MAY 1st '06*Guess what?  It's 6am and I'm reporting for my morning meeting with my mistress; this chick named "Motrin" (‘Mo’ for short).  Now, Motrin and I haven't known each other long, not even a week.  We have an understanding.  It's all good, I open her up, look around, swallow and that’s that…until we meet again. 

I ain’t trying to say that "Mo" is a bootie call or nuttin like that.  I have the utmost respect for her power and position in my life, but I'm hollering at this hottie named "Vicodin" (‘Vicky’ for short) too.  You see "Vicky" has a twin sister named "Amoxicillin"; I call her "Moxie" and “Moxie” is something else!

At yesterday's morning staff meeting I was "swole up fo real" and I had a cool ass black eye developing.  But after a threesome with Moxie, Mo & Vicky I was feeling much better and the swelling went down considerably.  By the end of the day I felt I was getting back to normal.  Well, that’s what I thought.

Last night, actually early this morning around 3am I sent a text message to Vicky and she didn’t like my approach and we got into a huge….disagreement.  I thought we had worked it out and agreed to disagree.  Well I wake up at 6am and get this; I’m freakin’ bleeding from my mouth and swole up - AGAIN!  She let me know who was running thangs.  I looked like a dump truck or Mike Tyson after Buster Douglas whipped his butt.  This has to turn around soon.

I hadn’t mentioned this before, but I have a lot of bruising on the inside of my top lip and the bruising is slowly traveling to the outside of my lip.  So I’m getting a ruby-red color to my lips, like lip stick – nice.  It’s like one step forward and two steps back.

Something else I don’t think I mentioned is that I have an appointment with a podiatrist this morning.  Yeah, I was getting my yearly physical a couple of weeks ago and the doctor asked me….

Doc:  Do you have flat feet?

Me:  Ahh…I don’t know.

Doc:  Do your feet bother you?  Or your back?  Or Shins?

Me:  As a matter of fact they do sometimes; yeah even when I’m not on them.

Doc:  Yeah, you definitely have flat feet.  I’ll give you a referral to a podiatrist to get them checked out.

I truly didn’t know; it’s not like I ever tried on someone else’s feet and could compare the two.  What really tripped me out was that I had socks on and he could still tell.  I guess that’s why he gets the big bucks and my feet are really flat. 

This physical wasn’t as interesting as the one on Dec 15^th ’04, yes I remember the date, when I surprisingly got my prostate examined as part of the procedure.  If you’re familiar with what a prostate exam entails; imagine not having any idea it was going to happen until the probing finger was…….probing.  Yeah, “in through the out door” and yes it is only an out door.  Unless, of course, I’m getting my prostate examined….

Okay, so to the podiatrist office.  The doctor takes a look at my feet and ask some questions.  He has me roll up pants to my knees and walk.  Right away he notices that my right side droops when I walk and my right leg is about an inch shorter than my left.  WHAT!!!  Yeah, WTF is going on?  So he gives me temporary inserts for my shoes now and takes plaster cast of my feet for custom inserts.  Yup, they’ll be ready in 10 days.  All for a $15 co-pay.  Gotta love that SAG coverage.

Lastly, this is worth mentioning I think.  I have direct deposit for TV/Film Residuals through my credit union.  So the checks go directly to the credit union to be deposited and the credit union sends me a credit union statement and the statement from the check.  I’m guilty of not always looking at that mail right away because I know there isn’t any checks, just statements and I’m ALL about the money.  Well I got one today and I opened it for some reason and sure enough there was actually a check in there.  Moral of the story for me: check your mail it might be residual from “Yes, Dear”.

MAY 2nd ‘06*The saga continues…Yeah, the swelling has gone down, but I still bleed overnight while I sleep.  The black-eye is getting cooler everyday, but since I wear glasses you can’t see it too well.  Actually, I wish more people could see it so when they saw me in public they would “bac ‘da eff up!”  Ya, know, they would think I got drunk the night before and kicked some ass or something.  I’m dying to yell “WHAT THE EFF YOU LOOKIN’ AT?”  Okay, not really.

