MARQUEE FIVE is NOMINATED FOR A MAC AWARD!!!!

BIG NEWS for Marquee Five - we are nominated under the VOCAL DUO/GROUP category for a 2010 MAC Award!!! AND Peter Napolitano is graced with two nominations for DIRECTOR and SONG. AND our pianist, Mark Janas, is nominated for OPEN MIC (the Salon), HOST (the Salon) and MUSIC DIRECTOR! This is thrilling news, and we're with some wonderful co-nominees. Playbill.com has a list of all the 2010 MAC Award nominees! Please read it for ALL the lovely nominees, which includes The Salon, Mark Janas, and many of my friends.

And now I'm off to the Big Gay Idol/Sing with the NYC Gay Men's Chorus. My day is going pretty darned well today!

This Weds - Come celebrate my Birthday (and see Marquee Five sing too!)

This Weds - come celebrate my birthday with Marquee Five at The Wednesday Night at the Iguana!!!

March 24th - 8PM

After a successful run of our show "We Can Make It: The Songs of Kander & Ebb" and before our last performance of this show on April 15th, catch Marquee Five singing handful of NEW songs! And come with your sheet music and sing as well if you want to.

240 W. 54th St (between 7th and 8th)

Call for reservations: (212) 765-5454

“Wednesday Night At The Iguana”.
$12 cover, CASH, no minimum!
http://www.richardskipper.com/iguana/index.html for more information.

"Entertainment with a capital E! Richard Skipper and Dana Lorge are as dynamic a hosting duo as you're likely to find anywhere in the Big Apple. They have infused new life into the variety show brand of family-friendly live entertainment. The evening is called Wednesday Night at The Iguana and the excitement is building in the VIP Lounge on 54th Street."
~ Lynn DiMenna, Cabaret Scenes

Info on Marquee Five: www.MarqueeFive.com

March 25th - 8 pm - I'm Singing with the NYC Gay Men's Chorus!

Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, NYU
566 LaGuardia Place (at Washington Square South)
New York, NY 10012

March 25th, 2010 -- 8:00 pm!

I just got the great news that I will sing with the New York City Gay Men's Chorus during the Big Gay Idol portion of their Big Gay Sing 2 event! Hosted By Scott Nevins with Special Guest Star Petula Clark! The evening will be filled with songs by soloists and the entire Chorus in lovely harmony - but also included is what they call "Big Gay Idol" - and I'm one of the two final contestants!!!

This means that I get to sing at least once on March 25th. On that night, and in the first half of the show, I and fellow contestant Marsha Mercant will get to sing a portion of "Maybe This Time" from "Cabaret" the musical. Audience members then vote their favorite singer. The winner will get to sing the song in full during the second half of the evening, only this time with the full band and the ENTIRE NYC GAY MEN'S CHORUS AS BACKUP!

A different set of 4 singer-contestants will appear for the other scheduled evening, March 26th at 8pm, to sing "I Am What I Am" from "La Cage Aux Folles," if you are interested in the idea of the event but can't make it on Thursday!

Very exciting!

The YouTube for NYC Gay Men's Chorus has all of the contestants' submission videos - http://www.youtube.com/user/NYCGMC. Mine is also found on my YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYcFfR5igJo

Charles Beale - Artistic Director of NYCGMC -- described this two-night event is "giant Karaoke party to celebrate song!...this competition is intended to be fun." So I look forward to glamming it up, wearing my fake diamonds, perhaps a sparkly top, then singing my heart out for a bit, enjoy the talent and fun onstage...

...and then perhaps (crossed fingers) singing my soul out with a huge number of fantastically talented gay men singing behind me.

A girl can dream, right? Hope to see you there!

More info about the Event: http://www.nycgmc.org/event.aspx?EventId=BGS2010

For Tickets: http://skirballcenter.nyu.edu/calendar/big_gay_sing_2

Information about Skirball: http://skirballcenter.nyu.edu/

I'm Singing for New York City Gay Men's Chorus' Big Gay Idol 2010!!!

I just got the great news that I've been "shortlisted" by the New York City Gay Men's Chorus to sing for their Big Gay Idol portion of their Big Gay Sing 2 event! Hosted By
Scott Nevins with Special Guest Star Petula Clark!

This means that I get to sing at least once on either March 25th or March 26th. In one of those nights, and in the first half of the show, I (and three other contestants) will get to sing a portion of "Maybe This Time" from "Cabaret" the musical (others have the choice also to sing "I Am What I Am" from "La Cage Aux Folles"). Audience members then vote their favorite singer of the three. The winner will get to sing the song of their choice again in the second half of the evening, only this time with the full band and the ENTIRE NYC GAY MEN'S CHORUS AS BACKUP! A different set of 3 singer-contestants will appear for the other evening, so a total of six contestants and two "finalists" (of sorts) will sing.

