FINAL WEEKEND

In a shameless self-promoting plug, I am encouraging you to stop in to the Secret Theatre in Long Island City for the final weekend of COMEDY IN QUEENS, two alternating bills of comedic one-acts lovingly produced and performed with brio. I myself have two one-acts, one each program, that I'm happy with, but there's some really fun writing, directing and acting throughout. And if you're ready to laugh yourself silly, Saturday there will be a marathon starting at 5:30, with Program 1 AND Program 2 back-to-back (with snacks!) all for a bargain price of $20. (The usual price per program is $15.) Here's the info--c'mon, you know you could use a good laugh!

COMEDY IN QUEENS

The Comedic One Act Festival

presented by

The Queens Players

at the Secret Theatre, July 16-8/2
44-02 23rd, Long Island City, NYC 11101
phone: 718 392 0304 FOR INFO
Online reservations: www.theatermania.com

featuring

Two One Acts by Judd Lear Silverman:

CONQUERING THE FEAR

directed by Chris Jobin

with Adia Tucker and Ben Dziuba

and

ALL THE COMFORTS OF HOME

directed by Ken Hailey

with Brian Rush and Madeline Reed

Remaining Schedule:

Program 1 – 8/1 at 8 pm, 8/2 at 5:30 pm
Recurring

Conquering the Fear
Hamster Trance
One Night Stand
If You Are My Soulmate, Why Are You Such an Asshole?
Jump

Program 2 – 7/30, 7/31, 8/2 at 8pm

AquaSaga
Smash & Grab
All The Comforts Of Home
It's A Wonderful Play
Leaving
Death & Motor Vehicles

(Both plays perform the final day, 8/2, beginning at 5:30!)

Lots of great plays, lots of talented actors & directors, lots of fun!

The Secret Theatre and The Queens Players present a festival of original comedy one acts from emerging NYC writers, VE Kimberlain, Ira Sargent, Jack Karp, Edward Musto, Judd Silverman, Steven Wojtas, Susan Gross, Isaac Rathbone, J Snodgrass & Stefanie Zadravec.

The plays vary in subject from sex [which is always funny!] to meeting the Grim Reaper at the DMV to Rodent problems and relationships. Directed by an assortment of both Queens Players’ company directors to some honored outside guest Directors this show is a chance to come and see some great original comedy performed by over 32 different actors. On the final night on August 2^nd you have a chance to see all the plays back to back when we present both programs with program 1 starting at 5.30 and then program 2 at 8.30. A double ticket is only $20 and of course the closing night party will feature our famous and FREE! BBQ!!

Tickets $15 for one program or $20 for both.

Box office and info 718 392 0304.

Credit card and online tickets: www.secrettheatre.com or www.thequeensplayers.com

Tickets also available at: www.theatermania.com

info@secrettheatre.com

Directions:. Take the 7 to 45th/Courthouse or the E, V or G to 23rd/Ely.

The Secret Theatre is located between PS1 and Silvercup Studios and is two blocks from the Citibank Tower. Enter via green gates to the left of main entrance. Parking available.

GIVE ME A BREAK INDEED!

John Stossel, ABC News reporter and erstwhile host of 20/20, has made a career out of rubbing people the wrong way and saying the unpopular thing--and a successful career it has been, too. I wonder what he would say if his bosses said to him, "John, we don't want the myths debunked anymore. Be more politically correct." Would he say his famous by-line, "Give me a break?" And would he perfectly OK if they fired him for doing what he does best?

I ask because last Friday, on what was a rather good episode of 20/20--I don't blame those elephants for going crazy at all!--he ended the show on a sourest of sour notes--defending companies that fire people above a certain age just because they can--not because of poor job performance or because their age matters to the work, but because they want someone younger, someone they can pay less and boss around more. Clearly, as long as John has a following, ABC will hold onto him, but it would be perfectly alright if they did fire him--or so he says. He believes that companies should be able to do whatever they want in terms of hiring and firing and if they want younger or prettier men and women, then they should have the right to terminate anyone who doesn't fit the bill. Thus DJs above a certain age--who are known for voice alone and were still doing pop music--were able to be fired, and Stossel ridiculed the lawyer who argued it was unfair and inappropriate. An advertising executive who turned 50--out, so they could hire a younger edition. Stossel felt that laws against age discrimination unfairly tie the hands of employers and hamper creative business practice.

