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9:35 pm - Fri 9.16.2011
Shameless III/Disney Show II

Shameless III/Disney kid's show II

(I'm leaving the date of this entry as Friday, because that's when I started, but I'm actually finishing it on Sunday night. But anyway...)


Did my third episode of Shameless on Monday.

It was a very quick day - My call was 8:30 am, and I was released just before noon.

Early on in my "career", I'd be disappointed over a short day on the set, because it was a novel experience and I didn't want that one day I was "getting to be an actor" to be over so soon.

But it didn't take long before I was joking how I liked short days on the set, because it felt like I was "getting away with something" (to be paid whatever I was getting paid that day for just a few hour's work).

But after I finished this last episode of Shameless - and pretty fresh off my three days on the Disney show - it struck me that I really just want to be busy; if I'm on a set a long time, I want it to be because I have a lot to do, and if not, then I want to get in and out without a lot of fuss and bother.

(Though that said, I do think having a lot of down-time on a set is good practice for me, both for dealing with the slower pace of movie production - when that starts happening - and in terms of "maximizing my time", something I need a lot of work on.)

The scene was smaller than in my last episode, and I found it easier to do (The previous scene wasn't some arduous acting exercise, mind you - There was just a little more movement than I'd anticipated. But in this scene, all I had to do was cross to a table, sit down, then basically wait for Bill to come sit next to me; we have our exchange, I move away, then the scene goes on).

(Still vaguely embarrassed to call William H. Macy "Bill", but hey - He told me to!)

The Director of this episode, David Nutter, directed the first episode I was on, so that was fun.

I also saw Emmy Rossum briefly as we were on set (she'd been shooting the previous scene) - We chatted for a moment, and I thanked her for our first scene together, and making me feel so comfortable.

She said, "Hey, it's not easy being green".

I'm embarrassed to admit it took "Kermit" a second to "get it"; at first, I thought she was making a reference to my relative inexperience, before the light-bulb came on (What can I say? I was excited being back on the set, and Emmy Rossum is really pretty - so I wasn't quite "firing on all cylinders" at that moment).

One of the things that's kind of hard about being a day-player is that you're perpetually "The New Kid".

So that said, my favorite thing about coming back to the show this time were the greetings from cast and crew members who remembered me from last time.

It made me realize, afterward, just how much I want to belong somewhere, and how much I've missed that, particularly as an actor.

____________________

I've always bemoaned how bad things make me feel bad for a really long time, while good things don't seem to have any shelf life at all.

And sure enough, as good as my Shameless day was - and when I got home, there was a long-awaited residual check in the mail from my Parks and Rec episode that re-aired back in early July - within hours after I got home, my spirits were starting to flag.

In a nutshell, the "issue" is that "I'm succeeding...but not enough"; with a disappointing number of auditions happening - and no commercial bookings so far - I'm not where I want to be financially (Which is basically, "knowing things are going to be 'okay', money-wise, for the foreseeable future").

So anyway, it was nice, the next day, to get a call from Sharon saying that they wanted me back on the Disney show.

I was on "wait and advise" for a few days, but got the call on Friday about the booking.

It's basically the same deal as before - I'll be there for three days - though I'm actually hoping there'll be an audience this time out (The director opted "not" the last time).

(I just found out that my first episode is the first episode of the series, and it's airing on Monday night on the Disney Channel.)

I'm going in tomorrow for the table read - I'm not required to attend (I won't be paid for it), but there's free food, it seems a smart thing to do "politically", and besides, I like that kind of crap.

And this seems as good a time as any to click the "done" button...

(I'd actually like to write more about the Disney show, but I can't till after they air. And I just realized I forgot to write something I wanted to write about Bill Macy...but it'll keep.)


 

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