For me, one of the pluses of being an actor is the variety. I don't just mean the variety of roles an actor will play throughout their career, although that is certainly a plus in itself. The variety I'm speaking of, today, is all the various hats an actor will wear. Actors will audition, will act on set once they have been cast in a role, will spend time marketing themselves to the powers that be in the acting world and, in general, will wear a number of different hats in their pursuit of the lightening in a bottle we all lump under the general term of "acting".
And so it was that while only a few weeks ago I found myself being an acting coach, as I conducted a couple of cold reading workshops, more recently I spent three days in Los Angeles wearing my acting student hat.
From living in LA, I made, and still maintain, good contacts there which I used to set up the schedule for my trip. Of course sometimes things don't always go as planned and I had to make some last minute adjustments to my LA schedule.
I was originally scheduled to attend a cold reading workshop of Craig Campobsso's in Burbank. Craig is a well known LA casting director who among his many accomplishments was nominated for an emmy for his casting work on the TV drama, "Picket Fences". Craig holds these cold reading workshops almost every Sunday, but as luck would have it, the particular one for which I was scheduled was cancelled. So, shifting gears, I took a private acting lesson from Craig. He's a very personable man, and the lesson was not only great fun, but very productive.
I also took a two hour lesson from my long time acting coach in Hollywood. Until now, I have refrained from naming him, but have decided to do so in this blog entry. My Hollywood acting coach is Glenn F. Haines. He coaches everyone from unknowns to name actors. His services are greatly in demand. and I am quite fortunate to have him as my acting coach. In a lesson or workshop he is never easy, and demands that you give your best and then give a little more. He pushes you and expects you to push yourself. He too, is a very nice man, but that never gets in his way when he pointedly needs to tell you what you did wrong or right, why this happened, and if what you did was wrong, what you need to do to correct it. His coaching is most certainly not for the faint hearted, but is definitely for those who want to continue to improve as an actor.
Glenn makes occasional trips to Seattle (where he used to live and where I met him) and if you can catch him on one of those trip and take an acting lesson from him, you will be a better actor after the lesson than you were before.
Finally, I attended a casting director's cold reading workshop which was held at Actors West in Thousand Oaks. This workshop was conducted by Allen Hooper, who casts the TV show, "Modern Family". Allen is personable, quite witty, and the workshop was a nice event with which to finish off my LA trip. There we 24 actors in attendance, most with one or more (a couple with a lot more) credits in network and cable TV shows, films, and commercials. Besides working with a top flight casting director like Allen, working with talented professional actors is also a benefit when attending an LA casting director workshop.
I returned home this past Tuesday, and am looking forward to my next trip to LA in a few months.
So, from actor to acting coach, and back to actor (and all the other stops in between) I am constantly reminded of just how fortunate I am (as are all actors) to have the opportunity to be in this wonderful business.
Until next time...................
Friday, April 16, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
A Tale of Two Auditions
Auditions are to actors what job interviews are to the rest of the working world. Of course there are differences, as auditions usually only last five to ten minutes, and there are many more each year (hopefully) than there are job interviews for workers in other fields. In essence, actors are always looking for their next job, even if they are currently working in film, television, or commercials. It is the nature of what we do.
Some actors literally loath auditions as they make them feel uncomfortable, while others neither hate or love auditions, and just figure they are a vital part of the business they are in. A third, and admittedly smaller, groups of actors actually like and enjoy auditions. I fall into that last group and freely admit there are other actors who look at me like I am a Martian when I say that, and I might as well have just told them I enjoy root canals. Still, love them or hate them, auditions are a part of being an actor.
There are many things an actor can control during an audition, but also there are a number of things totally out of an actors control. Knowledgeable people in the business say you should worry about what you can control, and not the rest. Fairly good advice for life, too, I suppose.
Recently I had two auditions with quite different results, even though both auditions went well. When an actor leaves an audition, they know if they did well.
First, I auditioned for a corporate/industrial film in Portland. The audition went longer than most (some 15 minutes) and I handled everything they threw at me well. Since then I also auditioned for another corporate/industrial film in Seattle, and again, the audition went well. I was equally pleased with both auditions.
I was cast in the film in Portland, but not the one in Seattle. I have been around in acting long enough to know that I will probably never actually now why I was not cast in one, and cast in the other. I have learned to accept the fact that I will probably never learn this and subscribe to the wise saying about worrying only about what you can control.
In both cases, I could have been cast or not cast because I did or did not have just the right look for which they were looking. Other than good grooming, we have no control over how we look. Perhaps I wasn't cast in the Seattle film because, as well as I did in the audition, another actor had an even better audition. If you can run the hundred yard dash in 9.8 seconds, you will win a lot of races until you go up against a runner who can run it in 9.7. That's life. Perhaps I reminded the audition person of someone they didn't like. That very thing once happened to an old acting coach of mine who reminded the film's director so much of his ex mother in law, he didn't want to be in the same room with her.
My point is this. If you can walk away from an audition feeling good about how you did, that is the very best result you can hope for. When that happens you have controlled all you could about the audition. What should an actor do after an audition regardless of how they think it went. If you learned something in the audition that will help you in future auditions, that's great. Otherwise forget it and move on. If they are interested in you they know where to find you or your agent. That audition is over and it is time for the actor to look forward, not backward.
