Michael Faulkner

Tactless

Good news… just shot a guest spot on a new sketch show for Russell Simmons’ “All Def Digital” Youtube channel, called TACTLESS. Funny script, lots of ad libs and improvisation on set. Watch for it here before the end of the year, they say.

I’m beginning to think that I may have a career playing “serious white guy” in black themed entertainment. After 6 episodes of “Issue Cafe” for Robert Townsend and pic.tv (no longer available), and now this… at the very least I am liked by men whose names start with “R.” And that counts for something. I’m waiting for Robert Downey Jr. to call.

Is that tactless?

The Shakespeare Clowning Continues…

In the last 18 months, I’ve played Elbow (Measure for Measure), Hortensio (Taming of the Shrew), Launcelot Gobbo (Merchant of Venice) and am currently appearing as Malvolio in perhaps my favorite Shakespeare comedy of all-time, “Twelfth Night.” I get to do this under the stars on top of a mountain overlooking the San Gabriel valley, in a Greek amphitheater on the grounds of a Catholic Girls’ School. And I’m being paid Equity wages. It doesn’t get much sweeter than this. I know there are plenty of Hollywood types that don’t think Shakespeare applies to our little industry, but when you are killing them with laughter, it doesn’t matter if the words are 400 years old. Here’s a review:

There’s also an oddball gentleman named Malvolio (Michael Faulkner) who inspires laughs aplenty, particularly when tricked by the aforementioned trio into wearing “yellow stockings and purple cross-garters” (or their semi-contemporary equivalent)… there’s Faulkner’s brilliant comic work as Malvolio, whether practicing what appears to be the gent’s first smile ever, or romping about in skin-tight yellow-and-black checked pants, or doing frequent face-first pratfalls into the sand. – Stage Scene LA

The La Cañada Flintridge Shakespeare Festival is in its third season and is growing by leaps and bounds. It’s an all-professional (all-union) cast that is a joy to work with. Half-price tickets are available here.

Yeah, that’s me in the pic. OH YEAH.

Working my way through Shakespeare’s Clowns…

So my turn as “Elbow” in MEASURE FOR MEASURE at A Noise Within (Pasadena) last fall has really started a trend. This summer I’ve had the joy and pleasure of working with the fine folks at the Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival in Thousand Oaks in two classic plays: “The Taming of the Shrew” and “The Merchant of Venice.”

Amazingly enough, Kate’s final monologue in “Shrew” only got the feminist hiss once, at which point Kate stared down the offender and delivered the rest of the monologue straight to…. erm… at her. This is why i love live theater. I played Hortensio in Shrew, and am playing Launcelot Gobbo in Merchant, where I’m injecting my own brand of modern sensibilities. In order to make Gobbo’s soliloquy about the argument between the devil and his conscience work, I’m actually pulling unsuspecting audience members out of the audience, on stage with me, to make them A) be the devil and my conscience and B) SAY SHAKESPEARE’S WORDS! It’s a blast, and people are falling out of their camping chairs every night. Did I mention the stage is in a lovely park with creek running through it and frogs chirping all night long?

Gingerbread!

The Gingerbread Man is open and is causing 1,000 K-12 children a day to scream their heads off. It’s a rollicking good time. Who knew there was a highly professional, full-Actor’s-Equity, children’s theater company in Rancho Cucamonga? Who knew Rancho Cucamonga was even a real town, not something Jack Benny made up?

Read all about it here.

A Noise Without…

The very latest? I’m appearing as the classic Shakespearean clown “Elbow” in Measure for Measure at A Noise Within (Southern California’s premier classical theater company now in their 19th season). This is A Noise Within’s final season in their current space, an old Masonic lodge in Glendale. Next season they’ll be breaking champagne bottles on the helm of their new, larger theater in Pasadena. It’s a big step up for a great company.

Post production on the film “The Last Hymn,” which I shot in 2009, is nearing completion. There may be more film news to come.

And if you haven’t noticed, the website is undergoing a drastic design change. Thanks for your patience as things get shuffled.

Parson’s Nose

Great article about Parson’s Nose, the theater company I’ve been involved with since 2001. I act with them, occasionally direct, do sound design, show graphics (posters, postcards, etc.). When I’m not on the road with the Reduced Shakespeare Company, you can usually find me staring up the Parson’s Nose.

February News

Found out the web-based talk show I co-host has been “renewed…” if you can call it that in web terms. What that means in practical terms is that we’ve been picked up for an additional four episodes that will shoot in the next week. This is under the SAG New Media contract, such as it is.

Also – probably going to do some Reduced Shakespeare dates in April. It’s always fun to do gigs with The Reduced Shakespeare Company. I’ve never had another job in the theater where I’ve felt more appreciated at the end of the show. I’ve literally had people come up to me afterwards and tell me how I helped them laugh in the midst of tragedy. During a run of “The Bible, The Complete Word of God (abridged)” at San Diego Rep a few years ago, during the height of wildfire season, we had audience members that had lost their home. In some small way, we were able to bring joy and lightness into their circumstances. It’s why I do what I do.

January 2010 News

Latest News – November 1st, 2009

Good news on the Michael Faulkner front… just before ten days of touring through the midwest with the Reduced Shakespeare Company, I booked and shot an HBO promo which is meant to be put up on the web sometime at HBO’s nifty new interactive short film sharing site. Then, just recently, AFTER touring, I booked another promo, this time for the Sony Pictures movie, “Dear John.” Basically, I’m the opposite of the kind of guy that’s in the movie. Shoots this Tuesday, and just might air during the Super Bowl.

Thanks for caring!

PS: Video Demo Reels, along with new material, to be posted soon.