Sound & the Furious

Sound: Yesterday I got another very L.A. experience. My former neighbor, who is a composer and does the music for one of the hottest shows on television, invited me to watch a studio session as he recorded a score for the show. Of course, I said yes and as he showed me around the studio, I saw gold records from many of the rock icons of my youth. Classic albums such as Motley Crue's Girls, Girls, Girls and Guns 'N Roses' Use Your Illusion I were recorded in the same studio.

It was really interesting to see him (and his dozen or so amazing studio musicians) work. David had composed the music in advance and the musicians (all strings: violins, violas, cellos, bass) were seeing it for the first time. And it was amazing how few takes it took to get it the way David wanted. They would play it, he would make a couple adjustments, they would play it again, and that would be it. Man, musicians/composers/musically talented people in general just amaze me...

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The Furious: Me. Well, not really furious. But, today was one of those days that can be a little demoralizing. First of all, the extras casting director from that project I have been working on was upset that I couldn't make one of the days upcoming since I had another commitment. Never mind that I hadn't been asked before to 'set aside' that day or the fact that last time I was asked to set aside days for him - 15 of them in fact - I worked exactly 2, having to give up other jobs during that time since I was 'on-call.' I know out here the ideal is the "career extra" so you can work background all day everyday, day or night, without any pesky things like getting notice, or auditions, classes or ACTING ambitions of any kind. So, the sooner I can actually get some work, the sooner I can stop worrying about angering an extras casting director because I --gasp! -- actually want to act.

Then, I had a meeting with a very good agency, and it just didn't really go well. My reading was okay but at least 2 standard deviations worse than I had just done it out in the hallway... Sigh, it was good experience anyway, and hopefully I can take what I learned into my next meeting -- should I be lucky enough to get another one...

What's Shakin'?

After getting home at 7 a.m. and sleeping for a couple hours, I was outside checking my mail before I was to leave for an audition. As I closed the mailbox (affixed to the outside of my house), the ground beneath me started moving, and for a moment I thought it was something to do with the construction going on above me. But, I looked up and EVERYTHING was moving. The house, all 3 stories of bricks towering above me, was swaying back and forth. It was a "spinning room" feeling - vertigo! There was a distinct rolling feeling, too, which my neighbor, Rebecca, summed up perfectly when she described it "as if the ground is on a skateboard." It was an intense, but not an altogether unpleasant, experience though I'm glad it didn't last longer than the ten or so seconds it went on for...

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Audition for a Toyota Tundra commercial - essentially blue-collar guys holding the impressive Tundra truck parts.

Breakfast at Six -- P.M., That Is...

I worked Friday night/Saturday morning from about 6 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., and it's one of those funny on-set conventions: the first meal, no matter what time is "breakfast," the second is "lunch." So although it was Mexican food and salad, the first meal they gave us was indeed breakfast. And lunch was served at 1:15 a.m...

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From a tip by a friend, I found a movie theatre nearby that allows free entry with a SAG card - whoo-hoo! And not just free for me, but free for a guest, too. I guess I found where I'll be seeing most of my movies...

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Had an audition for a SAG short on Sunday. The director is a guy I met at the SAG conservatory a few weekends ago. It is a fun little script, so hopefully I hear back.

Big Fat INDIAN Wedding...and a (Fake) Funeral

Yesterday/last night I worked background again on that movie (the same one from a couple weeks back). It was a big elaborate (fake) funeral scene, with lots of extras. We shot on the Sony lot which was fun and the many costumes were neat to see. Good food as usual and easy work. Anyway, it was a semi-night shoot, going from 2:00 p.m. to about 2:00 a.m. So, by the time I got back home it was quite late, and I hoped to sleep in a bit.

Any thoughts I had of sleeping in, however, were quashed early in the morning as a metal cutting saw and power sander on the floor above me rattled my walls - and my teeth. As some of you know, the house I'm living in is undergoing an extensive renovation, and is basically a loud construction zone all day. So, I got up and went to the Y. When I came home, my street was like Grand Central Station - cars everywhere, people in elaborate outfits with gifts, flowers, food. I came to find out that there is an Indian wedding going down next door. I wonder if they'll invite us over for some eats?? Hope so...

Double Agent (Search)

As I mentioned a couple weeks back, the commercial agent I signed with in March left the agency which kind of leaves me in limbo. The agency let me know through e-mail and said they would contact each of us individually. I'm still waiting. So, not sure what I'm going to do about that...

In the meantime, I have begun to look for a theatrical (film/tv) agent. This is a tremendously difficult process since there are a million actors here seeking representation, and while there are indeed a lot of agencies, there aren't nearly enough spots on their roster to accommodate all of us. Also, getting an agent and getting work go hand in hand, but the catch-22 is that it usually takes an agent to get good auditions/work, but an agent doesn't usually want to sign actors that haven't yet got substantial tv/film work on their resumes.

All that being said, I still hope to land one. I am beginning with a targeted mailing (sending a package with headshot/resume/reel) to 10 or so agents that I would really like to get. If I don't get any responses in a couple weeks or so, I'll send to another 10 and so on. Hopefully, sooner rather than later, I'll find an agent willing to work with me.