crap

Bud back Mountain

Got a "Cmail" from Actors Access today around noon for a 4pm audition. I had to be "at home from 1 to 3" to catch a phonecall so this worked out perfectly. Kathy Knowles casting to be a Cowboy for Budweiser. The guy running the audition was top notch, real good direction. I think it went well & they may book from 1st audition. That would be sweet, we find out tomorrow. This is my 3rd time in with this office since signing with Origin, I'm diggin this repeat business & diggin my Agents & ready to accept bountiful bookings.

Have a merry

It took a while to get holiday spirit this year, but it did come. Enjoy!

Commercial Catsup

But first, a word from our sponsor. Here's the new theatrical shot.(click for larger)It's from the last photo session but I never used it...I'm thinkin It'll go, lets see.

Cleveland update...CHOKE

Surprised? No. I guess we'll just get to the playoffs on our own. Although, I now find myself rooting for Miami. Playoff time is weird & fun. And the wicked awesome snow game/ big win in Steel town makes me happy. Plus the Bus got 101 yards just for me, thanks bro.

go browns?

thats right, just for today though Hal. They beat Cinci & they help my Steelers take back their division.

Comedy mourns

Richard Pryor died yesterday. Bye Rich, you were a hero to the comedy world , a funny motherfucker, thanks man.

more Gold

Back in to read for Danny Goldman. This time for Buick crooning a tune for Tiger Woods. It was a little tough on their tiny 1 note at a time Casio, even crappier than my 3 note at a time Casio that I practiced on. heh heh. And the spot was originally written for a guitarist, D'oh! Ah well, I almost decided to switch to the "non musical other copy" but said screw that & just belted out a fun Improv song, pushing the voice over the "piano".

These are my first 2 times in with Danny since he critiqued my headshot in the last BSW photography Issue.

Borg

They tried to assimilate me again last night. Resistance was futile. OK, my semi-geek is showing but man resistance has been pretty fucking futile lately. And the picture is great. I was ready to tell my tech that you have to be close with my crummy phone cam, might want to get my face ... and he just locks me in with all the full gear, backs up, boom.

post link?

ok. How the hell do I link to another post in this Blog if it is not in the top 10 over on the right over there ? -------------->

I've been through the prefs , what am I missing?

p.s. sorry about the "f" up there Mom. Let's just call it a blanket apology for this whole deal. That'll keep it cleaner. Well, not so much cleaner as smoother. I'll try to keep it to A minimum. You know I love ya!

Live from New York...

...It's Saturday Night! And so goes Don Pardo's voice in my head as I order
a burrito, standing next to original SNL cast member Garrett Morris. I didn't want to interrupt his lunch with his friend but then they followed me right out to the table next to me (damn stalkers) so I asked for a quick crappy-phone-cam pic. Thanks Garrett!

Interestingly, I'm typing this just after watching the Weekend Update segment of SNL with Amy Poehler . I had a small part in a scene with Amy in the film Wild Girls Gone, where we all end up dancing to a song sung by myself & 4 or 5 others (hey, I'm on an "original soundtrack recording", cool) And just last month I got a call from UCB central saying there was going to be some sort of action with this film. See? So some sorta degree of separation cosmic good time happened.

Effexor

Huh? That's what I said. It's a depression medication and I have an audition to talk about it on a golf course with Mick Dowd's office. Not quite Tampons while riding a horse but not bad!

I still want to catch up a little more, maybe later today.

Gold

Audition for Danny Goldman tomorrow. Been waiting a while to get back in this office. It's for Insurance.com ...I'll be an Insurance guy, doing various non-insurance-guy-tasks. Sweet.

Oops Catch up

So I guess this happens, you go a while without hitting the 'ol Blog, then you want to catch up, but you want to do it right, and you want to go back & fill in some stuff you missed before, then you think about it some more, than your head hurts, then you make run on sentences with a lot of commas and finally decide to just start typing and here we are.

Another Dog

Went to the callback for "Two Dogs Inside" this morning after a super early chiro appointment with the amazing Dr. B. Needless to say I was loose & ready & had a blast! Read with 4 or 5 guys including The Perry, got some redirects & played around a lot. After a ton of callbacks with Bon, it would be nice to finally book one. I know, in the next 20 years we will work together a crapload, now just seems like a perfect time to start.

After the audition Hal & I grabbed some sammies at Bay Cities Deli. Friday special was beef milianese (sp?) ... wicked freakin' awesome sandwich.

I think Coors went well yesterday, stopped to do some commercial drops on the way home.

