Rehearsals are going well for Tulip House. Less than two weeks to curtain. It’s been a lot of fun to be on stage with both Wendy and Madison. As an actor, there’s safety in being on stage with family. When Wendy and I play intimate moments and arguments (both verbal and non-verbal) on stage, we have a deep well from which to draw and there isn’t any of the awkwardness and boundary issues that you face when playing opposite a stranger.

The same is true with Madison. While Madison’s character is very different than Madison – there is another deep well of parent/child and parent/teen relationship to draw from. With Madison I find that it helps to find the little moments that happen between parent child like "the dad look" or glances at each other at certain moments on stage. With a stranger they take a lot more time to find and develop. When you’re on stage with your own teen-ager they just seem to happen naturally.

I certainly hope that it makes for a better performance – that the natural relationship that I feel on stage translates to the audience and heightens the experience.

Photo: Wendy and Madison having an on-stage argument