Baseball

I went to my first Dodgers game yesterday with some friends. It was the first ballgame I've attended in LA. I'm told Dodgers Stadium is the 4th oldest in baseball right now, and I've been to Wrigley, which is also in the top 4. I prefer Wrigley. There have been some recent improvements at Dodgers Stadium like new seats, but I obviously couldn't compare. The field is nice, but it's a shame the open end of the stadium just looks out onto the parking lot and the adjacent hillside. The guy who bought our tickets did a great job. We were in the "reserved level" (there was one section of seating higher up) on the third base side between third and home. Game time was 1pm, and we were in the sun for about 20-30 minutes before it slipped behind those upper seats and left us in the shade.

The seats are small and there's very little leg room. There weren't many concession stands, so the lines were huge. I didn't wait. The fans were the most obnoxious people I've ever been around at a game. My friend's brother and his dad were wearing Giants hats because his dad grew up in SF as a Giants fan. This particular game was against the Angels. Apparently, the Dodgers and Giants have some sort of rivalry going that isn't helped by the Barry Bonds fiasco. So, we heard some extremely vulgar comments frequently about the Angels and the Giants. The comments became increasingly personal and directed at my friends until the end of the game when a confrontation ensued. There was no fight, but my friend and his brother don't let things go the way I do. I'm all for some good-natured rivalry stoking, but the comments here were way beyond the pale. It definitely tarnished the experience to have to listen to those drunken idiots screaming profanities constantly. It's a shame security lets that kind of thing go. People bring their children to these games and they have to endure that nonsense?

I won't be going to a Dodgers game again any time soon. Maybe I'll make the trek to Anaheim. I hear the stadium is nicer, so maybe the fans are too.

New Headshots

Today, I had my headshot session with David Zaugh. Check out his work, and if you book with him, tell him I referred you. We basically talked and joked around the whole time, but got a ton of great shots. I like the way he works because I felt like I was just being me and not worrying about smiling or looking just so. I just was and he shot. I am really happy with the results, and I trust my agents will be too. I sent them the online proof sheet of almost 300 shots from which to choose about 20 that will be further narrowed down to about 4. I'll get 2 printed up to use for commercial auditions with them and another 1 to submit myself for theatrical stuff.

Shoot: Results

Today, I had a 7am call time for a short film a friend of mine is producing/directing called "Results". I play a security guard who intervenes in a domestic dispute . I was really tired this morning when the alarm went off, but grabbed a book, a quick bite and a lot of water. The shower and the food got the blood going and I went down to the location in West Hollywood. When I arrived, I could see it was going to be a while before they got to me, so I took a little power nap and read a lot. There's no excuse for actors not being some of the most well-read people since we always have plenty of time to read on-set.

We were using a little side street industrial area, which was really quiet when we rehearsed a couple of weeks ago. Today, for some reason, there were cars parked everywhere, people cleaning off rooftops, and traffic was passing through constantly. The traffic made it tricky for some of the shots, because I had to cross the street. More than once, we had to abort the shot. It was sort of like yelling "Car" when you play stickball or something. Even so, we knocked it out in a couple of hours and I was on my way back home around 11:30am. Had a lot of fun and hope it turns out great!

Shoot: Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Yesterday, I was submitted for a sketch part on Jimmy Kimmel Live. As a precaution, I emailed my supervisor at work to alert him to the possibility of me having a last minute conflict. Sure enough, today, at almost 11:30am, I got the call that I had booked it and that the call time was 1pm! Fantastic, yes. Crazy, yes. After a bunch of quick phone calls, I got my supe on the phone and he was great about it. That's why I like working with them. It's a cool company with fantastic people. At 12:20pm, I was called and told the call time was changed to 2pm.

I made it to the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood where the show is taped, and found the holding area. After a while, I got the scoop on the bit. It was a commercial parody for TGI Friday's. I guess they had a manager who cut off his finger at work. While someone took him to the hospital, the finger turned up in a hamburger served to a customer. The joke of the commercial was that TGI Friday's was simply viewing this as a happy accident and marketing a new line of "finger" menu items. I played a manager making sure our customers were thrilled with their finger platter. They had a bunch of fake fingers and some edible ones, made of raw potatoes, mixed in. Even the edible ones looked frightening.

The whole shoot took 5 hours from call time to me walking out the door at 7pm, and the bit ran in the show that night, which started taping just after I left. It's pretty amazing that they managed to get the whole thing shot and edited in such a short time, and they do stuff like that everyday. With that kind of time crunch, you'd think most people would get a little stressed and testy, but not these people. Everyone I dealt with on the shoot was extremely nice. So, I've got a lot of respect for their work under fire.

Now, the interesting union issues. This was an AFTRA job. I'll be joining AFTRA as a result and paying the initiation fees and dues. Basically, my entire check from this job will pay a portion of that. I won't see any money from it yet. I was going to join eventually anyway, so might as well be now. ***UPDATE -- I got the check. See my friend Natasha's comments for the reason.

Class: First week of commercial class

Last night was my first commercial class. We were given a bit of copy to work on before class got started, and then Carolyne went through the ground rules for us. With no time wasted, we got right to work. As everyone took their turn in front of the camera, she pointed things out, working with each person on technique for everything from the slate (introducing yourself) to product handling. It was kind of a mass introduction to her approach. I went fourth and did fine on the slate, but didn't really feel good about my first take. She honed in on my tendencies, which are basically identical to the issues I've been dealing with in my previous acting classes. After some redirection, my second take was much better. At the end of the night, we watched the tape of everyone's performances. Everyone improved on their first take. It was fascinating to note what made things better and how notable the difference is between someone who seems relaxed and someone who is not. I feel extremely confident that we'll all improve tremendously over the next several weeks. Carolyne is such a character. In small world news, a friend of mine who I did a show with in Atlanta is in the class.

We had customer service trauma while shopping at Costco yesterday. At the end of March, we renewed our membership by paying the annual fee at the cashier. For some reason, I was not convinced the lady did it properly and I was nervous because we were paying cash for the only time ever, so I made sure we kept the receipt. After more than 30 days of no problems, my wife took the receipt out of her wallet and left it in our files. Sure enough, yesterday when we checked out, the cashier said our membership had expired. We explained that we had definitely paid it, and a manager was called over. This manager was pathetic. We explained the whole thing again. She escalated the problem by saying she was keeping my card and there was nothing she could do unless we had our receipt (from March!). What? We made all this up to buy cheap bacon? Seriously...who walks around with 30 days of receipts in their pocket? Now, I'm a calm, laid-back guy, but her attitude and absolute refusal to offer any sort of solution to the situation really ticked me off. It was clear that this manager was not interested in considering a customer-friendly solution to a problem SHE, as the current face of Costco, created. We left our items there and walked away in disgust.

On the way out, I decided to stop by the membership desk to vent a little frustration and express my dissatisfaction with the treatment we were receiving. The guy there was extremely helpful. He apologized for the problem, and, better yet, HELPED US RESOLVE IT. He cleared us to make our purchases that day so we could return at our convenience with the receipt. Can you imagine? He actually had to think and did it! Service! Resolution! Amazing!!! We got our card back, went through the store collecting our items again and checked out. It was still a hassle, but mostly diffused the situation. Thing is, it made me even more angry at the first manager for not even suggesting that we try to work something out at the membership desk. Guess she figured it wasn't her problem. She'd rather snub her nose and tell us to kiss off than take 2 minutes of her precious time and offer assistance. And THAT is what is wrong with people in the big corporate service industry today. Crappy training. No creative thinking. No initiative. No responsibility. Pass the buck and get back to daydreaming about your next day off. Of course there's also the issue of the untrained original cashier who screwed it all up in the beginning. What happens to people who aren't obsessive like us and don't keep receipts for this long? I'll never pay cash there again.

