#10. Some Explicit Polaroids

So I auditioned for Brown Box Theatre Project's Some Explicit Polaroids.

And I got cast as Tim, the nihilist with AIDS.

It's going to be absolutely awesome.



Get yer tickets.



No headshots remain.

#9. Casting Companies in Boston

I did that thing where you send headshots and a cover letter to casting companies so they know you and tell you about auditions and stuff.

These are the dudes I sent my stuff to.

1. C.P. Casting. I don't know if it was totally necessary, because I know these guys have my stuff from the last and only time I auditioned for them. But I figured I'd be courteous enough to include them in my mailing. I have heard no response from them, but I am on their mailing list. I'll probably need to take an acting class with them before I get noticed.

2. Boston Casting. I've already auditioned for these guys, but, again, courtesy. I did get a call back, saying they already had me on file, and that I was welcome to update my online profile with them. Though evidently it doesn't get such wide exposure unless you pay to upgrade your profile or whatever.

3. Grant Wilfley Casting was something I never even heard of. But I heard they audition in Boston sometimes, despite being based in New York. I have no idea what their deal is, but I found 'em, so I was like, sure. Haven't heard anything.

4. Christine Wyse Casting. I've gotten four auditions from these guys for commercials and industrials. So, yeah, that's awesome. Haven't been cast yet, but this blog has taught to expect about one role out of every ten auditions. At the rate these guys have been going, I could get six more auditions soon...



1 headshot remains.

Rob Paulsen on Fear, Crying, Acting

Q: Hey, Rob. What was the scariest moment in your voice over career when you might have thought "I'm not going to make it," or where there any moments in particular where you almost cried due to the emotional nature of the copy or someone's performance?

A: I can't even tell ya, folks, how many times I said, "What the hell am I doing here? Who am I kidding? This is crazy." I walk into a room to do a commercial audition, everybody in the room, there might be thirty of them, they're all stunning. Girls completely, y'know, just way out of my league - my wife took pity on me and, well, she's still out of my league - and the guys are all incredibly handsome. And I'm like, "What am I doing here?"

Those situations are basically, y'know, do you look right and will you work with the people they choose to put with you and all that stuff, but, man, I can't even tell you how many times I thought, "Well, I guess I gotta do this." It's human nature, when you're confronted with what appear to be overwhelming odds - you run into that, and that's where the perseverance comes in. When the going gets tough, et cetera et cetera, you suck it up and say, "Okay, I gotta do this."

Again, mind you, when you're 22 years old, it's a little scary, but it's more of a big journey and you're kind of a cock-eyed optimist - and I was too stupid to be too afraid. It was not really frightening. It was kind of overwhelming, but exciting at the same time. So I learned to use the nervous energy I got from whether or not I could make it to better my performances. And everybody finds their own way.

But there wasn't a scariest moment. 'Cause it's not really scary. Scary is cancer. Scary is getting struck by a car. Scary is having somebody shoot at you. Being nervous about whether or not you're going to make a living in show business seems like the biggest thing in the world at the time - and I guess it is for me, because if I don't act, my family doesn't eat.

If you can keep things in perspective and understand that all you can do is your best, all you can do is compete at the highest level at which you're able to compete, continue to get your chops good, and keep studying, and working hard, and banging at the door, banging at the door, banging at the door...

You know what? Some people make it and some people don't. I know that's easy for me to say, 'cause I'm here having some people say, "You made it," but I'm always swinging for the fences. I always want to get better. I always wanna do more. That's why I take these questions about Broadway shows, and live action, and oh my god, I just want to do more and more and more, and keep learning and learning till they put me in a box.

But scary for me takes on a completely different connotation, especially when you get older and you have kids and you have a family. There are real scary things that come up in life that are certainly more important than which audition you do or don't get, but I certainly understand the spirit in which you ask the question. I just didn't have one particular moment which was scary. I had many times where I had days thinking, "I didn't get this, I didn't get that, I was really close," and five call backs and didn't get it. But I was never scared. I was nervous that I wouldn't make money, of course, because I had to pay rent... But not a particular moment.

However, in respect to the second part of your question about the emotional nature of a copy or someone's performance that got to me - you know what? Many, of course, and most of it is happiness because I hear somebody and I'm just overwhelmed by their talent. I was talking to Billy West today which just reminded me, not only how much I love Billy as a friend, but goodness gracious he' just so talented--

But you know one that really got to me was the Pinky and the Brain Christmas special. I know I got a little choked up when Pinky hands Brain this little keychain with the world on it...



Talkin' Toons

#7 & #8. Giving a good audition

Hey, guys. I feel great, because I gave a good audition for CP Casting. Will it get me a part? Who knows? All that matters is that I'm happy with what I did.

I'm not an expert or anything, but I'm gonna talk about the factors of an audition that make a difference to me, and hopefully we'll all learn something.

DIGESTION

I know that when I'm nervous I tend to get gassy. That's why I watch what I eat before going into situations that I know will make me nervous, like AUDITIONS!

