the new place...


I was talking to Zak a little while ago about twitter and he quipped, “This is pretty much the end of personal websites, huh?” and I pretty much agreed with him. I mean, I still find having a personal website very useful, especially for my acting work, but as far as sharing what’s going and voicing opinions and all that, twitter’s proven to be a really great tool.

That being said, I still should be doing a better job of keeping this page updated! As usual, life has been on overdrive, the most obvious result of this hyperactivity being that Whitney and I have finally moved to a new place. Honestly, I think a lot of people were getting tired of hearing us talk about hoping to move--we have been complaining about the hunt for probably eight or so months! But we loved our old place and had no reason to make any real major compromises when it came to what we wanted out of a new home...and then this place comes along, not a block and a half away, and, well, we basically had to take it. We’re still renting, which, honestly, is fine for me right now, owning sounds like a pain in the ass and I doubt we can afford anything resembling the place we are renting now.


The living room...slowly getting into shape

So, things are good. Work is super challenging right now, as I immerse myself into a totally new paradigm for our products (it’s a pain but it’s a good thing), and my Norton Table character made an appearance at our global sales and marketing conference in Las Vegas. It was a lot of fun, I got up on stage and basically introduced the senior staff in the consumer business, making jokes about each of them as I went down the list. What was crazy is how little I could actually prepare for the piece! I had a few notes about each person, but really, as I was standing backstage, I really didn’t have that much to go on, I was really relying on thoughts coming to me once I got in front of people. It was crazy--like, it goes against everything I’ve learned regarding rehearsal and preparation, but I have been doing these interview shows so often that I realize that once I hop into character, thoughts, reactions and jokes actually come to mind much more quickly than if I try to anticipate and plan everything out. I am a bit nervous--I certainly can’t depend on things coming to mind, but it was nice that everything clicked that one time.

The acting front has been irritatingly slow. I had a great pilot audition a few months ago, but nothing came from it, which doesn’t really matter because I don’t think the show is going to be picked up anyway. I have jumped back into acting class with Brian Reise, which has been great, and have been attending quite a few workshops with casting directors at ITA. Basically, I am trying to shake things up a bit, because whatever I have been doing for the past year or so just has not been working.

I’ve gleaned a few things from some of the workshops that I wanted to get down on “paper”. If you are an actor, you might find these tips useful. If not, you may find them interesting and useful in terms of keeping things in focus when interacting with folks.

• When auditioning, focus on the person you are interacting with. Like, really, it sounds so obvious, but it can be really hard to focus when you are in a room with a lot of people watching you, not to mention dealing with the camera, the monitor, etc. If you are being filmed, what is important is not entertaining the folks in the room, but making sure that you nail the performance as seen by the camera. The best way to do this, it seems, is to focus, intensely, on the person you are reading with, really listening, really engaging with them--this focus will be picked up by the camera and be seen by the producers. This was a big change for me--I usually entertain the room, you know? By grounding myself with the other person, it helps keep the scene moving from an honest place.
• If your character is asking a question, realize that this question is often the key to the character and, probably, the scene. Figure out why the character is asking it, understand the implications of the answer to that question--whether or not you get an actual answer. When the character is asking a question, the character is admitting a need--the character wants that answer, he has an intention to get that information. Like it or not, that old saw about needing an intention for your scene still holds up and, if committed to, will give the scene a strong foundation. I was trained to ask, “What do I want?” at the beginning of every scene (some teachers suggest asking that for every line) and I think I stopped doing that at some point. The scene is there for a reason--TV and film are so expensive that it would be cut unless it was absolutely necessary--that reason is the key to expressing that character as best as you can.
• When you are auditioning for a part, for those 3-4 minutes, that part is yours. No one else has it--you have booked it for that period of time Don’t think of the audition as a try out--it’s the job, it’s the actual opportunity to do the piece. I had some teachers insist we drop the word “audition” and replace it with the word “job.” This can be a useful tactic, not only because it helps you focus on the piece more, but it takes out the “this is just my best try at the part” factor. The audition, the interview, is you--it’s you doing the part, it’s you on the set, it’s you during lunch, it’s you working with the director, it’s you being hired.

I will add more items to this list as I go, but those are the first ideas that come to mind. I go on so many commercial auditions that I think I have started to be much less stressed about them, which is technically a good thing, but I think that it might have lessened the stakes a bit. I don’t know--I really don’t...commercials are just so quick, so specific; you don’t even get the script until you show up and then your audition is not so much a scene but a quick situation. It’s tough.

