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1:51 PM - FRI 4.05.24 (Well, I had lunch a short time ago - salad and some turkey sausage - but for some reason, I still want to eat. And, just FTR, I am not physically hungry, so I'm going to do this instead...). Did my voiceover thing yesterday around noon (At a recording studio on Western, just a few miles from my apartment). As I've said before, while this was my first straight-ahead voiceover gig, I have occasionally had to record things after the fact for commercials (ex. The singing for the KFC holiday spot a couple years ago). So it was nice not to feel like I walking into some scary alien environment - I was a little nervous, but mostly just excited. They were running late, and then when I was called in, it took a few minutes to get the Director and clients and whatnot back on the phone from New York. Once that all happened though, things moved relatively briskly. Like at the callback for the Aldi's spot, I took the opportunity to make a little joke - When the Director told me I was playing the character of an old, beat-up, taxidermied mole rat, I said, brightly, "The role I was born to play!". And the folks on the other end laughed. Then the Director said, "It's actually a naked mole rat...", and there was more laughter and joking about "method acting", which gave me that good feeling of it being a "loose", happy environment). From there, it was just a question of getting direction, doing maybe five or six takes, having them listen, then lather, rinse, repeat, until they ran out of ideas for different ways to have me do the line and sent me on my way. It was really fun. One of the things I enjoyed most was feeling like, other than some initial direction to do the line faster - it's a very short bit for the Internet - they were really just riffing, in the moment, on different ways to do the line and I was able to give them whatever they were asking for. It never felt like they had an idea in mind that I just wasn't "getting". That's very satisfying - In a nutshell, that's the job, and it's nice to feel like, "Hey, I'm really good at this" (Honestly? I've never had that feeling in any "day job" I've ever had - I don't feel like I've completely sucked at things I've done, but I haven't exactly "excelled" either). The thing about saying the line faster? That can be a little bit of a problem for me, and it's one of the handful of things I'd tell a novice actor, if a novice wanted me to tell them things - While you'll want to do a line or a bit of business in a way that feels "natural" to you, the line might have to be faster (Or the bit of business done in a way that feels "awkward" or "unreal" to you) for technical reasons. So your job will then be to make the line that feels "too quick" or the business that "doesn't feel real" seem natural. (That and "Don't be an asshole on-set" are about all I have in terms of advice for future generations of acting hopefuls.) Anyway, from walking in to walking out, I was there maybe thirty-five, forty minutes? Not the full hour that was scheduled, even with starting late. Then I rushed, as quickly as I legally could, to get to my "Latin Dance" class at GenSpace, only to get there an hour early (Jane R. spent most of Thursday thinking it was Friday, so I felt fortunate to only be "off" by an hour). (On my way in from the parking lot, cutting through the Temple next door, I saw Ernie Hudson, of Ghostbusters fame, on his way out (They were filming something in the sanctuary). I smiled and said, "Hi!". He then said "Hi!" back, which was all the interaction I needed. But it made me think again about one of the cooler parts of being an actor people sometimes recognize - To have people be happy just to see you. (I've often amused myself, when people recognize me and ask for a selfie or the like, to imagine them later showing their friends the picture and them not getting why it's any big deal - "Shameless? No, never seen it...".) Before class, enjoyed talking to a woman there I like - pretty sure she's married, which is fine - then drew a little bit. After class - which is always fun - I went home and talked to Jane for a bit. It was my idea of a very enjoyable day. (And that seems a good note to end on.) Till next time...
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