Booked My First LA Project!

I've successfully booked my first project. It's a student short film that will be shot on MiniDV. The director has told me that his professor is a professional filmmaker and will be assisting - in addition he'll have professional grips. This encourages me because it means I might get some footage that can be used in my reel.

The part? I'm playing Jimmy Olsen. Yes the Jimmy Olsen of Superman fame. The basic plot of the film is that The Daily Planet has been purchased by J.P. Murdock ala Wall Street Journal and Clark Kent is faced with trying to get a new job. Even Superman isn't so super when faced with corporate mergers and down-sizing.

I've got a fun little scene with Clark where I ask him to put in a good word for me with the interviewers. It's under 5 lines, but its a safe place for me to improve my film-acting skills.

My timing is off...

I was at a Q&A session with a commercial agent at The Actor's Network tonight. There are definite seasons in a talent agency, and it appears that it's currently Spring - which means they're too busy watching the blooms to try and plant any seeds. In other words, September-November is pretty much the worst time to try and land an agent because they're all working really hard on getting their current clients into pilots or episodic TV.

If agents aren't opening their mail until the end of December - I need to brace myself for a lot of independent submissions to casting agents. This is frustrating because I really thought I had given myself enough lead-time to get an agent before shooting season began in earnest. Moral: submit ASAP if you move down in August, don't wait to get "situated". Better still: move down during June or July.

Oh, and I saw Super Bad tonight with Jon and Prince. It was incredibly funny, but the jokes wouldn't have played nearly so well if it were 1954. For half a second, I thought the swearing was excessive... and then I remembered my students. Nope, the movie is pretty spot on. I'd love to do a project like that.

EDIT: I am ashamed at how many times I just incorrectly used combinations of: their, there, and they're.

Volvo-stationwagon-driving liberals everywhere, rejoice!

My sister's radio program B-Side Radio has been picked up as an official NPR Podcast. I've had pieces run in a couple episodes of her show (Family, Food, and Fiction), if you listen to the latest episode you'll be able to hear me help Tamara (my sister) introduce the various stories. It's a great show with a new twist on an old medium. You should definitely give it a listen.

Her show is looking for new contributors all the time, so if you fancy yourself a writer or just have a story that needs to be told, contact B-Side.

Entering The Rod-Zone

I played the catcher in Take Me Out, the gay baseball play. Hey, hey, keep your heads out of the gutter. Well anywhoo, if you know me, you know that I'm 6' and pretty thin by nature. When I was cast in the role, I weighed a whopping 155lbs.

I put on about 20 lbs in 4 months, mostly muscle for the role. I wouldn't have been able to do it without the assistance of my personal trainer, Malfred, a former college football player and NFL hopeful who looked the part.

You can listen to my food diary about the process of gaining the weight and getting in shape on B-Side Radio "Food" episode.

I trained at 24hr fitness which makes you buy way more than you need of everything. So I still had 8-training sessions in the bank when I moved down here.

So yesterday I went to 24hr fitness in Hollywood to sign up with a new trainer. I'd never seen so many fit people in my life. Where were the flabby house-wives and guys working off their beer guts? I couldn't tell you. And the most surreal part: the straight men were in better shape than the gay men. It's like I was in bizarro land. So it was with a scuffed self-image that I approached my new trainer Rod(ney).

5 minutes into a workout, DONOVAN is sweating and RODNEY is encouraging him.

RODNEY: Ok, the fun's over. Prepare to enter the Rod-Zone!
...
RODNEY: You've entered the Rod-Zone!
...
RODNEY: Welcome to the Rod-Zone!
...
...
RODNEY: You're in the Rod-Zone now Donovan. How are you liking it?
...
RODNEY: Most people aren't used to working in the: ROD-ZONE!

...Best I can tell, the Rod-Zone is a place where an excess of personality gets you into astoundingly good shape. But joking aside, Rod seems like a cool guy and I trust that he'll continue to kick my ass into shape. My goal: Reach 185lbs w/ 10% body fat.

Get a Life... Coach.