I didn't eat anything at all before I went to this audition, because I knew if I ate something my bowels would stand at attention and be like, "HEY let's really hunker down and get all our work done early today so that we can go home," and I wasn't going to let my intestinal tract boss me around like that. I'm in charge here. And I figured I'd reward myself with lunch afterward.

I would never condone starvation as a means of motivation. All I'm saying is you need to retain control of your body. Whether you get gassy or hungry before an audition, feed or don't feed yourself accordingly. You know best.

INTERACTION

When I showed up for this audition, there were a bunch of people in attendance, but they were all quiet as church mice. So, I stayed quiet too.

Even if you're in a good mood, even if you're as nice as Goku, you don't start blabbering and excitedly introducing yourself to people if they've been sitting in serene silence up until you showed up.

If it's a quiet group, keep it quiet. If it's a talkative crowd, find your own spot to put your stuff down, have a seat (or a stand), and just be there. If the conversation comes your way, feel free to join - or don't; I don't, often. I like to conserve my own energy for my performance, but I'll gladly accept positive energy from other people. You may be alone when you walk inside, but outside you're all together. And that's cool.

So when you enter the space, adapt, find your zone, and ride that wave. Your audition has already begun, and you're in control of everything.

RESPIRATION

Always be breathing. When you wake up the day of the audition, start breathing and never stop. Really breathing. Full, gentle inhales and full, sobering exhales. All the time, forever.

Breathing serves two purposes. First, in case you didn't know, breathing will steadily, almost magically connect you directly to your emotional place. If you breathe, your voice will convey exactly what you want it to and exactly what you need it to.

Second, breathing acts as an important reminder that you are in charge of your own destiny.

You might have eaten a burrito that was too big too close to audition time, you might have brought one headshot instead of two, you might have had an awkward conversation with someone you may know but you don't remember, you might have a viscous string of mucous hanging in the back of your throat that is too far up to snort back and spit or swallow and too deep to blow out through your nose, there might be a LOT of things that are out of your hands now.

But you always have your breath. So enjoy it. Let it flow through you and make you bigger. Let it be your legendary weapon that you'll never need but will always carry with you. Cloak yourself in it and let it warm you. Let it bring you everywhere you want to be. If you're breathing, you're alive, and you can do anything.

And when you breathe, remember that you're being given a chance to do what you love. So enjoy it.



2 headshots remain.

#6. USJesco

One morning I woke up and Craig (the guy from Craigslist) was like, "Hey, USJesco are auditioning for salespeople."

Sales? AUDITIONS?! Yeah! They basically want people to perform live, in-person infomercials. RETAILTAINMENT they call it!

The first round of auditions I'd heard about were at the BCA, not far from me, but I was doing Twelfth Night then. When I came back there was another round of auditions! In Woburn. So I borrowed my roomies' Jetta and headed out.

It was at the Hilton there. Two other people were there ready to audition. One of them was Cheryl. I think she was from Chelsea. We talked about Apollinaire and the No Name restaurant.

There was a side for us to read from with three paragraphs on it, each from a different pitch for a different product. One was a for a Sham Wow-esque item that came in unprecedented quantities, a lifetime guaranteed knife that would be replaced if broken - even if it's YOUR FAULT - and, of course, Mr. Sticky. Mr. Sticky is a lint roller than never needs to be refilled.

When I went in to read, the two fellas there asked which I wanted to read. They were all great, but I read the prompt for Mr. Sticky.

The guys were floored. "I don't wanna jump the gun, but that was fantastic," said the guy on the right.

"Yeah," said the guy on the left, "That's just the kind of tone you need for Mr. Sticky."

They invited me to callbacks at 5:30, but they didn't want me to hang around with the other actors, in case they weren't called back. I was like, "Uh, okay," grab my stuff and said Bye to everyone in earshot as though I was going to leave, and went to the TV room near the bar and played PSP for a while.

Then I got a call from one of the guys explaining there were too few people to justify a callback, so they were gonna let me know when they were gonna have another callback.

They didn't.

Best of luck, USJesco!

4 headshots remain.

Journey to the Screen: Cover Letter

Like those kids from Dino City, I am about to adventure into the screen. That is, contact local casting companies for the opportunity to audition for film background work, print work, and the like.

I'm not afraid to admit that I asked Google how I should write a cover letter to a casting director. I am a little ashamed by the results that came up, though.

I found a sample cover letter on ActingBiz.com from an actor to a casting director. It starts like this.

Dear Mr. Hireme: This part is incredibly important! Always address your cover letter to a specific contact. My name is Marcus Caparcus and I am a new actor to Los Angeles. I am interested in stage, film and commercial productions. My cousin Vinny Babarino mentioned your name to me as he remembered that you and I attended the same performing arts school. It is simply amazing to me that we both grew up in the same town and attended the same acting school. See how short and sweet that was? I also managed to drop a contact name and a reference that makes a personal connection between me and the recipient. As for my recent work, you can see me in a guest starring role on 'The Office' next week and I also have a film being released as part of the Barleytown Independent Film Festival. I should also tell you that I will be starting a new role in an off-Broadway play called 'Where the Kitty Kats Are' and can easily arrange some tickets for you.