I'm off this afternoon for LA for a series of casting director workshops and private lesson. I'll talk with you when I return.............
Some actors literally loath auditions as they make them feel uncomfortable, while others neither hate or love auditions, and just figure they are a vital part of the business they are in. A third, and admittedly smaller, groups of actors actually like and enjoy auditions. I fall into that last group and freely admit there are other actors who look at me like I am a Martian when I say that, and I might as well have just told them I enjoy root canals. Still, love them or hate them, auditions are a part of being an actor.
There are many things an actor can control during an audition, but also there are a number of things totally out of an actors control. Knowledgeable people in the business say you should worry about what you can control, and not the rest. Fairly good advice for life, too, I suppose.
Recently I had two auditions with quite different results, even though both auditions went well. When an actor leaves an audition, they know if they did well.
First, I auditioned for a corporate/industrial film in Portland. The audition went longer than most (some 15 minutes) and I handled everything they threw at me well. Since then I also auditioned for another corporate/industrial film in Seattle, and again, the audition went well. I was equally pleased with both auditions.
I was cast in the film in Portland, but not the one in Seattle. I have been around in acting long enough to know that I will probably never actually now why I was not cast in one, and cast in the other. I have learned to accept the fact that I will probably never learn this and subscribe to the wise saying about worrying only about what you can control.
In both cases, I could have been cast or not cast because I did or did not have just the right look for which they were looking. Other than good grooming, we have no control over how we look. Perhaps I wasn't cast in the Seattle film because, as well as I did in the audition, another actor had an even better audition. If you can run the hundred yard dash in 9.8 seconds, you will win a lot of races until you go up against a runner who can run it in 9.7. That's life. Perhaps I reminded the audition person of someone they didn't like. That very thing once happened to an old acting coach of mine who reminded the film's director so much of his ex mother in law, he didn't want to be in the same room with her.
My point is this. If you can walk away from an audition feeling good about how you did, that is the very best result you can hope for. When that happens you have controlled all you could about the audition. What should an actor do after an audition regardless of how they think it went. If you learned something in the audition that will help you in future auditions, that's great. Otherwise forget it and move on. If they are interested in you they know where to find you or your agent. That audition is over and it is time for the actor to look forward, not backward.
I'm off this afternoon for LA for a series of casting director workshops and private lesson. I'll talk with you when I return.............
Friday, March 26, 2010
Put Me In, Coach
I have always maintained that most of us should and do wear more than one hat, and should not think of ourselves as being defined by a single skill, talent, or activity. An accountant is more than an accountant, as he or she may also be a writer, or a gardener, or a volunteer for any number of activities, or an expert on a particular subject not associated with accounting, or may possess any number of talents at either an amateur or professional level. Past that, and never to take a back seat in our lives, all of us are husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and so forth. We all are the sum of all these parts, and I am no different there than anyone else.
In the course of my life I have worked as a professional jazz musician, a computer programmer, a systems analyst, a hospital department head, a technical field salesperson, and for the past fourteen years, an actor. Additionally, I have been a writer for years, writing short film screenplays, articles, essays, short stories, and two radio dramas which have been performed nationally on commercial radio. All of this has played a part in who I am.
I have given a lot to acting in time, money (private lessons, classes, workshops), and dedication and acting in turn, has given a lot to me. It has been and continues to be a good professional marriage.
This past couple of weeks, I opened a new chapter in the book known as "Who I Am". I taught and conducted two cold reading workshops for actors. The first workshop was for intermediate actors, the second was for a group of advanced actors. These workshops were scene study workshops (two person scenes), which gave each actor a few minutes to prepare a scene with their assigned acting partner, and then do their scene, and re-work that scene in front of the entire group. I subscribe to the simple, yet important premise of famed acting coach Tony Barr, who said, "Actors should act." All private lessons, workshops, and classes that I attended while in LA were designed that way....scene study, scene study, scene study. Both workshops went well, and I found that assuming the role as an acting coach was almost immediately comfortable for me.
While, like all of you I am the sum of many parts, after family I am still an actor first, with any acting coaching, writing, etc. coming after that. Still, I found I greatly enjoyed the workshops I conducted. I believe I do have something to pass on to other actors, and I look forward to holding more workshops in the future.
Otherwise, it's going to auditions which either my agent finds, or that I find, and continuing my own studies as an actor. Towards that end I will be spending a few days in LA in the first half of April, attending three casting director workshops (including casting directors who currently cast Criminal Minds, Leverage, and Modern Family), and (schedule permitting) a long private lesson from my Hollywood based acting coach.
I cannot stress too strongly my belief that any actor can benefit from spending a year or two in LA. I now have contacts there which I never could have formed any other way. Living and working in LA will change the way you look at acting, and it will change the way the acting profession looks at you. However, obligations being what they are, I understand that many either cannot or will not make that move. It's a highly individual decision to move to LA, but to all serious actors....if you can, you should.
Here's a fact about actors. Most actors have a built in and pesky self critic, which tells them (the intermediates) you are not good enough to find work, or (the advanced actors) sure you can work in the Northwest, but you are not good enough to work in LA. From what I observed in the two recent workshops I conducted, nothing could be farther from the truth. All the intermediate actors I worked with are good enough to work in the Northwest, and all the advanced actors I worked with would have just as good a chance in LA as any other new actor. Perception is half the battle, and it's the old story of if you think you can't, you can't, and if you think you can, you can. I am no better an actor than any other Northwest actor, and certainly not as talented as some. However, I went to LA convinced I could find work, and I did.
