I was in San Francisco again this week, but unlike last time, this time it was a mix of toy job and Biz. And the whole thing ended up being a mini/lite version of a Biz film production.

I was asked by my BigHugeCorp to do a non-broadcast industrial, with the understanding that it'd be "your project".

I was told to hire a crew, write a script, do the editing, and "git 'er done!"

After having written the script and solicited local crew, BigHugeCorp let me know they'd be hiring the crew, sent me a script they'd written, and told me it was still my job to "git 'er done!"

I actually thrive on adversity (what successful actor doesn't?), so I negotiated a bunch of the stuff in the corporate script as optional, filled in the gaps with stuff from my script, added transitions to make it all flow, and fully storyboarded the thing out.

During actual filming, OneWhoHasSomePower freaked out from Cali because she wasn't onsite to see what I was doing, and because she didn't have the background to make the leap from text script to conceptual vision (fair enough, though the reaction was unequivocally out of whack). Which meant I had to shoot a bunch of scenes twice, in case she nixed my ideas.

Which meant also I had to spend a whole Saturday with her when she got back into town, walking through all of the rough-cut footage, to end up at the end of the day with my original plan, with a two-day delay (Friday FedEx would have gotten to SF; Sat. FedEx arrives on Monday).

Editing was also out my hands, since all post was being done out of the Bay Area. All I could do was ship the beta tapes, storyboard, and annotated shot log, and hope for the best.

So, how did it all turn out? The video wasn't what I hoped it would be (the
editing job was lower caliber than I expected). But it didn't matter.

The crowd loved it.

Coupled with my brief emcee stint (my secret to being comfortable on stage? I don't care if I'm liked), the video had a couple of execs laughing so hard (in a good way) they were almost crying.

It probably helped that the video had a talking jackalope (voiced by me).

And now when I get the original footage back, I can edit stuff for the "directors cut".

Like I said, the whole thing ended up being a mini/lite version of a Biz film production.

Video will be up (hopefully) soon.

I saw the new Hayao Miyazaki film, Howl's Moving Castle, today.

Uh. Wow.

This is an absolutely beautiful fairy tale film, and Miyazaki crafts a gorgeous and complex, but still very accessible fantasy film that's a brilliant new take on the Wizard of Oz. He has a lot to say and show in his films, but they never feel burdensome. Listen to what he has to say about getting old, loneliness, and arrogance.

Pixar has been tapped to do the English dub, which includes an all-star cast (Lauren Bacall, Christian Bale, Billy Crystal, hardworking VO actor Crispin Freeman, etc.).

Hey, these actors get to do a Miyazaki and a Pixar film in one shot! Do they realize how lucky they are?

Anyway, see the film. See all of Miyazaki's films. They're incredible, and incredibly rewarding.

Updates to my website!

I updated my HTML resume (PDF to follow) with my For Sale by Owner (Chheda Films LLC) VO credit, and streamlined my film credits (yeah, sexy, I know).

I also cleaned up my VO demos page to better separate my demos from my clips.

The coolest thing I did, though, is finally get my Video page up and running and added to the menu!

Right now, I've got a clip from my Texas Association of Builders non-broadcast industrial, but I plan to have clips up shortly for films Don't Know Why and Suicide: A Love Story, my Marvel Ultimates VO audition, and a recently nixed VO session for ... uh ... a jackalope.

I had a great audition for a SAG national commercial for Chevy yesterday, which would be absolutely suh-weet to book!

The best part? I was auditioning as a fly fisherman, so I was there in a nice casting shirt, vest, and had my incomparable Sage fly rod in hand and at the ready.

Since I'm a lifetime fly fisherman (roughly a quarter decade and counting), it'd be a shame if my authenticity in the role didn't land me this part. How cool would it be to do two things I love (and I'm good at) -- acting and fly fishing -- and get paid for it?

The audition was at CastingWorks LA (I really like auditioning there, because I know exactly what's expected).

We'll see what shakes out, but man it would rock to get this one ...

Hey, I'm in the Biz Directory!

I've got about ten pages of articles/interviews in the back of the book, covering Email, Web sites, mobile phones, gadgets, and software useful for the working actor.

No, I don't get any kickbacks for hyping The Biz Directory. But I can't imagine being a part of the Biz and headquartered in Austin, and not having this book. That would be kind of like eating a pint of butter pecan ice cream without a utensil -- Yeah, you can do it, but you won't be as efficient at it as you could be, won't be as presentable afterwards, and the whole experience winds up being less satisfying than what could have been.

Right, so we've established metaphors (outside of screenplay) aren't my forte.

Whatever.

Buy the Biz Directory.

"If I start crying up here, it's because of the kind of day I've had... Catharsis."

I caught Ryan DeSiato's set tonight at Momo's Club.

Yeah, I was there for a Collier Talent Agency group B-Day. But, face it, a live music venue isn't the best place to chit-chat and get caught up, and I can only take so much "OMG-you're-a-Taurus-too?"

Ryan absolutely rocked. And crooned. The guy is a blast to listen too, amazing to watch, and someone I'm going to try catch whenever I can.

I'm particularly taken with "Minefield" and "Empty Handed", which should be on his new upcoming album (he was in the studio last week recording).

"Ryan DeSiato, simply put, makes music for people who give a damn."

Lyrics to Nickelback's song, "Believe It Or Not":

Believe it or not, everyone have things that they hide
Believe it or not, everyone keeps most things inside
Believe it or not, everyone, believe in something above
Believe it or not, everyone, need to feel loved

Feel loved, but we don't, and we don't
Until we figure out, could someone deliver us?
And send us some kind of sign, so close to giving up
Coz faith is so hard to find
But you don't, and you won't, until we figure out

I've seen it a lot
Every time to the world turns upside down
Believe it or not, everyone
Most of us feel like we're losing ground
Believe it or not, everyone, hate admitting fear
Believe it or not, most of us wanna know why we're here

Why we're here, but we don't and we won't
Until we figure out, Could someone deliver us?
And send us some kind of sign, so close to giving up
Coz faith is so hard to find, someone deliver us?
And send us some kind of sign, so close to giving up
Coz faith is so hard to find
But you don't, and you won't, until we figure out


Most of us have nothing to complain about
Most of us have things we could live without
Everyone need advice on how to get along

Get along; we don't, until we figure out

Believe it or not everyone…

Believe it or not, everyone have things that they hide
Believe it or not, everyone keeps most things inside
Believe it or not, everyone, believe in something above
Believe it or not, everyone, need to feel loved

Feel loved, but we don't, and we don't
Until we figure out, Could someone deliver us?
And send us some kind of sign, so close to giving up
Coz faith is so hard to find, someone deliver us?
And send us some kind of sign, so close to giving up
Coz faith is so hard to find
But you don't, and you won't, until we figure out

I missed the SXSW sneak premiere of the film in March, but I snagged Unleashed at a matinee showing this afternoon, and I'm impressed.

It's a Luc Besson film, and closer to The Professional (Léon) than The Fifth Element.

The film is a mix of heart-wrenching emotional scenes and gut-wrenching violence, and I think it pulls it off well. Not to introduce any spoilers, but in the film Li is the barely-human version of a psychotic attack dog who is separated from his owner. This is the story of his humanization.

It's not easy to convincingly portray the emotion and effort behind a Helen Keller/Baby Jessica rehabilitation in a sub-2-hour film. And though the piece struggles a bit, it works through the challenge admirably.

