This past week has been nuts.
Loosely, worked all weekend, with that shoot on Saturday as well. As an update, the director said that she felt she got it (the scene I sucked in) and it'll do the picture justice. I was willing to go back and do it again the next day if she'd asked.
Monday through Wednesday night was shooting Very Small Rooms. During the days I was searching for, then seeing a new chiropractor because my back has been in excruciating pain the last two weeks and I'm too pig-headed to do anything about it. Wednesday was the longest, adn the hottest, but we pulled off some shots that were f^cking brilliant, seriously. These filmmakers are totally self taught. They don't know much of "the lingo" and have none of the jaded hipsterism I hate so much. But their vision and writing speaks for itself, and they've educated themselves well. Very proud of them.
So Wednesday night (Thursday morning) we finish at about 2:30am. Hour drive home. Must be in Fitchburg, MA by 9am for more Zombie University shooting. This was guerilla at its best. The normally quiet street we were shooting on was busy because of construction on some other street. The producer on the director disappeared for ten minutes, came back with a couple of "procured" orange cones and blocked off the section we needed to work in. Ah, the power of orange cones. The officers who drive by didn't even look twice. Unfortunately, I also had to be covered in blood during the noon day sun. Irish men like me don't take the sun too well, so I got burned as well as blood-soaked, but it seemed to have turned out well. Apparently my stock is rising in the zero-to-low budget, super-independent filmmaking community of New England.
Finally, last night, I got some decent sleep. Once this weekend is done I will have five, count 'em FIVE days with nothing on my schedule...
Yet.
A Letter to Directors/Filmmakers from the "Talent"
Part II: Production
So here we are...time to shoot! For me, obviously, this the most exciting time. This is where I put it all on the line. I want to deliver for you, so there's a couple things that'll make it easier for me.
1. A detailed schedule: Where and when should I be? Call times, directions to locations, personal costumes I need, this is great when it's all on one piece of paper if possible. When it comes to call times, I know it's easiest to just call everyone for the day, but if you know you aren't going to use me for at least the first four hours, make my call reasonably within that time frame. (I know you SAG folks get day rates and all that, I'm talking about us free actors out there.) I'll get the message that you respect my time, and I will respect yours as well. If I'm consistently late you should probably speak to me about that, or make my call time earlier. The less time I'm in holding the more fresh I am to perform well for you.
A shot list would be awesome. I almost never get these. Unless it's your directorial decision to keep the actors in the dark to get something you're looking for, the more information we get, the better. Some liaison between the cast and the production crew is awesome as well. Are we delayed? I understand delays completely, just let me know about them. But a shot list lets us know and prepare for where our characters are in the flow of the script, and maybe get in a little rehearsal time before that shot goes up.
Also, let me know before that day if I'm jumping off something, fighting someone, or getting covered in anything gooey, please.
2. A place to sit. I'm often surprised that this is overlooked. Before I get into it let me say this, I am amazed at almost every crew I've ever seen. You folks work tirelessly, around the clock at times, with little to no break. The boundless enthusiasm you show keeps me in check when I get cranky. I also understand that you're working this hard to make my shots look as good as they can, and I love you for it. I get irritated with actors far more often than I do with crews.
That said, give me a place with a chair. There's usually a lot of time where I have nothing to do, and nothing makes it longer than being uncomfortable. I'm not asking for a trailer with a masseuse (although I'd never turn that down) just a little corner to myself.
3. On Shooting and Pre-shot preparation. As actors, we need to find a flow, a way to convey the emotion you're looking for. In theater, more often than not, the flow is easy. We go from beginning to end, the arc is easy. For you, though, the shooting is done out of order, on different days, blah, blah, blah. We might need a minute or two. I know you spent an hour getting the lights right and you want to get the shot and move on, but I want to give you the best shot possible. Give me some advice beforehand. Consider what the shot is. Heavy? Emotional? I find it best in that situation if the crew keeps the mood down. I love to engage in on set tomfoolery as much as anyone, but if you want tears, I can't be cracking up. After the take, let me know how I did. Some of us need one sentence, some of us need a conversation. You'll figure it out quickly.
Oh yeah, what shooting ratio are you looking for? It helps me if I know you're paying out the ass for stock, so you want to use as little as possible. In that case, I'll try to nail it in one or two. If you're swimming in DV tapes and don't care, I'll experiment and give you a bunch of different things to choose from when you're editing.
4. On Divas, Whiners, Complainers, No-Shows, and Just Plain Difficult Actors. Um, beat them? Honestly I try not to be one of these, and I think I'm pretty succesful there. I try to complain only when I'm at the end of my rope, and try to do it in a way that's helpful to all involved. Some of my fellow actors drive me nuts, because they seem to think they're entitled to something just for showing up. The only thing I can think of is to mollify them as best you can, see if you can give them some task to busy them, yes them into submission, kill them with kindness, or send them packing. I'll try to help if I can.
That's all I can think of now. If I got nothin' else stay tuned for Part III: Post
(P.S. Does anybody care if I'm writing this? If not, I won't bore you with my opinions.)
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Filming Very Small Rooms has also been a whirlwind tour of differing houses. Some, kinda gross. Others, mind boggling. Todays was mind boggling. Such a big beautiful house. It makes me sad because I think there's no way I can make the kind of money it takes to own and maintain something on that level.
I don't get much after-shoot time to hang out with everybody because it's either way too late or I have to go to work ASAP. One of the actors gave me a really nice complient today. She had watched some of the dailies and said she found me very subtle and believable. Then we had a nice conversation about my approach to acting, theater vs. film, and so on.
Then we went to shoot my character's climax. And I sucked. Sucked sucked sucked.
I don't get much after-shoot time to hang out with everybody because it's either way too late or I have to go to work ASAP. One of the actors gave me a really nice complient today. She had watched some of the dailies and said she found me very subtle and believable. Then we had a nice conversation about my approach to acting, theater vs. film, and so on.