Let me stop right there and show you two specific things that make this sample extremely unhelpful.

As for my recent work, you can see me in a guest starring role on 'The Office' next week and I also have a film being released as part of the Barleytown Independent Film Festival.

If you're writing a sample cover letter for actors, you must in some way assume that the actors who would glean any insight from it have not written many cover letters to casting directors. And if they have had so little contact with casting directors, you must then assume that they have not had much experience in acting professionally for the screen.

What is so disheartening about this example is that it seems to suggest, before contacting a casting director to get work, you should first be cast in a prime-time, award-winning television comedy. Clearly the imaginary guy in this example doesn't need to Google "casting director cover letter". He would already know how that works.

Oh, and this is stupid.

It is simply amazing to me that we both grew up in the same town and attended the same acting school.

Okay. And what do you say if that's not true? "It is simply amazing that I don't know anyone that you know."

In my Google search I've learned that most websites called "Actor[Whatever]" or "Acting[Thing]" are silly and give really broad, vaguely sweeping advice.

But there is a good thing to take away from this example. An actor's cover letter seems to come in three paragraphs:

1. the declaration of intent (I am interested in auditioning for screen work)

2. recent work (I just finished [doing this] and I am currently [doing this])

3. Thank You (Thank you very much for your time and consideration)

If you can at least hit those points, I say don't sweat the rest of the letter. Just write what you need to say in the way you want to say it.

Another ActingBiz piece mentions that the cover letter should be printed on "top-of-the-line" business stationery, because it shows that you care. I mean, I get that. We're already paying for headshot prints, why not go all the way?

I'm considering it, it's just that... What the hell am I supposed to do with this stationery after I write my cover letters? Can I go somewhere I just buy, like, five sheets of it?

I guess keeping up appearances by making semi-necessary purchases is something I should be used to by now as an actor.

Twelfth Night

So this last month I was Malvolio in Brown Box Theatre Project's Twelfth Night.



The cast arrived in Maryland with their lines memorized, and we rehearsed every day for three weeks. Then we performed the shows for a week at public locations and schools throughout the Ocean City area.

Ocean City, being a resort town, mostly shuts down as the warm months draw to a close. Brown Box intended Twelfth Night to be for the enjoyment of those who lived in the immediate area rather than tourists.

Since those in the immediate area are all business owners, Brown Box was able to raise funds to such a degree that would be impossible in a town saturated with theatre like Boston. Not only was this show of kindness very fortunate for the production, it was very heartening to me. These people clearly wanted to us to do what we were doing.



The cast and crew stayed in housing donated by local business and the director's family. I lived in a trailer on their horse farm, where rehearsal took place.

Rehearsal was new for me. I'm often used to making adjustments and internalizing them over the course of time, often between rehearsals. Since time was short and rehearsing the show was the reason I was there, I had to make changes immediately. It was hard, and it was good.

I had only been in three Shakespearean productions; two of them were Much Ado About Nothing, and none of them were professional. For someone who doesn't perform Shakespeare very often it's easy to get stuck on the text - knowing what the words mean, saying them very pointedly, but still not believing in them entirely; wearing the words like a shirt instead of letting them slip into you.

The solution, as always, is listening to your companions on stage with you. Understanding where they come from can help you get to where you're going.



The set was designed by Cory Rodriguez to fit into a goose neck trailer and be assembled and disassembled on site (and, of course, to look bad ass), and the whole cast took part in the labor. In one production I got to act AND move stuff around.

We worked hard and we put on a good show for a community that normally doesn't get any theatre.

It is one of the coolest things I've ever done.

And Brown Box is moving base to Boston.

So get ready.

EDIT:

Oh, and also. Ocean City is the site of the now infamous



Yes, much like the Phoenix Saga from X-Men, the Smirnoff Ice Saga influenced the hearts and minds of a generation. Comrade challenged comrade in a thrilling game with no boundaries and one rule: if you see an Ice, you drink it. Well, there are other rules, but the first is the most important.

If you're ever in a closed environment with a certain group of people, icing is an excellent way to build an environment of camaraderie and fear simultaneously.

Most of the Twelfth Night Smirnoff Ice saga is accounted here. Though some icing occurred in unrecordable circumstances, the album gives an idea of how everyone fared. At a score of 3 Ices given and 10 Ices received, I was the worst player by far.

* Icing is not condoned or endorsed by Brown Box Theatre Project.
** Brown Box Theatre Project is not condoned or endorsed by Smirnoff.

EDIT EDIT (10/3):

omg

Chelsea Schmidt was funny and convincing in her lead role as androgynous Viola. Laughs poured from the audience when Kevin Little and Joe Ruscio shared the stage as drinking buddies Sir Andrew Aguecheek and Sir Toby Belch. And Terry Torres stole the show as a quirky, animated Malvolio.

It's not the first time my name has been mentioned in a review, but it's the first time my performance has been!

EDIT EDIT EDIT (2/20):