PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
WORK HISTORY
GREGORYGREGORYGREGORYGREGORY SIMSSIMSSIMSSIMS
12659 Moorpark Street #8
,
Studio City
, CA 91604
Home:
646 352-2764
|
Cell:
646 352-2764
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0801316/
http://PracticalGoalSettingTechnique.com http://actvp.ch/sKl
As a director and seasoned professional actor I have over twenty five years experience
in the realms of theater, film, television, commercial and voice over work. Combined
with twelve years of teaching, directing and coaching actors at all levels of the
professional ladder, I believe I bring a uniquely well-rounded presence that would be
invaluable to the students at Azusa Pacific. I also feel my faith as a devout Christian
adds to what I believe you are looking for in a mentor and professional role model.
Director
Sacred Fools Theater Company - Los Angeles
,
CA
On going director, writer and actor in the late night comedy show Serial Killers at the
award winning Sacred Fools Theater Company
April 2012 to Current
Director/Producer/Writer
The Invisible Theater Company - New York
,
NY
Directed and produced my own new work, One Clean Statement.
May 2000 to July 2000
Director
Nada Con Nada
- New York
,
NY
Directed a series of original One Act productions.
July 1999 to August 1999
Director
One Act Festival at Ensemble Studio Theater - New York
,
NY
Directed the play Murmurs by award winning playwright Scott Sickles and staring Tony
award winning actor Christian Borle.
July 1998 to August 1998
Director
Carnegie Mellon University
- Pittsburgh
,
PA
As a graduating senior in the acting program at Carnegie Mellon University, I directed
and wrote the annual Drama Department Christmas Show, working with classmates
who would go on to become future Tony award winners and stars of television and film.
November 1995 to December 1995
Acting Teacher
Practical Audition Technique - New York, NY and Los Angeles
,
CA
Starting my own small Acting Studio in 2002, I began teaching my self-created Practical
Audition Technique to the young, early developing actor. In Practical Audition Technique
we work on provided audition material, tailor-made to fit whatever area each student is
currently focused on in his or her career and the next level up that the student is aiming
for - multi-camera, single-camera, pilots, guest star episodic, commercial, film, v/o,
May 2002 to Current
EDUCATION
PICNIC VISION
theater the entire professional realm is addressed based on the needs of each
individual.
Goal Setting Coach
Practical Goal Setting Technique - Los Angeles
,
CA
Practical Goal Setting Technique (PGST) developed as an off-shoot of my Practical
Audition Technique. Originally working only with actors, PGST has expanded over the
years, and I now coach individuals from all walks of life (Financial Analysts, CEOs,
Small Business Owners, Teachers, etc..) but over 65% of my clients are still actors and
preforming artists. I coach the actor in creating, refining and following through on an
effective plan of action to move towards their goals without worshiping their goals.
PGST, introduces highly effective tools that are based not on the impossible task of
emotional and psychological mastery but on making friends with ego and neurosis by
gently, and with great compassion, taking daily, practical action. My clients have
acquired top-notch agents, booked multi-picture deals, landed roles as guest stars and
series regulars, booked roles at top regional theaters and procured professional voice
over and commercial work.
September 2009 to Current
Seminole Community College
Sanford
,
FL
Associate of Arts
:
Acting, Theater
1991
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh
,
PA
Bachelor of Arts
:
Acting
1995
How do we work with the very human temptation to allow the ache of desire (or it's
repression) to dictate the direction of our lives? How does one find true intimacy in a
world where the idea of "surface beauty" is worshiped, thus creating deep cycles of
repression and self-hatred? How does one accept it is the nature of the mind to
obsess on the fantasy that there is some singular, idyll event that can catapult us into a
pain-free world of unencumbered bliss?
These are the major themes that I find self evident in Picnic. My aim as a director would
be to allow these themes to naturally resonant and rise. And what I find deeply inspiring
is that these themes are as relevant in 2014 as they were in 1953, perhaps, dare I say,
more so? We no longer live in an age where the Chamber of Commerce will vote
someone Queen of Neewollah or the town Picnic may offer a last shot at redemptive
love, but we do live in an age where addiction to social media/entertainment/screen
distraction has cast a deep hypnotic glaze over many, and retreat into the fantasy of the
superficial is hoped to offer powers of redemption and spiritual integration. The
legendary theater director and drama critic Harold Clurman said the works of William
Inge deal with "repressed people living, with all their inhibitions, moral confusion, awry
ideals and profound isolation". There is a darkness buried at the heart of the play that I
believe is key to the audience having a truly cathartic experience. The great trap in
staging Picnic, as I see it, would be to create a quaint and generic "fifties" vibe of a time
capsule, launched from an idyll, Rockwellesque cartoon-world. Inge fought tooth and
nail with the original Broadway director Joshua Logan to preserve his original ending,
in which Madge goes back to her job at the dime store losing her wealthy boyfriend and
lost in despair. Logan wanted a "happy" ending, thus Madge running after Hal. I think
DIRECTING STYLE
the reason the alteration works is not because we believe that Madge will find Hal and
live happily ever after, but that her flight is filled with ambiguity, hysteria and potential
destruction. There are no easy answers in this play, which is why I believe it has stood
the test of time.
This is not to say I do not feel the play contains joy, lightness and pulsating vitality at the
same time - it does! It is a beautiful exploration of youth itself - innocent, raw, proud,
strong, courageous, passionate, destructive and confused. This portrait of youth, both
in it's allure and it's trappings, is mirrored against what happens when it's powers have
burned away and no spiritual center has developed to carry the individual into true
adulthood. But where there is humanity there is hope and each character in the play
embodies that as much as they do anything.
My directing style is influenced by the many directors I have worked with who are at the
very top of their fields - David Emmes, Paris Barclay, Mladen Kiselov, Joanna Kearns,
Adam Arkin, Chris Smith, Rod Holcomb to name a few. My personal aesthetic as a
director is one of simplicity and surrender - tell the story as directly as possible; do not
encumber the vision of the playwright with ego, bluster and "interesting ideas". My
directing style is first and foremost about serving the play - as Shakespeare said, "the
play's the thing." Everything serves the story and the intention of the playwright. I believe
the best direction is the kind that leaves no fingerprints. I would focus on making sure
the actors, designers and entire production team all understand and are on the same
page with the story we are telling.
I would focus on guiding the actors to create grounded and honest performances. To
help them avoid the pitfall of caricature because of differences in age and era and to
ensure that everyone on stage seems to be apart of the same natural world. I feel my
greatest strength as a director is in my communication with and ability to reach actors.
Being a professional, working actor and years of teaching and directing young actors
has allowed me to become highly efficient in this regard, and aiding a performer in
discovering the truth of the moment has become one of the great joys of my life.
I would work with the design team to incorporate a visual style that reflects the themes I
articulated. I envision both the lighting and the set working together to create a world
where things appear bright and preternaturally vivid, yet upon closer examination decay
and decrepitude are rising to the surface.
