Over the past year, I have been venturing into the world of voiceover work. I'm so thrilled to be one of the new voices of Enzymedica! Enzymedica of Venice, Fla., was founded in 1998 with the purpose of offering its customers the highest-potency enzyme products possible. All of their products are made from the highest quality enzymes and contain absolutely no fillers to ensure purity. Every product is 100% vegetarian, and is specifically formulated to provide targeted support for common digestive discomforts, food intolerances, cardiovascular health, proper immune function or healthy inflammatory responses. Here, you can view the commercials I recorded for the company (I'm not featured in the commercials - just my voice!). Stay tuned for new products and for the commercials to hit a television near you! Special thanks to HuB Studios for their amazing work.
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What an incredible summer! After opening JAMES & THE GIANT PEACH, we began rehearsals for BIG RIVER with director Cody Walker. It was a beautifully-done show of epic proportions. My roles as Widow Douglas and Sally Phelps were great "book-ends" to the show, as I am only in the first scenes of Act I and then don't appear again until the very last scenes of Act II. Even though I didn't have much stage time, I got the chance to off-stage sing on the beautiful gospel numbers and the funeral scene hymn. What joy to tell this story! Then, we moved on to HAIRSPRAY where I got the cream of the crop of great roles: the Female Authority Figure. It's the essential character role with great physical comedy and killer one-liners that had the audience in stitches. The FAF (for short) is a track usually played by one adult female actor, which consists of the characters Prudy Pingleton, Gym Teacher, and Prison Matron. I also got to double as a Pinkette in "Welcome to the 60s" and a Council Mom in "Big, Blonde, and Beautiful." Talk about a lot of wig and costume changes! Between my five roles and my post as an off-stage singer in some of my favorite numbers ("Nicest Kids in Town" and "I Know Where I've Been"), I was constantly moving and involved for the entire show. It was an absolute blast to be part of such a big ensemble piece that was high energy with a great feel-good message. If I had to pick a favorite scene or character, I'd have to go with the Prison Matron. Scatting at the end of "Big Dollhouse" was one of my favorite moments because the director and choreographer, Wes Drummond, really let me improvise and make different choices each night. I'm so glad he trusted me to create wildly different characters and continue to play with them during the performances. I enjoyed my summer experience so immensely, and I would highly recommend working with McLeod Summer Playhouse in Carbondale, IL to anyone who has the opportunity. Great staff, crew, creative team, actors, and audiences! Hello from Carbondale, IL! I am having a blast with the company and staff of McLeod Summer Playhouse. Last week, we opened the Theatre for Young Audiences' production of Roald Dahl's JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH to an excited audience of bubbling children and their families. It's been a pleasure to perform in the intimate Christian H. Moe Laboratory Theatre, all while transforming from one character to the next. In the action-packed 50-minute adventure, I play Ladybug, one of James' large insect friends who help him along his journey. I've made her into a proper Southern gal who loves sweet tea and saying "bless his heart." I also get to play a nasty and relentless Aunt Sponge who is "terrifically fat and tremendously flabby at that." She's a hoot! One of my favorite parts of the play is when the peach transforms from a small orange balloon on the barren tree to a magnificent peach that stands 10 feet tall right in front of the audience's eyes! The play was directed by Wes Drummond, resident artistic director, and I can't wait to get to work with him again in HAIRSPRAY later this summer. JAMES plays select Wednesday and Saturday matinees throughout the summer in the Christian H. Moe Laboratory Theatre at Southern Illinois University. We are also nearing the opening week of BIG RIVER, the first Mainstage production of MSP's 2015 Season, directed by Cody Walker. I play two small characters (Widow Douglas and Sally Phelps) in the story about Huck Finn and the runaway slave Jim, as they travel down the Mississippi River on a wild adventure. The cast is incredibly talented and the music will sweep you off your feet. Read more about our company and actors here. The production looks gorgeous in the McLeod Theater, a 488-seat house with a large proscenium stage. The play runs June 19-28. Stay tuned for more updates as the summer unfolds! I am thrilled to announce I'll be appearing in two Ten-Minute Plays at Theatre Odyssey's Tenth Annual Ten Minute Play Festival in Sarasota, FL. I am playing a twin baby in the womb with Ren Pearson in Ron Pantello's IT'S TIME TO MOVE, directed by Don Walker. I am also so excited to get to work with Lilian Moore in Marvin Albert's WHY, directed by Jenny Walker. Lilian and I have worked together previously in CABARET and NOISES OFF and it will be a joy to delve into this wonderful play about an adopted woman who confronts her birth mother for the first time.
