Character Descriptions should maybe, I dunno, describe the character?

That’s not asking a lot, right? I just want to know some basic info of what the director or writer has in mind. Stuff I can’t infer from the sides. Let me explain.

So I had an early morning audition today for, well, I’ll give you the description that was given to me.

[AGENT TAYLOR] Male, late 30's, Irish looking and too white for his job as a Border Patrol Agent. Obssesed with following the rules, every decision is driven by how well it would look in his resume.

The sides are a whopping page and a half, with most of my lines being “yes, sir” and “no, sir” to the police chief investigating a murder victim in the middle of a desert. Though I did get to make fun of a guy killed by a coyote by likening his corpse to “chili beef jerky,” so that was fun. Anyway, I do my homework, establish my relationship, need, obstacles, tactics, all that fun stuff. I see myself as a guy who does this all the time, but wants a change, and uses his charm and efficiency to try to win over the police chief so I can get off the border patrol. Some of that came from the description, some from the sides, and some I just made up because there wasn’t any additional info and I needed some sort of history background. The usual.

So I walk in cool, comfortable. Busted out a loose shirt-tie outfit with rolled up sleeves and flat hair parted on the right. Seemed like the right call for me; I was feelin it. The director greets me and says he just wants to give me some more info about the character and scene. Here’s what he says:

- I’m afraid of the police chief.

- It’s unusual that the police chief is here investigating the murder.

- The police chief is going to ask me to do something sketchy that I don’t want to do.

And so I’m reminded of the Wedding Singer: "Things that could have been brought to my attention YESTERDAY!"

Honestly, I maybe could have picked up on the fact that the police chief was gonna ask me to do something I didn’t want to [with being a stickler for the rules, and all that], but even that would have been a lucky guess. So, needless to say that I was a little frustrated having developed a character that didn’t fit the situation. But you know, I adapted. That’s what I’m supposed to do. He had me read it 3 times. First time I read it, I just took the character I created and made him nervous. He had me read it again, but more afraid of the police chief. So this time I was more skeptical nervous. After the 2^nd time he said he really liked the latter half, but wanted more formalities in the 1^st half, and that I shouldn’t offer to shake the chief’s hand. And then, I finally understood what he wanted, eradicated the last bits of the character that I had been prepared to play, and gave a good reading. So that was nice. Took me 3 tries, but I eventually got it. What’s ultimately frustrating is that if I had that info prior, there would not have been that whole adjustment process, and I wouldn’t have felt so foolish not understanding exactly what he wanted. At the same time, maybe it was just a way to see if I can take direction, which I guess I demonstrated. Who knows?

Overall, it was fun. Different sort of character than I’m used to, and a different look, so very cool. And it was a union audition, so that could be fun. Eh, we’ll see. All part of the experience.

It's only a little late...

Ok, so it’s been a hella long time since I’ve updated this thing. And seriously, so much has happened. But I’ve been pushing off posting recently, because I didn’t have time to write the big “fill in the 3 month gap” entry. Today, however, I decided that was dumb to wait for that big entry before telling you about my stuff now. So I’m gonna be posting more frequently now, and maybe someday I’ll go back and fill in the gaps. There is, however, some pertinent info that I’m bulleting below.

Represented by BAA Management Company.

Signed up with GetMoreAuditions.com.

Gone on an average of 3 auditions a week.

Received callbacks for some, but no casting.

Working as a Starbucks Barista.

Temping as an administrative assistant.

Performed in final Second City sketch comedy showcase.

Graduated from Second City Conservatory.

Taking classes at Margie Haber Studios.

I’m racking my brain, but I think that’s it. Cool beans. Obviously, there's lots of behind the scenes info to go along with all that, but you know, I'm a busy Booter. So whatever. Yeah, that's right. Whatever. Ok, I'm tired. Later skaters.