From the Hotel Laguna, in Laguna Beach

Much coming in the next few weeks. I will be up in San Francisco for the Apple Developer Conference, I’ve got a wedding coming up, Ravi’s planning a big birthday, and, of course SDCC is coming up in July. My weekly article at iFanboy is back on Wednesdays, and I am working on at least two murmur articles as well. I’ve also submitted three treatments to a producer...we’ll just have to keep pressing on.


PS - My friend Matt Ferrucci has just started his new webseries, Real Men Real Issues, and he’s doing a great job adding new content to the show on a regular basis, unlike this website. Check it out and see what you think.

Tags: life, acting, auditions

Tokyo Taxi

I had a funny audition experience yesterday that I thought I would write down. I got this in my email box the night before (this is how I learn about auditions, I get an email the night before):

The following contains meeting information for: <<Spot Name>>


-----
Client:           Mike Romo
Date:             Thursday, February 19, 2009
Time:             3:00 PM
Status:           E-Mail Client
Role:             Basketball Players
                 Comedy. Comedy. Comedy. Should not look athletically
inclined. These are buddies hanging out on the weekend. Rate: 3 x scale

Wardrobe:         Lame workout clothes: if possible sweat shorts, t-shirts,
socks pulled up to their shins, sweatbands on wrists and head.

...
-----
Sounds pretty straightforward, right? Basically look like the guy from Juno and nail the audition, right? So, I got my wardrobe together (I had to pilfer Whit’s sock drawer to get her knee highs that she uses for rollerskating), went to work, ran out of work at lunch, go to the audition, changed in my car, and ran up to the audition hall.

It was hilarious. Waiting to go in were a bunch of guys in workout clothes. About half of the guys looked a little like me (and assorted variants)--white nerdy looking guys who just looked like pathetic nerds. The other half were 7’ tall actual basketball players, who were looking totally buff and super sporty, and who were basically real life jocks. So, all of a sudden, we were back in grammar school--all the nerds were kind of hanging out with each other--even though we were not really nerds, at least not all of us, we were just guys dressed up as nerds, but it didn’t matter, the social construct just kicked right in. It was hilarious. I mean, I honestly haven’t felt that kind of vibe since high school. Oh, there was no bullying or anything like that, everyone was very nice to each other, but we were all cracking up, like obviously some guys got one breakdown, but there was apparently an “in shape, good looking, athletic build” breakdown that a bunch of us certainly did not get.

I went in with four guys who were all about my height plus one African American guy who was at least 7’ tall, totally amazingly good looking, played pro basketball for three years, like, total amazing athlete guy. Huge arms, the whole thing. Really nice, super nice and just laughing at how mismatched we all were. When we did our photos, it was him first (Sheldon), and then the camera person had to bring the camera down a full foot to focus on me, with my polka dot headband and “Oscar the Grouch” t-shirt and she literally just laughed outloud. It was classic.

The audition was fun, though--I mean, who knows what’s going to happen with it, given the two totally different categories they called in--and that, in the end, is what matters, really. That’s all you can do, really, is just enjoy the process, because wanting a job from it is just going to set you up for disappointment in the first place. I had four auditions (one straight to callback) last week, and I didn’t get a single callback--for parts that I was perfect for, on auditions that were no different than the ones I have booked from--and I must admit, it was a little disruptive, emotionally. Like, I had no idea why I didn’t get called back, and even though I keep telling myself not to think about it...I still think about it, of course I do, you know? That Thursday after yoga class, when I didn’t have any messages in my voicemail...ugh, that stung. Mildly freaked me out all Friday.

This Wednesday we had class, it was on camera “bad guy/bad girl” night, and I played what was basically the action cop breaking up a hostage situation, 24 style. I did as best as I could, and technically, I succeeded in establishing the right angle (I had to look towards my left but be looking straight ahead and to the right, so it all looked very dynamic), but when I came on, every one just laughed. Now, it makes sense--it’s a ridiculous situation and I don’t usually play this stuff, and, from certain angles, I tend to remind people of Paul Giamatti, since my eyes were kind of bugging out a bit and I had this kind of grimace going--but it was, I admit, just a little frustrating...you want to be able to do this stuff, you want to have a look that can be used for any kind of job, and it’s possible, you just have to keep yourself up. For instance, right now I need a haircut and I need to drink less coffee and get more sleep so I can fend of the dark circles under my eyes. Like, I can see that being a problem, especially with bad lighting, so I just have to do it.

