© 1993 - 2006 stephonfuller.com All Rights Reserved
The Business of the Acting Business Consultations!!!
| Chapter 1 May '93 to Mar '02 | Chapter 10 Nov '05 to Feb '06 |
| Chapter 2 April '02 to Feb '03 | Chapter 11 March '06 to April '06 |
| Chapter 3 Mar '03 to Jan '04 | Chapter 12 May '06 to May '06 |
| Chapter 4 Feb '04 to Aug '04 | Chapter 13 June '06 to July '06 |
| Chapter 5 Sept '04 to Nov '04 | Chapter 14 Aug '06 - Aug '06 |
| Chapter 6 Dec '04 to Jan '05 | Chapter 15 Sept '06 - Sept '06 |
| Chapter 7 Feb '05 to April '05 | Chapter 16 Oct '06 - Nov '06 |
| Chapter 8 May '05 to July '05 | Chapter 17 Dec '06 - Feb '07 |
| Chapter 9 Aug '05 to Oct '05 | Chapter 18 Mar '06 - April '07 |
AUGUST 1st '05*Audition: “Dreamgirls” @ Debra Zane Casting. This is the feature film starring Beyonce Knowles, Usher Raymond, Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy. Debra and casting associate, Tannis Vallely, have been very loyal supporters of my career. It’s funny that I got an appointment for this because just last week I had to fight the urge to drop another photo to their office for a new Steven Soderbergh project that I think they are casting. Steven cast me in “Ocean’s Twelve”, but the role was cut before I even film it. I don’t know if I’m right for anything in the project, but I’ll try and try again.
Their office, just down the street from my apartment, is a film casting gold mine. I do drops there on a regular basis. As individuals, we sometimes think the casting community forgets about us and in many cases, it’s true. They have so many others from which to choose. I’m trying my best to prevent them from forgetting about me; without being a nuisance. When this call came from my agent I said “YES!!”
I gotta tell ya, getting to read @ Debra Zane's office is a pure treat. It's more like a rehearsal or even shooting. Tannis runs the camera, they put a wireless microphone on you, they have studio lights and Debra is actually in the scene with you!! I mean, as an actor, you kinda have to switch gears because it's odd to get that much attention during an audition. Oh yeah, they schedule actors in 20-30 minute time slots. WHAT? Yeah, so you rarely even see another actor while you're there. These people really want to help you be the absolute best you can be.
When I arrived I had 5-7 minutes to warm it up in the space where I would be reading. They gladly answered my questions and we put it on tape. In the end I was happy and they seemed happy so we'll see what happens.
Audition: “Gilmore Girls” @ JaM Casting. I actually booked a role on this show back in September of 2002, but I wasn’t able to do it because I was already booked on “Good Morning,
I felt really good about the read; at minimum I think they’ll bring me back if I don’t book this time. The only thing I didn’t like was that my character yelled in the scene; he was breaking up a fight. I was pretty loud in the room, but I don’t think it was a deal breaker.
Wow another audition?! Almost. Before I even got this message for the appointment I got the message that it had been cancelled. It was for "Strong Medicine" and Lori Sugar Casting, but the role was written out of the episode. They said they'll get me in for something else soon. Cool, at least I'm on the radar. I've auditioned and gone to producers for the show 3 different times, but the last time was like 3 years ago. I will keep trying.
Callback: "Cheese Nips" @ Mimi Webb-Miller Casting. This was from last week; the same office where I got into the little spat with the session runner. She was there today and approached her, tapped her on the shoulder and told her "that I was on my behavior today". She just laughed; I told her that I felt horrible about it and even wrote about it in my journal. She said she told her boyfriend. We are fast friends now; things usually work out. Anyway, this callback went really well. Time will tell how it really went.
I was happy with how this one went, it was quick-fast in and out.
I talked to the ad agency for the “IBM” spot today to see when it might start running. She said it was going to through market testing at the moment and they should know next week and she’ll call me then. I hope it test well!
