Adam Creighton, Voice & Film Actor (Ramblings)

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Adam Creighton, Voice & Film Actor (Ramblings) (Subscribe)

People, by nature, have some interesting things to say. Here are some of my things. Some about acting. All about living ...

Monday, March 01, 2010

Auditions and Blood Work

So, I had blood work drawn as part of routine physical, and that got me to thinking:

Getting blood drawn is like auditioning.

You really want to perform well with both, but you've done the real work weeks and months ahead of time, you kind of "fire and forget", and you hope the results are good (and really really hope they're not bad).

See?

Labels: acting, acting process, auditions

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Thursday, August 20, 2009

Resume, voice, and industrial updates

I've posted a few updated gigs to my resume (HTML and PDF), and the related voice clips.

I did an industrial for AMD for their Computex show in Taipei this summer, and also updated the site with a couple of my recent video game credits -- Mangled Metal (based on the WARMACHINE property), and Forbidden Terror on Station Z! -- an on-rails zombie shooter.

There is another clip from Mangled Metal I'll upload soon, and I'll probably capture some video from the game for both clips, since the voiceover works a lot better in the context of the video.

Linkies:

Labels: acting, auditions, biz, Filmed in North Carolina, industrial, resume updates, site updates, video games, voice acting

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Thursday, September 20, 2007

Who says that?

One of the things I've been working on the last few months is -- at the core -- who I am as any given character. What I'm trying to do and how I do it may change throughout the project (or the scene, or the moment), but that should be layered on top of who I am as the character.

One of the things I don't like is watching a film and being struck with some version of, "She wouldn't do that."

So I started evaluating, trying to figure out what gets that reaction from me. Part of it is unrealistic circumstances created by the writing, direction, or editing, which arguably are outside the control of the actor. Other times, though, I'm realizing the disconnect occurs when the actor slips between why the character would do something, and why the actor would do something. In a couple of instances, it's because their was a switch between what the character in the current project would do, and what the actor had done as another character (or another character type) in a previous project that I suspect they were more connected to or comfortable with than the current moment's character.

So how do I avoid that? How do I find out that character core, that framework on which to hang my performance?

It's called a lot of things, but for me, it's come down to figuring out my character's "spine". Spine works so well for me as a metaphor, because it's the component of the body without which there isn't dynamic physical movement, it describes the moral character and attributes of a person, and it's the binding that holds a book -- the whole story -- together.

Early in my acting, I received a wealth of good coaching advice from my film coach Van Brooks. One of the pieces that stuck with me particularly was, "Don't judge your character". (The particular scene was me as a guy who may or may not have killed his ex-girlfriend.)

This came back to mind a few weeks ago when I was struggling with one line of dialog when getting ready for a cold read. My character said, "Darn" -- all by itself, in a cast-off way -- and it felt weird. The self-talk sequence that came to mind was bit like this:

"Darn"? He says "Darn"? Who says "darn"?
"Don't judge your character."
Who says, "Darn"? I do.

When I did the cold read, I nailed "darn". It wasn't punched, it was cast-off, I didn't think about it, and I sold it. My coach and peers called it out after the cold read as an example as to why selling the most insignificant word in a believable, organic way, creates good, unexpected moments.

Later in the evening (interestingly), my coach (Steve) had a discussion with all of us about weird dialog (someone else had some funky phrasing like "you're toast" that was causing similar trip-ups).

He actually even said, "Who says that kind of stuff? Your character does."

(Which was validating and freaky at the same time; he's in my head!)

So, one of my recent tools is I've stopped "judging" my character's dialog. That doesn't mean I don't try to figure out why he or she is saying what she's saying, and why it's being said at that time. But I shelf any useless judgements (like, "That sounds stupid", and so on). I can't replicate the "darn" by thinking about it, or trying to sell it. It works or it doesn't.

Oh, and a side-effect of not judging my character is I make more dangerous, interesting choices, which come through on the audition or cold read. ("Did I kill my ex-girlfriend? Yes, yes I did.")

