Table Read

First table read of my life went well! I had read online that you can be recast even if you make it that far, and I therefore had a bit of anxiety over it. And my scene was read last, so that gave me time to have ups and downs in my confidence levels, but when my time finally came, it felt right and familiar during the delivery. And the writing and delivery created enough of a tone that it was getting reactions from my scene partners, which was not necessairly the case for much of the rest of it.

I am NDA'd out of revealing contents, even semi-anonymously on this blog that people do not read, but one thing I think I can share is that they have a 16-episode first season planned and scripted. And they have rewritten my role a little to be more specific to me.

They talked about going to SXSW next year, which now sounds far more realistic. So of course, that concept has me thinking of scenarios like "oh, we need to keep an audience entertained for a couple minutes while we work out technical issues" and then have some cast members perform a few of my one-liners.

I just love having something to aim at, to write toward. And when I do not have that, I do not know what to do with myself. Keep writing and editing jokes, keep auditioning for projects, keep submitting for auditions...

That being said, at least I can daydream about this show being a hit, even a niche one, about doing press for it, about both the glitz and, dare I say it, the glamour of promoting it. Every time I see videos of celebrities doing an exhausting amount of press interviews,  I now think of what jokes I could write and improvise specific to that situation.

Itch Scratched

Oh to have that itch scratched! Being on set again was so good. Did I get paid? No. Did they make excuses for some continuity errors in such a way that made me lose respect for them as filmmakers? Of course. But my contortionist moves were on full display to such an extent that I felt great about it, even after the hour and a half of makeup. 

I had also been insecure about my physical fitness, but with my shirt open for the entirety of the production and seeing a couple videos behind the scenes, it appears that I do, in fact, look pretty good. Makeup on my abs may have helped a little, but still. And I was quite sore the day after we wrappped.

Table read for that pilot is on Saturday, but then I have no more acting gigs, though that could always change if I book any of the two auditions I need to tape before the weekend.

My podcast sponsor renewed us for another three months, and our group is meeting at the end of the month to try to write and maybe film sketches. So that should help a little.

Wahhhhhiiiiinnniiiinnngggg

I talked to the writer and director of the upcoming pilot today. I asked about his one word change for my character, from "lean" to "weasel-like", and he assured me that it was not based on my performance. I let him know that I had been watching weasel documentaries since, and he explained a little further what he meant. And made a similar animal comparison to another character with which I was familiar. They have posted our photos and names on social media in their announcement of the cast, as did the director of the short film we are shooting this weekend. I finally get to be on set tomorrow! Which leaves the rest of today to go to the gym and then debate how much to study the script, since I only have a few lines, but will likely just be focused on physicality.

That will make two pilots and one music video this year. I need to get more work. And that is why I am taking real action by whining about it here. But really, maybe I just need to make myself go to the local open mics, just to be seen, to be doing something, and try to network. Open mics are just so depressing.

The director of this pilot said that he is working on making his own indie streaming service that allows for easier monetization compared to the bigger streamers like youtube. So there is that, along with Roku, and in January, he mentioned an event at which he could shop it around to some international distributors. After he explained it, he ended by saying that it could go big. And it is something of an ensemble cast, so it will be nice to see how everyone plays it out.

Upcoming But Not Enough Work

I need work. I am a few days from my next gig, but I do not even know if it pays. Maybe I need to try to write a short film that only has me in it, something I can shoot on my own. Or just edit the little footage I have into an acting reel. But I really do not think that I have enough for that, hence the urge to make my own something.

I mean, I have one solid 30 second comedic commercial ad. And one comedic scene in which I am overacting, along with another short one in which I make a brief appearance with lines that I improvised. And of course, the music video in which I alternate between just dancing while decorating and then dismembering a dead body. Even the short film I have coming out soon only features me doing contortionist moves, not really acting, apart from the last jump moment. This short film in five days should add something to my, I guess, contortionist creature reel. And then the show should have some actual bona fide dramatic acting.