Now that I'm back in the Pacific Northwest, the cold facts are that there are not as many gigs for actors here as in LA, which I'm sure, comes as no surprise to anyone. However, there are good opportunities for actors in both Seattle and Portland, with Portland currently holding a slight edge. I have not yet really investigated the Vancouver BC market for American actors.
So, life goes on, auditions happen, actors get cast, films and commercials get shot, actors classes and workshops get held, and it all happens in one of the most beautiful places in the country, the Pacific Northwest. "Ain't" life grand?
In the course of my life I have worked as a professional jazz musician, a computer programmer, a systems analyst, a hospital department head, a technical field salesperson, and for the past fourteen years, an actor. Additionally, I have been a writer for years, writing short film screenplays, articles, essays, short stories, and two radio dramas which have been performed nationally on commercial radio. All of this has played a part in who I am.
I have given a lot to acting in time, money (private lessons, classes, workshops), and dedication and acting in turn, has given a lot to me. It has been and continues to be a good professional marriage.
This past couple of weeks, I opened a new chapter in the book known as "Who I Am". I taught and conducted two cold reading workshops for actors. The first workshop was for intermediate actors, the second was for a group of advanced actors. These workshops were scene study workshops (two person scenes), which gave each actor a few minutes to prepare a scene with their assigned acting partner, and then do their scene, and re-work that scene in front of the entire group. I subscribe to the simple, yet important premise of famed acting coach Tony Barr, who said, "Actors should act." All private lessons, workshops, and classes that I attended while in LA were designed that way....scene study, scene study, scene study. Both workshops went well, and I found that assuming the role as an acting coach was almost immediately comfortable for me.
While, like all of you I am the sum of many parts, after family I am still an actor first, with any acting coaching, writing, etc. coming after that. Still, I found I greatly enjoyed the workshops I conducted. I believe I do have something to pass on to other actors, and I look forward to holding more workshops in the future.
Otherwise, it's going to auditions which either my agent finds, or that I find, and continuing my own studies as an actor. Towards that end I will be spending a few days in LA in the first half of April, attending three casting director workshops (including casting directors who currently cast Criminal Minds, Leverage, and Modern Family), and (schedule permitting) a long private lesson from my Hollywood based acting coach.
I cannot stress too strongly my belief that any actor can benefit from spending a year or two in LA. I now have contacts there which I never could have formed any other way. Living and working in LA will change the way you look at acting, and it will change the way the acting profession looks at you. However, obligations being what they are, I understand that many either cannot or will not make that move. It's a highly individual decision to move to LA, but to all serious actors....if you can, you should.
Here's a fact about actors. Most actors have a built in and pesky self critic, which tells them (the intermediates) you are not good enough to find work, or (the advanced actors) sure you can work in the Northwest, but you are not good enough to work in LA. From what I observed in the two recent workshops I conducted, nothing could be farther from the truth. All the intermediate actors I worked with are good enough to work in the Northwest, and all the advanced actors I worked with would have just as good a chance in LA as any other new actor. Perception is half the battle, and it's the old story of if you think you can't, you can't, and if you think you can, you can. I am no better an actor than any other Northwest actor, and certainly not as talented as some. However, I went to LA convinced I could find work, and I did.
Now that I'm back in the Pacific Northwest, the cold facts are that there are not as many gigs for actors here as in LA, which I'm sure, comes as no surprise to anyone. However, there are good opportunities for actors in both Seattle and Portland, with Portland currently holding a slight edge. I have not yet really investigated the Vancouver BC market for American actors.
So, life goes on, auditions happen, actors get cast, films and commercials get shot, actors classes and workshops get held, and it all happens in one of the most beautiful places in the country, the Pacific Northwest. "Ain't" life grand?
Monday, March 1, 2010
Home Again, Home Again, Jigity Jig
Somewhere in my childhood, I heard the nursery rhyme phrase "Home again, home again Jigity Jig", and for some reason I still remember it. I have absolutely no idea what it means. I've also heard most of my adult life, that "You can't go home again." I'm sure ninety nine times out of a hundred that is probably true, as the place you left is usually not as you remembered it when you return. Still, that leaves the one time out of a hundred when it is true, and fortunately, that one time applies to my return to the Seattle area from LA.
We left on January 25th from LA, with bad weather having been the norm up and down the entire west coast. The week before I left LA we had four days of rain which made the rain in the Pacific Northwest look like a spit bath by comparison. Sometimes you just get lucky. We left LA in the sunshine and remained in sunshine for the entire two and a half day trip, and with the exception of a one hour long hard rain just north of Fresno, California, all mountain passes were bare and dry, with the sun shining brightly.
Once home again, I quickly settled into Northwest living, both as a resident and as an actor. I had lunch with my Seattle area agent just before attending the first day of the "Leverage" (TNT) workshop in Portland. I next had an audition in Seattle, followed by an audition in Portland. The one in Portland bore fruit and I was cast as a prison medical director in a film for the U.S. Prison system. That film was shot in Portland just last weekend (Not so lucky with the weather on that one, with rain all the way down and most of the way back....oh, well). And yes, my wife and I really did stay in a Holiday Inn Express the night before the shoot, which means I can legitimately say, "I'm not a real medical director, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night."
