The Anthony Michael Hallway

What's up with all of my childhood icons dying? The death of John Hughes sent a shock wave through my system. He was undoubtedly my all time favorite film maker. Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Vacation, Pretty In Pink, Ferris Bueller, Some Kind Of Wonderful...I practically had every one of these movies memorized and am certain I own all of them on VHS. Or beta. Probably beta.

These movies taught me about humour, love, lust, adventure-and were the greatest catalyst in my love for acting. I wanted to marry Jake Ryan (and OK-kind of did. I loved Craig the second he pulled up to pick me up in his Porsche and reminded me of JR). I was convinced I would one day star in a John Hughes movie. I have looked him up repeatedly over the years, saddened by the fact that he left the industry and hoping he would come back one last time to work with me.

His movies will forever be imprinted in my heart.

Long Duk Dong: [looks through frosted glass on door] Is that you?
Jake: Yeah, that me.
Long Duk Dong: [opens door] Oh, I'm so sorry. I thought you my new - new-style American girlfriend.
Jake: Forget it, man. Just get Samantha, all right?
Long Duk Dong: She not here.
Jake: Don't jerk me around, man. Where is she?
Long Duk Dong: She got married.
Jake: What?
Long Duk Dong: She at the church. She getting married to oily bohunk.
Jake: Married?
Long Duk Dong: Married.
Jake: Married?
Long Duk Dong: Yeah. Married
[closes door]
Jake: [turns around, under breath to himself] Married?
Long Duk Dong: Married! Jeez.

---

Brian Johnson: Saturday, March 24,1984. Shermer High School, Shermer, Illinois, 60062. Dear Mr. Vernon, We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. What we did *was* wrong. But we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. What do you care? You see us as you want to see us - in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain... ...and an athlete... ...and a basket case... ...a princess... : ...and a criminal. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club.

Apres Sex...

"Sex On The Page" at Bay Street was fabulous and a huge success! Thank you again to all the incredible women we worked with who also made it possible as well as the writers, directors and actors for their time and boundless talent.

SEX ON THE PAGE

What: AnkinRowen Productions, Bay Street Theatre, The Perfect Manhattan Productions and hiphamptons.com present an evening of short plays and readings on SEX including pieces written by award winning playwright Brooke Berman and best selling author James Frey

Where: The Bay Street Theatre in the Hamptons (the Long Wharf, Sag Harbor, NY)

When: July 24, 2009 @ 10pm

Why: Summer, cocktails, the beach, sex...what could be better?

How: RSVP Bay Street Theatre Box Office (631) 725-9500 Admission FREE

l will be acting in two of the short plays and am very excited about this evening, hope you can make it!

FOR MORE INFO

http://www.baystreet.org/special-performances

http://www.ankinrowen.com/

Death of an Icon

I was walking on the west side highway when I found out Michael Jackson died. My friend from London texted me. I felt nothing. I went home, I turned on the TV, I still felt nothing. Some strange numbness took over me. Michael Jackson had been dead for awhile in my mind. He was a weirdo. His face was freaky, he dangled babies off balconies. I was unaffected.

Two weeks later, after being inundated by the media with coverage of his life, and while watching his funeral, I began sobbing uncontrollably. I have continued to be obsessed and extremely affected by his death for the last month. As many others in the world, I experienced a profound sense of sadness when looking back at his life. Despite his eccentricities, his unbelievable talent surpassed any other performer in my lifetime. He was magnetic but also extremely tragic in his isolation and loneliness.

My friend Tracey once said some famous people could very well be crazy because of the amount of energy that is being directed at them. I think this is very true in the case of Michael Jackson. His star was simply brighter that the rest of ours; the energy force he created was so powerful that eventually he combusted.

I have tried to figure out what is it that has made me grieve over his death, or rather, what he represented. Like many people my age, Thriller was my first album, and my entire childhood seems to play in my memory with his songs as the background tracks. He embodied the eighties and what it meant to dream. I remember watching Billie Jean on MTV and imagining what my own video would look like one day (who didn't want to be a rock star at six?) I suppose in some weird way, his death reminds us all of how old we are getting and how fast it all goes by.

On a lighter note, I did have the unbelievable opportunity to dance on stage with him at the 1987 BAD concert in LA. (I need to find that video asap).

I don't want to be one of those weird bloggers that says "RIP MJ" but for what it's worth I hope he is happy in neverland.

Versus (Full Bore): March 9th in the West Village

Brian Bartels, an amazing playwright and friend, wrote a fantastic one act play, Smoothie, that I had the opportunity to act in at a performance in Boston last Friday night. We will be doing another performance Monday March 9th at the Rattlestick Theater in the West Village, 7pm 224 Waverly Place @ Perry St. The evening is titled Versus (Full Bore) and is a compilation of several of Brian's short plays. I think it's going to be a really fabulous evening and hope everyone can make it. And I have to say, the flier kicks ass.

Rise and Shine

Tonight is my play writing debut, opening night for my first one act play Rise and Shine. We have had over a month of rehearsals and I'm excited to watch my play in full performance mode and hopefully all it's glory. I have the most incredible director, Corey Patrick, who I have to say trumps many of the professional directors I've worked with. My actors have worked very hard and now it's time to hand the piece over to them and have faith in what I wrote. This is quite possibly the most terrifying artistic endeavor for me; as an actor and a self proclaimed control freak, I know what I am capable of and that once I get on stage I can tell the story and make it happen. As a writer, I am now completely vulnerable-I have placed my trust into the actors telling my story and my job is to sit back and enjoy the ride. Here we go!

Rise and Shine a note from the playwright:

Dear Riant Theater/Strawberry One Act Festival,

I have been an active member of the theatre community my whole life: beginning my acting career at age six, and ending up in LA and NY where I have continued to act as well as recently produce. The stage is my home and I have been passionate about reading plays for as long as I can remember.

This is my first attempt at writing my own play. I sat down about six months ago, inspired by the fear that has plagued our nation and the constant theme of apocalyptic images that seem to have dominated every form of mainstream media post 9/11. My original intention was to write a full length play in three separate acts chronicling individuals lives in the future and how they were and are affected by what is going on in the world today. My imagination ran wild with the various possibilities. It seems more than ever before human beings we are calling on each other to be awake and think about how our decisions can affect future generations. 

This act was the first installment. I moved to NY from LA only a year and a half ago, and coincidentally saw a friend in the summer act in a play at the Strawberry One Act Festival. Only the other day I noticed you were accepting submissions, and decided to submit act one, Rise and Shine.

Six months after I first sat down in front of my computer to write it, I am fascinated and obsessed, as most Americans are now, with the current election and what the repercussions could be if my guy doesn't win. I am sure this will be the most historical election of my lifetime, and I continue to be inspired by the fervor people have to call for changes that can affect our future.

Thank you for taking the time to read my play.

Sincerely,

Azizah Rowen

10/22/08

A blast of LOVE

The LOVE benefit was amazing. Sasha and Vicki of WET did an incredible job, and I was honored to be a host of the evening.