Well, I have stayed pretty busy since my last blog. I got to work on the NBC show MERCY twice! It was on the same episode, which I think was an oversight on their part. They usually wont hire you for background work twice on the same episode, but somehow I slipped through the crack on that one. Good news for me! More money, and I doubled my chance of being seen now! The episode is number 17, which is going to be a St. Patrick's day episode. I believe it will air March 17th, but I can't confirm that just yet.
The first day, I played an Irish gang member. There is a fight scene that takes place in the waiting room of the hospital. I should be easy to spot, I'm wearing a huge shamrock around my face. I look pretty ridiculous. But, like I said, it's a St. Patty's day episode, so we're all decked out in that kind of stuff. We also shot a later scene that day where we are in the ER. I'm in a bed then. (No shamrock this time). Like my day on LAW AND ORDER:CI, I got to work up close with several of the stars, particularly Michelle Trachtenberg and Guillermo Diaz. James Van Der Beek was also there, but I didn't really have any interaction with him.
The second day of shooting was much more interesting. It was a bar scene, and I was a featured extra. I got a name, and part of the script and everything! I was "big dude #2". Doesn't sound like much, but a big step up from "extra". In fact, if I was union, this role would have come with a pay increase, but apparently for non-union there is no pay bump for featured extras. The scene was a drinking contest between the lead character of Veronica, played by Taylor Schilling, "big dude #1" and myself. So I should definitely get some screen time for this one. "Big dude #1" was just a day player, not a regular, but he was a nice guy. His name is Steve and he has appeared in several other shows with speaking roles. UGLY BETTY and LAW AND ORDER:SVU to name just a couple. He was fun to work with, and most importantly, I think he's going to be a very valuable contact. He teaches an acting class that he invited Heather and I to come try.
We went to our first class on Wednesday. I think I liked it. Heather's not so sure yet. But we both agree that he could be helpful. He seems to view me as a potential protege. He's cutting us a deal on the class since we're new to town. He understands it can take a while to adjust to the cost of this city. There is another guy in the class that he has also taken under his wing. He helped him get an agent, and now that guy is getting some auditions that pay some real money, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that he will do the same for us. I will definitely keep everyone posted on that!
As far as CABARET, things seem to be going well. I'll be glad when it's over though. I'm enjoying it, but like all plays, it takes a lot of time. It opens in less than 2 weeks now, and I do think it will be a really good show, so I'm excited for people to see it!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Commercial audition
So on Saturday I went to an audition for an equity production of Fiddler on the Roof. After a very long day of waiting, I did finally get to go in and sing. This was exciting since I wasn't seen at either of the last two equity auditions I went to (the Broadway productions of Phantom of the Opera and South Pacific).
I felt really good about the audition, but what really excited me was after I sang, I was invited to audition for something else. The man there was also casting a national commercial for Febreeze. So, this morning I went to my first commercial audition!
There weren't very many men there. It wasn't an open call. Just a few people. I think I was the only one without an agent. I was called in with another man, and we auditioned for a couple of delivery men. We weren't given scripts. We just improvised a scene where we were delivering a large television. Not sure the connection with Febreeze, but I'm sure they know what they're doing.
It was very quick, and I have no idea how to evaluate how I did. So, it's probably best to assume I didn't get it. That would be an awesome call to get though!
I felt really good about the audition, but what really excited me was after I sang, I was invited to audition for something else. The man there was also casting a national commercial for Febreeze. So, this morning I went to my first commercial audition!
There weren't very many men there. It wasn't an open call. Just a few people. I think I was the only one without an agent. I was called in with another man, and we auditioned for a couple of delivery men. We weren't given scripts. We just improvised a scene where we were delivering a large television. Not sure the connection with Febreeze, but I'm sure they know what they're doing.
It was very quick, and I have no idea how to evaluate how I did. So, it's probably best to assume I didn't get it. That would be an awesome call to get though!
I got cast in a show!
Ok....so remember a few blogs back when I talked about my Cabaret callback? Well I did get cast after all!