Mheh. The process was more interesting as I worked through it than it probably reads here.

Labels: acting, acting process, auditions, training

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Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Back in class

So, acting class started in July, then a session was cancelled, then I was in Cali, then I was sick flat on my back for two weeks, so tonight I was back in class. After a month out.

I enjoy class. Even when it's hard. I like to be on set, on mic, or in class all of the time. For me, acting's not like riding a bike. It goes away. And there are slumps. And my acting skills need constant use.

Tonight was kind of a "soft-in", which was good, because my voice is still shot.

Cold read stuff was what I was appropriately thrown into. Which I enjoy, and which I got kudos on, and I take encouragement from. But not for the obvious reason.

I'm a voice actor. Pretty much every voice over audition I do is a cold read. Plus mic technique. Plus creating the character with nothing but a voice.

I'm encouraged the skill showed up on camera tonight, and that I didn't stilt the physicality, the connection with the reader. Doesn't mean I won't have off cold reads later. But tonight, I didn't.

And it was so good to see my Meisner peeps again. I really care about those folks.

Labels: acting, acting process, auditions, training

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Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Commercial audition ...

I had a commercial audition yesterday for Inferno Films / Elephant Productions, my first for those folks.

It was a quick, easy-going audition, and I really like the feel of those folks and that space -- kind of a communal creative vibe, like that over at Enspire Learning and co.

I should hear back by the end of the week. It was nice to practically walk off a plane from CA and into an audition. Good times.

Labels: acting, auditions

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Thursday, June 14, 2007

Industrial audition today ... (Updated)

I had a brief audition for an industrial gig today.

I got to meet new people (actress and advertising agency), it was a fun audition, and I felt good about it.

I also got to thinking that I like doing gigs for local advertising agencies for local clients. They're not the big opportunities like national ads, but I like plying my trade for homegrown efforts and consumption.

And I'll know shortly if I scored the gig.

UPDATED: I booked the gig, and will be shooting Monday!

Labels: acting, auditions

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Saturday, June 02, 2007

Good audition workshop today ...

I had a good audition workshop today with a seasoned casting director who's a recent LA-to-Austin transplant.

The workshop was limited just to my agency (and room capacity only allowed a subset of that), so it was nice to spend a day working with my agent and agency folks. The session itself was at Studio E, which I'd been meaning to check out for some time (Elizabeth Reeder was great).

The workshop was mostly open dialogue about what actors should and shouldn't do in auditions (mostly for episodic television, a smidge for film, and nary a peep for commercial), with a bit of cold reading auditioning and feedback at the very end.

All in all, a productive day with talented folks, I felt good about my cold read, and I left hungry for more.

Labels: acting, auditions, training

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Thursday, May 24, 2007

Industrial audition today ...

I had a great audition this morning for an industrial gig.

For those unfamiliar with that particular kind of project, an industrial is an in-house (usually non-broadcast) project used to train, motivate, entertain, or otherwise move a company's or (sometimes) entire vertical market's members. Think workplace violence or sexual harassment training videos, understanding the company's mission and vision, and so on.

I felt it was a solid audition, with a very giving reader and specific, follow-able direction. I felt comfortable and locked into who I was in the scene, and I adjusted to notes as they were given.

Again, it was a very good experience, and with new, neat folks.

Great way to start the day...

Labels: acting, auditions

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Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Industrial audition today ...

I had just got back from a good audition for an industrial today.

Industrials can be tough, because they're often dry, usually due to their instructional nature.

The sides I had for today's audition were fun, and riffed on a TV franchise I really enjoy. Kudos to the producers for having fun with the content.

It was a full, dense page of text, but I still made sure to do my whole acting process -- write it out, make choices, memorize, and so on -- and I'd like to think the memorization part put be ahead of the game (and I only muffed up one word) ...

I ran into acting friend Doran Ingram at the audition. If not me for this gig, I would be totally happy if he got it.

