BECOMING RICHARD SKIPPER/BLOG THREE

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” ~George Eliot

Can you believe we are at the last week of March!?!?! I feel like it was JUST Christmas. Where does the time go? March came in like a lion! Will it go out like a lamb? WOW! What this month held. This month started with me in Penelope Brackett's FEARLESS FOURSOME: ACTORS IN ACTION. Being in this wonderful group has helped me get over some of the challenges that have held me back in the past.
I begin each day with a book called “A YEAR TO SUCCESS” by Bo Bennett. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. It, too, is keeping me on course.
As you can see, I have also started a blog! Here we are with BLOG THREE! Hope you enjoy it. Earlier this month, I went to a free marketing seminar at The Gay and Lesbian Expo. I learned A LOT and was able to network as well! Tools were given that are part of the wave of the future. I was told that if you’re not blogging, you are missing out.
A blog (a contraction of the term weblog) is a type of website, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. It was great training for a seminar that I held later this month on PROMOTING AND MARKETING YOURSELF IN THE 21st Century. I wrote a little about this in my last blog. It was at the 36th Street Studio and was a big hit. So big in fact that we have already scheduled our next class (See below*)!
I keep hearing from everyone who took the seminar that it was quite useful. Took my first class with David Friedman (also mentioned in my last blog). Looking forward to my next class tomorrow night after seeing Mitzi Gaynor!

I’ll tell you more about that in my next blog. I hope to start work with Bob Cline in late April. He is a major casting director and it is a six week musical comedy audition technique intensive. Please join me! Contact me for details. It is never too late to keep learning and perfecting your craft whatever your profession.

Please let me know what you think!

This month, saw the revival of GUYS AND DOLLS on Broadway starring the great Oliver Platt who isn’t in this show! Guys and Dolls is a musical, with the music and lyrics written by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure", two short stories by Damon Runyon. I love this show. Hated this revival! I also saw Blithe Spirit which I loved! I began working with Bobbie Horowitz on IMAGE (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). Saw Michelle Collier & Mychelle Colleary's show at Don’t Tell Mama’s. It was a celebration of Michelle's birthday and Mychelle's going to Europe. Packed house with cabaret dignitaries and fun, too! Saw RAGU (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) at The Actor's Playhouse followed by Cynthia Crane's show at The Metropolitan Room. This is the best show Cynthia has ever done and THAT is saying A LOT! If you’ve been following my previous blogs, you know about my involvement with Weston High School’s (Connecticut) production of HELLO, DOLLY! I was blown away by these kids! (pictured with Samantha Rehr, Dolly Levi)
Great move choosing a "light-hearted" as opposed to "bittersweet" musical to perform during a grim economic period- hey, isn't that why movie musicals (MGM, Universal, Warner Brothers,RKO, etc.)were so popular during the Depression?
Tonight, I’m seeing Jack Donahue at Birdland. So looking forward to it!
In the coming weeks, we will be celebrating our dear departed Hope Hardcastle.
Before she passed away, she set aside a sum of money and a guestlist to have a party to celebrate her life! LOVE that!
As you may or may not be aware, I have been working along side Carol
Channing and her husband, Harry Kullijian on the DR. CAROL CHANNING
ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS. Please check out: http://www.richardskipper.com/foundation/index.html

My goal is to make the importance of Arts in Education a national campaign.
Any ideas and/or suggestions you may have are greatly appreciated!
I continued to take classes at PRIMARY STAGES. AUDITIONING FOR TODAY’S THEATRE with Andrew Leynse and a great group of dedicated and committed actors. Wednesday is the last class! I can’t believe it and I hate to see it end!

How are your New Year’s Resolutions sticking? As you end this month and go into the next, identify the behaviors you wish to change. With me focusing on new career opportunities, there are new twists and turns every day! After many happy years of performing as Carol Channing, I have refocuced my career on being "Richard Skipper" once again, and am getting back to my roots as an actor beyond Carol Channing. This is not to say that I will not be appearing as “Carol” from time to time, but that is not the focus of where I am RIGHT NOW. I am taking classes, going to workshops, seminars; I have met with an agent who is now submitting me for theatre and film projects; I am auditioning again and I have opened myself up to ALL possibilities. I still would like to keep in touch with you on a regular basis, and I hope that you will continue to contact me to let me know how you are and please know that I am always available to "lend an ear" to discuss your ideas and dreams and thoughts for your own lives. I have made some incredible friendships throughout the years and I want you to know that you are very important to me. If we’re in the same area and you are interested in breaking bread or going to see a movie, if you want to see a show or share some quality time together, please let me know. I am always here for the wonderful friends who have always been there for me over the years!

Respectfully, Richard Skipper
PS… Still offering my career coaching: http://www.richardskipper.com/workshop/index.html

* Apr 30 - 11am-2pm - AXA ADVISORS, 1633 Broadway, between 50th and 51st St., 3rd Floor

STILL WORKING TO GET CAROL CHANNING A KENNEDY CENTER HONOR, GO HERE: http://www.richardskipper.com/links.html and click on appopriate banner.

The DR. CAROL CHANNING ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS: http://www.carolchanning.org/Foundation.htm

ANY HELP YOU CAN GIVE IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!