This summer I was very fortunate in getting a small role in a movie called “Seepage!” I got my role in this movie by way of an excellent actor named William DeCoff who I met two years ago on the set of a movie called “Liar” and who has since become my friend as well as a colleague. He told Seepage! director Richard Griffin about me, and asked that I be given a chance to show my stuff in this new movie. William had worked for Richard before and is one of the leads in this movie. Richard than told me I would get a small part in this movie, and if he liked what I did it would lead to bigger and better roles in his future movies. I was very excited about this because Richard’s movies are not only great, they also get distributed world wide by places like Amazon.com, Block Buster Video and NetFlix. I must admit I would find it pretty damn sweet to walk down to the local Block Buster store and rent myself or order myself on NetFlix. Anyhow, this new movie Seepage! is now starting to get some press, and is in the final negotiations for world wide DVD release. Fangoria.com a well known on-line and off-line magazine has written an article about the new project and you can find it here: http://www.fangoria.com/news_article.php?id=5499
The coolest thing of all, is that Richard did like my stuff and asked me back for bigger and better roles in his next two movies. Woo Hoo!
‘Tis all for now!
This weekend I went to an audition for a movie short called “Standing Up”. It is a 25-30 minute movie about a guy who wants to become a stand up comic. I am a lot older than the three lead characters in the movie, so I was reading for some of the supporting roles in the film. I have done several lead roles, but more often than not, the lead characters are usually in the 20-30 age range so I end up doing a lot of major/minor supporting roles; often I play comic relief characters.
There is a moment in an audition just after you cold read a script for the first time that gives you an indication of how you are doing. After you read for the first time the casting panel will either say something like “Ok, thank you. that’s all we are reading today.” or they will ask you to read some more. If you are not asked to read again the chances are that you will not be considered at all and they just want to move on to the next person. However, if you are asked to read some more, the chances are much higher that you will at least be considered for a role. This is what my experience seems to tell me with only a few minor exceptions.
This audition was excellent because after I read the first time, they seemed very interested and had me read it again, in a different way to see how I could take direction. And then they went on to ask me to read the parts of several other characters. I must have read for them about five or six times or more; this is always a great sign. I had an amazing time, and I remembered one crucial thing in this audition which made a huge difference for me. I remembered to go in with the idea of entertaining the casting panel and not trying to show how good I was. There is huge difference! One is just me having fun performing and the other is more of a “in the head” self conscious experience that usually fails. In my opinion every audition should be looked at as a chance to have fun, to perform, and to take risks. One must know that other auditions will be coming soon and you don’t need to be perfect on this one, and you DO need to take risks and allow yourself to possibly fail in order to do your best work. I also remembered to set another intention before I went into the audition which was to surprise myself and surprise the casting panel. When ever I set that intention before I go in some cool unexpected thing usually happens that surprises me and comes off looking cooler than any thing I could “think up” ahead of time. During one of the reads I just all of a sudden decided to read it in a funny voice and accent, just for gags. If I had been worrying about the outcome or trying to look good I wouldn’t have taken the risk. They seem to really be amused and entertained by it, and it just was another reminder how important it is to look at the audition in this way.
Now for the down side of the event. This job was a non-union job and I am a union (AFTRA) actor which means unless they get a waiver or SAG Short Movie agreement I won’t be able to work in the film. Whenever a film does not mention union status in the casting advertisement it is pretty much guaranteed that it is NOT a union project. So what I do is go in to the audition and hope that they are so impressed with me that they will take the time, and effort of making the film union friendly.
People in the New England indie film world always say that it is insane to go union here because 99% of the film jobs are non-union; and they are mostly right. However, as an actor if you want to try for something bigger you have to eventually go union. Also luckily for me and other crazy New England union actors Rhode Island and Massachusetts have created film incentive bills to bring more big-budget, high profile jobs up to the North East; Maine is looking into it too. If you are union you may have an edge to find about this new work in these films. Or at least that is what I believe and I am sticking with it. I am thinking the union hot line is going to explode in the coming years. Let’s hope!
