Old Acting Blog

Time seems so important once it’s gone.

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Last Thursday night I discovered that my Friday day was free. What could I accomplish with this newfound time? Something important I decided. I wrote up some ideas: they included things like re-read the rehearsal chapter from the Challenge to the Actor book, read through parts of Howard Fine’s book, and pick up some items for the scene I am doing in my acting class.

I remember spending so much time walking up and down Chinatown, trying to find a gun that looks like what Boston police would have in 2008, which according to research meant a Glock 22, after hours of walking around and revisiting the same stores I saw on the Tuesday prior, I finally spent $6 on a plastic version, instead of a metal air pistol. Then, realizing that my time was running out, I quickly stopped at the Central Library in Los Angeles, and picked up several marionette puppet books that are only available there. Then I rushed over to Pasadena to meet up with my scene partner and improvise what it would be like for “Pete” to tell “Sully” about how he was leaving town.

I had an excellent time, but in my rush I misunderstood parking directions, and paid $5 at a place a few blocks away, instead of free. Then the pub we went to had some great food and a beer that was pretty tasty, but I drank it too quickly and got all tipsy (I usually don’t drink).

“Pete” had to leave, so I walked back to my car and set a timer for the beer to wear off… then fell asleep in my car.

Later in North Hollywood, I went to four different stores (Smart & Final, Ralphs, 7-11, AMPM) trying to find single beers instead of having to buy an entire case. Then I realized I could probably get them at a liquor store, which I finally did.

-Sat-
Acting class: Jack, my scene partner, and I went up first. The first thing I do is drop that plastic gun and it snaps apart.

Great.

Fortunately, there’s only a small part that broke off, and our scene went only a few movements before I was reprimanded for saying “line” so quickly. I think one of the things I am trying to work on is the entire memorizing thing. I get too concerned about saying things perfectly, that I don’t just let things come out.. I’ve noticed this even in my regular speaking pattern, I can hear myself taking pauses at irregular intervals as I form the thoughts and process of talking.

It is annoying, but I’m working on it.

I’m still trying to wrap my head around the “proper” way of rehearsing with the Howard Fine way of acting. I’m not exactly sure when to call “line” or improvise my way through. Later when I was on book for another actor I gave too much time because I didn’t know if they had forgotten their line, and they didn’t call for it. I’ll figure this all out soon.

My scene partner and I haven’t “rehearsed” in the usual sense, and I don’t think we are supposed to quite yet. The Uta/Howard Fine/ Laura Gardner way is to work in small beats and really fill each moment. Cool, I’m game, but I won’t be able to do this until Thursday and Friday, because of the clashing schedules between me and my scene partner.

Anyway, let me get back to the topic of this post.. time.

After class I worked nannying until the kids went to sleep, and then I fell asleep. My sleeping schedule has been all askew this week.

-Sun-
A day off, and hopefully productive.

This time I gave myself specific tasks that would create the most impact.. deciding what to purge from my life. I have had several plastic tubs full of all of my items/collections/memorabilia from childhood, and it is too much. So after moving everything around and taking several photos of items, I called it quits for the day (10-4pm). I realized I still have 8 boxes of items that are “tough” to part with, but that there are 9 that I can “go through” and get rid of somehow.

Then I went to church and hung out with some friends instead of going to the Pop Culture night that no one could attend.

Instead I watched a movie called “Time Crimes” that was recommended. It was interesting.

-Mon-
In the morning I discovered that I could finally get rid of this box of Boy’s Life magazines I had since I was in cub scouts, all because they are available on http://boyslife.org/wayback/ hooray! That’s one box less junk in my life.

Then I worked and when I came home I found myself falling asleep earlier than normal. Fortunately I stopped myself from watching an episode of Family Guy.. I don’t even really like that show.

-Tue / Today-

During my morning pages, I came up with all these productive things I could do- post items for sale on ebay etc.

Throughout the day I was plagued by my lower back pain that happened while I was moving boxes Sunday, and a headache that often surfaces when I have stuff I want to do.

Then I make mistakes, like wasting time day dreaming and researching on Raspberry Pi projects, or looking at Poppy updates. Neither of which are the best use of my time.

Soon I’ll be leaving for acting class tonight, and I don’t have a monologue ready (even though it is optional, I am missing the opportunity).

——————–

I don’t want to complain, but I’m finding myself falling into traps where the decisions I make at the time seem like a good idea, and then turn out to be a colossal waste of energy and most importantly time.

My next day off is Sunday, so throughout the week, I hope that I spend the rest of my waking hours doing something that will get my life to a place where I want it to be.

I’m warning you future Matt.. remember this before you become past Matt.

hmatt all, goals

I subscribe to the free email from Backstage ‘espresso’. In it they link to interesting articles.

Today I opened up the article by David Dean Bottrell entitled 3 ways to improve your luck as an actor

He writes, “Ambition will not make you better in the room—only skill gets their attention. And skill is gained through practice and by observing what works.”

I read this shortly after watching the Uta Hagen acting class DVD and there she mentions the agony of an actor (disc 2). An actress talks about wanting to show it all at once, then lose the grounding.