And though I am arguably a little out of type for the written description of the project's role, the casting director bringing me in is a nod to her belief in my abilities, as well as her tuned sense of what can work for a project. Which I find very encouraging.

Every audition is a gift ...

Labels: acting, auditions

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Monday, March 12, 2007

Video game voice over audition ...

I just had a voice audition for a big franchise of which I'm a fan, from a development / publishing company of which I'm also a big fan.

And I got a call back.

(Which, oddly, in the years I've been doing this, is a first for me. I usually book off the audition itself, my demos, or with repeat business. So another first on the acting front is wicked cool.)

I'm a big video game fan, and those and cartoons are what got me into voice acting.

And though I consider any audition a gift, on so many levels this particular audition was amazing on the giftage front.

And I extended my acting process in new ways, too.

I got the audition notice Friday. I was supposed to prep for the main "good guy" and the main "bad guy" -- meaty parts both. (And I need to be vague, because I don't want to give stuff away.)

These are the most amazing character breakdowns I have ever received. We're talking 4 sides a piece, character synopsis, renders or reference picture, reference TV / movie stars, description of the relationships between the characters, and additional info (for one of them, there was a freaking Myers-Briggs-like assessment!).

I wonder if some actors would be miffed at this much info. But for me, it gave me a phenomenal base on which to build. I didn't have to do basic wood shedding -- I could just go to the next level.

I did my normal thing and wrote out all of my lines for both roles, and memorized them independent of any acting choices.

Then I made the additional acting choices -- What happened just before, what're the details of my characters' relationships with each other, what was different about how they both got to the same point, and so on.

And then I did some things I haven't done before with my acting.

In another life they'd be ...

I got to thinking about how to some degree we are who are because of a combination of nature, nurture, and our place in time. So, for these two guys, who or what would they be if they were born in another time?

For the good guy, I saw him as a Spartan warrior (I just saw 300; twice). The bad guy would be Alexander the Great (not that Alex was bad, necessarily, but it just mapped well).

Work from what you know ...

What I know -- inside and out -- is comic books. So, I wanted to look at what character or characters were most like these guys. This really gave me a hook for each of them.

Good guy -- Captain America + Punisher + Hawkeye

Bad guy -- Winter Soldier + Spider-Man

What music did they listen to ...

I've done this before, but this time, driving down to the audition for an hour, already knowing my lines, I listened to music I thought each of them would listen to as I internally woodshedded these two guys. Turns out The Punisher Soundtrack had mixes of tracks I could apply to each of them (on the same disc).

Daddy ...

This one was new, and worked powerfully and well. I thought about what each of their dad relationships were, and worked through those as the character.

Good guy -- "My dad loved me, and we were buddies. We played football, wrestled, ran, and always tested our bodies against each other. He never abused me, but never coddled me. He'd knock me down in football, and (when I was old enough) I knocked him down."

Bad guy -- "I was the fifth of five kids, and the first boy. My dad so wanted a boy, and I was so small and sickly. A lot of parents us "C'Mon, Guys!" generically with boys and girls; my dad used, "C'Mon, Girls!". He never talked to me about his disappointment. He never talked to me about his disappointment."

The audition ...

I ended up just auditioning for the role of the bad guy. Which is fine. I'm still ready for both.

And this was also my first audition for casting director Amy Grappell, and she and Annie were very organized and very professional, making for a great, non-stress audition. She also gave me great, specific, usable feedback. Also a gift.

Freaking great audition ...

Labels: acting, acting process, auditions, video games, voice acting

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Thursday, February 15, 2007

Commercial audition today ...

I once had someone ask me why I never have bad audition experiences.

When I stopped laughing long enough to ask how he got that impression, he pointed to my blog.

Oh.

Hey, I have bad audition experiences. I don't write about a lot of them, because it's (A) unproductive and (B) this is a tiny town, and a little big industry. So even not mentioning names, I could potentially out or hurt someone -- which I don't want to do. Not professional, and not in my nature.

But I will write about today's experience, because it was ... not great. But it was less than stellar probably for reasons out of the hands of folks running it, and they had a great attitude about it, and were professional.

