Hello World! I couldn't be more excited to tell you about some of the things I have been doing in the months leading up to my move to New York City!
I began the New Year working for a really awesome science museum in Charlotte called Discovery Place! I was hired as an actor to do two incredibly fun things: dress up as "Nicola Tesla," wear a moustache, a tall coat, and talk in a Russian dialect, as well as interact with families all day in character! Being in an interactive situation as a historical character has proven to be immensely gratifying! Not only do I get to research in-depth a topic I knew very little about before I started, but I get to answer guest's challenges when they ask me detailed question about my characters life and work. Playing Tesla has been very neat because his story is incredible. He was a man that really just wanted to help out the world and who got severely screwed over at every opportunity. Learning about his story has reinforced some important lessons not to be over-looked in any line of work:
1: always get credit for your work. There will always be someone who can do something better than you, but if you're the first to invent it or do it, make sure you have documentation. For inventors of course this means patents!
2: have a financial consultant or someone to help you make important monetary decisions. Tesla sold all of his patents so that he could continue to invent, but he ended up penniless.
3: appreciate your rivals and competition, they feed your creativity and push you further! Without Edison, there would have been no need for Tesla. Had Edison not opposed AC electricity so fervently Tesla wouldn't have had to prove himself like he did.
If you've never looked into their rivalry, I encourage you to do so. It's incredibly interesting!
In addition to working at Discovery Place proper, I have gotten to do some really fun events out on the town with the Arts and Science Council in character.
The first was a daytime lunch event for Duke Energy employees with my co-star Megan as "Necessity: the Mother of Invention."
The next was an LGBT event with the Arts and Science Council in a beautiful apartment in Uptown! The view was as spectacular as the conversation! Artists, never waste a moment to network and promote your talents. This was a big event to do just that and I'm glad I did. Having your business cards on hand will be very helpful if anyone takes an interest in you.
Next up, as one of my last gigs before I move to the big city, I will be playing "Theo Van Gogh" in the "Van Gogh Alive" exhibit opening April 25th and running through June 1st! I encourage you to check it out!
Until next time,
Jack
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