So, I looked at several photographers, but think I've settled on one. I'm meeting with him Wednesday and have a shoot scheduled for the 11th. I'm trying to knock out these new shots as soon as possible to get things rolling again. That will give me a little time to put the wardrobe together. I've been looking at the same stuff in my closet for a long time. Guess you could say I'm not exactly a slave to the latest fashion trends.

Today, we're going to Malibu. My wife is running a recruiting table for her alma mater at a college fair there. She figures she'll volunteer a little time rather than sending them money. I figure I'll cheer my college's football team like a madman, and maybe that helps. Anyway, we're leaving early to have a look at Malibu since we haven't been there.

Good day

Had a great day! I ran some errands this morning, and while I was out, I stopped by to say "Hello" to my commercial agents at KSA. Alicia was in the office, so we chatted a bit about this new class I'm taking. She said a bunch of KSA clients have taken classes from Carolyne and had good results. On my way out, I caught my other agent, Brooke, heading back in with some lunch. We also talked about the class, and she mentioned that I should get some new pictures. Since I haven't been getting out as much the last couple of months, I was wondering if the pictures just aren't popping enough. I'm getting a few names from her to check out. I absolutely love the way Alicia and Brooke run the office. It's so nice to be able to stop in and feel like you're welcome and that they're happy to see you. I've heard enough horror stories to figure this isn't the norm, and I appreciate it. This is the vibe I got from them at our initial meeting and why I wanted to sign with them instead of the others.

Class tonight also rocked. I took a different approach to the material this week. Normally, I do a lot of work on the scenes before rehearsal. Over the past few weeks, that was generally resulting in me being in my head for class and not listening. This time, I laid off it. I didn't spend so much time beforehand, and used rehearsals to sort of find my way and try stuff out. I guess it worked. I felt much better about my listening, choices and the performance this week.

Class: Commercial acting

I'm all signed up for a class in commercial acting with Carolyne Barry. I audited the class last night and it seems like she's got good insight and a direct approach, which I like. The students did their spots on camera, received direction from her and did them a few times more. After that, they all traded spots and were getting ready to do it all again when I had to leave. It will be very instructive for me to do a class on-camera. The last time I did that was several years ago. My class starts May 1. This one will require a little less time outside of class than my current situation, and I plan to reinvest that time into theatrical agent/manager submissions.

Last night was a friend's birthday. I met him and another guy at a bar between Los Feliz and Hollywood. The place was a little froo-froo for my taste. I prefer a more relaxed, unstylish atmosphere I think. But hey, the beer tastes the same, and I hadn't had one in a while.

My wife has become enamored with Pilates and is currently training to be an instructor. We all know what that means. Yes, I've been in a Pilates class for the last three Saturdays. It's actually enjoyable. The exercises are an efficient brand of brutal. I'll probably keep going as my schedule allows. I've had a bunch of driving students in the last few weeks. It's nice to have a part-time thing that brings in somewhat steady money, but doesn't suck out my soul. I know servers here can make great money at many places, but at what cost? I haven't done a catering job since before Christmas. I'll probably keep that in my back pocket for the lean times.

Year One

We celebrated our one year anniversary of moving to Los Angeles last week. In that time, we've accomplished a number of things with plenty still left to do. We're both generally agreed that the move has been good for us, and we like living here.

One of the tough things about it is the housing market for buyers. Prices here are ridiculous. I honestly cannot imagine how people afford the $700k-millions for little 2 or 3 bedroom bungalows. Even the 2 bedroom condos are in the $400k range. We love our neighborhood and want to stay here, but for a while, it seems renting is the only reasonable option. If you can rent a 2 bedroom apartment for $1400/month, does it make sense to buy a 2 bedroom condo and pay $1700-2000/month plus HOA fees of an extra $200+? Maybe it will be the right move at some point to help with our tax situation, but for now...no way.

I'm taking a break from the place I've been studying for the last 9 months. I want to focus on developing some other actor tools. First, I'm researching commercial classes. Though my callback ratio has been good, I don't want to rest on my laurels there. I want the bookings and the paychecks! I have a meeting tomorrow afternoon with one teacher and other meetings in the works. The commercial auditions have been a little sparse lately, and I'm hoping to inject some positive energy into that arena. With that, I'm researching various other acting classes. I feel like I need to shake things up and attack my training from a different angle for a while. Although I'd like to continue where I am in addition to all of this other stuff, I simply don't have the time and money to do it all at the same time.

Workshop experience

Tonight I attended my first casting director workshop. I'm not really a fan of the concept of these things, but I want to cover all the bases. Basically, you pay a nominal fee to be a "member" of a workshop company, and then you pay another fee for a chance to cold read a scene for a casting director.

There were about 20 other actors in the room. The CD briefly outlined her experience and take on things, then opened up for about 15 minutes of questions. After that, she assigned scenes and scene partners. I was matched up with another fellow in a scene from a fairly popular sitcom. We were given about 15 minutes to "rehearse" [no writing on the script please] before everyone was brought back in for the performances. My partner and I went next to last. We got redirection a couple of times, but I still didn't feel we hit a groove.

It was definitely a learning experience, though I'm not exactly sure what to take from it beyond future workshops of this type. I learned you have to take care of yourself in your 15 minutes. If you need time alone with the sides, then politely tell your scene partner and take it. If you get "direction" from your scene partner that doesn't fit your instincts and take on the scene, then stick to your guns and do your thing. In such a weird set of circumstances, this can be tough to balance with honest listening and the overall philosophy of always making your scene partner look good. You can't just get up there and not play the scene with the other person. I know that I didn't take the time for my process in the beginning and it affected my performance.

And so, I am not really any more a fan of the whole paid CD workshop thing than I was beforehand. Our guest seemed to be a nice person, and it's interesting to hear a little about how someone on that side of the business works. For now, I'll continue to attend some of these workshops to glean what I can and meet people. It is what it is, and as long as you know that going in, it's fine.

Audition: AM/PM, Ross Lacy

This week is/has been insane. Business has picked up at my part-time job, so I've booked more hours the last two weeks than I ever had in any other two week period. I got called in for an audition at Ross Lacy casting. It was an AM/PM store spot. These stores are convenience store/gas stations. Out here their gas is called ARCO, but it's a division of BP. The call time was 4:30pm, but I had lessons scheduled for 5:30pm in Northridge. Basically, there was no way I would've made it from LaBrea and 3rd to Northridge in under 45 minutes. So, I got there at 3:30pm with hopes of getting in ASAP.

In Atlanta, there are only a few commercial casting directors, and a few jobs now and then. The CD's tend to have a small office somewhere that they use for the auditions. Out here, some CD's don't use their office at all for casting. There are these large "casting facilities" that consist of a wide open central room with a bunch of numbered doors around the perimeter that open into smaller rooms. Usually at the entrance or on a wall somewhere, there's a huge dry erase board with numbers and their corresponding projects. It's almost like a public storage place for auditions. Basically, I enter to a sea of commercial humanity - everything from babies to older guys dressed like truckers/farmers. I find the board, see that AM/PM is #3, and head for that corner of the room to sign in. The CD for this spot was simultaneously holding auditions for two other spots. He had three rooms going all at once. Luckily, I was able to get in by 4pm, and was on my way 5 minutes later.

The rest of my week is slammed with lessons and rehearsals for class. Class has been going well. I feel like I'm learning to ride a bike. Sometimes, it works and I roll for a while. Other times, I'm wobbly. It's difficult to find that mix of letting go and trying to control too much.

Shoot: The Dinner

I was on the set at 11am today. The crew seemed to be organized and efficient. After a quick round of cold make-up, we rehearsed the scene a little and then shot it. In the scene, I play a business man interviewing an older gentleman about a position for which he has "too much experience". Basically, I sense the guy thinks he's going to come in and take over (i.e. be my boss). Yeah, that's not going to happen. They were only working on 2 angles (his and mine), so there wasn't a lot of set up time required. We knocked it out fairly quickly and then I did a little ADR for a voiceover at the end of the movie...an answering machine message telling the guy we decided to go a different direction. It was a good day. I look forward to seeing the finished product.