The film shoot itself was great fun, and the Portland media production company that was running the show was first rate and quite professional all the way around. For the film I had to learn thirty one lines in two days. Then, on the second day there were a few revisions of my lines, as well as the lines of others. This was a challenge which I welcomed, and is not an uncommon occurrence, as shooting scripts are usually in a semi-liquid state for most productions, right up until the camera begins to roll. The shoot went well with a good group of actors to work with, great crew, and a wonderful catered lunch. We had a ten hour shooting day before we wrapped, coming in only 30 minutes over schedule.
Now it's March 2nd and already I am planning my first return trip to LA, where I will be attending several casting director workshops and taking a private lesson from my acting coach in Hollywood. That is planned for the first half of April.
Other irons in the fire? I'd like to do some teaching, as I feel I have some worthwhile techniques to pass on to other actors in the Northwest. I am just doing some preliminary work to look into that.
Also, while I have written a number of short film screenplays, I have my sights set on something bigger. I have the first 27 pages of a feature length script written. It's been on the shelf for awhile and I want to get back to working on it. If you think getting work as an actor is hard, that's easy compared to selling a feature length script. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained, while an overused phrase, is still true.
I'm still determined to check out the acting scene in Vancouver BC, and now that the Olympics are over, I will need to get serious about that before very long. I will either find out that there is work for U.S actors in Vancouver, and how to go about it, or I will find there is not a possibility of work there and why. Either way, I'll pass on my findings in a later entry in this blog.
So, in my case, you can go home again, and I sum up my year in LA this way. I'm glad I went, and I highly recommend it for all serious actors. Even if, as I did, you decide to leave LA at some point, you will have made contacts that will serve you well, long after you have gone. I'm also quite glad I have returned to the Pacific Northwest, and I am happy to be back.
More later............
We left on January 25th from LA, with bad weather having been the norm up and down the entire west coast. The week before I left LA we had four days of rain which made the rain in the Pacific Northwest look like a spit bath by comparison. Sometimes you just get lucky. We left LA in the sunshine and remained in sunshine for the entire two and a half day trip, and with the exception of a one hour long hard rain just north of Fresno, California, all mountain passes were bare and dry, with the sun shining brightly.
Once home again, I quickly settled into Northwest living, both as a resident and as an actor. I had lunch with my Seattle area agent just before attending the first day of the "Leverage" (TNT) workshop in Portland. I next had an audition in Seattle, followed by an audition in Portland. The one in Portland bore fruit and I was cast as a prison medical director in a film for the U.S. Prison system. That film was shot in Portland just last weekend (Not so lucky with the weather on that one, with rain all the way down and most of the way back....oh, well). And yes, my wife and I really did stay in a Holiday Inn Express the night before the shoot, which means I can legitimately say, "I'm not a real medical director, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night."
The film shoot itself was great fun, and the Portland media production company that was running the show was first rate and quite professional all the way around. For the film I had to learn thirty one lines in two days. Then, on the second day there were a few revisions of my lines, as well as the lines of others. This was a challenge which I welcomed, and is not an uncommon occurrence, as shooting scripts are usually in a semi-liquid state for most productions, right up until the camera begins to roll. The shoot went well with a good group of actors to work with, great crew, and a wonderful catered lunch. We had a ten hour shooting day before we wrapped, coming in only 30 minutes over schedule.
Now it's March 2nd and already I am planning my first return trip to LA, where I will be attending several casting director workshops and taking a private lesson from my acting coach in Hollywood. That is planned for the first half of April.
Other irons in the fire? I'd like to do some teaching, as I feel I have some worthwhile techniques to pass on to other actors in the Northwest. I am just doing some preliminary work to look into that.
Also, while I have written a number of short film screenplays, I have my sights set on something bigger. I have the first 27 pages of a feature length script written. It's been on the shelf for awhile and I want to get back to working on it. If you think getting work as an actor is hard, that's easy compared to selling a feature length script. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained, while an overused phrase, is still true.
I'm still determined to check out the acting scene in Vancouver BC, and now that the Olympics are over, I will need to get serious about that before very long. I will either find out that there is work for U.S actors in Vancouver, and how to go about it, or I will find there is not a possibility of work there and why. Either way, I'll pass on my findings in a later entry in this blog.
So, in my case, you can go home again, and I sum up my year in LA this way. I'm glad I went, and I highly recommend it for all serious actors. Even if, as I did, you decide to leave LA at some point, you will have made contacts that will serve you well, long after you have gone. I'm also quite glad I have returned to the Pacific Northwest, and I am happy to be back.
More later............
Thursday, January 14, 2010
A Quickie.
Just a short entry to let all know that I will again be appearing on an episode of The Office. It Will be the episode entitled "The Banker" which airs on Thursday, January 21st.
Did I get a call from casting, rush over to wardrobe, sit in the makeup chair, before moving in front of the cameras? No, nothing like that. In "The Banker" will be clips from previous episodes including "Niagara" in which Pam and Jim were married and I played the minister. I signed all the paperwork for "The Banker" yesterday.
Will some of my eight deleted lines be restored in this new episode? I seriously doubt it. Still. it's nice to be seen again.