Yesterday I went to a screening of "The Squid & the Whale" with Fran. Quite an enjoyable 1.2 million Indie. Afterwards Jeff Danials spoke to us about his process, career, making of this film, opportunity, his theatre company etc. Good stuff, I like the guy & he was great in this film. Amongst other things, he talked about being really ready when your 2 minutes in front of the right person happen. His was sitting an audition for "Terms of Endearment" after 7 years of doing theatre in N.Y. when his happened.

Snap

Just saw my good buddy Tim Brennan's new Slim Jim campaign for the first time. Funny as hell and what a fantastic gig for Tim. Click that link & go to "TV Spots". He & I first worked together back Denver around '96 with our Sketch/Improv troupe "Headgames". Well done Tim, I couldn't be happier for ya!

Two Dogs Inside

I read for this short flick that Bonnie Gillespie is casting called Two Dogs Inside, the details of which - including the script - are here. I read for the role of one of two hitmen, along with fellow Blogger, Hal Perry. It was a tad bit like Gus & Ben in Pinter's The Dumbwaiter, or Goldberg and McCann in The Birthday Party.

This made it a nearly perfect traffic/audition day as I had a commercial audition with Kathy Knowles for AOL one block away, 50 minutes earlier. I thank the traffic gods.

It looks like things are picking up for me commercially, just got word that I have a Coors audition with Francene Selkirk-Ackerman tomorrow. I've read with Francene a bunch of times before, called back a few times & regularly keep in touch with drops/cards. I've been wanting to do a Coors spot since I got here from CO. See, we always wished they would cast them in Denver when I was acting there. I even did a huge Industrial for them part of which looked exactly like the national spot at the time. So it'd be a nice full circle to book one now. Why not.

Yesterday I sent out a bunch of postcards & submissions & I'm a little behind in my blogtivity so rather than continuing to go backwards I'll fill in with some 'old' posts later.

USC

Something seems to be happening at USC and I'm not talkin about football (because I'm a Penn State Alum, Go Lions!) I booked another film there. This time it's a Grad 16mm black & white non synch sound (I believe) short called "Number One". I play a rumpled store clerk. In the last one I was kind of a rumpled hero. Can you see this rumpled trend ? It's definitely part of my type.

Did some work on my reel today (I'm an editor, if you're lookin) and it looks good but I cant wait to add the new stuff. I made some calls so hopefully this new stuff will come in sooner rather than later.

Had a general today with G Charles Wright who casts "That '70s Show" among other things. I think it went well...hard to tell sometimes, and not worth dwelling on. We had a nice chat & then I read some sides. He gives good direction & I felt very comfortable asking him questions. Cool guy and his associate Carolyn Wilson was nice as well. I found out we have some similar interests that we didn't get to talk about. Next time. Thanks to my friend Frannie on this one.

Did a bunch of drops while I was on the lot(CBS Radford) which always feels good. I had a good plan of attack & most folks were very helpful.

Graphic

Saw a screening of A History of Violence tonight at the Writers Guild. I enjoyed it, there were some really good performances & I'd call it good not great. Maria Bello spoke afterward. I dig her, heard her speak once before with Bill Macy after The Cooler screening and she seems very real, as do her performances. Or as Mike called her "hard core". Ratpackers Frankie & Millie
enjoyed it similarly. Oh yeah... they also gave us a soundtrack CD & copy of the graphic novel that this movie came from. That's fancy talk for Comic Book for those wondering.

No other auditions last week but I had a great conversation with an agent friend about "type". And there's another grad film audition Sunday.

harmony

Had an audition today for an eHarmony industrial with Pam Giles. I hadn't seen Pam in a while so that's good. I think it went alright. My partner was a little excited when I first showed up, "oh good, a man, wanna run sides, how many pages do you think we'll do, I think we're next, they were running short of men, oh you probably want to settle in huh?" Me: "yeah, I think I'll sign in first". heh heh. She ended up being a nice gal, just a little excited at the beginning.

Did all the V/O for The Overseer yesterday at the student's apartment as he couldn't get a sound stage. Hmmm. Well, lets just say I remember what its like to have 4 guys around 20 living in one place. So I think he got some good stuff & I saw a little of the footage. Could be a nice short!

Scriptwrights was fun as usual. The rumor is we should have the website up soon.

bueno

Had to miss an audition for a grad film yesterday due to work. After work I met up with some Dalt's Gangers over at El Cholo in Santa Monica & my lovely cousin Valerie even showed up. Good grub, good friends, what a fun time. And check out Valerie in her National Remax commercial that just started running. I have not seen it yet but I understand she's driving a house through the streets of Suburbia, U.S.A. Go Val!