I'm not sure exactly which part yet. I'll find out tonight I think, when I go to my first meeting/rehearsal. But I do know it will be one of the boys in the club. Bobby, Victor, Hans or Herman I believe are their names. I was actually very surprised by this as these roles require dancing. But, I guess they liked my voice enough to work with me on the dancing. I will be the featured soloist on the song Tomorrow Belongs to Me, so that's exciting!
I don't know much about the pay yet. The audition listing said "some pay", so we'll see what that means. Again, I'm sure all my questions will be answered today. But regardless of the amount, I think this will be a great opportunity for me. Having a New York credit on my resume will carry a lot more weight than all my Colorado and Utah ones. Plus, it will give people here a chance to see me, like casting directors and agents. Above all though, I'm just really excited I got cast in the first show I got to audition for. I hope this is a sign of more good things to come!
I'm not sure exactly which part yet. I'll find out tonight I think, when I go to my first meeting/rehearsal. But I do know it will be one of the boys in the club. Bobby, Victor, Hans or Herman I believe are their names. I was actually very surprised by this as these roles require dancing. But, I guess they liked my voice enough to work with me on the dancing. I will be the featured soloist on the song Tomorrow Belongs to Me, so that's exciting!
I don't know much about the pay yet. The audition listing said "some pay", so we'll see what that means. Again, I'm sure all my questions will be answered today. But regardless of the amount, I think this will be a great opportunity for me. Having a New York credit on my resume will carry a lot more weight than all my Colorado and Utah ones. Plus, it will give people here a chance to see me, like casting directors and agents. Above all though, I'm just really excited I got cast in the first show I got to audition for. I hope this is a sign of more good things to come!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Law and Order: CI
A few days ago I had the awesome experience of doing background work on a T.V. show. It was for Law and Order: Criminal Intent. My least favorite of the three Law and Order shows, but unfortunately I'm not exactly in a position to pick and choose yet. I eagerly accepted though, hoping for a positive experience, and that's exactly what I got!
It was way out in Queens, a section called Broad Channel. It's on the water, so it was nice, but extremely cold this time of year. And of course it had to be an exterior scene, so I got to freeze all day! But that aside, it really was a neat experience.
You get paid a flat fee for up to ten hours when you do extra work. There's overtime if you go beyond ten. My whole day was less then eight hours, so I got off pretty easy in that aspect. The first two hours were just sitting in the holding room, while people were getting into wardrobe and stuff. I was in a small group of bystanders that had to bring their own stuff and just run it by the costume designer for approval. Other people played officers, ME's, CSU techs, etc. After everyone was set, we made our way out to the location.
We shot two scenes. Each was about 90 seconds long, and it took over five hours. So, this was definitely a good indication of the type of patience that's required to be a film or television actor.
The scene involved Jeff Goldblum who joined the cast this season. I have to admit I did get a little starstruck for a few minutes. It was hard to believe I was working with an actor that I've been watching since I was a little kid. I had to focus though, I found myself watching him and not the scene a few times. I was really impressed with him, for a couple of reasons. One: he seemed very appreciative of everyone on set and went out of his way to show that and interact with them (myself included!). This took real effort on his part considering that between the actors and crew there were probably 100 people there. But he keep doing it. Between takes he'd joke around with people, sing, dance, etc. The other thing I liked was that despite the fact that it was painfully cold, he wasn't running inside between takes, or asking for additional breaks or anything. He toughed it out with the rest of us. I'm not sure that always happens, and I know the stars aren't always as friendly as he was.
As far as the actual scene, I play a resident of a neighborhood where someone was murdered. I'm in a group of people at the yellow police line, trying to see what's going on. Goldblum's character cuts through the line, so I think I'll get some camera time. Not sure when the episode airs yet, but I'll keep everyone posted!
It was way out in Queens, a section called Broad Channel. It's on the water, so it was nice, but extremely cold this time of year. And of course it had to be an exterior scene, so I got to freeze all day! But that aside, it really was a neat experience.
You get paid a flat fee for up to ten hours when you do extra work. There's overtime if you go beyond ten. My whole day was less then eight hours, so I got off pretty easy in that aspect. The first two hours were just sitting in the holding room, while people were getting into wardrobe and stuff. I was in a small group of bystanders that had to bring their own stuff and just run it by the costume designer for approval. Other people played officers, ME's, CSU techs, etc. After everyone was set, we made our way out to the location.
