The life of a backup quarterback in the NFL is a lonely one. He must practice just as long and hard during the week, as the rest of the team, yet his chances of playing in the upcoming game are slim to none. And, if by some chance he does play, his notification time is usually nonexistent, as he is suddenly thrust into the game. Here's a question. What is worse than practicing, being ready to play, and then not playing? To me the answer is simple. What's worse is getting to play and not being ready.
Last year was not a very good year for me as an actor. Call it bad economy, fate, whatever, or all three, but it was not a good year. I felt like the backup quarterback sitting on the bench.
Feeling that being ready is the first prerequisite for an actor, I will be making my first trip of the year back to LA and Hollywood in early February. I hope to make four or five such trips this year. I have scheduled two long private lessons with Glenn Haines, my acting coach in Hollywood, and will also be in at least one, and possibly two (one already scheduled and one pending) casting director workshops. The workshops are a wonderful way to do scenes with working LA actors under the sharp eye of a known LA casting director. I have worked with this casting director before, and his workshops are great fun, as well as being a good learning experience.
Working with Glenn is always a joy and a chore at the same time, as he demands nothing but the best from a student, and is quick to point out to you when you don't give it. He tells you why it wasn't up to par and you do it again until it is. He is a tough and talented acting coach, and that's why I continue to study with him.
I guess, like the backup quarterback, my worst fear is getting to play and not being ready. I have always thought that when you audition for a casting director, you are there with a twofold purpose. One, of course, is to land the role for which you are auditioning, and the other is to do a job which is good enough to earn the right to come back before that same casting director to audition for another role.
When I auditioned for "The Office" it was not my first time before that casting director. Five months earlier, I had auditioned for a small role in "Parks And Recreation" on NBC. I wasn't cast in that show, but was called back by that same casting director to audition for "The Office", in which I was cast. Every audition can serve as a building block to the next audition.
So it's off to LA I go in a few weeks to study and to see some welcome familiar faces. After that...."Put me in, coach."
Later.............
Last year was not a very good year for me as an actor. Call it bad economy, fate, whatever, or all three, but it was not a good year. I felt like the backup quarterback sitting on the bench.
Feeling that being ready is the first prerequisite for an actor, I will be making my first trip of the year back to LA and Hollywood in early February. I hope to make four or five such trips this year. I have scheduled two long private lessons with Glenn Haines, my acting coach in Hollywood, and will also be in at least one, and possibly two (one already scheduled and one pending) casting director workshops. The workshops are a wonderful way to do scenes with working LA actors under the sharp eye of a known LA casting director. I have worked with this casting director before, and his workshops are great fun, as well as being a good learning experience.
Working with Glenn is always a joy and a chore at the same time, as he demands nothing but the best from a student, and is quick to point out to you when you don't give it. He tells you why it wasn't up to par and you do it again until it is. He is a tough and talented acting coach, and that's why I continue to study with him.
I guess, like the backup quarterback, my worst fear is getting to play and not being ready. I have always thought that when you audition for a casting director, you are there with a twofold purpose. One, of course, is to land the role for which you are auditioning, and the other is to do a job which is good enough to earn the right to come back before that same casting director to audition for another role.
When I auditioned for "The Office" it was not my first time before that casting director. Five months earlier, I had auditioned for a small role in "Parks And Recreation" on NBC. I wasn't cast in that show, but was called back by that same casting director to audition for "The Office", in which I was cast. Every audition can serve as a building block to the next audition.
So it's off to LA I go in a few weeks to study and to see some welcome familiar faces. After that...."Put me in, coach."
Later.............