Special Mothers' Day Edition

So I really suck at posting on this thing. I guess that's the price you pay for leading the double life. But, I recently took some time to update my folks and grandparents on my goings-on, spurred largely by the lovely holiday of Mothers' Day, and so I figured I would honor those two very important women by posting the e-mail I wrote them online. [Do you like how I totally made you think I'm not lazy and just cutting and pasting an e-mail. See, it's got meaning. I'm deep like that.] Anyway, I have a show next week, FYI. May 21 at 5 PM. New material we're working on that looks to be pretty funny. Ok, on with the updates. Later skaters.

"Things have been crazy busy with me recently [when are they not], but I wanted to take a chance to say hi and let you know what is going on with me. Second City has been going well; we just finished level 4 and will be starting the 5th and final level in a few weeks. I have been learning an enormous amount, and I can sense the various acting skills I'm developing become more and more instinctual. We've had a variety of shows, both really good and really bad, and each has been an amazing learning experience. I have a ton of support out here and it's been a joy to be able to perform so often. When level 5 starts we will be having 1 show every Sunday in preparation for a 1 hour show that will play on 4 Friday nights this summer. Really really exciting.

While working to develop my craft as a stage performer, I am also focusing on my on-camera skills. I recently took an amazing on-camera workshop class and learned so so so much, and actually became quite good. The film medium is a much more psychological one, with less frenzy and overall energy than stage acting, but difficult in its own right. I also really enjoy it. I can break down a scene pretty well know and be decently prepared for an audition, which is exciting. I will be moving on to the next level in June which I am very excited about. I hear that I'm receiving some help from you for this class, which I greatly greatly appreciate it. This class could be my most important yet, as I have a good foundation from which to work and can really focus and develop some major strengths. Plus, as I take this June class I will also be auditioning, so it's like I get a chance to try things out in class and keep my skills fresh. So, thank you thank you thank you.

Speaking of auditions, I recently was signed to a acting management/agency. This is really exciting as it is really hard to do and is really the only way to get started in this business. What this means is that my manager will be submitting my headshot and resume to various casting directors for various parts that they have access to, and if they like me then I get the chance to audition. It's really very exciting. I've been talking about auditioning this summer for a long time, and as of yesterday, it seems that this will actually happen. So woo hoo!

Well, that's a SportsCenter version of what is up with me. And that's just the acting part! School is good, friends are good, and overall I m very happy right now. I will contact you this weekend for some Mothers' Day love, but I am glad I was able to send you a quick note to keep you posted. I hope this finds you well. Take care! Love"

[Yeah, you know you wish you were related to me. I'm awesome. :) ]

2nd Second City Sketch Show

Yay for alliteration!

So I have a show tomorrow. My second ever sketch show, and I'm wicked excited about it. Starting at 5:30 this Sunday [4/9], it's 6 sketches lasting about half an hour. I'll post tomorrow to let you know how it went, but if you wanna see it for yourself, check it out at the address below.

8156 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90046

I promise it will be funnier than using a banana as a phone [which is pretty damn funny in itself!]. Woo hoo!

-Booter

Sometimes Matter Lines Not

So I just wrote a great introduction that MS Word decided to delete. Bitter, party of one, your blog is ready. Poo.

Alright, so now I’m compulsively saving. ::save:: First off, this new acting studio has been awesome. I actually feel that when I audition during the summer I can present myself decently. Will I land anything? That depends on what they are looking for. Only thing I can do is go in there with what I got, and this class is helping me showcase that. I still have more to learn, but the prospect of it all is very exciting.

But today… today’s class was about learning that the lines don’t matter. ::save:: More specifically for me, it was about how our bodies are connected to our minds, and how if we think the right thoughts our bodies will react accordingly. ::save:: I guess I should explain how that all happened.