Well, John, I guess you've learned nothing with age and maturity. I guess you're no more subtle or sophisticated or patient. You have exactly as much energy as you did in your 20s and you don't have any fear of losing your income and insurance--probably because you've been overpaid for so many years that by now you're set for life. I'm sure you'd be perfectly happy to be robbed of your retirement and your pension, thrown out just before you're vested, and that you'd be happy to have to work for lower pay, perhaps not even in your chosen and proven profession. If you have college-aged kids, it wouldn't bother you at all to explain why their plans for the education you promised them are shot. As long as businessmen get to do what they want, who has any moral obligation to take care of people who've lived up to their end of the bargain? Why should anyone have an expectation to reap the hard-won rewards they've depended on for later years when they maybe really aren't able to work?

John Stossel may be good at playing Devil's Advocate, and his rants are certainly good fodder for discussion. But only when one is in a secure position can one afford such smugness. When you've been in the shoes of the discarded, the underpaid and under appreciated, then such comments do rankle and seem to condone the rather poor behavior our society has displayed in recent years. This country has long undervalued its senior citizens, but now it's starting to discard its middle-aged workers as well. Jobs that folks spent years training for, requiring expensive advanced degrees, are now being offered to kids with little experience or training, just to save the bucks. This means not only that more qualified and experienced folks are out of work--and with little chance of obtaining equal positions--but that the quality of the product or service is bound to be reduced merely by the basic lack of experience that comes with time. It is a fact--with age comes experience and experience does help. Granted, it is not the be-all-and-end-all, and I'm not implying that there's no talent among the youth. And I would love to have the energy I had 30 years ago, when I felt indestructible. But there is no worse feeling than spending years to train, hone and develop your craft, only to have it taken away from you, not for anything you've done wrong, but because someone younger and cheaper is available.

So good luck, John, at staying at the top. Maybe you should keep an eye peeled over your shoulder, just in case.

Give me a break, indeed!

OPENING THIS WEEK!

Two of my own one acts, ALL THE COMFORTS OF HOME and CONQUERING THE FEAR, will be presented in the one-act festival, COMEDY IN QUEENS, presented by the Queens Players at the Secret Theatre beginning Wednesday, July 16th. It should be a fun bill (or rather, two fun bills), playing at the highly pleasant Secret Theatre, easily accessible from Manhattan (first stop on the V or E, last stop on the G in Queens, diagonally across from Silvercup Studios). They did a terrific job with A REASON FOR ALL THINGS in January, and these comedic one acts (which also include one by the estimable Edward Musto!) should be great fun.

Here's the information:

Two One Acts

by Judd Lear Silverman:

CONQUERING THE FEAR

directed by Chris Jobin

with Adia Tucker and Ben Dziuba

and

ALL THE COMFORTS OF HOME

directed by Ken Hailey

with Brian Rush and Madeline Reed
as part of

COMEDY IN QUEENS

The Comedic One Act Festival

presented by

The Queens Players

at the Secret Theatre, July 16-8/2
44-02 23rd, Long Island City, NYC 11101
phone: 718 392 0304 FOR INFO
Online reservations: www.theatermania.com

Schedule:

CONQUERING part of Program 1 – 7/16, 7/17, 7/19, 7/23, 7/25, 8/1 at 8pm

also 7/26 at 3pm and 8/2 at 5:30pm
COMFORTS part of Program 2 – 7/18, 7/20, 7/24, 7/26, 7/27, 7/30, 7/31, 8/2 at 8pm
(Both plays perform the final day, 8/2 beginning at 5:30!)

Lots of great plays, lots of talented actors & directors, lots of fun!

And here's more about the Comedy in Queens from the Secret Theatre:

‘COMEDY IN QUEENS’

The Secret Theatre and The Queens Players present a festival of original comedy one acts from emerging NYC writers, VE Kimberlain, Ira Sargent, Jack Karp, Edward Musto, Judd Silverman, Steven Wojtas, Susan Gross, Isaac Rathbone, J Snodgrass & Stefanie Zadravec.

The plays vary in subject from sex [which is always funny!] to meeting the Grim Reaper at the DMV to Rodent problems and relationships. Directed by an assortment of both Queens Players’ company directors to some honored outside guest Directors this show is a chance to come and see some great original comedy performed by over 32 different actors. On the final night on August 2^nd you have a chance to see all the plays back to back when we present both programs with program 1 starting at 5.30 and then program 2 at 8.30. A double ticket is only $20 and of course the closing night party will feature our famous and FREE! BBQ!!

