Audition Tip: Take Time to Take the Note

I did something new in an audition today, and it paid off. For once, I actually took the time to take the note.

Earlier today, I drove down to Orange, CA. It's a 50 minute trip in the best of times, and a 2.5hr trek in the worst of times. The traffic was relatively light during my trip, so I got to Orange in about an hour and a half. I was just in time – to try and find the audition room that wasn't listed on the casting notice. Apparently, I had arrived before the director, I later found her in one of the spots I had already searched.

I took a decent first stab at the sides, I was partially off book and I gave a partially interesting read. Afterwards, the director gave me an adjustment (or note) "Imagine that during the second half of this script, your mother is really talking about you needing to take care of your autistic brother for the rest of his life." I felt like I had a good sense of what she wanted and was just about to plow ahead with a second read when I asked "May I have a few moments to look over the sides?" The director of course granted my request.

Roughly 20 seconds later, I knew at what point in the script my character realized what was going on and how he felt about it. My second read went much better, and afterwards the director said "I really saw that you made the adjustment. It was nice to see him realize what was happening. His whole energy changed."

Audition Tip: Take some time after you've been given a note in order to plan out that change. It's not enough to understand the note, you need to know it.

Don't worry about taking up too much of the casting director's time. it's a far greater waste of time for them to give you a note that is essentially ignored because you didn't take the time to follow it.

Financial Note:

Driving to/from Orange and a stop into Pasadena required half a tank of gas. Filling up my car cost me $39 today. Which is to say, it cost me $20 to audition for a non-paying student project. There's something wrong with that.

Reading at the Writer’s Boot Camp

Last Thursday I played the lead in a reading of "Recess" by Craig Abell-Champion held at Writer's Boot Camp in Santa Monica. Writer's Boot Camp is an organization for where would-be screenwriters go to learn and polish their craft. On a semi-regular basis, they bring in actors to read the second acts of their (typically) three-act screenplays. The first and third acts aren't performed because writers get bored watching readings like the rest of us, and a screen play lives and dies by its second act.

I arrived at this reading by following up with one of my Actor's Network Power Group members, Anna Rahe. She mentioned that Writer's Boot Camp was always on the lookout for new actors, and that reading at one of these events might prove to be a useful networking opportunity. I sent her an email saying that I was interested in reading for the lead, and she replied shortly thereafter saying that I had been cast as such. Which is evidence that "90% of life is just showing up."

The reading was a lot of fun, and it provided a great chance to get to know some of my Actor's Network colleagues a bit better. I didn't fully utilize the event as an opportunity to fraternize with the screenwriters, but I anticipate having ample opportunity when I return for more reads. But better than all this: Writer's Boot Camp provided each and every actor with their very own gourmet dark chocolate candy bar. Yum!

Contest: The first person to identify the following book for me gets my extreme gratitude and the opportunity to read it once I purchase and finish it. I seem to recall an interview on Fresh Air wherein Terry Gross interviewed a gentleman (who I think was English) who vowed to not say "no" for an entire year. This led to many great adventures, lots of house parties and travel all over Europe. His conclusion upon finishing the year was that one tends to meet more people and do more interesting things when "no" is stricken from your lexicon. His experiences and conclusions were catalogued in a book. What is the title of this book and/or the name of the author? Many thanks.

Weirdest Audition Yet (Not safe for work)

You might want to read this one at home if you're a public school employee…

Today I attended an audition for a student film project (through a fairly prestigious art and design college) that was hands down my weirdest audition experience since arriving in Los Angeles. I went to the audition not knowing much about the project beyond it being about an 18 year old boy who's never left his house. Immediately, I thought, "Oh, another bubble boy. It could be fun." When I arrived at the audition space, the "audition instructions" were laying on a chair. I started to read through them, and immediately became concerned. But, being a good sport and having driven all the way to Pasadena, I endeavored to do what the instructions (written in broken English) specified.

In the audition room, there was a mattress with a sheet covering it. No doubt, for audition instruction number 1: "Pretend to have sex with a sex doll. This is your character only happy time. It is still sad." Sex, even between two people who love each other very much can be awkward at points. Simulated sex with an imaginary sex doll in front of two strangers, is EXTREMELY AWKWARD.

