This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:01] John Schwab: Hi, John Schwab here and welcome to Episode 176 of the Curtain Call Podcast. Curtain Call is the podcast that takes you deep behind the scenes of the theater world, bringing you in-depth conversations with the story makers that are shaping the future of theater today. We pull back the curtain to reveal the stories behind the stories, give you a glimpse of the backstage world like no other podcast does.

[0:28] John Schwab: So now to today's guest. I met Markus Flannagan about a year ago, something like that. He was a friend of a mutual friend who was working out whether or not a potential move to London might be a good idea, a good thing. So we sat down over breakfast in Victoria and had a good chat and a friendship was spawned.

[0:46] John Schwab: And now having made that leap to London, Markus is fully immersed in the creative life here. He teaches Meisner classes, as well as, you know, auditioning for theater, film, television, like all of us North American actors here in London. But Markus doesn't like to sit still, as you will hear. Before Christmas, we met up and he told me about this crazy idea for writing, rehearsing and performing plays all within the space of about 12 hours or so. I mean, it was nuts, but I was hooked.

[1:15] John Schwab: Markus's Same Day Plays have their inaugural run at the Questors Theatre here in London, just in Ealing on March the 2nd, 2024, and all going well, it will be the first of many. And when he asked me if I'd be up for being one of the 10 actors on the day, I leapt at the chance. And don't worry, I will put all the links to the Same Day Plays in the show notes for this episode, so you'll know where to go to get tickets and support this fantastic production.

[1:42] John Schwab: In this episode, Markus takes us on his journey from an almost basketball player in high school to someone you have definitely seen on screens and shows like The Morning Show on Apple TV, for instance. So and now he's running Same Day Plays here in London. It's quite a journey, and he's here to tell you all about it. Have a listen.

[2:00] John Schwab: You know, I don't like to beat around the bush here on this podcast, Markus. I'm going to introduce my guest this week. The amazing, I mean, full of energy and doing loads of things, Markus Flanagan. How are you doing, Markus? Thank you very much for coming on the Curtain Call podcast.

[2:20] Markus Flannagan: Yeah, no worries. Apparently, I'm full of energy, man.

[2:23] John Schwab: Well, you are, man. Listen, every time I see you, you've got something going on. I mean, we're going to get to eventually what you're, you know, in the next 10 minutes, you know, what you've got going on in London on March 2nd. But please let the guests and listeners, sorry, not the guests, the listeners, please let the listeners know, you know, what's your background, Markus? Where did you come from for us to meet in London in a couple of coffee shops?

[2:50] Markus Flannagan: Yeah, that's really funny. Okay. Yeah. Well, isn't it lovely how the arts, you can find yourself anywhere as an artist.

[2:56] Markus Flannagan: Anywhere. You know, that's the one thing I love about the arts. It's the great equalizer. I've said this a lot of times, you know, if I wasn't an actor, I would never have flown to Japan first class twice, you know.

[3:07] John Schwab: Yeah.

[3:08] Markus Flannagan: It just wouldn't have happened. I wouldn't have found myself in the rooms and around the people and in the situations I did had I not put my foot into the arts. I would have, you know.

[3:17] Markus Flannagan: It's amazing. You think about the access you get, and all because people accept you because you're putting out something creative and they want to have a talk or chat or include you in their cast. And so you end up in lovely situations.

[3:31] Markus Flannagan: And I didn't know that this was going to be my calling, as Mr. Meisner puts it. But, you know, what happened was in high school, I got out of, you know, bad situation, a really sad situation, getting cut from the basketball team.

[3:47] Markus Flannagan: And I ended up auditioning for, at my sister's insistence, auditioning for the school play, which was West Side Story. And, you know, to assuage my sadness over ever being cut. So I get on stage, I get a part and I'm leader of the Sharks, right?

[4:06] Markus Flannagan: And I'm not a song and dance guy, but, you know, it's high school. You're good enough. And I was tall. So I got a good part. And there you are. And there's a moment that happens where you do something on stage and someone in the audience reacts. And you go from insignificant, mediocre high school person to, here's a guy that just affected another person. And it was electric, right?

