I updated my bio/"About Me" section of the site (the old one was bugging me). Check it out here:

• Adam Creighton was raised by llamas

Also, I saw that my Official Website is now included in my IMDb listing:

• IMDb: Adam Creighton

It was a good shoot this weekend for a neat "something" project, Where's Claire.

As an actor, it let me do some things I haven't before -- green screen and 360-degree camera. These things are really challenging, a lot of fun, and I'm antsy to see the final project.

Even better were the folks with whom I got to work.

Barbara Hendricks (KLG/Jade) is amazing. She's got vision, and can see the very untraditional finished projects in her head. She's one of those people who makes things "come together in post" (as opposed to trying to "fix it in post").

Leon Rodriquez (Blue Hill Cinema) is a fantastic DP (and director in his own right), and so freaking talented and pleasant to work with and around. He works his tail off on his own and other projects, and I so want him to hit it big, soon.

Chad Furrow is the sound guy to hire for anyone needing sound work. Professional, focused, low-key and funny, this is the second time I've worked with Chad, and again had a good experience.

I had a new makeup person, Kaye (I'm probably misspelling her name), who was fascinating and sooo good. She's taught cosmotology and health for 30 years at the university level in Europe, and did holistic-related training in China for two years. She knows a massive amount about everything from skin care and theatrical makeup to the history of clothing and cosmetics -- and also had a great attitude.

I worked with Claire again. She's a seventh grader getting an early start on a strong acting career (if she decides to go that way).

I was also able to work with two actresses with whom I hadn't had the previous pleasure: Jennifer Blair and Jenny Taylor -- be sure to check out Jenny's Website.

Read the previous posts for the reverse chronology blow-by-blow.

A great, very rewarding weekend. I'm beat, but there's more to do ...

Scene 3 -- B, sound, and wrap!

OK, it was Scene 3B.

Then we captured sound of my footsteps, and it's a wrap!

Good day ...

Scene 2 (and 4)

We just finished Scene 2 (and kind of 4b-ish).

Scene ... uh ... Scene 3?
------------------------------------
Adam Creighton
Voice & Film Actor
www.adamcreighton.com

Represented by
Collier Talent Agency
www.colliertalent.com

Scenes 2 & 3!

We just knocked out scenes 2 and 3 (a & b)!

Move camera, move on ...

Lunch is over ...

Lunch is over ... Now we're on to a 360 shoot for scene one, then some HD
shots.

Suh-weet ...

Oh, and good lunch break. Shot the breeze (on film and life) with Leon
Rodriguez, and got some good specific feedback about me. Dude rocks, and is
pleasant to work with.

Scenes 5

We just finished shooting scene 5 for "Where's Claudia"!

Lunch!

We haven't started yet ...

It's just after 11:45 a.m., and we haven't started shooting scenes for
"Where's Claudia" yet.

No fault of the crew -- this 360 camera is INCREDIBLY picky on lighting and
resolution.

Ooh -- The last person just went to make-up. We're on in 10 ...

Tonight was the first night of shooting for Where's Claire (we did the table read last night).

It was a quick, well-run shoot (the other folks had been working all day, but my call time wasn't until 5:15 p.m.), and I'm pretty stoked.

This project lets me do two things actors don't get to do a lot of -- green screen, and 360-degree camera. There are unique challenges and techniques to both, and I like being stretched.

And I get to work with the KLG/Jade and Blue Hill Cinema folks again, along with talent people like sound dude Chad Furrow (this guy is so good and graceful and professional).

Anyway, tomorrow is the 14-hour shoot. So that may suck.

But for now, I'm pretty excited.

"Do you like to build people, or do you like to build things?"

That question, asked by Craig Fryar of Online Alchemy, was the biggest thing that struck me from today's "Austin Video Game Industry" conference.

I know the answer to that.

I like to build people.

It's why I manage. It's why I act. It's why I game with other people.

I decided kind of last minute to go, and there's more I got out of the brief conference/workshop (I'm skipping the latter part of it), but I'll write about that separately in my video game blog.

I had a table read tonight for this weekend's film project, Where's Claire.

This is an innovative, intriguing project, and gives the chance to play a couple of extremes, and is sort of related to my video game interests.

Plus, it's with a bunch of the folks with whom I worked on the Austin Film Festival competition trailer, Write of Passage.