Then we went to shoot my character's climax. And I sucked. Sucked sucked sucked.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
What, has it been that long already?
I always feel like I'm out here in blog world and just never get around to typing. I'm still keeping up with you all, though.
It's been a crazy, fun, rough couple of weeks. Filming "Very Small Rooms" has taken a lot out of me. A lot of late nights, some unexpected, most at least fun. this is a group that hasn't really been trained by anyone else, so they basically made up their own terms for things. At least they learned well.
Two of my best friends are getting married this summer. One more this fall. One of them we took care of two weeks ago. Great fun and almost a mini-vacation.
My shooting schedule meant I could attend precisely none of the Boston International Film Festival where December 31 is playing. That link finally gets you to a trailer.
I thought the next few days would bring some relaxation. Not so much. There's been so much crap going on.
I always feel like I'm out here in blog world and just never get around to typing. I'm still keeping up with you all, though.
It's been a crazy, fun, rough couple of weeks. Filming "Very Small Rooms" has taken a lot out of me. A lot of late nights, some unexpected, most at least fun. this is a group that hasn't really been trained by anyone else, so they basically made up their own terms for things. At least they learned well.
Two of my best friends are getting married this summer. One more this fall. One of them we took care of two weeks ago. Great fun and almost a mini-vacation.
My shooting schedule meant I could attend precisely none of the Boston International Film Festival where December 31 is playing. That link finally gets you to a trailer.
I thought the next few days would bring some relaxation. Not so much. There's been so much crap going on.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
It lives
Hey.
Long time, huh?
I know.
I never write, I never call. I'm a bad friend, blog.
There hasn't been much of note going on through May. Trying to work a ton, because I'm poor, and have a zillion weddings that I might have already complained about already. (But I'm REALLY excited for them! Good people, but all at once!?)
This week started filming of Very Small Rooms. Good people with a wickedly good sense of humor. Should be a good month.
Been working on a series of shorts with a friend. We'll be preproducing through June and most likely July. We hope they'll do good things.
Other than that, everyone, not much else.
But this is something I've been thinking about for a while. Hopefully this will get me to write more often. Time will tell.
A Letter to Directors/Filmmakers from the "Talent"
Note: This is for first-time, low-no budget, and student directors and filmmakers, based on several experiences I've had in the past few years.
Part I: Casting and Rehearsal
First, thank you for having me at your casting. I'm sure you're very excited about your project, and I'd like to join your enthusiasm. This should be easy to tell since I must have found out about your audition and contacted you in some way. Maybe you've seen my headshot and resume. Maybe I walked in off the street. Either way, I'm here, so that says something, right?
Now I know different directors like to audition in different ways. Some have sent me the entire script to read and asked me to choose a role I feel would be appropriate. Personally, I favor this approach. Having read the script beforehand I can know what kind of project I'm putting myself up for, and what I where I might best fit. Sometimes I'll get a few pages highlighting dofferent characters. Sometimes I'm asked for a monologue, sometimes it's a purely cold read. I'm not against any of these, sometimes they're even fun. If you like what you see, I'd sure like to hear that. Go ahead, ask me to do it again. Ask me to give you a different feel. Direct me, if you'd like. I want to show you what I'm capable of. Let's shoot the breeze for a minute if time allows. We can get used to each other, maybe even get a feel for how well we'd work together. But please, don't say something like, "you almost definitely have the part." Then I know someone will walk in after me and do a better job. You don't have to be mean if you didn't like the audition. A polite thank you is fine.
Now let's say I had a grrrrreat audition. We all clicked, I read well, I took direction, we had a good talk. Or even a decent audition. Or a horrible one. You know what I'm gonna do when I get home? Expect to hear from you. You've probably given me at least a rough idea of your production schedule, so I'm going to eye my calendar and try not to put anything in those days. That anything could be more hours at the day job, time with my family or friends, another acting gig. But I got to you first so I think it's only polite to wait to hear from you. I gotta tell ya, it stinks when I hear nothing at all. Even auditions I've felt badly about, it's be nice to get a call. Email is perfect if you feel uncomfortable telling someone they didn't get it. It can be as simple as, "thank you for auditioning, we couldn't find anything for you." You could even say why you didn't cast me if you feel it will help me as an actor. Some of us would like constructive advice. Either way, those days on my calendar can now open up, and I won't feel silly for holding them right up to the end. I've gotten some great emails and messages about why I didn't get cast and there were no hard feelings at all. I can tell you one thing, if I don't get any word from you, I'm most likely not going to audition for you again. Also, if someone I'm working with asks me, I'll be honest.
Now let's say you cast me. YAY! Good choice on your part! I must say, you have good taste. What would I like next? Well, a script would be just about awesome. You know you can email one of those, right? No? Well, you can, usually as a PDF. I'm sure someone can walk you through the steps. The other thing I'd really like to do is rehearse.
Now when I say rehearse I don't mean right before the shot. I mean before we ever put anything to film/tape. Let's get together, have a cup of coffee, chat about the script. I know as a writer that a solid actor will attempt to understand his or her role far better than I as the writer could. The actor will delve into much more detail, get immersed in the role. This I will promise to do to the best of my abilities but I might have some questions. A little one on one with you would be great. Plus getting together with the other actors will really help me. Let's all sot and talk about it. Unless there's an artistic reason for it I think it's a really bad idea to put a cast together for the first time on the shoot day.
I'm just sayin'.
Coming soon (i.e. when I get around to it) Part II: Production
Long time, huh?
I know.
I never write, I never call. I'm a bad friend, blog.
There hasn't been much of note going on through May. Trying to work a ton, because I'm poor, and have a zillion weddings that I might have already complained about already. (But I'm REALLY excited for them! Good people, but all at once!?)
This week started filming of Very Small Rooms. Good people with a wickedly good sense of humor. Should be a good month.
Been working on a series of shorts with a friend. We'll be preproducing through June and most likely July. We hope they'll do good things.
Other than that, everyone, not much else.
But this is something I've been thinking about for a while. Hopefully this will get me to write more often. Time will tell.