Check this out.  Through this whole situation I have talked and talked about it, but fortunately I have not been in pain.  I haven’t gotten much sleep, but I’ve been largely pain-free.  Well, last night I was preparing to take my 9pm dose of Vicodin and noticed that it was the last one.  Hmmm, I thought.  “Do I really need to take this?”  I was like “Nah, I’m going to save it.”      

I wanted to know what it would feel like to always have a Vicodin at my disposal, even if it was only one single pill.  It would just make me smile to know that I had it.  I mean I hear so much about Vicodin in the news. Isn’t that what got Courtney Love, Whitney and now Charlie Sheen in trouble?  Does that sound weird?  It may, but you have to understand I am a guy that has had a gift certificate for a full session massage from Burke Williams for over almost 5 years – gratuity included.  Yup, my girlfriend at the time gave it to me as a birthday gift.  I just like to know that I have it “if” I wanna use it.  I take it out of the gift box and look at it every now and then.  When the time is right I’ll use it.  I’m letting it mature like a blue-chip stock.

The real reason is that this same girlfriend bought me another one for a full body message when we lived in New York.  That time it was at The Peninsula Hotel on 55^th & Fifth Ave.  I was very careful to use it when I really felt the time was right.  OMG!!!  It was out of this world!  The very next day I had the audition for the “Pepsi” commercial that I booked and went to Madrid, Spain for a week.  WHAT!!  Yeah, to this day I still believe that part of the reason I booked that commercial was because of her and that massage.  Ironically, exactly nine years ago, right now, as I write this I was flying over the Atlantic on my return trip from Madrid to JFK after shooting the spot.  She has great taste.  Thank you again!

Anyway, back to the Vicodin.  I decided not to take the last one and let me tell you that stuff really works ‘cause pretty soon my whole mouth was throbbing and I had a pretty bad headache.  I guess I had stayed ahead of the pain by taking everything on the proper schedule and I screwed it up by trying to be smart.  That serves me right for trying to beat the system. 

I didn’t want to just catch up on that now late Vicodin because my Motrin dose was coming up so I waited until 3am to pop that last Vicodin.  I should have “just said yes” before; but I was curious to see if these drugs really make a difference – they do.  Since I was now out of Vicodin and had to see if I was going to be cool without it.  Well as the day went on I got my answer.  I called the dentist and said “hey Doc, I’m dying over here.  You gotta write me another script”.  I love the underworld slang; “script”.  I feel like I’ve really arrived in Hollywood now.  The headline could say:  STEPHON FULLER – PRESCRIPTION DRUGS?   Looks like me and Vicodin aka “Vicky” are dating again.  I pick up the refill tomorrow.

Beaten, battered, but I'll be back!

MAY 4th ‘06*I’m feeling a bit better these days; although I’m still bleeding a little, but sometimes a lot from the roof of my mouth.   The swelling is almost gone, but I can still tell.  I’ve slept till noon two days in a row.  That is very unlike me, but very nice at the same time. 

As far as the triplets go; “Moxie” moved back to the East coast, she and are done.  “Mo”, we talk every now and then, but I think it’s a wrap between us too.  I still have her number and she has mine, but it ain’t what it was.  “Vicky”, geez, we broke up and got back together and now it’s kinda strained and to be honest it’s best that we move on our separate ways.  Dag!  I used to luv her too, but too much of anything is probably not good. 

On another note; I just talked to my brother in Prague and I was able to hear my 6-month old niece, Nikita, laughing in the background which made me want to get on plane right then and there an go see her.  It made my brother think of this link he found of a laughing set of quads.  It definitely made me laugh at 2 am.

MAY 5th ‘06*Audition: “Hummer” @ Ross Lacy Casting.  I think my new strategy at this office will be to try “not” to book; maybe that will help me.  I booked the first time I auditioned there it’s been downhill from there, LOL!  I’m just kidding, not downhill, but Ross calls me in A LOT and I would like to score some points for the home team. 

Now that I think about it I should be getting that 3^rd callback check for that “Sprint” spot I was on avail for a couple of weeks ago at Ross’ office.  Every little bit helps.
 

