2:09 PM - Weds 7.22.20
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(Well, a short time ago I accidentally deleted everything I'd written over the past hour-and-a-half. So...here's to a better-written, extremely unplanned second draft. And to not beating-myself-about-the-head-and-shoulders for my stupidity. Literally.)
Anyway...
I guess the top story round these parts is I did my first commercial audition of 2020 on Monday (And not just my first commercial audition of the year, but my first commercial self-tape ever).
Got the notice late that afternoon and gave myself exactly zero time to enjoy the blessed event before slipping into "panic mode",- Worrying over getting a reader, getting them the sides, memorizing lines, coordinating schedules, setting up my stuff, shooting the thing, editing it, then getting it to Casting.
(If you're new here, I've not been a big fan of having to shoot my own auditions, which was a thing that came up from time-to-time pre-pandemic. In fact, you could say I had a distinctly "bad attitude" about it. Of course, these days it's "the only game in town". But while I can kinda-sorta do it now, that doesn't mean I still don't stress out over the extra effort involved.)
But happily - And it's rare I'll say this about an audition - it was a nothing bit, just a reaction shot where I had to watch as a weird thing rolled past me.
Which meant there was no having to call anyone to read with me, no sides, no memorizing, etc.
And the white-hair-and-beard I'm currently rocking was fine for the part.
And perhaps best of all, I was able to enlist Jane R's assistance in shooting the thing.
We did it at her place. And while the setup was challenging (Shockingly, Jane's Air BnB was not really set up for a commercial shoot), we got it done and I submitted it to Casting three or four hours after I first got the notice.
So while I wish I'd experienced more excitement and less stress over it, I was happy to get my first commercial audition of the year "in the can".
If I get a callback - which I'm not counting on, but I think is possible - that will be as a Zoom call. So I hope that happens, not just because I want to book it (Which I do of course) but also because I'd like to "break the seal" on auditioning via Zoom - It would be nice to kinda/sorta be "in the room" with the decision-makers again.
(BTW, I have a webinar on Friday to learn how to audition on Eco-Cast, which in the past has been a way to submit taped auditions to Casting but has now been rigged to do remote auditions as well. So...technology!)
It doesn't seem likely I'll book on my first time out-of-the-gate for the year. But I would like to book from one of these self-tape things relatively soon - I don't want another voiceover situation, where I lose so regularly it starts to be a struggle not to feel beaten before I've begun.
In documentary news...
The plan yesterday had been to shoot me perhaps doing what would be the end of the film (Some kind of wrapping-up, mission-statement, philosophy-of-life something for the end of the film). And I was nervous-but-also-kinda-psyched to do it. Felt like a "challenge".
After that, we'd planned to have dinner and watch the current cut of the film with Seth (Our DP).
But then Seth actually got work out-of-state this weekend and had to pick up equipment and get a COVID test, which meant we ended up having him for about two hours, instead of from mid-afternoon on.
So he and Jane decided instead to shoot another "shadow-dancing" sequence against a cool mural backdrop...but the place where Jane wanted to shoot didn't have the right light.
Then I couldn't find where the cool Buddha murals I like were at (Really embarrassing - how many hundreds of times have I passed that gas station on Vermont? And suddenly I couldn't find it to save my life).
Then I discovered a cool alley (Off of Western) that had once been full of really fun wall art Jane would have loved had been painted over and replaced with non-descript gray fencing (What soulless piece-of-shit saw that as an "improvement", I ask you?)
Eventually, pretty much defeated, we were going to go back to Jane's place and just shoot there (There is a nice garden-y area there, with statuary and shit), but then we passed a building with a light-colored wall that had some graffiti on it, so we stopped and did our thing there (After Seth gave a homeless guy who approached us thirty-five cents).
It was fun. And went a long way toward rescuing the day from the dumper - We were all happy that we had ultimately "gotten something".
After Seth left, I hung out with Jane at her place, then we went to House of Pies to have dinner (She's coming to have the same affection for the place that I do).
The food was good, the conversation was lively, and the mood was decidedly upbeat (Even if our plan to go to Skylight Books afterward was torpedoed by their new pandemic hours. And for whatever reason, the "Annex" with the art books and graphic novels is just closed period right now).
Talked to Jane a short time ago, and she'd recently gotten a text from David - our Editor - that he's done some more work on the film.
This means when we, hopefully, see the film with Seth (And his wife Andi) next Thursday, we'll all be seeing a new cut of the film.
(In late-breaking news, FedEx just delivered a long-awaited blue-and-gray pop-out backdrop. Here's hoping I'll have use for it sooner rather than later...)
Well, I could say more (ex. Tomorrow I go in to have a picture of my heart taken, a first for me), but then I wouldn't be napping - I want to Zumba at 6:15, then Jane has hinted she'd like to see me before day's end, and I had the worst night's sleep anyone has ever had last night.
So, till next time...
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