Second & final night of shooting on "The Overseer". Shot the scenes in my "lab" in the late afternoon then A long night of shooting the scenes with my co-star, Megan Michaels. We had a good time & I think we got some good stuff, including the happy accident of a non-working-after-dark-fountain turning into a beautiful reflecting pool.
Here's a phone cam pic of me in the"Lab".

Loyale with Cheese

Wow, I can't believe it. My faithfull car of 12 years, the "Loyale With Cheese" passed smog!
I'm a happy guy... well, for the time being. It's got 183,000 and getting a little tired. Which is why I supplemented it with the Diamante this year. The Diamante is luxurious when it's running properly, and in a straight line, and somewhat quirky/evil when not. I'm investigating the government buyback program for this ride. Then I'll be back to being a 1 car pauper, tooling around in the Loyale with Cheese until a new ride crosses my path.

The Cox audition went alright, interestingly I was in the wrong outfit. Some got the shirt-tie-slacks call while most were in shorts/casual. Oops. No worries though, I learned to let this one go a while ago and as a matter of fact, for one of the best Nationals I've had, the KFC with Jason Alexander, I showed up completely wrong for the audition.

The shoot for "The Overseer" was cool. All stuff on top of a parking garage with a wicked view of the city. Plus we wrapped early due to the Female lead not being able to make it. No worries, we only got the call yesterday plus I have to work early tomorrow.

Gabriel

Well yesterday I auditioned for a USC film, found out this morning I booked it, got the script a couple hours later & shot a few scenes tonight. It's a pretty stylized piece in which I play the lead, a sad man with an interesting talent. Shooting miniDV, all MOS with narration(me). We shoot again Sunday & grab the ADR early next week.

Audition with CD Michael Tierny for Cox Communication. They added an extra role around noon, can I make it around 3:15? Yup, just going to have to haul ass to the tax lady right after that. Ahhh, fun taxes.

Daddy

Callback today for the Megan Morman film from last week. It felt a little flat, although it kind of felt like that last week & here I am at the callback. Ya never know. Do it, get out & start workin on the next one.

Went to scriptwrights Monday night. Its always a good time there & we get to play a lot of roles, practice cold reading, good stuff. Just found out my friends Alice & Robin from here are both nominated for Ovation Awards. Awesome! Congrats ladies!

Sent out bunches of postards so far this week. Going to get in class of some sort this or next week. Looking forward the bountiful bookings in my life.

Possible student film audition tomorrow.

HAVE to get taxes going this week, plus a bunch of other annoying shit that will free itself from my head once completed. Ahhhhh, happy fluffy clouds.

Bass

Was going to take my Bass & beginner skills over to jam with the boys from the Pigs
but was asked at the last minute to tape the final show over at the SpyAnts. I saw the preview of this thing & it was good then & good now. Tipi Hedren, star of "The Birds" was there & gave a nice Q&A after, then told some great stories for another 1/2 hour or so. Very cool, I dig Tippi.

short

Worked the day job today. Sent out a bunch more new-agent mailers and a 1st meeting follow up to McConnell/Gilmore.

Sent in my application for the SAG Conservatory. I didn't do it last year & think there should be some good workshops, classes, etc.

and more

This week is turning out to be nice & full. It's been a while and it feels great. Got a call from Orion (the new theatrical rep, I'll stop saying "new" for my agents after this post),my first audition through him, for the new CBS drama"Close to Home" with CD Janet Gilmore on the Sony lot. This was my first time reading for Janet & I enjoyed it. We talked about Jersey a bit, I read my couple-a lines, got a few redirects, which was nice, often you don't, especially on a small co-star role. Felt pretty good.
I didn't have much time to research what else was cast on this lot. So after I dropped a couple friends shots in the McConnel/Gilmore box I went on a little search for CD's. After no success from hoofing it & asking a couple friendly faces I called a couple guys like Hal & Tim & everyone was as clueless as me or not near their computers. Since I was feeling my 'wandering around without notice' clock ticking down I decided to save any drops for next time.

Audition for an AFI thesis film. I play the father of a troubled teen. The read was fine & I liked the CD. Onward.

