Breaking My Silence...

"It is not love that is blind, but jealousy."
-Lawrence Durrell, British-born author (1912-1990)

Happy Hump Day!


Today's blog truly is about getting over a hump! This is my story of what I have been enduring over the past year. I signed a contract in 2008. I admit that. I also admit that I didn't seek legal council and that I DID NOT read the fine print! I take full responsibility for that. But do you think I would ever sign away the rights to my livelihood? Apparently, I did! And the bottom line is all I desire to do is bring joy to people.
When I sit down to start my blog each morning, I never know what path it will take me down. Just as I do in my shows, I truly try to be in the moment and let my thoughts and my writing take me where they take me. I started my blog yesterday in response to the Porgy And Bess/Stephen Sondheim controversy. (I side with Sondheim on this issue and I will get back to that, hopefully in a later blog)But as I began to write, I was thinking about dealing with my own art this year. I have performed my show for over 20 years but nothing I have ever done on stage rivals the drama I am now experiencing. What has happened essentially, in a nutshell, is that someone has come along, and usurped my ability to perform a show that I have poured my blood, sweat, and tears into for over 20 years. I don't own the copyright on "Carol Channing". I never have. I never will. And if I never perform again as Carol Channing, it will not be the end of the world. But I want it to be MY decision. I have a love of Carol that goes deeper and beyond what I do on stage. THAT cannot be taken from me. I have been a part of this world for years, and my "producer" (hope that you all will know his name at some point) took advantage of all the blessings my show has garnered and my personal friendship with Carol Channing to call all the shots, thereby ruining the show for me right down to my very being. I am the show; the show is me. I have lived with "stuffing it" too long.

I have not written about what I have gone through till now...If you saw my blog yesterday, you will note that I left off with me being asked to be part of a series last year called GREAT ENTERTAINERS ON BROADWAY! to be produced by Herb Goldman.

As soon as the date was in place, July 27th,2010, I contacted Dori Berenstein, producer of CAROL CHANNING! LARGER THAN LIFE to line up her film crew to film me that night, I hired Stephen Epstein to design a new gown for me.

And I hired the three BEST musicians in the business and offered them ABOVE TOP DOLLAR! And I asked MarTina Vidmar to open for me.

This night was so important to me; I had so much riding on this show on so many levels! And I began campaigning to fill a 300 seat house! Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Personal E-mails, and WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT THE IGUANA! You can actually go into my archived blogs and see the excitement that was building up for me as we got closer to that date. It consumed me. That whole evening could be a turning point for me in so many ways.

Perhaps now, I would be taken a little bit more seriously. Then EVERYTHING CRASHED...at least for the moment! On July 2nd, Herb Goldman called me in a panic...just as we were careening into the 4th of July holiday weekend. He had not properly promoted the GREAT ENTERTAINERS ON BROADWAY! series and he was pulling the plug! He felt that was going to lose everything. I begged and pleaded with him to reconsider. I asked him not to make any rash decisions until all options had been looked at. He promised me that would wait till at least Monday to decide his next move.

In the meantime, I get a call from John Sefakis of DANCERS OVER 40 to tell me he had tickets for my show on the 27th! I told him that I didn't know whether or not there would even be a show at this point! After explaining the situation, he suggested I contact Ed Gaynes at St. Luke's Theatre.The theatre MIGHT be dark that night...it was a Tuesday. I had done several events for DANCERS OVER 40 at St. Luke's and Ed was definitely familiar with my work. I told John I would wait to see if there was anypossibility that my show would be going on as previously planned on the 27th

On Monday morning, as I was checking my e-mails, I got an email from Mark Nadler, the performer who was kicking off the series, saying that his shows had been cancelled on July 26th! I called Herb to see if this was definite. He was distraught but said he had no choice! I immediately called John Sefakis and asked him to give Ed Gaynes a call. If this worked out, GREAT! If not, I had no idea what I was going to do next.

Well, Ed called to tell me the theatre was available and I explained where I was coming from and that I would do what it would take to ensure the success of the evening and he said he would work out the best possible deal for me under the circumstances. Of course, the theatre needed to make money as well. I went into overdrive. I had a LOT to do in three weeks. Luckily, I also had the efforts of the past 5 months to fall back on. I called Glen Charlow, my designer, and he designed my poster and fliers.

I contacted Playbill.com and Broadwayworld.com and started getting the press out!

And THEN I get a call from the "producer" that I had been discussing the "AS CAROL" show (See yesterday's blog). Ed Gaynes told him of my call. He called me to find out what was going on. He was concerned that I was opening a show off-Broadway about Carol Channing when he was hoping to get AS CAROL opened sometime within the next year...although we didn't even have a book for the show at this time! I asked if I had done anything wrong. He said technically no since I didn't know that he and Ed had been discussing St. Luke's as a possible venue for "AS CAROL". IF July 27th, was a success, I definitely had my foot in the door. If the evening was NOT a success, I may have burned a bridge behind me. I told him not to worry, the evening WOULD be a success. He suggested that he come on board to set up ticketing with telecharge and to act as a liaison between me and the theatre since he had a history there. I did not have a problem with that. As a matter of fact, I welcomed his involvement with open arms.

