Something Scary #2: Saying Hello to Strangers

What I'm Afraid Of:

When I was a teenager I was horribly embarrassed to be around my mother when she would start talking to strangers in line at the super market, or on the street, or at the coffee shop, in short: everywhere. These days I really admire my mom's ability to strike up a conversation, and wish that I could do it too. There's something about talking to strangers that I find absolutely terrifying. Possible reasons:

1. I was told never to talk to strangers as a child.
2. The stranger might ignore me.
3. The stranger might reject me.
4. The stranger might think I'm stupid.
5. The stranger and I may having nothing to talk about.
6. The stranger may never shut up once they get started.
7. The stranger will think I'm rude.
8. The stranger may feel physically threatened by me trying to initiate conversation and scream at the top of their lungs.
9. I might remind the stranger of a buddy from 'Nam, they'll enter into a PTSD episode and stab me to death while screaming "Why Johnny, why?!"

Clearly, some of my fears are more rational than others. But some variation on at least one of them is what prevents me from saying hello.

What I Did That Scared Me:

On my walk home from work today, I committed to saying hello to everyone that I passed. It went pretty well. "Hello" became "Howdy" which became "How's it going" which led to "Did you just say 'Friday Night Blues'? No? Oh, sorry, that's the name of a dance event I go to."

However, there were some people I didn't say hello to, namely anyone who wasn't looking in my direction when I was passing (Reasons: #7, #8). So, not a smashing success, but more often than not I felt the fear but acted anyway.

Something Scary #1 was: Asking a Girl Out to Coffee

Taking Risks in Life

I read a great profile on Jeremy Renner in "Men's Health" of all places. Here's an excerpt:

"If you don't know who you are, how the hell are you going to be able to...?" Renner leaves the thought unfinished, but it would be easy to fill in the blank with a million possibilities, most of them more profound than becoming a movie star. "So I made a very conscious decision to be fearless, to live a life of fear-freeness. I decided to do something every day I was afraid of." Like?

"I swam with sharks," he says, recounting a scuba trip off California's southern coast. "I was terrified of sharks and I'm still terrified of sharks, but at least I was taking action--and not being squelched by something I don't know about."

It's pretty brilliant strategy for becoming a better actor if you ask me, although apparently the idea is nothing new:

Do one thing every day that scares you.

-Eleanor Roosevelt

It seems, that if one wants to play a character on the edge of madness, you must expand your threshold for risk. So I have unofficially undertaken the project of consciously doing things that scare me. I'll be cataloging this risk taking under the "Something Scary" tag.

#27 - #??: The Count Ends Not With a Bang, but a Whimper

It seems my goal of creating something every single day and posting the end-result to this blog has sputtered out a bit. It's not that I haven't been creating things; I have been. It's just this whole business of remembering what I've done, numbering them then posting something that's gotten me out of whack.

A Partial List of Creations Since I Last Posted:

• Screenplay w/ my Writing Partner
• Lyrics and Melody for The World's Worst Song
• Super Secret Christmas Gift(s)
• Prepared scene for Class
• Edited short film "Sesame Avenue"
• Attempted to Cover Radiohead's "Creep" on Ukulele
• Wrote monologue
• Revised monologue

I'm tempted to spend the next couple weeks strategizing and restart my count in 2011. Until then, rest assured: I will be acting daily.

Creations

#24 Groundlings Monologue and Screenplay with Partner
#25 Short Film Script
#26 Dance Class with Chryssie Whitehead

Okay, better to post something to try and keep track than lose track altogether.

How To Research a Part

As homework for my class at Margie Haber Studio, I was just given a 4-page scene from the pilot episode of a TV show set in the world of the FBI. My teacher, then asked the class how we planned to prepare. "Boil a lot of water, drink a lot of tea, and eventually get down to work?" I offered. She was not impressed. Instead, she offered up these ideas for learning what is involved in living the life of an FBI agent:

• Read a book on the FBI
• Read a crime blotter ( http://www.crimeblotter.org/map/ )
• Interrogate someone, about anything. "It's my understanding this market stocks papayas. Yet, I don't see any papayas."
• Investigate something. Try and put the pieces of a mystery together.
• Call your local FBI bureau, tell them you're preparing for a role, and ask if they have any PR people or agents who would be willing to answer your questions.

Now this may seem a little preposterous, but I don't think I've ever done preparation for a role in this way before. I tend to just read the script a lot and build up a world imaginatively. Which, now that I think about it, seems like a pretty good way to create a performance that's not grounded in reality.