I had an audition for a Miller High Life commercial today.

The audition -- and the opportunity -- are interesting, because it was a "show up, get a snapshot, go back to work" kind of audition.

Thing is, it's a SAG National commercial. By default, people who make it are going to be extras for the commercial. Not a great rate for investing a day of shooting.

But, if anyone from the one-day shoot is "recognizable" as an individual, we're automatically upgraded to the SAG National commercial Principal scale -- cha-ching!

More important to me, this is probably another Errol Morris commercial -- and I'd like to get plugged in to projects done by Mr. Morris.

Once again, here's hoping ...

Getting caught up on videos

I think I'm getting sick. Seriously sick, but I'm hoping it's just a 24-hour bug (I'm an optomist).

since I can't be upright for than a few minutes, and closing my eyes makes me feel like I'm on the blind version of the Teacups ride at Disneyland, I'm getting caught up on videos.

Tonight, I've watched bits from Veggie Tales: The Lord of the Beans (I like their mix of satire and homage); The Big O (first series); Rollergirls (my new, locally inspired reality series guilty pleasure); X-Men (90s cartoon); video game footage; and the 1990s Fantastic Four cartoon series (Oh, Sweet Mercy, who let this thing air? Most. Nauseating. Theme song. Ever. The thing has moments of heart, but the writing and animation were tough to stomache; I seriously stopped halfway through).

Man, I hate being sick ...

I'm fascinated by the acting process.

A few days ago, I mentioned my agent got me an audition for a video game company.

I didn't sign an NDA with the company, but I make it a habit not to inappropriately blab any details a potential or actual client hasn't told me I could.

Just know they're casting now, the Xbox 360 is out, and the PlayStation 3 is coming (someday). Hmm ...

The particular role for which I auditioned was the "Bombardier". (Before you start complaining about YAMG (Yet Another Military Game), remember Call of Duty 2 owns 75% of new Xbox 360 owners, and the title showed console and PC owners there's still room for compelling offerings in the genre. Besides, the game audition occurred in a specific setting I haven't seen done yet).

Anyway, this isn't about that -- this is about me trying to figure out my acting process. It's kind of like the Johnny Depp find-pieces-that-work-for-me-for-each-process-and-methodology-I-explore. And explore a lot.

So what was the process?

It was the character description. It was all of the other character descriptions, which told me loads about me, gave me pegs for hanging choices about my character and my place in the pecking order and the way I could run interactions.

There was me going all Memphis Belle on the script, because I'm so keen on the film, the B-17 Flying Fortress, and that portrayal of a bombardier.

I also did my typical several pages of character worksheets, figuring out my wants and needs, codes of conduct, stakes, choices, and a couple dozen other things important to me (and therefore, any character I channel). These scripts are hybrid of stuff I've learned from my film coach Van Brooks, my longtime voice coach Lainie Frasier, and my standby voice acting tome, The Art of Voice Acting, written by James Alburger (with whom I recently started studying).

I even found an aviator's dictionary, so I could break down the air force acronyms and their importance as used in the script.

Then there was the script itself. I re-wrote to the lines -- mine and everybody else's -- to put them in a whole new place in my head.

I pulled all sorts of details -- like the updated, specific model of the plane -- from the script. I researched things like that; its particular strengths and weaknesses, and what it would mean if those were compromised, and how scary that would be to the crew.

I wood shopped all of that info up through the night before the audition, then put it away.

The day of the audition, I borrowed a bomber jacket from a guy who served in the air force. I showed up for the audition with the game's creative director and the casting director, and the former said, "perfect jacket."

Look the part. Be the part.

A lot of work? Hell yeah. Worth it? Hell yeah!

I enjoyed the audition. I feel good about it.

I may not get it. Maybe they won't like my sound. Maybe they won't like my look (seriously, voice talent lose gigs for looks). Maybe I had an off day. Maybe they think I tried to hard. Maybe I over prepared.

Maybe I will get it.

Doesn't matter. Like a small business owner who has got to at least put in the effort to draft an initial business plan, for me -- where I am now -- I need to do this much homework, knowing I may not get the part.

And the process, the playing, is hard. Really hard. But it's rewarding.

And that's my current acting process, which I'm still trying to figure out.

Who knows -- I may actually get the gig.

Ooh -- Fog lights!

