Wow, there was some truly nasty weather last night in Southern California. Usually, a light drizzle is enough to send the whole city into a white hot panic, but last night was actually a rain storm. Heavy downpours and flooding all over the place. Of course, as luck would have it, I had one of my busiest days in months yesterday.
The day started off at my "day job" (ugh, I hate to use that term) and a meeting at 11:00. I had an 11:35 audition for a Wells Fargo commercial but luckily it was only 15 blocks away from where I work. I made the meeting, took my lunch and made the audition (and was even early for it). It was a fun little spot where I was going over my billing statement on my debit card and not recognizing any of the charges. I got to use some of my comedy and got a few chuckles out of the casting director, so mission accomplished. I've actually read for this CD a lot for commercial auditions and I enjoy it, because he's always loose and funny and just makes you feel really relaxed.
Then I head back to work and finish out my day, having to leave a bit early to head to North Hollywood for a 7:30 casting director workshop with one of the biggest film casting offices in town. I'd been very excited about this meeting for weeks now and there was no way in hell I was going to miss it.
I wove my way through the city streets and highways, trying to find any advantage to move forward in the parking lot-like traffic. In addition to the pouring rains and insane traffic I also realize I have a leak in my driver's side door. The entire hour and a half trip (it's usually a 30 minute drive, even with some traffic) was spent with the Chinese Water Torture being performed on my left shoulder. Thank God the trip wasn't any longer or I may have had the beginnings of a Grand Canyon being worn away on my arm.
I get to my destination and park two blocks away. I head out into the storm with no jacket or unmbrella (because sometimes I'm a genius) and bolt for the studio. I get trapped on the west side of the street because it's flooded and I have to wade through shin deep water to cross. I get to the studio and realize, "shit, I left my wallet in my car on the front seat".
So into the breach once more my friends...
No one can ever say I'm not passionate about my career.
After this whole ordeal I finally take a seat and start drying off some. The casting director was not in a good mood and seemed to be really pissed off about something. Great, after fighting through all of that and getting here on time and all, I'm faced with this. But then I figured, well I'm here might as well make the best of it and I don't know this woman. She could have had a really bad day and whatever mood she's in has nothing to do with me. After letting that go I felt a lot better.
I did my scene one on one with her and really nailed it. It was a scene from an episodic and had a touch of comedy in it. I got some good laughs (she even laughed) and felt like a king!
Then it was back out into the rain and the drive home...I think I'm still drying out.
The show in San Diego this weekend ROCKED and I've got some weirdness surrounding my friends, a reality TV show and a house full of pizza to share this week as well. So expect more postings soon...
I've got a fun show coming up at one of my favorite places to play in CA this weekend. I'll be appearing at a fundraiser for the Hot Monkey Love Cafe in San Diego. They are going to be changing locations and adding more of a performance space, so they are holding a fundraiser to raise money for a license and all that entails. They asked me to be part of the show, so I gladly accepted as I always have a good time playing the Monkey. Not to mention, it has the best name of any club I've ever performed at. It's a very eclectic coffee house type place and it has a great vibe.
Plus, I figure with that heading I can attract some of that phat monkey porn audience that likes to frequent my website.
Don't ever tell me I don't give the people what they want!
As a side note: The phrase "monkey porn" laps the search for my name by a 3:1 margin. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
Sorry I've been amiss in my postings as of the past week. It was one of those week's where I felt extremely busy and yet, nothing much of note actually occurred at the end of the day.
I did get my cell number changed from my Boston digits to shiny, new California numbers. It was my four year anniversary living in the Golden State and I figured it was a nice to way to celebrate. Some might wonder what took me so long, but considering I only changed my plates from MA to CA this past July (I have never driven so well in my entire career behind the wheel...terrified of being pulled over and getting nailed with some crazy-ass ticket for not having CA plates), well, I like to dip a toe in the water before I cannonball in. Baby steps, people, baby steps.
That was pretty much my final "cord" holding me to Boston. I'll always be Boston at heart, will always live and die with my beloved Red Sox, have family there and hope to someday have a house there as well...but I've finally admitted to myself that this is where my life is now. It's where I need to be at this point in my life and I've allowed myself to admit that it's where I want to be. I'm hoping letting that go and putting it "out there" will free up some universal energy and allow this hot and cold career of mine to really take off. I'm ready for that. I think it's the first time in my life I can honestly say that.
