2 Hours & 18 Minutes with Lewis Black

Lewis Black is intimidating.

The first time I saw him yelling at a camera was in 1996 while watching The Daily Show with John Stewart (his fan club grew +1 that day).  Since then, he has entertained me with his stand-up comedy live performances, acting in films like “Man of the Year” and now with his play “One Slight Hitch” at ACT Theatre in Seattle.

As I am located in Seattle, I became intrigued at the thought of being able to photograph the comedian and playwright with actors Marianne Owen and Kimberley Sustad for a special editorial photo series.

But I had this nagging thought: What if Lewis yelled at MY camera?

Well, I couldn’t have that happen, so I decided to bring together my “Dream Team” for rare and unique photo shoot with Lewis Black.

Right up front I contacted John Cornicello, one of my favorite people in the world who I had the privilege of chat-hosting for on creativeLIVE during his “Setting Up a Home Studio” workshop. The man is a lighting master extraordinaire and the portraits he has taken of Kimberley Sustad are totally hot.   Next up was iPhoneography artist, Kate Hailey, who takes gorgeous behind the scenes portraits at creativeLIVE.  Her photography knowledge and attention to detail are superior to none.  And one of my dearest friends, Jenn Repp, is a kick-ass wedding photographer with whom I regularly shoot alongside.  We are always in sync when wielding cameras, and I secretly knew that if Lewis started yelling at me, Jenn wouldn’t hesitate to throw herself in front of my lens.  She’s that awesome.

Lewis walked onto the photography set right out of a radio interview on The Bob Rivers Show and straight away was making wise cracks.  Within moments, he had the entire set in stitches and along with the amazing team at ACT Theatre organized by PR Manager Mark Siano, we had a fantastic, successful shoot complete with rose petals falling from the sky (oh yes, that happened).

I asked Kimberly and Marianne to “Lewis Black” Lewis Black.

Lewis Black pulling a “Lewis Black” on Kimberly pulling a “Lewis Black” on Lewis Black.  You following?

And then there is Marianne, long time friend of Lewis’ who went above and beyond with her impov skills.  She had me laughing so hard my smile muscles hurt!

I love props in photo shoots.  Mad thanks to Mark Siano for coming up with the following:

Sometimes when photographing people and you ask them to do something weird or silly, they kind of tip-toe into the action.  But not these three.  Oh no.  When I told them to tear up the script of “One Slight Hitch!”  there was no holding them back.  They tore through the pages like a paper shredder with class.  Bravo!

Lewis Black, Can We Keep You?

After an hour on set, we moved to the sidewalks and park around the venue.   Thankfully, luck was on my side as Lewis only flipped me off once and the gray Seattle skies held back the rain.

Going past our second hour, I was invited to capture a few moments of the rehearsal.

May I just say how much I adore Kimberley Sustad?  She is fantastic!

To end, I’ll say this: Lewis Black is really nice and has great skin.  I’m still wondering what moisturizer he uses.

Image taken by Kate Hailey

Go see Lewis Black’s “One Slight Hitch” at ACT – A Contemporary Theatre

Catch “One Slight Hitch” at ACT Theatre in Seattle, June 8th – July 8th, 2012.

Life in suburban Cincinnati circa 1981 is good for Doc and Delia Coleman on the morning they plan to throw their eldest daughter the lavish wedding they never had, until her ex shows up and begins to wreak glorious havoc on all of their plans. A zany, door-slamming farce from seriously funny man Black, One Slight Hitch delivers a riotous and strangely romantic ride through the deconstruction of one family’s equilibrium.

Note: Lewis Black is the playwright. He wrote the funny play. The playwright does not appear in the show.

My Dream Team!  John Cornicello, Kate Hailey, and Jenn Repp.