Anyway, I talked to the casting associate today and she said they only re-shot the females leads scenes. So I guess I’m safe.
Tonight I attended, what was supposed to be, a SAG Presidential Debate Meeting. The only problem is that the opposing side chose not to participate. I usually attend a couple of meetings a year and more often than not I leave with not such a great feeling. To be honest, I sometimes wonder exactly what side the higher-ups of the Guild are on. I don't pretend to know the real in and outs of all the contracts, but some things just seem weird. I could never understand why "we" hired Bob Pisano, the former the CEO that recently resigned. I mean, he was on the board of directors of Net Flix the whole time. I don't blame him for not giving up his seat on the board, I’m sure he was making a lot of money but I don't understand why SAG hired him. I believe it was pretty obvious what side he was on...and it wasn't ours. I don't know, it just seems that SAG, in so many ways, is playing catch up while the producers watch us fight.
If you, like me, used to not too much attention to the Guild stuff that comes in the mail I beg of you to check it out. We need guidance and soon. We have to have more informed voters so we can all earn a living in this crazy business. As I wait for my residuals for “The Terminal” it pains me to know how little of the pie we get while the studios get so, so much. On the surface, it seems to me, that if we actors were aligned with the directors and writers we could get our fair share.
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This is an email I received as an example during a recent negotiation. It shows how things can be:
Thank you SOOO much for your recent email. I have tried till I'm blue in the face to explain what happened to me on the movie Seabiscuit,
Which you referenced in your email? [Note: we pointed out that the Writer and director of "Seabiscuit" each made $650,000 from DVD sales.]
Please feel free to share this information in ANY of your materials as it will further breakdown HOW LITTLE will show up in the actors' pockets and how MILLIONS of dollars will be lost in the future.
A few key points on "Seabiscuit" and another movie I worked on, "Catch Me If You Can".
Seabiscuit - pay rate for me: 1 day, Scale plus 10%. "Take it or leave it." Sound familiar? I took it. THINKING, great book, big movie, big budget, RESIDUALS - WRONG!!!!
The movie grossed over 200 million at the box office, then went on to become the #20 Top Selling DVD of ALL TIME at 6.6 MILLION UNITS. But I had to split the 12 CENTS that actors got for each of those 6.6 MILLION UNITS with 90 other speaking roles!
Net pay for me for one day: $538.00
Residuals: $458.00 - And that's for EVERYTHING - DVD, Cable, Pay TV.
Films of this size are skipping cable and syndication and cutting right to cheap, mass-produced DVD's which offer PURE PROFIT.
Now I will use Catch Me If You Can as my other example:
2 days at $800 (my quote at the time - you'll see why fighting for your quote is worth the risk of losing the job.) [Note: this is also a good example of why the proposed 3% increase in minimums is meaningless.]
My residuals for Catch Me If You Can: $5,200. Almost 3 times my initial salary. Same 200 Million at the box office - BUT - not anywhere near the DVD sales of Seabiscuit. BUT - A LOT of HBO, Cable and Pay-Per-View.
The DVD issue is worth sending these guys back to the table. Any penny above what we have now is worth MILLIONS in the long run. The STARS have to come out on this since they have even more to lose than we do. They came out late in the Commercial Strike - I say - bring them out now.
I will send your email to all my friends with that thought in mind that ANYTHING we get above NOTHING now is worth the good fight. WE MUST NOT be fed this b.s. from up top. They misjudged us when they tried to sell us on the merger and on the dues raise. I think they're doing that here, too.
Yours in Brotherhood,
[Name deleted at writer's request.]
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Is that a wake up call or what? Arm yourself with knowledge and then vote!!
Today, I was treated to the most amazing singers - and they “was all up in my grill” singing to directly ME!! It was like a dream come true. One of the songs was Jennifer Holidays' version of "And I'm Telling You". It was crazy. After the first actress/singer performed, I had goose bumps. They even had a pianist. It was completely surreal. Fortunately, for everyone, I wasn't required to sing. The other scenes had dialogue so I got to work too..
