Old Acting Blog

Yesterday I began my spring break, and already I’m off to a great start.

I spent today going through various tasks and I came upon a note to myself: figure out frequency of posts. Well, I didn’t literally write that, but the idea was still there. I have been expanding my various blogs in an attempt to simplify, but the issue now is – when do I update everything? I am only one person, and I can’t demand too much of myself otherwise I’ll fall behind and then worry about catching up and other such nonsense.

I’ve decided that for THIS blog, my acting blog, I’m going to aim for a once a week update. This way I can keep reviewing what I’m doing with my life ( at least in regards to the steps I’m taking toward my acting career).

Now, I recently saw Julie and Julia and I don’t want to give myself some sort of breakdown because I have to post something, but it is all for my own good right? I was listening to the song “100 years” by Five for Fighting on Pandora and I started thinking about how quickly life can go by. I could list all sorts of quotes and such, but the biggest one is “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” by John Lennon.

Instead of just thinking about stuff, I’m going to try to write it up in hopes that I will be inspired to do something about it. It’s just like those times when I am trying to finish my Morning Pages via The Artist’s Way- by page 2 I want to get going on stuff!

Now that I’ve went on and on for a bit, let me drop a quick recap on this past week’s auditions:

After the February month of no auditions I finally got two notices for March 20:

1) Ad for sunglasses: Character “Unlikable groom”. I borrowed my roommate’s suit and they took a few photos and that was it. These types of auditions you either have the look they are looking for or you don’t.

2) Ad for a home-improvement store. I arrived early with hopes that I would be able to get out early and pick up a few more hours of work. What happened however was something different. I walk in and right away noticed the huge line of “homeowners”. I signed in and waited.

I heard the lady at the desk calling several no-shows for the “party guests”, and as a result they were backed up. The session runner asked all of the “homeowners” if any would be seen as a “party guest”. Apparently the pay was the same, but I thought that I might have more fun if I was a homeowner and was able to do some improv.. then I chose to wait. As a result I waited another hour, and as soon as I stepped in I was switched with a party guest anyway. Lesson- when you have the opportunity to be seen in any capacity do it! I made a few other mistakes too, but instead on brooding over it all, I’ll remember the advice from Coach Mike: just focus on one thing you did right, and one thing to do better next time. What I did right was show up early, what I’ll do next time is take any opportunity to go first so I can get on with my life.

hmatt acting update

On March 10th I hosted another Pop Culture night.

There were five of us total that night: Skyler, John, Feikamoh, Marcus and myself.

We watched the HBO show, GIRLS, House of Cards, and Homeland.

I was all excited because I bought an Apple TV for these nights. I then discovered that it stutters while mirroring the display on my Macbook Pro.. This is likely due to my WIFI network, but still- completely unacceptable. I’ve since returned it and bought a Thunderbolt to HDMI cable so I won’t have to deal with that again. Oh well.

I keep hearing about this GIRLS show and once again, I am not the demographic. However, at least now I know the premise of the show. Young early 20s woman vs New York. I thought her parents had an interesting dynamic.

Next up was the Netflix created show House of Cards and it WAS interesting (like the reviews state). First off, I didn’t know that Kevin Spacey’s character breaks the fourth wall and talks to the audience, which is novel! There are very few movies that do that, and as my roommate John pointed out, the last tv show to do that was Saved by the Bell. Still, it is a great way to know what the character is thinking and is extremely efficient in a series to get you up to speed quickly. Secondly, now I want to see the House of Cards tumble. I wonder where the show leaves off (this season?, how is this classified when Netflix releases everything at once?) [Update 3/21/13: I was browsing on Netflix and I found out that this is actually a remake from a 1990 BBC show, and that guy talked to the camera too. The more you know!]

We finished up the night with the pilot of Homeland. This is one of those shows I hear referenced as being quite poplar with Americans, so I thought.. I should probably see this thing. It reminded me of Manchurian Candidate (the classic movie with Sinatra, not the remake) as the tension built up to the climatic scenes. The end of the pilot leaves you with a sense of what is to come, along with a variety of questions.