Audition: “KFC” @ Ross Lacy Casting.  This went quite well and I feel really right for it.  Hopefully, I’ll get a callback.

Audition: “Budweiser” @ TLC/Loree Booth Casting.  I have booked two “IBM” spots at this office.  The really cool thing about this office is that the first call is sorta like a callback because a lot of times director, the legendary Joe Pytka, already knows who he wants to see.  They don’t usually have callbacks at all.  It’s audition, hopefully an avail then a booking…or not.

I made it a specific point to get in this office years ago.  I was on a mission to find out who the top commercial directors were.  The name Joe Pytka kept coming up.  I remember being at a producer session in January 2001 at Universal and I was talking to an actor who had just done a “Pepsi” spot directed by Mr. Pytka.  It was his first time working with Joe, but he was telling me about another actress who was in the spot as well.  She had made over $100,000 total after doing several Pytka directed spots.  This actress said that she didn’t even think Pytka knew her name, but he kept calling her for jobs.  If you’ve ever worked with him you’d understand; he is an enigma.  He is also basketball fanatic; all of his commercial sets have a basketball court set-up for him challenge the crew…cast. 

Needless to say he quickly went to the top of my list because I always heard he uses actors over and over and over again.  I really wanted to get on that list.  I had to do some research because it’s hard to get to commercial directors, so I figured if I could find who cast his spots I could eventually get to Joe.  I found out that it was TLC/Booth Casting that did almost all of his spots and keyed in on them for drops and postcards.  Now this was before online casting was what it is today.

Of course, all of this time my wonderful agents @ KSA were doing all they could to get me in this office too, like every other office in town, but I was really concentrating on this one.  By June of 2001 I had started auditioning there and on my 4^th time in May 2002 I booked an “IBM” spot! Sure enough one of the other actors in the commercial was shooting his eighth spot and last year while working on “Love, Inc.” one of those actors has done so many Pytka spots he doesn’t even audition anymore.

I’ve had several avails there over the years and booked another “IBM” last year, but don’t feel like family yet.  I kinda feel like extended family; maybe a second cousin or something.  I’m still working on it though.

MAY 6th '06*I had 3 commercial auditions yesterday.  Well, actually I had two scheduled, but when I went to the first one I peeped what was going on in the next room.  It was a “KFC” spot also being cast by Ross Lacy.  While I waited to go in for my scheduled one, I scoped out the “KFC” to see exactly who was going in for it.  I saw several African-American guys that were my type; some of them I’ve auditioned with before.  Hmm, should I make a move?  What should I do?

On the one hand Ross calls me quite often and there might have been a specific reason while wasn’t being seen for this one so I wanted to really think about my next move.  Actually, this same scenario has happened before and I elected to let it ride for various reasons.  So I figured I could do one of 4 things:

1. Try to straight up crash the audition and weasel my way in. (not likely, although I did do a version of that one time and booked a national “Pizza Hut” spot.)
    
2. Ask the session runner. (I didn’t want to do that; I recognized the guy and didn’t think it would work.)
    
3. Call my agents, let them know what I saw and see if they could get me in.
    
4. Be happy that I have 2 auditions and call it a day.

I thought about it for a minute and there is something to be said for being able to recognize an opportunity when it is in front of you.  That is a sense I think I have and it has served me in the past.  It’s exactly how I got the “Honda” gig I went to Japan for; it ended up being like $10,000 when it was all over.  I can’t afford to possibly leave 10K on the table if I can do something about it.  I could probably pick-up some new gym shoes with 10K…or better yet get closer to buying a condo.

I opted for choice #3 - call my agents.  So I speak to Don, one of the assistants and tell him what I saw.  He says he’ll talk to the agent and get back to me.  Cool.  The great thing about my relationship with my agents is that I have confidence that they will, at the very least, try to get me in. 

It’s not that important to me if they actually do.  Well of course I want to get seen, but they great thing is that they take me seriously.  They could easily just say “Oh yeah we submitted you; maybe they’ll go another day.”  I would bet that I was submitted, but for whatever reason was not given an appointment.  Who knows what the reason might be, but the key is trying to change that.  I am very selective about when I call them for these types situations; I don’t want them to think I call about anything and everything just for attention.

