The last few days I've been on the road. It wasn't all show business but it's reminded me of my early years in stand-up comedy when I spent a great amount of time on the road driving from town to town. Looking back on it now I realize that those adventures were something that was perfect for that time in my life, but I guess I've turned into a relative homebody. It's not that I don't like to leave home, but I can't go away for as long as I used to. I like to go away and get back to the family ASAP.
This week has been full of fun and excitement. Monday I had a callback for a commercial, Tuesday was my final shoot day on the film, "Morning Glory" and Wednesday I performed on a comedy fundraiser at the Palace Theater in Hamilton, NY with Jake Johannsen. The fundraiser was organized by one of my castmates from "Morning Glory", Matt Malloy. Go ahead click on both of them so you'll be able to visualize who I'm talking about.
The comedy show was lots of fun. I got to perform for a very appreciative crowd and I got a chance to work on some of my new material. There was even more excitement offstage after the show in the small town of Hamilton, NY. Hamilton is a small town with a population of about 2,500 and is also the city which houses the campus of Colgate University. So in other words it's very small and everyone knows each other. When I arrived I think I doubled the black population. That can be quite a daunting responsibility for a black man, but I handled my responsibility with poise and class. I wasn't in town for 5 minutes before someone mistook me for the other black guy in town, JoeBaker. Joe is a Hamilton native and a coach in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and just happened to be visiting his hometown at the very same time that I was there. I heard about Joe as soon as I got to town and was looking forward to meeting him. As luck would have it, Joe was in the first row at the comedy show. We connected immediately in that "you're the only other black dude in town" way, that only another brother can understand. It was like we were long lost brothers. We had more in common than just being the "Lone Negroes" we also both have white wives and drive the Volvo S60. No wonder people mistook us for the same guy!
The other point of excitement while in Hamilton, NY is that I received a ticket for running a stop sign. The kind of stop sign that only a Hamilton native would have seen. Needless to say I was a little nervous when I was pulled over by the towns most notorious cop(the other 3 are very nice I hear). He made me step out of my car and do various sobriety tests. Since I was determined to not be too far over the legal drinking limit, the officer let me off with just a ticket for running a stop sign and gave me the option to come back and fight the ticket in court. I figured I should cut my losses and just take the ticket and get out of Hamilton. So much goes through your mind when you're pulled over in a small town and asked to step out of your car by a police officer. I thought of all of the bad things that could happen but most of all I thought of how my behavior could reflect negatively on the remainder of Joe Baker's stay in town. I'm sure that by now Joe has had to explain to all of the town's people how it wasn't him who was pulled over for running a stop sign. So I shared all of that to say, Joe I'm sorry for misbehaving in your hometown and bringing you shame. If there's anything to gain from this experience I think it's this, always be on your best behavior because what you do doesn't only reflect on you it could also affect the other black guy in town!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
A Change Is Gonna Come
I'm sitting here in front of the computer as I just put my son down to bed and I'm keeping my promise to blog more. As I begin this I really don't know what I should be sharing but I'm assuming as I type the words will come to me. I guess I should just start by saying what's going on, give an idea of "The Life and Times of a Renaissance Man". Tomorrow is my final shoot date on "Morning Glory". It's been a lot of fun and I'm trusting that another project will present itself very soon. That's one of the things I love about what I do, things can change so quickly and one day you can be sitting around with nothing on the horizon and before the week is out you have several things going on.
Here lately I have been spending a lot of time contemplating new directions in my stand-up comedy. I've just started getting onstage more often to work on material that touches on topics I'm passionate about. I've been encouraged by many people in my life because they keep saying that when I talk passionately about the things that matter to me when I'm amongst my family, friends and the people closest to me I'm at my funniest. For some reason I've always made people laugh without trying and it usually comes when I'm just being honest and saying how I really feel. I look forward to going to higher heights once I just let go and truly become the me that I am with friends when I'm onstage. A major factor in achieving that is abandoning the desire to be loved by everyone (I know kind of a tall order for someone who's decided to get into entertainment). I have to not care about the judgement of strangers and just be true to me. One thing I do know is that you're never gonna be loved by everyone and one of my biggest comedy heroes Bill Cosby has even said, "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone". I've even said myself, "there's only one person you have to go to bed with every night and that's yourself, so you gotta do what's gonna make you happy". So watch out. I may say some things that people aren't expecting from me in the near future and if I ruffle a few feathers maybe I'm doing something right.
