So imagine my glee when I was offered the part of Dave in Candlelight Pavilion’s production of Full Monty!

The boys of Buffalo sing Scrap

After a whirlwind two and a half weeks of rehearsals we opened last weekend, and the response has been tremendous! Audiences really love this show, and it’s not hard to see why – a story of a group down-on-their-luck dudes taking their destiny into their own hands is a powerful one, and it resonates strongly in our current national climate.

In the show I play Dave Bukatinsky, an unemployed steel mill worker who struggles with issues of self worth, body image, and intimacy. I’m so grateful to be able to play this role, and it’s such an honor to work with so many wonderfully talented people. Come on out and see what all the fuss is about!

For information about dates, showtimes and tickets, please visit the Candlelight Pavilion’s Website. 

Come on out and see if we actually take it all off…

This one speaks for itself…

For those of you who don’t know, my cher, Mary Poplin, has been involved with the VFX industry for quite some time.  She’s worked as a matte painter, a compositor, a roto artist, and a stereoscopic conversion artist. She was my gateway into the wonderful world of VFX artistry. She’s legit, and has a pretty good reputation in the industry for being a hard worker and a straight shooter

She also quit the VFX industry three years ago. Why? Well, the answer to that question is a complicated one, but it all boils down to one basic idea: the VFX industry is imploding. And the artists are the ones who are suffering.

The current plight of the industry can probably best be illustrated by the bankruptcy of Rhythm and Hues, the company who did the bulk of the (Oscar winning) VFX work on Life of Pi. Here you have a company of very talented artists who nearly killed themselves to make that magical film happen. Theses artists worked 100 hour weeks, sacrificed time, family, and in some cases their health to provide form to Ang Lee’s vision. I think it’s safe to say that without their brilliant work, that movie could not have been made – there would have been no tiger, no ocean, no living island, nothing. It would have been an Indian actor, floating in a pool in a green room, talking to a green stuffed tiger.

And yet, despite their contribution to the success of this film – despite the fact that these artists turned out Oscar-worthy work – Rhythm and Hues filed for bankruptcy and many of the artists who worked on it are still unpaid for nearly three months worth of work. Three months! Keep in mind, that’s three months of 80-100 hour weeks.

I’m not qualified to discuss the minutiae of the situation, but I will say that one thing is clear (even to a dopey actor like me): the current VFX business model is no longer sustainable. These artists are frustrated, the shops are going bankrupt, and all the while, the studios are making hundreds of millions of dollars off of these films. Hundreds of millions of dollars.

Life of Pi recently hit the 600 million mark, and yet the artists who brought that tiger to life are struggling to pay their rent. They’re struggling to eat. Fox has made a fortune on this film, and the artists who made the film possible are struggling to cope with increasing hours, decreasing wages, and a terrifying lack of job security.

Scott Ross, laying it out.

So what are they doing about it? Well, they’re doing what so many angry, exploited workers have done before them: they’re organizing! I have been privileged enough to take part in some pretty historic events, including the Piece of the Pi protest outside of the Oscars, and last night’s International FVX Solidarity round table. VFX artists are finally starting to assert their right to fair treatment, decent working conditions, and a larger stake in the films that have become increasingly dependent on their hard work.

They’re starting to realize that they’ve been abused by the system, and that they don’t have to put up with it any more. That’s pretty damn awesome, if you ask me. The tide is turning, and I’m excited to be a part of it, even in my small way. Solidarity!

I’m grateful that my parents didn’t listen. I immediately fell in love with that film in a way that only ten year old kids can fall in love with those kinds of movies – with passionate zeal. I loved how rowdy everyone in the theatre got. I loved throwing toast and rice and toilet paper, and yelling at the screen. I even loved seeing young Susan Sarandon in a bra, though at the time I think I was really confused about why. And the music! Oh, I devoured the music! I vaguely recall my dad having the soundtrack on vinyl (either that or bootleg cassette tape!), and me sitting and listening to it for hours on his oversized earphones. I loved it. Hell, I still love it.

Look at those gams!

So why all this blather about Rocky Horror? As I get on in years, I’ve started thinking more and more about roles that I haven’t played yet. For some roles you have a very narrow window of opportunity before you simply get too old to play them. For example, as much as I love the role of Enjolras in Les Miserables, I’ll never actually get to play him – I’m now too old. I have a ton of dream parts, but always near the top of the list has been Frank N Furter, the titular Sweet Transvestite of Rocky Horror fame! I’ve always wanted to play him, but for various reasons throughout the years I have avoided auditioning.