I was first introduced to the concept of a "Life Coach" at a planning retreat hosted by my formal school district. At this retreat I was asked to take off my shoes, walk around the room, shake hands, and hug everyone else in the room without smiling...

broke teachers - shoes = stinky socks with holes
stinky socks with holes = awkward
awkward = smiling/laughing
= an inordinately difficult exercise

At the time it felt like a lot of hooey, and I don't doubt that in large part it was. But after this 2-day retreat I was super hot to trot on pursuing my newly-discovered goal: Getting an MFA in Theater. Had my superintendent not brought his personal life-coaching consultants in, I'd probably still be teaching and living in the bay area.

Which is why I was so excited when my acting-classmate told me that the supremely likable Dallas Travers, of Sage Marketing for Actors, did life coaching at $75/hr. I scheduled my first private coaching session with her for Friday. But when I discovered that her actual rates were something closer to $125 for 50min, my tailed dropped between my legs and I called to cancel my session.

It seems like one needs to have their life pretty well on track before they can afford to bring in someone to coach them along.

So that leaves YOU, oh reader of mine, to leave comments that kick my ass into gear if I ever seem to be slacking.

Ooh, Ooh, Pick Me, Pick Me.

Being a theatrical agent in Hollywood is like being the prettiest girl at prom - everyone who isn't already spoken for wants to dance with you. I was a pretty big dork in high school (what's changed, right?) and asking anyone to dance was horribly intimidating. Thankfully it looks like the years of swing dancing lessons have paid off, I'm not nearly so afraid to ask agents to represent me.

A couple commercial agencies contacted me through Casting Networks and asked me to send them a Headshot & Resume. I reformatted my resume so it's now oh-so-fancy with 3 columns and blue accents. I also wrote a cover letter to accompany my packet:

Dear [John]:

I am seeking theatrical representation with your agency. I moved to Los Angeles from San Francisco three weeks ago with the goal of making a living as a film and television actor. I’ve been told that you are one of the premiere agents for actors looking to build up their careers, so I was delighted when I received your solicitation through Casting Networks. I earned my SAG card while I was still in the Bay Area, and I’d like to put it to good use!

When I arrived, I hit the ground running. I’m in my fourth week of Richard Seyd’s ongoing acting class. I’m attending workshops and using all the resources available at The Actor’s Network so that I can be intelligently proactive about my career.

I just closed a successful extended-run of Take Me Out. I’m also pleased to say that Phoenix Rising, a full-length film that I played a featured role in, is now touring the festival circuit.

Sincerely,

Donovan Keith

I tried to find an enthusiastic tone that also established my willingness to do the work. My friend Lolly (another recent SF transplant) felt that I might seem a little too fresh off the bus. We'll see how the response goes.

Expense
Theatrical Headshot ($0.95)
Commercial Headshot ($0.95)
See-Through Envelope ($0.75)
2 Resumes on 8x10 paper ($0.50)
Postage ($1.20)
TOTAL ($4.35)

To submit to just the two agents who contacted me, I've got to pay about $9 for materials/shipping. They say it takes money to make money, but I can see this getting expensive really fast.

Negotiating a TV Contract

Kevin, the main dude at The Actors' Network is (in)famous for what he calls his "Kevinisms". This little beauty sums up just about everything you need to know about negotiating television contracts.

You better know when you dick's big enough to swing it. Otherwise keep it in your pants.

Which is to say, unless you have strength of position in a negotiation, you can't really negotiate anything. At my level in this field, I'm essentially expendable, so I have no room to negotiate.

And for my visual learners out there, here's something I whipped up in Photoshop for ya!

What A Manager Does

Peter Kluge came to speak at The Actors Network and I was really quite impressed. He's a former-actor/business-man turned talent manager. He really reminded me of Aaron Eckhart in so far as he was tan and charming. What struck me as being really unique about Peter is that he was completely devoid of smarm. The man was smarmless. When faced with the possibility of dropping and F-bomb, he instead literally spoke the word "blank".

The following are some excerpts from my notes.