I hope this film does well. Morgan Freeman and Bob Hoskins are inarguably acting powerhouses, but Jet Li comes into his own in this film.

While Li came into mainstream U.S. focus as the bad ass in Lethal Weapon 4, follow-on films (notably Romeo Must Die and Hero/Ying xiong) have been sadly underrated. This film almost feels like a "one more time for Jet" effort, and I'd hate to see him go back to primarily Asian cinema due to lack of critical and popular success stateside.

But check out Unleashed. Jet Li has said , "... I think Unleashed is my best work yet ... and I believe that my fans will love it."

I agree.

As an aside, Kerry Condon does a compelling job in the movie as Li's adoptive sister. She suffers a bit of a rough transition from loquacious teen to caring surrogate, but sails well after that.

I recorded audio tonight for the film For Sale By Owner.

This suspense/horror by Chheda Films LLC has its secrets tightly under wraps, and hopes to explore "new extremes of basic human emotion -- fear!"

I do the VO for Paul, an a** hole boss calling via mobile phone.

Check out the film's trailer -- very slick, and very promising (to me, it has shades of Identity).

Then I came home and recorded a Mission Impossible (Mr. Phelps) spoof for a buddy. Heh.

Happy birthday to me! *hic*

Happy *hic* birthday to me!

Happy birthday *hic* dear ... um ... Ah #*&@*&! ...

I had a good audition for the film Cake, with writer/director Will Wallace. I did a workshop with Will back in January, and today got to read for the role of Desmond, the not-quite-closet hairdresser doing a wedding video monologue.

Despite muffing one word (it's "clashes", not "exploded", but when in doubt, substitute with conviction), the audition was a blast, and it was fun to play with such a different, flamboyant character. And "Doing something totally different" on the second take to me meant going lumberjack (initially with a southern USA accent, but ending up sounding southern Australia).

I went with kind of a gay-bohemian look. Between the pressed cargo pants, sleeveless T, fabulous purple Bill Blass button down, Birkenstocks(ish), silver and white gold rings, Miami Vice stubble, and the pink emory board I was waving around, I felt the part.

I narrowly avoided disaster when, showing up for the audition, I dropped the magnetic studs to my earings somewhere behind the driver's seat, into that black hole where parking garage ticket stubs and french fries often disappear. Good thing I'm a quick thinker, and crimped my toe ring onto my left lobe (no, I hadn't put it on my foot yet, and yes, my ear is healing nicely, thank you).

Anyway, Will and team were great to audition for, the audition was a blast, and I really recommend you go see Cake when it's finished, even in the tragic event of my not being cast, and the name of the film changing to something less pithy ...

On the way out, Casting Director Donise Hardy snagged me and introduced me to accomplished actor Pato Hoffman, who seems to have this unpretentious gravity about him. Pretty cool. And Donise was beyond kind in chatting me up with Pato. Plus she said I looked pretty ...

Also ran way too briefly into fellow actors Chel Simon, Nicole Graf, and Karrie Hamilton (she and I muffed a scene together a couple of weeks ago).

Great day ...

I had class tonight.

Last week's scene sucked, but I should get over it. Last week's scene sucked, but I should get over it. Last week's scene sucked, but I should get over it. Last week's scene sucked, but I should get over it. Last week's scene sucked, but I should get over it. Last week's scene sucked, but I should get over it. Last week's scene sucked, but I should get over it.

I hate next week's scene, but I should get over it. I hate next week's scene, but I should get over it. I hate next week's scene, but I should get over it. I hate next week's scene, but I should get over it. I hate next week's scene, but I should get over it. I hate next week's scene, but I should get over it. I hate next week's scene, but I should get over it. I hate next week's scene, but I should get over it. I hate next week's scene, but I should get over it. I hate next week's scene, but I should get over it. I hate next week's scene, but I should get over it.

[sigh]

I had a commercial audition today for Cici's Pizza at CastingWorks LA.

The spot is a SAG regional, and let me leverage stuff I learned from my commercial audition workshop a few days before.

I was a dad "straddling the white and blue collar, and trying to do right by my family (wife, one boy, one girl), by taking them to Cici's." I was paired up with 3 new actors with whom I hadn't worked before.

Lotta fun, and I really enjoy these opportunities.

Man, I stunk it up last night in class.

Not sure what happened. I was doing a scene from Tony Kushner's play, Angels in America. I was Joseph (Joe) Porter Pitt, a Mormon who's a closet homosexual, and the scene was a new job offer conflict with my valium-addicted, paranoid Mormon wife.

Everything should have worked. My four years at Utah State University more than prepared by for the culture. We brought great set dressing (Brigham Young University diploma wtih Joe's name on it, a picture of the Salt Lake City Mormon temple), a Book of Mormon (their religious book in addition to the Bible), scrapbooking stuff). My job sucks, and I'd be stoked to get a new job offer, so I connected with Joe's excitement about the possible move, and frustration with his wife not wanting to move. My scene partner was even named Karrie (I once dated a Mormon named Carrie).

So what happened?

Karrie and I couldn't get connected.

Maybe I was too confident in my background, workshopping, and set dressing. Maybe it was doing the blocking and shooting the night of, and getting one take to naturally move and talk around the camera. Maybe it was the first line not landing for me, and everything downhill from there.

Maybe it had something to do with the whole vibe being off for me Monday night. It's wonky, but the evening felt "wrong" from start to finish. Vibe's important.

Dunno. Anyway, for whatever reason, I was off last night. And though I'm dreading seeing the film next week, I am curious to see if plays better on screen than in person ...

I had a fantastic Commercial Audition today at CastingWorks LA!

Donise Hardy (C.S.A.) is an absolute commercial powerhouse in this town, knows her stuff, and knows how to get critical information to people taking the workshop.

The workshop was all-day, a mix of both first-time and returning Donise pupils, and we had the chance to run through 4 commercial auditions (including the whole "business" side of the auditioning, including slates, profiles, etc.).

Personally, I really enjoy auditioning for Donise, because I know exactly what's expected of me: I'm there to do a job, having fun is expected, and I never break professionalism to goof off.

The biggest thing I got out of the workshop is just how much Donise wants actors to shine during the audition and callback. Yes, she's doing a job. Yeppers, she's getting paid to bring in top talent, and she wouldn't be doing herself (or the talent) any favors if she brought in people to audition because they've taken her workshop, or are nice, or whatever. When Donise invites me to do an audition, it's because she believes I can do the job. It's because she trusts my agent to pick the talent that can do the job. It's mine to lose.

Plus, spending all-day in the casting office really gave me a whole new level of comfort with the space. That, I can leverage ...

The all-day workshop was made up exclusively of talent from Collier Talent Agency, and our top-notch agent was there for us for the long haul, to watch us grow (or not).

I met new co-actors Aaron Weisinger (a ton of fun to watch), Marc Hustvedt, Roger Edwards, Erin Fallon, and Drew Whelpley (who's a nice guy with incredible comedic talent and timing), Shari Brown (fantastic listener) and Carolyn F. West (fellow voice actor).

I also got to hook up with previous acting class alumns Richard Ricks (picks up a scene, memorizes it, and workshops it in an instant), Nicole Graf (a ton o' spunk, fun to watch, and the she makes "Valley Girl" fun again), Elizabeth Mason (talk about commitment and comedic timing! And pairing her up with Drew Whelpley? It's like peanut butter and chocolate), Tom Procida (Another really good actor, and after 10 weeks of acting class where we never got paired up, class ends and one audition and one workshop since have seen us paired up with each other), Laurie Coker (another fellow voice talent, and currently sharing ongoing class time with me), and Jessica Robertson.