Fun night once again.

Next time I’ll switch it up. Now that I have my computer connected properly we can watch online series.

Yay for new media!

hmatt Pop Culture Night

On Monday last week, I threw another Pop Culture night. I’ve decided to try to make this a monthly thing, because it is a great way for people to get together and keep tabs on things like I’ve mentioned before.

A total of 11 people attended this night (myself and Marcus, who arrived later, are not pictured)

I started up the Netflix DVD rental again so I can obtain those shows which aren’t available to stream. Unfortunately, because I was using a Kindle to order the queue and didn’t have access to Hulu or Netflix streaming, I didn’t order “Homeland” so I’ll make sure to have that next month.

The first one pilot we watched was Boardwalk Empire.

A lot of people commented on how visually interesting it was. The opening itself is amazing if you haven’t already seen it. I also mentioned the Sesame Street spoof which is equally well done. The 1920s are an era I’m a fan of anyway because of my history with swing dancing. I felt such joy listening to soundtrack of the show because I’m also a long time fan of music from that era. I really don’t know anyone else who listens to songs from Billy Murray, Helen Kane or Ruth Etting. There was such a simplicity in the music of that era.

The show itself has all sorts of great moments. There are a few scenes that I’m not such a fan of, but since it is HBO they tend to favor nudity and over the top violence.

I think the biggest thing I noticed was the transformation of Steve Buscemi as Enoch “Nucky” Thompson. I’ve always seen him as the bumbling guy in Reservoir Dogs or The Big Lebowski or comic stuff like his character on 30 Rock. To see him in a role where he has absolute authority and power was such a great example of how actors can really become someone else.

I ended up watching the second episode before I returned the disc, and I can see how the show has become so popular.

Next we watched The Neighbors. Hmm, what do I say about that show. The regular dad was like Jackie Gleason from The Honeymooners. Everything else about that show was ridiculous as the premise.. a family moves into a suburb and discovers that the community members are all aliens. This was nothing like 3rd Rock from the Sun. The jokes often fell flat IMHO but then again it is the pilot.

Next up was the BBC show Spy. Jamie gave his recommendation as we scrolled the Hulu options, they are apparently remaking this for American audiences. A lot of the group enjoyed the show. The actors reminded others of other actors.. I thought the main guy looks a lot like Jeff Daniels in Dumb and Dumber.

Anyway, it’ll be interesting to see how this show gets ‘translated’. The premise is that an ordinary guy gets accidentally enlisted in MI5. There are great spoofs to the entire spy genre, and it makes me wonder if the american version will be switched over to the CIA and that’s that. Hmm.

The night was another success! We had popcorn, ice cream and sodas; Doritos, Sunchips and Twizzlers. Plus, Morgan brought her Pinterest inspired Nutella cookies. Jamie and Sarah brought some wines they were taste testing for their wedding, which was a delight for many that night.

Tonight I’m going to an Oscar watching party in Burbank. I’ve only seen Argo, but this year’s selections all look amazing and I hope to watch them soon!

hmatt Pop Culture Night

Last Sunday was Pop Culture Night.

It was a night where I invited a bunch of friends (8 of us in total, I’m taking the picture) and we watched the pilots of popular shows of which we weren’t familiar.

What a great time! We saw a total of four shows & if I were to quickly review those shows I’d say:

Mindy Project  – the character/plot of this show was ‘a quirky, “terrible-with-love” professional woman and how she takes on the world’– I don’t think I was in the demographic for this one, so I wasn’t all that into it. 2/5

1600 Penn – I’m so used to seeing the white house as serious, so having this be a over-the-top comedy threw me off a little. The characters are very, very heightened. 1/5

Nashville – definite high stakes for everyone & everyone’s acting was great. I could see how people would get into this show. 4/5

Once – This show I could see getting hooked on myself. Afterwards a few of us watched the second episode to see where the show was going. 4/5

There are several things to think about on these nights. Of course it is useful to have a working knowledge of the shows for when I do improv or when conversing with others. I also want to know the tone of the show, and which casting directors worked on which projects. Plus consider which types of characters I could play and how other actors are marketing themselves (or reinventing themselves). I’d like to have a theatrical agent this year, and when I go on auditions I’d like to know the ins and outs of this industry. There is a lot of research to do, and I prefer spending time with my friends rather than sitting on the couch by myself.