Very exciting!

I will know on Thursday whether my evening is Thursday March 25th or Friday March 26th. Watch this blog on Friday to see which night I will perform. In the meantime, please check out my submission video I made for this competition. To be perfectly clear, Charles Beale - Artistic Director of NYCGMC - made it straightforward in his welcoming email to us that this two-night event is "giant Karaoke party to celebrate song!...this competition is intended to be fun." So I look forward to glamming it up, wearing my fake diamonds, perhaps a sparkly top, then singing my heart out for a bit, enjoy the talent and fun onstage...

...and then perhaps (crossed fingers) singing my soul out with a huge number of fantastically talented gay men singing behind me.

A girl can dream, right? Hope to see you there!

Pictures from Art/Song exhibit/performance with Jay Alan Zimmerman

First, some pictures taken by the management of the chashama, inc. Flickr gallery:













Then, my view of my fellow singers from behind the scenes:





More information about the event can be viewed here.

You can see the rest of the pictures from the evening of March 3, 2010 with Andrea Dora HERE.

You can see the rest of the pictures from the evening of March 10, 2010 with Raissa Katona Bennett and Candy Benge HERE.

To view the Flickr collection of photos from the Chashama 112 West 44th Street location, go HERE.

RIP Peter Graves

Time for my actor-geek to lower her head and praise the late Peter Graves (March 18, 1926 - March 14, 2010). I liked him in "Mission: Impossible!" I laughed and adored him in "Airplane!" and even "Airplane II." And in the many episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000, he was still a consistently solid actor, despite the inanity and stupidity of the script, directors, and chunks of cardboard flying on strings meant to look like alien vampire bats (seriously!!!!).

Here are some great Peter Graves moments, a Peter Graves-inspired skit, and one infamous monologue he was forced to do:

YouTube entry for the New York City Gay Men's Chorus - Big Gay Idol competition!

This is my entry for the New York City Gay Men's Chorus Big Gay Idol competition -- "Maybe This Time" by John Kander and Fred Ebb from the movie musical "Cabaret."

I was invited to submit my entry for this competition after Marquee Five's February 25th performance of our tribute to Kander & Ebb "We Can Make It: The Songs of Kander & Ebb." Two gentlemen from NYCGMC saw me sing "Maybe This Time" in the show and invited me to take part in this contest. So here's my submission! This performance isn't very much changed from our Don't Tell Mama show...maaaaaybe a bit "smaller" for the camera. In any event, my concentration is on a general build and the emotional struggle as well as the traditional big "Diva" notes and ending. It would be awesome if I was chosen to be one of the 3 finalists in either the March 25th or the March 26th shows, and even more thrilling to be chosen to do the finale with the entire chorus behind me! If I do get to perform with the NYCGM Chorus, I'll get the opportunity to work with their Music Director and adjust my choices to their artistic vision. Very exciting!



The Instructions on how to enter were:
"Entries to the competition will initially be by a YouTube video or mp3 audio file of you singing one of the audition pieces below. Videos and Mp3s with photo submitted will appear on our dedicated YouTube channel."

"Please note that to enter, you MUST sing ONE of the two audition pieces in the key given a cappella, ie without accompaniment. Audition piece 1 can be sung in either the low or high key."

"The Selection process: Once all the entries are in, we will then select up to 6 finalists - 3 for the 25th and 3 for the 26th. Each will sing on one of the two nights. In the first half of the show, the finalists for that evening will each sing the opening to the song. After an audience vote and the intermission, the winner will then sing with the chorus and full band in the second half of the evening...."

"...Ensure you sing in the indicated key. Begin your recording by saying your name, using the same name as you give in the application form, as follows: 'This is [your name] and this is my entry for the New York City Gay Men's Chorus 'Big Gay Idol' competition'. Then, give it your all, and really perform! "

Thanks for watching!
-Sierra

Marquee Five sings at Wednesday Night at the Iguana, hosted by Richard Skipper & Dana Lorge!

Two weeks from today is my Birthday! And what better way to celebrate my life than by singing with four other AMAZING people: Vanessa Parvin, Mick Bleyer, Adam West Hemming and Julie Reyburn. Together, we're MARQUEE FIVE! Come celebrate with me at the Wednesday Night at the Iguana open mic/musical variety show!

March 24th - 8PM

After a successful run of our show "We Can Make It: The Songs of Kander & Ebb" and before our last performance of this show on April 15th, catch Marquee Five singing handful of NEW songs! And come with your sheet music and sing as well if you want to.

240 W. 54th St (between 7th and 8th)

Call for reservations: (212) 765-5454

“Wednesday Night At The Iguana”.
$12 cover, CASH, no minimum!
http://www.richardskipper.com/iguana/index.html for more information.