And if I’m being truthful, the main reason I’ve been afraid to audition has been because of my weight. I’ve struggled with unwanted pounds and poor body image since my early twenties, and being a little heavy has always made me apprehensive about auditioning for Frank. After all, those costumes don’t leave much to the imagination, and you have to be pretty fit to pull them off. (In some cases, literally pull them off!) Sure, I can sing the role. I can act the role. But for my entire adult life I simply have been too overweight to actually GET the role.

And so I’ve decided to change all of that before I get too old to play him! To that end, I will soon be implementing the “Frank N Furter Project”, a weight loss and performance program that will prepare me to be physically fit enough to play Frank by this Halloween. I would like to hit my goal weight of 235 pounds by my birthday, September 15th. Trimming up by that time will give me plenty of time to audition for any local productions of Rocky that may be happening this year. I will also be taking dancing and singing lessons, the better to be prepared for the artistic requirements of the role.

Though these preparations are ostensibly to help me land a role in Rocky Horror, that’s obviously not the only reason I want to do this stuff: I understand that losing weight, becoming a better dancer and a better singer will generally make me a more marketable performer overall. It’s the best thing I can do for my career, and this is the best way that I can think to motivate myself. What could be more motivating than knowing that on your birthday in eight months you’ll have to Nair your entire body, pull on some fishnets and a pair of panties, strap yourself into a corset, and sing like you’re the king of the goddamned universe?

Because that’s what I plan on doing, folks. To keep myself honest, I am making a vow to you, here and now: on September 15th 2013, my thirty-eighth birthday, I will dress up in my best Frank N Furter drag, sing a song from the show, and post it on my Youtube page. It may be glorious, it may be horrible, but it WILL be happening.

I can’t think of anything more motivating than that!

Stay tuned for more info!

Love,

Shelly

ps. here’s a link to my Youtube page with me singing I’m Going Home, one of my favorite songs from the show!

Do you hear the Sheldon sing?

Take a close look at that photograph. Notice anything special about it? Anything… familiar?

I don’t want to brag or anything, but yeah, I’m in there. That’s me as Enjolras, the  villainous, very macho (but not as macho as Javert) leader of the ABC Cafe student uprising. This is, of course the all-important moment of the show when Javert, our hero, decides to infiltrate the treacherous band of students in a last, desperate bid to save the city of Paris. Later in the show, my character Enjolras orders Javert’s death, but through a combination of skill, luck, and daring, Javert escapes the clutches of the evil students. And then Enjolras dies.

When I played the villainous Enjolras in the original Broadway cast of Les Miserables (Colm Wilkinson still owes me ten bucks), I learned a lot about acting. Mostly about how awesome Javert is, and how crappy every other character in fiction is, including Batman,Bilbo Baggins, and Jar Jar Binks. But you know what? This blog isn’t about me. It’s about the movie adaptation of Les Miserables, and what I thought of it. I know Les Miserables like the back of my hand, and let me tell you that the Les Miserables of the movie in no way resembles the actual Les Miserables. And nothing annoys me more than when a movie adaptation does not rigidly adhere to its source material.

Oh, wait.

Let’s start that over.

I saw Les Miserables on Christmas eve, and it was brilliant. I’ve been a fan of the show for twenty years, and I can honestly say that this movie exceeded every expectation. It was powerfully moving, and though there were some hiccups (namely the absurd casting of Russell Crowe as Javert), the film was everything I’d hoped it would be.

As a singer I had a few quibbles about the vocal performances: namely that the majority of the principals were not particularly strong singers. Anne Hathaway and Samantha Barks were probably the best out of the bunch. Aaron Tveit was great as Enjolras, and Hugh Jackman was moving (if not particularly nuanced) in his vocal performance as Valjean. The roles of the students were filled out by actual West End performers, so all of them were great. The only gripe I had – a grip shared by many, I think – was the baffling choice to cast Russell Crowe as Javert. He pretty much tonelessly barked his way through the majority of his numbers, and since Javert is my favorite role, it was kind of a bummer.

But all of that being said, the whole was definitely greater than the sum of its parts. The cinematography was really tight, with a lot of close ups on singers during the emotional moments. I know some people didn’t care for that as a directorial choice, but I think that the close-ups really highlighted the intensity of emotion. You can’t get that on a stage, and I think it worked really well.

Anyway, go check it out! It’s an amazing film!

Happy New Year, friends. Be well.

-Sheldon

Anyway, updates! After a brief hiatus from acting, I have decided that I will be diving back into it with a vengeance during the new year. I’ll be focusing on getting film, television, and commercial work mostly, but I will also be submitting for the occasional theatrical project that appeals to me. Theatre is a pretty big time sink, and since it takes me away from Mary for long stretches, a project has to be really magical for me to want to sacrifice the time. (Spamalot? I’m looking at you!) The goal here is to build a more impressive resume, get some on camera experience, and start making the push into that elusive next tier of acting work: paid gigs that people actually watch!