I mentioned Jessica a month or so ago, and how impressed I was by her professionalism. Well, I got to do a scene with her, and that kind of focus and professionalism is really welcome in a tandem audition. We could run our lines together, and if one or the other needed to break out for solo prep (tongue twisters, memorization, etc.), the other would do the same, and we'd come back together without saying much of anything for the transitions. Cool. Plus we had fun with the piece.

All of these folks were incredibly strong, and I really enjoy spending a time with folks this talented and focused on bettering themselves.

So, uh, yeah, I really recommend the workshop ...

Run, don't walk, to check out Kung Fu Hustle.

This Asian import has been playing in NY and LA since April 8th, and opened everywhere today (I caught the first matinee).

I really encourage you to see the film without reading any of the rest of my stuff -- it's one of those flicks that's best to see without expectations.


The film's tagged as "A new comedy unlike anything you have seen before", which to me kind of minimizes how diverse and amazing it is. Comedy? Yes. Dancing? Uh-huh. Brutal, explicit kung fu carnage? Yeppers. Heart-wrenching moments (assuming you're not emotionally constipated)? [Sniffle.] Yeah.

Directed, co-written, and co-produced by and starring interational sensation Stephen Chow, the flick is peppered with pop-culture one-liner and scene send-ups. The Matrix, Spider-Man, The Shinining, Untouchables, Thriller, and more.

Hopefully, this film won't be dismissed as YAAEwCE ("Yet Another Asian Export with CGI Effects"). This is something special.

By the way, it's in Cantonese and Mandarin with English subtitles. Not that you should care. Not that you should be reading this, as you're running to your nearest theater, or clicking away on Fandango to get tickets.

OK, so it's pretty much unforgivable that a comic book geek like me took this long to see Sin City, but I finally did, and is an amazing experience.

This is one of the better direct translations of a comic book to film I've seen, and Frank Miller's twisted and violent film noir comes through amazing on celluloid.

With direction by Robert Rodriguez, Miller, and guest direction from Quentin Tarantino, the film takes the almost storyboarded world of the Sin City and Yellow Bastard vignette-noir storytelling and makes one compelling film.

Some words of warning, though. Miller's original work is some adult fare, and they chose to translate even some of the most extreme violence and sexuality that I didn't think would make the cut to the movie. Think Pulp Fiction/Kill Bill taken to even more of an extreme, with a whole lotta gratuitous T&A thrown in. As opposed to non-gratuitous T&A. Or something.

Consider yourself warned...

I had a commercial audition for 24 Hour Fitness Centers at CastingWorks LA.

The spot is a SAG regional with international hero and Austin local Lance Armstrong -- very cool!

What made this one fun (besides the Lance potential) is that I was auditioning as one of two businessmen (suit and all), who is infected with the "Lance Fitness Bug", and starts playing a spontaneous game of soccer with a can lying on the street.

I was lucky to get paired up with Tom Procida, with whom I just finished class. Tom is great actor, he and I are comfortable with each other, and we went whole hog on our game o' "soccer" (while staying totally in frame).

Lotta fun.

Happy Tax Day!

Or, as I like to call it, "Yet Another Annual Reminder of My Commitment to the Biz" (YAARMCB for short).

Some of last year's numbers:

• Consecutive year of loss: 2
  
• Miles driven: 3,050
  
• Partial 2004 spending breakdown:
  
  
  
  • Equipment/Supplies/Postage: 41%
    
  • Communications: 23%
    
  • Coaching Lessons: 22%
    
  • Advertising: 6%
    
  • Supplies for Research: 3%
    
  
  
• Spend:Earn Ratio: 166:1
  
• Hours spent in fetal position contemplating my choices: .001 (I'd be lying if I didn't say I hadn't thought about it)
  

Now I'm down in it.

I restarted my professional film acting class with Van Brooks Monday night.

This class lets me continue with fellow actors, reunite with sometime class/project buddies, and meet some new folks.

Van's goal for the class is to challenge all of us to a whole new level -- even above what we were able to accomplish in the last class.

My goals? To have an absolute blast in class, and feel joy in my work. To be able to shove the massive amount of homework I do for me in a role in my back pocket and not get my head about it. And to remove any unneeded layers between my choices and my being the character.

Nobody but me handed out business cards, so if I misspell names, it's their fault ... ;-)

I'm continuing with fellow actors Laurie Coker, Anika Kunik, Kristi Wright, and Chris.

Class reunited me with previous class/project alumns Rocky, Todd Sauders (the Roadhouse Relics artisan), Kendra (all mentioned a few weeks ago), and Richard Ricks.

I also got to watch new folks work: Carrie Hamilton, Carley, and Errich P.

Hey, if you get the chance, be sure to check out Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (in theaters).

I know this seems like an odd recommendation from me, but hear me out for sec.

This film contains 3 of my Biz "heroes": Diedrich Bader, Sandra Bullock, and (of course) William Shatner.

Diedrich Bader is one of those hilarious, hard-working actors who inspires me in my profession. With a career that spans at least 17 years, a few dozen (each) TV and film appearances, and forays into the Producer and other roles, Bader is most known for his stint as Oswald on The Drew Carey Show. He's a prolific and diverse OC and VO talent, and does a stellar job as Joel in MC2, playing with g a y stereotypes, without being irritatingly cartoonish -- not an easy thing to do.

Sandra Bullock, besides being an Austin resident, just amazes me. I'm humbled by folks that can do such big-gun acting in so many genres -- drama, comedy, and action -- and pull all of them off. I also like to see people who are so stunning in front of the camera choose to go behind the lens, and she's done an amazing job on the Producer front. I'm particularly grateful to her for her bringing George Lopez to network television. And she's tried her hand at writing, directing, and composing. Neato.

Ah, William Shatner; how I long to know him well enough to call him "Bill". More than a hundred film credits. Two-hundred-plus TV credits. Producer. Director. Writer. Spokesperson. And, yes (I'll say it), talented singer (Has Been is one of my current favorite albums). This guy is talented, diverse, driven, and has fun with himself. MC2 has a bunch of digs against his singing, which I suspect for which he himself pushed. (In response to a reason to kill his character, an actress says, "I mean, the man can't sing, but is that a crime?") I like a guy who's this good, and apparently this comfortable in his own skin. Be sure to check out my "Great things by which to be inspired" blog about him from last October, when I first bought Has Been.

So check out Miss Congeniality 2 if you get the chance. It's an entertaining flick, and a snapshot of cool people doing well. And, no, Warner Bros. didn't pay (or coerce) me into doing street advertising for them.

I spent the afternoon filming a brief gig with writer/director Storme Wood. Storme helmed "The Emmisary" for the 2004 48 Hour Film Project, where "teams have just one weekend to make a short film. All creativity-writing, shooting, editing and adding a musical soundtrack-must occur in a 48 hour window beginning Friday evening at 7 and ending Sunday at 7."

Last year, Storme's team ("Eleven 72") took home a few awards, including the "Audience Award", "Best Use of Line of Dialogue", and "Best Directing".

The scene we shot today is a tie-in to local mega-church Gateway Community's "Sex in the City" series. The clip'll see 4 showings this Saturday and Sunday, in front of 2,000 to 3,000 attendees. Not bad.

