Summary of my involvement in Perchance to Dream” Theatre’s 24 Hour Play Festival and Duncan Pflaster’s upcoming reading of “Nothing Human.”

Cast for our play “The Believers” in the 24 Hour Play Festival included Hanniel Choi, Bret McCormick, and Vibe Normann. Our writer was Alexandra Cremer and our director was Amanda Junco. Special thanks to Perchance to Dream for an awesome experience.

I normally don’t post about auditions but many of you are aware that I have been doing all I can to get my foot in the door of film and TV in New York. Earlier in the year I had to turn down a role on One Life To Live due to a theatre project. I’m still disappointed about this. Unlike theatre, TV and film auditions usually require representation to get you in the door. While, I’m still searching for the right representation, I am particularly flatter to have been called in by Claire Traeger of Suzanne Ryan Casting to audition for CBS’s new hit show Unforgettable. If you’ve not seen it, you need to check it out. Poppy Montgomery plays Carrie Wells, a detective who literally remembers everything. Apparently there are about 150 people in the world with this rare gift. Anyway, I met Claire recently when I had the opportunity to read for something else and I couldn’t be happier that she remembered me. It’s a huge compliment and I definitely am grateful to her for the chance to come in and share my abilities with Suzanne and the folks at CBS. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

This weekend, the cast of Tennis in Nablus (including myself) performed an abridged version of Tennis in Nablus for the Culture Project 2011 Producer’s Weekend where two of the six plays presented where chosen to be produced in The Culture Project’s 2012-2013 season. The piece was very well received and I am so happy that I was able to take the stage with my cast mates to share Ismail Khalidi’s fantastic new play with a new audience of theatre-goers. It was determined that the play would be produced Off-Broadway by The Culture Project and we are all exceptionally excited and proud to have been a part of getting it there.

About Tennis in Nablus by Ismail Khalidi
It is 1939. World War II looms over Europe as Palestinian rebels teeter on the brink of defeat at the hands of the British empire which rules Palestine with an iron fist. As the Arab revolutionaries fight for their freedom, the Zionist movement is getting stronger by the day. A collision between the two peoples seems inevitable, especially as the English sow discord in between their daily tennis matches.

About The Culture Project
Culture Project’s productions have garnered an array of Drama Desk, OBIE, and Outer Circle Critics awards. But they have also won unprecedented awards outside the sphere of theatrical production including the Champion of Justice Award and the PASS award from the National Association of Criminal Defenders. This recognition reignites Culture Project’s passion for its goal and reinforces its commitment to hard-hitting and provocative theater as a powerful ingredient in shaping our nation’s values and debates.

Working on Tennis in Nablus has been quite a journey. I’ve had the pleasure of working with tremendously talented individuals and bringing life to a character who is essentially the villain of the show. Our brilliant and kind playwright wrote some fantastic comedy into the script for my character, Lieutenant Duff but at the same time, he made me a man who is doing his job and several inhuman things at the same time. I really enjoyed finding the truth that straddled both elements. Performing the role has been a thrill and it seems the critics enjoyed what they saw as well:

“Matt Falber mimes a flawless British accent as the priggish Lieutenant Duff.” – Lisa Mullenneaux, Mondoweiss

“Matt Falber plays Falbour’s aide and tennis partner (notice that similarity in names… hmmm), a junior edition of the General. He is a maker of moué and it works well for the man he portrays.” – J. Peter Bergman, Berkshire Bright Focus

I am so bummed that we weren’t able to get together next Wednesday. To use a phrase that’s been used on your show many times, “it’s not you, it’s me.” It would have been so awesome to say, “yes I’ll take the job” when you called me today and offered me a role. As you know, I’ll be in Hudson, NY for the next six weeks working on “Tennis in Nablus” and the 17th wound up being a very bad day for me to be away from rehearsals as the playwright will be joining us. I really hope that we can connect when I get back at the end of September. I still think you’re really cool no matter what the other actor that you wind up booking tells you.

;) Matt

P.S. Yes if you’re reading this, and aren’t from “One Life To Live,” I had to turn down a role on the show because of my pre-existing commitment. Now stop reading messages that aren’t addressed to you. :P

I’ve just had the privilege of accepted a fantastic role in the east coast premiere of Ismail Khalidi’s “Tennis in Nablus” under the direction of Laura Margolis at Stageworks in Hudson, NY. The show takes place in 1939, British-run Palestine. Jews from Europe are seeking refuge in response to the Nazi’s assent to power. The native Palestinians have already tried to overthrow the government. Meanwhile, the British are more concerned with living in a civilized fashion among these humans that they consider to be less than proper. Tennis and costume balls fill the agenda of General Falbour and my character, Lieutenant Douglas Duff, a career soldier who is planning to prove his worth to the General and to the crown and be accepted into upper-class British society. In many ways, one could perceive me as a villain. But any actor worth his salt will tell you that they never look at their characters motives as wrong. The character gives me the opportunity to examine what it’s like to seek approval and wield power.

