The Power of a Tool Belt

I HAVE NEVER SHOT A GUN....

But when one is put in my hand, I instantly believed I could, would and have....

The Power of Belief...

Props - the things we actors use on set are a funny thing - sometimes they get in the way, become clumsy and just make our jobs a lot more difficult but sometimes...

I am not this guy....

I am this guy....

But when I was cast to play a tough, grizzled - not too bright, construction worker for a new "WHY I SWITCHED MY VOTE" parody - that can be seen on FUNNY OR DIE I had a bit of difficulty getting into character, until I got my TOOL BELT!!

As we were getting ready to shoot, I asked the director if I there was anything we could add to my costume.  I had on an ill-fitting plastic construction helmet that looked like it came from my kid's play set and a nondescript baseball hat.

The director was at a loss, as there was nothing else mentioned in the script then the writer of the piece chimed in that he had an old tool belt in the back of his car.  Everyone agreed to give it a try and the rest as they say was Movie Magic....

Once I strapped on my tool belt, complete with hammer, tape measure, knife, tape, and all the other tools that our wonderful props person added to the big slab of tanned rawhide, I was no longer Alan Aymie - the man who gets nervous hanging a picture frame - I was... Dave Sanders: construction worker who had two cups of coffee, a sticky bun & a fight with his wife for breakfast.  Dave Sanders:  a good ole' "Termite" trying to get by on some "Toasties" while he puts in the "Tongue and Groove" flooring and gets on his buddy, Joe for "Kirking"...  Dave Sanders:  the man I was hired to be, the man who would make the director come up to me after we wrapped and say, "Thanks, you killed it...!", Dave Sanders - belligerent, ignorant, construction worker.....and it was all because of a tool belt.

PROPS:  We love them.  We hate them.  We need them. 

 6 Ways to Change Your Class - TODAY!

My first year in teaching at a South LA school, I once was so frustrated with a student that I picked him up over my head - while he was still sitting in his chair and screamed, "You will NOT break me!!"    It definitely got my class quiet... but not in the way that any sane teacher would want... But what do we do for those moments, those classes when our sanity is breaking - our class is overwhelming and getting to 2:45 seems like Shackleton's Voyage of Endurance?  

The first step is easy.....

1. Breathe.... That's it...breathe, smile, you're still alive, you'll make it and when the children see you take that little breath and smile, they'll know you still have control of all your faculties.

2. Give Every Child a Job: Jobs build self-esteem.  They give every child a chance to do something well.  Even my most problematic children want a chance to feel like they are valuable.

3. Compliment as Many Students as You Can:  Everyone loves a good compliment.  Make them sincere, honest and actually about something you notice your student doing - it will make a huge difference.

4. Get Your Students Out of Their Chairs:  Their is an old rule that a child's attention span equals their age.  So get them up, do some jumping jacks, have them walk around the class and practice greeting other students, make a quick game of Quiz Show Math.

5. Share Something Personal About Yourself as a Student: Remind your students that you are a person and at one time, you were even a child!!!  This concept is always baffling to children.   Share about the time  you were sent to the principal's office, forgot your big project on the day it was due or didn't get picked for the kickball team.  No one succeeds all the time and who better to demonstrate this to your students than you!

6. Take a Walk at Lunch:  Get some fresh air... sunshine and a fresh breeze on your face that reminds you that there is a big world going on outside your classroom.  Today is only one day, so eat your PB&J, get a good walk in and return to class with a smile on your face... and remember:  Your day is almost over!!

I don't like to fly...  

On trips back east, my wife and children sit at least three rows away from me so they won't have to watch me squirm and whimper as the plane takes off... 

WHEN HBO TOLD ME THEY HAD SELECTED MY SHOW, CHILD'S PLAY for their U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado - I was thrilled - then terrified.  How would I get out to Aspen?   

THANK GOD, the HBO people were kind enough (after expressing mild shock) to set me up with a train - to Aspen.....over 26 hours in a sleeper car, just under 6-hours in a white-knuckled van ride 7,900 feet up a snowy, slippery road that let to the top of the Aspen mountains where I performed, drank $9 dollar Coors Lites and stepped on George Lucas's foot while dancing at the big Closing Party Event.  

ON THE WAY HOME, I had a stopover at the Denver Ramada Inn before taking the train back to LA the next morning.   After finally settling in, I walked through downtown Denver, showered, watched Britney Spears on MTV and jumped into bed for a nights sleep before my 5 am wake-up call to catch the train back the next morning.  

AROUND 2 AM, I heard a grown man crying for help as he was being slammed outside in the hallways - (the walls are VERY thin at the Ramada), I called the front desk, they assured me they would take care of it and I went back to bed.  

FORTY-FIVE MINUTES LATER, I was awoken by four Denver policemen who kicked in my door, held me (naked - I seep in the buff) at gunpoint, while they checked my room for drugs and weapons.  Finding nothing but my suitcase, toiletries bags & three hundred unused balloons (imprinted with my show logo).    

AFTER THEY PUT AWAY THEIR GUNS, they apologized, politely held in their snickers at my fear-shrivelled manhood and left.  I, in turn, put on clothes, yelled at the front desk and checked out before waiting outside the Amtrak Station for my 5 am train.  

I, NO LONGER, SLEEP IN THE NUDE, take trains or watch Britney Spears...

So....This is me...

SO....

As an actor & writer, my work has taken to me some amazingly challenging places, I have been held at gunpoint after performing at the HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, spent a homeless night out on the streets of NYC during a trip out to PSNBC to perform a new solo play, chased a purse-snatcher outside Baltimore’s CENTER STAGE  and slept in a Ax & Sickle-covered cottage in the deep woods while performing at Ojai’s Theater 150, not to mention taking the stage to sing Jazz (I don’t) at Chicago’s famous Green Mill during a shoot in the Windy City but the most amazing (and challenging) place my career has ever taken me is pulling me from my Boston roots and placing me in Beverly Hills where my NY wife and I raise three LA kids….

Along the way, I received a BFA in Theater from the University of Maryland, completed the New Actor’s Workshop in NYC (with Mike Nichols, Paul Sills & George Morrison), studied with the late Sanford Meisner and learned stand-up comedy on the stages of THE COMEDY STORE, The ICEHOUSE, & Boston’s famous NICK’S COMEDY STORE.

Recently, my critically acclaimed solo play, A CHILD LEFT BEHIND was an LA WEEKLY “PICK OF THE WEEK! GO!” as well as being heralded as “Compelling… a First Rate Education…” by the LA Times which was a follow up to my HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Selection, A CHILD’S PLAY.   Last year, my full-length play, RAP was selected as BEST NEW PLAY 2011 by the African-American Playwrights Exchange and is currently being developed as a pilot.

I’m currently performing around Los Angeles and hoping to avoid any guns, homeless nights or attempts to sing Jazz…..