As a side light I remembered, as I was doing the paperwork for the new episode, something that happened during the shooting of Niagara. As all actors know, there is a lot of waiting when filming any film or TV show. I was standing outside talking with a couple of the background people (The term extra is no longer used). One said to me, "Are you a real minister?" "No," I replied, "I'm an actor." "well, you really look like a minister," they said. Intended or not, that's always a nice thing for an actor to hear, when someone asks if they really are the character they're playing.
Gotta run.
Until next time...........
Did I get a call from casting, rush over to wardrobe, sit in the makeup chair, before moving in front of the cameras? No, nothing like that. In "The Banker" will be clips from previous episodes including "Niagara" in which Pam and Jim were married and I played the minister. I signed all the paperwork for "The Banker" yesterday.
Will some of my eight deleted lines be restored in this new episode? I seriously doubt it. Still. it's nice to be seen again.
As a side light I remembered, as I was doing the paperwork for the new episode, something that happened during the shooting of Niagara. As all actors know, there is a lot of waiting when filming any film or TV show. I was standing outside talking with a couple of the background people (The term extra is no longer used). One said to me, "Are you a real minister?" "No," I replied, "I'm an actor." "well, you really look like a minister," they said. Intended or not, that's always a nice thing for an actor to hear, when someone asks if they really are the character they're playing.
Gotta run.
Until next time...........
Sunday, January 10, 2010
On The Road Again.
It has been said many times that the only real constant in life is change. And so it is with my acting career.
On, January 23rd, my wife is flying to LA. On January 25th, we will begin our drive back to our home in a suburb of Seattle, as I make the move from LA back to the Pacific Northwest. In truth, it had been difficult for my wife and me to be apart, and that is my reason for moving back.
Some people come to Southern California and hate it, but I am not one of those. Like most areas it has some really neat features and some that are not all that great. My reason for returning to Washington State has nothing to do with any dissatisfaction with LA.
When I return to the Northwest, the geographical scope of my acting will be quite a bit different than it was before I came to LA. Before, I was pretty much a Seattle actor, auditioning, working, and studying in and nearby the area where I lived. This time, while I will continue to ply my acting wares in the Seattle area, I will also expand into Portland (see below), Vancouver BC (where many TV shows and films are shot), and also in LA, where I have made some good contacts. I will, in the future, attend casting director workshops in LA, and continue to study with my current acting coach, both in Hollywood, and when he makes trips to Seattle, where he used to live. I plan to stay at the same level of effort regarding acting in the Pacific Northwest, as I was in LA over the past year.
On February 6th and 7th, I will be attending a workshop in Portland specifically designed for actors wishing to appear in the TNT cable series "Leverage", which is shot entirely in Portland.
Vancouver BC is a tough nut for an American actor (not the star of a TV show or film) to crack, but it has been done by US actors before, and I will make every effort (including trips to that lovely city) to see what I can accomplish up there.
In essence, I will be much more of a traveling actor than I was, prior to living in LA, but I will do it from our Seattle suburban home.
My year in LA has been wonderful. I have met some very talented people, made some great contacts, found more work than I would have imagined, and all in all have benefited in many ways from the experience. While, like most actors I still have much to learn, I am a better, more confident actor now than I was when I arrived in LA. I feel that moving down here was a good idea, just as moving back home is now. Whether it's for a year or forever, I highly recommend to all actors who can swing it that they spend some time living in LA.
As it is with all of us, old chapters close, while new ones begin in our life, and I am looking forward greatly to this one to find out what lies ahead.
This blog was originally created to chronicle my journey as an actor in LA. However, now that I have decided to move back to the Seattle area, I have also decided to continue with blog entries here, as I start yet another leg on my journey. One of the neat things about being an actor is that each day holds the possibility of a new adventure, project, or task. A phone call, or an email and another door opens....another opportunity presents itself. Professional athletes have a schedule which tells them where they will be playing on any given day. Actors do not. I kind of like it that way.
Stay tuned...............
On, January 23rd, my wife is flying to LA. On January 25th, we will begin our drive back to our home in a suburb of Seattle, as I make the move from LA back to the Pacific Northwest. In truth, it had been difficult for my wife and me to be apart, and that is my reason for moving back.
Some people come to Southern California and hate it, but I am not one of those. Like most areas it has some really neat features and some that are not all that great. My reason for returning to Washington State has nothing to do with any dissatisfaction with LA.
When I return to the Northwest, the geographical scope of my acting will be quite a bit different than it was before I came to LA. Before, I was pretty much a Seattle actor, auditioning, working, and studying in and nearby the area where I lived. This time, while I will continue to ply my acting wares in the Seattle area, I will also expand into Portland (see below), Vancouver BC (where many TV shows and films are shot), and also in LA, where I have made some good contacts. I will, in the future, attend casting director workshops in LA, and continue to study with my current acting coach, both in Hollywood, and when he makes trips to Seattle, where he used to live. I plan to stay at the same level of effort regarding acting in the Pacific Northwest, as I was in LA over the past year.
On February 6th and 7th, I will be attending a workshop in Portland specifically designed for actors wishing to appear in the TNT cable series "Leverage", which is shot entirely in Portland.