I know a secret…

In other news, after much personal reflection, I have decided to scale my musical ambitions down to a more personal level. My friend Melissa Harding, a singer/songwriter of immense talent, has been working on an album of her own material, and following her journey has been really been inspirational for me. Seeing her joy and enthusiasm for the process has reminded me of why I wanted to be a musician in the first place: because expressing yourself through music is  fun, empowering, and can be overwhelmingly cathartic.

To that end, I have decided that I am starting my own musical project. Basically, the goal is to write new songs, rehearse them with other musicians, record them, mix them, and release them. It’s been too long since I’ve actually sat down and written a song, so I’m not sure what direction it’ll go, but whatever direction that is, at least it’ll be mine. And in the process, if I continue to learn sound recording, engineering, and mixing techniques, then it’s a win all around!

Finally, on a personal level, things have been going really well lately. Job is good, love is good, friends are good. I have been lucky enough to surround myself with amazing people, and I’m grateful every moment for their support and love.

Thanks, everyone, for always being so awesome. It’s gonna be a big year for me, I can feel it!

Much Love,

Shelly

Juat a quick post to let you know that my band’s new self-titled EP, The Bad Bad Things, is now available on iTunes!

“How much more black could it be?”

It’s a five song album of some of our most popular songs, and we’d love it if you would go take a look! If you like what you hear, it’s only $4.95 (A bargain!). If you REALLY like what you hear, please recommend us to a friend. We’re planning on touring soon, so every penny counts!

Thank you, my friends!

The new Bad Bad Things EP can be found here! 

This coming Wednesday, (May 23) my band, The Bad bad Things, will be opening for the legendary Spazmatics at The Viper Room! I’m so grateful for being given the opportunity to play with such a legendary local band. And as if playing with the Spazmatics wasn’t exciting enough, I always look forward to going back to the Viper Room, as it’s one of my favorite places in L.A. to play!

I know it’s a school night, but  I would be honored if you would come out and say hello! More information for the show can be found HERE!

The Bad Bad Feet

On the theatre side of things, I was recently cast as Lank Hawkins in the Morgan Wixson Theatre’s production of the Gershwin musical, Crazy For You! Lank is an awesome character, and I’ll get to dress like a cowboy, which I know will just tickle Mary to no end. I will post periodic updates on the rehearsal process, but in the meantime, all the info you’ll need about the show can be found here!

I will be playing neither of these characters...

Thank you again for your support, my friends. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: I couldn’t do it without you.

-Shelly

PS. I finally got my SAG-AFTRA card in the mail today! Yay for unification!

Just wanted to whip up a quick post to update you all on the latest news in Sheldon-land. I’m terrible about blogging frequently, so there’s always so much to report!

I can has SAG Card?

I’ll start with the biggest news first: I am now officially a member of the Screen Actors’ Guild! Thanks to the generosity of many of you, and a year of saving, I finally managed to scrape together the exorbitant initiation fee (just in time for the merger)! I began my professional acting journey a bit later than most, so this represents a huge step toward breaking into an industry in which most actors my age are considered “too old”. I’m excited about the doors that union membership will open for me, and I’m so grateful to everyone who supported my push to join, whether it was financially, emotionally, or professionally. I couldn’t have done it without you!

Next up: music! The Bad Bad Things recently completed recording our brand new self-titled EP, and we’re working hard to get it into your hot little hands as soon as possible. I suspect we’ll be pushing it through Reverb Nation, iTunes and, for all of you old-school-types, compact disc. I’ve heard the tracks and they sound pretty damn good, so keep your eyes peeled for details on the release party. Oh, you didn’t think we’d release something without throwing a big ol’ party, did you? For shame, pretty babies, for shame.

The band will also be playing a show on Saint Patrick’s Day at Joxer Daly’s Irish Pub in Culver City. It’s one of my favorite places to play, so I’m really psyched about getting to spend St. Patties there with a couple hundred of my drunkest, rowdiest friends. If you don’t already have plans, come on out and say hi! If you DO already have plans, cancel them and come out and say hi! The date is March 17th, and I hope to see you all there.

Now with 20% more photobomb!

Finally, I am currently in rehearsals for the Morgan Wixson Theatre’s production of Sweeney Todd, opening March 10^th. Rehearsals have been pretty challenging (Sondheim!!!!), but the ensemble is extremely talented and it’s really turning into a kickass show – disturbing, but kickass. I encourage all of you theatre-lovers to come check it out! Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd! Details can be found here.

So that’s that, my friends. Thank you all, for your constant love and support. It means the world to me.

Over and out!

-Shelly

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

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