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THE WESTMORE NEWS - 10/26/01
MONROE MANN JR. BALANCES CASTING CALLS WITH CALL TO DUTY
by Deborah Young
The never-say-never philosophy of Port Chester resident, actor, author, inspirational speaker, and National Guard reservist Monroe Mann Jr., can be encapsulated in these words: attitude, attitude, attitude.
So when the National Guard called 24-year-old Mann to duty after the September 11 tragedy, he viewed his activation as an honor rather than a burden. And instead of putting his acting career on hold, Mann said he finds ways to sandwich it in.
"I'm proud of what I'm doing, and I have my other career," said Mann. "There are so many people who wanted to help, and I'm glad to have the chance to."
When he graduated the National Guard's Officer Candidate School in late August, Mann never imagined that his status as a reservist would conflict with an acting career that was gathering steam and his fledgling business offering inspirational seminars to fellow actors.
"During National Guard training I kept thinking it was peace time and I'm never going to go to war," he said.
But when the planes hit the towers, he went directly to Ground Zero.
"I was on the bucket brigade," he said. "We'd put the buckets of rubble on mine carts that carried it to a pile about a mile away."
Mann said even though the devastation in lower Manhattan was so difficult to witness, he focused on moments of hope--especially the memory of two firefighters being pulled from the ruins alive.
"As soon as they said we have a live person here, the cheers came all the way down the mountain of rubble," he said. "There were at least 1,000 volunteers. Just hearing those people roar was like a touchdown at a football game."
Though after he spent a few more days at the scene, it became obvious that nobody else would be found, Mann said, and he started calling his own goals into question.
"I thought whoop-de-do, I'm an actor. What good is that going to do?" he said.
"But then I thought, wow, my whole business is about inspiring people and telling them not to give up."
Mann plunged headlong into his former life when he was relieved of duty, even though he knew at any moment the National Guard could call him away again.
"I thought, great, I'm going to get my business back on track," he said. "But going off active duty was also a bittersweet feeling."
Mann planned a course for 80-90 actors for early October. He promoted it by reducing prices and by impressing upon other actors that the world should not come to a standstill in the wake of the tragedy.
He figured the seminar might be just the antidote New York City actors needed to help offset their sorrow over such an enormous loss.
"My classes motivate actors to get off their butts and make it happen." said Mann.
The seminars are the live version of the shot-in-the-arm straight talking that fills the pages of his book, The Theatrical Juggernaut--published early this year and selling off the shelf at local acting stores, said Mann.
The philosophy Mann espouses is the same make-it-happen ideology that he credits for his success in obtaining membership in both the Screen Actors Guild and landing roles in live theater, independent films, and a regular gig as a VJ on the internet music video site Much Music.
And in no way did these show business goals get put on the back burner when the National Guard called him up to serve several weeks ago, Mann said.
"A lot of people were criticizing me when I joined the military and telling me I wouldn't be able to pursue my acting career," he said. "My argument was that by having less time during the day, you use it more productively. I can get things done now in an hour and a half that I used to have seven hours to do."
Mann said he is proud to be in uniform again, performing his duties as an intelligence officer seven days a week on all-night shifts, though he could not disclose the specifics of his assignment for security reasons.
For some people, it's hard to imagine two careers further apart than acting and military service, Mann said. But for him, they go hand in hand.
"I was acting for six months after college and I saw Saving Private Ryan," said Mann. "You'd think it would turn me off to the military, but I realized all of those guys died so I could pursue my acting career. I ended up in the National Guard because I wanted to be an officer."
And as Mann continues serving with the National Guard, he said he cherishes the perspective he gets by living simultaneously in these two very different worlds.
"I think it's interesting how many movie stars are trying to enter Ground Zero," he said. "I realize as great as stardom is going to be, I think, wow, Harrison Ford and Kevin Spacey couldn't get through. It humbles you."
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