We shot two scenes. Each was about 90 seconds long, and it took over five hours. So, this was definitely a good indication of the type of patience that's required to be a film or television actor.
The scene involved Jeff Goldblum who joined the cast this season. I have to admit I did get a little starstruck for a few minutes. It was hard to believe I was working with an actor that I've been watching since I was a little kid. I had to focus though, I found myself watching him and not the scene a few times. I was really impressed with him, for a couple of reasons. One: he seemed very appreciative of everyone on set and went out of his way to show that and interact with them (myself included!). This took real effort on his part considering that between the actors and crew there were probably 100 people there. But he keep doing it. Between takes he'd joke around with people, sing, dance, etc. The other thing I liked was that despite the fact that it was painfully cold, he wasn't running inside between takes, or asking for additional breaks or anything. He toughed it out with the rest of us. I'm not sure that always happens, and I know the stars aren't always as friendly as he was.
As far as the actual scene, I play a resident of a neighborhood where someone was murdered. I'm in a group of people at the yellow police line, trying to see what's going on. Goldblum's character cuts through the line, so I think I'll get some camera time. Not sure when the episode airs yet, but I'll keep everyone posted!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Carrie Fisher, Tituss Burgess and other celebrities
So I thought I'd spend a few minutes bragging about some of the cool stuff we've experienced here so far.
About a week after we moved here we went to see one of the final performances of Carrie Fisher's Broadway show, WISHFUL DRINKING. It was supposed to close before we got here, so we were very excited to hear it was extended for two weeks. And they had rush tickets still available at the box office, which saved us about 75% off the price. Equally exciting, considering we are unemployed. The show was great. She's really funny, and has great command of the stage. That actually surprised me a little. Whenever I see her on live TV she seems a little befuddled. Not the case here. The show basically just made fun of her life. Particularly being the child of celebrities, failed marriage's, the ridiculous fame that followed the Star Wars movies, and her struggles with being bi-polar. After the show we waited at the stage door, but someone came out and said she wasn't feeling well enough to come out that night. So, we didn't get to meet her, but we still had an awesome night.
Our next celebrity encounter was a much more personal one. We found out that Tituss Burgess was going to start giving voice lessons. So I contacted him through facebook and set one up. If you don't know who he is, he got famous playing Sebastion in the Broadway version of THE LITTLE MERMAID. After that, he played Nicely-Nicely in the GUYS AND DOLLS revival last year. He was also in the original cast of JERSEY BOYS. You-tube him, he's fantastic. Anyway, I had the lesson about a week and a half ago. It was very nerve racking, but I loved it. He's actually not that expensive either, by New York standards at least. Heather and I both want to take more with him, but we need to wait until we have jobs.
The last thing I want to talk about is something cool that Barnes and Noble does here. The Lincoln Center location has a large event room where they host book signings and things like that. There have been two Broadway related ones I've attended. The first one was about two weeks ago. Gerard Alessandrini, who is the creator and one of the original cast members of FORBIDDEN BROADWAY wrote a book about the show. For those of you don't know, FORBIDDEN BROADWAY is a musical spoof of Broadway, sort of like Saturday Night Live. They parody different shows and performers. It started in the early 80's and they have updated it often to keep it relevant. Anyway, he was there, with a few other key members. They performed a few pieces and told stories about their experiences from the show. After the performance they signed the books for people. It was great, and best of all it was free! Tonight we went again. This time the leads of the Broadway revival of FINIAN'S RAINBOW was there to promote the new cast recording. Again, they performed some songs and then signed our cds. We've never seen FINIAN'S RAINBOW, but it was really nice to get a free sample of it. Plus, we were excited because the male lead, Cheyenne Jackson is also on 30 Rock, one of our favorite shows! New York is expensive, so it's been fun to find some cool things to do for free. There is a lot of stuff like this here too, so I'm excited to find more!