Whenever I get despondent about acting as a career choice, I'm usually able to re-motivate myself with the promise that acting is a way to experience all that life has to offer. I can be a policeman one day, a fireman the next, a schoolteacher, a doctor, a recluse, a roustabout - basically I'm paid to explore all of my childhood fantasies and I'm never forced to give up one in order to be another (forgot to mention: Astronaut!). But the fact of the matter is, it's been a hollow promise. I really haven't done much in the way of really exploring those other lives.

So my challenge to myself, and to other actors out there, is to: dare to live the life of the character.

-------------------------------------

So what is it like to be an FBI agent?
Some preliminary investigation (one made-for-tv documentary and some web searching) on what's involved in being an agent has turned up:

• To be an FBI agent, you need a 4year degree and at least 3 years professional experience.
• Agents are haunted by unsolved cases for basically their entire lives.
• Agents undergo extensive training that simulates emergencies just in case one ever occurs, sometime you'll simulate something for years before you actually encounter it.
• Agents work incredibly long hours, get little vacation time, and are paid government wages.
• Working for the FBI gives most agents an incredible sense of purpose; your work has meaning. (This is the bit I'm most excited about playing)
• There is an acceptance that there will be another terrorist attack, and there is an accute fear that they won't have done all they can to prevent it.
• Agents often have to be hyper-vigilant in situations where nothing bad ever actually happens nor was going to happen (putting together security plans for big sports matches, etc).
• Working as an FBI agent often involves less action than working as a regional police officer, but it offers the promise of working on some of the largest and most important cases in the States.
• You might get the opportunity to work in beautiful foreign locales.

-------------------------------------

Oh, and Creation #23 was a cold-reading from an episode of Law & Order. I haven't acted across from someone else in about a month, so once I got through the fear and anxiety of being rusty, it felt really good to be back in the swing of things.

#21 & #22: Acting and the Edge of Madness

Creation #22: A Rumination
An actor friend of mine often rails against what he calls "safe" actors. A safe actor is one who does a lot of homework, has a pretty clear sense of how the scene should go, and delivers a consistent totally usable performance. When thrown into a scene with little time to prepare, they deliver a very restrained performance. In my mind being a safe actor isn't a horrible thing, Harrison Ford once said that on days where he doesn't feel in it, he does "as little as possible," capitalizing on the Kuleshov Effect.

Then there are the... bold actors? The unpredictable? The risk-takers. The dynamic, charismatic, cornered animals of the acting world. When I think about my favorite film-acting performances, they came from risk-taking actors, often early in their careers. Some Examples:

Robert De Niro in "Taxi Driver"

Daniel Day Lewis in "There Will Be Blood"

Dustin Hoffman in "Midnight Cowboy" or "The Graduate"

Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight"

If there's one thing I most enjoy about these performances, it's the sense that in the next moment anything could happen. These are actors existing on, what at least appears to be: the edge of madness. And if you hear anything about their process, you wouldn't be faulted for thinking that at times they've tipped over the edge.

If you look at recent efforts from De Niro and Hoffman, it seems that at some point they lost their edge. Their performances are still charismatic and enjoyable, but they no longer seem wholly unpredictable. Comparing early interviews with more recent ones, they also appear to have mellowed as people. I'd much rather have a beer with De Niro in his 60's than De Niro in his 20's.

The question, at least for myself is: Is is possible to lead a safe, happy, sane, restrained, pleasant life and still turn in a compelling performance that hints at a life on the edge?

Creation #21: A (Micro) Adventure

Okay, while not technically a creation, I feel like it counts as my homework for the day as it explores the question posed above. This was a recent status update "In a possibly ongoing experiment in risking rejection I asked a stranger out to coffee. 30sec of conversation later, I desperately wished the person had refused."

Yes, my version of living dangerously is asking someone on a totally innocuous coffee date. I get a similar jump in heart-rate when I write a strongly worded email that I never send. I suspect that if there is a correlation between an unpredictable life and an unpredictable performance, I've got a lot more growing to do.

Creations #16-20

Creation #16: Salted Caramel Cheescake

Creation #17: Lemon Meringue Pie 

Creation #18: Apple Pie

Creation #19: Roast Turkey

No Photo

Creation #20: Roasted Broccoli with Candied Pecans

Creation #21: Photograph: Column of Water

Thanksgiving, thanksgiving, thanksgiving. I fell off the creation wagon a bit since my last post, but now is a time to rededicate myself.

Creation #15: A 3-Page Scene

There's a theory, I'm not sure how widely held, or scientifically founded, that says: Our dreams are a peek into our brains trying to solve problems. Basically like watching a YouTube video of a baby trying to put a peg into a hole - only it's directed by Michel Gondry.



I don't dream much. At least not that I remember. I wake every morning with little sense of the time between my head hitting the pillow and my instantaneous and strong desire to kill the electronic bird at the foot of my bed.

