Audition: Monk (promo) @ Renita Whited

This one was a promo spot for the USA series "Monk". A promo is basically a commercial for the tv show. I was playing a gardener in Monk's dreamland perfect world. If you watch the show, you know he has OCD and likes everything just so. The gardener was trimming the hedges and checking them with a level. It seemed to go well.

Show: JaCKPie @ Georgia Tech

The wedding of our great friends this past weekend coincided with the Black Box Improv Festival at Georgia Tech. Jim and I were able to get together for a JaCKPie show. My wife and I left our apartment at 7:15pm Thursday night to get to the airport for our red-eye to Atlanta. The flight was delayed because of weather conditions affecting the arrival of our plane. When the plane did pull up to the gate, a passenger fainted while waiting to deplane, which led to some further delays. A whole fire station's worth of paramedics/firemen showed up to hook her up to various pulse, blood pressure and "don't sue us" monitors. We took off sometime after 11pm and arrived in Atlanta at 6:30am.

After renting the car, we had breakfast and several cups of coffee with my brother-in-law. We dropped off our stuff and took a quick nap at the home of some friends we were staying with for a couple of days. Then, we spent a few hours with my mom and had lunch #1 at Chick-fil-A (we don't have those here). A quick trip back to change clothes and head out to the rehearsal dinner, which also was running a tad bit late. As soon as we exchanged hellos and hugs and ate, we left for the improv show at Georgia Tech. Jim and I found a spot to get connected and warm up a little. The warm-up included some crazy stories and a game of net-less, paddle-less, table-less ping-pong. By this time, I was operating purely on adrenaline and left over caffeine. When we were brought backstage just before showtime, it occurred to me that perhaps I should look at the stage. We don't need anything really, but it's always a good idea to know what's out there. Two theatre cubes and a stool that wasn't really tall like a stool should be. It was more like a footrest for someone with wide feet.

We made our way onto the stage and I immediately saw a contingent of folks from the JTW, some who I hadn't seen in quite a while. Jim and I decided to get a suggestion for this show and do The Jam for source material. The question was, "What's a word or phrase you might repeat to yourself as a mantra." The suggestion we took was, "Relax. Don't give up." The Jam covered topics from self-help books, Jim's name mentioned in the "Contributions I ignored" section of a sci-fi book, cable & broadcast tv. There were probably some other things but that's all I remember now. The show flew by for me. We dealt with a couple's attempt to reinvigorate their marriage, subsequent sweepstakes winnings and a rather large purchase. Things deteriorated for them when we learned the wife had been going to school behind her husband's back. We had a couple of astronauts with a penchant for seeds and grains. One of them lost his dog, Buttercup, in a tragic shuttle accident and was pieced together for burial. Luckily, they were able to hold him together long enough to play an odd round of Demon-Dog Fetch (a brilliant offer on Jim's part). We had a game that consisted of two ambiguously ethnic mystery types threatening each other through asides to the audience. We discovered the improv utility belt that contains a stapler, duct tape, a ball, and a supply of Tang lids. You'd have to ask someone from the audience how it all came together, but we ended with Buttercup II finally making it through a successful blastoff. I suppose you could say that was the "Don't give up" part.

Some lines I remember:
Jim - "Choose a racism."
Chris - "I don't know this crowd, Jim."

Jim (after Chris walks through the elaborate space-object truck Jim had created behind Chris' back) - "Let me just have a second to mourn all that object work."
Chris (clueless) - "When you're moving the shuttle from the launch pad to the hangar, you can burn a few steps."

Jim (preparing for take-off) - "Oxygen. Check. Buttercup's love for me. Check."

Jim (ambiguous Wild West/spy guy) - "I'll tear his face off."
Chris - "I wonder if he knows this isn't my face."

The show was great for me. I felt a little rusty at times, but the combination of adrenaline, fun and the complete confidence I have in Jim carried the day. I continue to be amazed at how Jim and I are able to work together as if no time had really passed at all. That's what happens when you play all the time for a few years. It was interesting to see the different elements that were present in this show as opposed to our standard performance. Jim pointed some of them out in his blog entry...the broad games, the self-references, and some really cool transformations from one scene to the next.

Afterward, we hung out at Manny's until after 2am catching up with friends and generally laughing like the crazed sleepless fools we were. At least I learned that a deer is the symbol of unnecessary side support. The rest of the weekend was a blur. I wish I could've seen the other shows and hung out a bit more, but that's the nature of a whirlwind trip across the country. I'm looking forward to playing again over the Christmas holidays.

Audition: Travel Channel Promos @ Bebe Flynn

This one came through a friend of mine who sometimes works with Bebe Flynn. They were looking for people with improv experience, preferably as a trio. While I don't have a trio out here, I do have the experience so my friend scheduled me. Oddly enough, I was matched up at the audition with two other people who I have seen perform at The Hothouse in North Hollywood. Improv in these situations is a bit different than improv on stage. There are certain things you don't want to say and topics better left unexplored. It's a commercial not an HBO series. I think it went well. It was a road trip theme. We did it pretty much by the script the first time and improvised a bit more the second time. I somehow got on the subject of pecan logs. You say, "recipe for disaster." I say, "comedy gold."