[4:31] Markus Flannagan: So that's your spark that says, wait a minute, this is bigger than just, oh, there's people on stage dancing and singing. Actually, whoa, there's an equation here of, right, we're transmitting to each other, and we're getting influence back and we're getting influence forward. Okay. So I then, you know, think maybe, maybe this could be, but there's no one in my family in the performing arts, and I didn't have an easy connection to anything. So it just became exploring, you know, where could I go? What could I do?

[5:00] Markus Flannagan: And I applied. I got into the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City. I did my two years. I graduated with Mr. Meisner as my teacher.

[5:07] John Schwab: Amazing. Amazing.

[5:08] Markus Flannagan: Yeah.

[5:09] Markus Flannagan: I mean, that's incredible. We'll have to deep dive into that in a second. But yeah, carry on. Sorry.

[5:14] Markus Flannagan: Yeah, really, really blessed to have had him in his last, really, maybe couple of years of teaching. He didn't teach at the school full time after I left the school. So I go from that to, you know, hustling to get my first agent, hustling to get my first, you know, audition and first callback and, you know, as actors do. So it was really, you know, just learn by doing for me.

[5:39] Markus Flannagan: And of course, it makes you just really well rounded and really grateful for everything that happens. And I've gone through all the ups and downs, and then it's going to be life changing this job kid to, yeah, yeah, they liked you a lot, but it's not going to happen. They're going with the guy that looks and sounds exactly like you, but not you, you know, and you just, you know, lose your mind with how does any of this make sense?

[6:01] Markus Flannagan: And to this day, you know, it still has that quality. I was in an audition once with Adam Arkin.

[6:08] John Schwab: Oh, bless him. Just passed. Love that man.

[6:10] Markus Flannagan: No, no, not Alan. His son, Adam.

[6:12] John Schwab: Oh, his son, Adam.

[6:13] Markus Flannagan: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And Adam Arkin turns and says, this business, it's the only business in the world where every day you get to wake up and start all over again.

[6:22] John Schwab: Oh, what a great.

[6:24] Markus Flannagan: Yeah, because it started with him saying, they are in there right now auditioning Rip Torn guys. They're auditioning Rip Torn. God, this business, this business.

[6:35] Markus Flannagan: So it's been a full life of, I mean, I've written a book for actors and I started this play series and I've done, you know, my own web series, my own attempt at getting a film made.

[6:48] Markus Flannagan: And I've sold two scripts. You know, I've directed for TV. I've been on, you know, series. I've been on features with great directors. So it's, I've run the whole gamut of it.

[6:58] Markus Flannagan: And back in the day, Mr. Meisner would say, this isn't really a vocation. It's a calling. And I really didn't get it. You know, I was just too young. I was 19 when I went to the playhouse.

[7:11] John Schwab: I was going to say, you know, at 19, I, I mean, I knew I loved acting. I was, I was acting in high school plays or, you know, when I was 16, 17, I was on, you know, Far East Speech and Drama Festival. I was on a, you know, a stage in Korea as a 15 year old doing scenes from, I don't know, Breakfast Club, whatever we went, whatever we took to Far East Speech and Drama Festival.

[7:31] John Schwab: But, you know, I didn't, I didn't know Meisner. I didn't, I never heard of Meisner, you know, because we were just, I was too, like, I was too, I wasn't good enough to, you know, try out for the basketball team. You know, I played football later on when I grew. I was just, I was a weedy little thing. And then, but I love drama because it was, it was fun. I don't know what it was. I don't know what it was, Markus.

[7:54] John Schwab: But, you know, what was it like going from that, but, you know, and studying with Mr. Meisner, because now you're teaching Meisner, you're like a Meisner guru, expert.

[8:06] Markus Flannagan: I want to say, I want to say guru, something more than expert. It's somebody who actually passes along and can take people through that technique. How does one get to that, Markus?