We SOLD OUT in a matter of days. The "producer" in question suggested we use this evening to promote "AS CAROL". The following is from THE BEST OF OFF-BROADWAY, "The 1-night performance of Carol Channing IN CONCERT...STARRING Richard Skipper! will be a sneak preview for Skipper's upcoming one-actor musical play As Carol!, which is slated to open Off-Broadway this December prior to bookings nationwide. As Carol!, co-created by Skipper and long-time NYC actor/theater producer *****(I have removed his name so as not to bring any attention to him at this time), showcases Skipper's celebrated performance as Carol Channing but also delves into Skipper's personal life and desire to develop an acting career separate from the Channing personage but who inevitably is drawn back to performing while donning the theater legend's blonde wig, glitzy gowns, and bedazzling jewelry. As Carol! will be produced by *****. Off-Broadway theater venue and opening dates to-be-announced soon..

We even had cards for people to fill out if they wanted to get on the AS CAROL mailing list or even if they wanted to be potential investors.

There was even an AS CAROL website set up!
The evening was a HUGE SUCCESS...on so many levels!

Here are just a few audience comments from that night: DEAR RICHARD
JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU HOW MUCH WE ENJOYED YOUR SHOW
IT WAS TOPS IN ENTERTAINMENT
LOVED YOUR HUMOR LOVED YOUR STORIES
ENJOYED YOUR PATHOS MANY KUDOS TO YOU
HAD A WONDERFUL EVENING
I WANTED TO MENTION THAT FRANCESCA BLUMENTHAL WAS
ALSO IN THE AUDIENCE
LOVE EDIE STOKES


Dear Richard, Your performance Tuesday night,7/27, was captivating. The show flowed so beautifully from the spoken word to singing and it was a rhythm that was perfect all the way through. This is a show that should be brought to many other audiences. I loved it!!!
Nina Grand, Massapequa Park, N.Y.

I can not think of the last time I smiled so much. Richard held us in his hands and in his heart, while teaching and entertaining us the old fashioned way. Carol Channing is so blessed to have this artist pay tribute to her incredible life with such care and integrity. This is a show that should be seen by the world. So many life lessons and good energy to be shared. Thank you, dear Richard. Love, Meg Flather, NYC

And Sandi Durell gave me a rave review in The Times Square Chronicles
Betsy Palmer, Celeste Holm, Sondra Lee, Joe Franklin, Ervin Drake were all part of a sold out audience. The filming took place and a portion of my preparation/transformation from that evening made its way into the documentary, CAROL CHANNING" LARGER THAN LIFE .

Please note that ALL of the legwork that led to the success of that evening came from ME.

After the success of that evening, the "producer" said that he felt that we had been going about this the wrong way. Rather than trying to get "AS CAROL" on its feet right away, perhaps we should try and establish my Carol Channing in Concert show as an off-Broadway vehicle. The plan would be that instead of doing a run of 5 to 8 shows a week, we would do spot performances. Maybe 2 or 3 shows a week to build up momentum. It would also allow him to get me booked around the country. It all seemed like a nice idea. Then he got me booked in Provincetown. This had happened quickly because Rip Taylor was unable to do a show (three performances) and I was going to step into that slot. We went with practically no budget. There was very little available to even pay the musicians. I was not happy with my run in Provincetown...for a lot of reasons.

In November, I was told that we would be opening on December 22nd for previews with a scheduled opening date of January 12th. I questioned if it was wise to start before the holidays. I was told that this would be the IDEAL time to open in NY. There would be a lot of tourists and especially my "Jewish" audiences would be there for me. I put total trust in my producer and forged ahead. The "first" issues started arising with the show with the delay of tickets going on sale. From Buffalo, at Thanksgiving, I was furious that tickets were not on sale for a show that was less than a month away. We fought about this. The blame was placed squarely on the head of telecharge. They were the ones taking their time to get tickets on sale. As we started towards production, we were constantly at odds on everything. My designer, Glen, (who by the way put me in touch with this producer in the first place) told that marketing decisions were no longer to involve me (on a show I've been performing for 20 years). My musicians were told that they would not be paid for the one rehearsal that was scheduled Christmas week. (I paid them)The night of our rehearsal, the producer who now also has the title of director (Don't ask) didn't even have a running order of the show. We opened (our first preview) on December 22nd with no advance ticket sales and with no budget for advertising and/or the show. Again, my TOTAL trust was that he KNEW what he was doing. I was told that I could get no press because "I had burned bridges behind me." I wasn't even introduced to my press agent until AFTER I had done several performances. Decisions were being made that did not enhance the show early on. But one thing was clear. The show was succeeding ARTISTICALLY because of me. My "producer" was hoping and banking on my contacts to potentially invest in the show. Even though I am a member of Actor's Equity, I was encouraged to do this outside of Equity (I was essentially bringing my club act into a theatre setting).

