To all my fans (ha ha! Jason from Friday the 13th is not one I guess...) I'm sorry I haven't been posting in the last few months. I've been busy, which is the greatest thing to be as an actor. And make no mistake, this is a business and I'm the product. When you get in the thick of it, a whole new perspective opens up. Not only the biz part, but the actual acting. There are many ways to do it, but there are definite techniques. You don't realize it until you do it and study it I guess, but almost every actor you see (that is successful) is putting those into the performance. It's not perceptible though which is the whole point. Besides doing a lot of reading, studying at Ivana's studio since January, and performing in showcases about 3 times a week, I've also learned a lot by literally studying movies and TV (Thanks to Brooks for providing me copies of good stuff to learn from that I wouldn't have thought to watch/listen to previously). Take Three's Company for example. It's a really funny show (better of course in it's time period), but I've broken the show down so much now after watching the first 4 seasons, that I know the marks, what will come next, playing the opposites, etc. And of course, I've incorporated those things into my comedy. I am the lovable loser. And yes, I will take offense if you say "Duh, of course", ha ha.

In addition, I wasn't posting b/c... I was taking the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach, even if it was just a blogsite. You start becoming superstitious in this biz, and I'm not superstitious, so what does that say?! Anyway...

All this work has been paying off. I've shot 12 short/student films since the beginning of February. Definitely good experience, some are even pretty good, and hopefully this will be good footage for my reel (trying to get these directors to send you copies is like pulling teeth though!). I also did 2 theatre pieces for 2 colleges around here. I've found though that theater in L.A. is more to keep your skills up than the opportunity to be discovered really. Directors, casting directors, producers are literally too busy and recieve thousands of requests for people to come see them. What speaks is your TV/Film/Commercial credits. Don't get me wrong, a few casting directors like seeing a lot of theatre on your resume, but I would say most get deterred if they see that's your main focus. The acting is very different in both mediums, and the biz people quickly judge you based on what you do most (they can afford to, there's so many actors out here). I've also been auditioning at least a few times a week. I got my first commercial audition last Wednesday and was called back on Friday. Not bad for my first one! That has led to two meetings with commercial agents this Friday. I'm told that I'm "the everyman", "the nice guy next door". Other news... I just got a supporting role in an American Film Institute Thesis film called "The Sunday Man" which I'm very excited about! This film is not a feature, but this institute is reguarded very highly and most of the projects go to the big film festivals. In addition, the films are screened at the Arclight in Hollywood, and the big boys are invited. The star of this comedy is Ted Rooney (IMDB him). I also got the lead role in an independent noir feature film that is in the works. It's kind of mysterious at this point, but I can only put high hopes into it, although I can't devluge too much. We've been having meetings for a while now, and were just recently given the scripts (director was concerned of script piracy). Considering that we've already had 2 photo shoots for movie posters, I'm taking it very seriously and have a good feeling about it.

In one of the films I did called "Enabling", I got to make my girlfriend vomit and threw her in scalding hot water to make her sweat off her weight. Yes! Such a nice character. This pic was taken pretty soon after that scene. My co-star was Kimi Buser and the director was Andrew McMennamy. I had a breath freshener spray-thing in my back pocket. During the rough housing it burst! My butt felt frozen for a few hours from all the menthol.

One character I've been auditioning for /doing in class (and who I'll be playing in that AFI film) is the cowboy/redneck/southerner. My TX dialect comes in pretty handy here. Just got a little headshot taken for this character.

My friend Thelma came out to L.A. and I had a great time hanging out with her and catching up. Here's a few pics from that visit. We went out to Runyon Canyon one day which overlooks L.A. (notice the short sleeves in February). The one with the big elephant is in the plaza of the Kodak Theatre, where the Oscar's are held. That's the famous Chinese Grauman Theatre in the other one at the movie premiere of Ice Age 2. OK, I won't take such a long break the next time. Hope you're well and happy! Thanks for visiting!