We broke up into pairs and each person had to think of a person they wanted to talk with, and a specific message they wanted to get across. ::save:: We then had to visualize our partner as this person, and engage in a conversation using only the lines from the page of a random script. When we felt we had “said” what we wanted to say, or felt the conversation was over, we simply dropped the page and the exercise was complete. Sound crazy? It was awesome. ::save::

The first time I did it, I wanted to talk with this girl in high school that I could have dated but I messed things up between her and I. The message I wanted to communicate was that I was sorry. So my partner and I start, she walks around the room nervously, then sits down, then kneels down [I am sitting] and begins to cry. Immediately I realize I can’t just get my message across without calming her down first trying to figure out what is wrong. So we say lines back and forth, lines I don’t remember, but somehow we got to a point in which I felt I could “say” I was sorry. So we exchange more lines in which I communicate this message, but I get the feeling that she isn’t getting me. I realize that this just isn’t the right time for this conversation, that while I said what I needed to, it wasn’t received, and so I dropped my paper. Amazingly enough, my partner also dropped her paper at the exact same time.

So what happened? Well, to her, I was her mother, and she was just looking for support and forgiveness. She felt that while I was trying to make her feel better, I just wasn’t getting her. And she stopped. Was this a good thing? Yes! It was amazing. We had such a strong connection that we both understood what we were communicating via body language, facial expression, tone of voice, etc. People watching said they were riveted by our conversation. Despite the fact that the words didn’t make sense, people could feel our connection and emotions and enjoyed watching it. That was cool enough for me, but I still felt like I didn’t “do” enough. I figured my partner, a very talented actress, had probably carried the scene. On the way to lunch, however, two classmates told me unsolicited how cool it was that I let myself open up and showed what I was feeling. I mentioned how I felt that I didn’t do enough, and they said I was wrong, that I showed my emotions really well and that it was really good. Awesomo! ::save::

We all did the exercise again with different partners. This time, however, I chose a friend of mine from high school who used to give me rides into school every morning. He was the one who got me into musical theater, but before we had a chance to do a show together he went into Diabetic shock and died. He was a senior when I was a junior. Anyway, the message that I wanted to give him was a simple, “Thanks for getting me into this.” But when my partner and I started, she started crying. This totally threw me a loop, as I expected to be the crying one. After all, he died and is in heaven now, so why does he get to cry. We say our meaningless lines, but she seems angry at me, almost as if it was my fault as if she died. I just don’t understand; all I wanted to do was say thanks, and I was getting a guilt trip. Eventually I got so fed up with the whole thing that I threw my paper down to end the scene. ::save::

It turns out that she had visualized her father as me, and was trying to get him to apologize for being the biggest asshole in the world. She could sense that I felt sorry for her, but didn’t understand how it was my fault.

So we got comments from the class, and again people noted our emotional connection. Then Natalie explained her side and I started to understand. Then I explained my side and totally broke down in the middle of it. I had listened so well to Natalie as my partner, I had actually begun to think that Kevin really thought it was my fault that he died. ::save::

I knew in my rational mind that it wasn’t my fault; it just didn’t make sense. But I was receptive enough as an actor to go with what my partner was giving me. Again, I felt like I didn’t do enough, but this time the whole class chimed in about how what I did spoke volumes. And truthfully, all I did was think. I committed to what I wanted to say and listening to what my partner had to say, and reacted accordingly. It’s funny. I mean, how many times do we go into a conversation expecting a certain outcome? And how many times is that outcome perfectly achieved? Almost never. We have no control over that. In that sense, it explains so much about acting. We receive a script of lines for multiple characters. My character has something to say and an idea of what is going to happen, but that’s rarely what the script has written. And so we merely have to react to each other according to what we’re “saying” to each other. The lines help us establish relationship and wants and needs, but they really aren’t what we’re saying. We communicate so much with how we say things that the lines don’t even matter. All that matters is what we think, as long as it’s genuine. ::save::

Therein lies the hard part of acting: being genuine. Thinking real thoughts about the people you’re acting with. At the same time, though, it’s not hard, because it’s something we do every hour of every day. ::save::

I’m excited. I’m excited for my next chance to “audition” on camera during class. I’m also excited to start Second City on Monday. I haven’t worked with them since I started this new class, and I’m curious to see what it will bring out in me. Anyway, thanks for reading. Talk with you soon. ::save::

The 5 Hour Class That Went 2 Hours Overtime

So, wow, Wednesday night was crazy. After teaching/lesson planning all day, I head over to Margie Haber studios for my first class for the foundation level of an on-camera workshop. I drink a Rockstar with dinner and on the drive, get there on time [amazingly!], and then spent an unexpected 7 hours there. Wow.