19 minutes later Don calls back with an appointment.  Bingo!  That made 3 auditions for yesterday – and they all went really well.

Yesterday evening I attended a celebration for one my commercial agents who got a huge promotion.  I am so excited for her; it’s great to see people move forward in their chosen field.  I’m always going on and on about how great it is to be represented by these wonderful people – I can’t help it.  All of my agents and assistants were there and I even met some casting people.  I almost felt like I was doing the “Hollywood Thing!!”  I had a great time. 

Afterwards I went to a surprise birthday party for my friend Tanika Brown. I hadn’t seen her for a good while and it really showed me how the internet makes me feel like I’m in touch with folks, but in reality I’m in touch in a virtual world kinda way.  There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s priceless to actually get out in the company of others and have human contact.  I was only there for a little while, but Tanika, myself, Melissa Madison and others at the party had some great laughs and the internet can’t really compete with that.  I’ve gotta do that more often.

MAY 8th ‘06*Print go-see: “Wells Fargo” @ Connie Conway Casting.  Who knows how this went, I was in and out in 3 minutes.  It felt great to have my zed card and not a headshot.  I'm gonna start booking print eventually, at least that's what I tell myself!

MAY 9th '06*Yes!! Remember that "KFC" spot I wiggled my way into a couple of days ago? Well I got a callback and they put me on avail. No, it's not a booking, but I'm really excited to get to the next round. I think I'm really right for it and, who knows, maybe it'll go my way. It's amazing how many opportunities they are here in Los Angeles. It's not easy to get them, but they are here right under our noses. I am thankful for each and every one I get; and to think I considered letting this opportunity slide - for a moment.

MAY 10th '06*I had a busy day today.  Mostly mental, just because I've got so much on my mind I sometimes feel like I'm going to explode.  It’s all good stuff, but stuff nonetheless.

This marks the 11 year anniversary of my moving from Virginia Beach to New York.  WHAT!?  11 years?  Yeah, 11 years.  Wow.  Even I can hardly believe it.  I gotta tell you I've had a good ride, a really good ride.  I was talking to my friend SonHui just last night.  She is embarking on a career transition and used me as a sounding board for some ideas she has about making it happen.  I don’t feel like I have much to offer in the way of answers, but something she said kinda resonated with me.  She commented that “you did it, you up and moved to New York to follow your dreams.  Look at all the things you’ve done in the last 11 years.”   “Huh”, I thought.  I guess I have gotten a thing or two done in my time at the wheel.  I mean I don’t usually see myself as someone who just up and does whatever it takes to make changes.  I have a master’s degree in “procrastination” trust me, but I guess it’s all relative to what you’re comparing it to. 

It was also an interesting day for another reason.  My friend, Jonathan Julian, left this afternoon for Vancouver to work on "Noah's Arc"; a show that he is a series regular on.  As I've mentioned before, he landed this role from a self-submission on NowCasting.  Anyway Jon and I have been friends for a long time.  He introduced me to my first acting teacher, Sylvia Harman, in Virginia Beach back in 1993. 

When I think back to whom I studied with back then, so many years ago, and what some of them are doing in the business it bring a smile to my face.  As mentioned Jonathan is in Vancouver, Michelle Krusiec is always working on something, Joanna Canton is anticipating pick-up on a new ABC pilot and William Gregory Lee is currently in Hawaii working on a series as well.  I feel like I’m in pretty good company, but I better get my a** in gear to keep up!

Bright and early this morning I had my stitches removed from my mouth.  It seems that my recovery is moving along well.  While there I saw the gentleman who gave me a ride home last week after the surgery.  It was then that it dawned on me that I had no recollection of getting to in his SUV.  I was on four different medications plus whatever I was given through the needle in my mouth.  I totally underestimated what I was in for.  For the life of me I couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t do everything I was used to doing.  Hello, I had been through a surgical procedure, duh.  It worked out great though, I only missed one theatrical audition and I was okay with that.

