The Calm Before...???

Here's what I've been up to for the last week or two. Will, from my previous post, and I have held two rehearsal sessions for whatever it is that we're doing. We were right about the instincts. We do connect and play well together. Our first rehearsal was a little rough around the edges. I felt a little out of practice in the two-person form, and found that I wasn't listening properly or engaging my environment...and I was having a hard time not bursting into peals of laughter at Will. Funny man. Anyway, rehearsal two was a dramatic leap forward. Whereas in the first rehearsal we kept the same two main characters and spun flashback or "elsewhere" scenes off them before returning to them again, the second was more free. We allowed for different characters in totally different scenes. By the end, they all connected somehow as the best shows tend to do. The listening was ratcheted way up and we didn't miss or drop information. Whatever the show ends up being, it'll be good. I'm excited about the way we communicate and our ease with recognizing transitions, offers and games. In that way, it's a similar feeling to what Jim and I caught onto in the early rehearsals for JaCKPie. I haven't attempted a two-person show with anyone else, and it's fun to experience differences in the way we complement each other. Jim and Will have different styles and personalities, but we look to be heading toward a similar result - high quality, truthful, fun shows.

The audition world has been slow since the two near misses. I've been in a couple of casting director workshops and received fantastic feedback in both. I've been dropping off submissions for various tv or film opportunities as they pop up, and I'm very specific in what I submit for, which is sensible and efficient. Corrin and I have been volunteering at an elementary school, working individually with kids to help them write a 5-6 page "screenplay". The culmination of the 6-week process is a show Monday night when the kids get to see actors perform staged readings of their scripts. My writer has been a lot of fun. She's had a knack for finding the story, creating interesting characters and she came up with a smart ending. It has been a cool challenge helping her clarify and organize those ideas.

Improvisation of late

I feel like one of the reasons my commercial auditions have been rocking recently is my return to improvisation on a more consistent basis. The people in the class I'm taking aren't exactly on board with the teacher, because, in my opinion, he didn't foster a supportive, encouraging environment. Instead, he openly mocks people's mistakes, which poses a massive obstacle to the class' willingness to put themselves out there. It's a Level 1 class with people in there who have never performed before. If I were new to improv, I'd probably never do it again after this. However, despite the issues I have with that, I am at least getting in a weekly workout. Last night, my wife and I went with our friend Will (of the group Johnny Lunchpail in NYC) to see Bob Dassie, Craig Cackowski and Rich Talarico in Dasariski at IO West. They were fantastic. Their patience, truthfulness, listening and superhuman use of information was a pleasure to see. Nothing was wasted. No information slipped by. It was a clinic in long-form improv. Will and I have decided to start workshopping something. We don't know what it'll be yet, but it's got us. We'll definitely be improvising...maybe writing as well.

To no avail

Since the TLC shoot dates start tomorrow, I emailed my agent today to see if decisions had been made. She emailed back, after calling the casting director, to let me know that the job was booked by people other than me. Ah well. As I said, these are still positive signs, they just aren't legal tender for all debts public and private.

Avail: The Learning Channel

Another avail notice came in this afternoon. It's great and all, but I'll be happier to actually book the job this time.

I did a little follow-up with SAG regarding the awkward wardrobe/avail thing. I was told that if you are on avail and wardrobe calls you with a date and time for your fitting, you've been engaged for that project and they must pay you your day rate. The loophole in my case, I suppose, is that the lady told me to come in the next day, but danced around giving me a time. The contact at SAG said it was definitely strange, but must've been an error. I wonder if this wardrobe person knows how close she came to putting the production on the hook for a day rate being paid to someone not actually booked. If she's ignorant of the situation and repercussions it's probably not as bad as if she knew and was calculating the whole thing. Next time this happens, I'll just tell them to contact my agent with what I need to know. It makes me rethink putting my cell number on the size card at the audition.