By the end I was exhausted. And I still had to read again. It didn’t help that someone was complaining about having planned to get up early to run errands, and that she’d have to get stuff done later. Right, early for her meant 10. Four hours after I would already have been up. Two hours after I would have been in front of kids making physics fun. Right.

No worries; this is not a diatribe of the difficulties maintaining a professional life while developing acting ability. Thursday went fine; I’m awesome. J What’s more exciting is that Wednesday went well… relatively speaking.

Ok, so the class basically consists of breaking down a side [short scene used for auditions] into emotions and responses and then reading them with the instructor while being filmed. Everyone in the class does this, and then the whole class watches the film as the instructor makes comments [and everyone in the class silently judges each other]. So I when we were breaking down the side I was totally with the guy and understood each emotion and relationship. Of course I nicely forgot all of that when I read. Naturally my video was horrendous. I can easily say I’m the most behind in the class. Yay for that award. But whatevs, yo, that’s why I’m in the class. I’d rather look like a git in front of these people than in front of casting directors. See, people remember my name, so I’d prefer to have a good performance accompany that name. Right now I don’t have it. But, there is hope for yours truly.

I got a few notes after watching my video. One was not to confuse emotion with acting. Ouch. Wow. Harsh words. Reminded me of when my engineering prof asked me if I was in the wrong major. Couldn’t be truer though, the acting part. There I was, looking upset and frustrated and not actually being upset and frustrated. I was listening to the other character and it showed [yay Second City], but I wasn’t having a conversation with the other character. Eff-bomb. So I resolved to do better the next time. The next time occurred at 12:15; yeah, I was tired. Wicked tired. I just wanted to be finished with it. I get in there and do my thing, change a few aspects and really try to just have a conversation and use the paper correctly. It still felt awkward and crappy to me. I was wrong. The instructor liked it, said I incorporated the notes he gave me very well. He said I still needed to work on establishing more of a relationship, but that I did what he told me.

I kindof didn’t believe him. After all, it felt no less awkward than the first time, and since I was one of the later people to read, I figured he was just being brief and rushing me through. When I watched the video, however, I realized he wasn’t just blowing me off. He was right! Ok, the acting aspect was not that great, but I didn’t look like crap on film. For the first time, I thought I looked pretty decent on TV. Huge improvement from the first read. Awesomo!

So you may have guessed that despite the fact that my head hit the pillow at 1:30 AM and woke up a mere 4.5 hours later, I was still pumped. Baby steps, sir, baby steps.

“I mean, I know we all laugh at Booter, but is he actually funny?”

Hey there thespian fans! It’s been a long long while since I’ve updated this thing, as, well, um, you know. But I hope to be updating this more often in the future. Actually, that’s one of many things I hope will be changing for me regarding my acting pursuit. Well, maybe not changing. Hmmm… well, put it to you this way. It’s probably better that I haven’t posted in about 2.5 months, cause I’ve gone through some serious soul searching [or mental crises, if you’re a glass half-empty type] in that time and instead of getting the grueling play-by-play you get the happy sportscenter version. Yippee hooray!

Ok, first things first. Some people were saying that they enjoyed keeping up to date with my acting pursuits, but that the blog itself was kindof a downer. Fair statement to make. I was using the blog as more of a way to empty my brain of crappy emotional baggage that was affecting my acting. I was also trying to take this whole thing seriously, and when there’s not a lot going on in reality, that’s when the mind has a field day and creates said emotional baggage. If that makes sense, great. If not, don’t worry about it. I’ve learned that there’s nothing worse to do in acting than “take it seriously.” Then it’s no fun, and fun is what we’re supposed to be having. Boo serious, yay fun, go acting!