Reader

Today, while working in one of the casting offices where I help out from time to time, I got the chance to be a reader for a casting session. The reader "reads" (obviously) the other character(s) in the scene with the character for which the actor is auditioning. I was completely cold on the material, having not even had a chance to read the script, but I took a few minutes to read through the three sets of sides and felt ok. My primary focus was just to deliver the proper lines with good pacing (it's comedy). As an actor and decent cold-reader anyway, I figured I would be giving the actors more than they get in some sessions anyway. After the first person, the CD commented on my good read. That was cool. The session covered three characters and took about three hours. We saw probably 20 actors or so, and I think maybe 4 got or will get a callback. It's such an amazing learning experience to be in those sessions, and it was a blast to be able to read with all of them.

Shoot: VGA

Call time was bright and early this morning 8am. I arrived at the Jim Henson Studios right on time. The lot is small but very cool and intimate. It's a mixture of English village style architecture and more modern facilities. There are a couple of small office buildings and one sound stage centered around a cobblestone courtyard. Of course, Kermit presides over the front gate and sticks out from one of the more modern looking buildings. They call the sound stage, The Chaplin Stage, after the man who built the original studio there, Charlie Chaplin. There was an old makeup chair in our makeup room that was said to be the very one used by Mr. Chaplin himself. Very cool.

We met the director, Kirk, who did a couple of the Muppet TV movies. He was laid back and conversational with a good sense of humor, which always makes things easier. There were three of us live actors in the scene and four puppeteers who worked the CG characters. Coincidentally, one of the other actors on the job was the first referee on Extreme Dodgeball. Small world. The two CG characters were from the world of videogames, and a very unlikely pair they were. In the boardroom setup, the three live actors were meeting with the two CG guys. Their images were laid into the dv directly, so they were being controlled real-time by the four puppeteers. I didn't get to see the puppet master suite, but from what I understand, two puppeteers ran the face/head and voice of their respective characters and the other two puppeteers maneuvered the arms and body. I only got to talk with the voice guys and they were both very experienced and very funny. We could only see the CG between takes when we watched the monitor, but we could hear their voices. Of course, the time between takes was some of the funniest, and most off-color, stuff.

During the actual scene, we were given marks on the wall to serve as sightlines for where the CG characters should be. It was interesting playing to space, but I honestly didn't think much about it after the first few moments. The director encouraged us to improvise some throughout the scene which led to some great moments. I got a lot of the physical bits, fetching beer for the squirrel, etc. In the end of the scene, one of my cohorts and I get beaten senseless under the table by one of the videogame characters. So, one of the final things we did was each of us getting about 2 minutes of improvised audio that they might use for the beating. That was fun. Crying, whining, screaming, laughing, pleading, hallucinating...reminds me of a really messed up relationship now that I think about it. I had a blast with that too. Made me want to get on that voiceover demo I've been thinking about forever.

I didn't have to sign confidentiality papers, but I'm hesitant to get too detailed about the project since it's just now making the rounds. Everyone on the set was very nice and professional. That kind of environment usually leads to the best work from everyone. After a fun 12-hour day, I retreated through the rain back home, where I now intend to sleep soundly. I love this stuff.

Booked: VGA / Rehearsal: The Dinner

Today, I had a rehearsal for the student film I'm doing called "The Dinner". There was a two-hour block of time set aside for this, and the scene is only a couple of pages long. I figured we'd be able to knock it out fairly quickly and we did. It's going to be a fun little part. I play a young exec who tells an older gentleman that he's overqualified for a job opening. In life, it's a terrible situation. In the scene, it's ok because the older guy is kind of arrogant.

As soon as I left, I got the call that I had booked the job from yesterday's audition. Sweet! I finally get to make some money for my agency, even if it's not that much, and a nice little piece of change for me too. The shoot is Monday.

Audition: VGA; Headquarters Casting

My friend Natasha works as an assistant in this casting office, and she pitched me to the CD for a project their office was working on. So, I got an appointment. It's kind of an industrial-type gig, and I wasn't sure what the coverage was agency-wise. I decided to just go, put my agent info down and call KSA afterwards to alert them to it and to see if they even wanted to cover me on it if anything happened. The audition was fun. I kind of guessed I was a little old for the role I was initially reading for and I was asked to read one of the other roles in the room. I got some laughs, which has always been a good sign for me in an audition of this sort.

I did call my agents when I was done, because I felt pretty confident about getting a callback. They had to search a little to find the info, but then called me back to say they'd take care of it if anything came up.

Callback: Kingsford

And another callback. This keeps my callback ratio pretty strong. Now, I just need to book. Again, I had a scene partner who wasn't listening to direction. This one didn't even register which role he was supposed to be playing until we'd already done the thing 5 times. Crazy.

Audition: Kingsford Charcoal; Craig Colvin

Another audition for Craig Colvin. He's been so great about bringing me in ever since the AAMCO job. The audition was for Kingsford, and basically involved two characters grilling. I won't give away the spot. I'm not sure I completely fit the physical mold they seemed to be looking for, but as always, we'll see.

I got a small role in the student film I auditioned for in Pasadena. Sometimes, I think it's better to get the small roles in these. It means you still get copy for your reel, but you're not looking at multiple days of shooting.

Audition: Student Film; Other: Readings

This morning, I went to Cedering Fox's house to help in the workshopping/assembling of love letters for a Word Theatre production. It was great fun. The letters range from flowery French poetry to email rants. The earlier letters (mid-20th Century and before) stand in sharp contrast to the more modern letters/emails in terms of language use. I wonder how much of our vocabulary is slowly (or quickly) eroding to be lost to us forever at some distant point in time.

Immediately following that session in Santa Monica, I trekked all the way up and East to Pasadena for the student film audition. Honestly, I hadn't done much work on the sides for that beforehand. I took some time before I went into the room to let the commute go and jot down some notes for the scene. After the first part, they asked me to read another role which I hadn't looked at beyond reading the script. So, I took a few more minutes out in the hall with that one. The film looks to be a pretty normal, slice-of-life look at the relationship between two brothers and their dad.

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.

Holly Daze

Holy smokes! It's been almost a month since my last post?! Where did the time go? It was an extremely busy time. I spent much of it working and preparing for our trip to Atlanta for the holidays (where I am now).

Ok, to catch up on some of the most recent industry-related stuff - I had to pass on a last minute Kellogg's audition last week. It was the day we were leaving for Atlanta, and there was only a 3-hour window for the audition. And, of course, the 3 hours had to be the only 3 hours I simply could not get there that day. I can only think of 1 or 2 times other than this one when I had to pass on an audition because of scheduling. Just a weird conglomeration of circumstances. I still hated to miss it.

I auditioned for a theatre company and was invited to join. The company members that I met all seemed very cool, but I asked to have time to see some of their productions before making a commitment. I hope it didn't offend them that I was hesitant to just jump in, but it seems like a sensible approach to me.

My class has been going ok. At some point in the last month or two, I've gotten further "into my head" in class. I mentioned this before about seeming not to have as much fun or play with things. I didn't quite bust out of it in recent weeks. I've wondered if some of my listening issues in class scenes have been related to my relative lack of improv performance lately. I may have to rectify that soon. Listening has always been a strong suit of mine, but I think I haven't trusted myself in class as much for whatever reason...perhaps trying to tailor my performances to other people's styles -- a recipe for disaster. My plan at this point is to finish out the upcoming class session where I am, and then take a break from that particular training and branch out to other workshops or some improv work, etc.

The holidays with family and friends have been fun so far. Tomorrow night, JaCKPie returns for a show here in Atlanta at the new space you can read about on our home page. I'm excited about it. We have a lot of people coming, so it should be fun. We've been on the go ever since we got here, which means we're tired most of the time. However, the last day or so has been a little more relaxing. The show tomorrow ought to add a charge, and I'm glad I finally get to meet some of the new people Jim has been working with and to see the space.

