Callback: Toyota (Canada)

I had the callback/2nd audition for the Toyota campaign today. Everything felt good to me. We'll see! They were running a session for Verizon as well. The office was packed with people. There weren't as many for our spot so it was an "in and out" deal for me.

Audition: Toyota (Canada) & Audition: UCLA student film

Had my first audition at ASG for a Toyota spot to run only in Canada. It was another kinda last minute notice thing. Don, at KSA, told me the wardrobe was golf attire. I threw on some khakis, a polo shirt and some dress shoes. The spot was entirely about this guy going to play golf, and it seemed to go just fine. I was glad I wore the hard bottom dress shoes since there was a sound bit involving a mat on the floor. As I left, some of the other guys coming in were dressed in jeans and t-shirts...one had sandals on. I wondered if they just didn't get complete info from their agents, or if they figure it never matters what you wear. Several hours later, Don called to let me know that ASG wanted me to come back Monday, again for Toyota (Canada), but this time different attire and a different spot. I don't know if it's the same guy in a different spot or whether everything is different.

The UCLA film thing was interesting. The role was a bit outside what I consider my "essence". I didn't get the sides and script until the morning of, which, combined with the last minute commercial audition, cut down on my prep time. It was my first adventure onto the UCLA campus. I got mildly off track looking for parking and then discovered there was metered parking available on the campus itself. I'm not sure I'm what they're looking for, but I had fun in the meeting. Right now, I'm trying to get out there as much as possible to get more auditioning experience with the techniques I've been practicing in class.

Audition: "Garden Party"

Alright, I'm really happy about tonight. I went to TAN to hear Joseph Middleton share his views on the business. He's quite a character himself, and seems to be very straight-forward in his opinions, his motivations, etc. It was refreshing, informative and entertaining. At the end of his discussion, he announced that he was going to read everyone in the room for "Garden Party", an indie film which he is now casting. That's the first time such a thing has happened in my experience of attending these TAN discussions, and it was very generous of him to do so. We were given sides, and we all stepped out to give them a look. Here's where I say, "Thank God I've been in class." I had no problem getting the two pages and breaking them down in a couple of minutes. From there, I just rehearsed with myself a little to get comfortable with the scene. Then, I went in.

Turns out he's also from Georgia. I mentioned that I was too, and he joked that Atlanta was pretty much a Northern city --- uhhh...no. I read with his new assistant, and it felt good. I made choices, hit beats. He said, "Great actor. I really liked it." And that was that. Now, I know that there's all kinds of BS coursing through this city. There's also a lot of people who know this and don't trust anyone. However, there are also plenty of people who are genuine. I'll just believe, based on my short time hearing him talk before this, that Joseph doesn't feel the need to BS. In the end, it doesn't even matter really. I felt good about my performance, and that's the important thing. I did what I wanted to do in my first reading for a major theatrical casting director. Once again, I've got more reason to feel confident about being here, knowing that I can do this, that my work is paying off, and that I will get my chance(s). To that end, I've got to keep working harder and stay focused.

Random Rant: Cell phones

I have a crappy cell phone. Why? Because when I signed us up for a calling plan, this particular phone wasn't just free - it came with a $50 rebate per phone. So, why spend money or even choose a free phone when they will PAY YOU to take another? I figured the phone would be ok, and last us through the first year of our contract at which point we can renegotiate and upgrade. That time is sort of approaching and I've started looking at my phone options. Now, I have this Nokia 6015i (I think). It's the typical Nokia shape, but a little heavy and clunky. It likes to shut itself off from time to time, not alert me to voicemails, heck...not even ring at times.

I like flip phones. The first one I had was the Motorola Star-tac, and it was a pretty sturdy, convenient phone. My next phone was another Motorola flip - the thicker, but smaller V-65 thing. That was fine until the external antenna broke off. So, here's the point of the rant -- external antennas. Ummm...why are these still on phones? If Samsung can make the SCH-a630 with no antenna sticking out, why then the later model SCH-a850 with one? Go to the Motorola site and see all their phones. There are 32 phones, 27 of which are flip phones. Of those 27, only 3 seem to have no clunky antenna - the RAZR, MPx220, and V360. Clearly it's not that they CAN'T make a phone with an internal antenna. Why do they do it? I like the RAZR, but not it's price. However, every person I know who has one complains about it. Like Motorola made this fancy case but took a huge step back in terms of the little conveniences like attaching multiple numbers to one name in your address book.

