:

“As for Rob, (Sheldon) Morley is very lovable, while still giving off a slacker vibe. There is something endearing about him even as he slides into an ever-growing depression over his breakup. Even as he starts calling Laura’s cell phone an obsessive number of times, the audience cannot help but like him.”

The entire Fullerton Observer review can be found here. 

“Stage Scene LA also had some kind words:

“Of course none of the above would matter a whit were Hunger Artists’ intimate staging not blessed with a star-making lead performance by Sheldon Morley heading an all-around splendid cast, a trio of rockin’ good onstage musicians, and designers who make the very most of an obviously limited budget.

About Morley’s performance in The Full Monty a few years back, I wrote, “Sheldon Morley is the first Jerry I’ve seen who truly looks the part. (He) is also an excellent actor,” remarks which explain just two of the reasons he once again merits raves for his star turn as Rob. It’s easy to buy this big, scruffy dude as owning a rundown record shop, loving his 45s more than life itself, and screwing things up with a babe like Tara Pitt’s Laura (just as it’s easy to believe that Laura would fall for this Rob’s big big heart). Effortless at chewing the fat with the audience and never anything less than spontaneous in his interactions with other characters, Morley happens also to have just the right rocker pipes to belt out Rob’s songs precisely the way they should be belted.”

Check out Steven Stanley’s full review by clicking THIS LINK!

So yeah, come and check it out!

Visit Hunger Artists Theatre Company for dates, times and tickets…

Hi Gang,

Just a quick update to let you know that opening weekend for High Fidelity was a smashing success! I’d like to offer my sincerest thanks to everyone who came out to support our little show. It was really nice that so many of you stayed behind after the performances to say hello and offer the cast your congratulations. We’re all really proud of what we’ve put together here, so it’s amazing to finally be able to share it with an audience.

Also, if you weren’t able to make it for opening weekend, that’s okay! There are five more weeks of shows, so you have plenty of time to come say hi! Check out this handy-dandy website for location, dates, times and tickets!

Thanks, and I’ll see you soon!

-Shelly

I am in a play this weekend that runs every weekend night at 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and 7pm on Sundays from July 22 (THIS WEEKEND!) through Aug 28! Find out more or RSVP on our FB Event page for High Fidelity.

Based on the novel by Nick Hornby and Touchstone Pictures film starring John Cusack, High Fidelity tells the story of Rob Gordon, a 30-something record store owner who has just been dumped by his girlfriend. He struggles to figure out what went wrong, as we take a musical journey that pays tribute to many music genres.

Directed by Anthony Galleran

Musical Direction by Sarah Weinzetl

Choreography by Kathleen Switzer

Cast:

• Rob – Sheldon Robert Morley
• Laura – Tara Pitt
• Barry/Bruce – Topher Mauerhan
• Dick – Max Orbita
• Liz/Jackie – Andrea Martyn
• Ian/Middle-Aged Guy – Jeffery G. Rockey
• Marie/Charlie – Sandy Moore
• TMPMITW/Neil – Steeve Jacobs
• Anna/Alison – Lindsay Lee Lusk
• Sarah/Back-up Singer – Katt McLaren
• Penny – Jennifer Pearce
• Mohawk Guy – Rocky Balboa
• Hipster – Duncan Hutchinson
• Hipster u/s – Brian Chapman

Tickets can be purchased online at www.hungerartists.com, or by calling or phone line at 714.680.6803.
Tickets are $25 General Admission, or $20 for Students and Seniors.

$10 Tickets on August 18.

Hello! Welcome to SheldonMorley.com, please check back here often to see what I’m up to. In the meantime, check out my music, QV, and headshots links to see information about me. I also have a youtube channel you can check out, bear with me while I find a better camera to post youtube videos with.

Thanks for visiting!

Sheldon