I'm going to assume that I don't dream (even though I probably do and just fail to remember them). I think instead of dreaming, what I do is process while I'm awake. When left with time alone and nothing to do, I think, about anything and everything. Mostly about things that might go wrong in every possible permutation of the future. That's actually a large part of what this project is: instead of worrying, or self-pitying, or self-despising, I will create! Create! CREATE! (You see the louder I get the more purpose I feel... sure.)

One of my favorite outlets seems to be writing dialog. I think I've got something of a knack for it. Assuming that all a "knack" requires is voluminous output of questionable quality. Here's the thing, all of my dialog is between the same person. Many voices, many attitudes, many perspectives, but in the end: one person. If there was a pattern to the scenes I write, it goes something like:

Person A: I hate widgets.

Person B: I love widgets.

Person A: I see why you love widgets.

Person B: I see why you hate widgets.

Person A: Can we agree that we no longer have a strong opinion about widgets.

Person B: I suppose, that is the reasonable thing to do.

Person A: I can't help thinking life would be better if I had a strong opinion about widgets.

Person B: Me too. Too bad we don't.

Person A: Once you eat the apple 'ey?

Person B: Yep, there's no going back to paradise.

Which is to say: writing is mostly a place for me to evaluate my opinion on a situation only to discover that in the end I don't have a particularly strong one. This of course also makes my writing pretty far from dramatically compelling.

Yet I persist. Creation #16: was a three page scene wherein two characters discuss the absurdity of a writer writing about the creative process. The briefest of excerpts:

TOMMY: Really, Devon? This is what our conversations have become? You might as well ask me what sort of tree I wanna be.

PS: If you haven't noticed, I've gone back to a daily update. It's easier for me, preferable for my RSS subscribers, and probably quite annoying to my email subscribers. Sorry to my email subscribers!

Creation #14: An Icky Limerick

My friend Heather is working on a project in her book arts class, so she put out a call for original limericks. The title of the book will be Limer"ICK" and it of course will be about all things icky.

There once was a fellow named Jack.

Who coughed blood into a sack.

He retched every day,

For lack of co-pay.

His insurance you see, was Aflak.

For instructions on writing your own limerick, visit: http://www.gigglepoetry.com/poetryclass/limerickcontesthelp.html

Again, nothing brilliant. Also, I'm a little disturbed that the rhyming part of my brain seems absolutely fixated on respiratory ailments. That said, word play is something I really appreciate, so it's fun to play with even though I'm pretty horrendous at it (excuse: lack of practice).

Creation #13: Lemon Meringue Pie

Well, that was the goal. It turned into an over-wet half-baked pie crust, sans lemon, and sans meringue. It seems there are some projects in life that can't be rushed and that don't respond well to haphazard instruction-following. I suspect that there is more leeway in how one can operate a nuclear power plant than in how one can bake a lemon meringue pie.

4 tbs of ice water turned into 5 tbs of tap water, which turned into a sloppy pie crust that didn't come together. Matters weren't helped when I put the pie crust in the oven, and returned in 20 min to discover I had turned the oven off instead of on. What should have been a deliciously crispy golden brown crust was a soppy pile of raw dough collected at the bottom of my pie pan.

What I Learned:
-Baking anything worthwhile is an hours long process that doesn't respond well to multitasking.
-Follow instructions exactly, unless you know the mechanics of a process well enough to know what effect your deviations will have on the final result.
-Even a failed pie is better than a pie not attempted, the crust (once baked again) made for a pretty tasty snack.

Creations #6 - #12

In an effort to minimize the number of emails going out to my readers, I've bundled 6 creations into one post.


#6: A Dog House
Well, that was the goal. The end result looks like an insulated dog lean-to.

What worked:
My dog should be insulated from the worst of the elements this winter.

What I learned:
Don't undertake a project without the time and energy necessary to complete it. Being tired can lead to some pretty serious compromises. For film-making and acting: build enough time into the schedule so that you don't feel rushed into completing something.

#7: A Scene & The Outline for a Screenplay
The end of every single one of my romantic relationships has precipitated the creation of a large memorializing piece of artwork. My first girlfriend got a series of hand-drawn portraits. My second a painting. My last major breakup got about 30 monologues from different people of different ages talking about what they understood about relationships. My most recent has turned into, well... right now it's a scene and an outline for a screenplay.

But frankly, these are all incredibly embarrassing pieces. Some artwork is for the public, and some is therapeutic.They are not to be published in any form until 200 years after I kick the bucket.

#8: A Sonnet
Okay, so this turned out horribly. I think it's the first and worst sonnet ever to be written about a person who's received a lung transplant (not my original idea, but that's what forcing rhymes does). I'm finally appreciating just how astounding Shakespeare's body of work truly is.