Uta tells her it’s because “you aren’t functioning as an actress”. After a moment of confusion by the actress Uta continues, ‘That’s the agony of being an actor and not getting the chance to show’ and “that’s why we need to make our own theaters.”

That was the moment when she and the actors onstage (as well as myself) began to tear up. [as I am again while writing this, hoping no one in this waiting room is noticing me as I type on my iPhone].

How absolutely true! It is AGONY to love to do something and not be doing it. I LOVE acting and I’m not doing it as much as I’d like and it hurts!

Who is to blame though? I am so fortunate to live in an age where I can make my own things, share my own ideas and possibly touch so many people’s lives.

I think the obstacle I am working on overcoming is to make ACTING and CREATING MY OWN PROJECTS a higher priority. Otherwise things get lost in the ‘fill’ of my own life. The daily tasks or distractions that whittle my days away.

My girlfriend and roommates probably get sick of hearing me talk about all things I want to do, that I haven’t made time to do. No one is more sick of it than me.

Instead of looking what I’m not doing, I can be thankful at the experiences I currently have. I’m taking an acting class at Howard Fine Studios (I’m even performing an exercise tonight). Friday I am performing at an improv show. I teach improv every Monday (where I learn a lot), and every other week I practice improv with my roommate.

I just know there is so much more I want to share.

The way out of this agony is to perform.

And I will.

hmatt all

They say insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.. So I chose to do my resolution(s) differently this year.

1) I began my new year’s resolution on December 26. – This way the motivation of already accomplishing a few days propelled me past new years day. That day is usually a day when I’m sleeping in, and not motivated to start something new. ~ This worked perfectly.

2) My resolution is “to fill out my daily journal list everyday”. – Instead of thinking about all of the habits I want to change about myself individually, they are all gathered in one place. Then I can see over time which ones I’ve done. It is pretty ‘database’ oriented, but it is the best way for me to check my progress over applying changes in my habits in life.

3) I wanted to making everything easy. – each item on my list only takes 10 min or less. Also, I’ve already compiled earlier thoughts and don’t have to go far to get them.

4) My list is designed to allow me to simply choose an option and go. – this way it doesn’t get stale over time. I can still have my ‘regimen’ and a little bit of variety.

5) My list is organized so each item leads to the next in a ‘natural’ progression. – this way I am more likely to do the next thing because it isn’t ‘hard’ to do (at first). An example is I start my physical activity by cleaning for 10 min, then I do my exercises. It is much more pleasant

And here is what my little list/form/app looks like:

I created everything with an AWESOME program called HanDbase. I’ve been using it for years to list the improv games I know, and I just couldn’t find an app that allowed me to customize it just right.

All this to say, that this is the year when my acting goals take a priority. I figure, I won’t allow the other ‘stuff’ get in the way when I am always thinking about what steps I am and will be taking to further my acting career.

hmatt all

I have until Thursday off from work, and I intend to get a lot of my stalled projects up and running again.

So this past week a review:

The Monday Oreo audition went well. The person I was paired up with shared a bit of his life story with me and our scene was fun.

That night was the last night of my acting class. I’ve been given a lot to think about and the most important lesson is to keep downloading scripts and practice breaking them down and writing up actions. An actor’s job is to create a series of choices and identify what part of oneself can align with such choices. I’m always going to be on a path to master the craft.. and I have a chance to practice everyday!

Tuesday : The Monday Oreo audition required us to NOT be clean shaven, and we were to be notified of callbacks sometime on Tuesday. However, I had another audition for something else at 2:30 so I waited to shave until the last moment for the audition in Santa Monica. I thought I’d arrive super early to that one (~1:30pm) and then- they went on lunch break for a half hour. Luckily I brought my kindle to read The Hobbit.

Dan from my improv team showed up for the same part and we chatted a bit. Then they let a few of us in. The session runner didn’t know exactly how to set us up so he took a while with us. I left much later than I thought. Good thing it was in a city where  I didn’t have to pay the meters! Too bad only the beach cities have such a deal for electric cars.

I arrived to work shortly after the audition (almost 3pm by this time) and then got a last minute call for the Oreo callback! The family I work for was flexible enough so I could go and I hit the “rush hour” traffic and it took me 2 hours to get to the location. Once there I practiced with a fellow from Texas, but then last minute they switched him to another spot. Then I was partnered with someone who was doing the spot for the first time.

There I was, in the audition and then my partner was given some direction.. so I did the same thing I did before. Which, in retrospect, wasn’t the right choice. If given the opportunity to do it again we are to make completely different choices so we can offer a variety. Whoops! Oh well. The spot was quite funny and I’ll look it up when they finally put it online.

Wednesday: On 12-12-12 I went geocaching to 12 different caches. It took all day, but it was such a nice break and a great way to relax from the constant go-go-go of the week up until that point. The reprieve was short lived though. I went swing dancing that night to see Johnny Boyd who I hadn’t seen since 99 or 2001 or something. It was such a time warp.

