Sunday: Work at Universal, aka, Tramming... sounds dirty, huh?!
Monday: A Non Union Feature Film audition and a Universal Workshop with a casting director I'd previously met in my other class... That's good because maybe now I'm in her head, but it also would have been nice to meet someone new.
Tuesday: Groceries, laundry and my usual casting workshop, at which I had one of the most awkward cold reads ever! The casting director works on Everybody Hates Chris, among other things, so I was expecting comedy, but I first got a break-up scene. It went well; not the best work for either the guy I was paired with or I, but okay. Then, because a classmate didn't show up, I was paired with a second scene partner. "Great!" I thought, "this gives me an opportunity to show her something else, and hopefully this script will be comedy."
Okay, first let me describe my second scene partner; he's the oldest person in the class, maybe 50 or 60, with a slow, grandpa-esq vibe. I don't know if acting class is a hobby for him or what; I know this sounds mean, but he just plain sucks! I've never seen him do prepared work, so perhaps he's just bad at cold reads. He always sounds like he's reading, he never delivers the line in a natural way. He also "indicates," which is an acting term for obvious, unnatural, novice gestures.
Of course, we were supposed to be a couple. Awkward! He's my dad's age! On top of that, in the first few lines the female was trying to avoid going into the bedroom to get it on. REALLY AWKWARD! Then he gets all mad because it's their wedding night and come to find out she's not a virgin... She's not a virgin because she was raped by her step father when she was eight. Wow!
It was a scene from the movie Beyond the Sea with Kevin Spacey and Kate Bosworth portraying the real life story of singers Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee.
The worst part was at the beginning of the scene our classmates laughed at my scene partner, they thought his delivery and the basic idea of us together was funny, especially the way he said the line, "You're not a virgin?!" They stopped after I said the line, "He was my stepfather. I was only eight." Laughter turned to awkward, awkward silence.
It was one of those moments that makes you thing, "Well if I can get through that...!"
Today: My agent called at 3 p.m. requesting I get to an audition by 6 p.m. I saw the call, but my phone honestly didn't register that voice mail (or three others) until late in the evening. I don't know what the audition was for, but I was at work until 7 anyway. Oh well.
After work I could've gone to a nearby bar to hang out with my coworkers and watch them put on a talent show of sorts. (I guess it's a typical hangout for them, it happens to have a stage which they took over because it's not busy on Wednesdays.) However, after an emotional phone call I just didn't feel like drying my hair, putting on makeup and socializing.
After two months with a for-sale-by-owner sign in the front yard, my beau listed our house with a realtor. The realtors partner, who supposedly specialized in staging came through to give her two cents on how things should be rearranged before they come to take interior pictures. I used to watch all the home selling shows on HGTV, so I know how it goes; she didn't give any major adjustments that surprised us and she reiterated some things I've been saying. However, I think it's a natural reaction to be defensive in this situation and I think a few of her critiques are just plain stupid! It made me wonder, "What the hell does she do when she walks into a house that IS cluttered and tacky?"
For example, I have a classy floating shelf in our master bathroom with three objects of descending size on it. (If you know anything about decorating, you know the rule of threes!) Anyway, she said to only have one thing on the shelf. I KNOW only one thing would look lonely, pathetic and odd. It's not clutter, nor is it a personal type item that would make someone think "there must not be enough storage in the cabinet." Not the mention the fact that it's NOT going to sway a buyer one way or the other - it's a fucking shelf clock and candle! However, she did not notice that the chandelier's cord and chains over our piano in what used to be a dining room is ill-measured, tacky and in desperate need of one of those velvet chandelier cord scrunchies. Yeah, she specializes in staging my ass...!
Never mind who she was or what she said, the hard part is the reality that we're giving up something we worked really hard to make our own. We may not have kids yet, but we still have a lot of memories in that house and a lot of valued possessions that we have to pack up and put in storage. I'm living the life I chose for myself in a very difficult profession, one I always knew I would pursue. My manfriend* on the other hand, is giving up a comfortable lifestyle he worked is ass off for to be with me, in a place where we can't be home owners anytime soon. As I told him on the phone, "I'd live with you in a cardboard both as long as we were together." But I can't help but feel guilt because of his sacrifices. I just want our lives back to normal but in comparison to all our space and comforts in Ohio, it's going to be a long time before that can be a reality.
Thursday: Tramming. I'll have only a half hour to get the nasty stench of tour guide off of me before attending a Universal Workshop where the guest will be the Vice President of Casting for ABC!!! How amazing is that?! She used to be a tour guide.
Friday: If I can pick up a shift at Universal, I'll take it, otherwise I'll drive to Culver City to be paid audience for Deal or No Deal, shaking my head and rolling my eyes at myself the whole time. I've heard it's the absolute worst show taping to sit through. It's $64 for 8 hours, but they anticipate 10. 10 hours of case opening madness! After 8 hours it becomes time and a half, and anything beyond that becomes double time. Seriously, if it were to take more than 10 hours those damn models would surely start poking Howie's eyes out with their stilletos!
Saturday: I could go to a group audition for a play paying "homage to THE TWILIGHT ZONE," but I don't know anything about that show and while the plays run of four Wednesday nights would be okay, it rehearses on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, which is terribly inconvenient. So, like Friday, if I can pick up a Universal shift, I'd take it instead.
* Note, if you understood the term "manfriend," that must mean you've seen the Sex and the City movie! That's what Carrie calls Big when they discuss the fact that "boyfriend" just does not do justice to their relationship. Boyfriend carries a certain level of immaturity and instability. Not getting married is a choice we've made and one of the negatives of that is not quite having the right term for one another. "Partner" and "significant other" just don't sound right either. "Beau" works for me when I'm writing, but I don't say it; I think it would confuse people. "What? Are you talking about ribbon now???"