Until sun sets ever he must contend

his life is worth its weight in borrow'd breath

these donor's lungs he fears they will rescind

So e'er more he gives at guilt's behest

Soup for the sickly and toys for the blind

Books for orphans, a shoulder to cry on

Daily genuflection before Lord divine

Planting a redwood for anon, anon

But when night draws drapes over our bright star

A dread upon him deeply does descend

Extorted goodness is in sooth a sham

And feigning saintdom pulls his bitter end

One life to live, a wicked bargain seems

The weight of two lifts only in his dreams

#9: A Comic
Okay, so I really phoned this one in. I had to create something before I passed out. I'm starting to feel just what a big commitment a daily creation really is.

#10: A Modern Dance
Okay this was really fun and totally hilarious to watch. Unfortunately me prancing around in tights, a wig and mustache is incredibly blackmail-worthy so the webcam video is not going online.


#11: A Monologue
After auditing the most intense, draining, and terrifying acting class of my life I wrote an incredibly nihilistic monologue. Then I wrote a manifesto to actors, the thesis of which was basically: stop thinking what you're doing is art, get a job, and hire a therapist. If what's happening in that class is what it takes to be an actor, I have no interest.

Honestly, I'm still reeling from all that I witnessed that night. But cooler heads have prevailed, no need to post a manifesto and blacklist myself. I take back my thesis, it's a noble profession and all that.


#12: An Abstract Painting
I really appreciate that with an abstract, there's no right and wrong. It can be incredibly relaxing, and more often than not it's the materials rather than some preconception that defines the final result.

Creation #5: Short Subject "A Shed in the Woods"

Daily Creation #5 - A Shed in the Woods from Donovan Keith on Vimeo.

Based on the standard cabin in the woods horror genre, this is an experiment in what I can accomplish in a single afternoon by myself. There's a lot that I would like to fix (Foley for one) but probably won't. The goal is to create a "complete" project in a single day, and learn from my mistakes for the next one.

What Worked:

• Location, location, location - Finding a "filmic" location is half the battle.
• Tho logo on my t-shirt and jacket were too distracting, so I turned them both inside-out and it worked.
• The "dead" shot was surprisingly successful.
• My personality came through in my one line.
• Shooting through objects can create a sense of being watched.
• Some of the cinematography is quite pretty; I'm buying a DSLR when next I have the cash.

What I Learned:

• Stories need a beginning, not just a middle and an end. If I'm going to recognize the "monster" in the end, I should know that I'm looking for him in the beginning.
• POV shots only cut, if there's a closeup of a face first.
• Shots of shoulders to feet with no head are just awkward.
• Things that feel really unnatural look fine on video.
• If an action is only implied, you can make it real with sound. So know what sounds you need to capture to create that reality.
• Long takes of long shots feel long.
• Final shots can be meditative if you've earned them, so give them time to breathe.
• If you're not fully committed, you should just play it deadpan; at least that can be interpreted as shock.

Creation #4 is Exercise #1: Performing Actions with a Physical Disability

Acting Exercise: Perform a simple physical action that is made difficult by a physical disability as if your life depended on it.


Inspiration: There is a scene in "Kill Bill Vol. II" where Uma Thurman's character is attempting to eat a bowl of rice with chopsticks. A seemingly simple task made nearly impossible by her battered hands and state of total physical exhaustion. Why doesn't she just eat the rice with her hands? To do so would disappoint her kung fu teacher Pai Mei; the consequence of which would feel worse than death. The scene is about 5 minutes long, Thurman's character never says a word, and it is absolutely gripping.

Instructions:

1. Pick a physical action to perform.
2. Pick your physical disability.
3. "Script" a high-stakes situation where this would need to occur.
4. Set a timer for 5min. - The timer is there to keep you out of your head, you no longer have to direct the scene, you can just live it.
5. Take some time to really build up the scenario, make sure you have the important relationships.
6. Begin performing your physical action, don't stop until the action is complete or the timer has gone off.

An Example:

1. The action: Make the bed perfectly
2. The disability: Shot in my dominant shoulder
3. The situation: It's 10pm. I just murdered my wife's lover and stuffed his body under the bed. My wife, who works the night shift, just called to say she forgot her work keys and that she'll be back in 5min to pick them up. She's a nurse, she's anal-retentive about having a neatly made bed. I need to be in a perfectly made bed reading a book, with my right shoulder under the blankets, before she gets home so that she won't think anything is up.

Okay, if the above example seems a bit contrived, it's because I came up with it while getting ready for bed. Nonetheless it was a plausible enough situation that by the time I finished, my heart was pumping a mile a minute and I had a very tidy looking bed.

Creation #3: Screenplay for Good Cop, Dog Cop

I am shamelessly in love with my dog, Kahana. Which should go some lengths to explain why it is I spent an hour last night writing a 2 page script for a sketch called "Good Cop, Dog Cop."