My co-star is Elizabeth Wheat, who I ran into a few weeks ago (and is an absolutely stunning gal).

The scene is, uh, a "morning after" scene with two folks who realize they may have made a terrible mistake. That's what happens; what it's about is open ... ;-)

Storme was fun to work with, the shoot was casual, moved forward at a good pace, and was very comfortable.

Acting buddy Adam Langley even stopped by for a while to grip. Talented and versatile ...

Oh, and we shot at "Dan the Fireman's" house. Even though not in the Biz, he's a totally cool guy, with a fantastic house just off of downtown that he's gutted and remodeled himself over the last two years. I am seriously impressed at his craftsmanship.

Let me know if you catch the scene -- and I'll try to post it here for you soon.

Tonight was the last night of my Professional Film Acting class, and it absolutely rocked!

In 2 hours, we did 5 warm-ups and 5 two-actor scenes -- three takes a piece (each with different direction, each with two camera angles). Absolutely staggering, and a gift to be a part of.

Van Brooks is a strong coach, and this class took the format of getting our scenes, learning the lines flat and workshopping characters outside of class, then showing up each week as if we're on a movie set, ready to work
-- rehearse and shoot our scenes. Van shoots everything on a Panasonic DVX100AP HD camera -- a rig I'd absolutely love to own for my own film making -- and a boom and light kit.

Last week, we diverted from the formula a bit and just rehearsed hardcore, which let us hit the ground tonight doing warmups and shoots for the scenes Van had written for us.

I was Edwards -- a homicide detective -- and with my favorite brown "detective ensemble", I kicked ass ... in the looks department ...

Actually, my scenework wasn't half bad either, especially my take as a savvy "handler" detective, pushing through a faux innocent perp (played convincingly by Kristi Wright).

Yeah, I get a lot out of training with Van ...

Best scene work: Tom Procida, in every one of his six performances. Followed by Buzz Rahm, playing a sickening-sweet psychotic/sociopath. Absolutely creepy believable.

Greatest freeze frame: Tammy Holland, with an absolutely near commercial headshot-quality still (she was playing a forensic psychiatrist).

I updated my resume pages -- adding Marci Winters Allen's recent VO coaching, and updated the PDF version of the resume with the new theatrical headshot.

• HTML Resume
  
• PDF Resume
  

More interesting folks on airplanes ...

More interesting folks on airplanes ...

OK, sometimes when I'm on an airplane I just want to be left alone to sleep, or need to be left alone to work.

Usually, I'm fighting my fascination with people, to see if my seat mate will take interest in me.

So it was tonight from SFO to Phoenix with James, CEO of Patrons of Art, LLC, a company that represents mid- and end-term artists to keep their stuff in shows and galleries, so they don't fade into obscurity, and are "more than starving artists."

James has done a lot of stuff (and is very proud of his accomplishments), and as a self-proclaimed "eligable straight bachelor in the art gallery world", is a bit of an abberation, if not a total freak in this particular vertical market.

Check out his company at http://www.patronsofart.com.

Heh. Reads like "Patrons o' Fart".

Wonder if James knows that?

Everything happens for a reason ...

Everything happens for a reason ...

I was pretty bent out of shape yesterday early in the morning when I missed my United Airlines flight. Yes, I was running late, and only got there 20 minutes before take-off, but evidently, since everyone but me checked in 30 minutes early, they ... left early. Seriously. Didn't know they could do that ...

Anyway, the United rep was unhelpful (and rude), so I went with an America West flight to make my 1 p.m. SF meeting.

As a rule, I don't like to ride in planes with smaller, less cleanly seats, but I found myself seated next to Rex, an up-and-coming rocker and recording artist.

Rex is absolutely fascinating, and passionate about what he does. He's made it through to fast and hot burn that can finish a lot of musicians, has stayed focused, and has a vision, end-game, and excitement that I find invigorating. Think a young, on-fire David Grohl -- passionate and
intensely hard working.

Methinks we'll be hearing from this guy soon.

Everything happens for a reason ...

MangAdam is here!

MangAdam is my everything-voice-related representation. Maybe a little Ego. Maybe a little Id. Maybe one of multiple personalities that keeps shrinks alternately shivering in fear or rubbing their hands gleefully. Maybe just a fun branding extension of little o' me.

Anyway, check him out here. This is one of about a dozen new representations of me, done by a mentor/buddy/co-geek named Mark. He absolutely rocks.

MangAdam (c) Copyright 2004, 2005 Adam Creighton.

What?

Hey, I've got my new theatrical headshot up across my website.

Check it out here!

It'll be up on the Collier Talent Agency website soon, too.

I'm off to the Austin Fado's St. Patrick's Day street party!

I'm off to the Austin Fado's St. Patrick's Day street party!

It's an annual tradition -- so raise a pint and kiss me, I'm Irish!

(Like you need an excuse.)

From the game room of Hitachi Wasabe:

Xbox? Check.

Big-screen Projector and kick-a** setup? Check.

Frosted glasses? Check.

Case of Guinness? Check.

Comfy Captain's chair? Check

Halo 2 locked and loaded? Check.

'boxing buddy Dajoti just signed in? Check.

Game on ...

The SXSW goodness continued (sort of) yesterday.

Voice Over:

I had a coaching session with VO actress and director Marci Winters Allen, who is in town this week for SXSW.

This was a really good session, and Marci is a talented, energetic and fun coach with whom I was very comfortable working.

She identified some of the same hang-ups my ongoing coach (the awesome Lainie Frasier) is constantly trying to get me past ("Slow down, Adam", "Watch ending sentences with the same intonation -- it makes you sound sing-songy", etc.).

She also gave me new tools in the form of tongue-twisters I hadn't used before ("black bugs blood", "Unique New York, unique New York, you know you need unique New York", "The lips, the teeth, the tip of the tongue"), and other tongue-twisters that I think most VO actors use (let's hear it for "Toy boat"!).

The epiphany for me was in the area of some of the visualization stuff ("You are this character. What color are you? What animal are you?").

This is by no means new stuff to me, since it's part of my toolkit for filmwork. But the epiphany was I was segregating my "voice" toolkit from my "on-camera" toolkit. After my session with Marci, I've started looking at my tools and techniques in the whole, and have seen some immediate benefit to my acting. Suh weet.

Plus, Marci let me be Captain America for a few lines. Ah, Cap, you rock ...

Acting for Film:

So even though I just had my weekly class Monday night with my current coach Van Brooks, Van called be as I was driving down to Marci's and generously offered to let me play in class for a 2nd night in a row with a new troupe of folks.

Like Monday night's class, the format for the evening was run like an audition, with us treating the whole thing as if we were auditioning for a film -- cold read and all.

Unlike Monday, I felt really good about the experience. I was auditioning for the role of Paul, a violent punk with issues brought in for questioning in regards to "conspiracy to commit murder."

Before I was called in, I stripped down to my t-shirt, messed the hell out of my hair (this is a big deal; seriously, have you seen my headshot?), and I went with my headshot and a loud, angry, and fractured read.

Did the "Casting Directors" like it? They said "no", and had me do a slightly quieter ("but still angry"), more "focused" read.

But the point is I went for something, and I went all-out and hardcore. And when we watched it on tape, we decided we all actually really liked the read.

Which brings up an interesting issue. I might do an audition, and the CDs not like it, but it may rock on tape -- if it's ever seen ...

Ah, such a fickle biz we're in!