I want to drop my phone in my pocket without worrying about whether the antenna is going to snap off when I sit down. I want to pensively place the tip of my cell phone against my forehead without poking my eye out. I want a good flip phone with no external antenna, and I want a better selection to choose from than the ridiculously overpriced selection of 5-8 total phones (only two of which are even available from my carrier).

THE END

Callback: Capital One

Last night I got word of the callback for Capital One. I was surprised. Considering how fast the original audition seemed to drop in, I expected they had already done callbacks and booked the job. Whoever gets hired has to step on a plane in 7 days for New Zealand.

The callback today was interesting. There were quite a few guys called back for the male role. I got partnered up with one of the women, and was to be her "second husband", meaning she was going twice. As her second, I didn't get to rehearse the scene with her before she went in with the first guy. They finished, and we went right in. I recognized the director as the same guy who directed the AAMCO spot. He asked if it was running, and I said, "Yeah, it's pretty funny!" Craig Colvin laughed saying, "Pretty funny...". So, ice broken, we got started. Everything was ok for the first line exchange, but then this girl started cutting off my lines like halfway through them. That makes it tough to capture the rhythm, the order of lines, the builds, the cues, everything. I thought they might give me another take since it was pretty obvious what was happening, but they didn't. So, we'll see. Still, nice to get another callback. I'm going to book one of these soon.

Wednesday, I had a callback for a low budget film that I auditioned for last week. It's sort of a romantic comedy. The callback went well, so I should know something in a day or so.

Tuesday night marked my return to acting class. I was feeling energized, as I said, having improvised a little over the break. I think it was a great "reset" for me. The first class of every month is audition-style. We get the sides 24 hours beforehand, and bring it in as though it were an audition. I felt really good about it and got some positive feedback. First of all, the script and character fit well with me. Second, I had fun with it and let it fly. My notes were that I was a little low in the stakes department for the first scene (tricky-because the guy is really down), but that my choices were specific and clear. I got some jokes that others didn't, with a little help from the Mrs. The second scene was apparently right on. Good! I'm really happy to see my specificity returning. Now, the goal is to raise the stakes without losing the specificity. That's tough for me sometimes. It seems that when I do successfully raise the stakes, my work becomes a little generic. However, I did it in that second scene Tuesday, so that's what I'm gunning to do again.

Overall, a great week. Hopefully, this all jump starts my 2006. Know any managers or theatrical agents looking for a "me"?

Audition: Capital One

At 9:15am this morning, I got a call to audition for a Capital One spot with Craig Colvin at 10:40am. The spot was described as a man on a plane with his fiancee heading for the Carribbean. It shoots in New Zealand for a few days. I was happy to get another aud so soon after yesterday's cancellation. I pulled out my Hawaiian shirt, some shorts and flip-flops figuring that was the closest touristy-Carribbean outfit I had. Just before I left the apartment, I ran back inside to grab some pants and a golf shirt just in case I was way off on the outfit. When I arrived at the audition location, the other 7 or 8 people waiting all looked like it was just another generic day in LA. No big deal. I usually don't dress this specifically either. Then, I saw the sides -- INT. AIRPORT - Snow is falling outside. I was way off on the outfit. Because these commercial castings come down so quickly, especially this one, it's easy to understand that the basic info can get jumbled around or end up being less than reliable. As Nina Simone sang, "It be's that way sometimes." Thank goodness for my last second idea to grab the other clothes. Quick change in the car, and at least back to neutral. The audition went well I think. The auditor was spending several minutes with each couple, and we got plenty of direction.