A Letter to Directors/Filmmakers from the "Talent"
Note: This is for first-time, low-no budget, and student directors and filmmakers, based on several experiences I've had in the past few years.
Part I: Casting and Rehearsal
First, thank you for having me at your casting. I'm sure you're very excited about your project, and I'd like to join your enthusiasm. This should be easy to tell since I must have found out about your audition and contacted you in some way. Maybe you've seen my headshot and resume. Maybe I walked in off the street. Either way, I'm here, so that says something, right?
Now I know different directors like to audition in different ways. Some have sent me the entire script to read and asked me to choose a role I feel would be appropriate. Personally, I favor this approach. Having read the script beforehand I can know what kind of project I'm putting myself up for, and what I where I might best fit. Sometimes I'll get a few pages highlighting dofferent characters. Sometimes I'm asked for a monologue, sometimes it's a purely cold read. I'm not against any of these, sometimes they're even fun. If you like what you see, I'd sure like to hear that. Go ahead, ask me to do it again. Ask me to give you a different feel. Direct me, if you'd like. I want to show you what I'm capable of. Let's shoot the breeze for a minute if time allows. We can get used to each other, maybe even get a feel for how well we'd work together. But please, don't say something like, "you almost definitely have the part." Then I know someone will walk in after me and do a better job. You don't have to be mean if you didn't like the audition. A polite thank you is fine.
Now let's say I had a grrrrreat audition. We all clicked, I read well, I took direction, we had a good talk. Or even a decent audition. Or a horrible one. You know what I'm gonna do when I get home? Expect to hear from you. You've probably given me at least a rough idea of your production schedule, so I'm going to eye my calendar and try not to put anything in those days. That anything could be more hours at the day job, time with my family or friends, another acting gig. But I got to you first so I think it's only polite to wait to hear from you. I gotta tell ya, it stinks when I hear nothing at all. Even auditions I've felt badly about, it's be nice to get a call. Email is perfect if you feel uncomfortable telling someone they didn't get it. It can be as simple as, "thank you for auditioning, we couldn't find anything for you." You could even say why you didn't cast me if you feel it will help me as an actor. Some of us would like constructive advice. Either way, those days on my calendar can now open up, and I won't feel silly for holding them right up to the end. I've gotten some great emails and messages about why I didn't get cast and there were no hard feelings at all. I can tell you one thing, if I don't get any word from you, I'm most likely not going to audition for you again. Also, if someone I'm working with asks me, I'll be honest.
Now let's say you cast me. YAY! Good choice on your part! I must say, you have good taste. What would I like next? Well, a script would be just about awesome. You know you can email one of those, right? No? Well, you can, usually as a PDF. I'm sure someone can walk you through the steps. The other thing I'd really like to do is rehearse.
Now when I say rehearse I don't mean right before the shot. I mean before we ever put anything to film/tape. Let's get together, have a cup of coffee, chat about the script. I know as a writer that a solid actor will attempt to understand his or her role far better than I as the writer could. The actor will delve into much more detail, get immersed in the role. This I will promise to do to the best of my abilities but I might have some questions. A little one on one with you would be great. Plus getting together with the other actors will really help me. Let's all sot and talk about it. Unless there's an artistic reason for it I think it's a really bad idea to put a cast together for the first time on the shoot day.
I'm just sayin'.
Coming soon (i.e. when I get around to it) Part II: Production
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
The Big Lull
Haven't written in a while. Truth be told, I have nothing to report. With The Crucible finished and now that I've recovered I basically have to work my ass off through May to both refill my empty bank accounts and pay off all the favors I owe. Also, from May to July I have four weddings to attend, three of which are very close/family and two of which involve travel/hotel. I'm about to pull my hair out trying to figure it all out.
To make matters even more fun, June is basically tied up. Throughout the month I will be in a movie called Very Small Rooms, a UConn based film. I'm very excited about working on this film and I have a lot of confidence in the director and her team. And there's some money involved, which is really nice. It also means that between shooting, work, and my Best Friend Mike's wedding I will have maybe five days off, in which I will attempt to work.
The Boston International Film Festival has announced their schedule. This is the group I did the film December 31st with. The day they're showing it, I'm at Mike's wedding. So much for schmoozing with the bigwigs. Of course, I haven't seen any of it yet, and I really wouldn't want to roll in there without seeing something first. What if I suck?
Threads just had a screening this week. Of course, I had to work. It's not a final print, though.
The great thing about my work is that a lot of days (as in, not nights) I have off so my landlord/neighbor/friend-who's-ALSO-getting-married have rediscovered our love of tennis.
I guess that's it.
To make matters even more fun, June is basically tied up. Throughout the month I will be in a movie called Very Small Rooms, a UConn based film. I'm very excited about working on this film and I have a lot of confidence in the director and her team. And there's some money involved, which is really nice. It also means that between shooting, work, and my Best Friend Mike's wedding I will have maybe five days off, in which I will attempt to work.
The Boston International Film Festival has announced their schedule. This is the group I did the film December 31st with. The day they're showing it, I'm at Mike's wedding. So much for schmoozing with the bigwigs. Of course, I haven't seen any of it yet, and I really wouldn't want to roll in there without seeing something first. What if I suck?
Threads just had a screening this week. Of course, I had to work. It's not a final print, though.
The great thing about my work is that a lot of days (as in, not nights) I have off so my landlord/neighbor/friend-who's-ALSO-getting-married have rediscovered our love of tennis.
I guess that's it.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Crucible: Done
This could be long.
Normally I don't tell too many folks about this blog. The fewer people, the more I can write without limits. This is my little place where I can vent frustrations. But more often than not I find myself erasing a lot of my vents, for all kinds of reasons. I'd read them back to myself and think, "woah, kid. Take it easy." Sometimes I'm too self-absorbed. (HA! An actor calling himself self-absorbed. Welcome to redundancy, people.) Sometimes I fly off the handle. Sometimes I just don't want to be so damn negative, so I pull a lot of it down. The few things that stay are usually well reasoned and really reflect my frustrations. When they're directed at someone I know, and if that person happens to be you, please only take extremely small offense. I've probably said it to you before I put it here. Most likely if you keep reading you'll see me write something really nice about you, too. I try to appease the karma.