Anyway, sitting in on this class reunited me with class alumns Rocky, Sara Kendrick, and "The Mastery" alumn Todd Sauders (the Roadhouse Relics artisan).

I also got to work for the first time with Kendra, Brent, and Nick. I also got to watch and listen to Jessica Robertson, an absolute pro, and blast to be in class with.

Last night, the Austin Chronicle threw its annual SXSW film party at La Zona Rosa, and my awesome agent got me an entrance badge

So after getting out my current acting class (at freaking 11:30 p.m.), I got to pal around with other South-by freaks, listen to Reckless Kelly (I really like their stuff), and The Gourds (this was my first time seeing them; Lotta energy, good sound).

I ran into Will Wallace again, who accused me of following him around. (I'm not. Maybe a little. You'll know when I'm following you, Mister. Or something. Anyhoo ...)

I spent most of the evening with Elizabeth Mason (after we hadn't seen each other since, oh, the night before), and though I didn't chat with a bunch of folks, I saw my agent (she rocks), Vivian Vives with Barcelona Films, Alex Smith (The Slaughter Rule), etc.

I chatted with Belinda, a nice gal visiting from London for SXSW a bit out of her element, and ran into Elizabeth Wheat, an absolutely stunning actress I hadn't seen since we took a class together with Mona Lee.

I also met Josh Squires and Jon Flynn (a friend of Elizabeth's) with VIR Productions. Flynn makes my screwball-hilarious superball kid bro-in-law look absolutely sanguin. No joke. In a good way. Anyway, Josh and Flynn over at VIR(Latin, "Courage")Productions were a ton of fun (and made "fuhgetaboutit" fun again), and I'll be keeping an eye on the good stuff they're doing.

All of this is absolutely exhausting with nasty allergies, where everything I do feels like I'm swimming with a 250 lb. man in combat boots standing on my neck and shoulders. But what else am I gonna do? I mean, really ...

I lasted until 1:30 (ish), then called it a night.

South-by rocks.

Dos Equis in a can is one of man's nastier inventions, and cheese is a wonderfully absorbent food product ...

SXSW is in full swing!

I went to an after party last night for Southern Belles, directed by Paul S. Myers and Brennan Shroff.

The party was hosted by the studio and Collier Talent Agency, because my agent and the film's producer used to agent at Abrams together.

Since the allergy capital of the world has been kicking my butt for the last several days, I was less than engaging, and really sucked it up on the meet-n-greet front.

I did chat a bit with Will Wallace, amd I'm stoked about his next film -- whether or not I'm in it (seriously, I carry the script around in my bag; it's that fun). Also met Craig, and I'm embarrassed to say I missed his last name and how he knew Will. (Hey, I said I was having an off night.)

I chatted briefly with funny man Rob Nash, Kristi Wright, and Anika Kunik, and Richard Ricks. I also met Brett, who's new to Collier Talent. I haven't seen his work yet, but he seems like a nice guy.

I also met Michael Conway, the writer behind Termination, in which Anika costars. Termination screens at the new Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar March 12/17/19 at 11:00/11:15/11:30 a.m.

When things started to wind down (little bit) at party spot Lucky Lounge, fellow actor's Tom Procida and Elizabeth Mason ducked out to Halcyon for a late-night dinner (their paninis aren't half-bad).

Then I called it a night. Yeah, not an interesting ending, but an ending nonetheless.

Heya, I posted a new clip on my voice demos page!

It's a brief snippet from a longer non-broadcast industrial I did for Castleview Productions, for their client, the Texas Association of Builders.

My dogs are evil.

Left alone for an hour, they ate a copy of The Cat in the Hat. Seriously, what kind of monstrous creatures would eat one of Dr. Seuss's most well known and loved literary offerings?

Freakin' Cujo doesn't have anything on these mongrels.

Animals. Absolute animals.

I had a commercial audition for an H-E-B SAG regional commercial today.

This was one of those phone calls like, "Can you do an audition in a half an hour?"

"Uh ..."

"How about in an hour and a half?"

"OK."

"Great! I'm Emailing you sides!"

This was my first audition with Tracy Roswell, so I enjoyed getting in front of another Texas Casting Director. She and her team made for coordinated, easy going audition.

Here's hoping.

I dunno if it was my running 5K in the pouring rain (yeah, voluntarily), being near delirious from being under the weather, or being recently inspired by an odd mix of Ethan Hawke, Janis Joplin, and Rafael Navarro, but I came up with 3 new screenplay ideas on my run tonight.

I refer to everything by my camel-cased abbreviation codenames, but I came back soaking wet and hit the keyboard with 2-4 pages of dialogue/treatment a piece for "Rf" -- an interstitial, fairly visceral short; "tP" -- a meta narration (think a film version John Barth might endorse); and "Uj" -- a horror/suspense deal based on a nightmare I had a couple of weeks ago that I had no interest in remembering, and has no interest in leaving my noggin.

So Rf, tP, and Uj join my other works in progress, Bd, StT, tB, tG, CBH, and perhaps my favorite, CoP.

I went to STAPLE! The Independent Media Expo today.

Today's STAPLE! was the first of possibly an annual national convention, serving as "event for the purpose of promoting the display and barter of independent creative media" (largely indie and underground comic books).

I was there because (A) I like comic books, and (B) we fanboys of comic books, animation, and video games are all really of the same ilk, and at some point, maybe these guys will turn their incredible stuff into animation (and/or video games), and need a voice guy).

Best to build the relationships now ...

Kudos to

There were a bunch of incredibly talented folks there, and only a handful that I was able to chat with to any extent:

• Chris Moreno is an incredibly talented, pleasant guy. I'm looking forward to his Dracula vs. King Arthur (seriously, it's pretty impressive) through Silent Devil Productions.
  
  
• Christine Pointeau has some really startling stuff. Her India Ink sketches and watercolor graphic novels are stunning. She does graphic novels, sketches, posters, greeting cards and the like. Here realistic (but still cutesy) raccoon stuff is what sold out a the show, but I was more impressed by her Western-flaired stuff.
  
  
• I finally got to meet the Aaron Romo and Chris Moujaes, the guys at Squirrelworks.com, producers of Coz/Effect, Fairview High, Good Gravy, Lunch Break, and the new Battlegate and Soul Stone. Squirrelworks is represented by JINDesign; Scott from JinDesign and I have been trying to meet for months, at the prompting of mutual friend Chel Simon (an outstanding actress and friend).
  
  
• I met Carlos A. Samudio, J. Daniel Garcia and Christopher Tupa of Hopper Comics. Funny, personable guys whose upcoming sketchbook is looking really, really slick. Plus they gave me a pen. I like pens.
  
  
• I chatted with Jason DeGroot with Repercussion Comics, and picked up his self-published Kreetor #1. We got to chat about the indie self-publishing model, and I'm amazed at and humbled by the level of effort to which these guys will take to get there stuff to people like me. I'm looking forward to the The Kwiddex Protocol -- the teaser art is really arresting.
  
  
• I talked to the guys over at Antarctic Press, because after 20 years of publishing, they were arguably the mainstays of the conference. Plus, they do DVDs and CD-ROMs, so they were a natch for giving my character VO demo. Which they refused. Even after much prompting. Anyway, though they're probably best known for their Gold Digger and How To Draw Manga IP, Chris Reid was there, and I picked up Legends From Darkwood, a fun manga-ish piece about folks who hunt and eat, uh, unicorns. Chris is dry and hilarious in person, and his book matches. I also picked up David Hutchison's Junction 17. This is probably one of the most gorgeously colored books I've seen in a while -- it's like reading Ghost in the Shell or Blood: The Last Vampire (really, it's almost that good).
  
