EINAR GUNN
Actor
UPDATES
THIS JUST IN! I'M GOING TO BE ON BROADWAY!
That's right, I have been offered to be in the ensemble for this fall's Roundabout Theatre's production of A Man for All Seasons, starring Frank Langella. Directed by Doug Hughes. Should I decide to accept the offer this would constitute my Broadway debut. By the way, I have accepted the offer...
And in the category of "Local Boy Makes Good"
WORLD FAMOUS IN ICELAND -- FOR A DAY...OR TWO...
Someone spilled the beans in the Old Country because I got a call from the big daily newspaper over there, asking if it were true that I was going to be in a Broadway play this season. The resultant piece proved to be a half-page "expose" peppered with photos from various productions I have proudly participated in. Man, I thought, first the Icelandic handball team brings home an Olympic silver and now this. Will the country ever recuperate? Personally, I think Langella called them...
Dead Horse Owney Driscoll has taken his last gasp.
NEW YORK, 8/23/08 -- "Behold, the Bowery!" finished its FringeNYC run on Friday afternoon, to a very appreciative and almost sold out house. During the run the consensus among veteran Fringe Festival attendees -- as well as first-timers -- was a delightful surprise to see such a wonderful production in the hit-or-miss mix of Fringe-show offerings. The first-time playwright/director Dan Pfau, and the huge cast of enthusiastic and talented actors and crew, can all be proud of their ensemble accomplishment. I know I am. And I'll miss Dead Horse.
Written and directed by Attic Theater Company member Daniel Pfau, "Behold, the Bowery!" is a drama/musical period piece set in early 20th century Manhattan when, according to one account, a man could stand on Houston Street with a shotgun, fire in any direction and not risk killing an honest man. "Behold, the Bowery!" follows two of these "honest" men; one, an actor-cum-conman who owes an arm and a leg to a dangerous gangster, and the other, a Polish immigrant driven out of desperation to kill for pay. In between these two stories are prostitutes, a two-faced Master of Ceremonies, a line of dancing girls, Bowery bums, sawdust covered bar-rooms, police corruption, murder, betrayal, humor, lively music and a man named "Dead Horse" Owney Driscoll.
A cast of sixteen wonderfully talented actors playing over thirty roles brings the violent and fascinating Bowery Theater era to life before your eyes.
Starring: Dan Abeles, Alex Coppola, Drew Davidson, Rafael Goldstein, Einar Gunn, Matt Hanson, Jo Jo Hristova, Noel Hunter, Pete Koester, Tomasso Matelli, Joyce Miller, David Morris, Suzi Sadler, Sarah Todes, Thomas Matthews and Kate Weber.
"Einar Gunn is sharp as the villainous Dead Horse." -David A. Rosenberg, backstage.com
WE CALL HER BENNY is over and done with! Sniffle...
NEW YORK CITY 4/28/08 -- We closed tonight after a total 16 critically acclaimed shows (see below). It was quite an experience and a memorable milestone to be a member of a great cast putting on a great play. In New York City no less, and me still damp behind the ears... To think that you can create a play's universe with nothing but four black cubes, four pillows, and strange transition sounds. Well, thanks to Suzanne Bachner (writer/director) and Julie Rosier (choreographer) and the cast that just let it all hang out, it all worked. Again, special thanks to Suzanne for trusting me with the part of Dr. Weitzner. Now to deal with the withdrawal symptoms."The actors are great. The show is terrific. Go see it, if you want to see the amazing things that theatre can do."
-Duncan Pflaster, broadwayworld.com
"We Call Her Benny is hard-hitting theatre...The writing is intelligent and adult...The ensemble is fine..."
-Martin Denton, nytheatre.com
"[Benny]...is a strong showing from the cast and crew. [It] may touch us harshly, but it's still touching. A little jolt to the soul and the mind every now and then is not such a bad thing. Here, it's very good."
-Cindy Pierre, newtheatercorps.blogspot.com
TWO DETECTIVES sold out
all three shows plus an additional fourth! May run in Fringe Festival...
NEW
YORK 3/9/08 -- Fifteen characters; thirteen actors; eighteen scenes in
two acts; too many set pieces to count; two-plus hours running time;
all on a stage the size of NYC studio apartment, less the kitchen and bathroom.Your first thought might be it was all a tad chaotic. To be honest, it was, but it was organized chaos. Orchestrated with gusto by a brave first-time director, Chelsea Landon, and energized by a cast that took it all in stride, and busted their butts to the best work they knew how.
"Two Detectives" is an original play by Daniel Landon, directed by Chelsea Landon, and produced by The Cameron Company. It's a noir mystery set in New York City during the summer of 1999.
There's an outside chance for an additional couple shows in late April/early May, and the producers are awaiting word of acceptance to the upcoming Fringe Festival. So stay tuned.
"Einar Gunn was also top-notch as a fellow concentration camp survivor and friend of Jacob Lasky."
- Hannah Marie Ellison, Blogcritics Magazine.