OMG!  While they were removing the stitches I got pinched a couple of times.  I was squirming in the chair like crazy trying to be a big boy about it.  I’m really glad those stitches are gone, because some of them were coming out on their own and I would swallow them or worse “almost swallow them”.  Yeah, if you saw a young African-American male running in the street looking for a bottle of water while making sounds like a cat with a hairball in its throat it was probably me.  Good riddance to those stitches; it’s not natural to have thread in your mouth anyway.

I gotta tell you this dental stuff is crazy expensive and while there I had to purchase this special rinse to aid in the healing for $25.  WHAT?  The good thing was that when I parked to go to the appointment the parking meter was broken so I didn’t have to pay.  Yeah! So I saved like a $1 right there.  Every little bit counts.  The even better thing was that when I was leaving the office I found $20 on the ground.  There was nobody around, just cars waiting for the light.  Yup, you got it; it went straight in my pocket.  I knew when I woke up this morning it was going to be a good day.  Free money before noon is always a good start.

From there I ran and did a quick drop-off.   The drops will start to slow down since I am planning my month long break from Los Angeles soon.  I’m really looking forward to that; I’d love to leave with a booking or two.

Callback/Avail "KFC" @ Ross Lacy Casting.  Another one in the books; it went really well.  I did all I could, so we’ll see.  This is especially great because I didn’t originally have an appointment for it.

CUT TO:  one hour later – 3:50pm.

My agent calls to inform me that I have another callback tomorrow for this same “KFC” spot and I'm still on avail.  Well that’s good right?  Of course yeah I’m still in the game!  I don’t get paid to audition very often, but I’ll get another $133.75 for this 3^rd audition.  Oh yeah and I’ll get to eat some sort of hot wings or whatever it was we were pitching in the spot.  Lunch is good, and I like chicken…it is chicken right?  Of course it’s chicken!  It’s right in the name “Kentucky Fried CHICKEN” – KFC.

It seems these days I attend as many financial/real estate seminars as acting related events.  This one tonight was at the Marriot/LAX and it was about real estate investing and the importance of credit scores.  I gotta tell you the financial world is just as interesting as Hollywood to me; incredibly creative.

MAY 11th ‘06*2nd Callback/Avail “KFC” @ Ross Lacy Casting.  This 2nd callback went really, really well.  I went in with a great group of guys, I took direction and had a lot of confidence, but for some reason I was kinda down when I left.  I'm not sure what it was, but I felt the very familiar "you've been released" lurking closely around the corner.  It's rare for me to feel that way.  I mean I don't necessarily expect to book from an avail, but I don't take it personal and get too wrapped up in it either.

I guess it doesn't really matter since I left good stuff in the room.  They don't have to know I was severely depressed on my way back to my car.  THEY don't have to know I was calling my therapist for an emergency session to JUST GET THROUGH IT!  THEY don't have to know I was looking at my wrist with a Swiss-Army knife in the other hand ready to CUT MY EFFING WRIST!  THEY don't have to know it I went straight home, got into bed, curled up in a FETAL-POSITION with my thumb in my mouth!  THEY don't have to know I looked at some of my extra Vicodin and was ready to END IT ALL DAMMIT!!

They don't have to know any of that.  Why?  Because it didn't happen and Vicodin is for pain.  I think Prozac is the one I'm thinking of.  Maybe for my next dental procedure I can talk the doc into some of that Prozac shit.  Let me tell you, the ONLY reason none of that stuff happened is because I had to go home, change and rush to another audition.  Without the annoyance of ANOTHER FREAKIN COMMERCIAL AUDITION you can bet I would have been home, naked, in a fetal-position, bleeding from the wrist, popping Vicodin every 10 minutes - convincing myself it was Prozac. 

Audition: “Red Stripe Beer” @ Francene Selkirk Casting.  This one went great.  It was funny because they were waiting and waiting for an Asian guy to go in with this Asian woman who was there before me.  Also, there wasn't a Black woman for me to go in with.  So we both just had to wait, which wasn't a problem for me, but why?  I'm thinking, are you kidding me it's freakin 2006?  

