Welcome to the Emerald City

It starts.

SFIT (Seattle Festival of Improv Theater) started last night. I had the good pleasure of doing all the design work (except web design, I just made the graphics for that). I love me some SFIT. It's strange when I started attending festivals with Dead Parrots Society I was so intimitated by meeting other groups. I really worried we would be the weak link in any chain we happened to be a part of. I later learned, boy howdy, we can compete. And what I was doing was not that far off base of what the rest of the country was doing. And as I attended more festivals, I began to learn what a small tight knit community it is. We greet each other with hugs, not handshakes, as we enter one another's city. Improvisers strike up conversation over drinks, make fast friends, and really have a good time.
I'm starting to feel much more at home amongst these people as well. People are remembering me, and if they can't recall my name, they definitely know my face. There are times when I feel a bit Tuesday Kid, but they are grossly outnumbered by hanging out and just chatting with people.

I've got to go to meeting for work, hung over no less. More on SFIT to come.

Confessions of a Third Man

For the longest time I had difficulty pinning down my type. I knew that I was not "above" types somehow but it was difficult for me to narrow the field. To make things worse, a good deal of the actors with whom I studied seemed to have very specific- or rather much more evident- types. One can only assume their type leapt from their mouths during auditions via some sort subliminal gamma ray which the director furiously scribbled on their notepad. Then barring gross incompetence, that actor can rest assured s/he has a pretty damn good shot at the part (if it isn't already sealed in the bag).

When I asked others (particularly directing concentration friends) they furrowed their brows and scratched their chins, then mumbled something vague and non-comittal. Until one evening a very good friend mine (also a director), a very good honest friend of mine laid it out to me during a conversation with a group of actors discussing their types.

"You are the Third Man."

"The what?"

"The Third Man. You know. You have a play, it's two guys yakking on the whole time, and then a third man comes out. And he plays everything else."

"Huh... I'm the Third Man."

The simplicity of it and the truth to it astounded me. If my chronologies are correct shortly thereafter (or perhaps shortly before) I was cast in On the Verge. Now look there at the bottom. See how it says "1 M, 3 F?" I was the 1 M, the 1 M who played 8 parts. The 3 ladies wound in and out of eras in history, and places across the globe, and through three quarters of a thesaurus but I met them at every dip and turn with a new costume and a new character.

It all made so much sense.

This blessing and curse continue to haunt me. It would seem optimal for the Third Man to be an actor's type. Afterall an actor is first and foremost asked to embody the character s/he plays, to slip beneath the surface so seamlessly that the audience no longers sees the actor but becomes engrossed in the narrative. The idea is pathos not, fandom pandemonium. And it's been a great boon for me as far as improv goes. Audiences tend to more easily suspend_their_disbelief, and take whatever offers I throw out.

However, it more often than not leads to a confusion in casting agents because like I said before I'm difficult to pin down. It leads to a whole different version of typecasting. Think Peter Sellars, without the success. Once directors get to know me and see what I can do they seem to like me a lot. But until then I feel like I come off as this sort of overly maleable, ball of talent and energy. Sure, everybody likes the blank canvas but sometimes its difficult for people to think of something to paint if they don't have something already in mind.

But there have been many who have held these sorts of careers and been very successful at it. John C. Reilly leaps to mind. And Michael Caine also fits I think. Even Brad Pitt seems to be difficult to peg to one type. And although some might argue with me, I feel like Jim Carrey has that type of dramatic talent.

Mr. Sellers... I implore you, please, be my guide.

It was an honor and a privledge sir. An honor and a privledge.

However, usually to err on the side of humility "Oh, it was my pleasure."

***

For reasons unknown to me, a bit of video work as been sliding my way. The first came in the way of a SAG Commercial being filmed in Portland, which turned out to be not so SAG. The performances weren't paid and due to work conflicts, rehearsal committments and a lack of funds I submitted my stuff but couldn't do it. But it put me in touch Denise who runs Foreground Background and unlike other extra agencies I've used I've gotten a lot emails about potential work (and in a very short period of time).
Shortly after the Portland renege, I was called up as an extra for Microsoft shoot for which I basically got paid to hang out, then be wheeled around on a gurney for about 15 minutes. Oh yeah, and a little later on I had to walk across the set maybe 5-6 times. It was brilliant. All the crew made everything go real fast and unlike other extra's shoots I've been on all the extras (there was maybe 7-8 in total) seemed to be actors. In other words, they treated it like a job. They hit their marks, they made it realistic, they didn't fart around or waste time between takes. It felt like slipping into an old pair of jeans.

Most recently though I was called in for another audition for Microsoft. I read 3 lines of dialogue twice. Maybe totaling 7-8 sentences. I feel pretty confident in saying that I probably won't get it. They let me read it twice but in between takes the director told me to stop projecting and make it more intimate. It was in that moment I realized how long it's been since I've done video. I've been trained and geared for stage so long that I have forgotten the intimacies the camera can catch.
But who knows right? There's always the Glimmer.