  
• Before leaving, I hung out for about 45 minutes just listening to Rafael Navarro, creator of Sonambulo!. Rafael (or "Rafa" to his friends; so "Rafael" to me) is also one of the storyboard artists on Justice League, one of my favorite currently-airing cartoons (he also does such shows as Stripperella and Xiaolin Showdown). Rafael is incredibly passionate, animated person to watch and listen to, and he's funny (kind of in any articulate, Animal House John Belushi kind of way), artisticly talented, and just, I dunno, deep. His Captain America absolutely rocks, in the way a Rafael Navarro/Alex Toth/Bruce Timm Cap should rock. Cap's still my boy ....
  

Plus, I won a raffle and got a free T-Shirt. Heh. Free stuff ...

Of course, by doing this, I missed Pauly Shore's appearance at the Hasting's just 3 blocks from my house. Whoever says acting doesn't involve sacrifice needs a nipple twisting ...

It shouldn't be this hard to get headshots mass produced.

The option in town is down to PhotoMagic, and (so far), they don't seem to be quick, or conscientious, or able to do much beyond do mass productions.

I went to pick of a number of proofs today (new theatricals and a 2nd run of my commercial shot), and there were printer-induced error lines across all of the proofs; PhotoMagic obviously hadn't even QAed the picts.

So now I have to wait who knows how long again, which makes the cheaper out of town options I turned down (to avoid turnaround lag) look all the more appealing ...

This is even more frustrating in that I've already done all the work -- scanned the negatives, done the color correction, produced the digital files. All they have to do is print the things ...

<grumble/>

I had a VO audition today for an advanced Austin FilmWorks project today.

It was for a lot of narration over a live-action story (think a dysfunctionally domestic version of Sam Weisman's George of the Jungle).

The piece is smartly written, very engaging, and the narration really determines the pacing of the shoots.

It was a bit heavy as far as VO auditions go (an hour-plus and 14 different voices), so Aaron and Clark got a heck of a bargain with a professional voice actor.

Not that I mind. These guys are serious and conscientious about this thing, and I hope I get to play along. The advanced FilmWorks folks tend to turn out some pretty impressive stuff...

I had a voice audition for a UT RTF student audio-only project tonight.

I like to audition as much as possible, and I think professional actors should audition more often for student projects -- it (hopefully) gives student "casting directors" a little better sense of what a professional audition is like, and maybe gives a more positive experience than just friends auditioning for friends.

Or something...

Hey, if you're in Austin, go to STAPLE! The Independent Media Expo tomorrow (Saturday, March 5)!

Come support independent art (especially comic books), and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

I'll be wandering around, evangelizing about the synergy/opportunity between voice actors, comic books, video games, and the like. And I shall be handing out my character voice demo. Many copies of my character voice demo. A plethora, one might say.

There's also a pre-party Friday night at 8 p.m. at Austin Books (5002 North Lamar Blvd.). I've got a VO audition right before that off Lamar, so I should be there for a little while.

I had a good lunch meeting with LA rocker Aaron Hamre, and his manager, Jennifer Waterston.

We talked about a lot of stuff: My voice and film work, his upcoming album (he's off to LA to finish some last-minute mixing), and a bunch of what I'll call "synergistic opportunities" for us in areas of branding, video gaming, and live performances (among other things).

Aaron, Jennifer, and I are looking at concrete ways to leverage each other's skills and markets to get us all a bunch more work.

Hey, we're in the Biz -- we all want something ...

And to be honest, Aaron pretty much, uh, rocks. So check him out if you get the chance. You get three chances in March (9, 11, 23) to catch him at an early happy hour accoustic set at Jovita's in Austin (1619 S. 1st St.).

I finally saw Napoleon Dynamite last night (after renting it for the 3rd time).

This flippin' show is so, danged funny! Gosh!!

It helps a ton that I went to college a few minutes south of Preston, Idaho (at Utah State University), so I've been to pretty much every place in the film.

And I know people like those in the film.

And ... I may have been a bit like a few of the folks in the film in high school ...

Interesting class last night.

Our mandate was to bring our own scripts -- for our look and type -- in to workshop and shoot. So, of course, I brought a scene I adapted from Marvel's current Ultimates series.

It was a meaty scene, where Steve Rogers is confronting fellow teammate Henry (Hank) Pym, a wife beater who beat his wife (and another fellow teammate) Jan into unconsciousness. In this particular scene, Steve is going to beat Hank to a bloody pulp for what he did.

We did the cold read-through of the script, and my fellow actors ... laughed ...

Why?

Was it because my scene partner is funny man Rob Nash? Nope.

It's because there's no foul language in the script. Steve wants to take Hank apart, and he's calling him things like "piece of trash" and "meatball", while being called a "stupid little runt".

And I learned a sobering lesson about folks. That we can choose to miss the emotional import of a film if it lacks foul language. Which I guess, conversely, means we can give too much weight to a scene just because it has language.

At least Rob gets it. He said, "No, you might get cast in this kind of role, and you need to be able to sell it authentically."

But I was bummed by the response that folks gave a very intense, very important scene (at least to me).

I had a great VO audition today with Joel Block at the Production Block Studios.

The audition was for Harcourt Education (I'm assuming Harcourt Trade Publishers, but it could be one of the other sub-brands), for reading children's books.

Why was it a good audition? Frankly, Joel rocks. He's a consumate professional, classy guy, and I feel really comfortable auditioning for him (now; I choked the first time I read for him).

I felt really good about my first read, but asked for another so I could just play. 2nd one turned out great.

Besides, reading kiddos books is right up my alley -- have you seen how immature I am?

Anyway, here's hoping Harcourt likes me ...

I had a great class last night my "Working Professional Actor" class with Van Brooks.

I hadn't been in class for a few weeks because of toy job travel and the flu ('tis the season), so it'd been a month out from direct coaching. Monday served as a somewhat rough reminder that acting, auditioning, getting a callback, and class are all very different activities. If I get out of practice at any of them, I pretty much suck for everyone to see.

I did a scene from Beyond Therapy, the play by Christopher Durang that probably launched Sigourney Weaver's career.

It's a great piece, and I did a cold read, and stayed absolutely stuck the first two rehearsals. I made a very uninteresting choice, and the scene felt flat (and a wee bit pathetic).

Van got us ramped up, and the third take (which we filmed), got us where we needed to be.

And even though I was beating up on myself for doing so poorly through the evening (especially in front of my visiting agent), Van generously encouraged me by saying a did fantastic on the third take, and "there's nothing wrong with being stuck. You just don't want to stay stuck. And you didn't stay stuck."

Wise words, indeed ...

I had a great opportunity Wednesday to do a workshop for a director for his next pre-production feature.

I'll tell you, this actor/director is absolutely incredible. It was a great night watching him react to the actors he had invited to the workshop, watching his directing process, and see his "ah ha" moments when actors brought something he hadn't considered for the roles.

I learned some concrete stuff in the workshop too -- like how to maintain control of a two- (or more) person audition, when you partner accidentally (or unintentionally) upstages you.

The director did a quick drill down into the class to find out who was working on projects of their own. He encouraged us to get a hand cam, a bunch of colleagues, and fully cast and produce our projects in a low-fidelity sort of way. That was pretty much my "ah ha" moment -- with 5 projects of my own, it totally makes sense to take the next step and make them more real.