As I've said before, being a reader is an incredibly insightful way to learn about the casting process. I got a chance to see and hear some really cool things; I’ll wait to see the final product on the big screen. Ooops, I forgot, I myself auditioned for it several weeks ago!! Maybe I’ll be in it too! I probably would have heard by now. Well, who knows, it doesn’t start shooting until January.
Audition: “That 70’s Show” @ G. Charles Wright Casting. I really wanna get on this show! I’ve auditioned for it a couple of times now and hopefully I’ll score one of these days. I felt great about the audition, so we’ll see.
After I left I went to do drop-offs at some of the other offices at CBS Radford and ran into
Then I went over to the “Will & Grace” casting office where another friend was auditioning. I dropped an updated photo and resume. They are currently casting 4 shows.
This is where something really, really cool happened. I was looking for Jeff Greenberg’s office, which I believe has moved, and spotted David Kohan. David, along with Max Mutchnick created smash hit “Will & Grace” and I worked for them on “Good Morning,
I did drops all day today and I am exhausted. I didn’t even get them all done, I’ll finish tomorrow……I guess.
Audition/Print go-see: “Adidas” @ Vicki Goggin Casting. WHAT!? This is like the fourth print go-see I’ve had this year. I’m actually getting less surprised when I get calls from the print department. Thank you Jenny & Rose! I even finished those drop-offs from yesterday.
I look at it this way:
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I go from one of the 10,000’s of men that are right for it
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To fewer that have representation
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To even fewer who are actually submitted by agents
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To even fewer that have agents whose submissions get looked at
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To WAY fewer who get appointments, maybe 100-200 I’d think.
To all of that I say “wow”. I am very fortunate. Thank you KSA!
Audition/Producers: “Love, Inc.” @ Susan Vash Casting. This character is perfect for me; it’s one of three computer nerds trying to attract women to date. Ha!!! Anyway, interesting enough the casting director called me on my cell phone. She had an old resume which had the old number for my theatrical agent on it. Cool, I’ll take it however I can get it. Remember those direct contact numbers for situations like that.
This goes great too! I felt really good about the character, a computer nerd. Ha! It fit me perfectly! The room was full of the usual suspects; director, writers/producers, casting, camera operator and reader. It just seemed to click for me, even though I kinda chewed up a little bit of the dialogue the character was intact. They laughed a lot. I guess it’s wait and see now.
Afterwards I stopped by my theatrical agency to say good-bye to the office manager Michael. He is moving on to do some different things in the business. I met Steve who will be his replacement. I also got word that an official name change of the agency is in the works, probably sometime in the Fall. I'm really happy with my agents....I am fortunate.
Oh yeah, while I was at the office the call came in that I was going to producers tomorrow for "Girlfriends". Cool!
LATER - YES!! I get the call that I am one of the “choices” for a role in “Love, Inc.”. They won’t know until tomorrow, but she said it “looks very strong at this point”. Alright, I’ll take that.
So what happened today?
I had 2 auditions.
Both were at Paramount Studios.
Both were reading 3 different roles.
Both of the Casting Directors names are Susan.
Both scenes are with African-Amercian females.
......hmmmm
SEPTEMBER 2nd ‘05
Yeah!!!
Right after my agent, Josh Schiowitz, called with the good news the CD, Susan Vash, called with congratulations and the details. I got a chance to thank her for calling me directly when she had trouble finding me through my agent. She was like “Of course! When I want to find someone I don’t stop until I do.” Thank you Susan!!
Which is:
1. Stay really, really busy hustling to create opportunities.
2. Know that everything done to further my career means something. It may not always be tangible, but it matters in the big picture. Sometimes it takes years to see the result of an effort made today.
3. Don’t worry about what my agents are doing, I trust that they are doing their job. I realize I may be in the minority on that
Callback: “Girlfriends” @ Susan Goddard-Smythe Casting. This goes really well and I think I’m right for it. Regardless, I think Susan will call me in again and the season is still young.