[8:15] Markus Flannagan: You know, I didn't know who he was either. I left my high school and went to community college in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, because I, you know, that's what you did. I didn't know what I was going to do. And the community college is where everyone really went for at least a semester to figure something out.

[8:32] Markus Flannagan: And so, you know, I went there and I, I was, I was really lucky. I met a teacher there who wasn't my teacher, but was in the department and taking these acting one in class movement, one class, you know, just the basics, because what the heck, I'm bored.

[8:49] Markus Flannagan: I might as well do it. And I dropped out of geometry. It was so boring. Chemistry was boring. So I'm taking these classes and she pulls me aside and says, you should go to the neighborhood playhouse.

[9:01] Markus Flannagan: And I thought, playhouse, it's just where they do plays. That's how naive I was. So I said, oh, I don't know. And she said, no, no, no. Sandy Meisner never graduated anyone who wasn't ready to go to work the next day.

[9:14] Markus Flannagan: And so I said, oh, she said, I'm going to write you a letter, the referral of it. And I'm going to, you're going to call, you're going to get your appointment, you're going to send your money and you're going to apply it. I mean, she was insistent, right? So I thought, you know, okay, she must know better than me. Now, they say, no, you're 19. We don't take 19 year olds. We take graduates. So 23, 24, you know, 22 minimum, but you've got to go through some life. You got to through college.

[9:40] Markus Flannagan: And I say, actually, I'd like my interview. I'm entitled to my interview. Yes, you are. But, you know, Mr. Meisner doesn't really like, you know, they said you have to have a certain level of emotional experience. And a 19 year old doesn't. I get it. I get it. I went and I made my case in that room with the.

[9:58] Markus Flannagan: Now, Neighborhood Playhouse, no audition, just an interview. Because ultimately, Mr. Meisner doesn't care what you've done before or who's taught you how to perform. He wants to know what's going on inside. So you get this dialogue. I then get accepted. I go literally first day at, you know, waiting for the orientation, sitting in the office. And I say to the administrator, this is how naive I was.

[10:22] Markus Flannagan: I say to the administrator, we're going to go upstairs and get an orientation. And she says, yes, you are. And I say, oh, is Sandy Meisner here? Is she here? Are we going to meet Sandy? And the woman turns to me and she says, Mr. Meisner is here today. And you will meet him and you will never, ever call him Sandy ever. His name is Mr. Meisner. And I say, it's a guy? And she says, yes, he is a guy. Yes. That's how naive I was.

[10:52] John Schwab: I love that, Markus. I love it.

[11:22] Markus Flannagan: Or been in a room with Mr. Meisner. Maybe two that I've heard of. Maybe one. But most are a generation of, I learned from a guy who learned from…

[11:52] Markus Flannagan: I like to call it a doer energy. You just do. You do. You're front footed. You make that first call. You kind of go, look, if you don't ask, you don't get. Hey, listen, let's just meet because we were trying to make things work. It's like, screw it. Let's just meet up, let's have breakfast, man.

[12:16] Markus Flannagan: Talk about the business. So that was kind of the first time and it was really good to chat. We kind of exchanged some names and things and numbers of people who might be able to reach out to because you were new to London at that point, a little new to London.

[12:30] John Schwab: I was trying to be new to London. You were part of my fact finding in that I wasn't quite sure it would work or fit for me here. So I came to you with a lot of inner tension because if you had given me different answers, this idea of mine would have fallen flat.

[12:46] Markus Flannagan: My idea was, what do I do next as a guy that's been in New York and LA his whole career? I'm just a bit bored. I'm a bit bored with the routine. And you made it clear that, yeah, there's a possibility here, which made me say, okay, I can move forward on this idea. That's that first one. You were really helpful.

[13:05] John Schwab: Oh, well, thanks, Markus. Well, listen, I was only honest. Look, when people do ask about what it's like in London, like, hey, these are the opportunities. You can do it. It's a hustle, but you can do it. You can make your life and living and have fun and get on West End stages and do voiceovers and video games and then come up with ideas where people are willing to help you out.

