Ever wondered what I look like with just a mustache?

Hello again, dear blog readers. Just wanted to post a link to a short I did a few months ago called

THE FIRST GUEST

As part of a The Oeuvre Show which is an ongoing comedy fun times website by writer/director Clinton Orman. Also in the film are Julia Weldon and Amanda Sayle.

Do you know what a merkin is, dear reader? Well, you're about to find out.

I have a friggin website!

Check it out!

www.ztrukeoj.com

Blog Post 2: The Reckoning

Hello again, dear readers (all 5 of you), and welcome, once again, to another blog. God, there were a lot of commas in that last sentence, huh? Anyhoo, this is where I tell you what's been going on.

So, this is a still image from a film I just finished filming and is now, as far as I know, in post-production. It was a horror short by Ace Bouchard called What Happened to Peter about my character and how I kill people. Also, the fiancée was in this one.

Isn't she pretty? I kill her in the film. SPOILER! I also just finished doing some ADR work for Joe Spit's Somnia and Clinton Norman's The First Guest, two other films I did a few months ago. I am now in rehearsal for a series of short scenes put together for an evening of fabulous theater.

Performing on October 14, 15 & 16th at 9pm

Manhattan Repertory Theatre. 303 west 42nd street at 8th avenue (3rd floor). 

Call 646 329 6588 to reserve you tickets! Tickets $20.

Hey, you should come see this!

In other news, I've just signed up for THIS CLASS! at The Pit. The 

fiancée,

man she's pretty, and I are taking this one together. I really enjoy sketch comedy and haven't done anything with The Pit, but I've heard good things. I'll let you know, gentle reader, how it goes.

I've also picked up Die again and started writing new things for it. It needs to be longer and Mind the Art Entertainment is planning on putting it up in the near future. I also need to do some revisions on the stuff that's already been written. DaVinci said "art is never finished, only abandoned". But I'm not yet ready to abandon.

On a personal level, we're planning like gangbusters for the wedding. She has her dresses (yep, plural) and the venue's booked. The invitations are on their way and the honeymoon is also booked.

Until next time, dear reader, adieu.

...The Story So Far

Okay, so blogging... I've never done it before. I've never kept a journal, diary or yellow pad that has doodles and stuff on it. We're venturing into unknown territory here is all I'm really saying. There does seem to be a need for this type of thing nowadays though. Especially for us artist types. People want to know what you've been up to and this seems the best and most logical solution in this case. So, here we are and you don't know anything about me, so I should enlighten.

The full name is Joseph Johan Kurtz although I'm going by Joe Kurtz to pretty much everybody. I was born in Ohio, moved to Indiana and am now living in New York City (big shocker there for an actor). While I was in Indiana, I took the time to venture to Chicago and complete the year-long improv training at iO (formerly Improv Olympic). Now I'm in New York. I came here for school (The American Academy of Dramatic Arts) in 2004 and graduated. Since then I've done lots of Indy theatre (theater-I feel like I run the risk of sounding pompous either way), short films, and background work (yay unions!). I am also a founding board member of Mind the Art Entertainment and the head of their Acting Division.

In the recent past, Mind the Art produced my first play, Die, in the spring at the La Mama E.T.C. as part of a three-show Anthology we had worked out with them. I thought it went swimmingly and there's a review out there somewhere (like here). Who knows what's to come of it. Hopefully something grand and awesome, but we shall see. I'd settle for small and awesome. After that I worked on a couple of short film projects. In one I was an insomniac, the other I was obsessed with merkins (please, if you don't know what that is, look it up). Haven't gotten the footage from either of these yet, but I assume it's to come soon. I'll let you know THROUGH BLOG! I am now in rehearsal for the first musical I've done since high school called Spellbound. It was written by Christian DeGre, a friend of mine who just so happens to be the president of Mind the Art. He's been writing it for the past seven years or so, and I'm pretty sure it's almost killed him three times. Anyhoo, it's finally going up as part of the NYC Fringe Festival, and yours truly is in it. With a solo and everything!

I think that pretty much brings you up to speed on me. Presumably I'll be continuing to write this thing for a while, so I'll keep you updated on stuff that's happening. Til then, you know, have fun and stuff.