SINGULARITY is doing the film fest circuit like it's going out of style...
NEW JERSEY 2/25/08 -- Brian and Paul Neuls' independent feature "Singularity" has now been entered into a slew of film festivals: CineVegas, Philly Independent Film Fest, London Independent Film Fest -- that's right, London! -- Fantastic Fest, Boston Independent Film Fest, and Los Angeles Film Festival.
"Singularity" is a feature-length film, looking at what happens when a computer starts learning and then decides to rewrite its own software.
The film is produced by Regime Change Entertainment.
You can watch the whole flick here, through March.
And here's the film's official website.
NO CLASS gets upgraded to FIRST CLASS!
NEW YORK, NY 2/17/08 -- The Royal Theatre at The Producer's Club was packed for the one-night only performance of "No Class", a series of comedic shorts. Backstage was cramped to begin with but for the cast of ten it was exceedingly so. I think we were all waiting for one of us (or more) to be the first to literally fall onto the stage as we jostled for places behind the backstage curtain. But that didn't happen and the show went on without a hitch to the delight of those in the audience as well as those performing. As if we'd rehearsed three times a week for three weeks. Which we certainly hadn't. Thanks everyone.
WE CALL HER BENNY is slated to run this April.
NEW YORK, NY 12/1/07 -- Written and directed by Suzanne Bachner, "We Call Her Benny" is the non-linear story of an adopted woman's struggle with bipolar disorder, searching for her birth mother, making bad choices in men, drinking too much, and seeing a shrink. The shrink is Dr. Weitzner who will be portrayed by me.
An ensemble of ten actors is on stage throughout the play, along with four black cubes. When not taking part in the dialog being played the remaining ensemble forms a living wall that comments on what is being said, through facial expressions, gestures and sounds.
A shorter version of the play was very well received at last year's Frigid Fest. Six of the original cast members reprise their roles in this extended version.
"We Call Her Benny" is produced by The John Montgomery Theatre Company and will have it's month-long run at the Michael Weller Theatre on 43rd Street in Manhattan; Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, in April.
BORN YESTERDAY
NEW JERSEY 2/25/08 -- Brian and Paul Neuls' independent feature "Singularity" has now been entered into a slew of film festivals: CineVegas, Philly Independent Film Fest, London Independent Film Fest -- that's right, London! -- Fantastic Fest, Boston Independent Film Fest, and Los Angeles Film Festival.
"Singularity" is a feature-length film, looking at what happens when a computer starts learning and then decides to rewrite its own software.
The film is produced by Regime Change Entertainment.
You can watch the whole flick here, through March.
And here's the film's official website.
NO CLASS gets upgraded to FIRST CLASS!
NEW YORK, NY 2/17/08 -- The Royal Theatre at The Producer's Club was packed for the one-night only performance of "No Class", a series of comedic shorts. Backstage was cramped to begin with but for the cast of ten it was exceedingly so. I think we were all waiting for one of us (or more) to be the first to literally fall onto the stage as we jostled for places behind the backstage curtain. But that didn't happen and the show went on without a hitch to the delight of those in the audience as well as those performing. As if we'd rehearsed three times a week for three weeks. Which we certainly hadn't. Thanks everyone.
WE CALL HER BENNY is slated to run this April.
NEW YORK, NY 12/1/07 -- Written and directed by Suzanne Bachner, "We Call Her Benny" is the non-linear story of an adopted woman's struggle with bipolar disorder, searching for her birth mother, making bad choices in men, drinking too much, and seeing a shrink. The shrink is Dr. Weitzner who will be portrayed by me. An ensemble of ten actors is on stage throughout the play, along with four black cubes. When not taking part in the dialog being played the remaining ensemble forms a living wall that comments on what is being said, through facial expressions, gestures and sounds.
A shorter version of the play was very well received at last year's Frigid Fest. Six of the original cast members reprise their roles in this extended version.
"We Call Her Benny" is produced by The John Montgomery Theatre Company and will have it's month-long run at the Michael Weller Theatre on 43rd Street in Manhattan; Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, in April.
BORN YESTERDAY
opens to much applause.
WESTFIELD, NJ 10/6/07 -- It was opening night tonight. Practically a full house -- very different from the three busloads of seniors we had for our dress rehearsal the night before.
Actually I liked the seniors. They had this wonderful participatory reaction to everything. Oohs and aaahs. Gasps and groans. The occasional fart. And laughter, of course, interspersed with loud and full-fledged conversations about what was happening on stage.
I feel I did better in the dress rehearsal. Probably because last night I drew a blank -- as in a CIA wipe-that-disk, scrub-it-with-Clorox, sand-it-with-Black & Decker, and then put-in-under-a-magnet-for-seven-hours, kind of blank. If it hadn't been for my fellow actor dropping an unscripted hint, I'd still be sitting there trying to find my line. Which does not make for a good show. Even if it's me doing it.
But opening night was great. The actors had fun. The audience had fun. God, how I love this acting business!