[13:32] John Schwab: Do things like Same Day Plays. So the last time we were we chatted, you said, I got this idea, John. We were in Baker Street just around the corner from Sherlock, Sherlock's Place. And you just told me about this little idea. And I was like, oh, my God. Yes. Yes.

[13:50] John Schwab: Tell me about Same Day Plays. This is your kind of baby that you're bringing to life here in London in the first week of March. Tell me about it. Tell me the origin story. What is your superhero origin story for the Same Day Plays?

[14:20] Markus Flannagan: Just pure artist instinct execution.

[14:32] Markus Flannagan: In trying to answer that question for myself, I came up with what if you gave everyone a super harsh deadline so they didn't have the luxury of any time to do anything but trust and go, trust and go. Whatever you have as an artist is going to show up right here, or you're going to learn you're not capable and this isn't your format. But the idea being, if a reasonable play in an unreasonable period of time, but everybody working together to understand, we're going to start these plays at 8:30 in the morning on a blank page. No one knows what they're doing. They're not been written. The writers don't know who they're writing for. They get surprised. They choose randomly. So they can't even plan in any way, male, female, old, young.

All they know is they're showing up with their intelligence and their keyboard computer and I give them a theme. They also know it's going to be in the same set. You know, coffee shop or bus stop or they know that. And then they go and they have four hours to come up with a one act. And I limit them five, six pages because I only want an eight or 10 minute one act. I don't think we could really do, I think some writers could write 25 pages because they're just wild. But over time, the ones that go eight, nine pages, they just never come out. They just dilute. So, you know, a tight five, six pages. And then I put them back in envelopes. They're blank, right? I put them in front of five directors and they randomly choose a cast.

So directors and the actors don't know who they're working with, don't know what they're working on. They can absolutely open that up and be disappointed with the content. They still have to make a play that's going to go on, right? They start at one o'clock in rehearsal and the play goes on at 7:30. So they have about five hours. We tech, they can run through a couple, right? And then we, you know, curtain up at 7:30. And my thought was, A, it'll test everybody. It'll be like a gymnasium for every artist that wants to try to see how far they can be pushed, A. And B, it'll create a community. It'll be a theater community of people. Not that, you know, they survive the place, but just that they agree on the day here.

And I make the rules pretty strict. You can't change the script. You can't cut the script. You can't paraphrase. And directors, if they want to do anything change-wise, they have to get a consult with the writer. Writers are not allowed to stay all day. They have to just let go of their creation. Actors have to be memorized to do it like any other play. So there's no staged reading kind of feel, hold the script when you walk on. No. Everyone being tested makes everybody agree this thing has to come off and everyone helps everybody. There are assistant directors in the room to make the thing work quicker and get props and get things. And it's funny when I started it, I actually thought it'd be funny to have then a family meal before we went on.

And I made everyone bring a potluck. And what I learned was nobody wanted to eat before they went on. No, because you just want to vomit. You're just running the seat, running the seat, running, running, running, running. And no one wanted to eat. Nobody was hungry. It's all about, you know, it's 7:30, we go. There's no time for anything else. So that I learned along the way. There's no eating after, you know, you have lunch when they arrive and no one does anything but these plays. And so you've got to stock them with veterans. You got to stock them with people who have put time in on stage. Often, you know, inexperienced, younger, really ambitious actors say, yeah, because they can get on stage in one day.

What they don't know is how much talent and skill you have to bring to something to pull it off in a day. And so that learned along the way that they flounder and suddenly the play is them just really bailing out. They're really not even, you know, they're overwhelmed. So it takes a high level of skill and trust. And so that's why it's all volunteer. No one's being paid. That was going to be my thing was trust.

[18:39] John Schwab: Yep. Yeah. And so someone did ask me, you know, because look, I'm relying on people like you and other friends and, you know, my agent, and I do have an agent now. And the question came back from one of them. Hey, you know, since there's no money involved, how can I pitch this to make it worthwhile for that, you know, the artist to attend? I mean, who's going to be there? Is there any casting directors? Are there any agents going to be there? And I said, okay, you're missing the spirit of it. It's not a showcase. It's for the actor to execute and test themselves. And it's a community event at here in Ealing. So if they're looking for a payoff, this is not the series for them that I, you know, just let them know.

