Cabin Fever Management Plan

I've been traveling through Asia for a little over two months now and I have to admit that despite all of my movement I'm getting pretty stir crazy. I miss my girlfriend, friends, family, apartment, and cooking for myself. Whenever we aren't shooting I'm in the e-cafe stalking people on facebook or obsessively refreshing my Google Reader for new posts - even though it auto-refreshes. I have all too much time to feel sorry for myself and lament my not-so-piteous situation.

Recently I got something of a reality check. I did some serious reflection, and I've realized that I'm only happy when I have too much to do. So, I've laid out a series of goals:

Fitness:
Get into camera-ready shape before we shoot the scene with implied nudity in India. This means running, isometric exercises, and laying off the booze and steamed pork buns.

Work:
Freelance projects - if I've got enough time to write enough emails to creep even good friends out I've got enough time to work. I'm going to complete the two freelance projects I still have outstanding from before my trip.

Cultural:
Learn about where I am - geography, history, culture.
Learn passable Mandarin - just enough to get around and not feel like a total loser.

Personal / Creative:
Write a play - I've got a lot of thoughts, many of them conflicting. I might as well let that become dialogue and a socially acceptable outlet for my extroverted leanings in a land where I don't have many folks to talk to.
Learn a monologue or 3 - Shakespeare wrote some eloquent stuff, and I'd do well to know more of it.

I'll get more specific with deadlines, etc as time progresses, but for now it's progress just to write out my intention to do more.

Sitting On My Hands

As far as acting goes, I have essentially spent the month of December sitting on my hands. I've been submitting daily through LA Casting and Actor's Access and haven't been called in to audition for so much as a student film. While I'm definitely able to invest more time and energy in my acting classes and my friendships, I really wish that I was getting more on-the-job training. Dustin Hoffman has a really great quote in this month's issue of Interview magazine about this very subject:

"A writer doesn't have to sell his book to write every day, but we (actors) have to have a job in order to practice our craft."

After my Groundlings class tomorrow, I'm going to call my manager and see if he can get me back in the room with the boutique agency who was interested in representing me commercially and theatrically. Maybe they'll be able to get me into some auditions.

Too Busy to Blog

This past week has been pretty hectic and I've given this blog less attention than I would like. However, leading a life so interesting that I don't have time to write about its myriad happenings is not an altogether bad situation to be in. For now, I'll just give you the bullet points, and with luck I'll be able to find time to write more detailed entries later.

• I attended the opening night of my friend Diablo Cody's film "Juno". See this movie – you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be quoting it for weeks.
  
• I signed with a talent manager named Blair Silver who found me through a cold-submission by Sage Marketing for Actors.
  
• I love my Groundlings class. I'm learning a ton, and my commercial acting is improving as a result.
  
• I've got one week left in my commercial acting class with Jeff Hardwick. I'm learning scads here as well.
  
• I attended a free workshop held by John Sudol on commercial acting which was extremely informative.
  
• I've fleshed out the story of my screenplay a bit more.
  
• I got the first of a series of checks in the mail from my day-job. Thank goodness!

TAN Power Groups

With the title "TAN Power Groups," and the copper hues it implies, this post could be downright Zefrontastic; but it isn't. TAN Power Groups are not a meeting of hard-bodies on the beach, but an amassing of pasty actor's in the basement of a pub/improv-venue in Hollywood. One of the benefits of joining The Actor's Network is that you are placed in what they call a Power Group. Essentially, it's a support system not entirely unlike AA. Actor's come together to celebrate what they've achieved, make public commitments about what they want to do, and then ask for help with issues that are beyond their ability to cope on their own.

There were two things that I found really helpful about the power group that I attended last Tuesday. The first was a segment wherein each person was given 3 minutes to talk about what steps they've made to progress their acting career in the past 30 days, and what steps they plan to take in the following 30 days. The second was the moderator's insistence that all important goals be given specific deadlines - if you're too chicken to call the producer who asked to see the script you wrote, mark it as a date in your Calendar and tell a friend that you will call them once the deed is done.

After taking stock of all that I've accomplished since arriving - I'm proud. I've done a heck of a lot considering I arrived a little over a month ago. I'm now going to introduce a section that I intend to post regularly (mostly for myself):

Career Accomplishments (8/1/07 - 9/18/07)

• Shot two student films (one for a USC student).
• Enrolled in an ongoing acting class with Richard Seyd.
• Joined The Actor's Network.
• Attended a slew of Q&As and Topical discussions with industry professionals.
• Registered with LA Casting and have been submitting to 5+ projects/day.
  
• Went on one Commercial Audition for a Japanese Alcoholic Beverage with a reputable casting director.
• Attended a 3-Day Fitzmaurice workshop taught be the teacher of the work.
• Attended one casting director workshop (at no cost).
• Registered with Sage Marketing for Actors.
• Have been keeping a career blog & increasing my readership.
• Secured flexible employment.
• Shot a non-union music video in Berkeley, CA.
• Did a modeling photo shoot with a friend, and have some images for my portfolio.
• Updated resume to match industry formatting.
• Booked a gig at LA Film School working with a renowned international director.
• This led to many other auditions.
  

Career Goals (9/19/07 - 10/16/07)

• Create an audition log database to store audition dates, times, CDs, clothing, audition pieces, etc.
• See some local theater productions and get a sense of the companies.
• Audition for 4+ theater productions with a new monologue.
• Book 2 student films that are usable for my reel.
• Sign up for some continuation of the Fitzmaurice voice work.
• Book more photoshoots, and build up a modeling portfolio.
• Try to get in with USC film students.
• Volunteer for a casting director.
• Practice working in front of a camera.
• Record audition video for the 1-Hr Fantasy Girl feature film.
• Send follow-up letters to agents/producers that Sage has been submitting me to.
• Send thank you notes to all production staff that I have worked with.
• Practice cold-reading out loud.
• TAN's Mandatory Goals
• Drive around town in traffic and try to figure LA out.
• Visit: ABC Prospect, Paramount, Sunset Gower, CBS TV City (in Fairfax)