Published on Tuesday September 30, 2003 .
I received an email today about an independent short film which was looking for an asian male to play an “over the top” flamboyant character. I called the number and discovered that this short film has a lot of series-regular actors from TV participating (actors you would recognize from TV shows). After a brief conversation I was told that they already had found an actor for the asian male character but they liked my personality so I was invited to still participate as a minor character.
I have a wardrobe fitting tomorrow. It shoots Sat and Sun. Should be very interesting…
Published on Monday September 29, 2003 .
Over the weekend Heather and I bought a Tanita Bodyfat Monitor/Scale to help us track our diet and fitness programs. After programming the scale with a few pieces of information (gender and height) it shows your weight and measures your bodyfat percentage. So I stepped on the scale and in a few seconds the display read:
159lbs / 12.9% bodyfat
12.9%? Could this really be right? The average healthy person is around 20%-30%. Bodybuilders diet heavily to get around 10% bodyfat and look completely ripped. I’m not ripped. I have some definition, but I’m not ripped. I need to put on more muscle. So I looked at the manual and it said that calouses on your feet can affect the bodyfat measurement. Could this be why I’m getting a 12.9% measurement? I don’t know…
Tonight I went to see “The Art of Rice” at the Japan America Theater in Little Tokyo. Since I had just finished a show produced and directed by Dan Kwong I was very interested to see his performance with this group of performers which was traveling around the world.
Overall it was a very interesting performance. It combined the traditional art forms from different asian cultures with modern sensibilities. There was exotic music combined with different forms of movement and dance both modern and traditional. There was even commentary on the politics of rice and the importance of rice to each culture. I’m glad I was able to see the show. It gave me some inspiration for some ideas I have been playing with in my head…
Published on Saturday September 27, 2003 .
Our improv didn’t go that well today. Melissa and I got stuck in explaining too much of the story when we should have been concentrating on what was happening in the moment and how we felt about it. The good part, is that I felt very comfortable on stage and our dialogue was very natural. Melissa did a good job with the Spanish accent as well. We just were not playing every moment. Well we have one more improv before we start scene study work. I need to find one more impediment to act for next class…
Published on Saturday September 27, 2003 .
Working on the weekend
(a two person improvised scene)
Impediment: Spanish accent - performed by Melissa
Synopsis:
Melissa and I are both ad execs working on a big ad campaign for the Four Seasons hotel. Melissa has taken home a disc with all the assets on it for the weekend. My hard drive has crashed on my laptop and now I need to get the disc from her.
Published on Friday September 26, 2003 .
I’ve been really busy over the past couple of days so I didn’t have a chance to write about the ABC showcase audition I had Wed…
All the auditions I’ve had for ABC projects have been at one of their corporate buildings in Burbank which is next to a Disney building and near the Warner Brothers lot. Going to auditions there feel very important. When you walk into the building you pass through a large hallway with large black and white photos taken during Hollywood’s most glamourous days. There are pictures of the studio being constructed, old TV shows and old movies.
Once I arrived on the 9th floor I signed in and sat down. My heart started to beat faster as I started to get nervous. Sometimes I feel like I shouldn’t be nervous. I’m an actor. I’ve done this a hundred times. But the hypotheticals get caught up in my head. What if I do really well in this audition. What if I get picked to be in the showcase. What if I get my big break from being in the showcase…
What if I suck and miss another chance at my dreams?
When I was called into the room the casting director and her assistant were really nice. That really helped because I felt more relaxed. When I read the script everything went well. I felt like I was responding very naturally with the lines. I still was a little nervous, but overall I felt good about the audition. I didn’t get stuck in the script, I showed a little personality and I reacted to each line.
This was definitely a better audition than the one I had for the NBC.
Published on Friday September 26, 2003 · Filed under: Technology .
The MIT Emerging Technologies Conference took place this week. There’s an article at Newsforge which gives an overview.
MobileMag.com has a review of an upcoming Nokia media player/phone that looks interesting…
Published on Thursday September 25, 2003 .
I got such an adrenaline high from dancing like a fool that I feel like I’m on speed!
Basically, I blew it out! I rocked the house! I turned that mutha out! I went buck wild, acted like a complete fool and brought back the “Asian MC Hammer”!
In my portrayal of speed I busted on stage with a ton of energy. I kept on drinking water the whole time, always kept moving, was loud, confident and when Melissa tried to talk to me I would talk really fast and go off on tangents. To add more comedy to my whole dancing activity I actually started by putting on some “Riverdance” music and did an impression of Michael Flately. I then moved on to some old MC Hammer dance moves jamming to “They put me in the mix” and then “Groove Me“. When Melissa entered on stage I tried to get her to dance and busted out almost every single dance move I know - the cabbage patch, the robot, the hammer dance, the kid and play, the butterfly, the tootsie roll and probably a couple of other moves I don’t remember. I felt like I was going to collapse a couple times during the imrpov because I was exerting so much energy and wearing myself out. Everyone loved it and was nearly on the floor laughing.
Tonight was a complete success and I definitely need to thank my wife for helping me understand the symptomology and behavior of people on speed!
(I still need to work on that deep emotional pain though…)
Published on Wednesday September 24, 2003 .
The Wedding Money
(a two person improvised scene)
Impediment: Amphetamines (Speed) - performed by me
Synopsis:
Melissa and I have been dating for a year. We are about to get married. We saved $700 towards the wedding and I recently gambled it away (she doesn’t know that). I also have started a start-up company and work many late hours. Recently a friend of mine introduced me to speed to help me stay up at night and be productive. When the scene opens up I will be preparing for my high school reunion by bringing back the old-school dance moves while listening to the old new jack swing.
Published on Tuesday September 23, 2003 .
Sometimes I worry I have mad cow disease…
This morning I made a phone call to an insurance provider to obtain my insurance cards. I put on my professional voice and said “Recently I was improved…” She responded, “I’m sorry, you were what? Improved?” I replied, “I meant approved. Not improved“. (Laughter erupts from the other end of the phone.) “I haven’t finished my coffee yet. It’s sitting here in front of me. Sorry if I’m incoherent.”
So much for trying to be professional.
Later on I called my agent to inform them of a call I received from ABC. The phone rang once and was quickly answered. Words started falling out of my mouth. “Hey, this is John… I mean David… I meant to say ‘Hey John this is David’”.
I might be losing my mind.
But on a good note, I got a call from ABC inviting me to audition for the ABC Talent December showcase. For the past couple of years the big studios (ABC, NBC, FOX) have been putting together these “showcases” featuring talent from the Asian-American community. People who are selected for the showcase get to perform in front of execs and casting directors from the studio. Pretty exciting - although I’ve never heard of any real success stories that have resulted from being selected to participate in one of these showcases.
Now I have to study my lines…