A lot of people know me as a "clean" or non-cursing comedian. This doesn't mean I'm gonna do a full turn and become Rick "Raw Dawg" Younger, but you never know. Just kidding, a little bit, but maybe not. But if you're thinking about judging me if I say something you don't like, ask yourself, What Would Jesus Do? I think he would forgive me!!!
Here lately I have been spending a lot of time contemplating new directions in my stand-up comedy. I've just started getting onstage more often to work on material that touches on topics I'm passionate about. I've been encouraged by many people in my life because they keep saying that when I talk passionately about the things that matter to me when I'm amongst my family, friends and the people closest to me I'm at my funniest. For some reason I've always made people laugh without trying and it usually comes when I'm just being honest and saying how I really feel. I look forward to going to higher heights once I just let go and truly become the me that I am with friends when I'm onstage. A major factor in achieving that is abandoning the desire to be loved by everyone (I know kind of a tall order for someone who's decided to get into entertainment). I have to not care about the judgement of strangers and just be true to me. One thing I do know is that you're never gonna be loved by everyone and one of my biggest comedy heroes Bill Cosby has even said, "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone". I've even said myself, "there's only one person you have to go to bed with every night and that's yourself, so you gotta do what's gonna make you happy". So watch out. I may say some things that people aren't expecting from me in the near future and if I ruffle a few feathers maybe I'm doing something right.
A lot of people know me as a "clean" or non-cursing comedian. This doesn't mean I'm gonna do a full turn and become Rick "Raw Dawg" Younger, but you never know. Just kidding, a little bit, but maybe not. But if you're thinking about judging me if I say something you don't like, ask yourself, What Would Jesus Do? I think he would forgive me!!!
Friday, July 17, 2009
I Will Persist
So many times people ask me, "Rick is it hard to be a Renaissance Man"? To tell you the truth I don't think about it, I just do all the things that I do. Like right now as I type this I'm also playing the role of Producer. My production company has produced 2 films that we're submitting to film festivals, "Souled Out Comedy" and "Whistle & Snap". "Whistle & Snap" has been selected to screen at the Roxbury Film Festival in Boston, on August 2, 2009. You know what, just go check out the website for Younger Child Productions!
I love the excitement of doing many things. I guess I'm just not one to put limits on myself. I've found that the main reason most people don't live their dreams is that they talk themselves out of pursuing what they really want. There are enough people in life telling you no, so why contribute to the negativity by telling yourself no. As a person who functions in the creative and artistic world, I've found that the most successful people aren't always the most talented. The successful ones are usually the people who won't quit. The ones who keep coming back when they're told no or when doors are closed in their faces. Talented people oftentimes are very sensitive, it kinda goes hand in hand with their ability to create. That can also be a bad thing because, I've witnessed firsthand when talented people have given up just because they can't take the rejection anymore. I've decided to employ this philosophy, "If you're talented and don't quit as the other talented people give up, eventually you'll be the most talented person still standing"! The way I figure it, eventually it'll be me(with my abundance of talent and persistence) and a group of untalented people left to choose from. Then my talent will be even more apparent. I will persist until I succeed!!!
