Craig Anton-Teacher, Actor, Comedian.

Craig Anton is a teacher, actor, and comedian.
You may know him from MadTV and Disney Channel. He is  a family man but also a stand up comedian and even has his own rock band.
Today October 28,2013 he is answering questions I've been dying to ask him since I stepped into my Theater 113 class this Fall.

Where did you grow up? Omaha, Nebraska

How was it like moving to a big city? It was different, I moved to New York. Nothing is like New York. It was so intense, I was 24.

I read online that you were apart of a all-comedy tour in the Mediterranean and the middle east. How was that?
In high school I started doing stand up comedy, me and a couple friends formed a group. I audition for the USO and got the part. We toured on little airforce bases.

When did you first know you wanted to become an actor?
When I was a little kid, something about it struck me. My mom had magazine and fame intrigued me. I saw my first play in 2nd grade and I knew I wanted to do it. 

What was the first show you ever did?
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer- I was Huck Fin. 

How does it feel teaching kids who grew up watching Phil of The future?
It's fun, its cool that they have a point of reference it shows a bit of legitimacy.

Do you prefer acting for film or for the theatre?
Film is great, but it is hard to come by, but it pays really well. But there is something special about theater, it's something you can't recreate.

What has been your favorite role so far?
My current role Penelope. (it is playing right now, click here to buy tickets https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/dept/115)

What role would you love to play that you haven't yet?

I would love to  play a role in private lifes, a play by Noel coward

What are you auditioning for next?

Gum commercial

What is something that you know now that you wish you knew when you were first starting out as an actor?

I would tell my self to be more discipline.

If you could choose, what three actors would you really want to work with?

Will Ferrell, I have worked with him on stage but not on camera.

What's the worst part about being an actor?

The Doctrine waiting for the next role

What's the best part of being an actor?

Each night is different, different is good. I'm lucky to have still been doing what I think is fun.

Blackbird at the Royal Theater

Photo courtesy of Keith Ian Polakoff

“Shock!” the first line spoken in the play “Blackbird,” sets the tone

of the emotional drama, where you are taken on an emotional roller coaster between ex-lovers.

“Blackbird,” put on by the California Repertory Theatre Company, was

written by David Harrower and directed by Trevor Bishop, and was

inspired by the controversial case of Toby Studebaker, an American

ex-marine, who, in 2003, ran away with a 12-year-old British

schoolgirl who he encountered through an Internet Chat room, according

to the Cal Repertory website.

While Blackbird seems to be a story of betrayal, pain and regret, it

can unexpectedly be perceived as a love story – although an

unconventional one.

The focal character of “Blackbird,” Una, played by Cal State Long

Beach theater professor Anna Steers, unexpectedly comes across the man

with whom she had a sordid affair 15 years before.

This man, Ray, played by Cal State Long Beach comparative literature

professor Christopher Shaw, sexually abused Una when she was only

twelve years old. Now 60 years old, Ray has been released from prison

and changed his name the Peter in order to try to live out a normal

life.

Steers and Shaw gave the audience an emotional ride with their realistic acting. You can hear the sighs in the crowd because their acting made us put ourselves in that  dark situation.

Because of the scandal, Una was bullied and ridiculed as she grew,

resulting in her sleeping with many men after Ray left her.

While Una is portrayed as nervous and questionable, Ray, portrayed as

put-together and without regret, constantly justifies his actions to

himself throughout the play. He said he had come to terms with what he

did with to Una while he was in prison.

Una and Ray reunite in a grim, dirty office break room, where the

entire play takes place. The play is pure tension between Ray and Una

during 90 minutes inside this room.

The complex play leaves itself open to interpretation. Ray and Una

both have contradicting stories and emotions. Una hates Ray for

forever tainting her, her seeded love is revealed when she goes out of

her way to visit him.

The play became more intense as it progressed. The audience doesn't

know whether to expect violence or kissing, all culminating to a final

unexpected plot twist.

“It is a really intense play of a topic rarely spoken about. It made

me imagine myself in that situation, even though it is a really

difficult experience” Priscila Villapando, graphic design senior said

after watching the play.

Blackbird will show in the Royal Theatre on the Queen Mary until

October 12. Tickets are $20.
Just click this link to purchase!https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/27175