Spot On: AAMCO; Crazy phone; Calibration

Today was to be a very busy day. Last night, I worked a catering gig for a little (very little) extra dough. While there, I missed a call from my agent, but there was no voicemail indicated on my phone. I didn't even see the missed call until I got home. Then, I was frustrated. Because the call came after business hours, I figured that I had missed a last minute audition opportunity for the morning. I wouldn't have been able to do it anyway because I had committed to a driving lesson and an audition for a short film. Rescheduling the film aud would probably not have been a problem, but no dice for that lesson. That would've made the second time in a row I had missed out on something because I was working another job. I rarely do any "outside" work during the week (i.e. 4 or 5 hours), so it seemed cosmically unfair that I would, of course, get those calls or the audition would take place during the only 4 hours of the entire week when I couldn't take it. Two hours after I got the missed call notification, my phone suddenly beeped that I had received a message. It was the freakin' voicemail that went with the phone call from 4 hours earlier! And I'm just now getting that?! Time to shop for a new phone. The audition was for this afternoon, so I was fine. Blood pressure lowered.

This morning, I had to make it from the lesson in Winnetka to the short film audition in Hollywood in just under 30 minutes. I did. While in that audition, I AGAIN missed a call from the agency that the commercial auditions with Craig Colvin had been cancelled. No problem. How weird is the timing on all these calls though? I just wonder if Don thinks I'll never answer my phone again!

The last couple of months in my acting class have been a real challenge for me and were markedly different than my first few months. In the beginning, I had no preconceptions, and took risks in class, having fun and exploring the range of my experience as an actor and a person.

In the last two months, something changed. I found it more difficult to listen in my scenework. Previously, I considered listening one of my strongest traits as an actor/improviser. I found that my ideas and imagination felt constrained, that I had to work so hard to make choices. Then, when I did make choices, they were "safe"...it seemed that I was playing a facsimile of a scene rather than the scene itself. I was frustrating myself, which only fueled the spiral.

Heading back to Atlanta for our JaCKPie show on 12/28/05, I was actually concerned that these issues might affect my performance onstage. I did not know what to expect, and whether I might feel lost or miss important pieces of information that would drive the show. Thankfully, I found that none of this happened. Stepping onstage with Jim again, we jumped right into our zone. We were on top of the suggestion, the information gleaned from our source, the lives of our characters and the threads of our stories.

Shortly after the show, I read the Quality chapter in Nachmanovitch's Free Play again. Incidentally, there's a link to purchase the book on the JaCKPie frontpage. I guess the last time I read it, I was away from my highlighter. So, this time I was ready. What immediately jumped out at me was a section about how quality suffers when we get "pulled off center....pulled away from ourselves." Nachmanovitch basically says that we start focusing on what someone else might want from us or what we think we want ourselves. In my case, I was allowing the styles and choices of other people in my class to affect my own choices (in a negative way). I was trying to be more like X, instead of playing with and accessing more of who I am. As this chapter warns, if you start trying to be more like X, "people will spot it as inauthentic." Spot on. I love this book.

SPOT ON: Finally saw the AAMCO spot tonight while watching Everybody Loves Raymond reruns on the WB. It was funny. That wig looks ridiculous!

And we're back...

The JaCKPie show on 12/28 was great. It was exciting to see the space, see some old friends and meet the new ones. In this edition of "It's a Small World After All", the gentleman who owns the theatre complex where JaCKPie is taking up residency was an elementary school classmate of mine. I was a little nervous before the show, but, for those of you in the know, not as much as before the Actors Theatre of Louisville performance. Jim and I basically got things set up and then took a few minutes to just talk and laugh a bit. We weren't expecting a big house since we didn't do any publicity other than to email a few friends, but we ended up with about 80 people in the audience thanks to those friends and some of the new workshop participants who brought their friends too. Jim has been coaching the workshops on using a source for their play, so we went old school with a "jam" leading into our scenework. I don't really remember much of what happened other than we used just about every scrap of information that came out of the source in our show. It felt like one of our best performances. I was happy to learn that whatever issues I've had in acting class lately were nowhere to be found on that stage.

Now, we're back in LA. I returned with the East Coast version of the cold I had out here after Thanksgiving. Today, I finally seem to be emerging from it. I'm glad, because I'm ready to get back in the groove and try to take things up a notch careerwise. It's a year for making more connections, meeting more people, getting myself out there, taking risks, being bold, working harder at being better and getting the work.