9:27 am - Fri 12/3/04
The Bi-Polar Express

Don't know how to start...

The clear winner in the latest "Things To Be Happy About" Sweepstakes: I've had a bunch of auditions this past week.

I had two on Tuesday: For GE, and for the Diabetes Care Coalition (Or "DCC", for short).

And on Wednesday, I had a record-breaking four auditions, which if you're an anxious sort like I am, is almost "too much of a good thing" (It's not easy getting to four auditions, all over L.A., in a timely manner. And sure enough, I was 20 minutes late to the last one--for Napster--but no one really seemed to care. And I did have, short of accidental death or dismemberment, the best of all possible excuses).

(Besides Napster, the other auditions Wednesday were for The Cleveland Golf Co., an industrial for Siemans, and a spot for Honeycomb cereal.)

I'd actually had an appointment for my second root-canal on Wednesday, but between what I've said about a lot of my auditions this year falling on one of my days off, and what JS said about how the rest of the year would probably go (Another busy week or two, then a big drop-off before Xmas), I was leery of "booking out", and missing out on potential auditions during the last "rush" of the year.

So I didn't book out, hoping that if I got an audition, I'd have enough time to call and cancel my root canal appointment without penalty...and I ended up getting four auditions. Which is a bit confusing--Was I rewarded for "following my instincts", for being paranoid, for procrastination, or what?

(For those concerned about my dental well-being, I've re-scheduled my root canal for next Wednesday. Without financial penalty.)

I wrote a detailed thing early yesterday morning about each audition, but I think I'll just give you the highlights, which are the two auditions where I had the most fun:

Yesterday's auditions (That would be Wednesday-ed.) were way more fun, particularly the two I had in the morning.

The first one was for the Cleveland Golf Company, for "No Compromise" putters.

I was this crazy/obnoxious guy, sidling up to a couple of golfers in a restaurant, anxious to tell them the big "secret" of "No Compromise" putters ("They're nocturnal..."). It was weird and funny, and while I couldn't for the life of me understand how the spot actually sold the putters in question, I had a good time doing it (And the cameraman was obviously very amused).

The second one was an industrial, for a company called Siemans. Just a two-line exchange between myself and another actor: Apparently, the moment before the scene begins, I've told "Ralph", my co-worker, that I love him.

He awkwardly replies "Well...in a strange way, I guess I kind of...love you too, Bob", and I respond by saying "Thanks. I feel better talking about this, Ralph".

We did one take very dry and low-key (I felt like the other actor and I had a good comic rapport). Then they had us do another take, instructing us to make it even more awkward. So when "Ralph" said "I guess I kind of...love you too", I responded as if he'd said exactly what I wanted to hear, and was about to weep with joy.

We got a good response with both reads, and the whole experience was a lot of fun. I wish more casting places were like that; there was just a nice, fun "vibe" there.

Obviously, having a lot of auditions is a good thing, and I mostly had a really good time with these last six, but I'm afraid I also let them "mess me up" a little. I temporarily forgot everything I've talked about in here, about doing the auditions then "letting them go", and spent yesterday just waiting by the phone for JS to call (About a callback, or a booking). And then he didn't call, so of course, since I had absolutely nothing else going on, that meant that day was basically ruined.

I know better than this.

I get a bit "overstimulated" by these little rushes: Just because I get six auditions in two days, that doesn't mean I'm any more likely to book something from them than if they happened over the course of a month or two.

And I think in terms of my "instincts", I just have to figure out what the dominant feeling is at a given moment, and go with that.

For example: There was a part of me that didn't want the root canal hanging over my head, and actually wanted to "book out" at the agency, but I was more concerned about missing out on auditions. But now, since I just had more auditions on Wednesday than for the whole month of December last year (When I didn't have any), I'm back to not wanting the root canal hanging over my head, or, God forbid, turning into an abscess. And I'm thinking now that any more auditions I have this month will be "gravy".

As of last night, I've sent out a total of 49 headshots.

In comparison, I sent out 99 headshots last year that were mostly submissions for things in Backstage, and an additional 40 or 45 headshots to theatrical agents.

I'm planning to do another agent mailing before the year's out, now that I'm "SAG Eligible"--"Come and get me, Boys!"-- but nevertheless, I'm pretty disappointed with myself on this front. I know it's difficult to motivate, when it's a lot of time and money spent for little or no reward, but at this stage of the game, it's pretty much all I've got, so I have to become more motivated, not less.

It's been more than three weeks since the Jack-In-The-Box shoot, and I still haven't seen any money.

I'm not starving or anything, so it's no big emergency, but I thought the union thing was that they had to get your money to you within ten business days, and I was looking forward to getting a paycheck while I still remembered having done the gig!

More to the point, I've been eager to "put the money back into the business". I'd like to be making enough money to get out of Borders, to have nice things, whatever, but the thing that's appealing to me right now is the idea that my efforts in this area are "paying for themselves". So I want my effort to pay for itself already, Dammit!

I want to do that agency mailing, and in addition, I want to get tapes out to all the places where I've had gigs, so I can finally get a reel together.

Getting all that done will be my "Xmas present to me".

But I'm pulling my "late morning fade" here--It's almost noon now--and I have to get to the grocery store for some sundries, before laying myself down for a pre-work nap.

See ya later...

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