Garson Kanin's "Born Yesterday", is a comedy in three acts that takes place in Washington, D.C. shortly after WWII. A ruthless businessman comes to town to buy some favorable legislation, but finds himself up against an unlikely opponent.
SINGULARITY is being edited for festival competition.
What happens when a computer starts learning and then decides to rewrite its own software? Well, on an auto assembly line in Brazil the robotic painting arms suddenly begin painting in a color different from what they were told...
This 60-minute indie film, directed and edited by Brian Neuls, is slated to show in several film festivals in the coming months -- Tribeca, SXSW, Palms Springs... Click here for a clip. Or here.
DEPLOYMENT STRATEGY
is a winner.
NEW YORK, NY 8/22/07 -- Director Mark Cheng's Deployment Strategy has been entered in several film festivals and taken home a bunch of awards.
It took Mark some eighteen months to finish the film, mostly because of the extensive, and very impressive, computer graphics and special effects work needed to give the film its futuristic look.
Being cast in Deployment Strategy I had the opportunity to put on an Eastern European accent and have a a copy of my head made (photos here, youtube video here), to be bashed to a pulp by a crazed robot. Ouch.
The film was screened last week, for cast and crew, at the very cool Viacom Paramount Pictures Screening Theater in Times Square.
I'm in a film festival!
NEW YORK, NY 8/7/07 -- Well, not me specifically, but a fine NYU film I starred in, Cardiac Arrest made by director Jesse Ash.
The flick has been accepted to run in the 11th Annual LA Shorts Fest, this September. If you're in LA that week, don't look me up -- I won't be there. Oh no, I'll be hard at work on the stage production of Garson Kanin's Born Yesterday.
WINNERS! The series...
GREENWICH, CT 8/2/07 -- The first episode of WINNERS! The Series has been posted online. It's in four easy parts, yours truly appears as Nigel, in parts 2 and 3.
Winners is a series that follows the lives and relationships of five friends post college. The series tackles the important questions of our time: Does God exist? What happens after you die? Who is responsible for the decline in values? How do you get your girl to agree to anal?
WESTFIELD, NJ 10/6/07 -- It was opening night tonight. Practically a full house -- very different from the three busloads of seniors we had for our dress rehearsal the night before.Actually I liked the seniors. They had this wonderful participatory reaction to everything. Oohs and aaahs. Gasps and groans. The occasional fart. And laughter, of course, interspersed with loud and full-fledged conversations about what was happening on stage.
I feel I did better in the dress rehearsal. Probably because last night I drew a blank -- as in a CIA wipe-that-disk, scrub-it-with-Clorox, sand-it-with-Black & Decker, and then put-in-under-a-magnet-for-seven-hours, kind of blank. If it hadn't been for my fellow actor dropping an unscripted hint, I'd still be sitting there trying to find my line. Which does not make for a good show. Even if it's me doing it.
But opening night was great. The actors had fun. The audience had fun. God, how I love this acting business!
Garson Kanin's "Born Yesterday", is a comedy in three acts that takes place in Washington, D.C. shortly after WWII. A ruthless businessman comes to town to buy some favorable legislation, but finds himself up against an unlikely opponent.
SINGULARITY is being edited for festival competition.
What happens when a computer starts learning and then decides to rewrite its own software? Well, on an auto assembly line in Brazil the robotic painting arms suddenly begin painting in a color different from what they were told...
This 60-minute indie film, directed and edited by Brian Neuls, is slated to show in several film festivals in the coming months -- Tribeca, SXSW, Palms Springs... Click here for a clip. Or here.
DEPLOYMENT STRATEGY
is a winner.
NEW YORK, NY 8/22/07 -- Director Mark Cheng's Deployment Strategy has been entered in several film festivals and taken home a bunch of awards.It took Mark some eighteen months to finish the film, mostly because of the extensive, and very impressive, computer graphics and special effects work needed to give the film its futuristic look.
Being cast in Deployment Strategy I had the opportunity to put on an Eastern European accent and have a a copy of my head made (photos here, youtube video here), to be bashed to a pulp by a crazed robot. Ouch.
The film was screened last week, for cast and crew, at the very cool Viacom Paramount Pictures Screening Theater in Times Square.
I'm in a film festival!
NEW YORK, NY 8/7/07 -- Well, not me specifically, but a fine NYU film I starred in, Cardiac Arrest made by director Jesse Ash.
The flick has been accepted to run in the 11th Annual LA Shorts Fest, this September. If you're in LA that week, don't look me up -- I won't be there. Oh no, I'll be hard at work on the stage production of Garson Kanin's Born Yesterday.
WINNERS! The series...
GREENWICH, CT 8/2/07 -- The first episode of WINNERS! The Series has been posted online. It's in four easy parts, yours truly appears as Nigel, in parts 2 and 3.
Winners is a series that follows the lives and relationships of five friends post college. The series tackles the important questions of our time: Does God exist? What happens after you die? Who is responsible for the decline in values? How do you get your girl to agree to anal?