This year’s festival will be held on April 30 through May 3 at the Jane B. Cook Theatre, FSU/Asolo Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 North Tamiami Trail. Evening performances are at 7:30 p.m. on April 30, May 1 and 2. The May 3 performance is at 2 p.m. There will be 8 plays presented. A bonus play at each festival performance will be the winner of this year’s Student Ten-Minute Playwriting Festival, Julien Freij’s AS LONG AS THE MOON SHINES, a poignant story about a young man caring his best for his young sister. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased here. I have always dreamt of singing the National Anthem at a big stadium. I even used to record myself singing it in my middle school bedroom (and yes, I still have the recordings to prove it!). I never got the chance as a child growing up in Kansas City. In Sarasota, we are very lucky to have a beautiful Spring Training facility for the Baltimore Orioles. I have attended a game every season since I moved here 5 years ago. This year, I had an inkling... this "bucket list" feeling about wanting to finally check this opportunity off the list. Through some wonderful colleagues and connections, I was able to get in touch with the right people at the Orioles and was offered to sing "God Bless America" at the Seventh Inning Stretch on Sunday, March 29. It wasn't the National Anthem, but by golly, I was so excited! I couldn't wait to sing with a stadium full of hot dog-lovin' fans. The week of the game, I got an email from the coordinator at the Orioles. Their National Anthem singer was sick and couldn't sing, and asked me to fill in. You better believe I said YES! The whole experience was a thrill. It was very different from singing on stage -- the "audience" was singing with you and was cheering you on throughout. I felt like a "local celebrity" being recognized throughout the game on my way back to my seats. I would definitely want to do this again! Here is a video compilation of my renditions of the Star-Spangled Banner and God Bless America at the Orioles V. Twins game on Sunday, March 29. I hope this opportunity comes around again. I'm very excited to announce that I'll be spending the summer in Carbondale, IL at the McLeod Summer Playhouse! I have been cast in three shows with exciting, fun, comedic, featured roles and could not be more thrilled. Rehearsals begin in Carbondale on May 26 and my contract ends on July 19.
MISS SPIDER in JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH Adapted for the stage by David Wood From the book by Roald Dahl The beloved story of an orphaned boy who escapes from two cruel aunts with the help of his insect-friends and a really enormous peach! {This was one of my FAVORITE books growing up - by my FAVORITE Children's author!} WIDOW DOUGLAS/SALLY PHELPS/ENSEMBLE in BIG RIVER Music and lyrics by Roger Miller Book by William Hauptman Based on Mark Twain’s classic 1884 novel, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” Winner of the 1985 Tony Award for best musical. Huck Finn learns about friendship when he helps Jim, a slave, escape to freedom in this grand adventure-filled musical with foot-stomping, hand-clapping bluegrass music from Grammy Award winner Roger Miller. PRUDY PINGLETON/GYM TEACHER/MATRON in HAIRSPRAY Music by Marc Shaiman Lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman Based on the New Line Cinema film written and directed by John Waters Big heart, big hair, big musical. In 1960s Baltimore, plus-sized Tracy Turnblad dances her way on to a local teen television show and breaks down their segregation rules. Click here for ticket information and to learn more about McLeod Summer Playhouse.
It's an absolute treat to visit Brian Hersh on The Mezz, every single time. When I worked with the Arts & Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County as the Communications Manager, I visited the show every few months to update Brian with the latest happenings in the arts community. He even dubbed me the SRQ Arts Gal (which inspired my now-neglected Twitter handle: @SRQArtsGal). Then, when he went out of town, I actually hosted the show FOR him as the Arts Gal! It was scary and exciting to be on the "other side" of the microphone.
Last week, Brian invited me back to the show with Michael Newton-Brown (director) to talk about Cabaret, the character of Sally Bowles, and why this piece is so iconic. Listen here: http://sarasotatalkradio.com/podcasts2/the-mezz-01102015-players-theatre-cabaret-fsu-asolo-rep-as-you-like-it.mp3 It has been such a joy bringing Sally Bowles to life each night. Pretty soon, I'll also have video clips to share with you, but right now I'll post some of my favorite snaps of the production. If you're in the Sarasota, FL area, come on and join us through January 25 at The Players Theatre of Sarasota.
Buy your tickets here. {ALL PHOTOS BY DONDALYPHOTO.COM and MIKE WOOD} After wrapping "The Method Actor's Wife" with the Ringling Film Department, I didn't know when I would be on camera again. As luck would have it, Robert Foti (whom I met while shooting "Method Actor's Wife") said Shaun Greenspan, of TriForce Pictures, was looking to cast some extras for a 30-second commercial spot for a local Sarasota plastic surgeon. The marketing agency that coordinated the shoot was Grapevine Communications. Needless to say, I was so excited to be involved! I had never been an "Extra" before. The shoot was at the Hyatt Regency in Downtown Sarasota. The extras were all wedding guests at an intimate wedding. As I'm sure is customary for many shoots, we were asked to provide our own clothing. I wore a classy black dress and brought a bright green pashmina for a pop of color! They said it worked great on camera. (Phew!) The shoot lasted about six hours with a yummy lunch (and snacks, and coffee, and tea, and... DIET COKE) provided. I was happy to see that Annette Breazeale was the Production Designer. We worked together at the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe last May, where she serves as the Props Mistress. I also got to meet new friends and hope to do more film work again soon! Photos by Grapevine Communications and TriForce Pictures
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AboutDanae DeShazer is an actress, singer, and dancer living in Sarasota, FL. Archives
May 2023
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