Branching out

I have always felt we are all more than one thing to both ourselves and to others. By that I mean we each have talents in more than one area, and if we are fortunate, we get to exercise those talents in concert with each other from time to time. I think the main reason I was always a big fan of Steve Allen was because he could do so many things so well.

But first, on the acting front....I recently did a film for the US Department of Justice, in which I played a prison medical director. The film was done through a media company in Portland. This company is quite professional, their shoots run very well, and they are always a joy to work for. This was the second role I have done for this media company and I look forward to working with them again. I have also had an increase in auditions this year, as compared to last, and that's always a good sign.

I spent two rewarding private lesson sessions with my acting coach in Hollywood, Glenn Haines, in early April and am planning another such trip to LA in late May. There is no such thing as too much good study and training for an actor.

Acting is, of course, my main focus, has been for many years, and will remain so. However, I'm now delving into other areas related to acting, some of which I have been involved in before and some of which I have not.

Last year I conducted a couple of cold reading workshops for the students of a Seattle area acting coach. In the next couple of months I will be doing four more such workshops for students of that same acting coach. I greatly enjoy coaching other actors, as it's rewarding, and every time I conduct a workshop, I come away having learned something myself.

Prior to entering acting a number of years ago, I spent more than a decade as a computer programmer and systems analyst. I have maintained many of those skills over the years, as being computer literate and being able to function in that environment is highly important to actors and non actors alike. I believe actors need an economical path to having a good website and/or demo reel created. I also believe that any actor who does not have both, with the demo reel being available through their website is at a disadvantage. So, I will soon be offering both services to actors. I'm doing the set-up work for that now and will have more about that in future posts.

In June the Seattle Theater Readers will be doing a staged reading of one of my short film screen plays at their monthly show in the Jewel Box Theater in Seattle. It's a private eye farce and runs some 15 minutes.

Finally, please grant me a personal note. Last evening my wife and I attended a concert by the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra (SRJO). This is a wonderfully talented group of musicians. If you live in the Seattle area, do yourself a favor by looking them up on the Internet and attending one of their future concerts. You'll be glad you did.

That's all for now. More later...........