It's only for people who are into the artistic exercise. I'm not doing this to get wealthy, rich, or notoriety. I'm doing it to build theater community in my new community. I mean, this is my new world. And I don't know a soul that's arriving besides you. I don't know anyone. I'm totally leaping on faith.

[20:03] Markus Flannagan: It is. When you asked me, would I be up for doing it, either directing or acting? I was like, yeah, I would love. Now I have directed. I've directed in the West End. I've directed regionally. I've voice-directed. But I've also been on, you know, my thing was, I've not directed under such tight deadlines and pressure. I was like, okay, I might crumple. But, you know, acting-wise, man, listen, we've all been on set. We've all been given a three-page scene with an hour not even in the makeup chair. Like, here are your new lines. Here's this three, four-page scene. Let's go and do it. And every time, if you can't do it, you're costing a production company hundreds of thousands of dollars. Let's get going.

But I was just like, yeah. And I put it out to some friends, writers, and the amount of people who went, oh, I'm so in. This is exactly what I've been waiting. Like, I mean, this is a phenomenal thing. And I just, I was overwhelmed by the response of people who just went, yeah, yeah, me, me, yeah, me. And it's the people that got in touch with you straight away. And a friend of mine, David Spicer, who has written a podcast series I've done, but I've also directed two of his plays, one in the West End, one regionally, and directed a couple of more workshops of his stuff. He just was like, yes. And he jumped in. And I love that. And what was the response from the call-out like? Because I just-

[21:31] John Schwab: I think David's was the best when he said, John told me about this idiotic idea that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I'm in. So it was-

[21:39] Markus Flannagan: That sounds like David.

[21:40] John Schwab: It was just so classic. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So he gets it. Not one person, luckily, in maybe your description or their enthusiasm, but not one person asked me about money, about if there was any money available, the stipend coming. Everyone just said, sounds exciting. I'm in. So that was, yeah, that was the number one thing. This thing sounds really wild. I'd love to take part. And then in my, you know, trying to be the good producer, trying to comfort and make sure everything is right, not hurt feelings, because you're asking favors of people. The nice thing is you just got to show up. There's nothing to prepare. There's nothing to worry about. You just show up. So people can come with the comfort of, oh, it is a day. You only put in a day.

[22:09] Markus Flannagan: I love this. The one thing that was really cool was that you're like, all right, John, the one thing you've got to do is stand by your wardrobe. And at some point in the morning, you're going to get a call that says, bring this. And I'm just like, I'm fucking so jazzed right now. This is like the coolest thing. It feels like this message will self-destruct in three seconds. You know, it's just one of those things. I was like, this is genius.

[22:37] John Schwab: That's a great way to put it. It's exciting because even, and the audience gets on board because I, you know, before I step up and I say, you've seen the name, but listen, none of this existed before 8:30 this morning. You're seeing perhaps the very first run through of this play right now that didn't exist, except for this actor, this actor, this writer, and this director, all of this was built for you right now. And we have no idea what that is or how it's going to come out. The audience leans in because they now realize they're part of this. They're not just a spectator. They're actually, the biggest part of the equation is it's all okay in the rehearsal room, but when it's in front of us, what are we going to get?

And no one knows. There's no previews. There's no nothing. So that idea that, and I call it the freshest theater in London. It's the most, it's the closest thing to an absolute execution of everyone's gifts and talents and skills of right there in front of you one time. And then they go away. We never do the plays again. Next time we do them five different, maybe same writers, five different, five different, 10 different actors. Every single time, the idea theoretically is we will have a completely different, but fresh, interesting product.