Look, I don't know if the Asian woman was Japanese or not, but I do know that I've been to Tokyo and trust me, "it's all good" there is no problem with a Black man and an Asian woman having a little something in common - at least for a commercial audition.  Sometimes the ad agency wants to see things a certain way I guess.

MAY 12th '06*Gotta love the same day auditions; especially when nothing else is going on.  Well, I assume I’m still on avail for “KFC”, but no appointments for today.  That is until Erin, one of my theatrical agents called with one for this evening.  Yup, 6:55 this evening.  Cool, I’ll take that!

Get this, I go to the post office this afternoon and who gets in line behind me?  The star of Fox hit “Prison Break” Wentworth Miller.  He was being kinda low-key hiding behind aviator sunglasses and I could tell by his posture he was trying to be anonymous.  I wanted to say something to him, but not reveal him to the other customers.  To be honest, I don’t know if anyone else knew who he was.  On the down-low I say, “Congratulations on the show”.  He replies, “Thanks”.  I asked him about the new season pick up and he seemed surprised I knew about it.  I also asked him if they were still going to be shooting in Chicago and say “no” the show will be shooting in Texas next season.  Huh, Texas?  He seemed like a nice, regular guy.  I say “good luck”, he said “thanks” and I made my way to the window to handle my business.  Not two minutes after that I am walking back to my apartment and who walks right past me on the sidewalk?  Actor-comedian Bill Bellamy.  Yeah, right in my neighborhood.  I guess this means I moved to the right city to further my career.

Audition: “Evan Almighty” @ Aquila/Wood Casting.  The role is that of a reporter; actually one of 3 reporters AND it shoots in Virginia.  Yeah, so I can’t help but to plan out my whole trip if I am fortunate enough to book a role.  I felt great about my preparation and was quite confident going to the appointment.  The audition was in the same building that my theatrical agency is in; one floor below.  So I arrive at the casting office and sign in and there are about 10-12 actors ahead of me.  I hang out for a bit rehearsing and then figure I’d go outside so I could rehearse at full volume instead of whispering in the halls of the building.

One of my dilemmas was using a prop or not. My character was a reporter interviewing and thought it made sense that he would have a microphone.  Ya know; you always hear “NO PROPS!” and “NO MIMING!”  I didn’t have a microphone anyway, but I did have one of those little umbrellas that’s about the size of microphone, when closed, in the trunk of my car.  I went back and forth for a bit about it and decided to own it and use it.  Who cares what they think, it’s my audition!  Right?  Truthfully, I did care, but not enough to not use it.  I thought about the hundreds of actors that I’ve auditioned with when working as a reader and what the most effective thing they had in their favor.  More often than not it was their ownership of their performance.  I’m gonna own this performance dammit!

So I’m back downstairs on the street, umbrella in hand, rehearsing at full volume.  People in cars are driving by looking at me, talking to myself, in a suit, with an unbrella in my hand.  Yeah, I was getting some funny looks, but you know what?  It was a great feeling.  Why?  Because, I had to NOT be afraid of making a fool of myself. The location was Hollywood & Vine which is undergoing a lot of construction and the area is a little haphazard at best.  I was rehearsing in the doorway of an empty storefront; an area where a homeless person might take a dump or vomit.  It wasn’t too bad in there, a little cleaner than I expected.

So I’m reading the material, people are looking at me and I decide to move a little closer to the sidewalk to really expose myself and what I was doing.  What happened next was kinda surreal.  Who walks by?  Not 1 of my theatrical agents, not 2 of my theatrical agents but all 3 OF MY THEATRICAL AGENTS!!!  LOL!  Yeah, Erin, David and Caleigh were leaving the building after work.  So I had a little explaining to do, especially the umbrella in my hand that I was talking into.  It was pretty funny.  They were quite supportive and glad to see me working on my stuff.  They also liked how I looked in a suit.  I love my agents.

Back upstairs and all systems are go!  I enter the room and Tricia says the umbrella/microphone is a good idea.  The scenes went great.  She gave me a little direction and we did some of them a second time.  At the end they requested a 30 second improv.  My “microphone” turned into umbrella again and it worked well for the scenario I came up with.  I felt great about the outcome, so we’ll see what happens….or not.  I have plans to be out of town next weekend, but given a choice I’d rather be on a plane to Virginia.