So, the audition window for my character was supposed to run from 5 to 6:30 p.m., with them "Absolutely having to stop" by 7 p.m. to get things together and FedExed out.

I got there at 5(ish), and had my audition at 7:25. Yeah.

There were wall-to-wall bodies, probably because some agency didn't send "a select few", but broadcast the opportunity to all of their talent, which isn't appropriate. But I'm just speculating. Besides, that's the agency's -- not talent's --fault.

So, what do you do in this situation?

I don't know what you do, but I know what I did. ;-)

I had a ton of people going for the same spot, so needed to differentiate myself, and wanted to take advantage of the time.

An hour and a half? A paragraph and a couple of tag lines? You can bet I was rock solid off book.

And I wanted to tweak the text (they said we could "make it our own"), without being disrespectful to the work the copy writers had done.

Easy. The copy was about a dog. I changed it from "he" and "him" to "she" and "her". Subtle, (I thought) better for the commercial, and made it more real for and applicable to me.

The piece was supposed to be serious and somber, but when I walked in the room, I so planned on being sarcastic and counter type and fun. But when I saw how stressed (but still professional) the casting folks were, I went back to more what they wanted -- not maudlin, but sensitive.

And I made sure to let the casting folks know on my way out I appreciated how patient and professional and non-negative they were being, in the face of a pretty stressful audition situation they didn't cause.

So, long night, not a great audition experience, per se, but a good experience.

Besides, any audition is gift ...

Labels: acting, auditions, biz

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Thursday, February 08, 2007

The CAGE audition tonight

I ran down and did an audition for The CAGE opportunity I mentioned the other day.

From the last post:

"If you're in Central Texas, you know what a force and opportunity the University of Texas College of Radio-Television-Film is. Tonight [sic, shoulda been "Thursday"], the CAGE at UT Austin is having open auditions, which puts you in the potential running for tons of their student and departmental projects. These things have screened at Cannes, Tribeca, and SXSW (which is coming up in March)."

So, yeah, an opportunity to get in front of folks who are aspiring film makers (or auteurs), and increased opportunity to be auditioning constantly. Working constantly (because I treat auditions like gigs). To put myself as a professional actor to the benefit of people learning the craft.

This was a last-minute deal, I made it at the tail end, there weren't many UT folks there when I arrived, and -- I honestly don't remember the audition.

This thing was like a theater audition -- raised stage, single spotlight, a stationary camera, and the audience somewhere "out there".

I mean, I got there, and and I was severely affected by the audition two spots before me (no monologue; just talking about something real that had happened in his life, which I would pooh pooh as an actor but hold on to as a human being). And I was irritated by the non-intimacy of the setup and the quietness of the actress who went on right before me (I have no earthly idea what she said). And I was deeply inside my back story.

I got on stage, introduced myself and my piece (my new monologue from my final "Round 1"Meisner class, which I just realized I never wrote about), ducked down to prep briefly, and then ... um ... near as I can figure, here's how it went:

(In my head)
She'scallingthecopsshewasn'tsupposedtobehere
whatdoIdoknowOhFU**she'scallingthecopsI've
gottostopherdidshejustcallmeasickBITTER
RESENTFULFU**she'sgoing--
*BANG*
.
.
.
*Silence*

Then there's this dawning realization I'm standing on stage, a vague sense I've said my lines, the last one's resonating in my skull, so I said "thank you" and ducked off stage.

I'm hoping the silence was because I was awfully good -- not just awful.

Man, Steve said things would work like this at times. Times when I know my back story and my motivation and they are living in me, and I wasn't worrying about the lines because I know them cold.

Weird.

Then it was off to Erin Marie Keigher's B-Day ("Day 1 of Many") briefly before home (I'm lately in this "run-at-6-a.m." mode).

Erin is one of the Beautiful People (in every sense of the word) with which I'm currently blessed in my life.