On actor's taking themselves too seriously:

In the grand scheme of things, we're not that important. Sure we tell a story, and sometimes we get a message across, but in the end, we're entertainers. We're here to entertain people.

In response to SAG having way too many contracts. What's next? The...

after school Disney, blank me up the butt rate?

On most actors' fatal flaw: myopia

To separate yourself from the vast majority of actors, don't be so me oriented. Don't just walk into an audition room and forget to engage with others as human beings. Be nice to assistants and receptionists. They often do the submissions for you - or cast the deciding vote in a casting office.

What a manager does:

• A manager fights for their clients, they submit them on projects they are right for - they can be specific because they have fewer clients.
• Managers represent you across the board, which means they get a piece of the pie whether you shoot a commercial, film, series, or print ad.
• Your manager helps you to better market yourself. He/she won't intentionally give you negative feedback, it's not in their best interests. If they tell you that CDs say you read like an ice queen - don't take it as a criticism, use it as the starting point for your new ice queen marketing campaign.

Audition 1: Lost In Translation

Good News: I've got my first LA audition tomorrow afternoon. It's for a Japanese alcoholic beverage and the spot shoots in Japan. Best I can tell, there is no script, although you can be sure I'll arrive early to ask for sides. In Lost In Translation, Bill Murray's character ends up shooting commercials for Japanese whiskey because he's in the twilight of his career - I find it funny that a similar opportunity is presenting itself in this crepescular moment in my career.

I'm thinking about logging all of my auditions on here, but that could become a bit overwhelming.

Update: Oh yeah, I got this audition through LA Casting (castingnetworks.com). More on the creepy bar code system later.

The Yo Yo is a Weapon

When I looked at what temps often make on an hourly basis ($10-$15) I started thinking that's not going to be a good permanent solution for me. So it looks like I'll be applying for substitute teaching work with LA Unified, Burbank, and Glendale School Districts.

Substitute teaching absolutely terrifies me. I know it shouldn't but it's less an exercise in teaching and more an exercise in classroom management. Something I've been traditionally "meh" at. But perhaps I'll just take a lesson from "The Substitute 2", and take down the teacher/student-run drug ring that operates in the basement of every urban high school with a Yo-Yo. That's right ladies and gentlemen, the protagonist in "The Substitute 2" inflicts bodily harm upon students and staff alike with a yo yo, an ancient Polynesian weapon.

"Weapon" legend

The yo-yo is sometimes cited as having originally been a weapon: according to one account the original yo-yo was "large with sharp edges and studs and attached to thick twenty-foot ropes for flinging at enemies or prey."^[1] (this story is referenced in the film Octopussy, in which an Indian villain attempts to kill James Bond with such a weapon). No evidence exists to support this story, and some experts consider it physically unlikely since "once [the yo-yo] struck something, it would be nearly impossible to retract."^[2][3]

Temping = Dead Like Me

After a discussion with my sister yesterday, I came to the conclusion that I was actually going to have to make some sacrifices to make this dream happen. *Gasp!* I know, right? Tamara (my sister) told me that I needed to get a job, any job, ASAP. Although she did agree with me that a full-time position would defeat the purpose of my coming down here. Which means I have to adjust my financial expectations.

As far as jobs go, Prince referred me to a temping agency located in Pasadena. I've got an interview with them on Monday morning. Looks like I'll be dusting off my suit collection and wearing matching socks for the first time in a while.

One of my favorite TV shows was set in a temping agency. The main protagonist, a recently dead girl, works there but has to cut out at odd hours to reap people. As in take their souls into the next life. I suppose that's not entirely dissimilar from my leaving work to participate in what is often called a "soul-sucking industry".

Investing in myself.

Faced with the possibility of going back into the work-a-day world, I am apprehensive. Mostly because it introduces the same problems I was having in SF - not wanting to let-down my daytime employers and coworkers because I want to pursue acting (which means cutting out at odd hours for auditions). Independent contracting, while inconsistent, provides me with the most flexibility to pursue my acting.