Tickets $15 for one program or $20 for both.

Box office and info 718 392 0304.

Credit card and online tickets: www.secrettheatre.com or www.thequeensplayers.com

Tickets also available at: www.theatermania.com

info@secrettheatre.com

Directions:. Take the 7 to 45th/Courthouse or the E, V or G to 23rd/Ely.

The Secret Theatre is located between PS1 and Silvercup Studios and is two blocks from the Citibank Tower. Enter via green gates to the left of main entrance. Parking available.

Program 1
7/16, 7/17, 7/19, 7/23, 7/25 @8pm, 7/26@3pm, 8/1
@8pm, 8/2 @5:30pm

Hamster Trance
One Night Stand
Jump
Recurring
If You Are My Soulmate, Why Are You Such an Asshole?
Conquering the Fear

Program 2
7/18, 7/20, 7/24, 7/26, 7/27, 7/30, 7/31, @ 8pm
8/2 @8.30pm

Smash & Grab
Leaving
All The Comforts Of Home
AquaSaga
It's A Wonderful Play
Death & Motor Vehicles

REACHING OUT EVEN FURTHER

Now I also have a blog in the MySpace universe: www.myspace.com/juddls

I will have postings and videos and personal notes there as well, although this blog will continue to be a source for opinions and reviews.

Also, EDDIE HAS ALLERGIES is now available as a Kindle Book at Amazon.com. If you own one of their electronic book devices, which are hot and quite watchable, then you can download and read about Eddie and his imagination within minutes and for even less than the purchase of the in-print version. (Apologies for any format problems: downloading and uploading files and keeping their shape in "foreign" terrain is a tricky prospect at best, but I swear all the text and the images are there!)

OTHER BUSINESS

IN PLAIN SIGHT, USA Network, 10 pm, Sundays

Catch IN PLAIN SIGHT on USA Network. Mary McCormack plays a slightly testy and frequently exhausted US Marshall who coordinates new identities and locations for people in the witness protection program. (The amazingly versatile and engaging Frederic Weller plays her friend and fellow marshall named Marshall, while Paul Ben-Victor is their avuncular boss and DA NCING WITH THE STARS hearthrob Cristian de la Fuente plays Mary's baseball-playing love interest. And Lesley Ann Warren has a recurring role as her Mom, Jinx, a mother who never quite grew up and is more the child than the parent.) The scripts are witty and the story lines engaging, but it is the natural and authentic-feeling performances that carry the day. And Mary McCormack delivers handily. McCormack has been wasted too often as window-dressing (as on THE WEST WING) -- clearly this talented lady is FUNNY and deserving of our attention. (She recently was Tony-nominated as a Teutonic stewardess in the hit revival of BOEING-BOEING.) Once again, Sunday nights at 10 are best spent home in front of the tube!

Back from a family wedding on Old Cape Cod. Very lavish, very pretty. A bit hot but it didn't rain, despite all the predictions. Interesting. Exhausting. Fun.

The Cape is a strange and mysterious place, quite beautiful at any one location. But if you're driving around it when you're not familiar with it, the landmarks seem to appear, disappear, re-appear. You're in one town, then you leave and move into another town, then suddenly you're back in the first town again, as if only three towns existed, leap-frogging over one another. Dark streets at night with few readable road signs and no lighting. Disorienting. But very pretty by day. And breath-taking vistas can appear suddenly around hidden corners. I suppose the logic of the Cape grows on you when you spend a full summer there--it's hard to take in on a quick weekend jaunt.

I am all in favor weddings, whatever your orientation, gender or sexual preference. Preparing for one may cause more stress and nervousness than one would normally want, but ultimately they do end up providing a memorable celebration of a personal milestone. Anyone who really wants to commit their time, attention and love to one person in these difficult times--God bless 'em! Everyone who can give beyond themselves to someone else deserves all the support we can give them!

Weddings are strange events where you catch up with people related to you. You check in, you see and hear the latest news--but you probably know your friends and co-workers better than you know your own family. You are connected to these people by blood or by marriage. And while folks profess their love and how much they miss you, you can't help but wonder--would they even want to be friends if they weren't relatives? I'm happy to see my kin, of course, but ultimately I want people to "love" me because they find me interesting and genuinely like me--not because I'm their uncle or nephew or cousin. (And those who say "we must get together when we're back in the city" should put their money where their mouths are, so to speak . . . )

Still, a good time was had by all . . .