We head back to LA Saturday, but probably won't venture to any New Year's Eve parties as we'll have been travelling most of the day. We'll be gearing up for Sugar Bowl watching!

Audition: ABC 7 Promo

Wednesday, I had another audition at Danny Goldman casting. It was an AFTRA promo gig for a local news show. I haven't heard anything but getting it would probably cost me money as the pay wouldn't cover the AFTRA fees. I'm eligible for SAG, but haven't joined yet so I can still compete for nonunion jobs. When the time comes, I have no problem joining. SAG, although in some turmoil for the last few years, has done a lot of good things for performers. Anyway, this is the second time in a couple of weeks I've been in Danny's office, so I take that as a good sign.

Class last night was great. We're getting much more detailed in refining our work. Several of us were discussing it afterwards and we all feel that the level of work and re-work has jumped up a notch recently. We all need to take more responsibility in coaching one another during rehearsals, so that we push ourselves past comfort zones. One of my classmates told me I didn't seem to feel free enough to have fun lately, and she's right. In my first couple of months, I had that sense of play and gamble that I've lost while I've gotten more and more inside my own "actor head". I'm taking her words to heart and working to cut it loose again in the coming weeks.

Audition: 2 short film auditions this week. It was a great chance for me to put into practice a lot of what I've been learning in class. The techniques helped immensely and I believe I was able to make more specific choices. Class last night was great. I'm surrounded by dedicated, talented, supportive people who inspire me to work harder and do more. The instructor is great with the insights.

Point of Pride: Fixed my car antenna myself. Last week while I was parallel parking near the casting office where I help out, my car's antenna was bent by a weird plant/shrub thing growing too near the curb. After that, it wouldn't retract all the way. So, after a little internet research and shopping, I found an inexpensive replacement part which I installed today. Works like a charm! There's something insanely rewarding about fixing something yourself. I've often thought it would be great to take a car maintenance course somewhere to learn how to do more of the repairs on my car. Perhaps some day... In the meantime, I've got access to the tremendous amount of information available on the web. Truly, how did we get by without it?

Audition: Chrysler - CD: Danny Goldman

I did a postcard mailing on Monday to some commercial CD's about my recent signing with KSA and the AAMCO spot which just apparently started running (according to friends and family in Vermont, Georgia and Florida). I got called into Danny's office on Wednesday for the Chrysler spot. I don't know if it was a direct result of the mailing or just a happy coincidence, but it doesn't really matter.

Callback: Chrysler
Thursday afternoon, I was notified of the callback for Chrysler scheduled at 7:45pm. They're moving quickly because the spot shoots this weekend. My acting class meets on Thursday nights, so I was obviously late for class. The callback was a positive step for me and KSA. Each one gets us a step closer to making money. At the callback in Santa Monica, there were quite a few people since they're doing a Spanish version of the spot as well. Their session was running pretty late. We waited for a while, but you get used to it in this business. I guess some people get antsy, but you just have to look at it as additional preparation and relaxation time.

One of the other actors was from my Thursday night class. It's still a small world after all. As I looked around at the various faces, I was struck by that crazy sense of familiarity that happens here. Basically, you feel like you should know people, but it's not because you really know them...you realize you probably just recognize them from various commercials, shows, etc. The same thing happened to me when I was in the make-up trailer on the set of Bobby Jones. I was waiting for my chair to open up when a guy walks in and I immediately think [to myself fortunately], "What have I worked with him on?". Yeah, that was followed quickly by, "Idiot, it's Jim Caviezel." It pays to think before you speak.

Auditions

Audition: Chevrolet; CD - [skirts]
My first audition through the agency went well. It was basically a Christmas spot involving cheerily prepping for the BIG DAY and an unexpected (or too expected) visitor.

Audition: Stanley Tools; CD - Kari Peyton
Back-to-back is nice. Once again, I felt pretty good.

Commercial auditions can be entertaining but brief. You just have to bring your "A" game and let it go. I'm confident that the callbacks and bookings are on the way, which will be a good thing for me and the agency. Everybody wins, everybody makes money.

I've got some additional headshot repro's coming back next week after some color corrections were made. Once I have them, I'll be able to add some pics to the online casting sites employed by my agents. I'm also looking into postcards to announce my representation to the commercial CD's in town. While I was in acting class last week, I was feeling down about not being in class for Nov-Dec. Even with the expenses elsewhere, this is, after all, why we've moved all this way. We're here basically so I can do this. So, I decided I'll make sacrifices in other areas, not this one. I'm back in class next week. As with the move out here and all the things that have gone right, I believe I'll be validated in this decision as well. "Life has a way of proving you right."

Chill

The weather has been very "Fall-like" here -- overcast, rainy...I actually like it. It's a nice change. I'm still helping out in the manager's offices and at Ronnie Yeskel's casting office. They're currently casting "Threshold" and a new series incarnation of "Blade". I've been in several casting sessions running the camera. Here's a piece of advice for auditioners everywhere: Don't just suddenly launch into the scene. Check and see if the camera person and your reader are ready to go, and then take a moment for yourself and everyone else in the room so we all know it's showtime. It really is fascinating to watch a day of auditions. I can tell you that a good audition, even if it doesn't go any further for you on that particular project, will endear you to casting directors. They take notes. They'll bring you in for something else.

Class is going ok this month. Unfortunately, I can't participate in the joint Nov-Dec session because of the holidays, trips home, buying plane tickets, etc. My commercial agents picked out a couple of additional headshots they want to use online, so I ran a couple of errands today to get proofs of those printed up. The folks at Argentum are nice and seem to do quality work. I'll see Friday when I go see the 8x10's. I'll probably only get one of them mass produced as a more theatrical shot to counter balance the commercial ones I already have. Once this supply is exhausted, I'll make the commercial switch to the other one the agents like. There's always plenty to do. I've been making independent submissions to CD's and will begin focusing on adding a manager or theatrical rep to the team now.

Commitment

We traveled back home last weekend to attend my brother's wedding. It was odd to arrive in the Atlanta airport as the first leg of the trip (i.e. not the end). On the drive up to my in-laws' house, we both had the feelings of confirmation that Atlanta is definitely not where we're supposed to be right now. Overall, the weekend was nice. We visited with all of the family and some friends, and it was great to see my niece again. Though the wedding day itself was a little stressful with helping my brother try to secure last minute necessities and make arrangements, it was still a nice occasion and an emotional one for a number of reasons. Now, we're back and a little tired, but catching up.

As a result of my meetings, I signed with KSA's commercial department. The two agents and two assistants were all very nice people. I chose to sign with them because of their reputation as a solid department, but mainly becuase I just felt more comfortable with them. They also remind me a little of my agents in Atlanta, with whom I had a great working relationship. I'm doing some drop-offs today and will need to get some postcards and additional headshots printed up.

I had to switch my days at the casting director's office in order to accomodate this month's acting class on Friday afternoons. As a result, I ran the camera in a producers session last week. Generally, casting for supporting roles on television starts with a pre-read for the casting director. The casting director brings some of those people in again for the call-back, which now involves producers, writers and possibly the director. Being in this session allowed me to see the interaction between the CD and the producers, the quality of the talent brought back, and to hear the selection process. I still don't know who was ultimately cast, but got a better sense of what they were looking to hire.

Meetings

My recent meetings with a couple of different agencies have gone very well. Even though we all know we're evaluating the situation from moment one, it's nice to go in and have a rounded conversation and get to know a little about the people I'm meeting. We're all people first and business people second. In this way, no matter what happens, I'm richer for the experience. You control what you can, and let go of what you can't. This philosophy is also entirely applicable to casting meetings. Actors should do their homework first. Then, you go in, relax, trust in the work you did, and focus on delivering your performance rather than worrying about needing the job, the other actors in the waiting area and all of that other goo that gets in our heads. Desperation and neediness might be called for in a character, but who wants to work with that in an actor? And having been in on some casting sessions now, I know it shows.