After my first attempt at this, I was given an adjustment: "The people are coming," which I took to mean that my character was being caught with a Real Doll by his parents or roommates. This gave me something to work with. However, just as the nervous interaction between my character and the "interrupter" was about to begin, the CD corrected me by saying "They coming. Like orgasm."

"Oh…" I said. So once again, I air-humped the mattress, gave them my best, happy but sad and lonely, O-Face. Then I moved onto audition instruction #2: "Walk up to camera like mirror. Look at self. Look at can. This is your last food. You have no money, after this you will starve." The can in this case was an empty Rock-Star energy drink. Oh yeah, did I mention: this character has never left his home because his thighs are fused to his belly by flaps of skin. So, as I approached the mirror I was waddling forward on my haunches.

Audition instruction #3: "We will need to take a picture of you for records, just upper body." So, I stood still ready to take my picture… "We need to see skin so that we can make the prosthetic." So, against my better judgment, I took off my shirt and was photographed from the front and back. When I auditioned for "Take Me Out" I didn't have to remove a single article of clothing, and I was fully nude in that play.

When I described all of this to a good friend of mine, she said "You aren't actually going to do this project are you?" I quickly replied "No, of course not." Meanwhile, I had been making a list of pros and cons in my mind. I really can't believe myself sometimes. One of the hardest things for an actor to do is say no to a project – we experience so much rejection that it's very tempting to accept any project that comes our way, no matter how bad or skeev-inducing.

USC Directing Workshop

Most of my previous projects at USC were helmed by members of their screenwriting program. My current USC project, "Red Bud" is being directed by Christine Berg, a graduate program directing student. The project is a spec pilot (i.e. the first episode of a series is being made for free with no promise of production) about a boy whose family thought he was retarded for 4 years until they realized he just needed glasses. Once he was fitted with new specs they discovered that he's actually a genius. It's totally sweet and exactly the kind of show I would have loved when I was growing up. A have a fairly minor part, but it's a real pleasure to work on.

Tonight I attended a rehearsal for "Red Bud" that was being supervised by Christine Berg's directing teacher. This man was a pro. He's directed numerous episodes of ER, Grey's, and a slew of other projects. It was really interesting watching him work. He had a very clear idea of what he wanted with each of the student projects. He was very specific in talking about camera placement, cuts, and especially how to interact with actors and how to eke out their best performances.

He encouraged me and the two other kids (I'm playing a 17yr old, and my brothers are 13 and 8) to "do what brothers would do while they're waiting for dinner." So I had a great time, playing with my brothers – stealing food, fork fights, and generally razzing each other. The directing teacher's other note "Don't worry about acting the lines, just say them and focus on interacting with each other" was really key in getting me out of my head. It took me back to something that, A.C.T. company member extraordinaire, Gregory Wallace once said to me "Focus on the actions, if the actions are clear the words will take care of themselves."

It seems like the key to all of this is just to fully commit to the situation and let the rest take care of itself.

Commercial Agent Interview #2

One of my goals for this year is to secure commercial representation. I've got a couple months left, and commercial representation is theoretically easier to get than theatrical representation (it's a numbers game). Today marked another solid step towards that goal. I met with an agent at a mid-level agency located in Universal City.

Waiting for the Interview
I arrived at the interview about 10 minutes early – a smidge too close for my comfort. I checked in with the receptionist and sat down to read my current novel; I always carry a book with me as I constantly find myself waiting for things to happen. In this case, I waited about 20 minutes. During my wait, I heard the entire staff of the agency off in some other room laughing at YouTube videos.

After a particularly hilarious viral video, the receptionist returned to her desk and provided me with copy for two different commercials. One of them was for Coors Light, a monologue in which I, The Coors Light Guy proclaimed that it was my duty to serve a Coors Light to every thirsty member of "this stadium." In the other, I played a full-service gas station attendant who "love[s] looking at the ladies." After a trip to the restroom where I read the sides aloud, I returned to the waiting room. A couple minutes later I was greeted by an agent, that for the purposes of this post, I will call Bogart.