MAY 14th '06*I miss my mom, I really, really miss her. I wish I had the luxury of picking up the phone and calling her today; or any other day for that matter. My mom was a funny lady; hilarious. She could roll with the best of them and she did a lot of nice things for a lot of people. I did talk to or left messages for some other moms though.

One woman I spoke to used to work for our family business back in Virginia years ago. Her name is Christine. I hadn't spoken to her in at least 15 years. Needless to say she was very suprised to hear from me. Christine is, I would guess, in her 80's and unfortunately her health is failing. I'm glad I had a chance to talk to her. She thought it was a really big deal that I called long distance from Los Angeles. I told her that a lot had changed over the years and "long distance" isn't wasn't it used to be.

I also babysat my Goddaughter Hazel while her mother and grandmother spent some time together. We had a great time at the park and went to the mall for pizza! She's almost 2 and ate about as much pizza as I did. No wonder I'm so thin!

MAY 15th ‘06*Tonight I was an observer at a SAG Hollywood Board meeting. From what I understand this is only the second meeting in the history of SAG that has been open to members; therefore I was one of the first 30 members to witness the process.  It was pretty fascinating to watch even though I had no idea what was going on for the most part. It was kinda like coming into a discussion that had been going on for weeks or even months and years.  There where other things that I understood perfectly, and frankly irritated me.  I was aware of this prior to hearing it tonight and for the life of me still cannot understand it.  Why does SAG spend $250,000 a month to lease the building it is in?  From what I’ve read we/SAG are in a 10-year, 29 million dollar lease.  Yes $29,000,000 and after 10 years we’ll have nothing.  I thought me paying rent on my apartment was stupid for all of these years, but SAG’s situation is STUPID!  Are you freaking kidding me?  What doesn’t SAG have its own building?  Actually, the deal was done under the previous administration and I am not shocked by it at all.

I truly appreciate the time the board members donate to help actors get a fair deal.  They don’t get paid for the tremendous amount of work they do.  There were some recognizable faces there too: Morgan Fairchild, I have to say she looks pretty good for 56!, JoBeth Williams and Elliott Gould, I spoke to Elliott briefly, I told him I was cast in a scene with him and Don Cheadle in “Ocean’s Twelve”, but it was cut before shooting.  He said he heard that he himself going to be in “Ocean’s Thirteen”.  Maybe Mr. Soderbergh will hire me again.

MAY 16th ‘06*More shocking news for me this morning, I was released from my avail for “KFC” at Ross Lacy Casting.  I don’t even know what to say about not getting past the avail point for almost a year.  At least I’ll get paid for the second callback, but still.

By contrast, something I’m really happy about is that Ross Lacy calls me in more than anybody else in this entire city and for a good while I rarely got ANY callbacks for him. In 2004 I auditioned 16 times for Ross with only one callback and that was the last one of the year.  In 2005 I also went in 16 times with 2 callbacks.  So far in ’06 I’ve auditioned for him 10 times and have had a total of 5 callbacks or 2^nd callbacks/avails. So the fact that I’m getting callbacks, second callbacks and avails for one of the most important commercial offices in town is a good thing.   So that is progress and I have to remember that!  I booked the first time I auditioned for him back in 2000 and wanna get back there.

Audition: “Mastercard” @ Ross Lacy Casting.  This went really well.

Audition: “Drake & Josh” @ Krisha Bullock Casting.  Ah, this didn’t go so well.  I had a lot of baggage about this one.  The biggest thing is that it’s an AFTRA show and I don’t usually pursue AFTRA shows.  I know it sounds really stupid and I’m trying to get over it, but to be honest my feeling runs SO deep about us having two different guilds covering TV work that it gets in the way of having fun.  Plus, I’m an AFTRA must join from a job I did in ’93 and I don’t wanna pay them to join.  I don’t really care to be a member of AFTRA.  Then I would be paying more dues to another guild and for what?  Normally, I don’t even drop-off to AFTRA shows.  It’s a complicated guild issue.