The areas that most interest me are graphic design and animation. But I don't really have a portfolio to sell myself with. I'm going to make that my top priority and give myself a deadline - the end of August. Which means I've got to dig into savings to make rent and pay for other things. After I've got a portfolio, I'll take some menial job to make rent until such time as my contracting surpasses the consistent work.

Of course, I probably have this completely backwards. I should probably make rent now, and work on my portfolio in the evenings - it'd certainly give me incentive to finish quickly.

Argh. For the first time in my life, I've begun to enter the real world.

Broke... Broke... Broke...

This could get very painful very quickly. It looks like I need to get a "real" job. The contract work for the software company is too inconsistent for my tastes (it's been 3 weeks and none of my projects have been green lighted) - I need a salaried gig that ensures I'm going to make rent and pay my essential bills (utilities, car, food). Once I've got that, everything else is gravy.

For a second I thought I had another job doing tech support for a monthly stipend, but it seems like that isn't going to happen any time soon. I'm scared. But I'm sure that I can get work of some kind.

Priorities are shifting away from the acting for a little bit and the emphasis is now on making a living.

Ideas:

• Substitute Teaching
• Extra Work
• Community College Teacher
• Temp
• Whatever I can find on Craig's List*

* = not including "full release".

Oh, and I've got about 30 minutes left on my cell phone plan before calls cost me about $0.50/min.

Mud People Music Video

So I drove up to the SF bay to do some contract work for my old school, and while I was there I helped my buddy Gabriel shoot a music video for his new solo album. I have a background in film making and thought I could assist in some meaningful way.

I ended up being in charge of making mud. Having spent the better part of my childhood making cat-turd pies in a sandbox this was a specialty of mine. I lost my pair of brown euro shoes to the bay - it's a shame because they cost a grip and were some of my favorites.

In addition to making mud, I shot production stills and promotional photos for the album.



Towards the end of the shoot, I also got covered in mud from head to toe so that Gabriel could have more mud-people for the final shots. It was quite disgusting - and expensive. I had forgotten to bring a change of clothes, so my friend Emily ran to Target and bought a whole new outfit for me so that I could make it to my friend Tom Orr's "iTom Shuffle" cabaret show @ 8. But it gave me some taste of what it might be like to work on a Zombie film - maintaining continuity from the master shot would be quite difficult.

Financial Update:
+$300 Contracting Work.
-$70 Replacement outfit at Target.

Where's my gentleman's magazine?

Crazy thing about moving: your mail doesn't come with you. I got a call from the manager of my old apartment in Oakland telling me "Uh... could you please call someone and make them stop sending your produce to us?" So I got on the horn with the hippies, and I said I didn't want any more organic produce delivered to me (I've been eating mac n' cheese, cereal, and rice non-stop).

And then I thought: Oh no, if the hippies can't find me, how am I going to get my comics and playboy?!

Well the US Postal Service now let's you apply for a change of address online.

But eventually, you're going to need to contact everyone and let them know that you now live elsewhere (I doubt the Penny Saver will have any trouble finding me).

Here's a checklist of places to update your info:

• Utilities
• Gas: close your account and setup locally.
• Electric: see Gas.
• Phone: you'll probably be able to transfer this.
• DSL/Cable: contact them ahead of time and they'll have your service ready.
• Cell Phone: give 'em your new address, and bump up your minutes. You'll be making a lot of calls to friends who you no longer see in person. Remember, texts aren't free, so be careful w/ 'em.
  
• Banks
• Checking
• Savings
• Credit Cards
  
• Websites
• Amazon.com
• Netflix.com
• g-mart.com: Online comic book supplier.
  
• Periodicals
• Backstage West
• American Theater
• Playboy
• Interview
• Variety (you get Variety?! How can you afford it? I sure as heck can't)
  
• Government Agencies
• DMV
• Voter Registration
  
• Newspapers
• NY Times
• Wall Street Journal (now owned by J.P. Murdock)

You thought you were done, didn't you? Nope, now you've got to update all of your acting-related contacts:

• Agent: This person should know you're moving, really.
• Websites
• Casting Networks: you'll have to open a new account in the LA market. It costs about $90/yr.
• SAG iActor
• The Actor's Network

Oh and at some point you should tell your family and friends. I'd say a postcard would be the best route, but it probably isn't - seeing as how you probably don't have anyone's mailing address. So just update your profiles on MySpace, Facebook, LJ, and email all of your contacts (twice, about a week apart, include a career update).