Labels: acting, acting process, auditions, meisner

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Wednesday, February 07, 2007

The CAGE (UT Austin) open auditions Thursday

(Meant to post this last week. Make it if you can.)

There is a big open audition opportunity at the University of Texas Thursday (02/08).

If you're in Central Texas, you know what a force and opportunity the University of Texas College of Radio-Television-Film is.

Tonight, the CAGE at UT Austin is having open auditions, which puts you in the potential running for tons of their student and departmental projects. These things have screened at Cannes, Tribeca, and SXSW (which is coming up in March). A lot of the faculty and staff (like PJ Raval, Steve Mims, and Scott Rice) are top notch and professional industry folks.

Besides, having the College of RTF in Austin means actors have no excuse if they want to be auditioning constantly.

Here's da skinny:

Headshots and Resumes
attn: Autumn Leonard
Director, The CAGE (cage@uts.cc.utexas.edu)
(512) 471-2478
http://rtf.utexas.edu/cage/
Interested in acting in Film? Come to the CAGE Open Auditions.
February 8th, 2007
5 – 8 pm; 4th floor, CMB Studio 4B
The CAGE Open Auditions
These Open Auditions happen once a year. They are the opportunity for both experienced and aspiring actors to meet members (Faculty, Graduate and Undergraduate students) of the Radio-Television-Film community at UT Austin.
Auditions are open to all types, ages and genders. Each audition time will be scheduled beforehand, please email or call the CAGE in advance to secure a spot.
Requirements:
Headshot, resume and 2 – 3 minute monologue.
Last year alone UT films have screened in Cannes, Tribeca and SXSW.Whether you are an experience actor, or just starting out, the CAGE Open Auditions this is an exciting opportunity to meet and work with talented filmmakers.
See website for directions:
Contact: Autumn Leonard (cage@uts.cc.utexas.edu) Website: http://www.utexas.edu/maps/main/buildings/cmb.html
http://rtf.utexas.edu/cage/

Labels: acting, auditions, biz

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Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Commercial Audition today

Today I had a brief commercial audition for a potential semi-local (College Station, TX) gig.

The audition is for a medical commercial spot, and my first with semi-local production house Frame by Frame.

This was an easy going, quick deal, and though I don't beat up on myself after auditions, I do look for things to do better next time.

The main thing on this one was commitment to miming.

I hate miming.

Not because I can't do it, but because it's lying.

I was supposed to mime washing dishes. And because of my mindset, I didn't commit to the activity. So when I got direction, I stopped my activity, and followed the direction. I should have kept "washing dishes".

But that's for the next audition. This one is what it is, and I'm great with that.

Labels: acting, acting process, auditions

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Friday, January 26, 2007

I didn't get the gig, but ...

I didn't get this gig.

But I did get an Email from the director, after the audition, and before the shoot date, letting me know he appreciated the audition, I wasn't selected, and he hoped to see me soon.

What a great, simple, stand-up thing to do.

So often in this Biz I audition, and unless I get the gig, the other side is a black hole. I know I didn't get the gig when filming starts, and I'm not there, or if I see notice for the release of the picture or project.

Anyway, I appreciate this.

And Jeffrey's a talented guy -- check out his stuff.

Labels: acting, auditions, biz

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Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Industrial audition today ...

I had an audition today for an industrial that will shoot this week.

The audition was for an Enspire Media project, and I know the product well (in the technology sector), and the role (growing high-tech presenter).

And the actual audition was with Jeffrey Travis, for whom I auditioned last year for the Flatland movie. Jeffrey's a good, easy going, professional guy for whom to audition.

I was not as off-book as I should have been, which is my bad on planning and timing. But it is what it is.

Labels: acting, auditions

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Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Commercial audition ...

Did a commercial audition today over at Casting Works LA.

I was late due to a accident at the convergence of IH-35 upper and lower decks. I was on the upper deck for a half an hour. Yeah.

I think that's the first time I've been late to a commercial auditon. That sucks.

But ... a year ago, I would have been crawling out of my skin. Now, since I've been Miesnated, I used the time to observe stuff around me, refresh monologues, and chill.