The AAMCO spot should be up and running at the end of the month. I inquired about getting copy for my commercial reel, and the gentleman who was assisting me said everyone there was really pleased with the result.

Class is going very well. We've had some complicated scenes and focused rehearsals. This month's work is blending the casting scenario with scene work, and how the two are interdependent. I'm continuing on next month with the goal of really being prepared to step into the theatrical arena when I have the opportunity.

My wife and I attended a stand-up taping for AOL & HBO (connected to The Comedy Festival in Vegas) last night with some friends. It was the first time I've been in the audience for a stand-up show, and the comics were great. Initially, we were told the taping would last about 4 hours, but it ended after 2. So, it was just right. I guess you can look for it in streaming content on AOL, but don't ask me how. I have never really investigated AOL.

Today reminds me of Atlanta a lot. Driving home last night, we saw lightning...first time since we've been here. In the middle of the night I woke to the sounds of thunder and rain which persisted on and off until this afternoon. When I got out of bed this morning, I just looked out the window for a while to watch the rain. It's been so long since I've seen it. Kinda miss that a little.

I had my first theater audition in LA on Friday. It went very well I think, but my scheduling issues may have been too much for them to deal with. We're going back to Atlanta for my brother's wedding at the beginning of October. Football season is underway once again. My university has a great alumni club out here that gets together to watch the games at a local bar. It's so much fun to watch in a group of fans...almost like being at the game...sort of...in a small way...with beer service.

My September acting class at Lesly Kahn & Co. is great. It is really energizing to focus on work in class and to rehearse outside class as much as we do. I look forward to putting what I've learned to work for me on audition material.

Another agency called and wants to see some of my work, so I have to put what I have on tape and let them know I'm still tracking down copies. Getting tape can be difficult. It seems that I have to really hound people to get a copy of the material I've performed for them. In one example, it took me a full two years of requests and broken promises to finally get a copy of a 30 second commercial. When I finally received it, the person who sent it was kind enough to include a bill. I have no problem reimbursing expenses, but if I'm going to pay a service fee, I'd appreciate a little more service. There are some exceptions of course. Most of the small indie films and many of the commerical/industrial folks have been very responsive. I'm continuing to try to assemble as much of my commercial material as possible to complete my reel, but it's tough. Tomorrow, I'm checking in on the AAMCO spot to see if that's available.

"Opening Night" and progress

Our class BBQ turned into something more of a pot-luck. It was nice to learn more about people and we talked about the business some too. A couple of mates offered to walk in P/R's to their agents and managers. Referrals are good.

Last night, I joined some friends from Lesly's intensive in attending another of our cohort's show "Opening Night: The Improvised Musical!" at IO West. Fantastic show. Go see it. I've seen an improvised musical attempted one other time, and it was not in the same league as this crew. Some of them have been performing this together for 7 years, and they are all very talented story-players and supportive of each other on stage. This was also my first trip to IO West since I've been here. It's a nice space, perhaps a little fancier than the Chicago space, at least in the lobby/bar, and the high-ceiling in the mainstage makes it much less claustrophobic. I did not see the basement (2nd stage).

I'm starting to book meetings with some of the agencies that the AAMCO commercial casting director referred me to. I've also got my schedule for class in September. My brother is getting married at the beginning of October, and we just got a great deal on plane tickets back to Atlanta. I repaired my window seal myself with a little advice from the folks at Alan's Auto Glass. My wife is working a big job in OC all weekend, and I'm working at the Mouse House for about 8 days for some cash. All good stuff.

It's hot in the desert

I just spent the weekend in the desert where my buddy lives. Holy hot! Why do people live there? It is interesting and almost otherworldly how water is used to appeal to people. By that I mean restaurants, apartment complexes, golf courses, malls, etc. put water features outside their establishments to lure people. Oddly enough, I found it enticing even though I was completely aware of their intentions and also not in dire need of water myself. It's just a symbol of comfort and wealth in the desert I guess. This may have nothing to do with the desert but while washing my car tonight, I noticed that the seal around my rear windshield was coming up in one corner. It seems odd that would just happen for no apparent reason. So, tomorrow I must have it repaired.

My first acting class with Lesly met for the final time last Wednesday. It was a great group. I really enjoyed the daily rehearsals, as they were excellent exercise. We're having a BBQ this week to get further acquainted outside the acting biz, but also to lay the groundwork for maintaining the connections we established together beyond this month. I'm continuing my training next month, but will have a different instructor. I've got to do a mass agent mailing. That'll be in the works for this week. Last week, I ran the camera in a casting session. That was an incredible learning experience. Note to self and actors everywhere: DO YOUR HOMEWORK! Work that script over and squeeze every drop of info out of it. If you slack off, it'll show in your reading. Be a pro.

Classy

The AAMCO shoot "Leaky Oil Guy" was great Wednesday. I arrived at 5:30am, an hour and a half before crew call, to start the SFX makeup on the trick ear. Early...tired, but excited to be working. The ear didn't quite turn out to be what I was expecting, but it's tough to make something flawlessly realistic when it has brass and plastic tubing running out of it and down your head. The contraption was too big to conceal in my own, rather short, hair. So, they decided to go with a wig. Everything was great until wig-time. Now, my head is a size 7 and 3/8. That's a fairly big hat. Despite my having been in the SFX shop, they didn't try out the wig before this very moment on the day of the shoot. My scene was scheduled for 8:30am. At 7:45am, it was brutally clear that this wig wasn't going over half my head, let alone the whole thing. Emergency ensues, PA's are dispatched to wig shops, and my scene is bumped to 12noon. The replacement wig ended up being far less realistic than the other wig was, but at least this one fit. We hadn't tested the oil rig, and didn't until rehearsal in the setup. It worked like a charm, and we knocked the shots out in fairly short order. It was a really strange, sticky and funny experience. I hope the spot works out.

My acting class is also fantastic. I love being around people who are focused on progressing, and the teacher is very good. I'm continuing on next month, and probably the month after that because I really feel I'm growing there. My hope is that I'll be artistically prepared for pilot season, and if I'm really fortunate, I'll have an agent and/or manager in time for that too.

Batting 1000

On Tuesday, I was informed that I had a callback for the commercial I mentioned. That was great news. Unfortunately, I also had some rather problematic news in other areas of my life that were weighing a bit on my mind. But the callback news was great. The location was in Santa Monica, which is an area I do not often venture to on weekdays, so I did a few drop-offs beforehand. I guess I had expected some first LA commercial callback jitters, but they didn't show up. I'll admit to feeling a little self-conscious, but strangely proud, that I didn't have anything to put on the size card next to "Agent". The scene had changed a little for the callback. Instead of taking place in an elevator, the scene was a company meeting - no dialogue, only circumstances. Things change all the time, and you gotta be ready to do it. Thank you, JaCKPie. The director directed me through it, and guys from the production company were there. At one point, I got laughs in the room, which is a good sign, and as I was leaving, the director said, "King of deadpan." Nice. I love Leslie Nielsen. I hustled over to CTG, the managers, and got the call booking me on the job later that afternoon.
To add to the joy, the CD has offered to help me get some meetings with commercial agents. First commercial audition in town leads to first comm. callback, which leads to first comm. job in town, etc. Given some of the lows I experienced over the weekend and that very day, that was a HUGE pick-me-up.

So, today, I spent two hours at a special effects shop getting my ears "Lifecast" for prosthetics that I wear in the spot. That was cool, but I'm still dealing with spirit gum in my hair these many hours later. Still, my ears are immortalized! Maybe they'll hang the molds on their wall next to Robin Williams' face and all the other faces they have up there.