If you can think of anything I've missed, post a comment and let me know. I want to make sure all of my stuff gets here.

I was acting before I was walking.

I've been in this business longer than I often realize. Although it is a little sad, that I'm not yet to the point in my career that I reached as a baby.

I found the above picture when I started filing everything into brand spanking new Ikea filing assemblage.

D'oh! I'm just realizing that I kept getting cast in SF Gay Theater for the same reason I was cast as a baby: my willingess to prance about in my underwear.

Schlocky Photoshoppery

Who needs a good reason to post when a crappy photoshop mock-up will do.1950's FATHER: Look kids! It's Donovan Keith!
1950's KID: Wow!
1950's FATHER: And it looks like he's in HOLL-LEE-WOOD!!
1950's KID: Hollywood?! Gee wiz Pa! I never thought I'd see that.

An Agent's Perspective on Actors

I hate actors. I don't mean any disrespect. But you guys are fucking crazy.

Says an agent* to a room of 30 actors. To which we all laughed and continued to seek his advice - and it was around that time that I realized he was right.

But regardless of this gentleman's perspective on his clients, he was informative. I gleaned these tidbits from his presentation:

• Actors sell to agents, agents sell to casting directors, casting directors sell to producers, and producers sell to networks. There's rejection up and down the chain, don't think that your agent isn't fighting for you just 'cause you aren't getting bookings.
• Never turn down a role: there's a chance it will become recurring or the person you work for can help you down the line.
• His agency tries to keep 2 of each "type" on their roll books.
• Pilots used to make unknowns into knowns, but now that film actors are doing TV that isn't the case so much.
• Some agencies accept drop-offs of resumes, but don't expect to talk to anybody.
• Agents do read cover letters. Make them personal, recommendations are meaningful.
  

A Good Client...

• Stops into the agency once every 3 weeks just to say "Hey!" and check on headshot supplies, etc.
• Keeps headshots & resumes current.
• Stays loyal: there's a lot of poaching in the industry.
• Doesn't harass his/her agent daily.
• Has a relationship of some kind w/ their reps.
• Sleeps with as many celebrities as possible.
• Is proactive about their career.
• Never leaves town
• If you must: Leave between the end of Pilot Season and July 4th.
  

But the main thing I took away from this Q&A is that I don't have a reel and that's going to make finding an agent very difficult. Which means I need to start doing lots of student and indie films to get some footage together.

*Am I better off keeping names hidden? Or do I cite my sources? Keep in mind: I want to get work.

Dining on set pieces.

My favorite character in Shakespeare's "A Mid Summer Night's Dream" is Bottom - the pompous braggart who chews up all of the scenery around him in the play-within-the-play at the end of the show. A person who does this, in actor's parlance, is a "Ham".

For better or worse I have hammy tendencies, and it is my current mission to rid myself of them (or at least gain some control over when they are activated). Because while I could get pretty far with it in theater, it looks positively crappy on film.

Oh ham-hockey self, that brings me so much joy, I shall miss you. Adieu, adieu, adieu.

Polishing your little star

When I was an infant, my mom would bundle me up and drive me out to countless commercial auditions. Eventually I booked a commercial where got to play around in a giant pile of Kleenex. My sister also did a fair amount of work as a child actor in commercials (her big break was 1-episode in TV's "The Judge"). Based on this limited success, my parents wrote a book and marketed a workshop called "Polishing Your Little Star". At the end of the 2-hour workshop where they made it clear why you shouldn't put your kids in show business, they said "If anyone wants more than $50 from you, it's a scam." Then they proceeded to sell book after book for $35. This is the mid-80's people: $35 for a mimeographed and spiral bound book written by my parents.