Monday: A Non Union Feature Film audition and a Universal Workshop with a casting director I'd previously met in my other class... That's good because maybe now I'm in her head, but it also would have been nice to meet someone new.
Tuesday: Groceries, laundry and my usual casting workshop, at which I had one of the most awkward cold reads ever! The casting director works on Everybody Hates Chris, among other things, so I was expecting comedy, but I first got a break-up scene. It went well; not the best work for either the guy I was paired with or I, but okay. Then, because a classmate didn't show up, I was paired with a second scene partner. "Great!" I thought, "this gives me an opportunity to show her something else, and hopefully this script will be comedy."
Okay, first let me describe my second scene partner; he's the oldest person in the class, maybe 50 or 60, with a slow, grandpa-esq vibe. I don't know if acting class is a hobby for him or what; I know this sounds mean, but he just plain sucks! I've never seen him do prepared work, so perhaps he's just bad at cold reads. He always sounds like he's reading, he never delivers the line in a natural way. He also "indicates," which is an acting term for obvious, unnatural, novice gestures.
Of course, we were supposed to be a couple. Awkward! He's my dad's age! On top of that, in the first few lines the female was trying to avoid going into the bedroom to get it on. REALLY AWKWARD! Then he gets all mad because it's their wedding night and come to find out she's not a virgin... She's not a virgin because she was raped by her step father when she was eight. Wow!
It was a scene from the movie Beyond the Sea with Kevin Spacey and Kate Bosworth portraying the real life story of singers Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee.
The worst part was at the beginning of the scene our classmates laughed at my scene partner, they thought his delivery and the basic idea of us together was funny, especially the way he said the line, "You're not a virgin?!" They stopped after I said the line, "He was my stepfather. I was only eight." Laughter turned to awkward, awkward silence.
It was one of those moments that makes you thing, "Well if I can get through that...!"
Today: My agent called at 3 p.m. requesting I get to an audition by 6 p.m. I saw the call, but my phone honestly didn't register that voice mail (or three others) until late in the evening. I don't know what the audition was for, but I was at work until 7 anyway. Oh well.
After work I could've gone to a nearby bar to hang out with my coworkers and watch them put on a talent show of sorts. (I guess it's a typical hangout for them, it happens to have a stage which they took over because it's not busy on Wednesdays.) However, after an emotional phone call I just didn't feel like drying my hair, putting on makeup and socializing.
After two months with a for-sale-by-owner sign in the front yard, my beau listed our house with a realtor. The realtors partner, who supposedly specialized in staging came through to give her two cents on how things should be rearranged before they come to take interior pictures. I used to watch all the home selling shows on HGTV, so I know how it goes; she didn't give any major adjustments that surprised us and she reiterated some things I've been saying. However, I think it's a natural reaction to be defensive in this situation and I think a few of her critiques are just plain stupid! It made me wonder, "What the hell does she do when she walks into a house that IS cluttered and tacky?"
For example, I have a classy floating shelf in our master bathroom with three objects of descending size on it. (If you know anything about decorating, you know the rule of threes!) Anyway, she said to only have one thing on the shelf. I KNOW only one thing would look lonely, pathetic and odd. It's not clutter, nor is it a personal type item that would make someone think "there must not be enough storage in the cabinet." Not the mention the fact that it's NOT going to sway a buyer one way or the other - it's a fucking shelf clock and candle! However, she did not notice that the chandelier's cord and chains over our piano in what used to be a dining room is ill-measured, tacky and in desperate need of one of those velvet chandelier cord scrunchies. Yeah, she specializes in staging my ass...!
Never mind who she was or what she said, the hard part is the reality that we're giving up something we worked really hard to make our own. We may not have kids yet, but we still have a lot of memories in that house and a lot of valued possessions that we have to pack up and put in storage. I'm living the life I chose for myself in a very difficult profession, one I always knew I would pursue. My manfriend* on the other hand, is giving up a comfortable lifestyle he worked is ass off for to be with me, in a place where we can't be home owners anytime soon. As I told him on the phone, "I'd live with you in a cardboard both as long as we were together." But I can't help but feel guilt because of his sacrifices. I just want our lives back to normal but in comparison to all our space and comforts in Ohio, it's going to be a long time before that can be a reality.
Thursday: Tramming. I'll have only a half hour to get the nasty stench of tour guide off of me before attending a Universal Workshop where the guest will be the Vice President of Casting for ABC!!! How amazing is that?! She used to be a tour guide.
Friday: If I can pick up a shift at Universal, I'll take it, otherwise I'll drive to Culver City to be paid audience for Deal or No Deal, shaking my head and rolling my eyes at myself the whole time. I've heard it's the absolute worst show taping to sit through. It's $64 for 8 hours, but they anticipate 10. 10 hours of case opening madness! After 8 hours it becomes time and a half, and anything beyond that becomes double time. Seriously, if it were to take more than 10 hours those damn models would surely start poking Howie's eyes out with their stilletos!
Saturday: I could go to a group audition for a play paying "homage to THE TWILIGHT ZONE," but I don't know anything about that show and while the plays run of four Wednesday nights would be okay, it rehearses on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, which is terribly inconvenient. So, like Friday, if I can pick up a Universal shift, I'd take it instead.
* Note, if you understood the term "manfriend," that must mean you've seen the Sex and the City movie! That's what Carrie calls Big when they discuss the fact that "boyfriend" just does not do justice to their relationship. Boyfriend carries a certain level of immaturity and instability. Not getting married is a choice we've made and one of the negatives of that is not quite having the right term for one another. "Partner" and "significant other" just don't sound right either. "Beau" works for me when I'm writing, but I don't say it; I think it would confuse people. "What? Are you talking about ribbon now???"
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