First Quarter 2008

The first quarter has been kinda slow. Yeah, really it has but let’s see what I can scrounge up.

PROJECTS

My first quarter was filled with 2 big projects that weren’t on stage at all. My first one was called: “West Guild Story.” It was a short film about the writer’s strike that was created for a directorial contest. Our short was second place. We shot for 2 days on the CBS “New York Street” set. It was all done very professionally. I have a copy of the project and I’m very happy with it.

The second project I worked on was a Chevy Captiva commercial to air in Germany…or Austria….or somewhere in Europe. My agent sent me on the audition kind of last minute. I showed up thinking I wasn’t going to book it just because of the vibe I was getting there. The guy running the audition was VERY pompous and oh-so-very important. Saying stuff like “ok, you’ll do this and that or whatever until I’m bored with you and then I’ll tell you to stop. Then I’ll call ‘action!’ and you’ll do a little bit more until I don’t feel like watching you anymore and then that’ll be it.” Seriously. That was the direction and the attitude. Meanwhile he was shorter than me with a chip on his shoulder. Napoleon complex anyone? So I left thinking it was a waste of time only to get a call a couple of weeks later from my agent telling me I booked it. Yippee!! It was a 2-day shoot and was really top of the line. There were trailers for us principals (there were also extras called in to work that had to sit in an open tent area), there was great catering for breakfast, lunch and snacks but it was the costumes, hair & make-up that made this shoot spectacular. I have a few shots that I shared with some of you. Anyone else interested in seeing pics from the shoot just let me know. The pay for this was good, too – my highest paying gig to date. AND they paid my agency fee. With things that I get paid from I normally have to give my agent 10% from what I’m paid. When you book something good they’ll pay the talent AND then they’ll pay the agency separately. It was nice.

Oh yeah, and I recently just shot a short for a New York Film Academy student that my friend Greg was choreographing. It’s a cute little short basically about people and dancing and hearing one’s own “beat” in their head and then moving to it within their daily lives. We shot for a few hours at a bus stop in the valley. It should turn out pretty good. The story/concept was cute and the choreography was fun, of course, and the performers were wonderfully talented. Thanks Greg for hooking me up!

Finally, I was just cast in a small production of La Cage Aux Folles. This was a show I was offered 2 years ago but had to turn down because it was up in San Francisco. It’s a fun musical that I’ve wanted to do since. I think it will be good experience and a lot of fun. That runs Saturdays and Sundays in June and July. We close on my birthday which is… when everyone? Did you all say July 27^th? If so, you’re right.

Oh yeah, one last final thing regarding performing, I’m happy to say that my agency renewed my contract for another year. I’ve been very happy with them over the last year and my agent, Chantelle, seems to be happy with me. The more experience I get the more they’ll send me out. The more they send me out the better chance I’ll have at booking bigger and better things! I’m very excited about this aspect of my life these days and am very happy working towards getting better.

9-5 WORK

This section has been removed to protect the innocent, sorry folks. dp

BLOG VS. EMAIL

A few friends of mine have their own blogs and they along with a few other friends have suggested I do this with my quarterlies. I just can’t do it. I think I write too much about things that I really only care for my family and friends to know about/read about. I was listening to a report on NPR (I know, it’s one of a few ways I’ve turned into my father. First listening to “talk radio”, then tuning in to 60 Minutes [though I don’t leave an event to make sure I catch it], what’s next? Suspenders AND a belt?!) But I digress. Ok, so back to NPR, there was a report on how teens today are becoming more aware of the importance of their privacy with regard to what they post on their MySpace or Facebook, etc pages. It got me to thinking: hmmm, what do I have posted? Would it be ok for ANYONE to read and not just the audience for which I’ve intended it? With that thought in mind I’ve decided to keep my quarterly updates in email format, at least for now.

I hope you all are doing well. I’m planning a big trip home in August. One of my very good friends that I used to dance with back in the 80s (ahhh…remember the 80s?...) is turning (no dance pun intended but I’ll take it) 40 so the trio that helped me celebrate my 40^th here last year will be flying to Chicago to celebrate with Natalie. A big long weekend with her starting on July 31 followed by a big long week with my little sister and her family in the suburbs until August 7 followed by a long weekend in Chicago to celebrate Halsted Days August 9 & 10. With all the time I’m going to be in town I really hope to be able to spend time with a lot of friends. I know it’s a ways away but if you remember let me know you availability once you know it and we can make some plans.

Until then, happy Spring everyone. Go outside and enjoy the beautiful, warm (if not now, it will be soon for you Midwesterners) weather and get ready for a fantastic summer!

Don