Alright, time for the fun stuff. So I made the executive decision to continue in my teaching profession one more year before I enter the long line of starving actors. Why? I need the training. Yeah, I’m behind. While I’ve had a decent amount of stage experience, my craft is not refined. [I’m getting better though. Look, I just said craft instead of acting ability. That’s got to count for something!] So I’m in a big “Focus on Training” phase of my career. This Wednesday I’ll be starting this killer acting workshop that basically converts stage acting to film acting. This little dealie is 10 hours a week and will likely kick my ass. I’m really excited about it. In addition, I will be continuing my training with Second City. I recently passed their audition for the upper levels of the conservatory [woo hoo!] and over the next 16 weeks-ish will be learning how to convert improv into sketch comedy. At the end of it all we will write an hour long sketch show and perform four Friday nights sometime in June. Yeah. Awesomo. Big time excited. The summer, I’ve decided, is Booter’s plunge into the world of commercials. More on that later.

So tomorrow I finish level 3 of Second City, and man has it been crazy. I’ve learned about 60 styles and genres incorporating film directors, film styles, playwrights, and historical time periods. And let me tell you, it was not fun or easy. Actually, about 3 weeks ago I was going to stop with SC after this level. My rationale was that I needed to work more on acting fundamentals [which is true] and SC wasn’t very fun anymore. I think it was a combination of learning so much in so little time and not having the experiences that my fellow classmates had to draw from. Our first show was horrendous, but that was likely due to a self-fulfilling prophecy. We were all nervous and worries, telling few people about the show. And yeah, 6 people in the audience, and we were not on top of our game. But a couple of weeks ago we essentially finished learning new styles and genres and we had a show and, wow, I had fun. I was excited about this show [determined to learn my lesson from the first show] and it showed. Class the next day was great, and then the audition happened a couple days later, which was also fun. I found out a few days ago that I passed, and then today we had a show. This one, like the first one, had only 6 people. But, unlike the first one, we had fun. If we were confused, which we were [I mean, who has ever heard of the playwright Moliere. Yeah, I don’t even want to look up how to spell it. But someone had heard of him, because that was our suggestion from the audience] then we just made strong choices and had fun. Moliere = French. We all donned French accents and I did my best Napoleon impression and we went to town. HiLARious. And fun.

This week is a milestone of sorts. I finish level 3 tomorrow. I start my new acting workshop with Margie Haber Studios on Wednesday for 5 hours, and then on Saturday for 5 more hours. Yeah. Intense. Yeah. Awesome. Yeah. Ok!

Perfect Strangers

I just got home from my last of 6 shows in the Christmas play called “Cancel Christmas” in which I busted out some mime skills, and I’m pretty sure no one I knew saw the play. Yep, six shows of Booter looking really funny, but no one saw it. Well, I shouldn’t say that. People saw it. And that makes me happy.

You see, I’m not stressed that none of my friends or family came to see the show. Most of the latter are back east, and most of the former are already at their homes with their families not in LA. It’s a tough time for a show, and it’s a heck of a drive [even with books on tape]. It’s funny, though, because each time I was out on stage, I was sure someone I knew was in the audience. There was either a lot of laughter or great participation or something that made me feel, “Oh, someone out there knows me.” But after each show as I waved to the audience as they left, I saw no one I knew. Which is cool. It means I truly entertained.

Often times after shows the majority of feedback you get is from friends and family, and they are naturally biased. As objective as they try to be, they know you. You crack them up; that’s why they’re your friends. And your family will always give you support [thanks mom]. But show after show, perfect strangers came up to me and congratulated me, saying I was an excellent performer. During the show I made people laugh, people that don’t know me at all. And I didn’t even say a word. Brilliant!

Ok, ok, ok. Don’t get me wrong here. I’m not saying I’m God’s gift to the acting world and that I should become a professional mime. It was still community theater, and 75% of our audiences were elderly or children. But… there is something to be said for performing successfully for people you don’t know and hearing unsolicited positive feedback from them. I’ll comment more later about the overall effects and lessons from this whole experience, but for now I just wanted to relate how cool it was to showcase some of my talents to perfect strangers and have them be well received. I'm at a loss for words!