And I let it go when I hit the audition, and I feel good about the audition.

And I got to see fellow agency talents (and former classmates) Anika Kunik and Tom Procida (Tom's doing Friday Night Lights, too!).

Now, off to class...

Labels: acting, auditions

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Friday, November 17, 2006

"Friday Night Lights" audition

I just finished an audition for "Friday Night Lights".

This is my first audition for a network television show, which is exciting enough by itself. But the series is also important to the Central Texas creative community and economy, and I want to do whatever I can to help it be successful. The icing in the cake is I watch and genuinely enjoy this
show, anyway.

I auditioned for director/producer Jeffery Reiner, casting director Beth Sepko, and her partner in crime Sheila Steele.

Beth and Sheila, as always, are so pleasant and professional and made for an efficient, non-stressful experience.

Jeffery Reiner was laid back, and his direction was subtle and very effective at the same time. He and I traded lines he fed me, then he said, "Go. Do the scene. Just like that."

Easy.

Though I may have messed up the mechanics of the read slightly. The audition was basically "Line; Reader; Reaction." I think there was subtle direction from Beth for me to deliver to the camera, but when I reacted it was to her as the reader (not the camera). I think this is due to a couple of problems: Beth was a good reader, and because of my recent Steve Prince
/ Dan Fauci / Van Brooks acting triage, I took what Beth said really personally.

Those are two good problems to have. I'm encouraged, and I know what to adjust next time.

Did I mention this was my first audition for network TV?

Labels: acting, auditions

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Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Commercial audition today

I had a commercial audition today for Luby's 60th anniversary regional campaign.

There was so much good stuff with this day.

The audition was in San Antonio, and I decided to take a different route than my regular IH-35/1604 route. Instead, I jetted down MoPac (Loop 1), then 290 West to 281 South. About the same amount of time, but far less traffic, and prettier.

The audition was for Brenda Ambrize, for whom I haven't auditioned before. She and her crew were professional, courteous, and all around on the ball -- a very nice experience.

I was auditioning as a guy who was a "warrior" in the boardroom, and a sensitive husband and dad with his family. I got to be in a suit. I tied one of my best tie knots ever.

Good audition overall. There are things I'd do different in retrospect, but I'm not beating myself up over those -- just carrying them forward for the next one.

And lots of time on the road to think about my weekend, and all of those awesome people with whom I spent it.

Labels: acting, auditions

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Busy on the acting front

Been busy lately on the acting front, which is obviously good.

Sunday I did another Meisner workout, this time a 1:1 with Errich Petersen, who's really talented, a good guy, and he and I have some overlap in the things on which we need to work for this class.

Right after that I recorded a 60-second voice audition for an AFTRA Lay's/Super B**l radio spot. The copy was well-written (it flowed, had a lot of range, and was easy to fit into the target time) and a lot of fun.

My agent called me Saturday about the opportunity from New York (she's absolutely amazing; working on her vacation and getting non-Austin gigs for me), and sound engineer Chad Furrow spun on a dime and helped me record the thing so I could have a clean, professional submission. If you need a top-notch, skilled engineer who knows his stuff and is a joy with whom to work, Chad is your guy. Seriously, if you want to get a hold of hiim, let me know.

The last several days, I've been going back and forth with several sound production and casting agencies on the West Coast. The interactions have largely been around their preference for union talent. I've been talking to them about the merits of professional talent in work-at-will states like Texas, which also hosts a bunch of their clients. I'm in no way trying to undercut the unions, but I certainly need to sell why the reality of where I choose to live doesn't impact my professionalism and contribution to their project. We'll see. A couple of the folks have been really interactive, and seem interested in exploring this more.

Last night, I finally got my specialized CD burner fixed (I hate software), because I need to burn a ton of voice demo CDs for next week's game conference.

I also wrote another full episode of my "Project X(ish)", and recorded and mastered some test audio. This particular episode is in homage to one of my favorite 90s action cartoons, and is funny sh**. To me. Other people may say, "Not so much." Screw them.