I am still working on standup here and there, still impressing a few folks with my one-liners, but I still dread the idea of working my way up through the standup comedy scene. What I want to do is to keep acting and punching up scripts, and develop some degree of notoriety through that until I can bust out into the standup scene with a degree of fame already in place. But so far, every approach that I have had has been slow. Maybe with an agent, or if this short film hits festivals so I can do some networking, or maybe there is some other connection into which I have yet to tap.

I recognize that there are a gajillion actors who want to make it, but I do have a decent resume, and am a contortionist, and am a medical doctor, and I write standup. I can write. I collaborate. When I see a script, I tend to have well-received notes to improve it. But talent is not the only step involved in making it.

Table Read...y, Set, Go

Today, we received a time, date, and location for the table read for this television production. Until now, I had familiarity from child actor days, but I never worked as a main cast member on a television show. I was in a comedy pilot earlier this year, but we had no table read; it was fairly amateur. But this is with a studio that already has other productions underway in multiple genres.

It is of course just a pilot with no guarantee of being picked up. But hypothetically, if it does get picked up with a SAG interim agreement, my understanding is that we would eventually be retroactively paid according to whatever agreement SAG makes with the AMPTP. So if it got picked up and was a hit, I would be able to make a living off of it.

But at the least, this pilot should provide footage of me doing some dramatic acting for my reel. And since the last pilot I was in prompted my mom to ask "Did you forget what you learned in your acting classes?", I will benefit from having actual acting on my reel rather than just me being zany or overly expressive.

Also, I am a little nervous about memorizing lines! I got through med school through a ridiculous amount of memorizing and applying that memorization into real life situations, and even when I performed standup, I did it with almost exactly a word-for-word delivery. But still, this is the professional actor thing. I have to memorize the lines, get the character's motivations figured out, apply those motivations to lines as needed, and then be ready for everything to change on me when we actually shoot. Because on the shoot day, your scene partner may bring something different to it that changes the delivery, or a technical issue may be present so you are acting to a piece of brick rather than another actor, or any number of things. On the short horror shoot I did last year, we had a dog, two stray kittens, a very aggressive vole or mouse thing, not to mention a rattle snake, and all except for the snake seemed desperate to be in a shot. At one point, when the cat would not leave, we later used a yoga mat as a green screen to splice in where the cat was supposed to walk out.

For this production, it involves police, so who knows what will be happening with regard to firearms.

Booked It (Again)

I got the part! I apparently "WOWED" them with my audition, though I assume that it was more me pitching myself than just the scripted portion. It was a flush of unpleasant nostalgia in the room to perform to a camera and a conference table. It feels about as unnatural as acting can feel.

They said that they will send the contract and talk scheduling early next week. I spent the last couple days trying to research how to make sure that I do not get screwed out of residuals, but I learned today that non-union jobs like this one likely will not pay residuals. So the more realistic expectation is that we will shoot a few episodes, shop it around, and if it gets picked up, I can negotiate higher pay or residuals for the next ones we shoot after that.

In any case, this is finally a dramatic role, so I can actually have footage for that rather than only having comedic or contortionist or horror clips.

Trying Not to Care

I auditioned for that role I thought I had booked. Today is the last day of auditions for it, and I am trying to just assume that I did not book it, because I already spent too many months fantasizing with the role secured in my mind.

It is a dramatic role, which I do need to move forward as an actor career-wise. That being said, I do also have an audition for a comedic role that naturally fits me, and it would shoot in NYC, which would of course be a huge treat all on its own.

It felt like there was a dry spell for so long, but shortly before SAG went on strike, I started getting auditions for various commercial roles. And those things may not help much as an actor, but they do pay! And time spent on set is fun regardless.

I have not had hard liquor for a few days. I used to have a beer and melatonin before bed, and that is probably the realistic middle ground for me. It is easy to slip into drinking more heavily, but I am well-aware that that is very bad for me to do regularly. We have one more cider at home, and then I guess I will have to buy beer again. I have been more strict with my workouts again, with the built-in exception of days when I am going out to an audition, in which case I am permitted to skip the sit-ups in favor of doing last-minute memorization and preparation.