SEPTEMBER 6th ‘05
I remember it vividly and it was, without question, the hardest period in my life. Things were going great in my career and terribly in my personal life. Just a day before I'd returned from
She took sick and her condition rapidly deteriorated, but still, we believed that she would recover. It was about this time that we realized her time with us was ending. Exactly one month later, again on the phone with Todd, this story repeated itself @ CBS Radford while working on "GMM". I was in my trailer crying my eyes out just before going on stage to shoot the episode. Mom had really taken a turn for the worse and I was praying it would end soon. The next day,
Sorry about the sad story, it just kinda came over me.
So back to the present. I find Stage 19 and the first person I see is Kevin Christy. Kevin is playing one of the other nerds. He and I worked together a couple of years ago on a pilot presentation for the BBC.
The morning starts with cast introductions and a table read of the script. Cast and crew were all very nice and personable. At that point writer/creator, Andy Secunda and director Arlene Sanford realized that me and one of the other "nerds" had been cast in the wrong role. Ooops! So we switched and read it as requested. It was fun and funny. Following the table read the writers got together for notes and we were released.
I told the 2nd AD that I had an audition on the lot and asked if it was okay for me to go. She said "cool".
Audition: “Threshold” @ Ronnie Yeskel Casting. Get this, it’s at Paramount Studios as well, literally 50 yards from Stage 19 where I’ll be working on “Love, Inc.”. I did a general drop for “Threshold” several weeks ago, maybe they just got it! Ha! The mailroom at
Ironically, I dropped off there for some friends while I was on the lot for "Girlfriends". Then when I went back later in the day for the producer session for "Love, Inc." I was given the wrong building and was kind of lost. I walked in to the casting office for "Threshold" and Ronnie was the one who gave me directions.
So I'm in the waiting room with several other actors hoping it doesn't take too, too long. Right then Casting Director Chuck McCollum enters the room. He's getting his stuff together to begin the session and spots me.
Chuck:
Hey Stephon. (then approaches me) Are you okay for time?
Me:
Yeah, I should be good. Thanks.
Chuck:
Just let me know if you need to go in early, because I know you're working on the lot today.
Me:
You're reading my mind.
Chuck:
Yeah, I talked to your agent and he told me what was going on.
Me:
Thanks, I really appreciate it.
Chuck:
No problem.
Ya know, it was a little weird because I didn’t want to be “that actor”, the one who gets special treatment. I guess it was okay because my agent spoke to him about it ahead of time. At the same time it was great to be reading for another job while on a break from a booking. I always wanted to experience that. As a reader I would see that all the time, actors auditioning while on break from a series or a film.
So I get in the room and read it once. I felt good about it and they gave me direction. I took the direction and got a callback on the spot for later in the afternoon.
Next, I hurry back to "Love, Inc." and the timing is perfect. We run a rough blocking of 3 of the 4 scenes and are released for the day.....it's only
Callback: "Threshold" @ Ronnie Yeskel Casting. I didn't recognize any of the actors from the pre-reads, so this must have been the “straight-to-producers crew”. Anyway, the callback goes pretty well, I jumbled some words a little, but I think the character was intact. We’ll see.
Audition: “Vodafone” @ Maryclaire Sweeters Casting. I barely made it to this one. Actually, I was about 40 minutes late and the very last one to be seen. The session runner had to put me on tape by myself instead of the groups of five he had been doing since there was no one else there. Again, we’ll see, hopefully I’ll get a callback.
Wow!! What a day today was. I worked, made all three of my AND did a bunch of drop-offs. Tomorrow is a new challenge.
SEPTEMBER 7th ‘05
Today things were pretty routine on set @ “Love, Inc.”. Surprisingly, there were no rewrites for the “nerds”. We had a great time with lots of laughing. We also had a network run-thru which seemed to go well. I have had the best of luck with fitting in other auditions. Right before lunch I slipped away for a commercial audition. One of the other “nerds”, Jeremy Guskin, wasn’t able to attend rehearsal today because he booked a national commercial for “Del Taco”. Go Jeremy!
