I have just been cast in a webseries called "Paranormals". It's being produced by a small, upstart production company here in Provo called Lost Lake Studios. The quality of their stuff is really good and they are making quite a name for themselves here in the Valley. I'm excited to get to work with them, especially with Jeff Blake who co-starred in "The Book of Jer3miah" with me. He's a really great guy and talented and full of ambition.
The series is about a group of college-aged kids who live in a very haunted town and start up their own little ghost hunting/investigating group. I will be playing Leslie. He's one of the lead parts and he's the brainy, analytical one in the group. He's very passionate about hunting ghosts, but he goes about it in a very logical and methodical manner. It looks like it's going to be a great project. The plan is to then pitch the pilot to get funding to film the whole season. I really hope that works out! I would be great to get paid and to have something like this on my resume and reel. I'll keep you posted on how it all goes!
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Auditon: "Hamlet" and "Dracula"
Last Thursday I auditioned for the productions of Hamlet and Dracula at the Pioneer Theatre Company in Salt Lake. Both plays will be directed by Charles Morey, Artistic Director at PTC. This was my first audition for an Equity theatre and I was pretty excited and pretty nervous. I prepared a monologue from Measure for Measure for the audition and was also ready to read sides from Dracula. I went up to Salt Lake with three other really good friends. They all had to go on the waiting list, but I had an audition slot at 3pm thanks to my friend Gary Reimer who had gone up to Salt Lake the week before and signed us both up. We arrived early and they all got on the list. We even ran into some good friends up there that I hadn't seen for a long time. It was really fun to see them all. Eventually all of my friends got to go in ahead of me. That was funny that the only guy who had signed up ended up going last. They had things moving along very nicely.
Eventually my turn came. I guess to get to the point of this post, my audition was terrible. I am honestly embarrassed by the work I did with the Measure for Measure monologue. I was nervous. I admit that, but that's no excuse for what I did. First of all, I hadn't given my monologue a shape. I had done a lot of emotional work with it, and it's a piece I've done twice before as a scene in classwork and for a competition, so I felt comfortable with it, but I hadn't given it a solid shape as a monologue. As a result I started just making choices in the moment. Now, I'm all for making choices in the moment. Some of the very best work comes from acting in the moment. However, if those choices are made safely and out of fear then it will stink. And that's what happened to me. My body was stiff and full of tension. My thoughts were in my head the whole time. I didn't go nearly deep enough for what the scene required. My emotions were pushed. My voice was okay. In essence it was an okay piece of acting, but it was a terrible piece of a human soul. I didn't bare any of my soul in the piece and it's no wonder that I didn't make call backs.
On a lighter note, I felt great about my cold reading for Dracula. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to salvage the damage already done by my awful monologue. Well, I got out of there and wrote down what I did wrong and what I did well. Then we went out for pizza. It was delicious. So, I'm embarrassed for the performance that I gave, but I learned a lot. I've got to push myself and go all the way. There's no such thing as playing it safe if you want to succeed in this art form and in this business.
Eventually my turn came. I guess to get to the point of this post, my audition was terrible. I am honestly embarrassed by the work I did with the Measure for Measure monologue. I was nervous. I admit that, but that's no excuse for what I did. First of all, I hadn't given my monologue a shape. I had done a lot of emotional work with it, and it's a piece I've done twice before as a scene in classwork and for a competition, so I felt comfortable with it, but I hadn't given it a solid shape as a monologue. As a result I started just making choices in the moment. Now, I'm all for making choices in the moment. Some of the very best work comes from acting in the moment. However, if those choices are made safely and out of fear then it will stink. And that's what happened to me. My body was stiff and full of tension. My thoughts were in my head the whole time. I didn't go nearly deep enough for what the scene required. My emotions were pushed. My voice was okay. In essence it was an okay piece of acting, but it was a terrible piece of a human soul. I didn't bare any of my soul in the piece and it's no wonder that I didn't make call backs.
On a lighter note, I felt great about my cold reading for Dracula. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to salvage the damage already done by my awful monologue. Well, I got out of there and wrote down what I did wrong and what I did well. Then we went out for pizza. It was delicious. So, I'm embarrassed for the performance that I gave, but I learned a lot. I've got to push myself and go all the way. There's no such thing as playing it safe if you want to succeed in this art form and in this business.
Acting
I'm pretty passionate about the art of acting. I suppose I'm not the first one, and I certainly hope I'm not the last. It's a wonderful art form. I've spent roughly the last 10 years studying and training and have learned a thing or two. I want to share my feelings on the subject here, as well as offer advice and tips. I'm not an expert, rather I'm just a fellow wanderer on the path. The things I mention are only my humble opinion. You may take them or leave them or suggest wisdom of your own.
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