Callback! The Jewelry spot for Lisa Fields and I'm kinda psyched to get this one as it's from my first audition through Origin. This time it's in Santa Monica at the production office. I was driving down there a little early after coming from the Dad audition so I figured I'd grab some lunch close by rather than stay in Hollywood & tempt the traffic gods. Good thing , because Janet calls asking if I can be there an hour early! "Why yes I can." An odd callback, once they had 8 people collected, they marched us in and stood us in a line. Then one of the producers does the slow look up & down the line & all the sudden its 3rd grade & I want to get picked early so I don't look like a goober. He points to a blond Gal .....& then me, Yeah I'm on the kickball team! We do a short improv and get stopped fairly quickly. Some more whispering ensues. "Thank you". Wow, that was quick, no more kickball so I go find some lunch.

-1,+1

It's raining in L.A. People still freak out and the roads start out a little slick. Which delays things at the day-job somewhat. I'm rarely there anyway but today I am, with the rain traffic & me having to rush to the audition. Murphy's Law? Well, amazingly I was not late to work . We were running late but I had my superfast rout all planned to Judy Elkins office.

Check my messages at lunch & it's my new agent Janet at Origin calling to give me another appointment. Cool, 2 auditions to right outa the gate! Can I get there at 2:15? Since work usually gets out around 3 - 3:15 this is a no go but she will call to see if I can get in there late. Perfect, it's nearby at Lisa Fields Casting & She'll call to see how late they'll go.

Call to check in and Saveon cancelled my character. D'oh! No more fishing Dad. However the other spot, JD Robins jewelers is going 'till "4 or whenever they finish". I haul ass & get there just as they are shutting down & they let me go in! Very nice guys running the session here, they even gave me a minute to cool down ( I ran from my parking spot) in my jeans & paisley shirt...for this upscale casual audition, LOL.

It was a 20 second interview type audition asking about the best gift I ever gave a woman. I answered truthfully about a camping first date at a little secret hot-spring in CO. I thought my read went well, maybe a little rushed but real.

1st

Tomorrow I have my first audition through my new commercial agent. Nice! Just 2 weeks after we made the deal & 1 week after I signed ze papers. And it's with CD Judy Elkins whom I have not seen in a while. It's a national for Save-On, playing a "fishing Dad" And interestingly they want us in fishing gear. Time to break out the Sorels & some flannel.

Happy Birthday young Lipp

Happy Birthday to my little sister. Woohoo! Hope it's a good one Sis.

dotted line

Went to fill out paperwork at Origin today & got it all done except for the contract. Should be sending it to me soon. I also went down to SAG & got the agent change form when I realized I didn't have both new #'s and addresses on me. So I brought it home to fill out, popped it in the mail & will be bluetoothing it to my phone ASAP.

Trying to get to bed early tonight as tomorrow I work the day job for the first time in 2 weeks. Its always a bitch getting up at 6:15 am when you haven't done it in a while.

Origin

Yesterday I accepted Commercial Representation from Origin Talent. Nice! That was one of the meetings I was talking about earlier. I had a good meeting with Janet last week, emailed her a list of CD's who regularly call me in, then dropped off a new reel I put together the following day.(I'm also an Editor if anyone out there needs a reel/film done) Tomorrow I go in to drop off some headshots & a photo CD and sign the papers. I'm looking forward to a great relationship & lots of flowing bookings both here & at Rogers Orion.

Ahhhh...

Just back from the Chiro, there may be happy spine in my future! Happy spine = more relaxed actor. I turned a friend on to this Doc & (our appointments were close apparently)she left me a note on my car saying she loves her. First I thought it was a ticket, then realized it wasn't, bonus, then saw it was a fun note, double bonus.

Got some "new agent" mailers out yesterday, more going today. I've been fooling around with how I want my database. I'd like to be able to print off all kinds of groups of CD's which I can do from Address Book, but I like how I can search iCal with a CD's name & it shows me all callbacks, auditions, mailers, etc. I need 1 more notch of integration or something. Or perhaps just duplicate info...'notes' Section of address book? I'm up for any feedback on this one. Just not software that rhymes with "golden dog" & I prefer not to get a MS suite. I do have Appleworks (has a database / spreadsheet/ word processor) but it is being phased out & last time I checked did not synch up with Address Book.

Got a direct call to come in & audition for an Industrial Film. That's nice...except it was for a certain controversial church group thing ...no thank you. Good to be asked though. How's that for a positive.

