January 2004 Archives

My commercial agent's assistant called me yesterday and I answered the phone kind of nonchalantly, expecting to hear "we need more pictures". Instead I was pleasantly surprised to hear "you have an audition". So today I went out for a national AT&T commercial audition under the character of "20-something".

There wasn't a lot of people at the audition today. After filling out the initial paperwork I sat in one of the chairs in the lobby next to a typical asian guy with spikey hair looking over the provided copy. I looked at the script myself and started trying to "relate" to the words in the script so it wouldn't be as if I was just saying lines. Two more people arrived and we were told that we would all go in as a group and could wait outside the studio room door.

As we all stood and waited outside the studio door, the girl in our group looked at me and said "your fly is open". Now in the past, I would have been very embarassed but in this moment I handled it all with a bit of confidence. I said "thank you" and zipped up my pants. Then I quipped, "I was just trying to give them a little extra somethin', somethin', but now you've blown my game." She replied laughing, "hey, you do what you gotta do".

A moment later we were all brought into the room and one by one, we each said our three lines directly to the camera. Then it was over and we were all thanked and dismissed.

Boy would it be nice to land a national commercial as my first acting gig for 2004...

So I just talked to Heather on my cell and she told me that two older african-american men showed up at the house and asked our contractors if anyone was home. When one of the contractors went to get Heather, the two guys walked into the house and started looking around. Heather came down and started talking to them as she walked them out of the house and down to the gate. She said she smelled alcohol on one of the guys breath and they were asking her all sorts of questions on the house and what we have. Then one of our neighbors drove up, saw them, stopped and got out of the car. As she got out of her car the two men briskly left. Our neighbor told Heather that one of the guys has been in and out of jail and is known to rob people. She said they were most likely casing our house. Luckily, since we are renovating, there is basically nothing in any of the rooms downstairs.

At least she didn't have to use her AK. Today was a good day.

(That was an Ice-Cube reference for those of you non-rap people)

Last night my partner and I rehearsed our scene from The Woolgatherers and worked out the blocking. Neither of us are off-book as of yet but hope to be by tomorrow(!). The scene itself is really fun and full of dramatics. The female character "Rose" basically has a mental breakdown in the scene and flips out while my character "Cliff" tries to hang in there with her and console her (because he wants to sleep with her). Our rehearsal went well and we made a lot of progress with the piece. Tomorrow will be our dress rehearsal. Luckily we won't be performing on Sat which is the first day of Master Class and we will be able to watch to see how harsh Joanne will be on the actors and scene. It will also give us a chance to rehearse our lines a couple more times before our performance on Sun.

Tonight I performed the paraphrased version of the Edmund Pollard monologue. I felt very commanding and confident and was sure to really play the audience and address each person with my eyes. Tom liked it a lot but said that right now I am "performing" it instead of relating to every word. He also thought that my delivery was too clean and more like an oration. He wants more passion, sensuality, more from the guts and the heart. More bohemian, raw, inspiring but edgy. Less poetic and formal.

Here's me with my new short hair (new as in, it was cut 2 weeks ago.)

I'VE BEEN HACKED! I have a server at home which I use for development and I started a simple mail server to test a project I've been working on. Well someone found the mail server and was sending 4000 SPAM messages from it. Luckily I caught it and shut it off but if you get spam from DAVIDCHIU.NET it wasn't really from me!

Today my acting partner and I met for the second time to go over the scene and try to cut down some of the lines to get the scene to run under 12min (there's a 10min limit). We made our edits and discussed props and set design.

Honestly I'm a little frustrated that we are paying a lot of money and have not been given a scene to work on. Instead it's up to us to read the play, find a scene under 10min, memorize our lines, blocking, get our props, design the set and be brilliant in our performances all within two weeks. Then we are only going to be performing our scenes twice. I also feel that this Master Class wasn't as hard to get into as it was "advertised" to be. It was more like, if you have the money, you can get in. Regardless, I'm locked in and I have 10 pages to memorize in 7 days...

I sent my headshot to New York today for a Meryl Streep movie that will begin shooting this summer. I was told that they are looking for an asian actor to play a native born Chinese character which has a major part in the movie. I'm not sure I can pass for a native born Chinese, at least probably not the "look" that they want. Some of my asian friends actually thought I was Thai or Hawaiian when they first met me. Plus, I honestly can't do a Chinese accent. But you never know... maybe there is another part in the movie that I might fit better. If not this movie, maybe another movie. Heck, any studio movie will do. But what an incredible opportunity! Working with Meryl Streep would be amazing!

I've picked out a 10min scene from the Woolgatherers. It's in Act II when my character "Cliff" freaks out 'cause he thinks Rose is cheating on him. In the process of him trying to catch her in a lie (which she isn't lying, per se...) she flips out because of a traumatic experience that happened in the past. It's all pretty dramatic. We now have one week to get it into performance shape complete with costumes and props. Luckily the costumes and props won't be that hard. It's just memorizing the scene and getting it in good shape that I'm worried about.

I'm REALLY worried about it...

On the positive side, I rocked in my paraphrased performance of the Edmund Pollard monologue for class. My paraphrase was more like a modernized spoken word, R&B singing type of thing. I know they weren't expecting that. Just imagine me in a toga performing spoken word and singing R&B... It was a lot of fun and my acting coach said that I have the "actions" and "emotional line" down so I can now start incorporating the original text with my paraphrase.

Happy Chinese New Year!!!
(kong hey fat choi)

Now go out and eat some noodles to celebrate!

I just signed up Heather and I for the upcoming LA Marathon. We won't be running 26.2 miles but will be competing in the 5k run/walk instead. Our fantasy goal is for both of us to compete in a triathalon. Hmmm, I guess we should start training...