[24:03] Markus Flannagan: Yeah. And the great thing is theater anyway is ephemeral in its nature. And no one knows what the world is going to be like from day to day. Is there going to be conflict? We know that. Is it going to be joy somewhere? Yes, we know that. So what the writers bring to it is going to be different from month to month, of course. And listen, Marcus, I am so excited to be part of this. I bless you. Thank you. You're on my gratitude list today for asking me to do it. I'm looking forward to it. I would be lying to you if I wouldn't say that I'm a little bit anxious. But for me, if I wasn't anxious, and I'm not talking about nervous, I'm talking about anxious. I want to do it the best I possibly can. There's no nerves. It's anxiety to do it right. The day I lose that's the day I'm going to stop acting. It becomes boring.

[24:49] John Schwab: Yeah. You know, but I would urge anyone listening to this, if this interests you, to definitely look out for it. And what I will ask you now, Marcus, is, when's it happening? Where is it going on? And how do people get tickets? And how do people tell their friends and their friends of friends to attend? Because this is a great, this is the progenitor of something I see happening again and again, because it's so exciting.

[25:16] Markus Flannagan: It's my hope that, yeah, we become a series. The series that I, you know, that I did this in LA, like I said, it's been running for 19 years. It's done, they've done it 227 times at this, this theater I was, I was part of, I'm a founder of and 227 times over about 18, 19 years. So it works, you know, it can work as a monthly series. We will do this for the first time in London, same day plays on March 2nd, curtain goes up at 7:30 at Questors Theatre in Ealing. And you can get tickets by going to samedayplays.com. You'll see a description. And it's a simple one page, I just built it, you know, web builder that I am. But there's a ticket link and a description that, you know, that's all I've got for now.

It just doesn't have a lot of photos and a lot of interviews and such to post as would be smart on social media. I just don't have it yet. And you know, it's a real bootstrap thing. I have the Drama Studio of London is also helping with sponsorship in that we're going to be rehearsing. You know, I got to rehearse five one act plays simultaneously, right? You need you need space. The students because I do teach there occasionally. And so I have I have students that have taught there. They're volunteer students that are going to be the, you know, volunteers on the day, be in the rooms watching the rehearsal process. So we'll be at DSL during the day, Questors at 7:30. And perhaps I'll get a breakfast time sponsor.

I'm into it, but I can't name names because no one said yes, but a place because the writers all sit in the same place with me and write. They don't get to write it at home and send it in. It's the idea of community. You come to the place. They also then sit in on the table read. So they're they hand the play in and then they go sit in rehearsal. They have to be around. And that's the idea. We just we come together. And in this healing triangle, you know, we're going to build this this day of theater that I'm I'm very excited to see how it differs from my L.A. experience, my American actor experience. I'm very, very curious about that. And again, with people I don't know, just everybody I used in L.A. We're all friends over my 30 years of doing it. But here, everyone's a stranger.

[27:32] John Schwab: Well, you know what? But the way you find London is I find the London theater scene amazing. I've always felt at home here. And I can't wait for you to experience that theater community that you're hoping to create as well and be part of.

[27:48] Markus Flannagan: Matt, listen, thank you so much for coming on. I'm looking forward to it. We'll put all this information in the show notes and and you'll be with all the links to tickets and links to the plays and everything else. And you've been a big help, brother.

[28:03] Markus Flannagan: Oh, no, no. It's my my pleasure. And I cannot wait.

[28:07] John Schwab: No worries. Thank you, man.

[28:15] John Schwab: Actor and same day plays founder and producer Marcus Flannagan. You can find out more about same day plays by visiting samedayplays.com. And just before we go, if you want to reach out to me, you can find me on all the socials at John Schwab. That's at J.H.N. S.H.W.A.B. And it just gives me great pleasure to thank Marcus Flannagan for being an incredible guest and also asking me to take part in the inaugural same day plays. I am I'm a little nervous or anxious. I'm not nervous. I'm anxious because I want to get it right. But I'm so glad he asked. And once again, thank you to Shure Microphones for being our equipment sponsor on this podcast. Lastly, thank you for listening. Speak soon and stay safe. Bye.