I’m having another Pop Culture Night in February. After I get back from Australia I’ll buy a month of the Netflix DVD service to rent a few shows that weren’t available online. I’ve also made a deal with myself that if I sell my unwanted things things I put on a list, I could use that money to purchase an Apple TV. I’d like to mirror my computer screen for those shows that stream outside of Hulu and Netflix. Plus, It’d be great to show Vimeo and YouTube clips too. Craigslist and ebay, here I come!

Of course, my favorite part of the night was the great company. I’m fortunate to have really interesting friends who are all insightful on the various aspects of a show’s plot, actors or quality of the acting. Every so often people would comment about the projects an actor was in and other shows to check out for next time. (Dalex and Morgan are looking up IMDB on their phones in the picture..)

Oh, and I had all sorts of yummy snacks for everyone! Air popped popcorn, cake and Sunny D smoothies.

Good times.

acting Pop Culture Night

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

This past Saturday was Actorfest.

I left my place by 7:45am and was there to stand in a line, the ‘pre-paid’ line. They let a few of us in at 9 am and most people went straight to the audition line. The audition line-up was for mostly live stage shows or Disney cast members and stuff like that, so I skipped it and went straight to the tables on the floor below. It was nice to wander around that early. Although everyone was still setting up their tables. I skipped the tables I wasn’t interested in.. the training schools and the Scientology 4 table corner setup.

Most workshop session groups and such had an email/phone list for a free class raffle. I signed up for several of them, so I hope I don’t get inundated with spam texts or calls.

The table for Second City gave me a chance to chat with them and I told them my experiences with improv with Groundlings, ComedySportz and Monkey Butler. They knew the Monkey Butler name and I mentioned how I’m an instructor and one of the girls said I was awesome. I think she mentioned it right after I said that in February I’ll be visiting Melbourne Australia and teaching a workshop there. Then I realized how awesome that DOES sound. The main reason I’ll be there is to see my girlfriend of course, and the teaching there is just a bonus, but still..

Anyway, they told me that there is a drop in class I can take on Thursdays so I may do that since it is usually my day off.

Then I met the guy who made the accent cd I bought at Samuel French. I complimented his talent and then thought to myself that I could be practicing this again instead of listening to Pandora.

The first session with Robert Martin Jr was great! He was funny, and had so much energy. He was super honest with his opinions, so no wonder my agent likes him.

The next session was entitled “How to Get Cast in Comedy: Being Funny IS a Skill: Dorian Frankel & Todd Rohrbacher”. The session was mostly about how important it is to know the tone of the comedy you go in for. I think the biggest lesson I gleaned was to do research by seeing a taping of a show. It is so obvious, but I haven’t done it for a comedy show.. Which is what made it good advice. = )  Now to narrow down which shows to watch.

The final session was “Getting Ahead in Voice-Over: David Wright” who works for Disney. His main message was that Disney doesn’t accept unsolicited artists, have a good professional demo, and they work with union only for legal reasons.

Then for the Meet and Greet I met up with Robert Jr. and we chatted for a few minutes. He suggested I move that I’m an instructor with Monkey Butler to the top and then said everything else looks in shape. He likes my agent and me.

Cool.

Now it’s just a numbers game. All I can do is continue to sharpen my skills and one day I’ll be booking stuff left and right.

–

So for the next few days I’m going to make a simple action list. I’ve spent too much time making to do lists and getting few things accomplished so I’m “doing” now.

This morning/afternoon I worked on a storyboard for taping the next The Retro Kids Show episode. Now to tidy my room. How quickly things get messy when you don’t set aside moments to clean. ; )

acting acting update

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