It’s an interesting time now. There is not a lot of work for anyone, and the work that is out there is often going to much more established names (I saw an ad with from Alan Tudyk from Firefly and from Dulé Hill from The West Wing and almost did a spit-take--why do those guys need to be doing DirecTV commericals?!) and it can be irritating, but so what? A lot less irritating than losing your job and having two kids to feed.

Onward!

Tags: acting, auditions, commercials

a really stunning piece of graffitti art on LaBrea. I took this while at a stoplight.
What really pisses me off is someone actually tagged it! Weak.


here's the other part of it

well.. I have started this entry about 10 times, and I might as well give it another go.

The real crazy thing about the past two weeks is that I have literally gone nonstop during the weekday. I get in, there's a tornado, and then I leave. I mean, sure, that's I guess how some people work, but one would think that the end of the year would be a bit more of a slower time, when you can chill a bit, but it certainly has not been the case this year. And when I get home, the last thing I want to do is sit in front of a computer, which means I slack on all the personal stuff I want to do, including Christmas shopping, writing in this journal, and editing Whit's band's videos. I am adding a page to the site today with four of the videos from Whit's work party, where their band, The RTG's performed nine songs. Whit did an amazing job, I gotta say. You can find the videos in the RTG's page, above.

Just when I was feeling a bit down, things start turning up. Last week I was invited to read two scripts, which was totally cool. I did two table reads for two very different scripts (one was a kind of family comedy, the other an action comedy), both very good; really fun characters, great pacing...both would make really entertaining movies. I was invited to read a lead character both times and I am pleased to report that the feedback was really good, which was tremendously encouraging. Hmm, perhaps that's not the right word, "encouraging"...gratifying, perhaps? That's better, honestly, because the goal is to really fill out the reading as best as you can emotionally so the writer can get some glimpses of how it might sound during filming, how some of the characters might look during certain moments how the flow would actually...flow. I really tried to read as best as I could, which was made difficult for the first script since I did not have enough time to read through it first and mark it up.

What's good about this is that you are being given the opportunity to add to the initial definition of the story, of the character. The writers can now go back to the script and use what we did as a baseline, which will help them make the appropriate changes. It's kind of a cool responsibility, because up until the readings, the writers have heard the characters in their heads, or just read a few scenes with the other writers to get the kinks out. Both writers brought in some really great actors, really driven actors who all were taking it very seriously and obviously trying to bring as much to the reading as possible. It was very cool and it was quite a cool way to close out the year, to be part of this collaboration. Reminded me of some very good times in New York, and I am stoked I have some folks around who want me to participate in this kind of thing.

Work has been crazy, as usual. We released a product and I have been getting really great responses from people who have actually used the software, but for every one positive piece of feedback, I get 5 intensely negative, fanatically nasty rants about why the software sucks...from people who have never actually even seen the software. I try not to take it personally, but I honestly wish some of the more passionate users out there would give the stuff a chance so they can see that I'm not some dumbass who is making lame crap, but someone who actually cares very deeply about this stuff and whose crew has made something very good, relevant, and effective. Whatever. I deal with this stuff enough in my "other" life, so I will just drop it, but I am looking forward to seeing how the reviews go. It's weird; for better or for worse, this new product is pretty much my fault. I was the one who pushed for a total redesign and for the addition of a completely new additional feature. We could have easily just updated it to work with the new operating system but I felt it was really important to make a full on change, to really draw a line and say "the old stuff is the old stuff, this is the future". We'll see, we'll see. I never expected the work to be so personal but I guess that's good.

On the acting front, all of a sudden, I am busy as ever. Two auditions yesterday; 1 callback (from yesterday), 2 auditions and a voiceover audition today, one audition tomorrow. Uh, what? I haven't gone out more than once a week in 2 weeks! It's great, but really unexpected and kind of crazy making with the week I am having. But we were able to schedule everything all out, so it's fine. My agents are really amazing, it's just crazy how hard they work for me.

I have more entries but I really have to sleep. I just apologize for being so late on this. I wish I just had more time. Perhaps I can write a bit more during the holidays. I have been taking notes on my phone when journal entries come to mind--I've got some good ones--so hopefully the week off will encourage me to invest a bit more time into this. I have been really bad about using the camera (except for the videos I took of the RTG's) but maybe I will bring it up to the city. I dunno. We'll see.

Regardless, hope all is well.

Hollywoodland in the early 1920s

Tags: general, tech, acting, auditions