More auditions, MORE Murphy's Actor's Law, and a Booking

A few quick May highlights...

Audition/Callback/AVAIL - Arby's @ ASG

Audition/Callback - Fed Ex @ Ross Lacy

Audition - Jury Duty @ Burbank Courthouse (you paying attention?)

Audition - Regions Bank @ POP

We got all the Atlanta stuff squared away in the end, and I got to do an extra JaCKPie show. I had plans to do a workshop too, but that didn't pan out, which ended up working just fine for me with all the other stuff going on.

Ultimately, the news on my Granny was not good. She was given just "weeks", in medical expiration parlance. So, as soon as we returned to LA, we began planning a trip to visit her. We made it a fairly short trip, just two week days and one weekend day (Thursday-Saturday). Naturally, guess what happened. Out of the blue, I got a call the week before our flight from Bob Lambert at All My Children. He liked my reel and wanted me to come in for a role that would be shooting...wait for it...the Friday we would be visiting Granny in Texas. Of course! I was happy to get the call, but bummed to inform him that there would be no way I could change these plans given the circumstances. He was very understanding and asked me to come in and audition anyway. So, Audition: All My Children. I got the sides the night before and enjoyed preparing them. It was a good scene, and I felt like I had a good instinctual reaction to the material and a clear choice for my character.

The audition went well, I think. The beats that I had felt seemed to match up with what he was looking for, and I felt comfortable with the character choices. He was gracious in spite of my unavailability and I hope to get back in there when their needs match up with my product.

The visit in Texas was good. I'm so thankful we got to do that, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. My family got to visit with Granny one last time, which was a real gift. It's difficult in many ways to know in advance that death is coming and to await it. However, it's good that everyone got plenty of notice to visit with her and say their "goodbyes" in their own way. Granny was in great spirits, and my daughter showed her plenty of love too. Granny passed away a few weeks later on June 14, 2010.

View my REEL and RESUME

A TUESDAY

In many acting-related areas, the last couple of months has been a little slower. In other life areas, I've been extremely busy.

We planned a trip to Atlanta from April 19-27. The previous several weeks had been devoid of much commercial activity. However, as you should know by now, if I buy a plane ticket...

Thursday, before we were to depart on Monday, I got a last minute audition for Arby's @ ASG Casting. The callback came the very next day, and that night I was on avail. I had booked out well in advance for our travels, but I always stress that I will make adjustments for a job. This, however, was still just an avail. When the assistant asked what I was going to do, I just told her I wasn't going to change anything, but would be prepared to fly back as soon as I was booked. Wardrobe was scheduled for Wednesday. So, we flew out at 7am Monday morning not knowing if I'd have to board a plane and come right back Monday night. I spent the first two days there riding around with a "go-pack" in the car in case I had to go to the airport. Late Tuesday evening, I was released.

Tuesday

The purpose of the trip was to attack my parents' storage rooms and get them sorted, thinned out, and moved to a cheaper place. On the first day of this odyssey, Tuesday, the world went berserk. First, it rained even though it wasn't in the forecast. My mom's car wouldn't start and neither would that of a guy I hired to help me out. Fortunately, he got his going in time to help a lot with the moving along with another kind fellow. I got them both by putting the word out through JaCKPie. I'd rather pay someone in the JaCKPie family than pick people off the corner. What actor/production-type couldn't use a little extra cash? Anyway, we got it going.

Then, my wife calls. Her grandmother was put in the hospital. Then, she calls back. Her parents' neighborhood is on lock-down because some crackpot shot his family up and may be loose in the woods. So, they can't get to the hospital to visit...and they've been terrified by the police warnings.

THEN, I get a text that MY granny is in the hospital. Meanwhile, I'm also waiting to find out if I'm going to fly back to LA. We finally got all the moving done and took the truck back to the rental place. I hop out, borrow a broom from inside. The guy comes out and reads the mileage. Me and one of my friends are sweeping out the truck when something doesn't seem right. "Is the truck moving," I ask. Then, I jump out the back, run around to jump in the cab and stop the truck before it rolls into a busy highway.

