NORWALK, Conn. — On Wednesday, August 20, Norwalk native and Brien McMahon graduate Chris Cafero will bring his comedy special, Taking My Lumps, home to Norwalk. The one-night performance will begin at 7:30 pm in the Crystal Theater at the Ben Franklin School on Bayview Avenue. Half of the proceeds from the show will be donated to the Crystal Theater.
Cafero wrote and created the show after he had a health scare a few years ago. “I just set out to tell a funny story, because that’s how I approach hardships and difficult times,” he said. But he’s been surprised and delighted by the reaction to his show. Men have approached him to say they have had similar scares, but they’ve been afraid to talk about it or nervous about seeing a doctor.
“I just wanted to entertain,” he said, “but the show tackles a corner of men’s health that is rarely talked about openly and in a vulnerable and honest way. It’s been a beautiful unintended consequence.”
Cafero stressed that the comedy show explores adult themes and is not appropriate for children younger than 16.
Cafero started auditioning for acting parts when he was still in Brien McMahon HS. “My mom would either put me on a train or drive me in for auditions after school, which was quite an adventure,” he said.
But now he is a full-time actor and comedian. He has toured throughout the country with this show, and he has performed comedy as part of the Netflix Joke Festival, the Just for Laughs Festival, and the New York and Austin SketchFests. He has appeared in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Inventing Anna and Will Trent, among other TV shows. He appears in commercials and does voice-overs.
“I’ve been very blessed for the last decade to be a full-time actor without a survival job, which is the holy grail for actors,” he said.
He had an unusual introduction to acting at Brien McMahon. When he entered BMHS in 2002, there was no theater program, no drama club. There was not even a stage, since the school was undergoing a massive renovation. “Of course, Norwalk High was the gold standard for musicals,” Cafero said, “but we didn’t have anything.”
But four women, dubbed the Drama Mamas, set out to change that reality. Jody Bishop-Pullan, Eileen Lawless, Cathy Killefer, and Shelley Lepetich began a drama club for BMHS students. “It was mostly student-run, and we did little scenes and improv exercises and sketches,” he said. By his senior year, they did a full production in the brand-new auditorium.
“It’s a credit to those four women who gave so much of their time and energy, and I’m sure their own resources, to make it happen,” he said.
Looking back on his career, Cafero said his experience at BMHS was “a blessing.” He’s not a singer, and a well-established high school program emphasizes musicals. “I would have been lost in the shuffle, and I would not have found my calling,” he said.
He also learned how important it is to be resourceful and entrepreneurial. “It really gave me that sense of ingenuity,” he said. “The number one piece of advice I give young actors is that you’re going to have to do it yourself. You’re going to have to create on your own, write on your own. You’re going to have to make it happen on your own.”
“Those early days in BMHS taught me that lesson from a very early age, and it served me quite well,” he said.
Cafero had an unusual experience when he was 15 years old. One of the Drama Mamas introduced him to the Theatre Artists Workshop, a group of professional actors who meet and perform original works at the Masonic Temple on Gregory Blvd. They needed a teenage actor, and Cafero was chosen. “It was an incredible experience because I was working with bona fide professionals,” he said. “It was a trial by fire, but they served as my earliest mentors.”
Cafero is thrilled to bring his show to Norwalk. The idea hatched when his friends and family complained about having to travel to New York to see him act. Why not bring it home? He began looking at art spaces in Norwalk.
He never participated in the Crystal Theater, but many of his friends did. “I thought it would be really cool to perform in a place that fosters the things I care about – bringing the performing arts to young kids,” he said. Cheryl Kemeny, president of Crystal Theater, agreed and said she had to charge him a small fee. “I said, I would rather just split the proceeds 50/50 with you,” Cafero said.
“I know what the arts meant to me as a young person, so I’m happy to give back,” he said.
Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased at the door or online at https://crystaltheatre.ludus.com/index.php?show_id=200488261
Leave a Reply
You must Register or Login to post a comment.