Tonight, my good buddy Jim who put the JaK in JaCKPie, helped me put the HTML in a very basic web page that will help me IMMENSELY in my marketing efforts. Marketing is a huge topic at TAN, and marketing was one of the main topics of discussion in my first acting class last night with Lesly Kahn, who is a wonderfully insightful and direct coach. We meet for 6 hours, count 'em up, once a week in class, and then rehearse for 3 hours every day outside class with our mates (not our spouses). My world is busy, busy, but I feel more every day that we're on the right path. Glenn Morshower, fantastic character actor and another insightful person, said something like this a couple of weeks ago, "Life has a way of proving you right." What do you want to be right about?

Activity uptick

I mailed off some headshots last week in my pursuit for commercial representation. Having done a decent amount of commercial work before leaving Atlanta including one major national spot and several more targeted spots available nationwide, I'm hopeful that I will retain a quality agent soon. Starting tomorrow, I will be helping out at the management company I mentioned in the last post for two half days each week over the next several weeks. Additionally, I will be doing some work in a casting office next Friday, which could lead to a similar engagement there (though only once per week). Both opportunities afford me some experience with the side of the business many actors do not understand fully. I hope that the work gives me additional insight and turns out to be engaging.

Of course, immediately after I commit to those schedules, the temp agencies start calling. I took these positions on Wednesday and got two temp-job offers on Friday. You get nothing for weeks and then bam! Well, I turned them down despite the need for income. A commitment is a commitment, and I'm here to focus on MY business. Now part of that does involve staying alive financially, so I picked up another job with an event staffing company. I worked my first event Friday night, and although it's relatively thankless work, it felt good to be working.

Holy Hot

It has been H-O-T here, but the weather broke a little yesterday. My in-laws were our first official visitors over the last couple of weeks. We had a good time and did a number of things that we hadn't done since we've been here. The Getty Center is very impressive. We only spent a few hours there, but you could take much more time to see everything. My wife and her parents went on a whale watching cruise Friday, but I was unable to attend because of a last second commercial audition. It was a quick meeting that I landed myself. I took a little extra time beforehand to drop off some headshots elsewhere. Tomorrow, I have a meeting with a management company where I may intern for a while to see how that side of the business works. I previously attended a discussion held by one of the managers there and she seemed like a cool, ethical, real person. I like those kinds of people. So, we'll see. I'm looking forward to learning even more about the business.

I start with my new acting coach a week from tomorrow. That's tremendously exciting. One of the reasons I came out here was to get access to the higher quality training environment and the experienced coaches LA has to offer. Of course, you have to weed through the hundreds of poseurs, but I think I may have found a gem. As I've mentioned, I have attended several discussions involving agents and managers, and this coach has been mentioned by all of them. She seems to have a reputation for comedy specifically, which is fan-freaking-tastic for me. Since I haven't mentioned it already, allow me to encourage those of you who live in LA and read this little journal to check out The Actors Network. It's located in Studio City-ish off Moorpark, and it's a great place to get info on the biz from people who are in it and share ideas and insights with other people who are pursuing this career. So, look into it. If you go to an orientation session, tell them I sent you.

Debrief

Last night's Mayfly was great fun. I'll admit to having a few nerves running before the show, but they faded quickly. The assembled players were all top notch, the band brought the funk, and the audience was fantastic. The show itself was a disturbing trip through various nightmarish scenarios with monsters in the bedroom, evil-weird centaur devils, a dad in prison, etc. It was a great breath of fresh air to perform after taking quite a break. I felt energized, and can't wait to get further into performance/training mode.

I passed the necessary certification tests for my new day job. Since the company is relatively new, the business is still building. However, I hope to get enough work in the near future to alleviate some of the financial burden of moving, classes, headshots and all the other start-up expenses. The training was not bad at all, and the people are nice. Those are all good signs.

Break from the break

After not performing for a while now, I will be playing in this week's incarnation of Mayfly at Hothouse STC. I've been watching a ton of shows and definitely have the itch to play. The show is Saturday, July 16 at 10pm off Lankershim in NoHo. It's only $5, so you've got no excuse...unless you won't be in LA Saturday night at 10pm. BYOB. Loads of fun.

Got the headshot proof sheet back, having gone with full color instead of black and white for the first time. I picked the top 40 and had them printed as 4x6's at Costco for 17 cents each. That's an inexpensive way to narrow the shots down even more. My photographer gave me a great session however, and now I'm left with a ton of options. With some help from my wife and her parents, I narrowed it down to about 7. Each one has a characteristic that makes it a candidate for specifically targeted submissions. Too bad it's so expensive to get them reproduced; otherwise, I would just get all of them. The photographer is Kelsey Edwards, and I recommend her. If you go, tell her I referred you.

Jobs and shots

In the latest acting biz news, I had new headshots taken Tuesday. That's another step on the road to landing decent representation. I went with a 3-look session aiming for a couple of commercial, relaxed and fun looks and another more serious and theatrical look. I generally hate headshot sessions, but I'm not sure why because I usually end up having a good time. I've also been attending discussion groups with industry people and learning a lot.

It seems as though there are catch-22's around every actor's bend. There's the SAG catch...you can't join unless you work SAG, and it's hard to get SAG work without already being a member. Then there's the agent catch...agents want to represent people with credits, but it's harder to get decent credits without an agent. I've already handled the first one, but the second one awaits. I've got credits, but I'm probably still considered "developmental". However, I've been focusing more on learning to work the business and make it work for me. So, I'm sure it will all come in time.

In more mundane news, I got a job that required pre-employment drug testing, a physical and a background check. Let me tell you that's a barrel of fun, but it only took a couple of hours to accomplish...so not too bad. It'll be interesting to see how it works out. I'm hoping to get enough hours to be productive, but not so many as to interfere with upcoming classes, etc. Until I'm pulling in acting paychecks again, however, it must be done. I read another actor's outlook on day jobs. He basically said not to knock that work, because it enables you to stay here and further your other pursuits. That's true. My last regular day job didn't always agree with me, but it definitely helped me to get where I am. This new job has the potential to be entertaining as it involves being out and working with people rather than just sitting at a desk all day.

Scary business

I read an article in the Wall Street Journal today about the Supreme Court ruling in Kelo et al v. City of New London. At issue in this case, was whether or not a municipality could seize property from private citizens in order to build a privately owned and operated office complex. Governments have authority under "eminent domain" laws to seize land, in return for what they call "just compensation", for public use like roads and schools.

In the past few years, more and more politicians have been twisting this concept to make "public use" include anything that will generate more tax revenue than what is currently on the land. Now, the Supreme Court has given carte blanche to that practice. Say some MEGARetailer or big time development company likes the land your house is on, but you don't feel like uprooting your family to move from the house your father built just because someone offered you money. Does that MEGARetailer or development company accept your answer? Why should they? Now, they go to the City Council or whatever government is responsible for your little piece of America, and they make some donations to campaign funds, offer a few vacations, maybe just take a good old boy to a ballgame and buy the beer. Next thing you know, the City Council orders you to sell your land at "market price" to the city or county. Guess who determines "market price". Yep. Once they force you out, they often just give the land to this MEGARetailer or development company in return for the supposed future tax revenues generated by whatever development they're dropping on your former little piece of America.

There was a case in Georgia not too long ago in which a couple had already signed a contract to sell their land to someone else at a price (let's say 2 million) when the local municipality came along and decided they wanted it for a park. This municipality decided the "market price" of the property was some far lesser value (let's say 750 thousand). Because of a massive publicity campaign which highlighted this blatant thievery, the municipality eventually dropped their pursuit of the property.

How can a private citizen compete with these big developers in terms of influence on the politicians who make these decisions? Justice O'Connor wrote in her dissent, "The beneficiaries [of this ruling] are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms." The competition is not in public hearings. It's in the back room dealings, bribes and campaign contributions that politicians (good and bad) accept all the time. The private citizen cannot withstand such an assault. I suppose we have the right to pursue happiness as long as our happiness does not live where their MEGAStore is going.