It's the worst sort of derivative hack fest, but now there's a good chance that Kahana and I will be making another short film together; so it can't be all bad. Oh wait, the final line is "Bark 'em, Danno." So I suppose it is all bad for anyone who is going to eventually have to sit through it. That said, it feels good to be creating.

And since no post is finished without multimedia, here's Will Farell's "Good Cop, Baby Cop."

Good Cop, Baby Cop from Will Ferrell

Creation #2: Sonnet 60 by Shakespeare

What did I create?

A dramatic interpretation of Shakespeare's Sonnet 60 shot on a DSLR. For those of you who don't know the canon by heart, I give you Sonnet 60:

Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,

So do our minutes hasten to their end;

Each changing place with that which goes before,

In sequent toil all forwards do contend.

Nativity, once in the main of light,

Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown’d,

Crooked elipses ’gainst his glory fight,

And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.

Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth

And delves the parallels in beauty’s brow,

Feeds on the rarities of nature’s truth,

And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow:

And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand,

Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.

In short: time waits for no man, and while we may start young we'll all get old; even you Beautiful.

The process:

It was simple enough, I browsed through some of Shakespeare's more well-known sonnets and settled on one I liked. I then went about dramatizing it by making decisions about who I was talking to, where I was, and what I wanted. I setup a pillow as my scene partner, focused the camera, and did a few takes.

What went well?

Despite having no one else physically present, I managed to build a strong enough sense of who I was talking to that I was affected by the situation.

What lessons can I take from this?

My work was strongest and the least "actor-ey" when I allowed myself to let go of my preconceptions for how the scene should go and respond to what was actually happening. When I tried to recreate elements I liked from a previous take, I got stuck in my head and it showed in the final result.


To Post The Video or Not?
I'm torn about whether I should post all of my creations to this blog. I appreciate the accountability, and the organized record of my pursuits. However, if I post anything less than my best work I risk making a bad first impression. Thoughts?

Creation #1: An Ambitious Project

Today's creation is my "new" blog ActingDaily.com and its inaugural post.

Does anyone else care to join in on the challenge? Create something, anything, every day for a year.

Introducing Acting Daily

Packing on 15lbs of body fat over a winter is easy, just eat a little more than you should every day. Growing as an artist is no different, all it takes is consistent action.

"Another Actor in LA" is now "Acting Daily". For every one of the next 365 days I will take action to grow as an actor and expand my experience as a human being. I will also endeavor to create something, a product of some kind, as evidence of that growth.

Examples include:

• Learning and performing a monologue.
• Writing a scene.
• Creating a web video.
• Playing a song on my ukulele.
• Sketching.
• Painting.
• Cooking a gourmet meal.

And so it begins...

Another Day, Another Crisis

It probably doesn't help that I have a cold, but I've been feeling out of sorts for the last few days. Anyone trapped on a desert isle with me would quickly discover that I have a penchant for regular existential crises. I go through fits of feeling like I'm on the top of the world, I know what I want, I'm going after it and everything is brilliant. Then there are weeks where it's all I can do to live vicariously through "24"s Jack Bauer for days at a stretch.

My friend Prince cold comforted me by saying, "it's okay: this crisis you're having, when you get older, it NEVER ends."

This time at least, I think I can source it: I haven't had a creative outlet in two weeks. My ongoing acting class has ended, and likely won't start back up until after the holidays, and my writing partner and I are currently on break.

I feel stuck. Woefully, listlessly, hilariously stuck.

I'm led to believe there are some people who don't have these crises, or at least have the courtesy not to jabber on about them in a grossly public forum. Another friend cold comforted me, saying "this is the artist's life."

When actors sleep, do they dream they're accountants?

Parting thought: Perhaps my life is closer to Jack Bauer's than I previously thought. About once a year he lives through a 24hr terrorist crisis. About once a month I live through a 1wk existential crisis. Jack Baur meet Donovan Dour.

Acting with your full self

How is it non-actors can often turn in more interesting film/tv performances than trained actors? Simply because they have no choice but to be a complete human being: themselves.

Actors get so tripped up in playing a character and a situation that they only bring a limited part of themselves to a role and ignore what is actually happening in favor of what they think should be happening.

If you are auditioning for the part of a beat detective it's very tempting to try and recreate what you think a TV cop should be. You act tough, become humorless, and and lose about 80% of your capacity for empathy. What this fails to acknowledge is: if you wanted to be a cop in real life, you probably could have been.

There are all sorts of personalities in every profession. Lead with the part of yourself the role calls for, but don't forget that the other parts of you still exist and should be present in your work

------

Also I want to plug Margie Haber Studio. I just finished their month-long intermediate cold-reading intensive and I am feeling so much more confident in my work. The around the world project taught me how to stop acting, but it wasn't until I took this workshop that I had permission to be human again. I can't recommend it highly enough.

