Audition: 7-11 @ Craig Colvin

Last second audition for today. It was a quick hitter...get in, get out deal.

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On-Set: SoCal Honda

Had a great time and got to work with a cool director today. I also worked with a live turkey named "Jerry". I've done some weird, fun stuff in this business.

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Booked: SoCal Honda

Booked this one. Another avail turns into an actual job. Is it a trend? Wardrobe Wednesday and shoots Thursday.

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Callback: SoCal Honda @ Alyson Horn; AVAIL: SoCal Honda; Audition: TurboTax @ Ross Lacy

This callback for SoCal Honda was one I absolutely did not expect. I didn't feel great walking out of the original audition, but I'll take the callback and run. The callback went great. The director and I seemed to be on the same page. I got laughs in the room. Good stuff.

Ross Lacy continues to call me in more than any other CD in town. I want to book something in this office so badly. The TurboTax spot will be a lot of fun with some cool makeup.

UPDATE: Got an avail call for the SoCal Honda spot. Not a booking yet, but an avail is better than umm...not an avail.

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Auditions: Catch up

I think since my last post, I've had about 5 auditions. Most of them have been at Ross Lacy casting and one with Alyson Horn. No callbacks in this round so far as I know, which a little surprising, but as you read here so often, "You never know."

Yesterday's audition wasn't so grand. The session runner was giving a lot of feedback in the many rehearsals we did, but it wasn't translating into something directly workable for me. Another case of being at war with my instincts for the scene.

Will, Matt and I did a three-man improv show on the 9th that went over very well. It was our first performance as a trio, though we've been working together on writing a show that we plan to put up in January. I wrapped up Level 4 class at IO. I'm taking a break for the holidays but will probably jump back in for Level 5 after the first of the year.


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Audition: Kmart @ Ross Lacy; Cub Foods @ Craig Colvin

The Kmart audition didn't feel great to me. I wasn't completely satisfied with the way I related to my scene partner. I didn't have time to rehash it in the car since I had an appointment immediately after, luckily just a couple of minutes from there. A sign at the audition did say to keep cellphones handy as the callbacks would be tomorrow. I had "booked out" with my agency for tomorrow afternoon, but I should be able to make it work if I get the callback.

The Cub Foods audition involved kids. Craig's stuidos were packed as there were two separate family spots being cast. It's interesting to watch the kids and their parents beforehand. I was matched up with a couple of kids, and the audition was just me talking to them about school and their day.

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Audition: Life @ Mia Levinson/Josh Einsohn; Home Depot @ Cathi Carlton

A two-audition day that worked out perfectly. The auditions were solid. No unexpected surprises. For "Life", a series that I enjoy, I gave an initial read that was more understated or channeled the anger of the character differently. Josh redirected me to more of a clear expression of that anger and I felt satisfied with my adjustment.

The Home Depot was a silent, physical audition...a guy just doing stuff.

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Auditions: NBC Promo @ [CD left blank]

This was weird. I was greeted at the door to the building by people wanting me to sign a release form because they were shooting a documentary segment on this casting director for a certain entertainment channel. As I sat to read the thing, distracted from the audition mindset, a number of other actors just walked up, said "Ok" and signed without even reading anything. I don't want to tell someone how to run their business, but this release was one of those complete, wholesale, you have no rights whatsoever, give us free reign over your life kind of releases.

So, I asked, "The cameras will just be outside the room or inside too?"
Them - "Inside too."
Me - "No thanks."

Who wants their audition to end up as fodder on some entertainment show? These things can be weird enough as it is. I received a green sticker to wear, which was supposed to alert the camera people not to film me. I was the only person wearing one for the entire time I was there. It also didn't stop the camera guys from coming into the room and trying to get me to answer questions. I just politely ignored them. The whole thing was awkward, and I think unfair to surprise actors with release forms and roving cameras on their way into an audition. The agents should've been forewarned so they could pass the knowledge to their clients.

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Audition: Ebay @ Kathy Knowles

Ahh...Santa Monica in the late afternoon. Unfortunately, there's just no good alternative to the 405 for me. Getting there was fine, but coming back in rush hour was not fun. The audition, however, was fun. There was copy that was very short, and it's a good spot in the Ebay vein of funny spots. We did some improv in the room to insert a couple of lines. I felt like I improvised more like I would in a scene than maybe I have at auditions in the past. It's tricky because although it's "improvised", you do have a minute or two to consider once you've been told the scenario. Anyway, I expect a callback here.

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Life: Baby, Showbiz: SAG Card

Those of you who check in regularly may have found it pointless as my updates have been sporadic recently. I've back dated a few items to catch up. Life is full with the baby. We've had lots of family visiting, which has been entertaining. Every time someone comes to town, we try to do/see something we haven't already done/seen. One of the highlights has been the Autry Museum here. I was very impressed with the collection and the lunch.

In other news, I received the coveted SAG card in the mail the other day. An expensive, but necessary, tool for acting work here. It comes at a time of uncertainty in the business overall. SAG and the production execs have still not reached an agreement on a new Primetime contract. AFTRA signed a deal last month. I'm an AFTRA member too. I must say it seems odd that the union with fewer overall shows in this jurisdiction would cut in front of the union with the most on the line. The whole thing has seemed a debacle and makes me wonder further why there are still two separate performer unions working against each other.