Auditon: “Capital One” @
The 2nd AD, Michelle, calls and asked me to be clean shaven for tomorrows pre-shoots. I already shaved my little goatee and now they want to be clean, clean shaven. The other two are younger than me and they want us all to look about the same age. So they are having me shave and telling them NOT to shave. I guess I’m getting older.
I have two commercial auditions tomorrow and I really hope I can make them both especially the “IBM” one. Oh yeah, I finally saw the “IBM” one I did back in June. It looks fun, totally different than what I envisioned. I like it, I hope it runs a lot.
There was no script at my door this morning so that tells me their are no re-writes or they are STILL re-writing. As soon as I get there they are ready to run one of the scenes I’m in. So I grab a white script, yesterdays was blue, I start doing it. Yup, there are rewrites! I like the new stuff, the old stuff was cool, but this is better and better for me. When I first walked in the director, Arlene Sanford, hardly recognized me because I was clean shaven. I look like a college kid!!
Of course, I’m plotting and planning how I’m going to slip out to the “IBM” audition. I simply CAN'T miss this appointment. I don’t want to miss the other one either, but “IBM/Pytka/TLC/Loree Booth Casting situations are pretty unique in my eyes ABD it’s not looking good.
So back to work……I go into make-up to get all pretty and whoa!! They don’t usually spend that much time on me, but this make-up artist really laid it on. Oh well, I’m pretty………pretty made up. Geez.
I get into wardrobe as the nerd, which was a pretty cool outfit. I’d wear it in my regular life, maybe I really am a nerd. That’s okay with me. We do a camera blocking of the scene and the new dialogue that I got is great. It worked well for me. Then the stand-ins take over. My stand-in is a woman……WHAT!!?? I’m kidding, she was a very nice woman.
It’s time to shoot!! These are pre-shoots so there is no “live audience”, although there is a lot of people there. It goes really well. The next scene was in a night club and that one went well too. We, the nerds, worked mostly with Reagan Gomez-Preston and Vince Vieluf. Vince is really funny and non-stop energy, Regean is very sweet and really, really hot. Reagan even made the comment that “these guys should come back on the show” in front of the writer. I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if they brought us back in the future; our situation isn’t resolved by the end of the episode.
So now I’m trying to get released and it’s not working. I must be driving the 2nd AD, Michelle, crazy by now. It seems that everyday I have had a request to leave for an appointment. I would never be high-maintenance unless I had to.
An hour goes by and I’m still there. I could have been gone and back by now!! I understand from their point of view, they are paying me to be there, but still………
After a while one the other production guys, Kevin, comes by to pick up my contract and I ask him about the likelihood of me leaving. He suggested that I go ask again. I was walking down the hall to the 2nd AD’s office and I spotted her walking towards me. She released me and said to just return after lunch. So I called my agent right away and she called casting and they said I could come by right now. So I made it. Then production called and said that I didn’t have to come back until tomorrow. Cool! So now I can make my other audition too.
Audition: “IBM” @ TLC/Loree Booth Casting. Yup, it goes well.
Audition: “Expedia” @ Deborah Kurtz Casting. This one goes well too, I was paired up with
Get this? After running around like crazy all week, I don’t have any auditions today. Just chilling and concentrating on one thing.
In and out of make-up in a flash and I’m ready to rock and roll. We run the two scenes I have left and I’m done until lunch. I actually did the intelligent thing during my break. I didn’t yack on the phone or fiddle with my PDA; I took a freakin’ nap and it was great.
During lunch I get a welcoming call from my agent. Well, most calls from my agent are welcoming, but this was especially. I am on-hold for the “IBM” spot I busted my butt to get to yesterday. Yeah!! They should know for sure on Monday. Funny enough, one of the other “nerds”, Kevin Christy, is already scheduled to shoot an “IBM” next week. We both currently have “IBM” spots running. The difference is “Mr. Christy” is a bit higher on the totem pole than myself because he rarely has to audition for “IBM/Pytka” anymore. He’s done several spots for them. I’m not quite there yet, but I’m working on it.
