It's A Wonderful Life The One Man Show In Two Acts
I love the movies of Frank Capra. He made them with a message and a moral. I find there are stresses and hardships in this world and the message of his film “It’s A Wonderful Life”, makes it easy to remember the important and good reasons why we exist. I feel so blessed that Frank Capra came across Philip Van Doren Stern’s short story “The Greatest Gift” because his movie “It’s A Wonderful Life” feels like a personal gift in itself to me. I am an actor and this movie has provided so much joy and material for me to utilize as an imitator. I love this movie so much that over the years I have come to memorize the entire film with all the characterizations as created by the original actors from start to finish. This year I have recreated for the stage my full appreciation of this work in my project: It’s A Wonderful Life - The One Man Show In Two Acts.
This is my passion project. I have devised this entire show with the help of my wife, actor and director Catherine Taormina. We have accomplished so much on our own and I love the show we have created. It seemed nearly impossible from the get-go to envision what we have accomplished thus far. The amount of work and financial sacrifice has been enormous.
Time is always an issue when putting up a show. Even though I am having such a great time getting this project together, it is expensive and funding is needed to continue. Without proper funding the creative process gets delayed and I have been having to work harder and longer and because I have not had any funding I have had to push my targeted performance dates further into the future. I can not wait any longer, so I am now starting this gofundme campaign. I love this show so much and have received words of encouragement to do it at any time of year so I plan to perform this show very soon and with your help it will happen sooner than later. Staging is complete. I am currently still gathering, purchasing and creating the remaining necessary props and scenic elements. There are a lot of loose ends but they are coming together quickly. The final element is a theater space. Thus far, all the work I have done has been at home and the space has been very limited. Prop collection, scenic construction, rehearsing with the devised set changes has all been in my one bedroom apartment. The show has been staged so that I, by myself move all the props and scenic. This is a difficult task and while I am doing it quite efficiently, as the show builds, I would love to hire crew members to help to make scene changes happen even more quickly. It is now time to secure a proper space and move on to the more technical aspects of the show. Once I get into a theater space I will have to have enough funding for time within the space to design lights and run the sound cues. I will need funding to hire at least one usher, a stage manager and a few people to help transport my props and scenic elements to and from the theater. I hope to travel with the show in the future as well and will need to move my props and scenic to and from theaters outside of NYC!
Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart were both WWII veterans. I am also a military veteran and feel a connection with Jimmy Stewart as when he came home from war, he found that acting became a therapeutic process for him. I as well find acting to be therapeutic. Supporting my process would help to fulfill a dream of mine and bring a complete sense of accomplishment to my small but ambitious collaborative team. A contribution of $50 will get you a ticket to the show and if you can not make it, you may designate your ticket to a military veteran!
To all those who contribute I thank you very much for helping me fulfill this dream of mine. I have done theater for many years but never a project of my own and with your help I will be able to fully realize this goal more quickly and joyously. Please like our Facebook Fan Page It's A Wonderful Life The One Man Show In Two Acts . I also have my official website available at www.nickaddeoenterprises.com/itsawonderfullife with more details and specifics. I hope you view the videos my wife and I have created here as they are an extension of my words thus far. Below you will find information on my acting and creative life.
About The Deviser/Performer: Nick Addeo
Nick is an actor, musician, singer, military veteran and life video chronicler. He began acting and singing with his appearance in a production of La Boheme at the Paramount Theatre in his hometown of Asbury Park, NJ in 1978. Shortly after high school he joined the Air Force and became an aircraft mechanic for F-15s. He was stationed in England, and while overseas he preformed in Hello Dolly as Ambrose Kemper, Grease as Kinickie and A Few Good Men in various small roles. Moving back to the states, he continued to serve with the Air National Guard maintaining F-16s in Atlantic City, NJ while living in New York City and attending Rutgers University where he received a degree in Music. He performed stage combat for New York City Opera’s Macbeth and Dead Man Walking at Lincoln Center. He had several roles in Julius Caesar and the role of Gratiano in The Merchant Of Venice here in NYC. He performed the role of Ruiz in the opera “Il Trovatore” with M.O.R.E. Opera company and worked on stage for Cortland Repertory Theater, The John Engeman Theater and with The Finger Lakes Musical Theater Festival as Frank Manero Sr. in Saturday Night Fever at the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse. Nick's love for Shakespeare led to him producing and acting in the made for the internet movie of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night as well as working with the Public Theater's Public Works Outreach Acting Program through the Military Resilience Foundation. In his free time Nick enjoys playing guitar & bass, and creating videos using footage from his archives most notably creating his yet-to-be-picked-up show The Jersey Poor. He is a member of Actor's Equity and SAG-AFTRA. He can be seen in Season 1 Episode 7 of HBO's The Deuce (if you don’t want to watch the entire program, he comes on screen during the last 5 minutes of the episode). He has also continued his work with veterans through participation in Vet-centric offerings such as Bedlam Theater Company's Veteran Outreach Acting Class, DeCruit, The Fencer's Club, Sailing class and boxing at Gleason's Gym. He is excited to share this, his passion project with you!
About The Deviser/Director: Catherine Taormina
Catherine Taormina is an actor, writer, musician, singer-songwriter, producer, editor, costumer & prop maker. Some of her favorite credits include notable roles in The Thing About My Folks (New Line Cinemas), Janet (Short Film), PBS’s American Experience: Freedom Summer (voice over artist), Flea Market Flip (episode 605), Method or Madness (Webseries) and the independent made-for-the-internet film of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night as Viola which she also directed and had and hand in producing as well as wearing many, many other hats. She can be seen appearing alongside Kelly Ripa in the Ancestry.com commercials as well as Comedy Central's "Be The Difference" commercial. Some of her favorite theatrical credits include her time in college where she had lead roles in A Hatful of Rain, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The School for Husbands, Division Street, Noises Off, No Exit and her all time favorite So When You Get Married. Regional Productions: Smoke on the Mountain, Speed the Plow, I Hate Hamlet, Daughters, California Suite, An Actor’s Nightmare, Sister Mary Ignatious Explains It All For You. Tour: Don Quijote (Bi-lingual Spanish/English). She also would be remiss not to include performing as the witch in the NY Renaissance Festival season & in William Shakespeare’s Haunted House. It was during her college years that she also had her first experiences with directing. She earned her Magna Cum Laude degrees in Communication Arts & Psychology from Monmouth University. She continued her education by attending The Lee Strasberg Institute, SVA for Cinematography, Bedlam Theater's Veteran's Outreach Acting Program & Public Theater's Public Works Outreach Acting Program through the Military Resilience Foundation. She has worked behind the scenes as an Actor's Equity Stage Manager, Sound Tech, Prop Master, Wardrobe Creator and Assistant, Transcriber, Video Editor, and in Marketing & Publicity. She is also a member of SAG-AFTRA. While assisting her husband with this here his passion project, she is currently writing a comedic & surreal webseries with a total of 36 episodes and counting! She can be found online at www.catherinetaormina.com and on social media with the handle Rockstar Sissy.