I’ll be taking the stage with an outstanding group of performer including Nassar Faris, Fajer Al-Kaisi, Chet Carlin, Maria Silverman, Shivantha Wijesinha, Chris Smith and Jack Kesey. Tickets and additional information are available at http://www.stageworkshudson.org/nablus.html. The show runs September 7th through the 25th at Stageworks in Hudson, NY.

In 1945 Noel Coward wrote the controversial film “Brief Encounter” about a British housewife who struggles with her desire to have an extramarital relation. In 1977 Steven Spielberg wrote what would becoming the science fiction blockbuster, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” In 2010 Corey Pajka irreverantly mashed the two into one story filled to the seams with love, temptation, aliens. Extramarital relations meet extraterrestrial destruction!

Come and witness the hilarious world premiere of “Brief Encounters of the Third Kind,” part of The Gallery Players Black Box Festival, on June 9 and 10 at 8pm or June 11th and 12th at 5pm. I place A-lec, the handsome and mysterious alien who falls in love with a human being. The play is directed by Suzanne Adams and features a fantastic cast including Matt Barbot, Barrie Golden, Christine Schwalenberg & Roni Tessler.

The Gallery Players is an excellent theatre and I’m honored to be working with them. They have premiered such exciting works as Urinetown, Yank, and Like You Like It. Each year their season concludes with this Black Box Festival, which introduces new work by up and coming playwrights. “Brief Encounters of the Third Kind” will start the evening, which includes 5 short one-acts – ours is the longest at 30 minutes. Yes, there is an intermission.

To purchase tickets visit: http://galleryplayers.com/plays/bb2011/.

Remember “Brief Encounters of the Third Kind” is in Program 3 on June 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th.

This afternoon at 5pm I will be performing the lead, Ben, a 21 year old Mormon who is determined to free himself of what he believes are curable homosexual tendencies and push forward with his pending wedding in a new work. This is a musical reading called “9 Letters” written by Kelvin Moon Loh with music and lyrics by Avril Lavine and it is part of Primary Stages’ Spring 2011 Playwriting Festival.

A mere five days after I arrived in Los Angeles, I found myself in front of a judge. Well, maybe I should rephrase, Andrew Hanson found himself in front of a judge, Judge Ross or Boss Ross as he likes to call himself. Kevin Ross was the youngest judge ever elected to the California Superior Bench and like people do in Los Angeles, he got his own TV show! Now every case he hears is broadcast into homes across the country via his syndicated television program called America’s Court. But something’s different about these cases… they’re performed by actors. That’s where I came in!

Now if you’re like me, you’re pretty surprised to hear this. But actually, almost all of the judge shows use actors and this isn’t a recent thing. Until The People’s Court came on the air, all of the shows prior to it had been with actors. Who knew? The majority of the shows are just as fake as the books on their courtroom shelves!

Anyway, look for me on America’s Court in either Episode 26 or 27 portraying Andrew Hanson. I’ve taken the defendant Nicole to court because she sold me a motorcycle without paying the sales tax. It should air sometime in March. I’m confident it’s going to be very entertaining! Here’s a general teaser for the show (a different episode):

For a few weeks I’ve been wanting to hop on MattFalber.com to tell you all that I booked a show at the Broward Stage Door in Florida. Everything happened very quickly. One of the Taffeta Wedding’s cast members dropped out and I received a call to head to Florida ASAP. As I’m heading out to Los Angeles from January 25th through July and this show runs to January 17th, I had a very short amount of time to pack up all my belongs and prepare my apartment to for a subletter. I arrived within 24 hours and started catching up as everyone knew the music and choreography before I arrived.

Taffeta Wedding takes place in 1964. The Taffetas, a musical group comprised of singing sisters have decided to marry their crooning beaus, The Cardigans, on national television. It’s presented with the innocence of a Lawrence Welk style show while Rick Lewis’ clever writing pokes fun at the time and is full of hit tunes from the 50s and 60s in four-part harmony. I play Frankie, one of the Cardigans. My character is probably the most wholesome of the guys. He thinks a lot about what it means to be married and be a good husband to his bride-to-be Peggy.

I’ve really enjoyed working with the cast and our creative team is out of this world. Our director Arthur Whitelaw is a Broadway legend and brought a number of very noteworthy productions to The Great White Way including the hit revival of Best Foot Forward, which introduced Liza Minnelli and Christopher Walken to the stage and my all-time favorite musical “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” — the original and the revival which gave Kristin Chenoweth her big break! Our choreographer is Michael Leeds who wrote and directed the Tony nominated musical revue “Swinging On a Star” featuring the music of Johnny Burke. Our music director Sergio Puig, regularly work for the Florida Grand Opera. We’re in very capable hands.

We opened last night to a very appreciative audience. The music sounded great and the cast was electric. If you’re in the area, it’s definitely worth coming to see.

Tickets:

http://www.stagedoortheatre.com/Taffeta.html