Property rights are one of the central pillars of our freedom, and this ruling cuts us off at the knees. While people talk all the time about Patriot Act this and Patriot Act that, these large corporations and development companies are walking out the back door with our homes. We all better pay attention to what is going on in our communities.
The article

The new bias

Important stuff first...

My meeting with a potential acting coach went very well. I will be joining her for a class in August and going from there. It is an intensive track, which I like, with focused work for several hours at a time and required rehearsal time outside class with mates. I moved my headshot appointment back a week to better allow me to ponder ideas of "type" and make sure I have the wardrobe in place. That was a source of some concern as we left so much behind for the move. We did a little bargain shopping and found a nice suit and tie and a couple of shirts. One of those shirts can now claim the title of "Priciest Single Item of Clothing I've Ever Purchased", and I got it from a consignment place. So, just imagine... Well, it's a great shirt and, knowing me, I'll wear it for the next 10 years. That lessens the blow to my thrifty reputation.

Now, the tedious...

I encountered my first personal bit of anti-actor bias in the world of noncreativity. One of my temp agencies called with a month-long job that was just data entry/spreadsheet stuff. It sounded like minimum brain damage commensurate with the low pay. I said "ok", and they submitted me to the client. The next day, I got a phone call from someone at the agency I hadn't really spoken with before. They said the client was very interested in me but was afraid that I wouldn't work for the month because I am an actor. I chatted with the agency a bit saying that I wasn't really auditioning this month, and that if I said I would do the job, then I would do it. The agency seemed confident that I was a responsible person, and offered to arrange a meeting so the client could actually meet and talk to me. I didn't get the meeting, and I didn't get the job.

Consider, any company employing a temp knows that any temp, no matter what their pursuits, could call in at any time and say they don't want to be on this job and leave. That's the whole thing with a temp. It's temporary. For that matter, any full-time employee of theirs could come back from lunch, drop a resignation note on their desk and leave. How many of their full-time employees only want to work there for the rest of their lives? That's employment at will. So, what do they have to go on besides one of these people saying they'll do the job for a period of time and a resume that supports these assertions and capabilities? Nothing. So, what's the difference between me and these others? I'm an actor. You supply the logic because I cannot find it. Someone must've really hurt their feelings at some point.

I have a new prospect that I am following up on this afternoon. If it works out, I won't have to deal with calling the temps for work for a while. Nice.

Shake, Bake, and Flakes

The first noticeable earthquake since we've been here occurred today. It wasn't anything dramatic, but it's a little strange to feel your floor dancing under you. For the last couple of weeks, I've been joining a small contingent of musicians and friends for beach volleyball at Manhattan Beach. We've been to Venice Beach a couple of times, and it really doesn't even compare to Manhattan Beach. Guess I don't understand that attraction some have to Venice. It was a gorgeous day. I'm generally not a beachy person, choosing the hills and forests instead, but I do love beach volleyball. With the weather today, the good times, and the great setting, I actually considered that I might like to live at the beach some day.

We're about to embark on the treacherous waters of car registration. California is supposed to have tougher emissions laws, which could mean expensive repairs to our cars. I am having nightmares about it, but I'm hoping I'll be pleasantly surprised --- overwhelmingly overjoyed would be good.

One of the things people seem to say about Los Angeles is that everyone is so fake. While I feel quite certain that a sizeable number of people are like that, so far we've managed to meet a lot of good folks who seem genuine. (And all the jaded will say, "That's because you're a relative unknown from whom people don't want something...yet.").

Has anyone seen this trashy E! show called "Fight for Fame" or something like that? Basically, four people each week "compete" to win a 1 year contract with an agency. Each week, there's an improv scene component. Wow. Here are a few of the gems from some of the "actors". "She was giving me nothing." "I wasn't going to let her steal my opportunity." "I could tell she was so nervous. What am I supposed to do with that?" I watched one actress go from trying to get a married man to "give me a chance" to [when he basically said, "Ok, let's go right here and now"] "I can't do this, you're married."

What did the agents say? "It didn't seem like they were listening to each other."

Ok. If you haven't already, see also "My partner didn't give me anything"
and "On improv and awareness"

Underway

After finally working last week at one of the studios, I've spent some time this week doing some housekeeping for the acting side of life. I've got an appointment with my headshot photographer, with an acting coach who was recommended to me, and with a local actors' support network. The acting coach requested that I bring a scene from a previous or upcoming audition for our meeting. Of course, after the move and all that, I have no idea where my file of past audition sides is buried. Let that be a lesson to all of us, keep up with those. So, I picked a scene from a TV show that includes a character that I believe fits me. Even though it's not something I was actually submitted for, I think it should give the instructor some information about where I am.

On another topic, I've hit a rough poker streak. It's so strange, but occasionally a player can fall into a rut of getting consistently beaten on great hands. Getting beaten while playing a good hand usually means you lose more money. It's tough to keep your mind together when you're losing to 7-3 off suit. You just have to maintain your game and not freak out. So, I'm down this week, but still up overall.

Once more into the testing cubicle...

I've been in a temp-drought. Of course, it's partially my fault. Immediately after registering with 3 agencies, I got a call about a job I had auditioned for the previous week. After the callback, I got the job, and had to inform all those eager agencies that I would be unavailable for two weeks. Maybe that put me on some naughty lists. Now that taping on the aforementioned job is complete, I still have no job. So, after learning that my car battery was dead, I took an alternate vehicle (one of the many benefits of marriage) and ventured once more into the temp world and applied with a different company. Anyway...forms, software tests, typing tests... I've taken 4 of these things now, and they're all virtually the same. On the bright side, this particular agency seems to work more with the studios. If I'm going to work a day job, I figure I might as well be interested in what they do. The jobs are mostly short-term, which is also good as it means more frequent breaks in the routine.

Over the weekend, we attended several free shows at the local theatre and arts festival. One of the tremendous upsides to encouraging a theatre district is that it enables a festival like this to take place. Everything was within a 3 or 4 block area, including open container areas, the Colossal Dog, and an afternoon performance by The Platters! We did not hang around for the Peruvian blues singer. We live in a great neighborhood.

Catch Up

This is a repost from elsewhere in the ether. I'm trying to migrate my thoughts to this instead of that.

4/9/2005 - The Mrs. and I arrived in Los Angeles about two and a half weeks ago. It took us a few days to find an apartment. At one point, we found a great place, but after we looked at it twice, the landlady pulled the old switcheroo on us and told us the rent was actually more than she had advertised it for. Ummm...no thanks. The next day, we found the apartment where we now live and got a great deal.

We've spent the last week getting some minor furniture items to flesh out the place, and getting utilities and such worked out. Now, we're looking for jobs and getting in the flow of being real people, not just mad apartment hunters/decorators.

4/15/2005 - I spent a fair amount of time this week taking tests. Wha??? I know, it felt so weird. Actually, I got a lot more anxious during them than I remember getting in the past. The tests were various mundane things related to office work, accounting, etc. I was applying at temp agencies.

Typing tests, Word tests, Excel tests, math tests, spelling tests, alphabetizing tests, following directions tests...it can be pretty ridiculous considering the bulk of the jobs they want to offer you pay a glorified McDonald's wage. What happens if you score better? Do they pay you more than the other guy they could get to file their paperwork at $9 or $10 per hour? Probably not. So, why test me? If I come in and can actually put a sentence together in conversation with you and have some kind of education, let alone a freaking college degree, how about you just pass me through right there.

Sure hope I get that month-long, rote, $10/hour, bring-tears-to-my-eyes STOR-IT-HERE data entry job that's gone neglected by their own $40k/year employees for 2 years while I've been patiently awaiting my opportunity to get their ship together for them.

