As some of you know, I was born into a showbiz-type family. Both of my parents were involved with the Sunset Valley Orchestra, my mother as the first female conductor of that orchestra and my father as conductor before she took over, then he went on to write music for movies and TV as a hit movie composer.
I still remember my father practicing his guitar in front of my brother Noah and me. Gosh I miss that guy, Noah. Sucks that he is dead.
This gets lost sometimes, but my mother was as well known and respected as my father was for her talent and her tireless work in bringing the orchestra to a new level.
She also supervised most of my musical training.
Yet my parents are not the only members of the family involved in entertainment of some sort.
My sister, Savannah, is the author of several books, the two most well known are Interview with a Mummy, based on her experiences in Egypt, and Dances with Ghosts. Both of them were best sellers. She’s also written articles on such subjects as the origin of nectar and the different types of death states. There is even talk of a movie based on ‘Mummy’ but it’s just talks at the moment. Savannah has put her adventuring and writing career on hold to raise her five (!) children (two adopted and three biological).
Even more successful as a writer was my aunt, Margaret. She was my dad’s half-sister, who was actually born in England, and, Savannah tells me, spoke with a tiny hint of a British accent. (She died when I was a baby, I never knew her.) Anyway, she wrote 26 or 27 (I don’t remember the exact number) books, mostly science fiction and fantasy. My boss, Kristy Verhoeven, is currently working on a screenplay based on her Moon Colony series. So, too, is Emmitt Stanley, the teenage son of Emmy Starr and Alan Stanley. It’s pretty much a done deal that a movie will be made from my aunt Margaret’s book series. But it’s also a race as to whose version gets made first.
My brother Noah followed dad into the orchestra. He was a member of the exclusive quartet.
And then there’s me. How I became an actor instead of a musician, especially with all the musical training, is still a mystery to me.
So now I’m back in Bridgeport, trying to make lemonade out of a whole pile of lemons. Looks like I’ll be splitting time between the two cities, Bridgeport and Sunset Valley, for the time being while getting the fam sitch straight. It’s not a schedule I like but hey, what can I do?
My first stop upon returning was Annabelle and Kyra’s apartment downtown. I had forgotten how to use the call box so I was pressing buttons madly until I got the right combo.
“Oh… it’s YOU.” Annabelle was not happy with me. Again.
“Is Kyra in?” I asked her.
“No, she’s practicing with Lola’s band. You know they’re going on tour next week.”
I let out a deep breath. “Oh yeah, that’s right. I forgot all about that.”
“You were supposed to be gone two weeks, Sebastian. It’s been two MONTHS. Now that you’re back, you expect her to crawl right back into your arms.”
“Look, I had a family emergency. My brother died, my parents are getting a divorce, my one nephew just had a baby, my other teenage nephews are out of control -- things are just a mess right now.”
“Save it for Oprah, buster.” Annabelle wasn’t done. “You needn't bother batting those baby blues at me, sonny boy, they don't work. Trust me on that one. Besides, you have NO idea what I've got to put up with day in and day out with Kyra. It's always Sebastian this and Sebastian that. When's he coming back? Is he on location this week, wonder what he’s up to...... BLEH!!! So I suggest you do something fast, or can it. Not interested."
While I waited for Kyra to return, I flipped through my latest script, a romantic comedy called Commitment Issues. The one thing I haven’t done yet since becoming an actor is rom-com. I don’t know how my comic timing would be, since it’s not something I really practiced in acting class.
On average I get about 4 to 5 scripts a month. There were twelve waiting for me when I returned.
