Things Have Slowed Down

Things had been happening at a furious pace for awhile, but there is now a lull. It actually came at a good time as I was beginning to feel overwhelmed. I have been using the time to work on some things I should have been doing all along, but it all happened so fast I let a lot of things slide. Below is a summary of what I've been working on for the past week or more.

Two or three weeks ago I created a database of each casting call I was responding to, but I wasn't keeping it updated. I've had to go back through old emails, notes on scraps of paper, and web pages I've saved to compile the data I needed. But now I know the status of each project. I track the date I responded, the contact information, a description of the project, date I received a reply (if any), compensation (if any), and notes. Notes contain such things as: role I am interested in, audition dates and times, shooting schedule, etc. For student films compensation is usually meals and/or credits and/or a DVD.

Also, during this lull, I have been googling "free acting lessons" to find out what I should already know. Believe me, it's a lot!

I've learned that the format and contents of my resume' are all wrong. So, that's something I'll be working on in the next few days.

I've found articles about how to prepare for an audition. Yep, I've been doing that all wrong, too. There are also articles about how to learn and remember lines.

I've also been working on a business card that reflects my newly discovered interest in acting and performing stand-up comedy. I'm using some headshots from the DVD of my debut stand-up routine. Once I get it done, I'll post the image in this blog.

And, during this slowdown in activity I've been practicing my lines for "It's Complicated" which will be my first time to speak in a film production, or to be more precise, a TV production.

In retrospect, the one thing that's become obvious to me is that student filmmakers are so desperate to get unpaid "actors" to be in their films they will take almost anyone with a pulse. Up to now I've done everything wrong, yet I'm still getting some film work. But, I know that to land any paying gigs I need to start "acting like an actor" instead of just acting like an actor.

A Favorite Quote

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." ~ Albert Einstein