While just looking for a couple Apple links I saw that there is new, cool stuff available today:
This one just might have my name all over it. (pic should be link)

Also, I just received a cmail thanking me for a submission & inviting me to send tape for future projects. That's nice of them (well, I'm pretty sure it's nice, I'll check them out before I send tape of course)

cmail

So I'm out in Hollywood getting my head screwed on tight & get a cmail from actors access. Hmmmm... the callbacks for 3 Sisters were to be today, could this be it? Why didn't they just call? Let's see if I can get online from my phone to the cmail. No luck. That's ok, I can just pop home to check email, after all I'd have to change, etc. If going to the c/b anyway. So I get home and its not the c/b for 3 sisters but a new audition for an Indie film. So that's good news... and I'm not going to be negative about the play a) because we still don't know yet, and 2) I know I went in there & did my job. It felt good, they laughed, liked my stuff, re-directed, liked what I did with that. I can honestly say I feel good about it. And regarding the previous post(nervous, etc) I worked on breathing & relaxing before going in...good stuff.

Solyony

Yesterday I had the audition for "Three Sisters" I had to admit I was a little nervous. Ive been doing the Chekhov scene study with Bruce for a couple years now & have grown to love this playwright so obviously I wanted to do well. edited for time...more later

New Theatrical Rep

Yesterday I officially accepted Theatrical Representation with Orion Barnes of the brand new
I'm psyched! He was with my old agency & they parted ways a few months back... I also happened to part ways with them ...last Friday. After a few meetings I believe this is the best place for me right now. Action! More news ahead...

Dropped off a stack of pics & res to my new agent this afternoon : )

Notified actors access of my new agency last night, its not in the system yet but I believe it takes a couple days normally.

Crazynutski

Now we have some surprises and another meeting or so...Interesting stuff and things I believe.

Got an audition for some Chekhov on the 3rd. Nice! This would be a blast.

Scriptwrights was great last night. Read lead in 2 scripts and supporting in the other 2. Some real good writing and a couple very good roles... I'd love to play 1 in particular.

thump

Did a drop at CD Shiela Manning's place today. Nobody was home but at least I got to see the new location. She said to stop by at the SAG Foundation event, so stop by I shall continue to do.

Got a copy of The Actor's Menu to a local trade publication yesterday. Looks like they'll review it in a couple months. Awesome! It's great to be helping out Bill & Carla, I would not be here in L.A. without them or their class.

Had a couple good phone meetings today, more on that later.[ Something just reminded me to call my buddy Matt (from the Pigs, scroll down)& wish him a happy, so I did]


Went for a hike at Runyon Canyon today. Still ended up with a headache, ah well. It's been nice to get out & hike a lot lately. Above is graffiti that is no longer there. I like it.

Looking forward to the screening of Little Victim on Saturday. Its the latest short from my friends Dean & Brian Ronalds. I've known Dean since Howey's class in Denver(yup, the same teacher from "the Actor's Menu" above) and I did the film A.W.O.L. with them. My pic on this blog is a still from A.W.O.L.

Interested industry folks & friends who would like to come -just click the poster to see a larger version and then email to RSVP.

print

Auditioned for a Grad film on Thursday. I still do these every once in a while. First time I've been to the Art Institute. I don't think I was what they were looking for. Interestingly, my friend Annette from Bruce's Chekhov scene study was in just before me. It would have been great to read with a Friend whom I connect with well. Ah well at least we got to catch up & I'll be checking out her new show at the Stella Adler.

Friday I had another print audition. At Picture Arts Studio again, same as 2 weeks ago. Its always good to be called back in. It was for rugged yachting type men...perfect if you dig deep enough to find my Philly blue blood roots.

Wrap party for Time Capsule is cancelled for Sat. That's to bad, I believe the director, Levi got a gig though so good for him. Instead I'll be attending a play at Sacred Fools.

Alright, I never intended this blog to be some dopey movie review thing but on Tuesday I went to a screening of "Crash . Holy shit! Go. Also I went to a SAG Foundation screening of "The Baxter" followed by a Q&A with writer/director/actor Michael Showalter. Its always great to see fellow actors making their own stuff come alive.

Got a few more "just wrapped" mailers sent out yesterday to some CD's that regularly call me in. Always like getting those out, always more to do. Also had dinner with a friend/mentor & worked on a few connections to follow up on. More on that later but it should be good stuff!

three

Saw "Remember the Titans" tonight. I really liked it. Good story, great period (1971 is really the end of the 60's) Really great message, believable acting in a very large cast...great casting. Inspiring film. Saw a not quite as good John Favreau film last night. Equally inspiring though, in an Indie-I-got-this-story-and-I'm-gettin-it-out-there way.

