Tim Cummings

Tim Cummings (born Timothy P. Cummings on January 15 1973) is an American novelist, dancer, screen writer, visual artist and actor known for having understudied a slew of A-List actors in a reputable Off-Broadway play "The Guys" as well as an acclaimed Broadway revival "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune" starring Edie Falco and Stanley Tucci.

Cummings was 28 years old and a company member of The Flea Theater when he was cast to understudy Bill Murray for the role of Nick, a Fire Captain who lost most of his men on 9/11 in Anne Nelson's "The Guys" which was written in response to the attacks. The play ran for over a year with a revolving cast of A-List actors including Sigourney Weaver and Bill Irwin, Susan Sarandon and Anthony LaPaglia, Swoosie Kurtz and Tim Robbins, Amy Irving and Tom Wopat. Cummings performed numerous times for each actor.

Tony-winning director Joe Mantello saw Cummings perform the role and later cast him to understudy Stanley Tucci in the Broadway revival production of "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune" starring Edie Falco. It was Cummings's Broadway debut.

In September of 2006, Cummings returned to "The Flea" for the 5-year anniversary commemorative performances of the show. [ [http://www.thevillager.com/villager_175/fiveyearslaterstill.html] ]

Family

Cummings was born in Port Jefferson, New York to James A. Cummings and Rosemarie Cummings (neé Polio) and is the youngest of 5 biological siblings and one half-sibling.

Education

Cummings graduated from Comsewogue High School in 1991, having appeared in numerous productions there, including "Brighton Beach Memoirs", "Twelve Angry Men", "Babes in Arms", "You're A Good Man Charlie Brown" and "Bye Bye Birdie." He was also the President of the school's Drama Society, and received a scholarship to attend New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He received a BFA w/ Honors from New York University in 1995.

While at NYU, he studied at The Stella Adler Conservatory and The Experimental Theater Wing. He performed in productions of "The White Album Project", Fornes's "The Conduct of Life", Brecht's "Threepenny Opera", Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus", Shaw's "Man & Superman", Durang's "Naomi In The Living Room" and Maeterlink's "The Intruder".

Career

After graduating, Cummings began performing as a company member in two of New York City's most reputable downtown theater & dance companies: [http://www.bigdancetheater.org Big Dance Theater] and [http://www.thebuildersassociation.org The Builders Association] with whom he toured extensively, performing in festivals all across US, the UK, and Europe.

Later he joined The Flea Theater as a company member where he performed in Mac Wellman's "Sincerity Forever", "Cleveland", and "Three Americanisms" as well as the Melodrama "Billy the Kid" written by Walter Woods in 1906. He also directed an original black comedy by playwright Kenny Finkle, called "Transatlantica".

A move to Los Angeles found him doing more television and film work, while continuing to work as a professional theater artist. Cummings was nominated for an LA Weekly Theater Award for his work in Lanford Wilson's "Burn This". [ [http://www.laweekly.com/stage/theater/the-26th-annual-la-weekly-theater-awards/930/] ] He was also nominated for a Garland Award for his work in The Laguna Playhouse world premiere production of Richard Dresser's "The Pursuit of Happiness". [ [http://www.backstage.com/bso/news_reviews/features/feature_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003717750] ] In 2008 he completed filming and post-production on the feature film Presence with the Los Angeles production company Drifter Pictures.

Personal

* He is also a dance-theater artist and is a member of the Los Angeles based company The Outsiders.

External links

*imdb name | id=0191973 | name=Tim Cummings

*ibdb name | id=103111 | name=Tim Cummings

Notes

1. Davis, N. "The Villager" "Five years Later, Still One Of The Guys" Volume 76, Number 16. September 6 - 12, 2006

2. Morris, Steven Leigh "LA Weekly" "The Nominees for the 26th Annual LA Weekly Theater Awards" Thursday, February 17, 2005 - 12:00 am

3. "Backstage" "2008 Garland Awards: For Excellence in Southland Theatre" February 28, 2008

References