Current readers, help me out. Am I a prick?
On to the The Crucible...
The first weekend was, honestly, a slight downer. Performances were good. Great, actually. But I never got the idea that our audiences were pulled in by it. The comments that my friends made were sort of positive but never really hit praise. That's fine, I prefer honesty above all else. But I couldn't shake the feeling that we missed it somehow. Maybe we made each little piece so shiny the whole didn't hang together. (Does that even make sense?) Thursday morning's show did nothing to help. Sitting at the front of the house was about sixty 11-13 year olds. I can only imagine what I would have been like having been forced to sit in a chair for an hour and a half at a time to watch subject material that they probably couldn't have cared less about. They got pretty shifty, and there were plenty of conversations I could listen to from the stage. It was a pretty good rehearsal at least.
So we come in Friday night and I don't know if everybody felt it but I definitely sensed as a group we were looking to find that something. That something turned out to be our last three audiences.
They were incredible. I've found that doing a comedy is easy to gauge an audience. If they're laughing, you got em. Drama, though, is way harder to gauge. You have very little cues to tell you if your audience is getting it. Not this weekend. You could hear the tension, the reactions to the absurdity of it all. Those are the moments you keep.
As Hale, I share the final moments of the play on stage with Elizabeth. Those moments are heavy, HEAVY, HEAVY. Sometimes I felt myself manufacturing emotion to get there. (The school show, definitely.) Last weekend, thanks audience, didn't need to do a thing. Also, a huge thanks to Nick, the fella who played John Proctor. Moments I never had to make happen usually centered on him. He played Proctor with such awe-inspiring talent I was honored to have shared the stage with him. With all of them. Anyway, normally, his last moments on stage are for the audience, and for his wife. Last performance, he looked at me for a very small time.
He might as well have kicked me in the chest. Not a whisker of acting there. In my head, "Ah crap, that sonofabee got me. I'm gonna cry like a baby." Crying, open weeping, might or might not have actually happened. And that moment wouldn't leave. I go down to the green room post curtain call and I'm just standing there when Tess, our Mary Warren, comes and gives me this big hug because she watched it from the wings for the first time. I think, "Damn, again."
Awesome cast party. This is a show where with such a big cast (22) usually there's someone in it that you don't click with. Not here. Both on and off stage everyone got along with each other fantastically. Even putting up with me. This experience has been truly, overwhelmingly positive and none of my complaints or qualms are gonna stick with me as long as the gratitude I have towards these people.
Normally I don't tell too many folks about this blog. The fewer people, the more I can write without limits. This is my little place where I can vent frustrations. But more often than not I find myself erasing a lot of my vents, for all kinds of reasons. I'd read them back to myself and think, "woah, kid. Take it easy." Sometimes I'm too self-absorbed. (HA! An actor calling himself self-absorbed. Welcome to redundancy, people.) Sometimes I fly off the handle. Sometimes I just don't want to be so damn negative, so I pull a lot of it down. The few things that stay are usually well reasoned and really reflect my frustrations. When they're directed at someone I know, and if that person happens to be you, please only take extremely small offense. I've probably said it to you before I put it here. Most likely if you keep reading you'll see me write something really nice about you, too. I try to appease the karma.
Current readers, help me out. Am I a prick?
On to the The Crucible...
The first weekend was, honestly, a slight downer. Performances were good. Great, actually. But I never got the idea that our audiences were pulled in by it. The comments that my friends made were sort of positive but never really hit praise. That's fine, I prefer honesty above all else. But I couldn't shake the feeling that we missed it somehow. Maybe we made each little piece so shiny the whole didn't hang together. (Does that even make sense?) Thursday morning's show did nothing to help. Sitting at the front of the house was about sixty 11-13 year olds. I can only imagine what I would have been like having been forced to sit in a chair for an hour and a half at a time to watch subject material that they probably couldn't have cared less about. They got pretty shifty, and there were plenty of conversations I could listen to from the stage. It was a pretty good rehearsal at least.
So we come in Friday night and I don't know if everybody felt it but I definitely sensed as a group we were looking to find that something. That something turned out to be our last three audiences.
They were incredible. I've found that doing a comedy is easy to gauge an audience. If they're laughing, you got em. Drama, though, is way harder to gauge. You have very little cues to tell you if your audience is getting it. Not this weekend. You could hear the tension, the reactions to the absurdity of it all. Those are the moments you keep.
As Hale, I share the final moments of the play on stage with Elizabeth. Those moments are heavy, HEAVY, HEAVY. Sometimes I felt myself manufacturing emotion to get there. (The school show, definitely.) Last weekend, thanks audience, didn't need to do a thing. Also, a huge thanks to Nick, the fella who played John Proctor. Moments I never had to make happen usually centered on him. He played Proctor with such awe-inspiring talent I was honored to have shared the stage with him. With all of them. Anyway, normally, his last moments on stage are for the audience, and for his wife. Last performance, he looked at me for a very small time.
He might as well have kicked me in the chest. Not a whisker of acting there. In my head, "Ah crap, that sonofabee got me. I'm gonna cry like a baby." Crying, open weeping, might or might not have actually happened. And that moment wouldn't leave. I go down to the green room post curtain call and I'm just standing there when Tess, our Mary Warren, comes and gives me this big hug because she watched it from the wings for the first time. I think, "Damn, again."
Awesome cast party. This is a show where with such a big cast (22) usually there's someone in it that you don't click with. Not here. Both on and off stage everyone got along with each other fantastically. Even putting up with me. This experience has been truly, overwhelmingly positive and none of my complaints or qualms are gonna stick with me as long as the gratitude I have towards these people.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Morning comes hard
We're performing The Crucible for a couple of schools tomorrow. At 9:15 am. Call time? 7:45. That isn't even right. Then on with the rest of the run.