"Entertainment with a capital E! Richard Skipper and Dana Lorge are as dynamic a hosting duo as you're likely to find anywhere in the Big Apple. They have infused new life into the variety show brand of family-friendly live entertainment. The evening is called Wednesday Night at The Iguana and the excitement is building in the VIP Lounge on 54th Street."
~ Lynn DiMenna, Cabaret Scenes

Info on Marquee Five: www.MarqueeFive.com

THE SALON & MARK JANAS RECIEVE A BISTRO SILVER ANNIVERSARY AWARD!

This was originally posted on the MarkJanasTheSalon.blogspot.com blog. Congratulations to my friends, creative co-workers, and especially to my Marquee Five cohorts (member Julie Reyburn and Director of "We Can Make It" Peter Napolitano)!



The 2010 Bistro Silver Anniversary Awards announced its list of recipients today, and The Salon was given a Special Award to "The Salon, Created and hosted by Mark Janas, The Algonquin Hotel, Etcetera Etcetera"!

There were a NUMBER of other Salon-regulars on the list as well, among them:

DANIELLE GRABIANOWSKI "Ira Eaker Special Achievement Award, Metropolitan Room, Don’t Tell Mama"

GRETCHEN REINHAGEN "Tribute Show: 'Special Kaye: A Tribute to the Incomparable Kaye Ballard' Metropolitan Room"

SARAH RICE "Theme Show 'Screen Gems – Songs of Old Hollywood' Laurie Beechman Theatre at West Bank Café"

THE CONCERTS AT TUDOR CITY GREENS "Special Award 'TudorCityGreensAug09 Created and produced by RAISSA KATONA BENNETT"

PETER NAPOLITANO "BMI for Director"

JULIE REYBURN "CD, CD, "Live at Feinstein’s'"

RICHARD EISENBERG "Special Material 'Two Again'"

Read the rest of the wonderful recipients (yay Mitzi Gaynor's Bob Harrington Lifetime Achievement Award!) here

Richard Lawson Studios Free Open Classes March 12th and 13th in Los Angeles

For actors in the Los Angeles area, I highly recommend this class by Richard Lawson, who is a terrific actor and a terrific teacher. I took this class and grew a better understanding of my power as a self-promoter, self-creator, what my casting was, and how to handle my career in a more focused, controlled way. Please come to the open classes on March 12th and 13th if you are interested in learning more.

"I would love it and appreciate it if you could tell your friends about our Free Open Classes that's coming up this Friday Mar. 12 at 8pm and Saturday Mar. 13 at 2pm. We're doing some exciting things and many people are having some great wins as a result of the winning actions they're taking to manifest their dreams. You're welcome to join us if you haven't been here in a while. I've attached a postcard for you to view. Please forward the card to your friends and associates who may be interested in seeing what we're about."
-Richard Lawson

On March 8th and March 12th, Richard Lawson Studios (RLS) will host two special engagements of its monthly Open House with honored guest and RLS student Nicki Micheaux, star of the ABC Family series, "Lincoln Heights". Nicki was recognized for her work on "Lincoln Heights" with two NAACP Image Award nominations for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series and is also known for her co-starring roles on "Six Feet Under" and "Soul Food." Nicki has also held guest-starring and recurring roles on hit shows such as "ER," "NYPD Blue," and "The Practice." and has numerous film credits including "The Replacement Killers" and "Sweet Jane." This event promises to be lively and inspirational and is not to miss!e Practice." and has numerous film credits including "The Replacement Killers" and "Sweet Jane." This event promises to be lively and inspirational and is not to miss!

To register for the RLS Open House, visit Richard Lawson's Studios, or call (818) 793-8767. Space is limited!

For more information about Nicki's career accomplishments, visit her IMDB page.

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What the Studio offers

Take charge of your career! Join the acting studio that will get you working. Here's a list of classes currently available at RLS.

· Professional Development Program 1.0 (PDP 1.0). This comprehensive course is designed to propel students on a path toward success. Using the camera as the primary teaching tool, PDP 1.0 is five classes in one: a Declaration of Independence (also known as developing a concept for your career), acting, audition, filmmaking, and mentoring class.

· Professional Development Program 2.0 (PDP 2.0). Building on PDP 1.0, PDP 2.0 is designed to help students develop a greater sense of professional accountability and active daily career-driving rituals that will advance their professional goals and aspirations. PDP 2.0 students are expected to professionally achieve at a higher level, and serve as role models for other RLS students. Upon the completion of PDP 2.0, select students are invited to join the PDP 3.0 class.

· Professional Development Program 3.0 (PDP 3.0). PDP 3.0 is an invitation-only, ongoing class that includes training in acting, studio production, editing, videography, and professional development, as well as personal and professional mentorship from Richard Lawson.