I submitted for a Chekhov play Thursday, no call so far, might re-submit as I really want to read for this one. Been wanting to do a Chekhov play since I've been studying with Bruce Katzman, almost 2 years now. hmmm... I better check, it may be longer. OK, No checking needed its been over 2. Time to do some Chekhov! Or even Ibsen...maybe Shakespeare. Good. Done, I'm throwin it out to the universe.

hey

Was picking up some coffee in Larchmont & saw Henry Winkler yesterday. Not a big deal, I wouldn't even mention it except for the synchronicity of hearing Brian Grazer (giving an excellent interview) on Charlie Rose last night. I like the way he thinks, he's curious. He was there for the "full hour" & talked about everything from his start, with Ron on "Night Shift" in 1979 to "Arrested Development" today. Both of these have Henry in them... I don't know, I like interesting coincidences. Plus he's making "The Davinci Code, if he does that well maybe I'll start to forgive him for doing a Jersey film in Canada.

Full

Had an audition today for a Scion industrial with CD Jeff Hightower. Luckily my friend Cricket just purchased one of these refrigerators on wheels so I knew how to pronounce it. (like "Zion" with an "s") I think it went pretty well although I'm not sure I was what they were looking for, especially with the scruff face that I was "saving" for something else. On my way there I noticed the address & thought "Just north of Olympic, oh, why didn't they just say Westside?" Then after taking quite a while to park(luckily I was early but that made the "30 minutes only" spaces even more of a no-go. What's up with that? And there were only 4 auditions going on, ugh) I marched into 2050 S Bundy & soon realized I was in the wrong spot. Sure enough, I glanced at my notes & the address was "19 something" , which somehow my head thought meant drive to a new parking spot. So after walking about a 1/2 mile to my car, I drove 1/4 quarter mile north to my new spot, then walked 1/8th of a mile to 1990 S Bundy. Still on time, heh heh.

After the audition I went back ( a quick walk across the street) to Westside for drops. The piles were looking bigger than ever but I dropped a few anyway since its been a while & I was just feeling it.

My acting teacher from Denver, Bill Howey, has written an acting book called "The Actor's Menu" and I just found out my copy is on its way. Nice! I can't wait to read this book plus it's nice to feel special getting stuff before the general public does. Bill taught here in L.A. for a long time, at a highly esteemed school before moving to Denver. I was lucky enough to stumble upon his class there & would not be here in L.A. without it. (more on this class later)

Mail

On Thursday I got to go to Scriptwrights (actors & writers weekly group) for the first time in 4 weeks. It was good to be back, see the folks & read some great stuff. I'll link to our website once its up. Had to miss the HHH/TalentPimp event deal. And I had to miss a screening of "Asylum" ...although I missed this one because it happened on Wednesday, except on my iCal. Oops.

I did not get the Print gig from tues, but it was a fun audition & nice group of gals down there. Perhaps they'll keep me in mind.

Got together a few mailers to CD's from referrals & sent them out Friday. I still have a bunch more "just wrapped" cards to go out. Always feels good to have stuff going out. It's time to pick up the drops a bit too.

Had to miss Blacklist Union last night, I was kinda wiped out with a headache. Really looking forward to seeing them soon though. Marie said it was rockin! Next time. I love the Rock, especially when friends are providing it, just cant fully enjoy with the thumpy temples.

Just got back from seeing my buddy Barnaby do standup at Miceli's (I'm feeling very link-y tonight) He was good. More polished than I expected, way to go Barnibus! It was an audience voting competition to move on to the next round kind of deal. He got robbed, but, at least 2 of the 4 who moved on deserved it so it was not a completely horrendous robbing. And, thankfully, there was not a ton of sucking tonight. Anyone who sees friend's comedy shows knows how that can go. Also it gave me a hankerin' put together a set & get up there. Haven't felt that in a while.

sand

Had an audition for a SAG Ultra Low Budget(one of the new contracts, yes it pays) feature tonight with Bonnie Gillespie. I got to read twice because they were low on Dads. Its nice to read a second time sometimes. I tried to change it up a little on that second one, as one should. Between the two I think they saw much of what I wanted to do with this guy, which is all you can ask. We shall see. Have a print audition tomorrow. Last print job booked straight from the picture(nice) and I lost the gig due to some agent confusion(not as nice). This time there's an audition, in Pasadena. Action. And I'll be nice & loose from physical therapy.