The Interview
Bogart escorted me into one of the open meeting rooms, and began by asking me a series of questions:

• Where are you from?
  
• So, are you a Berkeley kid then?
  
• What was high school like?
  
• How long have you been down here?
  
• What have you been doing since you got here?
  

As opposed to my last interview, I feel like I had an opportunity to meet and get to know the agent I was interviewing with. It was a much better vibe all around.

The Audition
Bogart then had me read the commercial copy while standing. After I gave a controlled and earnest rendition of The Coors Light Guy, Bogart gave me an adjustment ("This is your mission in life. Make sure everyone in the stadium knows it!") and I took it. I then performed the second piece – it felt a bit flat, but there were still some connected moments.

The Debriefing
After I finished my audition, Bogart went into a little speech about how your first year in Hollywood is probably going to be a wash and the goal should be to do and experience everything you can. I took this to mean that bad news was coming. Bogart surprised me and told me that he was concerned about my only having been here 3 months – but that if I took a commercial audition workshop that he would be interested in bringing me on as a client. He then asked if I had any questions

My Questions
Q: Do agents divide the work by actor or casting director?
A: Agents divide labor by project, not CD.

Q: How many actors do you represent?
A: The agency has 2.5 agents and 560 actors.

Q: How do you see me most easily being cast?
A: Oh, you're definitely the young everyman. Which is great. You're not quite model good looking, but you're not character either. You remind me a lot of an older client of mine, and he's made me lots of money.

Conclusion
Bogart concluded the meeting by saying "Before you sign with anyone else, make sure that you contact me first." Hearing this and finally getting a solid lock on my type is very encouraging. I'm going to research commercial casting workshops and then make a go of it.

Agent Meetings Are Like Dates

I got into a discussion about agent meetings with my friend Lucas this evening. Lucas is an extremely talented and charming actor who’s a good human being to boot. The topic of how to handle agent meetings came up when I mentioned that I was meeting with a mid-size commercial agency tomorrow. Lucas has great representation; without a TV/Film credit to his name he went to producers for the lead in a network pilot. So, I feel that his opinion on the issue holds some weight.

Lucas had a few great points:

• Treat your meeting as seriously as you would an audition. Prepare for it.
• Come in with a set of questions that you want to ask.
• Ask how many clients the agency represents (they are obligated by law to tell you).
• Specifically: how many clients that look like you?
• If they want to sign you right away, wait. Don’t be too eager.

“Don’t be too eager?” I said. “So it’s like dating.”

“Yeah, I guess it is.” Said Lucas.

“Desperate is unattractive to everyone.” I said.

“Yep. Treat it like a first date. Who are they? Are you a good match? If you like them, you can always go on a second date.”

So there you have it folks, seeking representation is like seeking a relationship. But my question is: How do you get representation drunk and convince it that you are more attractive and charming than you really are?

Neil Patrick Harris is my Competition Now

Yesterday was my 22nd birthday. I spent it up North with family, friends, and my amazing girlfriend in Davis, CA. It was really wonderful to get to spend the day with so many people that I cared about. I was reminded that I do have a complete life; it’s just that different parts of it may be located farther away than I would like.

21 was a really great age for me. I had my first successful year as a teacher (I taught for 2 years previous to that, but didn’t feel wonderfully about the experience). I was in a successful production of “Take Me Out” that played to sold-out audiences and great reviews in the main stage at The New Conservatory Theater. I matured a lot in my dealings with other people and I finally “sacked up” and moved down to Los Angeles to pursue my acting career.

I am optimistic about how this coming year will pass, but not without some trepidation. I can no longer be considered a whiz kid, boy wonder, Doogie Howser, or prodigy – all terms that were bandied about in my previous careers. I am at last going to be judged as an adult.

Just like Neil Patrick Harris who is now forced to prove his mettle beyond his child stardom, I will be evaluated against the same, more universal, yardstick. Here’s hoping I measure up.