Book of the Month: My February 2006 book recommendation of the month is Wil Wheaton’s “Just a Geek”. I listened to the unabridged audio version which is read by the author with lots of extra content. This is a great book for any actor trying to go for the big time because it gives you insight into how cruel and uncaring that world can be. It also is a very hopeful and uplifting story as you see Wil transform himself from an angry mostly out-of-work actor into an excellent burgeoning writer. Wil is such a great story teller and I found his writing style really engaging. I felt like I was looking over his shoulder as he experienced his life. Also he performs the book in a very fun and entertaining manner; most enjoyable. Check it out. I also recommend you check out his very cool blog and podcast. They can be viewed at http://wilwheaton.typepad.com.
Tis’s all for now.
That post gig depression I talked about on December 11th is still with me; not as sharp as those first few days after shooting “In a Town Called Winslor”, but it is still there like a dull ache. The fact is I have not acted since then, except for a few monthly rehearsals with the Meisner ensemble; thank god for that. This is not for lack of projects, I have 5 in the works, 3 future ones, and I thought two current ones. Unfortunately, the current ones which I assumed would keep me busy for December and January have been delayed for the holidays and other logistical problems. It turns out one these projects called Out of Alignment is definitely going to start in late February, so that puts it into the future category now. And the other one called Armageddon of the Kippered Beefsteak seems to be stalled completely. And it is the cursed project I mentioned in an earlier post. It seems the curse is coming home to roost. Damn it! The director said they are hoping to get started up again, but not sure when it will happen. I am not giving up and I will make sure I am available for them when it starts but that does not help me right now. So, it’s off to the auditions for me.
Now, before I talk about that I want to explain the fine balancing act that got me into this predicament. This summer I had an amazing run of audition successes and I won 4 out of 5 gigs, and the 5th gig called me after a few weeks and asked me to join them. They said the guy they cast had backed out at the last second and that I had been the second choice and they would love to have me if I was interested. Or course I said yes and away we went; that film was Underground. But the problem was that with 5 new projects plus the projects I was already involved with I had a whole lot of work on my hands. For the months of August, September, October and November I worked on 10 projects. I had only done 12 projects in the entire year of 2004! This great success was wonderful, but managing the time and managing to be available for all those films was a nightmare. There was some annoyance had by these producers and directors who where trying to schedule their projects around me. There where times one, two or three of the films all wanted me for the same day. It was a logistical mess and I found it extremely stressful and did not want to go through that again; so I thought. I stopped auditioning pretty much all together with only two exceptions and just enjoyed the projects I had. I only auditioned for two projects since June. One was Winslor which I got, and the other was House of Maggot, since renamed to I’m Sorry, which I did not.
Now looking back and reflecting I would deal with the stress of too many projects any day. Not having an acting gig in over a month and a half is sending me into a blue funk. I kept waiting to start auditioning because I thought my “current” gigs would start up any time, and I thought I did not want that logistical nightmare again. Well, I will make it work somehow, and I am starting a new round of auditions this week. My first one is tomorrow if the weather does not cancel it; looks like snow. Tis’ all for now.
While, checking my hosts referrer log, I discovered that someone is using my website as an example to sell their web design service on the Los Angeles Craig’s List. I can not think of a better compliment for my efforts on this site. Free traffic too! If you find this as amusing as I do check the link here:
http ://losangeles.craigslist.org/cps/126852898.html
[The author deleted this post at Craig’s List. I pasted a copy of it into the comments section of this entry so you could see what it looked like]
And here is another link I found that made me feel good, lets hope it is a vision from the future. They have a list of Celebrity blogs, and I am on it. I sent them a little email to let them know. I half hope they keep me on there to tell the truth, but I figured best to be honest.
http://forums.qisoftware.com/viewtopic.php?t=47
I love life’s happy little surprises. That’s it for now.
