Veteran and Award-winning Chicago-born and Los Angeles-based Theatre Artist and Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago and Excaliber Shakespeare Company Los Angeles Archival Project Founder, Artistic Director, and Principal Actor Darryl Maximilian Robinson shares information and insights regarding his more than five decades of involvement in The Performing Arts.
Darryl Maximilian Robinson Details His Actor's "Day Gigs"
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Your Humble Servant In The Theatre, Darryl Maximilian Robinson of The Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago and The Excaliber Shakespeare Company Los Angeles Archival Project, would like to take a moment to address the essential issue of "DAY GIGS"!
In a perfect world, a truly talented and gifted performing artist or presenter would have no financial issues or worries of any kind because there would be a relentless and unending stream of show biz job offers and opportunities which would provide SO MUCH WORK FOR THE ARTIST that he or she would never, ever be concerned with obtaining gainful employment outside of their desired or chosen profession.
It is therefore important to note that most performers, particularly thespians, do not live in a perfect world.
In between acting and directing and writing and designing assignments, most thespians and many film and television industry participants, do have to take an occasional, and sometimes, frequent "Day Gig" in order to make ends meet until they amass so much fame and fortune that working a "Day Gig" is rendered no longer necessary.
There is no shame in this.
Indeed, many performing artists when they expand to become writers and content creators utilize humorous experiences from their "Day Gigs" as material to draw from for future arts and entertainment related endeavors.
Your humble servant in the Theatre takes pride in having worked as a Security Guard, a Tour Guide, a Movie Theatre Ticket Taker, a Live Theatre Usher and a Stage Doorman when paying acting roles were not available.
And many of those "Day Gigs" provided knowledge, experience and benefits in both his original hometown of Chicago and in LA.
IT IS ALWAYS WISE FOR A PERFORMING ARTIST TO TAKE PRIDE IN HIS OR HER NON-PERFORMANCE RELATED WORK...EVEN IF IT'S JUST A DAY GIG!
Darryl Maximilian Robinson has become noted as the very first black actor in American Theatre History to portray on stage a trio of classic dramatic roles including: Sir Thomas More in Robert Bolt's "A Man For All Seasons" ( in a 1984 revival presented by The University Players of The University of Missouri-St. Louis and directed by AEA Member John Grassilli at The Benton Hall Theater ); King Henry II in a 1992 multiracial cast revival of James Goldman's "The Lion In Winter ( directed by Mr. Robinson for his chamber theatre Excaliber Productions, Ltd in St. Louis and staged at The Wabash Triangle Cafe ); and Andrew Wyke ( opposite the talented actor Sean Nix as Milo Tindle ) in a 2000, 30th Anniversary, all-black cast revival of Anthony Shaffer's "Sleuth" presented under Mr. Robinson's direction by his chamber theatre The Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago at The Harrison Street Galleries Studio Theatre of Oak Park, Illinois. Most recently, Darryl Maximilian Robinson was named a winner of a 2022 Making The World Happening Award for his numerous online theatre-related offerings at Allevents.in.
Introduction To The Stage Career of Veteran and Award-winning Theatre Artist Darryl Maximilian Robinson Born in Chicago in 1960 and currently celebrating 50 years of involvement in The Performing Arts, Darryl Maximilian Robinson is a veteran and award-winning stage actor, play director, theatre producer and private acting instructor who has appeared onstage or been involved behind-the-scenes in more than 250 theatrical and literary arts productions around the country. He is best known for touring performances as His Most Revered Lordship, Sir Richard Drury Kemp-Kean, the hero of his original one-man show of Shakespeare and time-travel comedy "A Bit of the Bard" and for his 15 years of work as The Founder, Artistic Director and Producer of the multiracial, non-union professional, classical and contemporary chamber theatre, The Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago. Mr. Robinson during the course of his initial training in The Theatre as a teen and early professional
Veteran and award-winning stage actor and play director Darryl Maximilian Robinson, Founder, Artistic Director, Producer and Principal Performer of both the multiracial chamber theatres, The Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago and The Excaliber Shakespeare Company Los Angeles Archival Project, provides a new and interesting addition to his series of "street theatre"-style renditions of classic poems and dramatic speeches from great literary masters by presenting an edited version of Duke Prospero's "We Are Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On" Speech from Act IV of William Shakespeare's romantic fantasy "The Tempest" just outside of Gate 11 of the bustling construction site of the highly anticipated new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art at Exposition Park in Los Angeles. The video rendition is greatly assisted by talented and noted fellow actor Danny Belrose, who provides production editing, videography and still photography for Darryl Maxi
To My Fellow Thespians In The Windy City: On March 25, 2024, The 50th Annual Chicago Non-Equity Jeff Awards Ceremony Will Be Presented At The Park West Theatre In the Lincoln Park neighborhood of The Windy City. As a pleased and proud 1997 Chicago Joseph Jefferson Citation Award Winner for Outstanding Actor In A Principal Role In A Play for his performance as Sam Semela in the 1997 Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago revival production of Athol Fugard's powerful anti-apartheid drama "Master Harold And The Boys" presented at the much-missed Heartland Cafe Studio Theatre of Rogers Park, and a happy previous, two-time, Non-Equity Jeff Awards Ceremony Presenter at the 1998 and 2003 Citation Ceremonies ( in the Actor In A Principal Role Category ) at The Park West Theatre, Your Humble Servant In The Theatre, Darryl Maximilian Robinson, strongly encourages all who work in, perform, support, teach or create Live Theatre in Chicago to attend this celebration.
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