Welcome!
I am an actor, director, and playwright. I also enjoy performing improv and writing poetry (specifically micropoetry -- poems that fit within a 280 character Twitter "tweet"). I am also an on-skates roller derby official with Maine Roller Derby under the name Cary Zawhistle, #2222.
In 2011, I began acting in earnest -- at the ripe old age of 39. Prior to that, I had done some shows way back in grade school, and a few at my church over the years, but it wasn't until all those years later that I decided to try doing something with the local community theatre companies. Mind you, acting was something that I had always wanted to do -- but I didn't have the courage to do it until 2011. I am so thankful for the opportunity that I was given to play Chief Bromden in a production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest with Ten Bucks Theatre. That show gave me the inspiration and motivation to do even more. Over the following years, I have had very little downtime -- performing in over 20 fully-produced stage productions, and a number of other smaller productions.
In 2012, just a year after being in Cuckoo's Nest, I directed my first show -- Rabbit Hole (again with Ten Bucks Theatre). It was a play I absolutely fell in love with the first time I read it, and I knew right away that I had a very specific vision for how to produce it on stage. I was so thrilled that I was given the opportunity (and vote of confidence, having never directed before) to direct this show. It was beautiful. I had a dream cast. I had a dream crew. I cried every night. I look forward to directing this show again on a main stage somewhere. (I will be directing a "black box" version of this play Sept 18-20, 2020 at Schoolhouse Arts Center in Standish!) I directed my second show Time Stands Still the following year (2013). Another beautiful show with the best cast and crew. That one was pretty emotional, too.
In 2013, I took my first stab at writing a short play. My play I Spy was written for a 24-hour New Play Festival with Ten Bucks Theatre. It was a play that was conceived, written, rehearsed, and performed all within 24 hours. It was surreal seeing something I had written being performed. Watching and listening to the audiences reactions was something I will never forget, and still love to this day when one of my plays is performed.
In 2016, I moved from the Bangor, Maine area to the Portland, Maine area -- about two hours south. Having lived my entire life in the Bangor area, it was a difficult move for me. But it turned out to be the best decision of my life. Don't get me wrong -- I absolutely loved Bangor -- the area, my friends, and the opportunities I had there, but moving was an chance to start with a fresh perspective on things. It took me a bit, but I was able to start working with the amazing theatre community in the Portland area. I even got my first chance to perform on a professional stage (and get paid!) when I was Howard in Moon Over Buffalo with the Originals Theatre Company at Saco River Theatre.
At this point, Schoolhouse Arts Center in Standish feels most like "home". It's a wonderful organization with people that have a heart and a passion for the arts. I look forward to many more theatre adventures with them in the future!
Probably the biggest highlight of my acting career, though, came in 2019 when I was given the opportunity to be Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks in a production of Annie at Windham Center Stage Theatre. Wowzers. Such an amazing production, and I simply adored the entire cast. It was truly a dream come true. It also gave me the worst bout of post-show blues I've ever had.
Since moving in 2016, I also found a great place to start honing my writing skills a bit more. The Crowbait Club is a group that meets for a "Deathmatch" on the first Sunday of every month from 7:00-9:00PM at The Footlights Theatre in Falmouth, Maine. What is Crowbait Club? It's difficult to explain, but I'll give it a shot. At the end of every "meeting", we are given a theme for the following month. During the time between meetings, those who wish to can write a short play (max 10 mins) to be considered for performance at the next meeting. When you arrive, if you've written something, you throw your script in a virtual "hat". If you wish to act, you throw you name in the hat. If you wish to just watch, that's fine too. It does cost $10, whether you write, act, watch or all three, but it's worth the money, trust me. There are two "Acts" for each meeting. In Act One, five scripts will be randomly drawn from the pool of submitted scripts. The playwright then goes up on stage and draws the number of actors they need for their play from the pool of actors. The playwright then has two minutes to discuss their play with their actors. At that point, the actors will do a cold performance (scripts in hand, of course) of the play. If it goes even a second of ten minutes, it gets "ducked" -- a very sad sounding duck call, which means your play is not eligible to win "Best Play" for the evening. It also means that your play will not be finished -- it stops right then and there (which can be tough as an audience member! HOW DOES IT END??). At the end of Act One, the audience votes on their favorite play from that Act. Five more plays are chosen for Act Two, and again the audience votes on their favorite play from Act Two. A runoff vote between the Act One and Act Two favorite plays then happens. At that point, the host for the evening will choose two or three actors from the evening as possible winners of the "Best Actor" award, and the audience does a clap-off to determine who takes that title. After that, the winner of "Best Play" is announced. There are definitely bragging rights for winning Best Play, but even better is that the following year in September, that play will be part of King of Crows, a production that showcases all of the monthly deathmatch winners in a fully-staged manner -- simple sets, props, and memorized lines. Directors are hired, and interested actors can audition. That's a very long explanation, but worth my time to type -- I LOVE CROWBAIT CLUB!
Thank you for visiting my website and for taking a few minutes to read this long "About Me" story!
Randy