Today I spent $50 dollars on a mimeographed, spiral bound, book on the industry written by someone that I don't think has kids. I did so willingly, and with full knowledge of what I was doing. In addition, I plunked down another $200 to join an organization called "The Actor's Network" - they host a lecture series that is populated with industry professionals. They promise to save me the 3 years of getting up to speed that it takes the average nuevo Angelino. I did all this despite an oogy feeling I got from the gentleman running the orientation: the man brought up race far too frequently - and I didn't appreciate the joke about an Arab friend of his being a terrorist. I'll probably be posting with some regularity about events at The Actors' Network because they do seem to offer a cadre of useful services.

Financial Update
Oh, and I have $850 in my checking account.
Rent is $825 and just this morning I got a $50 parking ticket (the same street sweepers that plagued me in Oakland).

It looks like I'm going to have to dip into savings before the month is through - but (and we'll see if I keep this promise) I won't dip into savings next month. No sirree.

Lost My S.F. Representation

Guh. This doesn't feel good.

I just called my agency in S.F., Tonry Talent, to speak with Mary about my move to LA. When I said my name, Tom told me that he had an audition for me tomorrow.

ME: Which is actually why I called, I've moved to LA.
TOM: Oh, you have?
ME: Yes. But I will be in town periodically and would be interested in any auditions you have while I'm up North. Or if you hear of any projects down in LA.
TOM: We actually only represent talent who live in SF.
ME: Oh.
TOM: Is your new permanent residence in LA?
ME: Yes... So, I'm off your roles then?
TOM: Yes. Best of luck to you.
ME: Thanks.

Which is to say that my one small toe in the door of the film/tv industry is no longer on the threshold. I am now one step further behind than I was before the move.

New mission: Get LA representation ASAP.

Monologues

As an actor, at some point, you will have to perform monologues. It's just the way it is. The audition monologue in particular is rough. As an actor you have to bring your character, the other character, the arc of the play's narrative, and the environment you exist in to life with no aide outside of yourself.

Richard Seyd has asked me to bring a couple monologues into class so that he can get a sense of where I'm at. It looks like I'm going to do a piece from "Biloxi Blues" by Neil Simon and another from "Spring Storm" by Tennessee Williams. These are the same pieces I used for the TBA (Theater Bay Area) general auditions. I honestly feel like I should have better pieces than this, but I've done these two more than any others so they are my go-to pieces.

So the moral of the story is: Always have a few monologues ready, and for goodness sakes don't wait around until you need them to get them ready - because if you do you'll end up going back to the same dried up well.

A Social Life - So soon?

Very quickly, I've fallen into a very dangerous habit: confusing being unemployed with being on vacation. Both result in an excess of free time - but only one has the promise of guaranteed income at the end of the month.

It seems I've even taken a vacation from blogging. I will make all good efforts to add missed entries, but posting might also pose as a distraction from the real goal: getting work as an actor. To recap my major social engagements of late:

• Spending the day at Six Flags Magic Mountain with Loren, Joanne, and Diablo.
• Dinner with Diablo, Prince, Joanne, and Loren who made it (absolutely amazing, get yourself invited to one of his dinners).
• Bourne Ultimatum w/ Prince & Loren: SEE THIS MOVIE, the Bourne movies really are tremendous.
• Pool party with Lolly at the home of the big momma of the LA Blues Dancing Scene.
• Photoshoot with Natalie and Michael; one as a boy-next-door from the 40s, the other as Tyler Durden from Fight Club.
• Acme Comedy's improvised Star Trek spoof.

I've essentially had something to do every evening/day that I've been here. But I have not made as much forward progress on my career as I need to. To date I have:

• Attended Richard Seyd's acting class once.
• Contacted Dallas Travers about getting help finding an agent/getting established.
• Contacted Judy Kerr (author of Acting Is Everything) to setup a meeting where I'll get an orientation to the business down here.
• Investigated the "Actor's Network" - I'll join if I can work out the financial requirements.

Pictures are bound to happen soon - I now own a Cannon Digital Elph.