We were received well, at least as well as a show like this can be. Family and friends told me, "great performance, too bad we hate The Crucible." Sigh. I guess you can't blame them for that one. It starts off down and takes you on a three hour trip farther downward. There's no light moments. The very few brief ones you can find are instantly crushed by the next line. I guess it's a love it or hate it thing.
One thing I've always hated are matinees. Hate hate hate them. The one saving grace to them is all the senior folks who come out to them. They're always a treat.
The performances themselves were great. Lots of tasty moments on and off stage. Great things I'll remember for years.
I don't want to get up in the morning.
We were received well, at least as well as a show like this can be. Family and friends told me, "great performance, too bad we hate The Crucible." Sigh. I guess you can't blame them for that one. It starts off down and takes you on a three hour trip farther downward. There's no light moments. The very few brief ones you can find are instantly crushed by the next line. I guess it's a love it or hate it thing.
One thing I've always hated are matinees. Hate hate hate them. The one saving grace to them is all the senior folks who come out to them. They're always a treat.
The performances themselves were great. Lots of tasty moments on and off stage. Great things I'll remember for years.
I don't want to get up in the morning.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Opening Night
The thrill of opening night. If you haven't done it, you wouldn't know. If you have, I don't need to describe it to you. I always try to steal a second on stage before the house opens, just a second of quiet.
Last night was exactly the performance I was hoping for. Everybody ramped it up a notch. The audience was smallish, but we were received more than extremely well. I couldn't be happier. At that last moment before the lights die, I knew without a doubt that I am glad, truly, deeply glad, to have been a part of this show.
Now let's hope I don't screw the pooch in the next week and a half.
Last night was exactly the performance I was hoping for. Everybody ramped it up a notch. The audience was smallish, but we were received more than extremely well. I couldn't be happier. At that last moment before the lights die, I knew without a doubt that I am glad, truly, deeply glad, to have been a part of this show.
Now let's hope I don't screw the pooch in the next week and a half.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Friday, March 23, 2007
Chunks
(I have no idea how, but my format goes all screwy when I post pics. Sorry for the mess.)
B and I bullsh^tting betwixt scenes.
I was compelled to read through a bunch of my blog last week. I must apologize to you all. I had no idea there were so many spelling/grammatical errors. I'm something of a tyrant about that. Mostly it's because I type and hit publish as fast as I can when I write entries, fire-and-forget. If I read too much I'll have to edit. If I have to edit, fuggedaboutit, I'll hate it, delete, and then you'll never know what's going on in the life of krt, will you?
So today I went through the whole thing with a big red (metaphorical) pencil and fixed it. I'm sure if you've read it already there is no need to check back. I did this because I have a lot of time on my hands.
I have a lot of time on my hands because I got the dreaded nasty stomach virus. I won't go into all the gory details, but it's been a pretty nasty three days laid out on the couch or bed. Not. A. Good. Time.
Here's some stills from December 31st. That's the one where I met my friend B.
Here we are 'brute-forcing' our way through a scene.
B and I bullsh^tting betwixt scenes.
Cast and director of December 31st.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
My first extra experience
...is blessedly over. I don't know how so many folks put up with so much crap for so long for so little money. Boggles the mind, I tell you.
(Some of you who read this do quite a bit of extra work, I know. Is this similar to your first experiences?)
Of course, I can't tell you what it was for. Suffice to say, it won't be seen in this country. I 'auditioned' for a spot several weeks ago. I didn't hear anything from the casting office, so I figured I wouldn't keep those days blocked off anymore. I got the call Friday that I was 'hand selected' for the shoot Monday night. Balls. This means a huge schedule workaround, favors called in, long work hours, and headaches.
I'm told what wardrobe to bring. Of course, I own none of this stuff, so I have to go shopping. Honestly, if people didn't buy me clothes to wear I'd be the lamest dresser around. I have no concept of clothes other than comfort and covering the naughty bits when littl'uns are around. So I shop.
I'm at work yesterday when I get the call saying that I need more stuff. Great. Oh, that was four hours before I was supposed to be there. Luckily, a friend nearby had some stuff I could use, and I'm off.
Now I'm pretty much expecting that 'hand selected' means 'in the pile' and I wasn't disappointed. There were at least 200 people there. Probably more. Wardrobe checked my other outfit and decided it was 'too wintery.' At least, I thought, the stuff I bought will go to good use.
No one told me it was an outside shoot.
Thank the stars my friend loaned me the 'too wintery' stuff cause when the cameras weren't rolling, it was on. One quick setup right after I arrive then back to holding.
Holding I must talk about. As an extra newbie, I spoke very little, taking it all in. There seemed to be a lot of friends from other shoots there. I didn't know it was a hobby for some folks. Everyone had their 'in' to Hollywood or Broadway, and were just waiting for it to come through. And, I love this part, there seemed to be a loudmouth meatball for every 30 people. I sat for two hours pretending to read a book, listening to this one cat. He was without doubt the most full of sh$t person I have ever heard in my life, and I've heard a lot of bullsh%tters in my day. This guy started off a group conversation, then latched on to anything that was said and was a complete expert on it. In quick retrospect, he pontificated about 300, the original Spartans (He was completely wrong, I know because I've read more about them than just the Wikipedia entry.), Japan's Bushido code (again, horribly wrong), how to make it as an extra, the disadvantages of volunteering, his great success as a standup, how much you should be paid, called out another comic and berated him for not performing in front of us all (not that he did any of his own material) and civil service/emergency services (once again, completely wrong). I wished someone was watching me. I could not read my book because every time his mouth opened, the dumbest thing came out of it, even dumber than the last thing. I was either wide eyed or shaking my head.
But here's what gets me most. The reason he was able to do this for several hours was because...i still can't believe it myself...people were listening to him. REALLY. Like, he held court for two hours and people sat there in thrall as if they came to the Greek forum to listen to Plato or some sh^t. Boggles. The. Mind.