License plate heartburn.

For acting, I find it important to study different types of people.

In the past in this blog, I've mentioned early morning Day After Thanksgiving Shopping as a fantastic opportunity to observe different personality types in semi-extreme situations. But I hate getting up that early in the morning.

This weekend, I found another venue for character study -- gun shops.

The particular store I visited Saturday (McBride's Guns Inc.), was absolutely slammed (evidently there was a minor gun show in town), providing a large variety of people.

Like most gun shops, there was actually a dearth of "stereotypical rednecks" -- but they were there... and entertaining.

There were also business people; Joe Average (and his 10-year-old, General-Jake); and more interesting characters.

There was a guy that looked like a chicano version of one of the goth kids from my high school.

There was a rockstar who was on his mobile telling a friend from out of town he couldn't hook up with him because he had two parties that night, and was currently at the gun shop "playing with guns", while talking to a salesman about buying a $2,000 reproduction 1800s six-shooter, while he popped the cylindar in and out while mashing lips with his girlfriend (dude was talented, if irritating).

There was even an understated, black-trenchcoated counter-culture looking guy, with facial hair, long black hair, tiny black glasses, and looking at the gun we'd come to check out -- a Heckler and Koch (HK) Universal Self-Loading Pistol (USP) Tactical handgun.

Nice gun.

And remember, guns don't kill people. Bullets kill people.

Unless you're pistol-whipped to death. Then, technically, the gun killed you ...

Coolness ...

Ah, tonight it's actually a bit cold for around here -- below 30, and
hanging out on my back porch is an enjoyably brisk reminder of my
aliveness.

I'm sweating. I want winter.

I'm sweating. I want winter.

I was stoked that it was going to be cooler in Austin today -- 30s and 40s
during the day, as opposed to the 80s of earlier this week.

I'm wearing jeans and a favorite, ancient, worn, super heavy Eddie Bauer
sweater (from before they went over-priced yuppie teeney bopper).

Yeah, it's 30-something, but without wind, turns out that's not cold enough
for this Idaho Boy.

*Sigh*

I freaking want real winter weather.

I made some updates to my professional acting resume.

I added a credit for my voice and on-camera work for "Write of Passage", added my current "Art of Voice Acting" training from James Alburger and Penny Abshire (The Commercial Clinic), and added "firearms" under my "Special Talents" -- since I know how to use 'em, and a recent casting call to which I responded required that kind of skill set (and I realized I didn't have it on my resume).

Check it out here ...

My agent rocks (VG VO audition) ...

My agent so rocks!

Now, I understand the need for each actor to extol the virtues of their respective agent, but ...

My. Agent. Rocks.

Why?

Because instead of being "just" representation, she's a Partner. And she's a Closer.

I've been keeping tabs on a game company in Austin, because I keep tabs on all game companies in Austin (I like to do voice over for video games). But this particular game company impressed me with their Website, their growth, their completing a game amidst tragedy, etc.

I bought their games. I sent Emails to the general inbox introducing myself.

Then, a friend tells me about a casting call for video game voice over work. I check it out, and it's this company. I hit up the Casting Director, and let her know I'm interested.

I call my agent, and give her all the details. She'd been chatting with this particular Casting Director all week, and she gets me an audition.

Gets. Me. An Audition.

Partner.

Having an agent doesn't mean I get to stop hustling. But having the agent I have lets me bring stuff to the table, and know it won't get ignored.

Once I get to the audition, it's up to me (and the preference of the casting folks).

More about the actual audition in a separate post, but regardless, remember:

My. Agent. Rocks.

I send Valentines to men.

Oh, I send them to women, too, but nobody makes an issue out of that.

I send postcards to current and prospective Biz clients several times a year. It lets me touch base, stay on their radar, and (frankly) gives me an excuse to play.

So here's the postcard I sent this St. Valentine's Day to men (and women):



Honestly, nobody should be jealous about not getting one of these...

Postal.

Someone who has been hassling me mercilously about the inanity of this Marvel "Mighty Beanz" ... fixation ... bought me 10 more packages from Walgreens (do these things breed over there or something?).

Bought. Them. For. Me.

You don't buy hummingbird food for a diabetic, folks.

That said, I only need 2 Beanz! "Rare" Beanz Colossus and Dr. Doom.