3 Years in Los Angeles: Should I Stay or Should I Go Now?

Before I moved to LA I asked every SF actor I knew who had attempted the "LA thing" for their advice. There seemed to be a general consensus that I was unlikely to see any traction until I'd been in LA at least three years. With that in mind, and knowing I'm just the sort of "cryin' ass little bitch" who would leave after just one year, I made a commitment to myself:

No matter how bad it gets. No matter how much I hate it. I have to stay in LA at least 3 years.

Today, August 1st 2010, marks my 3-year anniversary with the City of Angels. The question is: should I stay, or should I go?

To help myself answer that question, I have taken myself out on a date. I've imagined this date many times since arriving in LA. I imagined white table cloths, candles, fine silver, maybe a glass of wine or some sipping scotch. I would ruminate, then masticate, then ruminate some more. I would scratch my chin, and say "Hmmm..." in the delightful manner of esteemed intellectuals. I would order dessert and coffee. I would finish my last bite of tiramisu, sip my last sip, tip generously, and as I stood I would drop my napkin on the table. At the moment of impact, extraneous thought would leave my mind and all that would remain would be a stunning sense of clarity about acting, life, the universe, and everything.

That was the fantasy, here's the reality: My date is taking place in a Starbucks, not a fine Italian restaurant. I've sipped my last sip - through a green straw. Boy oh boy is real life different from the movies.

There has been no Siddhartha-style burst of enlightenment. Instead I've got an empty plastic cup, a tongue numb from chewing ice, and a mind just as muddled as the day before. Yet, nonetheless, I have reached a conclusion:

I'm staying in LA, and I'm staying in the acting game.

Thanks to all of my readers for keeping me company on this journey.

Donovan And The Vast Ancient Conspiracy TRAILER NOW ONLINE!!!

No time for words, watch now!

Donovan and the Vast Ancient Conspiracy - Trailer from Gabriel Fleming on Vimeo.

Performing in Staged Reading of "Osama Been Laughing"

I'm hitting the boards for the first time in a long time as a petulant teen trapped in suburbia. Here's the show info:

Osama Been Laughing

by Jeremy Kehoe

A FIERCE BACKBONE STAGED READING

Directed by David Watkins Jr.

Produced by Amy Tofte & Stephen Blackburn

Featuring: Donovan Keith, Doug Burch, Drew McAuliffe, Lori Allen Thomas, Morris Nash & Sean Welch

WHEN
Sunday, 5/23/10 @ 2pm
Monday, 5/24/10 @ 8pm

WHERE
The Lounge Theatre
6201 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, 90038

HOW
Online reservations:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFF5ZEVlMDVuOWpWbmJQY0RMSEo5dUE6MQ
or call 310-201-0064

$10 Suggested donation
Industry comps available

OSAMA BEEN LAUGHING
Synopsis:
Collateral damage inflicted by Mary Leary’s terrorist-obsessed paranoid delusions...Mary spends her days glued to her telescope, scanning suburbia to rip the invisible terrorist weeds from her neighbors’ manicured lawns. She convinces herself there are Al Qaeda wanna-be’s in the neighborhood plotting the demise of western civilization. Can a conniving, pedophile priest be the one to convince her that her country's salvation rests solely on the sacrifice of her only son?


NEXT UP
What happened to the Wind in the Willows?

SAVING TOAD
by David Seidler
@ The Lounge Theatre
Sunday 6/6/10, 8pm
Monday 6/7/10, 8pm

About Fierce Backbone

Fierce Backbone is a 501(c)3 non-profit, collaborative organization of playwrights, actors and directors committed to developing new works for the stage. We understand that true development takes time, resources and a commitment to the creative process outside the pressure of producing live theater. We provide the environment for our writers to develop and mature their material through readings, scene work, improvisations, staged readings and workshop productions.

The Fierce Backbone Staged Reading Series & Workshop Productions

There are four plays in our 2010 Spring/Summer Staged Reading Series. Our first Staged Reading was Exit Laughing by Paul Elliott, which had 2 sold out performances May 7th & 8th. In 2009 we put up two workshop productions: the first, Cleo's Girls by Jan O'Connor, had a successful run of 6 performances in September 2009 at The Lex in Hollywood. Our second workshop production,Everything But by T.S. Cook, had a sold out run of 6 performances in December 2009 at The Secret Rose Theater in North Hollywood.

www.fiercebackbone.com

The Key To Productivity: Hate Your Work

I've only got 3 months until my August 1st, 2010 acting in Los Angeles "deadline". Realizing this, I entered a panic about what I have be doing with my time, and how I can maximize my remaining 3 months. I called up an old friend and lamented my slackerdom, begging for an explanation of how she avoids the siren song of the internet and instead burns the candle at both ends for months at a stretch. I've taken some liberties and translated her response into a credo of sorts:

Play your inner critic on full-blast. Allow yourself to believe that you're not good enough, that you're not doing enough, that you're falling behind. Live in a constant state of terror that everything you are doing will be laughed at and denigrated unless you work harder.