Vancouver BC is a tough nut for an American actor (not the star of a TV show or film) to crack, but it has been done by US actors before, and I will make every effort (including trips to that lovely city) to see what I can accomplish up there.
In essence, I will be much more of a traveling actor than I was, prior to living in LA, but I will do it from our Seattle suburban home.
My year in LA has been wonderful. I have met some very talented people, made some great contacts, found more work than I would have imagined, and all in all have benefited in many ways from the experience. While, like most actors I still have much to learn, I am a better, more confident actor now than I was when I arrived in LA. I feel that moving down here was a good idea, just as moving back home is now. Whether it's for a year or forever, I highly recommend to all actors who can swing it that they spend some time living in LA.
As it is with all of us, old chapters close, while new ones begin in our life, and I am looking forward greatly to this one to find out what lies ahead.
This blog was originally created to chronicle my journey as an actor in LA. However, now that I have decided to move back to the Seattle area, I have also decided to continue with blog entries here, as I start yet another leg on my journey. One of the neat things about being an actor is that each day holds the possibility of a new adventure, project, or task. A phone call, or an email and another door opens....another opportunity presents itself. Professional athletes have a schedule which tells them where they will be playing on any given day. Actors do not. I kind of like it that way.
Stay tuned...............
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Going To School
What have I been doing since we last talked? Study, study, study (OK and a couple of auditions thrown in).
I have immersed myself in the study of acting. In essence, I'm going to school. Besides regular sessions with my Hollywood acting coach (the most recent one this morning) I have been participating in a number of casting director workshops, a fairly inexpensive way to (1) do some scenes with a quality actor, and (2) be seen by casting directors who cast major TV and Films. I have been in workshops with Michael Testa (Cold Case), Paul Weber (Head of casting at MGM). Sherri Henderson (many films), Mark Bennett (also many films) and four of five other top flight casting directors.
And then there is my every Sunday afternoon workshop with Craig Campobasso, a delightful man who cast the TV show "Picket Fences", a number of films, and with several more films in the works, currently.
Being in LA for an actor at its best means you work fairly steadily and get an education in acting on the set, in classes and private lessons, and through the before mentioned casting director workshops. At it's worst, you don't work, but you still get a hell of a good acting education. I am in the middle ground between those two in that I have found some work, and I am getting a wonderful Hollywood actor education, plus I'm networking.
Many of you know that I was in a episode of the NBC series, "The Office". I had a good amount of screen time but all my lines were cut (along with another actor), as in post they changed the ending a great deal from the shooting script. However, I have found that still photos of myself and others from those deleted scenes (the wedding ceremony, itself) have appeared all over the Internet, in newspapers and magazines, and I was just told that I am in photos in TV guide this week. Alas, fame is fleeting........
I have had one commercial audition recently and I have an audition for a film tomorrow.
I recently had new commercial headshots taken, but am sticking with my same theatrical headshots, as they seem to be working.
Monday the 21st I will be on a plane for Seattle to spend nine days with my wife over the Christmas Holidays....some R&R in my favorite city. As I tell people, my home is in Seattle....I just work in LA.
On the 30th it's back to LA and who knows what lies ahead. I have some big decisions to make early in 2010 as to the direction I want to take my acting career. Stay tuned, and I'll let you know how it all shakes out as soon as I know.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all, and to all a good night.
Later............
I have immersed myself in the study of acting. In essence, I'm going to school. Besides regular sessions with my Hollywood acting coach (the most recent one this morning) I have been participating in a number of casting director workshops, a fairly inexpensive way to (1) do some scenes with a quality actor, and (2) be seen by casting directors who cast major TV and Films. I have been in workshops with Michael Testa (Cold Case), Paul Weber (Head of casting at MGM). Sherri Henderson (many films), Mark Bennett (also many films) and four of five other top flight casting directors.
And then there is my every Sunday afternoon workshop with Craig Campobasso, a delightful man who cast the TV show "Picket Fences", a number of films, and with several more films in the works, currently.
Being in LA for an actor at its best means you work fairly steadily and get an education in acting on the set, in classes and private lessons, and through the before mentioned casting director workshops. At it's worst, you don't work, but you still get a hell of a good acting education. I am in the middle ground between those two in that I have found some work, and I am getting a wonderful Hollywood actor education, plus I'm networking.
Many of you know that I was in a episode of the NBC series, "The Office". I had a good amount of screen time but all my lines were cut (along with another actor), as in post they changed the ending a great deal from the shooting script. However, I have found that still photos of myself and others from those deleted scenes (the wedding ceremony, itself) have appeared all over the Internet, in newspapers and magazines, and I was just told that I am in photos in TV guide this week. Alas, fame is fleeting........
I have had one commercial audition recently and I have an audition for a film tomorrow.
I recently had new commercial headshots taken, but am sticking with my same theatrical headshots, as they seem to be working.
Monday the 21st I will be on a plane for Seattle to spend nine days with my wife over the Christmas Holidays....some R&R in my favorite city. As I tell people, my home is in Seattle....I just work in LA.
On the 30th it's back to LA and who knows what lies ahead. I have some big decisions to make early in 2010 as to the direction I want to take my acting career. Stay tuned, and I'll let you know how it all shakes out as soon as I know.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all, and to all a good night.
Later............