About a week after we moved here we went to see one of the final performances of Carrie Fisher's Broadway show, WISHFUL DRINKING. It was supposed to close before we got here, so we were very excited to hear it was extended for two weeks. And they had rush tickets still available at the box office, which saved us about 75% off the price. Equally exciting, considering we are unemployed. The show was great. She's really funny, and has great command of the stage. That actually surprised me a little. Whenever I see her on live TV she seems a little befuddled. Not the case here. The show basically just made fun of her life. Particularly being the child of celebrities, failed marriage's, the ridiculous fame that followed the Star Wars movies, and her struggles with being bi-polar. After the show we waited at the stage door, but someone came out and said she wasn't feeling well enough to come out that night. So, we didn't get to meet her, but we still had an awesome night.
Our next celebrity encounter was a much more personal one. We found out that Tituss Burgess was going to start giving voice lessons. So I contacted him through facebook and set one up. If you don't know who he is, he got famous playing Sebastion in the Broadway version of THE LITTLE MERMAID. After that, he played Nicely-Nicely in the GUYS AND DOLLS revival last year. He was also in the original cast of JERSEY BOYS. You-tube him, he's fantastic. Anyway, I had the lesson about a week and a half ago. It was very nerve racking, but I loved it. He's actually not that expensive either, by New York standards at least. Heather and I both want to take more with him, but we need to wait until we have jobs.
The last thing I want to talk about is something cool that Barnes and Noble does here. The Lincoln Center location has a large event room where they host book signings and things like that. There have been two Broadway related ones I've attended. The first one was about two weeks ago. Gerard Alessandrini, who is the creator and one of the original cast members of FORBIDDEN BROADWAY wrote a book about the show. For those of you don't know, FORBIDDEN BROADWAY is a musical spoof of Broadway, sort of like Saturday Night Live. They parody different shows and performers. It started in the early 80's and they have updated it often to keep it relevant. Anyway, he was there, with a few other key members. They performed a few pieces and told stories about their experiences from the show. After the performance they signed the books for people. It was great, and best of all it was free! Tonight we went again. This time the leads of the Broadway revival of FINIAN'S RAINBOW was there to promote the new cast recording. Again, they performed some songs and then signed our cds. We've never seen FINIAN'S RAINBOW, but it was really nice to get a free sample of it. Plus, we were excited because the male lead, Cheyenne Jackson is also on 30 Rock, one of our favorite shows! New York is expensive, so it's been fun to find some cool things to do for free. There is a lot of stuff like this here too, so I'm excited to find more!
Callbacks
So, to follow up with my last blog, I was called back for the Cabaret audition I went to. I don't think I was cast, because I haven't heard anything yet. (A friend I made there did get a call with an offer, so I'm not just being impatient.) I suppose it's still possible, she just heard yesterday, but I've made peace with the fact it probably wont happen this time. I do want to share the experience though, because I thought it was interesting.
They had some people there earlier to read for principal roles. I was called for the dance audition. This came as a bit of a surprise to me, as I am not exactly gifted in that department. But the routine was fairly easy, so I gave it my best shot. After that, I was asked to go learn a piece of music with some of the other men. This came rather easy for me since I've done the show twice before. I keep that to myself though, hoping they would just think I was a fast learner. There were probably at least twenty of us. After we all sang, they asked four men, including me, to stay and sing it again. After that, they asked me to sing another piece from the show. I was one of two men they asked to do that. After that, we were finished.
I didn't expect to book my first show I auditioned for, but I did start to get my hopes up a bit after that night. Oh well. I feel like I'm off to a good start here. So we forget about this one now and it's on to the next!
They had some people there earlier to read for principal roles. I was called for the dance audition. This came as a bit of a surprise to me, as I am not exactly gifted in that department. But the routine was fairly easy, so I gave it my best shot. After that, I was asked to go learn a piece of music with some of the other men. This came rather easy for me since I've done the show twice before. I keep that to myself though, hoping they would just think I was a fast learner. There were probably at least twenty of us. After we all sang, they asked four men, including me, to stay and sing it again. After that, they asked me to sing another piece from the show. I was one of two men they asked to do that. After that, we were finished.
I didn't expect to book my first show I auditioned for, but I did start to get my hopes up a bit after that night. Oh well. I feel like I'm off to a good start here. So we forget about this one now and it's on to the next!
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