Okay, locked and loaded. It’s time to put this thing in the can. The audience is in place and the cast is in the make-up room doing the speed read before we go on stage. The energy is electric; the cast and crew is confident in what we have to present tonight. Scene “A” starts out with a bang. My first scene is “B”; we do a take, get a notes and do another take, then a pick-up. Production tells us that we’ll pick it up later, after we let the audience go, to get it “clean” without the audience laughter.
I hang around and watch some of the rest of the scenes being shot. Next up for me was scene “M”, the last scene of the night. This time we had a really rough first take. We got re-writes/notes and did another take. Both takes had great parts and not so great parts, but I guess between the two of them we got it right. They said they would release the audience do pick-ups for this scene as well.
Before the pick-ups I got a chance to talk, one on one, with the director Arlene Sanford. Arlene is rare in television directing in that she does ½ hour multi-camera, ½ hour single camera, one hour drama, one hour dramedy and film. She told me a bit about her journey and said to keep doing my research. I’ve always felt it was best to get to know writers/producers and directors in this manner.
After pick-ups we were done for the week. It was great experience. Lots of hugs and “thank yous” were going around. When I was thanking Executive Producer Adam Chase, I mentioned to him that I my first TV job was on “Friends”. He was a writer/producer on “Friends” and wrote the episode that I was in back in ’99. Adam mentioned that to the 1st AD of "Love, Inc.", who was the 2nd AD on “Friends” when I worked on it. The first day on “Love, Inc.” we all thought we knew each other but couldn’t remember from where; at the last hour we figured it out.
The way the story line of “the nerds” goes there is room for us to return. I won’t hold my breath, but you never know….I’d love to go back for another episode.
After a crazy week, I want to thank both of my agencies for making many extra phone calls to accomidate my schedule. I worked all week plus had six auditions and was able to make all of them. Thanks!!
This audition was all improvisation. They wanted three different ways and I gave it to them. All in all, a good time.
Finally, the "IBM" call comes in and.........I've been released…..again. Ugh! I was hoping to get to work with Kevin Christy again. Oh well, I get 'em next time.
SEPTEMBER 13th '05*Just as I'm getting all my stuff together to do some drop-offs my agents calls with an audition this afternoon for "Joey" @ Valko/Miller Casting. Cool, I'm glad I was still close to home so I could change clothes before going to it.
The only problem is that I have a commercial audition at the same time. I'll try to get in on that early then go to the other side of the hill for "Joey".
Audition: "Sears" @
Audition: "Joey" @ Valko/Miller Casting. I went in for one of their shows 3 times last year and was called back each time, but didn't book. It's time to score again.
I was reading with the associate, Peter Pappas, with owner Nikki Valko observing. When Peter started the scene I was like a "deer in headlights". Why? Because I was given the wrong material and the wrong character. Ooops. I got the right sides and left to prepare.
Okay, back in the room and ready to do it. The first read goes well, they redirect me and it goes even better. They give me a callback on the spot for 2 hours later @ Warner Bros.
I get word that I'm on avail and have a callback for the "Vodafone" commercial I went in on last week.
Callback: "Joey" @ Valko/Miller Casting. As expected, Kevin Bright was in the room at the callback. I read it once, got direction and read it again. Regardless of what happens, I felt great about my performance. Kevin directed the episode of "Friends" I did back in '99.
While at the audition I spoke to
I guess “Joey” moved on without me. That’s okay, because I felt I did a great job and I’ll get another chance on another day.
I read in the trades this morning that ”Love, Inc.” has been moved from Thursdays at 9:30
Audition: “Listerine Pocket Mints” @ Joe Blake Casting. This goes really, really well and I think I’m really, really right for it.
SEPTEMBER 19th '05*Okay it looks like it's official, I've been released for the "Vodafone" spot. It's fun to get close, but it's much more fun to book.....but you knew that. Back to the drawing board.
