There's Only One You

     As a working actor and professional coach, I try to keep several handy things in mind when it comes to navigating the treacherous waters that are the acting life. First of all, this is going to be hard, I mean really hard. The craft of acting study is rigorous enough. But when added to the labyrinth lifestyle that is the entertainment industry, it can be the most frustrating endeavor out there. Simply put, there is no way to luck into an acting gig without being more than prepared in the first place. Too many agents will tell you that in this day and age social media and brand marketing are the end-all be all. That will only get you part of the way there, at best. Take the time to learn your craft to the best of your abilities. You never know when that big opportunity is waiting around the corner. Often the part picks you, not the other way around. One thing I always tell my acting students is that there is no big break without first acquiring big skill. 

     One of my current acting roles is on a crime drama slotted for cable network called "10th Ave". We just got our IMDB page, I have to admit, and the whole process is very exciting: https://www.facebook.com/hellskitchenstory?fref=ts

The tapings are going exceedingly well, and mainly its just nice to finally take advantage of a pilot season. I, myself, only got the part when another actor had to drop out of the show. If it wasn't for a theatre friend thinking of me and mentioning me to the director I would have never found out about the gig at all.  I went from literally submitting to the director on a Thursday to filming on that following Sunday. And I bring this up just to hammer home the concept of marketing vs. skill building. If I hadn't performed well in my theatre run, then my friend would never have recommended me for the tv role in the first place. And I certainly would not have been able to keep the part if I had not been already prepared to step on to a set.

     Secondly, becoming an actor is becoming an entrepreneur. If you aren't prepared to be your own business CEO for the commodity that is your artwork, then you might as well step out of the game now. Too many sit back and wait for that ever elusive some-thing to happen. It doesn't work like that. Especially if you are an aspiring musician, you have to be even more business minded than your counterparts. Know your business goals, and what you expect from the next fiscal year. Have a foundation in marketing and branding techniques so that you don't sound like a total novice when you do get that all important meeting. This is a business. So you can't expect anyone else to do the homework for you. And if you don't do the homework, you will loose out. 

     And thirdly, be prepared to dare to be different. Remember, your lifestyle as a professional artist will be vastly different from 90 percent of the people you come across. Blending in is a way of the past. You have to dare to be different, and dare to be You. Even at auditions, too many people I come across are trying to play a type, or play the guessing game of reading the casting director's mind. You are not a mind reader, (and if you are, that should be your professional act, not pilot castings). You never know what that director has in mind for a role. If you've done your homework, and the headshot/resume is on point, then your best bet is always just to be yourself. There's a million types out there. There's only one you.

Battle Cry -- Poem

back in the days before evil was born
i used to spend my carefree afternoons
roaming the vast garden of earth

but all that changed once the serpent gave birth
to the first acts of definace, and blame

and the people looked down and were ashamed

my restive days and sleepless nights are now and forever filled
by the search for new recruits

wanted:
open minded able bodied freedom fighters

degree in phraseology recommended but not required

slave to the tired and the huddled masses
i enroll millions in mediation classes
and inquire of friends and countrymen alike
to kindly lend me an ear

and i can teach possibilities of joy filled years
turning mortal fear into immortal cheer with just
the flash of my smile

like inspiration to the bastard child i create potential
by spreading visions of a virtuous tomorrow
across disenchanted miles

i helped solomon build an empire
founded on courage and fortified by wisdom
yet pleasures and riches soon led him astray

and still today i seek out articulate potentials
literary mercenaries who can spread my message
to the ends of the planet and back

it was me first who stacked the mortal and marble
founding the academy at athens greece
ensuring that my voice would forever speak peace

when planted in deep and fertile soil
my thoughts bear rich and luscious fruit

and my juices be floatin’ down like rain
soakin’ into the nappy brains of my people

i am the eternal flame
driving the weary runner on thru the night
when place with might i grasp him tight
tugging him onward and upward
to carry my torch to distant lands

he spreads my fire to every man

where others have fallen he will stand cause in his mind
i be whisperin
i think i can
i think i can
i think i am mighty
therefore
i am

born of nothing but men’s minds they cultivate and grow me
and yet i enslave mankind when they fear or don’t know me