Tonight, I'll probably do another Meisner workout (I so don't feel ready for class), and start burning and printing a ton of demo discs and resumes for next week's conference.

I am so running out of hours in a day ...

Labels: acting, acting process, auditions, biz, meisner, training, voice acting

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Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Busy Biz week ...

Dang. I'm fried.

First there was Monday night's Casting Works LA showcase (which went well, thank you), and all of its hours of preparation, then a get-together with talented actor friends into the night.

Then, yesterday, I was back at CWLA to collate headshots and DVDs for mailing the showcase to Casting Directors (Tips for newbie actors: Have enough headshots, have them the right size, and don't get them photocopied at Kinko's in not-so-pleasing green/gray/blue stripes), and then I worked on programming a widget I hope to add to my Web site to make actor's lives easier. More to come on that later. After that, I ducked out to do a Meisner workout with Errich, Nikki, Marcus, and Lydia.

Today, I was off to a kids' film(ish) camp to talk about voice acting, which worked out about as I expected ("Can you do Darth Vader's voice? Can you do R2D2? Can you do a hungry hamster? Can you do Bullwinkle the Moose?"). But, I did have one kid come up to me on my out and say, "Hey, I thought you were going to be a boring speaker, but you weren't. That's good, because I hate boring speakers."

OK.

Then I had drive like a madman back to CWLA for an audition for an in-house industrial, and ran into fellow Collier talents (and classmates) Drew Whelpley and Tom Procida, and met fellow agency talent David Precopia, who people have said reminds them a lot of me. Seems like a nice guy, so I'll rethink my "bump off the competition" plan.

Good guys, all, so it's going to be competitive for this gig. I still want it over them, though.

And tonight, I'm back on for Meisner class #3.

I'm freaking exhausted, because I'm juggling all this with home life and the toy job, where I'm covering for my manager, various projects are going south, and BigHugeCorp, despite it's empty mantras, does not value people, and has no loyalty to them.

But, at least things are busy on the gigs front. For the most part, these are authentic folks who value relationships ...

Labels: acting, auditions, biz, gigs, meisner, toy job, training

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Monday, July 24, 2006

I auditioned to be Prince Namor

Sort of.

I'm a comic book and video fan boy, so when Activision ran a voice contest for this fall's Marvel Ultimate Alliance, a comic book Role-Playing Game (RPG), I thought, "Why not?"

Originally, auditions were for Incredible Hulk alter-ego Bruce Banner, but they closed those auditions early due to too many entries.

Then they opened up a new character -- Prince Namor the Atlantean -- who has a beef with all surface dwellers.

This is kind of like my Marvel Ultimates Captain America audition for the direct-to-DVD animated film -- which means I almost chose not to do it. That last experience kind of ticked me off, because it looks like Marvel Comics had no intention of casting voice talent from the competition, and were just trying to get ridicule fodder for the DVD extra features.

But, like I said, "Why not?" -- I'd love to be a part of this game.

I am going to be playing it this fall, after all ...

Labels: acting, auditions, comic books, video games, voice acting

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Friday, January 20, 2006

In-house industrial audition ...

I had a really good audition Thursday for a one-time use in-house industrial.

It was good for a number of reasons (no priority implied):

It was an audition
It was for Casting Director Beth Sepko
It was for production company Action Figure (have you seen Roller Girls on A&E? Brilliant)
It was an improv audition

I really enjoy improv auditions, because though acting for me is play, improv is really permission for me to let my luscious locks down. Though, to be honest, this afternoon's improv may have been less improv and more reliving my morning at home.

Oh, and my Swiss Army Knife of a courier bag that holds all things acting? Saved me yet again with my little cordless electric razor when I found one savage (and angry) mutant hair that had somehow avoided my mirror scrutiny until right before the audition (we're talking facial hair, ladies). But it was no match for vibrating blades and elbow grease.

I really like auditioning ...

Labels: acting, acting process, auditions

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