You Want Me To Act Where?

(Revised September 30, 2011)
It's been awhile, but I have always promised that I will never write an entry to this blog unless I have something worthwhile to say.

A funny thing happened recently on the way to the audition. OK, not so, but I couldn't resist using that take-off on an old (very old) stand-up comedian line. Actually, nothing funny happened to me on the way to the audition, but something that hasn't happened in a long while did happen, as a result of the audition. Since my return from living in LA, all my work and most auditions have been in Portland, where as you know, two TV series ("Grim" and "Leverage") are now shot, as well as some major films. I had not worked, or for that matter had more than a few auditions in Seattle since my time in LA.

My recent audition (a week ago) was for a Microsoft X-Box commercial, mainly for use on the Internet and for trade shows..., and quite possibly, for an additional buyout, a TV commercial down the line. A few days after my audition, I was informed by my agent that I had been cast. My portion of the commercial was shot two days ago in Seattle on the 28th. It was a great experience with a wonderful director, a great cast to work with, and a very professional crew.

As many of you know, the state legislature in their infinite wisdom decided to close the state film office, leaving Washington as one of only six states without one. They ignored statistics which showed that three dollars came into the state for every one dollar spend in perks to film and TV companies. Oregon to the south and Vancouver BC, to the north, both offer attractive incentives which bring film and TV business to their areas, while Washington offers none. I shy away from discussing politics in this blog, but be you conservative, liberal, or none of the above, you should mention the harm that closing the film office has done to our state, anytime you have a reason to contact any of our state's elected officials.

Still, there is work in this state, just not nearly as much as there used to be.

I had a strange audition this past Monday for a photo shoot. The audition consisted of walking into the audition room, saying hi, and having five photos taken (three front, one side, one full length) and the photographer (a pleasant man) then saying "Thanks, that it." The process took maybe two minutes and was so fast that after my pictures were taken, the next person was in and out of their audition before I had finished gathering my jacket and headshot folder from the waiting room. Another unusual thing was that they did not need for you to give them a headshot. Of course, this is only the second photo shoot for which I have auditioned. The other was many years ago and I was cast in that one. Perhaps this is the way most photo shoot auditions work.

On the writing front, the Seattle Theater Readers will be doing two more public staged readings of my short film screenplays, one in November, and the other in December. One is a sort of "bad things come to those who deserve it" story, while the second script is science fiction.

Finally, I returned two weeks ago from a few days in LA where I had two lengthy lessons with my acting coach, Glenn Haines, and also participated in an acting showcase for the casting agency that casts "Chuck" and the new (still in production) "Dallas" series. It was a quick and very productive trip. I hope to take another such trip in late October/early November.

So, as the old saying goes, "That's my story and I'm sticking to it." I'll talk with you again, the next time I have something new to say.

Until then............