Set Family

In my experience, actors usually develop a camaraderie quickly on a set or during a stage production. Ideally, the projects are conducive to developing a tight-knit family of cast and crew who look out for each other. We all have to work to protect that safe environment. We must take care of our family to avoid tragedies like the recent deaths of Sarah Jones and Gary Joe Tuck. 

As a dad-type, I've worked with a lot of different kids (and their parents) on sets over the years. As an actual dad, I'm also really sensitive to the potential awkwardness of the set environment and having strangers pretend to be your parent, or your kids' parent. Well, today, I read THIS ARTICLE on Deadline about impostors posing as studio teachers and compromising the safety of kids on sets. To be honest, it really freaked me out as an actor and a parent.

So read the article. Learn about the "green card" certification for legit set teachers. Let that info sink in and let's all be aware on the set. Help take care of your family.

3-for-3

My batting average for booking soap auditions remains perfect. I had the pleasure of working on Days of Our Lives this week.  Being on the set and working with some of the true icons on the show really brought back a lot of memories.  Both of my grandmothers, my mom, and many other relatives were/are fans, but my maternal grandmother in particular stopped everything to watch her shows. I vividly remember watching Days with her.

It was kind of surreal to walk into that studio and work with Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn, to sit in the makeup chair next to Joseph Mascolo, and hear stories from Thaao Penghlis. Having worked in the genre several times before, I'm definitely inspired by how professional they all are and how challenging it is to work with so much dialogue on a daily basis.  On top of that, the pace of production is incredible, episodes may be shot out of order, and scenes from a couple of different episodes may be shot on the same day. Those actors earn their living.

The cast and crew could not have been more welcoming and friendly.  It felt a bit like that archetypal family from your childhood, the one with the open door where everyone is welcome to visit, share a meal, drop by for a "hello" or stay for a while longer.  I hope to have the opportunity to drop in on Salem again.


View my REEL and RESUME

Back to one

One year later, and things seem to be on the same cycle.  The commercial auditions have been few and far between for a while now. I did have to make an emergency trip to Atlanta back in February, was gone 3 business days, and somehow missed 2 auditions (of course!).  I did, however, pick up a few auditions in Atlanta.

There's been quite a bit of heavy stuff going on in the general life department. It's been a rough several months overall for the family, highlighting the challenges of living so far away from everyone else.

Since the last post down there, I have completed my commercial VO demo and I'm pretty proud of it. I'm currently working on getting a website up and running. Both of those things I should've done years ago. So let that be a lesson to you 20-somethings.  I've recorded a number of VO auditions, primarily visiting a studio because it's relatively inexpensive for the peace of mind that comes from not worrying about airplanes flying over, refrigerators firing up, clocks ticking, kids screaming, and dogs barking. 

I got a last-minute notice yesterday, so I did record at home. I have a decent mic and can get good sound when it's quiet out. The moment after I began recording, the neighbor's large dog went bananas for about 20 minutes straight. So THAT took a while. Much better to go to the studio...

Back in December I booked a job that shot in January. December has been good to me over the years. It was great to enjoy the idea of having a job for a full month over the holidays! The spot is supposed to begin running in another month. That's a more long-range and extended process than I've experienced before.  It was a great shoot with fantastic folks all around, so I'm looking forward to a long and happy run.