Saw the SAG Foundation screening of "Secuestro Express" last night. Good yet brutally honest movie. I didn't realize how bad things were there. Mia Maestro & director Jonathan Jakubowicz spoke afterward. It was great to hear them and ...Mia is quite beautiful.

Trucker

Wrapped "Time Capsule" today. A few scenes with "my" truck & the family up in Gorman CA. I always forget how beautiful the desert is and how quickly you can get to it here. Even when its 800 billion degrees with no air conditioning in the "Loyale With cheese" (my Subaru 4x4 wagon that's showing its age a bit) After a slowish start , including the Loyale not starting at our 1/2 way point for a painful 20 mins or so, the day went pretty well. Tech stuff on a couple of my shots went well. After they wrapped me I thought of one thing I might have added to a scene although I was assured they "got it". So I'll trust ....and hope I don't look like a tool.
How 'bout that happenin name patch? [pause for blog error, sometimes posted pics don't go where you want them and shit gets erased kind of interrupting the flow of things] There will be some better pics, this was just a quickie with my phone.

Got to do a little editing favor for my Texas buddy Jeff today. He brought the wrong firewire cable but we found another in the nick of time. I'm happy we found that cable as I already have a pro rated favor of his GL2 for my next short. Karma bank...or something.

ROCK! Queen is back together for a small tour, with Paul Rodgers (Bad Co, Free) very exciting. I broke down & ordered some tix this morning from evil Ticketmaster. Decent seats & I even browsed Ebay for a bit thinking about upgrading to excellent seats. Now that I've seen the set list(s) from the European leg of the tour I'm just a tad less excited. Only a tad, really, but perhaps the tad that will keep me from digging deep for first 20 rows. I'd like a little more metal & a little less GaGa. Still psyched though, oh yeah.

Talked marketing with a few fellas on set & my buddy Joe (I'll have to ask if he wants a link here... still wondering about that kind of stuff) tonight and yesterday. Somewhere in there I used the word beholden & was asked if I was from the 40's. heh heh. Want to type more but I'm tired (and I'm really not sure I'll go back & add to posts or not, hmmm)

back

In 6 plus years in L.A. I have not done any background work. I did some in Denver(that's another story or two) OK, now I have to take that back - I've done very little background work. Last year I volunteered to do some on an Indie, with a bunch of friends, to help out another friend. And I was sort-of fangled into a featured extra role that I thought was a non speaking small part in a post graduate fellowship film.

Lately though I've submitted to a few featured extra roles on LAcasting and Actors Access. I guess I just figured why not, I could use the extra cash, it contributes to SAG Pension & Health and its good to be on set. Of course after a day or 2 of this, if it ever happens, my mind may change right back. heh heh we shall see but I'm really not clicking on many of these.

So yesterday I get called for a day of work on a feature because of an open call I went to after submitting for "Cab Driver" .Well the cabbie got dumped but they asked if I would be in another small scene. I had to say no as I'll be shooting the highway scene for "Time Capsule" on Sunday and that's when they wanted me. Quality problem. Even on a smaller scale work begets work.

Good actor's day went well. The 1st audition was for an angry blue-collar Dad and I think it went well. The courtroom scene was quick & clean...funny to watch the kid doing his scene(s) with his mom eventually bribing him with jelly beans to stay still just for a few more seconds. Many of us thought that would be a good way to run my scene as well, heh heh.

Days

go by quickly when you don't blog them.
On Friday, 22nd we had a pick-up day on "Time capsule" to shoot the court scene, lost the location & moved on to the field scene. Turns out I was not really needed and was spared 4-5 hours of bad traffic, thank you producers! I found out today I had a body double who took a couple lumps for me. My Physical Therapist & I will be sure to thank this guy!

Were going to pick up the courtroom scene on Thursday at a new location. Then I've got an audition for an Animated Feature in Santa Monica with Heidi Klein. Motion capture work, I've never auditioned for this before but it sounds fun. Also I just got a call for a Grad Thesis Film Audition Tues morning before the shoot. Stacking up to be a good actors-day.

Then I'll round it out by seeing The Birds: A Tail of Ornithic Proportions staring my friends Hal, Maria & Kim from the Spyants with an old buddy who's in town for the weekend.

I'm never sure how many names to mention or links to post. And do you ever get permission? Folks will probably laugh at that, go ahead, then tell me what you do.

