Publishing & Theatre Law
http://copylaw.com/aboutus.html

The Dramatists Guild of America
www.dramaguild.com

Actor's Equity Association
www.actorsequity.org/home.html

The Actor Source Homepage
www.actorsource.com

American Theatre Resources
www.theatre-resources.net

For actors who live and work in and around Los Angeles:
www.actorsite.com

Steve Tyler has joined the Virtual Theatre Project (VTP) as development director.

Steve immediately jumped into the areas of fund raising and short and long term planning with great enthusiasm and expertise.  Currently he is focused on qualifying sponsors for the 2005 “Pen is a Mighty Sword” new play competition successfully launched internationally by VTP in 2004 and the “Adopt-an-Artist” program opened to theatre artists everywhere. 

Tyler has maintained a successful career in front of and behind the camera in such capacities as a fund-raiser, philanthropist, producer and actor. He has chaired and/or led numerous fund-raising efforts and events for Access Now Gay & Lesbian Equality (A.N.G.L.E.), Inner-City Council for Abused Neglected Children, Aids Project Los Angeles, Gay & Lesbian Adolescent Social Services (GLASS), Project Angel Food, and Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund.

In the political arena, he has chaired campaigns and benefits for former President Bill Clinton, Kathleen Brown, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Sen. Barbara Boxer, former California governor Gray Davis, former Los Angeles city councilman(?) Joel Wachs and Howard Dean.

He currently is a member of the board of governors of GLASS, and has served on the boards of the National Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, A.N.G.L.E. and Playwrights’ Arena.

Movie-going fans of the Farrelly brothers will recognize Tyler as the quintessential straight man in “King Pin,” “Me, Myself & Irene,” “There’s Something About Mary” and “Shallow Hal,” in addition to “Stuck on You.” He has appeared in more than 225 national and regional television commercials — including a worldwide campaign as the KOOL cigarette man — as well as a recurring role as Gino on the daytime drama “Days of Our Lives.”

Tyler is a staple of the Los Angeles theater community, where he has acted in such productions as “First Couple,” “The Cat’s Meow,” “Rubicon,” Self Help” and “Carla” (with Elizabeth Shue).  As a producer, his television credits include “C.L.A.S.S.” and “The Body Kick.”  Many of his theatrical productions have been successful fund raisers, such as the all-star presentation of “Valley of the Dolls” with Joely Fisher, Bruce Vilanch, Greg Louganis and Ellen DeGeneres.

His work over the years has earned Tyler a variety of awards and honors, including Big Brother of the Year from the Jewish Big Brothers of America, Rainbow Key Award from the city of West Hollywood, the National Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund’s Victory Award, Community Involvement Award from the Democratic Party and the Award of Justice from Kol Ami synagogue.

About his newest role, Tyler says, “The Virtual Theatre Project is uniting artists around the world in a unique and innovative way.  This is a crucial time in our history as Americans.  What a great way to bring people from all corners of the globe together by supporting artists worldwide and giving them a gathering place to share ideas, values and lifestyles.  I am very proud to be working with this creative and talented group.”

Kim Terrell, founder and artistic director of VTP is “thrilled and honored to have Steve on board.  His enthusiasm is contagious, his ideas innovative and his spirit generous.  He has helped to focus our activities in a most powerful way.”

To contact Steve call VTP toll free at 1-877-787-8036.

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For The Love of Theatre
by Kim Terrell

Since early childhood, I have had two abiding loves that accompany me on my journey through life.  The first love, books, introduced me to my second love, theatre.  It was not a formal introduction at first.  I simply “heard” the words and performed them for anyone who would listen and often those who would not.  Then, one day, my mother took me to the ballet in New York City and my life was defined between moments of watching and seeing and watching and not seeing . . . my imagination “soaring” with every leap.  Soon afterwards I fell under the spell of Marcel Marceau, the world-famous mime.  For a brief moment in my life, talking became superfluous and I was consumed with getting people to understand me simply through my actions.  Those were my early years in drama school. 

Later I formalized my training, but those early years, rich in observation and flights of imagination became the foundation for all my subsequent study.  Books accompanied me each step of the way as I read about theatre in its wonderful incarnations that spanned the centuries beginning with the religious rites in the earliest human communities.  Consuming biographies and autobiographies of actors, directors and designers and reading, writing and performing plays became my overriding passion.  It remains so to this day.

It is not surprising then, that I find bookstores and theatres in all my travels and end up spending time sitting amidst stacks and stacks of books filled with characters, thoughts and places or in a darkened theatre watching them come to life.  Bookstores and theatres represent hallowed spaces for me . . . spaces in which the tragedies and comedies of life spring into being in ways that influence our notion of reality.  Good or bad, our deeds and the deeds of our heroes and the destinies of our children and the children of the gods, are the stuff of “dramatic tension”.  Their lives encourage us to ponder the age-old conflicts between man and god, good and evil, child and parent, duty and inclination.  And so it is that we introduce a new column into The Virtual Voice, one featuring bookstores, theatres, and those who love them, as a way of thanking them for making our lives richer because they exist.

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Book Barn
by Kim Terrell

My travels take me far and wide and I am always thrilled to discover a new bookshop, theatre, or person with whom to share thoughts.  This month I found myself at an amazing place known as the Book Barn.  Literally several acres of books filling the out buildings of an old New England farm, the Book Barn has a few goats, dogs and numerous cats that loaf about on comfortable couches found in each of the buildings. 

The Book Barn carries many books unavailable at new bookstores or even at public libraries.  They are frequently the “last hope” for someone seeking a given title.  The people who work at the Book Barn are knowledgeable, folks who enjoy helping people find books they’ve been searching for, often for years.   

The Book Barn maintains a "web presence", althought according to the owner, Randi,  “We view the Barn as a traditional brick-and-mortar (or cat-and-sheds) shop and as such do not participate in this new-fangled ‘e-commerce’.   We have neither shopping carts nor online catalogs, nor do we intend to get those any time soon.  However, if you are looking for a particular title and haven't had any luck finding it at other shops, please feel free to contact us either via phone, e-mail, or walk-in query, and we will check our shelves for you. If we do not happen to have the book on our shelves (but we probably do), we can keep an eye out for it and contact you when a copy becomes available.” 

The Book Barn maintains a huge selection of theatre books and is a worthwhile destination.  I have been known to spend the better part of several days poking around their collection of over 150,000 books reading, drinking coffee, petting cats and always, buying books.

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