***

On Sunday I start rehearsing with Seattle Neutrino Society. I am nothing short of eager with anticipation. I'm also a bit nervous. There's a good deal of people in the troupe that know who I am, but I'm never exactly sure if they remember me.

***

Things I will blog about in the near future:
[ ] Confessions of Third Man
[ ] My Resume
[ ] Introduction to Theatre
[ ] My Lack Thereof

Love, Hate, Equity

So I was telling my roommate about my audition with Intiman and it sort of turned into a discussion about Equity.

Me: It would be nice to work in an Equity house though.
My Roommate: So Equity. Is that like a union?
Me: Yeah, basically. Actors Equity Association, it's basically the union for actors.
My Roommate: Are you in it?
Me: Hahahahahahaha. No.
My Roommate: How do you get in?
Me: Well you get points for being in rehearsals and performances at an Equity house.
My Roommate: But I thought you said Equity people get priority at auditions.
Me: They do. An Equity person can bump a non-Equity person or an EMC*. (*I had already told her what that was.)
My Roommate: Well then how are you supposed to get points?
Me: That's the rub isn't it? It get worse though, once you're Equity you can only work in Equity houses.
My Roommate: And there's only 3 in Seattle.
Me: Yep. If you did do anything fringe, it would have to fly so low under the radar that no one would recognize that you were doing something non-Equity.
My Roommate: Does Equity do anything good?
Me: Well, yeah. I mean they standardize the rate of pay for actors, put limits on how long rehearsals can be or make sure you get regular breaks, and what directors or theaters can ask of you. Stuff like that.
My Roommate: Huh.
Me: Yeah. Huh.

I started thinking of the love-hate relationship I have with Equity. Of course, I want to make acting my profession but at the same time the student theatre I did in undergrad brought me such an amazing respect for fringe work. But fringe work won't pay the bills. And for that matter neither will Equity in Seattle. The truth is there's just too little of it. Do the math with me here: 3 theaters each doing there own season of 6 plays (9 at the Rep because they have two theaters). Sure that looks like a lot of parts, but how many of them are looking for a caucasian twenty-something; especially my type? Mostly the ingenues seem to start at between 28 and 30. And no one is looking at the mid-twenties BA graduate. But there's a good deal of the plays I couldn't possibly be in. The Women at ACT for example. The Cook or Birdie Blue at the Rep? No way, The Cook is set in Cuba and Birdie Blue in the Black neighborhoods of Chicago.

It's sort of amazing how few parts there are for my type. Even though historically it was one of the most written types ever.

Can he make it 0 for 5?

Probably.

By the way, did I mention I didn't get the Rep one? Cause I didn't. More on that later.

I had my audition for the Intiman generals today. I did a found piece from Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman and Troilus and Cressida. At the end at the behest of my dear friend Nate I recited an original octopus haiku I wrote which sort of brought down the house (all 2 of them). I didn't know if that would go over well or if I would even have the balls to do it. But I did it. And if nothing else I can say I delivered an original octopus haiku to teh auditors at one of the three professional theaters here in Seattle.

The liklihood that I will be cast is, I would wager, slim to none. Or maybe a sliver or four thinner than slim. But oh well.

It would be so nice to work at an Equity house though. What a thrill. I explained to my roommate all about AEA to much chagrin and hilarity. Unfortunately it is the nature of my career. I will elaborate at a later date (hopefully tomorrow).

I am tired and ought to go.

2 emails for my future

I sent out to emails.

1 has an effect on both immediate future and my greater future in general.

1 has a slight effect on the future just yet to come and a huge effect on the guture in general.


Here's hoping it all works out ok.

The Glimmer

So. Failure. And lots of it.

The mafia musical was no go.
Same with ArtsWest.
And now R&J too.

Damn. I can't help but feel the kidney punch to my soul. I talked to my girlfriend about and she was just kinda "That's the biz," about it. Easy for her to say, she was just cast in a show. But at the same time she's been through it too. And much worse than this. I'm just 0 for 3, and probably about to make it 0 for 4.

But here's the thing, we always hold on to The Glimmer. The Glimmer of Hope, I like to call it. It's that glimmer that calls out from a distance. It whispers softly "Maybe, just maybe..." And then it trails off. And it keeps you going. It makes you sign up for auditions and throw yourself into callbacks because maybe, just maybe, you never know what might happen.

With Romeo and Juliet, they said they were going to get back to us pretty quickly. I didn't really think about it all that much at the beggining of the week but then when it neared the weekend it was a recurring thought I couldn't shake. Like a parasite sucking my lifeblood. When the weekend came and went, I couldn't help but expect rejection. But I emailed to inquire and held onto The Glimmer. I was told casting took longer than expected and I should hear back shortly. More than 10 days after I auditioned I found the rejection email waiting in my inbox.

Le sigh. I should've expected that. I kind of did.

As I said before I had 4 opportunities. That leaves one more. It's the longest of the long shots. But, it's also The Glimmer. I'll hold on to that.