Go Figure: Medium @ Mark Saks

We're flying back to Atlanta tonight for a wedding of some dear friends and I'm performing with Jim in JaCKPie at Georgia Tech tomorrow night. So, guess who calls today...Mark Saks' office with an audition for Medium tomorrow at 1:15pm. There is some unspoken rule that when you decide to go out of town, auditions rain down from on high. I hate to miss it, but there's just no way to rearrange the schedule right now. Stuff happens and people go out of town. We're all professionals and we know this. Now, the optimist's take is that I did not even submit on this project and Mark's office called. That means I'm in the field of play over there, which is huge for someone with no representation.

Audition: Bud Light @ Kari Peyton

I've been called into this office a few times now with a good callback ratio. This one was pretty funny, as beer commercials can be, and I felt good about it. It's hard to know sometimes because at the initial audition you just walk in, do a couple lines, and you're out. I'm destined for a beer commercial in the near future though. Every time I see one, I think, "Hey, that guy reminds me of me."

Audition: Honda @ Ross Lacy

I've been in this office quite a few times now with no callbacks. I can't be quite sure why that is, because I've felt really good about several of those auditions. It could just be a timing thing and have something to do with the other people who are cast or considered for complementary roles. Anyway, back again. The callbacks for this one are on the 23rd, which complicates our upcoming to trip to Atlanta. If I do get called back, I'll have to try to get my return flight switched to early Monday morning or late Sunday night. This audition went well, and I noticed there was another one for Bud Light going on in the same facility, also casting by Ross Lacy. The other actors being seen for that one seemed a lot like me, so I decided to step up and ask the session runner about getting in on it. It seemed perfect - they were taking four in at a time and only had three at that moment. I told the guy I had just auditioned for the Honda spot and would be happy to read. He looked a little thrown and said something about not knowing the "age range" for it -- basically, "Thanks but no thanks." I just said, "That's cool. No problem." Hey, all I can do is ask, and that's better than just walking out the door without even trying.

Shoot: Beginning of December

Yesterday, I went into my commercial agency to sign a contract extension. My original contract was for one year, which was coming to a close this month. The new one is for 3 years. It's cool to have that show of faith on their part, and I have high expectations for myself in the coming year.

I completely forgot to chronicle the events surrounding my October 5 day on the set of "Beginning of December". I arrived at the small studio a bit earlier than my 9am call time owing to my preparedness for [and subsequent lack of] traffic. The set was built in a small-ish sound stage and looked great. They were starting the day with a shot from the previous day that had been missed, so I hung out in the dressing rooms for a while chatting with other cast members. When the director came up to talk, there was some waffling on whether or not I was ultimately going to be seen. I had been under the impression that I would be briefly seen just as my significant other storms out of the apartment. Fast forward to getting on set, rehearsing a few times, etc. The entire short takes place along a hallway, so you [the camera] never goes into the doors, just down the hall. Our shouting match is heard from the hallway by the main character and timed so that when my girl leaves, the main character in the hallway sees and is next to her.

The shots were meticulously set up by the DP Blake Jackson. The few moments I watched at the monitor looked great. This all led up to the day getting later and later, and me becoming more and more certain that there was no way they were going to set up a shot with me in it. Sure enough, after lunch, I was released and headed off to work for the evening. It was fun to work with some nice people on an interesting project. I was told that our off-screen audio sounded perfect, but I'll admit to being disappointed that I won't have anything to show for it [footage for my reel], especially since I know it's going to look so good. I guess that's somewhat selfish of me, but then again, that's how you get actors to do stuff like this for free...good project, good copy. Stuff happens, especially on tight-budget productions, and the best of intentions meet the demands of the budget and schedule. Maybe I'll figure out a way to use the audio somehow on a reel. Anyway, having said that, I did enjoy myself, met some terrific people and wish the best for the director and the film. If the chance to work with them again arises, I'd do it.

Audition: Sirius Radio @ Lien/Cowan Casting

Had a same-day call this morning at 9:30am for an audition at 11:45am. The audition had sides available on the internet along with 3 mp3 files to which I would be lip-synching in the room. Weird. It's kind of like those Capital One commercials in which a regular person is moving their lips, but the person who stole their identity is talking. The office had a CD player with the audio playing a continuous loop in the lobby outside the audition room. It's pretty funny to watch 10 actors sitting around a CD player trying to lip-synch the lines. Well, it was my first time into Lien/Cowan, one of the offices I have been targeting with my update mailings.

Afterward, I had lunch with my scene partner from the showcase. We talked for a while about the business, classes, work, family, etc. Then, I dropped by my commercial agents' office to say "Hello." It's so great to have nice agents who enjoy catching up on what's happening. Everyone was excited about the Numb3rs callback. I also found out that maybe the Best Buy job didn't go to a Canadian. We had a few laughs about today's audition and the Mr. Changer Pants from last week. That one was crazy...trying to change pants while seated on two rolling office chairs tied together while also trying to hold a steering wheel that isn't attached to anything.