Given her laundry list of accomplishments, I knew it was an effective technique. But it was upsetting to think a person would do that to themselves. I didn't know if had it in me to live that way for the next 3 months.

So, for a different perspective, I called my productivity buddy Ilana and whined about my looming deadline and lack of work ethic. She cautioned me, saying "You can't set deadlines for success in an acting career, you don't deal those cards." To which I replied, "I know, I just don't feel like I'm working hard enough, and what I'm doing isn't good enough, I'm only:

• Attending weekly classes with Richard Seyd.
• Attending bi-monthly workshops at The Winner's Circle.
• Keeping up my improv chops at bi-monthly Groundlings classes.
• Going to 2+ Casting Director workshops each month.
• Co-Producing and Directing a short film that shoots in one week.
• Filming scenes from Donovan And The Vast Ancient Conspiracy.
• Rehearsing for and acting in a staged reading of a new play.
• Meeting bi-weekly for 3+hrs to write a screenplay for a feature film with my buddy Zak.
• Writing comedic monologues.
• Taking weekly voice lessons.
• Spending 30min/day 5 days a wk on craft (lines, cold reading practice, etc).
• Spending 30min/day 5 days a wk on marketing (mailers, thank you cards, submissions)."

And then I thought: Wait... that's actually a lot.

And then painfully I realized: That incredibly self-critical way of being that I wouldn't wish upon anyone... apparently I'm already living it, and have been for some time. I had no sense of how much I was doing because I was so good at telling myself it wasn't enough.

Self-criticism is a dangerously effective motivational tool, it can drive us to do superhuman amounts of work at our highest standard. However, it comes at a price: no matter how much we do, no matter how good our work, we'll never be able to fully appreciate our accomplishments; least of all while we're working towards them.

How to Keep a Notebook and Why You Should Keep a Notebook.

The premise of this post isn't rocket science, it's been espoused by writers, comics, and thinkers ever since paper and pen weren't novelties for the insanely rich. The idea is this:

Get a notebook, carry it with you, and write in it.

Answers to common notebook-writing questions:

Why should I keep a notebook?

Because Hemingway did. Not good enough? So did Picasso and Einstein. Still not good enough? You say you want a rationale? Okay, here you go:

To help you remember.

Unless you've got a touch of autism there's no hope of you remembering everything that has ever happened to you, more likely than not you've probably already forgotten plenty of important stuff. Forgetting a thing doesn't make it unimportant, it just makes it forgotten.

That hot guy/girl's phone number that you forgot? Yep that really could have been the love of your life. That brilliant idea for a joke/sketch/character/screenplay you had at coffee with friends? It's only brilliant if you can remember it long enough to write it.

What kind of notebook?

Any kind you want. If you want to be fancy buy moleskine. If you want to eat this month: buy composition books. They're about $2 a pop and hold words just fine.

What should I write in my notebook?

Anything. Everything. But closer to everything than anything if you can manage. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• A diary of the events in your life and how you feel about them.
• Notes from your acting classes.
• Ideas for jokes, plays, scenes, characters, businesses, inventions.
• Reviews of works that inspire you.
• Drawings & doodles.
• Clippings of images that inspire you (not technically "writing" but just as valid).
• Audition summaries: What went well? What didn't? Stop after listing 3 things from each category.
• Your dreams.

How often should I write in my notebook?

As often as you have semi-profound/funny thoughts or experiences. In the moment is best. Daily is great. Bi-weekly is totally doable. Weekly is a good starting point, and sporadically is better than not at all.

What should my entries look like?

There's no particular form. I like to date mine and give them a title so they're easier to flip through later.

What do I do when I fill up my notebook?

Date it and file it next to your last notebook. There's something wonderful about seeing an entire shelf of a bookcase filled with the stories of your life. Get a new notebook and begin the process again (I buy in bulk so I don't find myself without).

I've tried in the past but stopped.

Join the club. There will be times where you feel more inspired to write than others, often during a major life upheaval, take advantage of these times to get back in the habit.

Many people also stop because its impractical to always carry a notebook. Idea: buy a smaller notebook, or use your cell phone's "notes" feature to jot down ideas for you to explore at length in your paper journal at home.

What is the most important thing to do with my notebooks?