I love the excitement of doing many things. I guess I'm just not one to put limits on myself. I've found that the main reason most people don't live their dreams is that they talk themselves out of pursuing what they really want. There are enough people in life telling you no, so why contribute to the negativity by telling yourself no. As a person who functions in the creative and artistic world, I've found that the most successful people aren't always the most talented. The successful ones are usually the people who won't quit. The ones who keep coming back when they're told no or when doors are closed in their faces. Talented people oftentimes are very sensitive, it kinda goes hand in hand with their ability to create. That can also be a bad thing because, I've witnessed firsthand when talented people have given up just because they can't take the rejection anymore. I've decided to employ this philosophy, "If you're talented and don't quit as the other talented people give up, eventually you'll be the most talented person still standing"! The way I figure it, eventually it'll be me(with my abundance of talent and persistence) and a group of untalented people left to choose from. Then my talent will be even more apparent. I will persist until I succeed!!!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Living the Dream
I told you I was gonna have a greater commitment to blogging. I'm back after only 2 days away. In the last 2 days I've had a few commercial auditions and today I shot another scene for the film, "Morning Glory". I was in a scene with Harrison Ford and Rachel McAdams today and I do have to see it was pretty damn cool. That's the thing, you gotta be cool about it and act like, "we're all just actors doing our job", but it's pretty awesone to say I just did a scene today with the guy who played Han Solo and Indiana Jones!!!
You also have to fight the urge to just tell everyone you see. Imagine if I just walked up to someone and said, "hey homeless dude, I'm in a movie". He'd probably say, "man I don't care about your movie, I just went to the bathroom in my pants". Thinking about that scenario just helped me to put everything in perspective. It's a pleasure to do what you love for a living and to be clothed in your right mind and probably most important of all, it's great to not go to the bathroom in your pants. So if there's any wisdom I can leave with you, it's this, if you have a place to live with functioning indoor plumbing then you're truly blessed!
You also have to fight the urge to just tell everyone you see. Imagine if I just walked up to someone and said, "hey homeless dude, I'm in a movie". He'd probably say, "man I don't care about your movie, I just went to the bathroom in my pants". Thinking about that scenario just helped me to put everything in perspective. It's a pleasure to do what you love for a living and to be clothed in your right mind and probably most important of all, it's great to not go to the bathroom in your pants. So if there's any wisdom I can leave with you, it's this, if you have a place to live with functioning indoor plumbing then you're truly blessed!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
What's Going On with Rick Younger?
I bet you're wondering what's been going on with me. How dare I call my blog "The Life and Times of a Renaissance Man" and not keep everyone informed about my life and times. What kind of Renaissance Man has nothing going on??? You're right, I have been sleeping at the controls. Plenty has been going on, maybe too much. That could explain why I haven't taken time to blog. Well I will no longer use that as an excuse. I've decided to make a new commitment to more frequent blogging even if each entry is short and uneventful.
I'm currently shooting a film entitled, "Morning Glory". It stars Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Patrick Wilson, Jeff Goldblum, et.al. It's directed by Roger Michell(Notting Hill, Changing Lanes) and produced by JJ Abrams. I'm really excited to be a part of such a major film with so many amazing people involved. I'm not one of the major stars in the film but I'm in the room people!!! Today I'm "Producer #4" and tomorrow I'll be Academy Award winner Rick Younger(I'm contemplating going by my full name Roderick after I win the Oscar).
I'm sure there's much more excitement to come. Trust me I have a lot of things brewing that I'm not telling you about right now so that I'll have more to report on a later blog entry. I promise I won't let 3 months pass before I blog again!!!
I've included a video of my most recent appearance on NBC's, "Today Show" as a part of my recurring segment "Guys Tell All". We'll be back on Thursday, July 30th. make sure you check us out:
I'm currently shooting a film entitled, "Morning Glory". It stars Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Patrick Wilson, Jeff Goldblum, et.al. It's directed by Roger Michell(Notting Hill, Changing Lanes) and produced by JJ Abrams. I'm really excited to be a part of such a major film with so many amazing people involved. I'm not one of the major stars in the film but I'm in the room people!!! Today I'm "Producer #4" and tomorrow I'll be Academy Award winner Rick Younger(I'm contemplating going by my full name Roderick after I win the Oscar).
I'm sure there's much more excitement to come. Trust me I have a lot of things brewing that I'm not telling you about right now so that I'll have more to report on a later blog entry. I promise I won't let 3 months pass before I blog again!!!
I've included a video of my most recent appearance on NBC's, "Today Show" as a part of my recurring segment "Guys Tell All". We'll be back on Thursday, July 30th. make sure you check us out:
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