Y'know, it's a industry truism that "there are no small parts; only small actors." And this guy gave a very cool, specific anecdote from his own career that made that a little more real.

Some of my favorite actors were with me last night -- Adam Langley, Chel Simon, Christine Wolf, Nicole Graf, and Sarah Paige -- professionals who are a joy to watch, and incredibly humbling for me to see them working their craft.

I also found a new person of whom I think I'm going to be a very big fan -- Tammy Holland. She jetted before I had a chance to tell her, but she was a lot of fun to watch perform, and is incredibly talented.

The only downside of the night was a brief tangent by the director, where he said if you have a particular stumbling block in your acting, you don't belong in the Biz. I've got that hurdle, and it was tough to hear his read on the whole thing.

Hey, I'm nothing if not a survivor, and I'm fairly innovative, too ... ;-)

Great night all around, though.

I did a paid VO gig for Castleview Productions today, for their client the Texas Association of Builders.

Ted and company at Castleview are this nice mix of casual attitude and professionalism, and the whole thing was a great experience.

Castleview rocks, my agent rocks, and I'm not feeling too shabby about myself, either ... ;-P

California Trip (Here's a whirwind summary of my recent Cali trip):

• Day One:
  
  
  
  
  • Flew from Austin to Burbank (the "Media Capital of the World") in the a.m., and hung out at a college buddy's sisters place for the afternoon. Mimi is an incredible woman, mom, and hostess, and she was so gracious and generous to take care of her brother's friend and fam (who she'd never met).
    
    Then it was off for quick afternoon tour of Burbank and the studio lots (OK, just the studio lots' front gates), before heading to Hollywood Blvd. to see the Mann, Empresario, adult shops ...
    
    Sure, most of the street is kind of scuzz, but being an actor in Hollywood, looking at the huge namesake sign ... Rocked ...
    
    Then it was off to Alhambra to meet my college buddy for a few pre-weddind day errands before the rehearsal, which was ... a rehearsal ... Not much to say on that front ... Kind of status quo, that one.
    
    Dinner was at MVP Seafood -- great (really) authentic family style Chinese fair. Not ducking out of dinner until 11 p.m., we decided to forego some Redonda Beach friends' offer to stay at their place for the night, opting instead for staying at the cheap-n-sleazy Alhambra Ambassador Inn. Adam's world tour guide rates this hole in negative stars, and recommends passing.
    
  
  
  
• Day Two:
  
  
  
  • OK, after waking up and showering in our hotel hovel (and still not quite feeling clean), I changed into my tux to meet my buddy at his apartment for what turned out to be a 14-hour adventure.
    
    We started out with a traditional Chinese tea ceremony, which was a fascinating thing to a be a part of.
    
    Upon arriving at the bride's parents place, the best man and I had to carry in a 75+ pound pig, the groom had to answer challenges from the bridesmaids (and if he screwed up, the groomsmen in tuxes had to do pushups, dance with each other etc.), he had to barter for permission to even see her, and I was asked to serve the tea at one point (which raise more than a few eyebrows throughout the event).
    
    I was the only Anglo guy involved in any part of this, and folks were alternately confused or offended that I was participating.
    
    Pictures were loooong, I was asked to hold "a part of the bride" during a few shots (let's just say the other groomsmen had head, back, and legs, and I was told to hold whatever was left. Awkward, that).
    
    The ceremony was fantastic, and afterwards we jetted out to the Empress Paviolion Restaurant in LA's China Town, for a 37-course meal (fine, I don't know how long it was; it was just long). I ended up being the A/V guy to get the projector and bride/groom slideshow running, which ended up being way more painful and near disaster than it should have been (but was well worth the resolution at the end).
    
    We ducked out late in the evening to stay at the other college buddy's (and his wife's) place in Redonda Beach.
    
  
  
  
• Day Three:
  
  
  
  • Sam and Caroline are probably two of the most generous, considerate single-folks-without-kids I've ever met. We had a great time hanging out, getting caught up, watching an expose on a Utah cult, and then it was off to Manhattan Beach to play at the free aquarium, not too close to the sewage-suspect surf, then dinner at Mama D's and desert kitty (catty) corner afterwards.
    
  
  
  
• Day Four:
  
  
  
  • Disneyland -- another magic place. Haven't been ther for a few years, and still felt like an ecstatic little kid (in a good way).
    
  
  
  
• Day Five:
  
  
  
  • Disneyland, again, rocks. California Adventure? Not so much ...
    
    Then it was off on a six-hour drive to San Francisco for the toy job, getting in after 2 a.m. Pacific Time (4 a.m. CST). That hurt.
    
  
  
• Day Six:
  
  
  
  • Work. Meetings. Self-talk about how the job is a gift, I work to live (not live to work). A company dinner and far, far too many drinks.
    
    Followed by far, far too many drinks somewhere else. A joke about my crappy cell phone (made jest). A grab. A scuffle. Ending with the piece meal cell phone ending up in a zip log bag (and me draining a 32-ounce beer (or two) to find the battery), and everyone calling it a night. And then explanations later. Many explanations ...
    
  
  
• Day Seven:
  
  
  
  • After too much to drink the night before, I spent the day in the hotel with what I suspect was my first hangover (yeah, I'm so proud), complemented by a sinus infection and a touch of the flu.
    
    We capped off the day with food poisoning and totaling the rental car (we're all fine, thanks), and curled up in our rooms for the evening with over-priced room service and vegging in front of a Disney flick that will likely show up on the hotel bill (and expense report) as "in-room entertainment".
    
    Yeah, Thursday pretty much didn't rock ...
    
  
  
  
• Day Eight:
  
  
  
  
  • After waaay too much time in the morning replacing the rental, we were off to SF proper to hit the highlights.
    
    After a great breakfast at hotspot Cafe Mason (where I'm embarrassed to say I ordered huevos rancheros), we walked briskly down Stockton to China Town (where we spent a ton of time and wonderfully little cash), with stops at Union Square both ways.
    
    Then it was off to crisscross the Golden Gate Bridge, with a stop at Vista Point to look at the bridge, Alcatraz, and the Lone Sailor Memorial.
    
    Then we made another stop back in China Town to pick up some cheap fleeces before heading to North Beach for Italian dinner at Viva Restaurant, then a local bakery for cappuccino, pazelli, biscotti, and assorted cookies.
    
    Then we zipped by the national shrine to St. Francis of Assisi on our way to Washington Square, and several laps around the park before calling it a night.
    
  
  
• Day Nine:
  
  
  
  • Breakfast at the hotel, off to Fisherman's Wharf, saying "heya" to the sea lions (and a few interloping seals), a visit to the over-rated (and over-priced aquarium), a swing through all of the shops, and a ride on the double-decker carousel. Yes, I rode the carousel. No, I didn't spew. Yes, that was a legitimate concern.
    
    Then is was off to the San Jose airport, way too much time (again) at the rental place explaining why I was returning a different car than they expected, and why the old one may or may not have been filled with gas at the time of the wreck. (They're called computers, People. They keep records that can be shared across locations. Hire someone to look into it, to see if it's something you can use.)
    
    Finally, back on a plane for a brief stop in Las Vegas, then home to Austin.
    
  
  

I'm going to Los Angeles!

I'm hitting the City of Angels this weekend for a college buddy's wedding.

I'm not doing anything industry related, per se, but this is where the magic happens!