Carl Judas

First day of shooting on "Time Capsule" today. I dont want to give anything away, so I wont. The shooting schedule got shuffled a little due to natural lighting concerns, etc. And we ended up digging right in to one of the heaviest scenes. I cant wait to post some pictures, trust me you will dig them. more on this later


Had to cancel a Voice class through the SAG Foundation with teacher Michael Daniels tonight. Thats the second time I've had to cancel this particular event. I'm bummed I missed it again but not that much because I was working. Thats what we like to call a quality problem.

not today

Got to an audition for a feature today, an updated version of "Jekyll & Hyde" and as I arrived they were taping up the cancelled sign on the door. Production emergency, might get you in tomorrow. OK. (pause for blog weirdness) Then ran into Scott Vance & got to chat for a while. I read the lead for the staged reading of his film "Crossing the Bridge". Hope to work with him again sometime.

Firefox seems to be working better for this Blog however I had to come back to Safari to edit...hmmm.
Update wed morning: upgraded to Firefox 1.06 (from 1.05) This release came fast so I'm guessing there was a large bug filling in forms.

CAT scratch fever

Here I am about to be assimilated and/or probed.And the Doc calls today & says I passed with flying colors. That's good news. I've been taking care of a few aches & pains that were a little overdue. Less pain>more centered>better me>good for life and auditions.

Submitted for a Shakespeare play today. I'd like the challenge of getting a monologue up to speed in a short time period right now. I'm ready for a play.

Missed Scriptwrights tonight to help out a friend. I hate missing it 2 weeks in a row. And I'll probably be absent next week due to shooting my first day of "Time Capsule". Quality problem right there. And Karma is a good thing.

Texas chick

Welcome back & Happy b-day & a few congrats at Dan Tana's last night. Good times with a bunch of creative type friends.

Rock

As an actor, I really don't like reality shows. As a hypocrite, I watch a couple of them. And I do think most of them suck. And they do take jobs from actors. And of course here's the "but". The show "Rock Star INXS" is going to have me glued to the set. Its a reality show but with music , and not shitty music or even mediocre music but ROCK. Who knows, it could start sucking but last night I really enjoyed it.

Liferaft

SAG series with CD Shiela Manning. Really great stuff, much I've heard before and much I needed to hear again. Her office is moving in a week and She is in my sights now more than ever.

FBI

What the hell, I just typed up 3 posts, my longest yet & It is gone. Crap. Well, I was wondering about how much to put in this Blog & how much to leave out. For instance, the title "FBI" is now burned forever as a heading(title? topic?) And someday, most likely, I'll have a more exciting reason to post an FBI post. See?

Auditioned today for "FBI Guy #1" , had a real long story about the audition that I cant quite repeat now because its bedtime but I didn't think part of my read was the greatest and they asked me to stick around & read for the lead. Always happens like that. Hopefully I thought I sucked enough that I will book it. heh heh.

The other thing was that I booked a print job for Monday but it got snached away almost as quickly as I booked it. May have been communication problem. No worries, Monday will now hold something greater.

Theatre audition

With Casting Director & Author Bonnie Gillespie. If you haven't read her books you should. Click that link for the brand new one! I always have fun & do good work with Bonnie and more often than not get a callback. We'll see how this one goes. She's partially responsible for getting me started with this blog and is a general inspiration all around.

Missed the theatre group (pigs) rehearsal last night to hit a surprise party for a good friend. What a blast! I just snarfed down a few leftovers. And I'll be doing a monologue at the Pigs next week.

chop

Sent out a bunch of "just booked" mailers today to film & TV CD's. I like chopping pics to different sizes & mailing them in different ways. Good action.
The booking is an independant short called "Time Capsule". I play an alcoholic big-rig driver who ends up quite bloody. Funny right? I'm getting a lot of "art imitating life, eh " ...not quite, I've never driven a big-rig before. I am looking forward to what looks to be a great supporting role.

New contracts

I spoke with SAG this morning about some requirements of the new contracts, they were pretty helpful. The Student & Short Film agreements are the only deferred ones now. I have high hopes for this new Short Contract.

action

Got my stack of headshots from ISGO today & sent out a few submissions including an interesting referral I've been waiting to do.

2 nights ago, 6/29/05 I was invited to sit in with a new theatre group. They're doing some interesting stuff, all their shows are completely original including the music. I'm not sure if I will join or not but I'm going back next week & doing one of their monologues.

Im thinking of adding to this blog in reverse to get some highlights of 03-05 or possibly earlier. It looks like we can since its actually the first today.

Start Me Up

So here's post #1. I'm not sure what this thing will become or where its going but I've been threatening to do it for a while. Here we go.

heh heh

Rojo Bait!