a pack of chained cave dwellers flock to breed and mate
these, self proclaimed enemies of the enlightened state
populate the legions of my mortal enemies

ignorance
envy
and hate

their undying ability to procreate leads me quickly to make battle
and at the speed that thought travels
i unravel the dreams that plague sleeping poets

they are the drivers of passion pumping stallions
herded into reality’s stables

i morphed into metaphor once and they called me aesop’s fables

and like a turn table spinning around
my cipher never ceases
as long as sound can shatter
the blissful state of ignorance
into pieces

my master thesis on the power of music
molds masters our of average earthlings
for i am the reason why the caged bird sings

from dusk to the rise of the sun re-born
i am he that brings memories of hope’s last dawn

yet still the spawn of pride fight hard and long

so silently i lick the wounds
inflicted upon the many wombs
of my wife
man’s written verse

she lost her fighting stance while slamming in a serpent land
in the battle of general bigot’s last stand
poetry was severed from the hearts of man
yet just when the art of rhyming threatened to cease and be no more
this new thing called hip-hop armed me with rhymes galore

so i be aimin’ my darts at the hearts of youth
with semi-automatic riffles loaded with truth
but don’t shoot until you see the whites of their lies
and don’t fire if you can feel the self loathing in their eyes

the day that i lack compassion
is the fateful day that my mission dies

i am
the wounded warrior

jaded
yet ever crawling towards peace
and ever searching for restless writers
to set my soul at ease

won’t you fight for me

There Is No 'Try'

     Another year, another round of pilot season. I encourage actors to pick up the pace starting around the holidays, and its never stressed enough: you don't need an agent to pick up gigs.

     These days, with the advent of the social media, and all the multiple platforms, there is no "waiting for the phone to ring" involved anymore. An actor has as many opportunities as they can create for themselves. I say this to be much more than a quick tagline or bumper sticker. (Although I would put that on the back of my car.) These days the online database is king. You have to be choosy, and you have to find the ones that work best for you. Asking around is never a bad thing, but know that everyone's experiences will be different. Either way, its a mentality of always submitting, always searching for new social media groups, or industry networking events. Finding new ways of conjuring up projects is half the fun. And even if its not, you have to keep telling yourself that. Its the only way.

     I recently did a comedy pilot that I submitted to from NYCastings.com ( I highly recommend them for east coast actors, I'm not sure if there is a company quite like theirs for LA.) and by the time the casting director called me up all randomly at like 7:30 at night, I couldn't even remember what the show was. The lady wanted me to tell her a funny story on the spot, and while I can't say I brought the house down, I did book the part. It was interesting to me, I'd never had to do that before. I told a story about traveling to Connecticut for a theatre run, and how it was interesting to me. Eventually she laughed. I don't know, I don't think there were any real punch-lines per se, but it was an interesting story. And sure, she laughed....eventually.

     I say this just to point out that it is sort of an on-call occupation. Its not just that "an actor prepares", an actor must STAY prepared. You never know what lies just around the corner. And I think a lot people miss out on opportunities because they won't think outside the box.

     I have to admit, I hate the phrase when people say "oh, you're trying to be an actor." Thats not the way it works. You're either an actor or you're not, and the choice is yours to make. There is no pie in the sky day of "now you have made it" that appears one day just because you've booked a series or something. Sure, there are different levels of financial solvency that one can reach in the entertainment industry, but that's not necessarily what  I would call having made it. There are a ton of actors out there with more than comfortable bank accounts that I would not like to be. The whole concept these days is to create your own career path. No one waits for some agent to do it for them. Those days are long past.

     I'm proud to be on the "D List". I'm a horror movie actor. And I've chosen this path. My newest show I'll be appearing in this year is a vampire series called Night Life. I got to do the voiceover for the trailer and everything, its been really fun so far.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58zqnyPzw7s
   
     All that is just to say, keep your head up and keep it moving. Don't ever let someone tell you an actor has to be in LA to take advantage of pilot season, or that you have to be with some big agency to get work. Its simply not the case. The name of the game is A.B.G. Always Be Grinding. Now get back to work, coffee's for closers!