See the below for the history, and further down to see if I met my goal.

Sordid History:

• Start of the addiction
• "I may have a problem"
• Round 3

And here's the break down of this set:

• Package #42 (Annihilus (repeat #5), Super Skrull (repeat #3, Rare), Bulleye (repeat #3, Uncommon), Iceman (repeat #3), Skrull (repeat #7; I'm building a Skrull army -- watch out, Kree!))
• Package #43 (Colussus! (Rare; X-Men are done!), Bulleye (repeat #4, Uncommon), Kang (repeat #4); Sabretooth (repeat #5), Octopus (repeat #6))
• Package #44 (Magneto (repeat #4, Uncommon), Invisible Woman (repeat #5), Black Bolt (repeat #3, Rare), Beast (repeat #7), Professor X (repeat #6))
• Package #45 (Red Skull (repeat #6, Uncommon); Black Cat (repeat #5, Rare), Professor X (repeat #7), Beast (repeat #8), Invisible Woman (repeat #6))
• Package #46 (Mystique (repeat #3, Uncommon), Octopus (repeat #7), Beast (repeat #9), Dr. Strange (repeat #4, Rare), Iron Man (repeat #5; I noticed earlier the detail on this Beanz -- it even has the shine usually depicted on ol' Shell Head's noggin!))
• Package #47 (Black Bolt (repeat #4, Rare), Giant Man (repeat #7), Invisible Woman (repeat #7), Absorbing Man (repeat #6), Green Goblin (repeat #3, Uncommon))
• Package #48 ((Nightcrawler (Rare; I'd say -- 2 in 48 packages/240 Beanz!), Octopus (repeat #8), Wasp (repeat #2), Mystique (repeat #4, Uncommon), Beast (repeat #10))
• Package #49 (Giant Man (repeat #8), Black Cat (repeat #6, Rare), Peter Parker (repeat #5, Uncommon), Invisible Woman (repeat #8), Mystique (repeat #5, Uncommon))
• Package #50 (Ultron (repeat #2, Rare), Mary Jane (repeat #3, Uncommon), Thing (repeat #6, Uncommon), Jean Grey (repeat #5), Daredevil (repeat #4))
• Package #51 (Spider-Man II (repeat #1, black costume, Rare; 2 in 51 packages/255 Beanz!), Mystique (repeat #6, Uncommon), Captain America (repeat #2, Common), Cyclops (repeat #8), Mary Jane (repeat #4, Uncommon; y'know, even the Mighty Beanz version of MJ is hot ...)

I only got one of my two needed Beanz in this set.

Dr. Doom, where are you?

Right. I have a recent fixation with these Marvel "Mighty Beanz".

• Start of the addiction
• "I may have a problem"

I was short 4 Beanz, so I Walgreens and bought a few (15) more packages.

keep in mind I only needed 4 Beanz!

And here's how it netted out:

• Package #27 (All repeats: Jean Grey (repeat #2), Spider-Man (repeat #3), Hawkeye (repeat #1, Uncommon), Peter Parker (repeat #3, Uncommon), DeathStrike (repeat #3)
• Package #28 (Human Torch! (Uncommon, just Dr. Doom to finish the FF set!), Professor X (repeat #5), Dr. Strange (repeat #2, Rare), Red Skull (repeat #2, Uncommon), Skrull (repeat #4))
• Package #29 (Iron Man (repeat #2), Dr. Octopus (repeat #4), Wolverine (repeat #1, Uncommon, yellow duds), Magneto (repeat #3, Uncommon), Black Bolt (repeat #1, Rare)
• Package #30 (Spider-Man (repeat #4), Absorbing Man (repeat #4), Luke Cage (repeat #1, Uncommon), Wolverine II (repeat #1, brown costume, rare), Cyclops (repeat #4))
• Package #31 (Invisible Woman (repeat #3), Iceman (repeat #2), Annihilus (repeat #3), Bulleye (repeat #2, Uncommon), Elektra (repeat #2, Rare; cool to have Bullseye and Elektra in the same package!))
• Package #32 (Skrull (repeat #5), Super Skrull (repeat #1, Rare; cool to have both Skrulls in one package), Thor (repeat #2), Cyclops (repeat #5), Kang (repeat #3))
• Package #33 (Jean Grey (repeat #3), Daredevil (repeat #2), Scarlet Witch (repeat #2), Venom (repeat #2), Human Torch (repeat #1, Uncommon))
• Package #34 (Invisible Woman (repeat #4), Hawkeye (repeat #2, Uncommon), Super Skrull (repeat #2, Rare), Annihilus (repeat #4), Jean Grey (repeat #4))
• Package #35 (Human Torch (repeat #2, Uncommon; oh, now he shows up a bunch!), Daredevil (repeat #3), Gambit (repeat #2, Rare), Vision (repeat #2), Giant Man (repeat #5))
• Package #36 (Iron Man (repeat #3), Dr. Strange (repeat #3, Rare), Absorbing Man (repeat #5), Black Panther (repeat #3), Skrull (repeat #6))
• Package #37 (Thing (repeat #4, Uncommon), Cyclops (repeat #6), Phoenix (repeat #1 Rare; actually rare -- 2 in 37 packages/185 Beanz!), Mary Jane (repeat #2, Uncommon; ditto!), Captain America (repeat #1; supposedly Common, but double ditto!))
• Package #38 (Nightcrawler! Rare! Only Colossus left!), Red Skull (repeat #3, Uncommon), Beast (repeat #5), Giant Man (repeat #6), Mr. Fantastic (repeat #2))
• Package #39 (Wasp (repeat #1), Mr. Fantastic (repeat #3), Peter Parker (repeat #4, Uncommon), Red Skull (repeat #4, Uncommon), Ultron (repeat #1, Rare))
• Package #40 (Iron Man (repeat #4), Dr. Octopus (repeat #5), Beast (repeat #6), Black Bolt (repeat #2, Rare), Red Skull (repeat #5, Uncommon))
• Package #41 (Last package in this set! Fingers crossed! Hulk (repeat #6), Thing (repeat #5, Uncommon), Cyclops (repeat #7), Black Panther (repeat #4), Wolverine II (repeat #2, brown costume, rare))

Yes, that's 41 packages total, but in my defense, they're only 59-cents a pack, rather than the $6 a pack. Right, not much of a defense.

After all this, I'm still left with 2 missing Beanz: Two (apparently genuine) Rares (Colossus and Dr. Doom, which would finish the X-Men and Fantastic Four sets, respectively).

So, yes, for those keeping score at home:

• Packages bought to date: 41
• Total Mighty Beanz acquired: 405
• Amount spent: $26.05
• Beanz needed before today's set: 4
• Beanz acquired from today's set: 2
• Beanz still needed: 2! Freakin' 2!
• What these things are good for: I still have no idea ...

Someone should probably do an intervention.

I haven't done a Loki update for a while.

For those non-regular readers, here's the quick history -- Loki is my dog, she is sick, I thought she was going to die, and she's "not dead yet."

Loki seems to be doing better now. She's stronger, her tail wags like mad all the time (when she's outside of her crate), and she's got enough strength to be disobedient.

She's had a few trips since my last post -- A bone marrow aspirate visit, which seems to show she does not have cancer (good news/bad news, since they still don't know what she actually has); an emergency trip to re-sew her up after her stitches dissolved from her splenectomy, but before her stomach healed (hey, I'm no veterinarian, but if you're giving a dog a ton of meds you know slow the healing process, might you want to use heavier gauge stitching? She has staples now); and a couple of surgical ophthalmologist visits to sew up and then unsew her third eyelid on her infected left eye (yes, I learned dogs have a third eyelid on each eye; they also have 4 tear ducts; Oh Evolutionist, why did we lose ours?).

She's still blind (I could be her seeing-eye human for up to a year, assuming she ever gets her sight back), but my current worry is Loki's only doing better because she's on a ton of medications. A ton of expensive-ass medications.

No, money alone is not a factor in my decisions about Loki, but let's just say I've put nearly as much into her as I recently put into having my house foundation leveled. And I feel an obligation to be good steward with what I've been given.

And Loki didn't get anything cool out of it. Like lasers. Or an anti-cat rocket tail. Or hydraulic, super-powered jumping legs.

"We can rebuild her."

For a slightly longer history, check out previous posts:

• My dog is sick
• I just got back from visiting my dog at the emergency clinic.
• Loki update.
• Loki Girl is home.
• I took my dog to another specialist today ...
• Another day, another emergency vet trip.