Back in November I filmed a series of vignettes entitled The Ultimate Wingman for Comedy Time Network and written by my good friend and kickass comic Courtney Cronin (how's that for alliteration?). Well, I finally got ahold of the video for it so that's very exciting. you can click below to check them out in all their glory:
Kinda funny story about the first time I ever "tread the boards" as the kids are fond of saying...
In high school I got cast in the Senior Play as the part of a Swedish con artist who is a witness in a murder trial. Don't ask me how they got the Swedish part as it didn't seem to have anything to do with anything. I was both thrilled and terrified to be performing in school.
I've wanted to act and do standup ever since I was about 10 years old but never thought I would actually get the guts to give it a go. This was my first foray into that.
We spend weeks rehearsing and the play is getting tighter and tighter. I marvelled at my classmates who played the Prosecutor and the Defending Attorney as they had literally pages and pages of dialogue to memorize. I had a few pages but I was pretty much in and out of the play. The director informed us that if, at any time, we forgot our lines or froze up that we should say "LINE" as subtle as possible and someone in the wings would feed us the line. Simple enough.
It's the night of the play and the place is PACKED. Parents, teachers and students (the latter who I have to believe attended for the sheer "train wreck" possibilities such a production can entail) all huddled into the main auditorium. The play goes off pretty much without a hitch and then it's my turn to take the stand, all decked out in a suit and glasses (and greyed temples, because what would a Swedish con man be without those Reed Richard looking white temples).
The Prosecutor starts in and goes on for close to two minutes throwing charges at me:
"Didn't you..." and "Weren't you...." and "Isn't it true that..."
And I'm terrified. I know it's coming to the part where I'm going to have to respond and I have no idea what I'm supposed to say.
"And didn't you sir....."
Here it comes...I'm drawing a blank...shit....I've got nothing...I need help...
"LINE"
And from the wings of the stage comes the faintest whisper, informing me of the dialogue that my brain refused to recall...
Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers and their fans for winning the Super Bowl yesterday. A very cool accomplishment indeed. I can't say I watched the game, though. I was at a party and there were three TVs in the vicinity with the game on but I was too wrapped up in food, booze and poker to really take much notice. I did see a few commercials for my acting teacher's (Dee Wallace Stone) new sitcom "Sons and Daughters" so that was extremely cool. I hope it does really well and is a huge hit...she deserves it. That, and maybe it will put her in a good mood and she'll stop berating me in class about how talented I am but that I'm not getting many auditions. Ah, I keed, I keed...kinda.
It was quite the eclectic weekend as a friend with a membership to a very gothic kind of BDSM club invited me to attend a "seminar" on Saturday afternoon. Always open for a new adventure, something to write about for this site (and having a penchant for hot women wearing leather) I took her up on the invite. It seriously was a seminar. Kind of like a county fair for fetish. There were people selling floggers and toys. A rope tying demonstration in which this dude taught me how to tie some very cool knots on this ultra cute young lady. This slave dude talked about the spiritual aspects of his relationship with his master (the guy's name was Master Skip...no amount of maturity or trying to respect the choices of others is gonna stop me from giggling my ass off at that. Um, ok...whatever you say Master Skip).
Overall, I have to say it was a very cool experience and something very interesting to check out. And if you're into that sort of thing, this place kinda rocks. Sadly, not that many hot ladies there. For some reason that sort of interest seems to attract a lot of, um, how to put it...older and heavier people. Thankfully, I witnessed a minimum of leather wear overall and ZERO chaps (that was my main fear going in)
The guy doing the rope demonstration had a Paladin t-shirt that belayed years of role playing games with dice. As my friend Tim has often remarks:
As I was sitting in traffic on the 405 this morning, I noticed three bumper stickers on the car in front of me:
"Stop Senior Abuse"
"D.A.R.E. to keep your kids off drugs"
"Stop Domestic Violence"
I'd say that pretty much covers all three generations. Throw in a bumper sticker talking about abortion and I think you pretty much have the grand slam.