Finally we're called to set. Outside. Basically cheering at a car. For four hours. In the cold. After two hours they started to say we could go back to holding to warm up, but realized a bunch of people were ready to give up on the money and leave, so they decided against it. This was a non union shoot. OUR craft service was a cooler full of water and some assorted chips. THEIR craft service was, well, craft service. Three and a half hours in most of the crew takes a break and gets coffee and tea and pleasurably sips at it right in front of us. Bastards. Those four hours I had to stand in a group of meatballs who felt that apparently the dumbest thing to say was the perfect thing to shout. Sigh.
We finished around 1:30 am. I get lost in Boston, get pulled over because apparently being lost looks like you're drunk. Sweet talk not one but two state troopers out of a ticket and head home. Thank god for rumble strips. Bed: 4am.
I'm not so sure if I like extra work. I'm not so sure I like this casting office, especially after finding out that the money we're actually getting is less than half the money announced at the audition.
Hmmm...union?
(Some of you who read this do quite a bit of extra work, I know. Is this similar to your first experiences?)
Of course, I can't tell you what it was for. Suffice to say, it won't be seen in this country. I 'auditioned' for a spot several weeks ago. I didn't hear anything from the casting office, so I figured I wouldn't keep those days blocked off anymore. I got the call Friday that I was 'hand selected' for the shoot Monday night. Balls. This means a huge schedule workaround, favors called in, long work hours, and headaches.
I'm told what wardrobe to bring. Of course, I own none of this stuff, so I have to go shopping. Honestly, if people didn't buy me clothes to wear I'd be the lamest dresser around. I have no concept of clothes other than comfort and covering the naughty bits when littl'uns are around. So I shop.
I'm at work yesterday when I get the call saying that I need more stuff. Great. Oh, that was four hours before I was supposed to be there. Luckily, a friend nearby had some stuff I could use, and I'm off.
Now I'm pretty much expecting that 'hand selected' means 'in the pile' and I wasn't disappointed. There were at least 200 people there. Probably more. Wardrobe checked my other outfit and decided it was 'too wintery.' At least, I thought, the stuff I bought will go to good use.
No one told me it was an outside shoot.
Thank the stars my friend loaned me the 'too wintery' stuff cause when the cameras weren't rolling, it was on. One quick setup right after I arrive then back to holding.
Holding I must talk about. As an extra newbie, I spoke very little, taking it all in. There seemed to be a lot of friends from other shoots there. I didn't know it was a hobby for some folks. Everyone had their 'in' to Hollywood or Broadway, and were just waiting for it to come through. And, I love this part, there seemed to be a loudmouth meatball for every 30 people. I sat for two hours pretending to read a book, listening to this one cat. He was without doubt the most full of sh$t person I have ever heard in my life, and I've heard a lot of bullsh%tters in my day. This guy started off a group conversation, then latched on to anything that was said and was a complete expert on it. In quick retrospect, he pontificated about 300, the original Spartans (He was completely wrong, I know because I've read more about them than just the Wikipedia entry.), Japan's Bushido code (again, horribly wrong), how to make it as an extra, the disadvantages of volunteering, his great success as a standup, how much you should be paid, called out another comic and berated him for not performing in front of us all (not that he did any of his own material) and civil service/emergency services (once again, completely wrong). I wished someone was watching me. I could not read my book because every time his mouth opened, the dumbest thing came out of it, even dumber than the last thing. I was either wide eyed or shaking my head.
But here's what gets me most. The reason he was able to do this for several hours was because...i still can't believe it myself...people were listening to him. REALLY. Like, he held court for two hours and people sat there in thrall as if they came to the Greek forum to listen to Plato or some sh^t. Boggles. The. Mind.
Finally we're called to set. Outside. Basically cheering at a car. For four hours. In the cold. After two hours they started to say we could go back to holding to warm up, but realized a bunch of people were ready to give up on the money and leave, so they decided against it. This was a non union shoot. OUR craft service was a cooler full of water and some assorted chips. THEIR craft service was, well, craft service. Three and a half hours in most of the crew takes a break and gets coffee and tea and pleasurably sips at it right in front of us. Bastards. Those four hours I had to stand in a group of meatballs who felt that apparently the dumbest thing to say was the perfect thing to shout. Sigh.
We finished around 1:30 am. I get lost in Boston, get pulled over because apparently being lost looks like you're drunk. Sweet talk not one but two state troopers out of a ticket and head home. Thank god for rumble strips. Bed: 4am.
I'm not so sure if I like extra work. I'm not so sure I like this casting office, especially after finding out that the money we're actually getting is less than half the money announced at the audition.
Hmmm...union?
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Sunday, March 11, 2007
There's always one...
Isn't it awesome when you wake up early, ready for the day ahead? You know, early enough to get a bunch of stuff done. Have an extra cup of coffee. Don't pay attention to that little worry that you've forgotten something important. The clock says you're just fine. Isn't it awesome when the realization that it's SPRING F&#%ING AHEAD time kind of sinks over you like someone cracked an egg on your head? Yeah, today, I was that guy.
I saw 300 yesterday. I've been waiting for this to come out since I heard about it way back in October. Not only is it one of the most ultimate-badass stories of all time, Zack Snyder directed it. I'm growing to love his work.
I'm excited to say this flick absolutely gave me everything I wanted. Great drama, awesome action. (I was not there for the oiled-mostly-naked dudes thing.) Oscar-worthy? No. This is a highly stylized movie. Nothing is left for granted. Almost every shot is some kind of effect shot. I know some people think it's overkill, but I for one loved it. It was a great action movie sandwich that I greedily ate every bite of.
Can't wait for Hot Fuzz.
The Crucible still proves to be great fun. Just so everyone knows, I am having immense fun and I'm being fulfilled in my 'serious' drama quota. I just crack funny all the time at rehearsal cause, um, that's what I do. Funny stuff appears in front of me all the time. I just seem to be the only one who notices.
