Projects

Stage and Screen

Click to learn more about Bryan’s film, theatre and directing credits.

Two brothers, one fate…

I was neither blood nor water in this, but I played a pretty good drunk in between them.

There was a fair amount of dramatic improvisation to refine and develop our roles here. Directed with a deft hand by Richell Morrissey, we had a ball collaborating on this rich man’s overlooked son. (I love rehearsing. The more rehearsal, the better!)

Mr. Wrong? Thanks, Mom.

You know when your Mother tells you that she hated you and wanted the other guy to win, you’re on to something. Meet Stephan, algebraic poet.

I’m very proud of this feature. It’s the story of Sam, a former football star who’s capped out over 400 lbs., and his attempt to get his life back together. It’s told with heart and charm, a truly beautiful family effort.

So this Priest falls in love with a whore…

There are times when you just love being an artist. This was a beautiful and wondrous piece about a cleric whose faith is shaken when he’s tempted by a fallen angel.

It’s also not my first time playing a man of the cloth. I’m regularly cast as both priests and serial killers. It turns out that my morality is suspect.

2 days. 7 Actors. 1 film.

We had 48 hours to complete a movie entirely from start to finish. From the wellspring of Kristina Denton’s creativity came an awesome heist film, and THE DEED was born.

For some unfathomable reason, I was allowed to direct and perform. It was unparalled grandeur and exquisite hell. And truly hilarious. Amazing actors and a crackpot team!

The birth of an art form…

This was an original play based on the beginnings of Dadaism. Featured here are the brilliant Jared Mertz, Corena Chase, Anthony Backman, and me.

I remember, as tensions collided, Dada finally came roaring alive through us in a symphony of nonsense and beastlike sounds: a revolution of hilarity and sheer power.

Yeah, this was kind of fun.

A screenwriter. A serial killer.

Going crazy, it turns out, was easier for me than expected. It was my first time drowning a producer in a swimming pool, though. And bludgeoning a man in a shower, also new. And definitely my first time pushing a guy out a window.

The car explosion, though? Not new. Not by a long shot…

Seeking a strong, silent, prematurely-balding type.

This was my first directing effort, an hour-long pilot about the private stories of men. Not the overgrown stunted men children as we often see, but men struggling with complex feelings, men trying to do right, men with self- awareness and morality, facing up to the ideas of how they should behave in an emasculated, confused time.

Or, you know, whatever.

I’d tell you, but then I’d…

So I’ve sworn about forty-one Confidentiality clauses for this small, independent feature. And that means that I won’t tell you anything about it, or confirm that I was in it, really. If I was. And I won’t share any photos or video, were there any to share.

And were I to say I relished wearing horn-rimmed glasses I would most certainly be referring to some other film experience.

From across the cosmos…

This premiere work of DTG was performed as part of the Santa Monica Playhouse’s 50th season. All proceeds were donated to the theater to help its financial burden.

This beautiful, arresting piece was my Hamlet, a hard-won dream role supported by an extraordinary ensemble. One of my top theatre experiences ever. Unforgettable.

Modern verse? Seriously?

This was a huge hit, and I still don’t understand half of it! This was an ensemble of 20 overachievers, the kind that reminds you how little talent you possess. I played Laptop, a lispy, undersexed computer freak.

Before each show, I was lowered into a coffin beneath the stage for an hour. Unable to move, I could only listen. It was a truly unforgettable way to experience this play.

With a dash of panache…

Charming. It’s the perfect and only word to describe this musical. I had so much fun acting the smarmy Kodaly, and I was able to work with the inimitable Jill Bennett, whom I’ve played with on more than 10 occasions. I delighted in flying around the stage, dancing the tango, and hurling insults at my fellow actors whenever the script allowed.

Charming, indeed.

Hell is other people.

This short film began as a challenge: Without leaving one room, could we tell the arc of a relationship in one night? The joy of solving this dilemma found us navigating not only the game of their relationship, but the layout of a confined space. Perhaps an homage to Sartre, or maybe just some fun with the 5D.

Also, Tristan James Butler and Kristina Denton were inspired.

Worth every bruise…

When my friend Paul Teodo told me that Michael Altman was directing this throwback to ON THE ROAD, with original music and a script from icon Danny Darst, I was certainly intrigued. When he told me I would be reading a snively weasel named Wooten, well, that was that.

Paul, as you can tell from his lats, had no trouble assaulting me all over the stage. Damn fun times!

A page from the script…

GINA. You put $2,000 cash in your crotch?

VINCE. Of course. Where else could I trust this kind of money?

GINA. Get in the car, Vince.

VINCE. ..a little bit sticky…

GINA. Get. In. The car!

Hahahaha. I loved directing this…

Illusion of the first time…

Brian Friel’s beautiful and lyric tale of his family’s downfall is reminiscent of an Irish Glass Menagerie. As the narrator Michael, it was very satisfying to live through much of the play as an observer, traveling from an old man to a boy.

(A trick, incidentally, that I’ve tried unsuccessfully many times since. I guess the first time was an illusion, after all.)