Thursday: I was in bed most of the day recovering from a sniffly nose and avoiding the freezing weather (well, to LA: 50 degrees). I continued to read the Hobbit or sleeping. Then I taught improv at 8pm. It was a great class. We had 11 people I think and I’m sure when we come back after winter break there will be quite the crowd. I love improv. There are so many fun aspects to it!

Friday: More sleeping and reading until an improv show that night in Hollywood. Good times, but I’ll be glad when the holidays pass and we can all meet consistently again. There are always aspects of improv to work on. = )

Continued ~> The week off Part II: Actorfest

acting acting update, all

Every year Backstage throws something called actorfest.. basically like a big acting convention. Well, I tried going a few years ago, and the wait in line took too long so I had to leave. THIS time though, I’m registered!

There was a great deal on AmazonLocal so I was able to get the ‘Silver’ package for less than normal. It comes with three workshops. I chose:

The Concept of Acting: Robert B. Martin Jr.

How to Get Cast in Comedy: Being Funny IS a Skill: Dorian Frankel & Todd Rohrbacher.

Getting Ahead in Voice-Over: David Wright. C-513

So here’s to learning something awesome at the workshops! I’d love to meet some new actor friends too. = ) December 15th will be great!

In other news I’ve been enjoying the practice I get in my acting class. Next week is our last class and I hope I can begin to master the new skills. Also, I’ve been reading Howard Fine’s book since Jacqui will be taking the foundation class in Melbourne. The book is so interesting! Expect a full review once I’m done. 😉

Oh, and I have an audition for Oreos on Monday. I like Oreos. = )

acting all

This week contained Thanksgiving, so holidays have that habit of throwing off productivity, however I still was able to do some things.

~

Monday I had my first acting class. I was given a script from a show called Blue Bloods. I downloaded all the sides for the the other characters and was nearly able to read the entire episode. It is amazing how much more in depth you can get when you have all the facts of the scene.

I used the Audition 2 app which I haven’t used since I bought it. It has this REALLY handy feature of repeating whatever cue lines you want to give yourself, as well as highlighting or blacking out your lines at the press of a button. It was $20 and I HIGHLY recommend it. Now I just have to work on my timing for my cue lines because I had to rush in some places.

Class was great! We performed our scene and then watched it, talked about what made the audition believable or not believable and then retaped it. I was fortunate enough to use my lines as the reader for the other girls, so I was able to get LOTS of practice. We are doing our scenes again, along with something new for our next class on Monday and I’m eager to perform again.

~

I was talking with my girlfriend, Jacqui, last night and she mentioned that I could also work on monologues and tape and critique myself to improve. I was reluctant to do this, which means now I HAVE to do it. So in the upcoming week I’m going to look for a monologue. As Coach Mike says from HISYC: stuff you hate, gravitate.

~

Also last night I watched an episode of See Dad Run, and the pilots of The New Normal and Guys with Kids.

See Dad Run stars Scott Baio and is a Nickelodeon family comedy. I figured that if that is these are the types of show I want to work on, then I’d better catch up on the type of pacing and humor on such shows.

The New Normal had my friend Jessica Lu in it. It is always cool to see someone I know on screen. But oh, in the show they use this cinematography technique where the camera moves around a lot and does a zoom in and out. It was soooo jarring for me. I started to get dizzy! It probably doesn’t help that I was watching it on a 62 inch screen.

Guys with Kids was pretty much what I thought it would be. I sometimes feel like those guys when I’m babysitting the 2.5 year and 15 month old. The littlest one goes EVERYWHERE. Sometimes I wish I had one of those kid leashes.

~

Anyway, I’m eager to start taping something again! Life has this habit of moving right along. At least I have been staying somewhat committed to my Vlogs.. although I’ll have to find a new topic when my Hostess supply runs out.

acting all

Hello everyone! I just wanted to update everyone on my acting progress this week. = )

Sunday I had another Pop Culture night where we (Myself, John, Darryl and Melissa) watched Downtown Abbey (just so you know it is pronounced “down-ton abbey”). Such nights are a chance for us to watch pilots of popular shows so we know what people are talking about. Next time I’m renting Boardwalk Empire

Monday I had an audition for a Las Vegas.com commercial. Hooray for the freedom to improvise and have fun. = ) Monday night I took a workshop called MAKING YOUR READ DYNAMIC! with John Sudol. He mentioned some really interesting acting concepts that I hadn’t considered before! Cool stuff. I signed up for 4 more weeks of his class. I haven’t taken an acting class since The Acting Corps last summer.

Wednesday morning I had an audition for Disney. On the sign in sheet they asked what my favorite Disney movie was, and I drew a blank. I put the latest flick I’ve seen, Wreck It Ralph, but I recently saw a clip from the behind the scenes on Mary Poppins and I remember liking that one a lot. I STILL don’t know which movie is my favorite though- there are SO MANY!

Today is my day off so I’m reading, analyzing my goals and then I’m going running! I haven’t gone running in too long and there’s no better time to start then now.

Have a great day everyone!

acting acting update, all