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
All Is Well (So To Speak)
No, my lack of blog entries does not mean I have fallen of the edge of the world. I just don't have anything all that interesting to report. I am taking private lessons, and a ton of casting director workshops. The bottom line is, I'm learning, getting seen by working casting directors, and networking a lot. That's sort of the name of the game down here....learn, improve, be seen, and network.
At the request of my commercial agent, I'm getting new commercial shots taken this coming Friday.
My wife will be in town next week for Thanksgiving, and I will be in Seattle over Christmas.
Oh, there's one more thing....Southern California weather is truly magnificent.
Folks, as I said. that's pretty much it. When I have something more exciting to report, I'll dash off another entry.
Until Then.............
At the request of my commercial agent, I'm getting new commercial shots taken this coming Friday.
My wife will be in town next week for Thanksgiving, and I will be in Seattle over Christmas.
Oh, there's one more thing....Southern California weather is truly magnificent.
Folks, as I said. that's pretty much it. When I have something more exciting to report, I'll dash off another entry.
Until Then.............
Monday, October 26, 2009
Learning To Be an Actor
I will have been in LA eight months at the end of October. Was it as I expected it would be? I realize an answer of "yes and no" says nothing but still, that is the answer I must give. I say that because in some ways my time in LA has exceeded my expectations, while in other ways it has been quite difficult.
The roles in which I have been cast have gone far beyond what I had thought would happen in eight months. The craft of acting, however, is much more complex than I first thought. Perhaps that requires some explanation.
Actors who come to Hollywood can be separated into three major groups. I know some will say there are many more groups than that, but I am speaking of three very basic groups.
First there is the smallest group, which is those actors who are incredibly gifted. Some have much training, while others have almost none. It makes no difference, as these actors have talent and success written all over them, and the ability to immediately back it up. It's an exceptionally small group, but it does exist.
The next largest group, but still relatively small, is the actors who shouldn't be here. They usually have great looks and think they can simply show up in town and be movie stars in a few months. They almost always have little training, and lack the desire to really dig in and work at the craft. Ninety nine percent of this group hits town, runs into reality, and are gone in six months, or less. As one actress so accurately put it on her website, "An acting career is a marathon, not a dash."
The quite large group that is left contains the rest of us. All of us have some talent (in varying degrees to be sure, but some), and probably have a good deal of training. We came to Hollywood because we believed we could make it here. Whether or not you do make it here, if you don't come to town with that attitude, you really shouldn't be here. Most of us also realize there is a lot of hard work, dedication and focus ahead of us.
However, here is one thing that many of us didn't count on. We all figured we knew how to act before arriving. Many of us had experience in films and TV before we came here, as well as some good solid training. Well, here is the unvarnished truth....many of us did know how to act before we got here, but will have to learn how to act at a level conducive to working in Hollywood.
It's an entirely different ball game with higher expectations for actors from those on the other side of the camera, fierce competition, and an industry where being at the top of your game isn't unusual, it's required.
In my lessons with my Hollywood acting coach I have found that in many ways I have to learn how to act all over again. As the old saying goes, "What was good enough to get you here probably won't be good enough to keep you here." As said before, my acting coach is always tough and honest with me. I would expect nothing less. He expects my best at all times and we both expect my best to keep getting better. He and I both agree that I am a better actor than when I got here. We also agree that I must get better still, to keep up with the marketplace in Hollywood. Finally, we both see a measurable increase in my acting ability from month to month, and that is probably the most telling yardstick of them all.
So for all actors who aspire to come to Hollywood and ply your wares, come prepared with all the experience and training you can possibly have, and then swallow you pride, dig in, and learn how to be a Hollywood level actor. The saving grace in all of this is that for all actors who love to act, the journey can be great fun.
Until next time.............
The roles in which I have been cast have gone far beyond what I had thought would happen in eight months. The craft of acting, however, is much more complex than I first thought. Perhaps that requires some explanation.
Actors who come to Hollywood can be separated into three major groups. I know some will say there are many more groups than that, but I am speaking of three very basic groups.
First there is the smallest group, which is those actors who are incredibly gifted. Some have much training, while others have almost none. It makes no difference, as these actors have talent and success written all over them, and the ability to immediately back it up. It's an exceptionally small group, but it does exist.
The next largest group, but still relatively small, is the actors who shouldn't be here. They usually have great looks and think they can simply show up in town and be movie stars in a few months. They almost always have little training, and lack the desire to really dig in and work at the craft. Ninety nine percent of this group hits town, runs into reality, and are gone in six months, or less. As one actress so accurately put it on her website, "An acting career is a marathon, not a dash."
The quite large group that is left contains the rest of us. All of us have some talent (in varying degrees to be sure, but some), and probably have a good deal of training. We came to Hollywood because we believed we could make it here. Whether or not you do make it here, if you don't come to town with that attitude, you really shouldn't be here. Most of us also realize there is a lot of hard work, dedication and focus ahead of us.
However, here is one thing that many of us didn't count on. We all figured we knew how to act before arriving. Many of us had experience in films and TV before we came here, as well as some good solid training. Well, here is the unvarnished truth....many of us did know how to act before we got here, but will have to learn how to act at a level conducive to working in Hollywood.
It's an entirely different ball game with higher expectations for actors from those on the other side of the camera, fierce competition, and an industry where being at the top of your game isn't unusual, it's required.