Reread your notebooks on a semi-regular basis. You'll notice patterns of behavior, moments of triumph, points of change, and you might find that certain passages or ideas really speak to you and demand further exploration. It can be a tremendous ego boost as an actor to see how much you struggled with something a few months ago that you now have a good handle on.

Donovan, why are you giving such stupid and obvious advice?

Because you've heard it a thousand times and you still don't keep a notebook.

How To Know What You Really Want To Do

I've got a lot of friends who go through life not knowing what they want to do. They go from job to job, relationship to relationship, party to party, and while they do have fun they often feel unfulfilled. I think this happens to folks (myself included) because we don't have a clear sense of purpose. Clarity of purpose can redefine a person's life.

But finding a purpose, let alone being clear about it, is easier said than done. I was talking with someone who suggested this test:

Imagine that money is no longer an issue. You've just won hundreds of millions of dollars in a lottery. What do you do?

The answer to that question will tell you a lot about what is truly important to you. You may not have millions in the bank, but how can you start living a life that is closer to that imagined ideal? You don't have to wait.

I'm Performing Tonight At The Groundlings! (Mon March 1st, 2010)

After two years of classes at The Groundlings, I'm finally performing on their main stage. I had my first performance last month, which went incredibly well. Now, based on a history of past success, I feel it's time to invite folks to come see me work.

It's a 90min all-improv show with hilarious upper level Groundlings students. I normally cringe at the prospect of attending a friend's improv show, but I assure you that the folks I'm working with are incredibly talented and funny.

Tickets are $6.50 and come with a free bottomless glass of wine.

Please come!

Show Information:

This month's show features performances by an all new cast of current upper-level Groundlingsstudents and directed by Kevin Kirkpatrick.

Student Showcases always bring in a massive crowd, so make sure you buy your tickets in advance!

Contact the Box Office at 323-934-4747 x37, or online at www.groundlings.com

Monday, March 1st at 8pm

Cast:

Andy Bray

Nate Clark

Phillip Daniel

Allison Dunbar

Christopher Eckert

Anderson Edwards

Conor Fetting-Smith

Samantha Roy

Adam Harrington

Donovan Keith

Mike Primiano

Sarah Wolter

Tickets are $6.50 and available NOW at the Box Office, or online at www.groundlings.com.

What A Greek Titan Taught Me About Work Ethic

My New Year's Resolution? I resolve to stop procrastinating... starting next week.

Funny right? I thought so. Until I looked down, saw that it was January 7, and that I had pulled one of those life-imitates-art moments.

Are you familiar with the myth of Atlas? He was a titan; the titans were this race of giants who lived in ancient Greece. Total badasses to the man. Atlas and his buds got bored and decided to start a war with the Gods of Mt. Olympus. It went surprisingly well until two titans defected to the other side; with their assistance the Gods laid a world of hurt on the titans for being so impetuous. The Gods had a habit of punishing those who had the gall to cross them. What did they do to Atlas? They threw him atop a mountain range, and had a conversation that went something like this...

Atlas: Ow! That hurt! You just threw me atop a mountain range. Not cool.

Gods: Shut up Atlas, we beat you fair and square, it's time for your cruel and unusual punishment.

Atlas: What?

Gods: You see those heavens over there?

Atlas: Yeah. What about 'em?

Gods: Pick 'em up.

Atlas: What? Are you crazy? That's impossible.

Gods: You heard us.

Atlas: Seriously? A black hole is wicked heavy! The heavens must way trillions of tons. Plus, I could totally burn my fingers on Super Novae!

Gods: Widdle baby Atwas finks de hehbuns is too heawy! Aww you gonna kwhy wittuh baby Atwas?!

Atlas: Fine. Fine. I'll pick 'em up.

So Atlas picks up the heavens, and rests them on his shoulders. They're just as heavy as he thought; heavier even. Aside from one break to go grab apples for Hercules, he's been carrying the heavens on his back ever since.

I don't imagine most people would envy Atlas. He's got an arduous job for which he is very rarely thanked; the rampant spread of monotheism really cut down on the number of goats sacrificed in his honor. But you know what? Crappy job or not, Atlas has a tremendous work ethic. Not once have I been crushed by the sky. The man just shows up and does his work, every day.

Acting for a living is way more fun than Atlas's job, heck so is my day job. So why is it Atlas is way more consistent about showing up to do his work? I've got some theories, but mostly it comes down to him being responsible for things greater than himself.

If I don't show up for my acting career, the only person who suffers is me. I don't have Atlas's advantage of having the entire world depending on me to do my job. I don't have a mountain full of pissed off Gods throwing lightning bolts at me whenever my motivation flags.

So how do you do it? How do you show up for yourself every day? How do you achieve that consistency? How do you make your career goals take precedence over what is comfortable?

These questions are not rhetorical.