Recently one of my readers named Sue sent me an email asking some questions about auditions, I thought they where interesting questions so after answering back I decided to post them here, with my answers (slightly expanded). These answers of course are not reality or truth, just what I believe to be true,
1. I was wondering what you might say the rejection ratio is?
This is different depending on the area and the amount of competition. In my local area I average about 3 out of 5. This summer I had a really good run, I got 4 out 5. But that was unusually good luck. In New York or L.A., I am hearing that the competition is so fierce that you are lucky to get 1 out of 20.
2. Do you feel sometimes that directors and those involved with the production often have an idea of “who” they want in the parts before the auditions begin?
Very much so. The directors have a vision of what they want the film to look like, and who the players should be. When they read the script they imagine the whole movie in their mind, and they want the reality to match the vision as closely as possible. At least that is what I believe, I am on the other side of the audition table, so I can’t say for sure.
3. Is it possible, that sometimes the best actor/actress for the part doesn’t get cast for whatever reason?
Oh Yes, you could be the best damn actor in the world, but if you look like the directors x-wife, or their most hated teacher from sixth grade you could get passed over for someone less talented. It is really a crap shoot sometimes, and talent only plays a small role. There are lots and lots of talented people. Only some get the part, and sometimes some not very talented people make it to the top. One just has to look to Hollywood to see the truth in this. I won’t mention any names, but there are some actors who are in very big movies, getting paid big sums of money, to give only mediocre performances.
4. I like your saying “fire and forget”…is that all you do? Forget the role and start working on the next audition?
This is extremely important! You can not sit around killing your self, wondering if you got the part, you must move on to the next thing, and if you get that call, it is a nice surprise. Do not treat this current audition as if it was the last. There are a million more down the pike, and many just as good as you may think this current one is. Trust that!
5. Does the rejection ever get to you?
It used too, but you must learn at all cost that getting or not getting a part is nothing personal. Like I said before you may not get it because you remind the director of someone they hate, there is just no way to tell. Better to learn from it, and move on. Your world becomes a much lighter, more enjoyable place when you stop taking things personal. This works in and out of acting.
I highly suggest a book called “Audition” by Michael Shurtleff. There is a link to it on my book recommendation section on my website. Any books in that section I highly recommend for actors to read. I also recommend any actor who is serious about becoming a full-time actor check out Bob Fraser’s You Must Act! I found it very insightful and helpful.
The indie film community is truly a small world…
[Edited January 10th, 2006]
So I went to an audition tonight in Portland which is about an hour and a half north of me, and maybe a little over two hours north of Boston. When I got there Andy, the guy running the auditions, says something like “Hi, your Don Foley right” when he first sees me. And I am thinking that he must have remembered me from my headshot; which is always a good thing. But it turns out he knows of me because he was helping another guy edit a movie I had appeared in last year called “Bad Gravity” which was filmed in Boston. It turns out he had already seen me on the screen. It is very cool to show up to a place expecting to be unknown and to have someone not only know of you, but also has seen your work. I was not expecting this so far north of Boston where I have not done much.
The audition got better from there. I judge my own audition performance on two factors. How well did I show off my acting ability and how well did I show of my own personality; was I likeable. I think both these factors are equally important; You may have nailed the part, but did you come off as someone that would be fun and rewarding to work with? I think the second factor can certainly be a tie breaker when the casting director has two people of equal skill, but I have a feeling it goes even further than that.
So on the first account I believe my cold reading of the script went pretty well, not my best work, but good for an audition. And I feel my score on the second factor was very good, I think my true friendly nature shined through and I will be remembered as someone that would be fun to work with. I will update this entry when I find out more about whether I get the part or not. The name of the movie company is Emptyhouse Films and the movie is called “House of Maggot”, it is a Victorian style ghost story in a modern setting. Andy showed me the trailer from their last move called “Mud” which was very well done. I look forward to the possiblity of working with them.
Tis’ all for now.
[Edited January 10th, 2006] I received an email from Andy today. Looks like I did not get the part. Oh well, fire and forget I always say. Many more auditions down the pike.
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