Oh, and it was my brother's birthday dinner that night. Yeah, I had a beer or two.

By the time I headed back to the house, the lockdown was lifted. Turns out the guy had shot himself in the bathroom of his house and had been inside the whole time the cops were running around in the woods. There's some crack police work huh? Might want to search the house before you turn your back on the place.

And that, my friends, was a Tuesday.

View my REEL and RESUME

Audition: Pillsbury @ ASG; Improv - Jack & Johnny

Four in the room for this one, and I had a fun group. It's great when you find a quick comedic rapport with strangers at an audition. I felt like we had a strong take on the material and were funny to boot.

I completely forgot to mention the Jack & Johnny show from last Thursday. Will and I played at Crashbar Improv, a fun, small room. Our show was kickin'. While I've been entirely enjoying the group Harold work with Cherry at IO, I feel the two-person format is like going home for me from the years of JaCKPie. Cherry is also doing great. We're getting lots of shows and working with a fantastic coach. Next Friday, Cherry is playing with Craig Cackowski, one of my favorite teacher/performers at IO West.

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Callback: Johnsonville @ Ross Lacy, Audition: GM @ASG

Got the callback for Johnsonville, and it went like the first round (interview style). I was asked about my Halloween costume from last year. I haven't gone out for Halloween in years, but I blamed the most recent absence on the baby and told the tale of my best costume ever - The Joker- classic not Dark Knight era.

The audition for GM was another interview. This one was kind of funny. I'm a huge Georgia football fan. If you know me, you know this. However, my wife's cousin loves to get me some sort of Ohio State gear every Christmas. This year, she got me a hat. I'm no Ohio State fan, but I have to admit that it's a super comfortable hat. So, for the audition, I was supposed to bring a hat to turn inside out. I have three Georgia hats, but none of them would perform this critical function. I had to take the OSU hat. My question was something about the South vs. The West Coast and I brought up college football, the SEC, etc. The guy before me had also talked about being from South Carolina. Then, when it's time to don the hat, I realized how it wouldn't fit with my going on about Georgia football. It was one of those moments...

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Callback: Verizon @ ASG

I just had a feeling about the original audition and expected the callback. I suppose I should do that every time. The callback seemed to go just fine. It's hard to tell. The only redirection my "wife" and I got was that the expression should be more awe and less fear. We "wow"ed a few times and got out of there. I'm going to the chiropractor today for a much needed adjustment, and we've got a hospital tour tonight. This is our chance to ask for directions.

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Audition: Verizon 2 @ ASG

This is the 2nd time in the last couple of weeks I've been to this particular office, which is conveniently located near our apartment. Sometimes, when sides are posted online, the notice I receive will mention it, and sometimes the notice does not. I always check to see if sides have been posted. There were very recent Verizon sides from this office, so I prepared with them. However, upon signing in, I saw that that the sides I worked on were not connected to the spot I was actually auditioning for. No problem though, because the new sides consisted of "Wow." In the room, we did the "wow" several different ways. I played with the delivery a little in my tail slate too, which seemed funny to everyone else. It's weird. Sometimes little stuff like that gets you the callback, or it could just tick people off. I think I have a pretty good ability to read the situation and know the difference.

For LIFE - We've been accomplishing more tasks to prepare baby space. We painted a couple of small sets of drawers and received a Bulldogs stroller my mom got for us. Last night, we attended a meet-and-greet of local Georgia alumni. It was nice to chat with people outside the frequently intense setting of game-watching.

Audition: Ad Council @ ASG

There were 4 actors in the room on this scene and it was supposed to be an intense scenario. I'm torn about how this went...not sure I got to where I wanted to be within the scene. Who knows? These are sometimes the best.