OK, technically, I'm supposed to "make the magic happen", but LA's a magical place, so I'm hoping for a little magic-on-magic action.

Maybe I'll hit Disneyland while I'm out there, for some magic-cubed wonkiness. Or something ...

Just started a new ongoing 10-week coaching class with Van Brooks, for the "Working Professional Actor".

Van knows to get stuff out of me, and the caliber of folks in this class is humbling ...

I had a fantastic acting workshop last night with Will Wallace (feel free to insert Braveheart jokes here).

Will is an incredibly talented and personable actor, coach, producer, writer, and director (not necessarily in that order), and last night was a great opprotunity for fun and learning.

Be sure to check Will out in Sonny's Last Shot, running at the State Theatre (719 Congress). The play runs Thursday through Saturday nights (and a Sunday matinee) January 6 through February 5. Call 512-469-SHOW for tickets.

In class, I did a piece from Sexual Perversity in Chicago (David Mamet). It was the "singles bar scene", and I was Bernard Litko. You can actually read the scene on Amazon.com. For those who are worried, we stopped the scene on page 12 (though it's actually page 15 where things get interesting; if no more family-friendly) ... ;-)

By the way, Mamet wrote The Untouchables, one of my two favorite all-time movies. Now you know a little more about me ...

One of the in-class scenes (that wasn't mine) I most enjoyed was one from the sitcom Dharma & Greg, with talented classmates Frank Brantley, Chel Simon, and Adam Powell (dude needs his own website). These three absolutely nailed their roles, and it was a pleasure to watch.

We also did a "get-to-know-you" exercise where the men/women in the class paired up and cycled through 1 minute, 1-on-1 conversations, and wrote one-word "first-impression" summaries anonymously on notecards stuck to our backs.

The summary I netted?:

• Sensitive
  
• Intelligent
  
• Leader
  
• Well-rounded
  
• Beautiful (never got this one before; I wanna know who wrote this)
  
• Enthusiastic!
  
• Funny
  
• Family Man
  
• Very Nice
  
• Engaging
  
• Awesome!

Awe, shucks ...

Seriously, I was encouraged by the diversity of reads I got by just being me, and talking and listening to other people.

What else did I learn in class? A bunch of stuff that it never hurts to hear over and over again. just a couple of examples:

1. Don't "mock" actions in an audition (opening doors, driving a car, etc.), unless specifically asked by the auditioner.
   
2. Don't try to "justify" the scene -- let it work on its own.

On a more sober note, I learned some of my fellow actors don't "connect" unless it's "necessary" (like for a class scene, audition, etc.). When we finished with the class, while I was trying to chat with a few folks who I didn't know, they kind of brushed me off as they waited in line to try to get to Will. Bummer.

Folks, it's about the relationships -- it's not about the networking. At least for me ...

Luckily, I've been blessed with genuine relationships with a number of authentic actors, and enjoyed chatting it up with them.

Special thanks to actor extraordinaire Adam Langley who organized and coordinated this whole thing, and gave up his birthday to attend and make sure it ran smoothly.

Also thanks to CastingWorks LA for generously hosting the whole thing! With special, special thanks to Leigh for hanging out late to lock up afterwards ...

Ooh -- another toy!

My discipleship mentor just got me one of the new Toybiz Marvel Manga Twist 'ems -- Captain America. And he has "shield attack" action.

If he sees the Captain, he gets it for me. It's kind of like a comic book sugar daddy thing. But wholesome. Or something.

Anyway, this thing totally rocks, and the whole Twist 'ems line is really cool.

This just in from things-that-make-a-full-body-skin-graft-look preferable:

So, while running around my old stomping grounds in Idaho Falls over the holidays, I was doing really well until my last day there. That's when -- while out to coffee with my mom, one of my sisters, and my current -- I ran into my ex.

Yeah. Awkward. Coulda done without that.

While driving back to Texas (a treat in itself), we were iced in in Kansas. That was better than that whole awkward situation ...

I put an audio snippet from my audition for the Marvel Enterprises contest, "THE ULTIMATE VOICE TALENT SEARCH" (back in November).

Check it out here!

As a quick re-Cap (hah!), Marvel is making an animated DVD of The Ultimates (their modern incarnation of the Avengers), and are supposedly using the contest to find voice talent (Check out my original blurb here).

I filmed my audition at the Production Block in Austin, Lainie Frasier directed, and I mastered and mixed the audio, video, and soundtrack.

Speaking of soundtrack, you'll notice the music is from the Halo 2 soundtrack. The recent incarnation of this franchise consuming a chunk of my life, so I thought some tunes from Martin O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori, Nile Rodgers, and .. oh yeah, those Breaking Benjamin guys would really juice up the clips.

Video of the booth session coming soon (in theory) ...

"Where does he get those wonderful toys?"

"Where does he get those wonderful toys?" (Batman).

OK, so I like toys. Not the embarrassing-to-find-during-an-airport search kind, just gadgets and action figures.

I had a goal to make nice to myself everytime I landed a gig, but I've lowered my expectations and now make a mad purchase when I feel I've done really well at an audition. I tend toward the more obscure toys, like Beta Ray Bill (who gets a new limited series starting January), Kingdom Come Hawkman, etc.

So, thanks to my Southwest Airlines swimsuit audition a couple of weeks ago, I recently added Archangel from the Toybiz Marvel X-Men collection. This thing looks awesome, is "super poseable" (his hands are segmented, and his freakin' feet are jointed!) and faithfully captures the resurrected character.

For those in the know, you'll remember that the Angel (Warren Worthington III), had the wings he was born with amputated during the Uncanny X-Men "Mutant Massacre" story arc (the same arc that saw fan-favorite gentle giant Colossus kill someone for the first time). X-Men enemy Apocalypse grafted a new costume and cybernetic wings onto Warren, which was kind of like Warren trading in his soul to be able to fly again.

If the stigma "geek" can be attributed to it, I'm probably interested in it ...

And they're "Action Figures" -- not "Dolls"!

I had an industrial audition for PPD (the pharmaceutical company) at Casting Works LA.

What made this one fun is that it was a non-dialog piece where we had to mime-open a non-existent medicine cabinet, choose a real medicine cabinet item (mouthwash, floss, etc.), do something with it, put it back, and "close" the cabinet.

I figured they're seeing several dozen people open and close this fake medicine cabinet, so I showed in pajamas and slippers. I was there to have fun, and I did. Wish it wasn't such a short audition, though ...

I did an a.m. voice audition for Arnie Reyes (Floppy King Productions, LLC). This for his film, Sticks & Stones, for 3 VO roles (News Anchor, Televangelist, and "Ethereal Voice"). We'll see what shakes out of it.

Floppy King Productions, LLC was also involved in Brilliant Blue Films, LLC's Bunny & Clydo, in which I have a small featured part (in theory; I havent' seen the final cut, yet). Watch the trailer at iFilm.com -- it rocks.

I'm trapped on travel for the toy job, and had a great connection tonight with Selina, a Bay Area bartender.

Those that know me may wonder at the connection (aside from my fascination with alliteration), but Selina and I had a great conversation about our three-and-a-half year-old daughters, the "ah-ha!" of realizing they're becoming their own people, the need to let go as parents, religious attachment in a non-compatible world, and some other brief but immensely important topics.

All a tribute to the importance of people listening to people, folks is folks, or ... something ...

... Plus she had this awesome dual dragon tattoo she showed my co-workers and I at the small of her back ...