"Two actors walked into a bar -- which is stupid, because the second one should have seen it, and should really have been doing his own thing, anyway."

Yesterday was a good day.

Within the space of 12 hours, I auditioned for a print ad (Dell), had my weekly voice acting class with "on mic" time and coaching (a la The Commercial Clinic), received an unsolicited script and a request to audition for the lead role (which I need to wait to review until after I finish reviewing another script that was dropped in my lap this week), had dinner and hung out with a good buddy who also happens to be a talented actor, then went home and did thank you cards for recent Biz contacts.

Yesterday was a good day.

Come to think of it, every day is a good day. Sometimes, the events in between waking and sleeping suck or rock, but that doesn't change the day.

But yesterday was a good day...

I just had an audition for a Dell print ad.

Hot chick at Taco Bell ...

OK, earlier tonight I talked about my new, short-term fixation with Mighty Beanz.

I was short 24 Beanz short, so I, uh, went to Walgreens and bought a few (10) more packages.

I started out strong, because each package displays one common Beanz (hiding the other 4), and since on the Common front I was only missing Wasp, and I found her right off the bat.

Here's how the rest netted out:

• Package #17 (Wasp (finishes all of the "Common"!), Namor (Rare AND finishes Defenders AND has a Speedo), Mystique (Uncommon), Green Goblin (repeat #2, Uncommon), Dr. Octopus (repeat #2))
• Package #18 (Red Skull (Uncommon, and finishes Captain America set!), Black Cat (repeat #2, Rare), Beast (repeat #1, Uncommon), Invisible Woman (repeat #1), (Giant Man (repeat #3))
• Package #19 (Professor X (repeat #2), Black Cat (repeat #3, Rare), Beast (repeat #2, Uncommon), Invisible Woman (repeat #2), Mystique (repeat #1, Uncommon))
• Package #20 (Super Skrull (Rare), Thor (repeat #1), Annihilus (repeat #1), Sabretooth (repeat #4; geez), Skrull (repeat #2))
• Package #21 (Jean Grey (repeat #1), Annihilus (repeat #2), Bulleye (repeat #1, Uncommon), Elektra (repeat #1, Rare), Skrull (repeat #3))
• Package #22 (Professor X (repeat #3), Dr. Strange (repeat #1, Rare), Magneto (repeat #1, Uncommon), Iron Fist (repeat #3), Skrull (repeat #4))
• Package #23 (Black Bolt (Rare), Professor X (repeat #4), Mystique (repeat #2, Uncommon), Beast (repeat #3, Uncommon), Dr. Octopus (repeat #3))
• Package #24 (Wolverine (Uncommon, yellow duds) Daredevil (repeat #1), Iron Man (repeat #1), Vision (repeat #1), Gambit (repeat #1, Rare)
• Package #25 (Mr. Fantastic (repeat #1), Red Skull (repeat #1, Uncommon), Beast (repeat #4), Giant Man (repeat #4), Black Cat (repeat #4, Rare))
• Package #26 (Ultron (finishes Avengers! Rare), Black Panther (repeat #2), Magneto (repeat #2, Uncommon), Cyclops (repeat #3), Hulk (repeat #5))

After all this, I'm left with 4 missing Beanz: One Uncommon (Human Torch), and three Rares (Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Dr. Doom).

Blast ...

So, not since I picked up the Marvel Legends Black Panther have I gotten a comic book related toy to reward myself for my dedication to my acting (see here for an old post with more info).

Then, while at a Walgreen's clearance/moving sale today, I saw these Marvel "Mighty Beanz".

I've seen these things before, and thought about getting them, but wasn't going to spring $6 for 5 Beanz, without knowing what the hell they do.

Ah, but for 59-cents per package, things just ... got ... interesting.

So I picked up a few (right, 16) packes, and ended up with a ton of stuff. There are 54 total Series I Beanz, broken into "Common", "Uncommon", and "Rare" collectibles.

I ended up with 42 of the 56, I still don't know what the hell they're for, but damned if I'm not hooked on getting them all (it's like a less sensical version of Pokemon - if that's possible).

