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My dog, Maggie, has round worms. Don't ask me how I found out, but let me just say it happened during a walk, and it highlighted that old adage that what goes in must come out. And cut.

This week the good news is, I finally finished my young adult novel! When my literary agent told me that there is a big market for young adult books with gay leading characters, I thought I was being punk'd, but nonetheless I started writing one. I wrote the first three chapters, and a big publishing company became interested in signing it but told me I needed to finish it first.

Listen to Seth's Podcast: Be a Lion…Or a Hand Model

That was three years ago. Finally, in November, I forced myself to sit in front of the computer and, a couple of nights ago, it was done. I feel so relieved. It's like when you have a horrible report for AP English hanging over your head and you finally hand it in. Ahhh. Of course, for me that was usually followed by a bad grade and angry teacher comments in which she'd underline the most hostile parts, but the initial relief is the same.

This week at the Chatterbox, I interviewed J. Bernard Calloway, Derrick Baskin and James Iglehart from Memphis. Immediately, I asked J. Bernard what was up with the name "J. Bernard," and he said there was someone else in Equity with his name so he had to change it. It reminded me of when Billy Porter got Miss Saigon years ago. There was another "Billy Porter" in Equity, so he had to change his first name to an initial and add his second. Thus he became "W. Ellis Porter." Unfortunately, not everyone knew he wanted to be called Billy, and once in a while someone would yell for him at rehearsal with a loud "W. Ellis! W. Ellis!" Ow. The only thing more awkward than that name was the six foot raked stage they had to dance on.

All three guys from Memphis have been friends in real life since before they were doing the show on Broadway, and both James and J. Bernard tried out last summer to play the Lion in the City Center Encores! concert of The Wiz. James was laughing remembering the night right after the audition. He went to see J. Bernard in The Good Negro. After the show, they were chatting, and James told him how great he was in the show. Finally, James had to say, "Um…I just found out. I got the lion." J. Bernard gave him a big hug and congratulated him. They walked a little more, and suddenly he grabbed James by the collar and started shaking him, screaming, "Motherf*****! You stole my part!" Brava on his honest reaction.

Derrick didn't move to New York to be a Broadway performer. Yes, he wanted to be in the arts, but not specifically Broadway. Actually, as I write this, I don't even know if his initial chosen vocation is considered the arts. Essentially, he moved to New York hoping to be a jingle singer…and a hand model. Take a minute for it to sink in. A "jingle singer": I guess because it's still the '70s and there are tons of jingles on the air. And a "hand model": I guess because when you're young, you either want to be a movie star or a hand model. It's a phase we all go through. Thankfully, he didn't get very far and somehow auditioned for Rent. He got tons of call backs…but never got the gig. But, it made him realize he wanted to perform…and not just with his lovely hands. He remembers his audition for the role of the comfort counselor in Spelling Bee. He sang "I Have Nothing," but one minute into it, he heard someone behind the table laughing. It's certainly not a comedy song, so he was a tad mortified. But turns out, it was the composer William Finn who was laughing because he loved Derrick's voice so much and was thinking how fun it would be to write for it. Derrick got the gig and said his biggest thrill was singing on the Tony Awards. Unfortunately, he got sick, and was totally hopped up on Contact and cold remedies during the awards. He remembers his voice feeling really closed off before he sang, but when he got up for his solo section, everything opened up. Then, as soon as they went to commercial, it closed back up again. Listen here to how great he sounds!  Continued...