Case in point. There's a line in the show that goes something like, "she screamed a scream that a bull would weep to hear." (Now, so you know, there is absolutely NO way for you to get the full impact of my interpretation without me standing in front of you to give you the sound effets.) The second time I heard it I had to bend down and put my hands on my knees to get my breath back. That's how hard I was laughing. Seriously. When put upon for an explanation I had to describe what I just saw in the theater of the mind. Picture an attractive young girl standing in the middle of a cow pasture. (This is the actual girl in our show, so you can't REALLY picture her until I post something up here.) Honking. That's the only word I can use to describe the sound that comes to my mind. Off in the corner of the pasture are two giant bulls, horns, nose rings and all, crying quietly. One bull wipes a tear out of the corner of his eye saying, "oh man, that takes me back." For some reason during rehearsals this kind of thing springs to my mind EVERY THREE SECONDS.
Mind you, these are all blocking rehearsals. I hate them. They're necessary, but so is proctology and I don't know anyone who's marked on their calendar "proctology appointment" and put a smiley face next to it. So to ease the pain, I am the laughing gas.
I'd also like to say that this is a phenomenally well cast show. It's never easy to cast well in community theater. Lately it seems even harder around here. This show, everyone is doing super well in their roles. Originally I was mildly disappointed not to get the lead, but the more I watch the cast the more I realize I am exactly where I need to be, and maybe I was just caught up in the "gotta get the lead" race. Which is stupid.
Oh yeah, you can find information about our performances here. So if you're in the neighborhood of Western Massachusetts in April, come see a great show.
Almost finished reading Contact. I loved the movie, but man, did they get it wrong. I watched it recently to make sure and yeah, they got it wrong.
I saw 300 yesterday. I've been waiting for this to come out since I heard about it way back in October. Not only is it one of the most ultimate-badass stories of all time, Zack Snyder directed it. I'm growing to love his work.
I'm excited to say this flick absolutely gave me everything I wanted. Great drama, awesome action. (I was not there for the oiled-mostly-naked dudes thing.) Oscar-worthy? No. This is a highly stylized movie. Nothing is left for granted. Almost every shot is some kind of effect shot. I know some people think it's overkill, but I for one loved it. It was a great action movie sandwich that I greedily ate every bite of.
Can't wait for Hot Fuzz.
The Crucible still proves to be great fun. Just so everyone knows, I am having immense fun and I'm being fulfilled in my 'serious' drama quota. I just crack funny all the time at rehearsal cause, um, that's what I do. Funny stuff appears in front of me all the time. I just seem to be the only one who notices.
Case in point. There's a line in the show that goes something like, "she screamed a scream that a bull would weep to hear." (Now, so you know, there is absolutely NO way for you to get the full impact of my interpretation without me standing in front of you to give you the sound effets.) The second time I heard it I had to bend down and put my hands on my knees to get my breath back. That's how hard I was laughing. Seriously. When put upon for an explanation I had to describe what I just saw in the theater of the mind. Picture an attractive young girl standing in the middle of a cow pasture. (This is the actual girl in our show, so you can't REALLY picture her until I post something up here.) Honking. That's the only word I can use to describe the sound that comes to my mind. Off in the corner of the pasture are two giant bulls, horns, nose rings and all, crying quietly. One bull wipes a tear out of the corner of his eye saying, "oh man, that takes me back." For some reason during rehearsals this kind of thing springs to my mind EVERY THREE SECONDS.
Mind you, these are all blocking rehearsals. I hate them. They're necessary, but so is proctology and I don't know anyone who's marked on their calendar "proctology appointment" and put a smiley face next to it. So to ease the pain, I am the laughing gas.
I'd also like to say that this is a phenomenally well cast show. It's never easy to cast well in community theater. Lately it seems even harder around here. This show, everyone is doing super well in their roles. Originally I was mildly disappointed not to get the lead, but the more I watch the cast the more I realize I am exactly where I need to be, and maybe I was just caught up in the "gotta get the lead" race. Which is stupid.
Oh yeah, you can find information about our performances here. So if you're in the neighborhood of Western Massachusetts in April, come see a great show.
Almost finished reading Contact. I loved the movie, but man, did they get it wrong. I watched it recently to make sure and yeah, they got it wrong.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Random randomness
I have to remind myself to update this thing more often. It's kind of hypocritical of me to go bullshit over someone else leaving their blog neglected when I can't be bothered to update my own.
So, for the both of you who are reading...
I recently updated my recording hardware. I got this. It's a smaller hardware version of the stuff I used to use, but insanely more robust software. ProTools. Pretty much the standard for computer based music production. (Please, no flame wars, everybody has their own opinion.) The learning curve this time around has been incredible. So much stuff.
So, yeah, I'm kind of a musician. Not like professional or anything. Haven't been in a band in years, but I love writing my own stuff and don't really care if no one ever hears it. So I'm willing to fork over a ton of cash for all these expensive toys.
Of course, I should also be working on more of the seven other projects I have going on.
The Crucible is going well. Fairly soon the off book stuff will start to come around. Mostly I'm still trying to turn it into a one-man comedy show. Many thanks to the extraordinary patience of the cast and director for not killing me. Sometimes the shit that bubbles up to the surface I just can't keep in. (In my mind, apparently, witch hunts are hilarious.)
I was tapped to run a camera for a training video for some corporate thing. I learned several things:
A) running a live camera is BORING. I'd much rather shoot a narrative.
B) corporate America pays a lot of money to send people to seminars so they can learn the obvious.
C) beer is so much better after spending a day shooting boring talkin-bout-nuthin all day long.
Overheard in a bar last night, "Dear broccoli, why do you look like a cartoon fart?" I totally heard that. I wanted to check and see if I was mistaken, maybe I just heard it wrong. I was getting out of my seat to inquire about the accuracy of my hearing when I realized I didn't WANT to know if I heard it wrong. And really, what kind of an explanation can you get that justifies a statement like that? No, I thought, better leave it alone. I'd rather sit here and contemplate, muse, and wonder about broccoli lookin like...well, you know, than hear that it was something innocuous.
Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny. Hm. I liked the HBO special better. But the extras are totally worth the price.
So, for the both of you who are reading...
I recently updated my recording hardware. I got this. It's a smaller hardware version of the stuff I used to use, but insanely more robust software. ProTools. Pretty much the standard for computer based music production. (Please, no flame wars, everybody has their own opinion.) The learning curve this time around has been incredible. So much stuff.
So, yeah, I'm kind of a musician. Not like professional or anything. Haven't been in a band in years, but I love writing my own stuff and don't really care if no one ever hears it. So I'm willing to fork over a ton of cash for all these expensive toys.
Of course, I should also be working on more of the seven other projects I have going on.
The Crucible is going well. Fairly soon the off book stuff will start to come around. Mostly I'm still trying to turn it into a one-man comedy show. Many thanks to the extraordinary patience of the cast and director for not killing me. Sometimes the shit that bubbles up to the surface I just can't keep in. (In my mind, apparently, witch hunts are hilarious.)
I was tapped to run a camera for a training video for some corporate thing. I learned several things:
A) running a live camera is BORING. I'd much rather shoot a narrative.
B) corporate America pays a lot of money to send people to seminars so they can learn the obvious.
C) beer is so much better after spending a day shooting boring talkin-bout-nuthin all day long.
Overheard in a bar last night, "Dear broccoli, why do you look like a cartoon fart?" I totally heard that. I wanted to check and see if I was mistaken, maybe I just heard it wrong. I was getting out of my seat to inquire about the accuracy of my hearing when I realized I didn't WANT to know if I heard it wrong. And really, what kind of an explanation can you get that justifies a statement like that? No, I thought, better leave it alone. I'd rather sit here and contemplate, muse, and wonder about broccoli lookin like...well, you know, than hear that it was something innocuous.
Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny. Hm. I liked the HBO special better. But the extras are totally worth the price.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Sorry it's been so long
It's taken a while for anything of real interest to happen. I don't want to post just for the sake of posting, but I was given a verbal beating by a reader for not updating frequently enough. Hopefully this will assuage the thirsty readers.
The Crucible has been going well. By going well I mean we've finally completed basic blocking. When I think about blocking a show I wonder if I might have more fun sticking a pencil in my eye whilst pondering the latest fashions in eye-patches than have to block another damn show. I know it must be done, like the dentist, but I dread both equally. My survival technique has been to turn The Crucible into a one man comedy show.
Oh yes, it can be done. Much to the consternation of some castmates, but sorry, I can't even think about character and acting when we have to stop every line. Just give me the basic movements and let's get on with it, dig?
I've noticed a change in my style a bit. Assuming that a) I actually had a style before and b)there is evidence of a style now. A couple months ago I read How to Stop Acting by Michael Shurtleff. I took a lot of it to heart. I also take every acting method I learn about with a grain of salt. It seems like each one I learn about ends up at some point telling you that The Process is more important than The Product. I'm really not into zealotry of just about any kind, so when I read that it doesn't matter if the audience doesn't get it as long as it's true I go a little fuzzy. But I take something from each book I read. This one helped me free myself up from too much thinking, which is a habit I have. I read this book right before I really got busy with doing film, and it really helped me to be in the moment when we were shooting, especially when it was hectic. It seems that it's influenced my stage acting as well. Where I usually was rehearsing for the perfect delivery each time, now I'm goin with what my gut's telling me, reacting not to what my brain tells me is my character's arc, just doing it and letting the audience piece it together. It's wonderfully freeing.
Sorry about the rant. If it even made sense.
Got cast in another movie. This one's UConn based and I'm pretty psyched for it, but the shoot is a couple months off. This is another audition I totally nailed when I was so sick with the flu I could barely stand. I'm sensing a pattern. I also got a call from someone I've never heard of who was given my number to see if I could fill a last minute role. Unfortunately I was unavailable for it, but hey, it proves the point, be nice to everybody, cause you never know when it'll pay off. Feed your karma.
The Crucible has been going well. By going well I mean we've finally completed basic blocking. When I think about blocking a show I wonder if I might have more fun sticking a pencil in my eye whilst pondering the latest fashions in eye-patches than have to block another damn show. I know it must be done, like the dentist, but I dread both equally. My survival technique has been to turn The Crucible into a one man comedy show.
Oh yes, it can be done. Much to the consternation of some castmates, but sorry, I can't even think about character and acting when we have to stop every line. Just give me the basic movements and let's get on with it, dig?
I've noticed a change in my style a bit. Assuming that a) I actually had a style before and b)there is evidence of a style now. A couple months ago I read How to Stop Acting by Michael Shurtleff. I took a lot of it to heart. I also take every acting method I learn about with a grain of salt. It seems like each one I learn about ends up at some point telling you that The Process is more important than The Product. I'm really not into zealotry of just about any kind, so when I read that it doesn't matter if the audience doesn't get it as long as it's true I go a little fuzzy. But I take something from each book I read. This one helped me free myself up from too much thinking, which is a habit I have. I read this book right before I really got busy with doing film, and it really helped me to be in the moment when we were shooting, especially when it was hectic. It seems that it's influenced my stage acting as well. Where I usually was rehearsing for the perfect delivery each time, now I'm goin with what my gut's telling me, reacting not to what my brain tells me is my character's arc, just doing it and letting the audience piece it together. It's wonderfully freeing.
Sorry about the rant. If it even made sense.
Got cast in another movie. This one's UConn based and I'm pretty psyched for it, but the shoot is a couple months off. This is another audition I totally nailed when I was so sick with the flu I could barely stand. I'm sensing a pattern. I also got a call from someone I've never heard of who was given my number to see if I could fill a last minute role. Unfortunately I was unavailable for it, but hey, it proves the point, be nice to everybody, cause you never know when it'll pay off. Feed your karma.
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