Here's how I netted out with the 16 packages (with occasional commentary):

• Package #1 (Spider-Man, Sabretooth, Absorbing Man (Uncommon), Black Panther (Uncommon), Phoenix (Rare))
• Package #2 (Invisible Woman, Kang, Sabretooth (repeat #1), Bullseye (Uncommon), Punisher (Rare))
• Package #3 (Hulk, Giant Man, Vision, Iron Fist (Uncommon), Gambit (Rare))
• Package #4 (Cyclops, Spider-Man (repeat #1), Thing (Uncommon), Peter Parker (Uncommon), Spider-Man II (black costume, Rare))
• Package #5 (Cyclops (repeat #1), Annihilus, Hawkeye (Uncommon), Elektra (Rare), Skrull)
• Package #6 (Hulk (repeat #1), Giant Man (repeat #1), Scarlet Witch, Green Goblin (Uncommon), Venom (Rare))
• Package #7 (Sabretooth (repeat #2), Hulk (repeat #2), Thing (repeat #1, Uncommon), Peter Parker (repeat #1, Uncommon), Lady DeathStrike (Rare) not a great set)
• Package #8 (Doctor Octopus, Black Cat (Rare), Absorbing Man (repeat #1), Giant Man (repeat #2), Green Goblin (repeat #1, Uncommon))
• Package #9 (Mister Fantastic, Sabretooth (repeat #3), Kang (repeat #2), Loki (Rare), Abomination (Uncommon, finished Hulk set!))
• Package #10 (Hulk (repeat #3), Thing (repeat #2, Uncommon), Cyclops (repeat #2), Peter Parker (repeat #2, Uncommon), Spider-Man II (black costume, Rare))
• Package #11 (Captain America (yeah, my boy!), Iceman, Mary Jane (Uncommon, and finshes the Spider-Man set!), Lady DeathStrike (repeat #1), (Thing (repeat #3, Uncommon))
• Package #12 (Professor X, Beast (Uncommon), Dr. Strange (Rare), Doctor Octopus (repeat #1), Absorbing Man (repeat #2))
• Package #13 (Iceman (repeat #1), Hulk (repeat #4), Absorbing Man (repeat #3), Black Panther (repeat #1), Lady DeathStrike (repeat #2))
• Package #14 (Jean Grey, Thor (finishes Thor set!), Luke Cage (Uncommon, finishes Luke Cage/Iron Fist set!), Wolverine II (brown costume, rare), Spider-Man (repeat #2))
• Package #15 (Daredevil (finishes Daredevil set!), Iron Man, Scarlet Witch (repeat #1), Iron Fist (repeat #1), Venom (repeat #1))
• Package #16 (Magneto (Uncommon), Professor X (repeat #1), Skrull (repeat #1), Iron Fist (repeat #2), Black Cat (repeat #1)

I may have a problem ...

Some people find the Virgin Mary ...

... I find smiley faces. I just lifted my 24 oz. sugared soda beverage from my pseudo coaster, and saw this guy smiling back at me.

Soon, the napkin will be dry, and the little guy will go back to whatever dimension from which he visited.

I sent this picture to a friend, who said sweat smileys are gross. I told him drink sweat ring smileys aren't gross.

Drink sweat ring smileys are magical.

Cool.

Tonight, in class #4 of my "Art of Voice Acting" Tele-Course (more on that in a later post), I received instructor critique for the Stud Terkel "Working" monologue I mentioned a couple of days ago.

James Alburger told me I had very nice change-ups and rhythm, and could tell there was a whole lot going on behind the spoken lines. Both he and Penny Abshire liked the attitude in the delivery, and though I wasn't crazy about the read I gave, they gave me a "very nice job on the Arny Freeman script," and my first critique from them that didn't have a "constructive criticism" component.

• Hear it here: "Working" (Studs Terkel)

They weren't so crazy about what I did with the "K-Mart Optical" spot, with which I had a lot of fun.

• Hear it here: "K-Mart Optical"

At the end of class, I got some personal coaching time with James and Penny, and got to do a few different reads with some new direction and context. Interestingly, the lead-in line they gave me (interviewer asks, "All you do is bit parts! Why do you keep trying to be an actor?") was surprisingly like my lead-in line (just asked by a different person) ...

Also interesting, after complimenting my last readthrough, Penny suggested I strike all punctuation and start over. Since this is actually the first thing I do with a script, it sounds like I may need to watch myself to ensure I'm not unintentionally slipping back into the text punctuation.

Man, I really like working...