“Blood Type: RAGU is a hilarious and poignant exploration of the Sicilian immigrant experience based on the life of writer and performer Frank Ingrasciotta. This one-man show features more than 20 characters, who live, love, and laugh as they struggle to thrive in a new culture, while nurturing the traditions of the old. It’s not drama…it’s just family!”
That’s the what you’ll read on postcard announcing the run of the show at The Actor’s Playhouse, an off-Broadway theatre here in New York City. And you could possibly have read a review of the work, “Mapping a Family’s Domestic Battleground” (New York Times, March 9, 2009).
It’s the perseverance of the performer Frank Ingrasciotta that I want to write about here. Why? Perseverance is what we all need during the worst economy since the Great Depression. Holding onto whatever dream, ambition, or goal you have requires faith in yourself, relentless work, and perseverance to realize the result you seek.
Frank and I met in a performance class twelve years ago. The performance piece he was working on was called “Blood Type: Ragu.” He kept on working on it because he knew that it was a good slice of life which others could identify with and understand. He also kept working on it because it mattered a lot to him to bring his unique experience and artistic intellect to audiences.
Frank and I kept in touch after our class ended. I saw him perform his work in a loft in SoHo, in a small theatre in NoHo, in an even smaller theatre in Bay Shore on Long Island, and to what could barely be called a theatre since there were only a few rows of folding chairs in a teeny space on 42nd Street.
I didn’t go to these performances alone. I went with friends, different friends each time to expose them to the work of this dedicated actor, producer, and director.
Frank came to my one-woman show that I wrote, produced, and performed in 1999 at the 76th Street Theatre Lab. That was the end of my “stage” career. Frank kept on performing though, finding the right combination of laughter, humor, pathos, and hope to develop the show he wanted others to see.
If I remember correctly, a producer was in the audience at that teeny space on 42nd Street. He liked the show. Liked it enough to book a run at the Actor’s Playhouse. Liked it enough to work with Frank to help made his performance perseverance pay off in acknowledging his great talent.
Although your performance may be in a corporate setting and not an off-Broadway stage, you can still learn the value from following-through on what is really important to your life. Just think of “Blood Type: Ragu” and its journey to a large audience.