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Audition: Toyota @ Melissa Martin

For the audition, we were just asked a question and taped for the response. These types of auditions are used when there's no dialogue, but the CD is giving the decision-makers a chance to see who the actor is. Four of us were in the room at the same time. It's interesting to see how quickly some become uncomfortable talking off-the-cuff about their life.

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Audition: Circuit City @ Ross Lacy

I hadn't been in for this CD in a while. His office is one of the busiest in the city when things are rolling. It was another straight-forward, no dialogue bit. Good to be hitting the commercial streets again.

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Audition: My Wife is a... @ Kendra Shay Clark

This one came through my agent in Atlanta. It's a web series pilot. The interesting thing here is that the role description in the breakdown and the dialogue in the sides didn't really jibe in my mind. I think some lines in the sides had been reassigned to give this particular character more to do. However, some of these reassigned lines ascribed too much "hip life wisdom" to a character that seemed a little more lost. I was given a choice of scenes and went with the one that had a quick comic rhtyhm. Kendra read with me and gave my cue lines the pace they needed, which was great. It's so awkward reading comedic scenes when the reader isn't right on it. It was a pleasure reading for her.

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Audition: Zales @ Gabrielle Schary

Things have been slow for some time commercially, which is not atypical of the summer here. This audition seemed perfect for me. The spot called for a young dad coming home to his wife and infant...hmmm.... No real dialogue or anything, so it's all on the look again.

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Show: Jack & Johnny July 17

Our sophomore show didn't slump. The house was packed, the show was fast-paced...perhaps slightly more scattered than previously...and we got positive feedback from the audience and our critics (wives). We are definitely planning to get the show up more frequently, producing our own evenings or whatever it takes to get a few shows each month.

The audition front has been deserted. Class at IO is still great. At home, we've had lots of visitors and family time. We took the baby for a "hike" in Malibu Canyon last week at the hottest time of a hot day. "Poor planning" you say? Pushing the compact stroller uphill, through loose, sandy gravel and a bumpy trail made for a little adventure. We had to portage her over some larger gravelly areas. In the end, we had to turn back within a quarter mile of the MASH location because the trail was impassable with the stroller. The baby slept through the whole thing. Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa perspired through the whole thing.

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Show: Jack & Johnny debut 7/3/08

It's a belated update, but the Jack & Johnny debut was a rousing success.

We hung out earlier in the day, and let Will's wife experiment on us with her repetition exercise. Then, we rehearsed a little bit. I must admit that I find it difficult to rehearse in apartments, parks or other non-theatrical type spaces. However, classrooms and possibly yoga rooms seem to be exceptions, perhaps because they're still largely blank spaces. Anyway, the rehearsal was ok, but we were both a little tired and hot. We wrapped it up in time for me to spend some time at home with the little family and eat a bite.

Around 7pm, we met for a little coffee, or a lot, at a Starbucks just a few doors down from the theatre. I needed the jolt to get the blood flowing. The Pale Irish Bastards, our hosts, got the place open and we talked for a bit about movies and such. Will and I did an "idea at a time" story exercise to warm-up, which worked very well indeed. I came up with it as a result of something I learned in our first class at IOWest with Craig Cackowski, which, by the way, is a phenomenal class that I should blog about later. The exercise got us riffing and jazzed. The house wasn't huge, but we were ready to go. After a somewhat overdramatic lighting situation for our entrance, we got our suggestion "Born to be wild" and took off.

We had a fast, compact show, with all the specifics, multiple character work, high-energy play you could want. It was a very satisfying experience and quite a bit different than our rehearsals. Of course, I expected that based on what I told you above about my rehearsal quirks. Even when I was doing plays in high school, my teacher/director noticed that I seemed to hold something in reserve during rehearsals that was loosed in performance. Not a good habit I think, but it's a little like not tipping your hand or leaking the magic. What I should be able to do is have the magic in rehearsal and even more magic in the show. I'm looking forward to our second performance on the 17th! If you're on Facebook, search for and join our group "Jack & Johnny".

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Show: Jack & Johnny

My friend Will and I have finally had the opportunity to stop talking about doing a show and just do it. It's exciting to have shows coming up on July 3 and 17, and we're also taking the same class at IOWest. I'm ready to get back on the stage after a little hiatus. The show is called "Jack & Johnny" as a result of our affiliations with Johnny Lunchpail (Will) and JaCKPie (me). Here's hoping for a rousing success.



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AVAIL: ESPN

Well, it's good, but "You're hired!" is better. Wait and see.

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Callback: ESPN @ Cathi Carlton

Chuckles in the room are usually a good sign, but you just never know. I had a discussion with another actor who was in a class I took a year or two ago. He was telling me about another commercial actor who did a spot with him who was in the midst of booking 13 spots for serious dough. That's what we need here. A streak.


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Audition: ESPN @ Cathi Carlton

It has been several weeks since my last audition. I was beginning to wonder if commercials had left LA for a bit.

This one went very well I think. The wardrobe called for boxers, t-shirt, shirt, tie, slacks, jacket. I was thinking it would be another "take your clothes off" type thing, but it turned out that for the audition, it was just about being in the pants and t. The wardrobe that's involved in the final product may be different from what they need at the audition, but you never know until you get there. Sometimes, it's way off. You may get an audition notice in writing that says "suit and tie", but you may be the only one in your suit while everyone else is in safari gear. Then you wonder, how could we have possibly gotten the same notice for the same role and be this different.

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