On Improv and Awareness

On Improv and Awareness by Chris Pierce
When I think about how improv has affected my acting and, more generally my life, the first thing I come to is listening. Listening is an oft-overlooked art that is critical in our day-to-day communications with others, and absolutely without a doubt one of, if not THE, most crucial building blocks of improvisation. Without it, we might as well sit on stage, drool for 90 minutes and call it art. What is said? Is that what is meant? What IS meant? Is that all that is meant? What is hidden? What is revealed? Even the non-verbal communication requires that we listen. We listen to movements, the things people are telling us without saying a word, the things they cover up by staring too long at the mixing bowl or casting nervous glances to the clock. We listen to the scene and let it tell us where to go. We listen to ourselves, to our feelings, to our subconscious, to the sounds in the audience, to the music in the theater, to the squeaks in the stage, and it all affects us to some degree and changes what we do, the choices we make. Improv won't save the world or make you a better person, but the improviser, fully in the moment, is alive and bristling with awareness.
In our day-to-day lives, we get by with a lot of assumed information, information we take for granted. Think about it. I get up. I know the sun is up there somewhere, maybe behind a cloud, but up there. I know I’ll have a hot shower. I know I’ll get in my car, start it, and drive to work. I know I will unlock the door at work, go to my desk, and try to look busy for 8 hours. What did I miss? Details – the progressive shift of the seasons, the smell in the air outside my apartment, the stranger who dropped a box in a neighbor’s trash can, the cat stalking a squirrel, the distraught look on the face of the secretary from the office downstairs… Maybe I saw it, but did it affect me? To stay sane and get to work on time, maybe my mind filters things out that would interrupt my routine.
Now, think about things that change your day-to-day humdrum feelings and charge you. When do you feel that all your senses awaken, your brain ordering extra chemicals dumped into your bloodstream, your heart rate increasing or maybe even decreasing? More often than not, those things occur when there’s a change in your routine, you allow yourself to appreciate the yellowing of the leaves on the tree, or there’s an unexpected interruption that requires full physical, mental and emotional awareness…preparedness…for what? Anything could happen. On a larger scale, the hot water is out; my car won’t start; I get cut-off or sideswiped on the interstate; the door to the office is busted open; or maybe the office building is just gone. Something a little more subtle…I notice the distraught look on that secretary’s face and I ask her about it. Her reply somehow saddens or angers me…injustice.
In our scene work, each moment, every detail is critical. Listen to it. Process it. React to it honestly. If you don’t, it could be another humdrum day at the office.

Poker

My continuing interest in poker has turned into a mild obsession. As a kid, I remember my dad trying to get me into chess, which he had played all the time in previous years. I played, but never was that good at it. In fact, I don't think I've ever beaten my dad at chess. Poker fills that same competitive/strategy/guts and glory spot in my soul right now. When I first saw it on TV, it seemed like the equivalent of golf...sort of surprising anyone would sit and just watch. After playing a few times though, I suppose I can understand why people who love to play golf often love to watch golf. Same sort of thing.

My old hamstring healed up quite nicely within a week. So, I'm back to the basepaths. Slow-pitch softball is an exercise in patience when you're batting. The ball takes so long to get to you, you can change your mind 15 times about whether or not to swing. I guess that makes it quite the opposite of improvisation.

Softball and hammies

Lately, I've been doing all sorts of things with some free time. I've been taking some Spanish classes, playing poker everywhere, taking dance lessons and playing on a softball team. Funny...when you fill up your free time with electives, your time suddenly feels like it isn't "free" anymore. Last night, I pulled a hamstring during a softball game. I even ran through some stretches before the game. Despite playing sports through high school and a lot of recreational sports in college, I've never really had a sports-related injury. This one serves to remind me of my own mortality. You forget sometimes that your body won't always do what it has done in the past without a lot of extra preparation and caution. Never underestimate the power of a good stretch.

Show: BBIF, JaCKPie turns 3

Had a great time performing and watching the other teams at the Black Box Improv Festival. I also had a fantastic group who braved the relatively early morning hours on Saturday to take my workshop.

Major kudos to Babies mit Bearden with Mike in for Kasey. They made me laugh until I cried. "I sense whales ahead." "Well, you know, where there are whales, there are squid." Also really enjoyed the Dad's performance. Thanks also to Sean and Duke who came to see the show, and to Tom who came to my workshop. Had family commitments on Saturday evening, so I didn't get to see those shows. Maybe Jim can post some thoughts.

This was another great experience for Atlanta audiences and some of the college improvisers in the South.

On a JaCKPie specific level, Jim and I hadn't performed in a while. Jim mentioned afterwards that he had been nervous. That's usually my role, but for some reason, I felt like I was picking up on details and information all day long. I was confident that predator mind was going to be there for me in the show too. We ended up with a pretty cool show involving life behind the PO boxes, two people with a desperate need to open or not open something, and an organically developed silent scene (our second ever) involving the "hang-loose" sign and the history of telecommunications. The show felt tight and we were definitely connecting to each other and the audience.

JaCKPie is officially 3 years old now. Jim and I started discussions and workshops in late August of 2001. So much has happened in that time, so many people have crossed paths with us, I have learned so much. It hardly seems like a moment has passed, much less 3 whole years. There will be some changes ahead for JaCKPie, but we've been adapting and evolving since we started. I'm amazed by each new phase and thank Jim for continuing to be a fantastic, enthusiastic, creative partner and all of you who have played with us or just watched the shows for teaching and inspiring us.

Relationships in Scenes...

I've had talks or classes with some of you about how we know Who is who in the real world of relationships without name tags. Relationships are about relating (emotions, wants, needs, behavior, spatial relationships) not about talking about relating.

"Dad, you know, with it being my 16th birthday AND the prom AND my first real date, can I borrow the car even though the roads are really icy?"

"Aw, cousin-o-mine, we've been cousins ever since my mom's sister brought you illegitimately into the world behind ol' man Tate's pool hall, whilst I was curled up with The Notebooks of Davinci and a baby bottle full of fine Scotch."

In my opinion, the player's reliance on words alone to set up relationships and actions stems from the crunch time style of short-form games that give a scene 2-3 minutes of life. The training was always...spit out as much of the critical Who, What, Where, When, Why in the first few lines so you can be funny two-thirds of the time. That kind of training may or may not result in funny stuff, but I believe it is a program that inherently breeds distrust. Don't get me wrong, a lack of trust can exist independently of that kind of background for any number of reasons.

How can we truly be free to play without trust?

Trust the other player(s). Trust the audience to be intelligent enough to understand what they see perhaps even more than your application of a verbal 2x4. Trust that your own practice, reading, training and life experience have made you capable of communicating with your whole being, not just your mouth.

Chris
2004/01/06 - 11:15:28

Show: C-47, BmB, JaCKPie @ Horizon Theatre

Mighty fine show Friday night...mighty fine.

Despite an epic struggle against my own sinuses, I had an amazing time at the show Friday. From setup to strike, everything went very smoothly. Everyone did a great job of helping to get the word out, which resulted in a nice house of a tad over 60. For traffic reasons, about 20 of those people came in just after we started the show. Creaking and crackling aside, it was good to have them there.

The C-47 cast of Mike, Corrin, Damian, Jim and Joel unfolded the tale of one girl and her man-skin rug Daddy vs. the band of scavengers led by the condor, the large horsefly and the dog.

My first dose of Babies mit Bearden in Captain, Corporal, Ensign was a delight. Life in The Shack at the toothpick-like railroad crossing is never as simple as you think. Eat it up.

JaCKPie was fun in the second half with Joel and Damian providing the score on strings. I couldn't smell the audience response but I think they enjoyed our wandering tale of brothers who can't get along and the relative value of rhetorical and philosophical engines. "Where does he keep his piggy bank?" "Where does mom keep my brother?" Brought to a nice close by Kelly, who kicked booty all night on the light board.

Which leads me to say that the show would not have been as successful and as low-stress as it was without the assistance of Kelly and our team of volunteers (Tom, Jayne, Sean and Dan). When you see these people share the love.

I heard a lot of positive buzzing in the audience during intermission and after the show. Several people mentioned they thought this style of improvisation was very engaging and cool. Lots of people were talking about trying the drop-ins and telling more people. The people want more.