In my lessons with my Hollywood acting coach I have found that in many ways I have to learn how to act all over again. As the old saying goes, "What was good enough to get you here probably won't be good enough to keep you here." As said before, my acting coach is always tough and honest with me. I would expect nothing less. He expects my best at all times and we both expect my best to keep getting better. He and I both agree that I am a better actor than when I got here. We also agree that I must get better still, to keep up with the marketplace in Hollywood. Finally, we both see a measurable increase in my acting ability from month to month, and that is probably the most telling yardstick of them all.
So for all actors who aspire to come to Hollywood and ply your wares, come prepared with all the experience and training you can possibly have, and then swallow you pride, dig in, and learn how to be a Hollywood level actor. The saving grace in all of this is that for all actors who love to act, the journey can be great fun.
Until next time.............
Saturday, October 10, 2009
The Cutting Room Floor
The episode of "The Office" I was in has come and gone. When we filmed it, I had seven or eight lines, as I performed the ceremony that married Jim and Pam. I say seven or eight, as the director wanted me to do some improv lines in addition to the scripted lines. I've been acting for awhile and I know that in the final edit actors sometimes lose a few lines, particularly in television where the length of the show is a definite factor.
What happened was, I didn't just have a few of my lines cut....I had ALL of them cut. While the inside of the chapel in which we shot the scene was a very important part of the episode, the actual wedding ceremony was not shown. In the script Pam and Jim were actually married twice....once by my character, and once by the captain of a tourist boat near Niagara Falls. The actor playing the boat captain also had all of his lines cut, as well. The end result was that Pam and Jim's exchange of wedding vows was shot twice, with neither of the ceremonies making it into the final edit. The producers/directors/editors of any production (film/TV/etc.) have to produce a final product which they feel is the best one possible from the footage which has been shot. While disappointed that my character's lines did not make the final edit, I fully understand and accept that this is what they must do.
By the way, while the phrase "The cutting room floor" is still used in the business, it is a throw back to the old way that films used to be edited. In the past (quite a few years in the past) the actual film which had been shot was run through editing devices whereby the film's editor would physically cut and splice section of the film together until they had the final edit. Pieces of film that the editor had cut from the film fell to the floor of the cutting room, and this is where the phrase came from. Today, all editing is done digitally, and there is no film to fall onto the cutting room floor.
Looking back at my experience on "The Office" I have to say that, other than having my lines cut, it was a wonderful and very beneficial experience. I got to work with a wonderful cast, crew, and director. My appearance in the episode made m SAG eligible. the payday for a non union actor was quite good, and I have a very nice credit to add to my resume. Being SAG eligible means that while I am still technically non union, I am eligible for, and must join SAG the next time I am cast in a SAG production. Becoming SAG eligible in LA is not the easiest thing to do and being in "The Office" cleared a big hurdle for me.
My Hollywood acting coach put it best I think when he said "This is not only your first SAG job, but a credit that ANY actor in LA would covet." Of course, he's right.
So life moves on. Today, I am attending another casting director's workshop at Actor's West. Next Thursday I am flying to Seattle for a few days of R and R, during which my wife and I will attend the Seattle Seahawks/Arizona Cardinals NFL game. After that, it's back to LA to see what the acting life holds in store.
More when I return from Seattle.................
What happened was, I didn't just have a few of my lines cut....I had ALL of them cut. While the inside of the chapel in which we shot the scene was a very important part of the episode, the actual wedding ceremony was not shown. In the script Pam and Jim were actually married twice....once by my character, and once by the captain of a tourist boat near Niagara Falls. The actor playing the boat captain also had all of his lines cut, as well. The end result was that Pam and Jim's exchange of wedding vows was shot twice, with neither of the ceremonies making it into the final edit. The producers/directors/editors of any production (film/TV/etc.) have to produce a final product which they feel is the best one possible from the footage which has been shot. While disappointed that my character's lines did not make the final edit, I fully understand and accept that this is what they must do.
By the way, while the phrase "The cutting room floor" is still used in the business, it is a throw back to the old way that films used to be edited. In the past (quite a few years in the past) the actual film which had been shot was run through editing devices whereby the film's editor would physically cut and splice section of the film together until they had the final edit. Pieces of film that the editor had cut from the film fell to the floor of the cutting room, and this is where the phrase came from. Today, all editing is done digitally, and there is no film to fall onto the cutting room floor.
Looking back at my experience on "The Office" I have to say that, other than having my lines cut, it was a wonderful and very beneficial experience. I got to work with a wonderful cast, crew, and director. My appearance in the episode made m SAG eligible. the payday for a non union actor was quite good, and I have a very nice credit to add to my resume. Being SAG eligible means that while I am still technically non union, I am eligible for, and must join SAG the next time I am cast in a SAG production. Becoming SAG eligible in LA is not the easiest thing to do and being in "The Office" cleared a big hurdle for me.
My Hollywood acting coach put it best I think when he said "This is not only your first SAG job, but a credit that ANY actor in LA would covet." Of course, he's right.
So life moves on. Today, I am attending another casting director's workshop at Actor's West. Next Thursday I am flying to Seattle for a few days of R and R, during which my wife and I will attend the Seattle Seahawks/Arizona Cardinals NFL game. After that, it's back to LA to see what the acting life holds in store.
More when I return from Seattle.................
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