Farewell to a Master

Well, I just found out an old teacher of mine just passed away. I want to write something about it. But how do I do this?

Al Mancini was one of my acting teachers at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. His best known roles were probably Tic Tac from the Coen Brother's MILLERS CROSSING and Tassos Bravos in THE DIRTY DOZEN.

Now I've said it before and I'll say it again I owe my carreer to the teachers at the Playhouse. They have molded me into the actor I am today. And Mancini was no exception. He always encouraged us to think out of the box. And not to show up to "play the scene." He inspired us to be creative and wild. His class was a place I felt safe to be bold and fail. But fail sublimely. And because of that, it was in his class that I had my most magical acting moment. I don't want to go into details about it because it's kinda hard to explain. But it was one of those rare moments that we often can only wish for.

"It is an honor to be an artist." Those were his words that gave me the strength to face my critical family members and friends every holiday season when an out of work actor finds himself taking stock in how his carreer is going. And he never let us forget that we are indeed artists.

Goodbye dear sir, no relish no hotdog.