Thinking back to that very first Wednesday night class in
Looking back, that blueprint is what freed us into the world of "what could be". We were off running and know one could stop us, not even our teacher,
Since those early days, I’ve yet to work with anyone else in such a partnership, but even that didn't last too long. Greg and I stopped working so closely together after moving to
We remained and still are very good friends, he is making big moves here in
So here I sit in 2005, obviously, older and more experienced than I was in 1993. Often times I wonder what the future holds. Will I be doing this in another 2 years, 5 years, 10 years; will I go back home to Virginia and sell Cheesesteaks with my family; will I write a book and become a motivational speaker/mentor to college students and other actors embarking on a their careers as actors…….I don’t know………I really don’t know. Maybe I’ll become a Honda salesperson, get married and start making babies. Ha!! Could be, could be not. In reality, I think it’ll be combination of all of it. I really love what I do. I think I'm where I should be, doing what I should be doing, but I also know there are so many other things I want to do as well. I am a very fortunate man.
A little more than a year ago my longtime theatrical agency, Badgley/Connor joined forces with Schiowitz Clay Ankrum & Ross.
Up until now, it wasn't an official merger. I was still repped by my longtime agent, Erin Connor, as well as the new ones, David Ankrum & Josh Schiowitz, but this week it became an official merger.
Actually, I hadn't been officially under contract since my last one expired 3 years ago, so this "felt" new and exciting. I must admit I was a little surprised when they informed me that they are using Standard SAG Contracts. Cool, I expected a GSA.
So the official new name is Schiowitz, Connor, Ankrum, Wolf, Inc. Teresa Wolf is in the
I've never worried too much about not having a demo reel, but now I’m more ready than ever to really get one together. Don't get me wrong, I know it can only help me as long it's solid material, but I've always felt they were much more instrumental in getting an agent and since I have rep I’ve concentrated on other things.
Anyway, they stated that it's becoming very important to have a demo reel available online. This is what I needed to hear AND from who I needed to hear it from in order to get my butt in gear to get my reel together. They said the online demo is becoming an actors' pre-read.
We, as actors, hear so much about it from the companies that provide the service, but hearing this particular thing from my agents means much more to me. They gave me a print out of four different services I could choose from. Hopefully, this “Love, Inc.” episode in a couple of weeks will be a great start.
I had a list, mostly from the Actorsite to go on. About 18 different drops, I knew I wasn’t going to do them all today because they were all over the city and I have be careful of my gas consumption. The Actorsite list usually has many addresses that I haven't heard of and I don't know where they come from. That's cool though, it keeps me busy. The Actorsite is where I found the original listing for “The Terminal” and walked to the casting office, dropped off my photo and booked a role. Speaking of the “The Terminal”, I am still waiting for home video residuals which are MONTHS late…….did I say months? I won’t get into it, it’s sore subject with me right now……
So my first drop is way out in
It seemed that almost every drop I did today was at an unfamiliar address. So I was totally feeling like “why am I driving waaaay out here? Traffic sucks. I should just blow these off today and go home and feel sorry for myself.” That’s when my alter-ego in the passenger seat looked at me and said “dude, stop bitching!” There are times when I just don’t feel like doing it. Sometimes I pull out my bag of tricks and sometimes I carry my ass home.
Today I opted to pull out the bag of tricks and see what I could find. It was my alter-ego (also me) telling me to "Keep it moving!", so that is what I did. I get to the first one in
So on to the next; it was in a neighborhood. First, I’m thinking that I’m in the wrong place so I double check the street and lo and behold I AM in the right place. It’s a house with a big ass dog barking in the back behind a fence. The spot was a little “hoodish” and I was like “yo, I’m outta here!” Then I was like “I drove all the way out here, I GOTTA drop this off, who knows what I might be walking away from”. For real though, I was kinda nervous about rolling up to someone’s front door.
I took my own advice and went for it. I walk up to the door looking for a drop box or something so I can “stick and move and be OUT”. NOTHING. I’m thinking somebody is going to come out on the porch and say “HEY get away from my s