I was constantly being broken down. I had to beg to even get a sign in front of the theatre as to when I was on...or wasn't. My rack cards had no show times at all on them. In MY OPINION, it was a case study on what NOT to do. And in addition to everything I have cited here, we were hit with one of the worst winters in New York's history. It was as if everything was against me.

In February, Danny and I were going out to Palm Springs to spend my 50th birthday with Carol Channing. Les Michaels from BLAME IT ON MIDNIGHT contacted me to see if I would be interested in doing my show out there. I said I would do it under the following conditions: That I would have no out of pocket expenses, that he would line up the musicians, and that ALL of the proceeds would go to Carol Channing's Foundation To The Arts.

He agreed and then told my "producer" who started putting all kinds of conditions on my appearance that would have made it cost prohibitive to have done the show. The most egregious "request" is that I could not use "Carol Channing" in any promos because this was now owned by him! I do not wish to discuss the aspects of this right now due to legalities involved. THIS was when I realized I was in trouble. Les and I went back and forth on what I could or could not do with me finally agreeing to appear as Richard Skipper in celebration of Carol Channing who was about to celebrate her 90th birthday!

I was told that I couldn't even use images of me as Carol because these were now owned by him! I had an attorney friend look at my contract. She told me to close the show immediately. I asked if there was any other choice and she said, "Yes. He can own you!" So on February 2nd, I closed my show. I had done 13 performances. I had received 25 rave reviews, and I was 4 performances shy of a Drama Desk Nomination. The day after I closed the show, this appeared on ACTORS ACCESS: Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011, 11:27 AM Pacific
"CAROL CHANNING" IN CONCERT
Theatre
NO UNION JURISDICTION (1-PERSON SHOW)
CURRENTLY PLAYING OFF-BROADWAY at
ST. LUKE'S THEATRE -
RATE EQUIVALENT TO AGVA SCALE/NEGOTIABLE

Written and Conceived by: Richard Skipper
Director: *****
Producer: *****
currently Off-Broadway at St. Luke's Theatre
Performance Dates flexible and as frequently
as once/month to twice/week
Casting Director: ******
Start Date: February 2011
Location: New York City

SUBMIT ELECTRONICALLY IMMEDIATELY


NOTE: PLEASE SUBMIT ACTOR'S ONLINE DEMO CLIPS/LINKS ALONG WITH EACH ACTOR SUBMISSION.

The critically-acclaimed Off-Broadway production "Carol Channing" In Concert is a one-person show about the life and career of the Broadway legend Carol Channing. Seeking Union or Non-Union Actors. Currently in a theatrical setting, but otherwise suitable for supper clubs and cabarets.


I have not written about this till today. This has been my own personal hell. There is MORE to this story than time here would permit. I'm sure that the "producer" that I have written about here may have a completely different outlook on these events. My involvement with this show runs deeper than you can even imagine. He does not get that and his actions over the past year show his lack of respect for what I have spent 20 years working on, the project itself, and/or Carol Channing. I don't have the funds to fight this and until he decides to "let go", you will not be seeing Richard Skipper as Carol Channing. My goal with this blog is not to attack him but to answer all who are wondering why I am not performing this show.
One gift, however, that has come out of this is the amazing support of both Carol Channing and Harry Kullijian! As a matter of fact, I ran this blog past them before publishing it today, and they are right behind me!

Thank you for joining me on these nostalgic journeys! I've added a new aspect to my blog.. Every five days, I'm going to answer a question on video that YOU send to me. You can ask me ANYTHING and I will answer your question on video within my blog. Send your questions to Richard@RichardSkipper.com Next question will be answered on Saturday!

"Richard, for supporting the ARTS and calling attention to the STARS of yesterday. You are a STAR in your own right!! With admiration and friendship"
Arlene Dahl



Thank you to all who have encouraged me! Thanks to all who have tried to stifle my art. I have learned from ALL of you!
Here's to an INCREDIBLE day for ALL!


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Tomorrow's blog will be PART TWO of Those Giving Back! Tune in!!

Cowardly Lion: All right, I'll go in there for Dorothy. Wicked Witch or no Wicked Witch, guards or no guards, I'll tear them apart. I may not come out alive, but I'm going in there. There's only one thing I want you fellows to do.
Tin Woodsman, Scarecrow: What's that?
Cowardly Lion: Talk me out of it!

Please contribute to the DR. CAROL CHANNING & HARRY KULLIJIAN FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS:
http://www.carolchanning.org/foundation.htm

And help us get Carol Channing the 2011 Kennedy Center Honor!
Contact me for details!

TILL TOMORROW...HERE'S TO AN ARTS FILLED WEEK!
Richard Skipper, Richard@RichardSkipper.com