EDMUND POLLARD,
SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY by Edgar Lee Masters

I WOULD I had thrust my hands of flesh
Into the disk--flowers bee-infested,
Into the mirror-like core of fire
Of the light of life, the sun of delight.
For what are anthers worth or petals
Or halo-rays? Mockeries, shadows
Of the heart of the flower, the central flame
All is yours, young passer-by;
Enter the banquet room with the thought;
Don't sidle in as if you were doubtful
Whether you're welcome--the feast is yours!
Nor take but a little, refusing more
With a bashful "Thank you", when you're hungry.
Is your soul alive? Then let it feed!
Leave no balconies where you can climb;
Nor milk-white bosoms where you can rest;
Nor golden heads with pillows to share;
Nor wine cups while the wine is sweet;
Nor ecstasies of body or soul,
You will die, no doubt, but die while living
In depths of azure, rapt and mated,
Kissing the queen-bee, Life!

As I was walking to my car this afternoon I noticed this girl sitting at the corner Starbucks talking to two guys and having a good time. She looked very familiar but I couldn't figure out why. Then it hit me. It was Nicole Richie from "The Simple Life". Now to be honest, I'm not 100% sure it was her, but I wouldn't doubt that it was since the MTV studios are down the street.

Tonight I told Tom my three choices of characters from the Spoon River Anthology. Tom thought I should play Edmund Pollard. Edmund Pollard is a guy who lived through life cautiously and is now speaking from the grave telling people to live life to the fullest. His monologue is very poetic and passionate. It sounds very interesting and I look forward to working on it. The downside to playing this character is that Tom wants me to wear a toga for the piece.

A toga???

Tonight Tom told us that an actor is cast in a specific role/character because the actor has the look, personality and behavioural traits that fit a specific character. We were encouraged to take a hard/realistic look at ourselves and really imagine what kind of roles/characters would fit us. Looking at my training up to now I have been assigned romantic leads or "take charge" characters. Does this mean the studio views me as a leading man type of actor? Very cool. In my acting "career" I have been sent out on a lot of commercial auditions as a "hip and cool" character. Theatrically I have auditioned for a lot of "asian gangsta/thug" roles (Fast and the Furious, Biker Boys, Crossing Jordan, etc, etc). Hmmm....

Tonight I have been working on breaking down three monologues from Edgar Lee Master's "Spoon River Anthology". Our assignment for class tomorrow is to pick three characters we are interested in acting and break down their monologues using the script analysis, character interpritation technique we were taught a couple of months ago. Tomorrow each person will read the three monologues they have chosen in front of the class and Tom will work with each individual in dissecting the monologues. He will also make the suggestion of which character he wishes us to work on.

I have chosen the characters Benjamin Fraser, Yee Bow and Archibald Higbie.

I just received notice that I have been accepted into the Master's Class at the Joanne Baron/DW Brown acting studio. The Master's Class is being taught by Joanne Baron - who studied under William Esper. William Esper was a student of the great Sanford Meisner.

The play I will be working from is "The Woolgatherer" by William Mastrosimone. My character is a truck driver with a jersey accent. I wonder if I will have to do the accent? If so, I'll have to watch some episodes of "The Sopranos"...

Honestly I am a little nervous about the class. It's a "master's class" which means I have to come full force with everything I have learned at the studio. I don't want to dissapoint my partner or Joanne (the head of the studio and from what I heard, a brilliant teacher) with a poor performance. This means I have a lot of work ahead of me. This is going to be a great growing experience and I am nervously excited about the whole thing.

I went to the gym this afternoon and busted through a plateau by benching two 65lb dumbbells (130lbs total). Previously I had trouble benching two 60lbs weights (120lbs). If I had a spotter I would have attempted two 70lb dumbbells. I think what helped is that I did 10min of cardio before starting my chest workout.

Heather and I were watching another episode of the "Discovery Health Body Challenge 2" the other day and I was inspired to see the challengers participating in a 5k mud run. It looked like a lot of fun. I think Heather and I are going to try to enter in a few competitions this year for fitness, fun and charity.

Tonight Allura and I finished our scene from "The Country Girl" with strong performances. We received good remarks from our acting coach and the class. It feels good to be able to finish on a strong note although it feels a little strange that we will no longer be performing the scene since we have been working on it twice a week for three months.

There were a lot of good performances tonight and everyone is looking forward to the next stage in our training.

At the beginning of last year I shaved my head. I initially wanted to go for the "shaolin monk" look but chickened out and went for the "military" look. This was a big deal. I had spent 3 years growing my hair long and getting it cut twice a month at Jose Eber - a very expensive salon on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills (this was during the dot-com days when we all had money).

When people asked why I shaved my head, I would answer "this is the deconstruction of self image to find myself as an artist". (Actually I only said that to my wife and a couple friends - all who know that I'm a little strange.)

Now it's a new year and I got a haircut today. I wanted to once again change my hairstyle and try something different. Nothing drastic like last year, just something different. So I surrendered myself to my stylist's hands. He ended up cutting my hair shorter, but not too short. It looks good. My manager (aka. my wife) also approves.

(I just tried taking a photo to post here, but I look horrible so I'll have to post one later...)

Tomorrow I go to get my eyebrows done. Hollywood is about image and as an actor you are promoting yourself as a product so you need to look your best. It's just part of the game.

It's interesting how much I've changed throughout the years. In the next couple of days I'm hoping to get all my old headshots online to give people a good laugh. Especially my "modeling" photos.

Today at the MacWorld Expo Steve Jobs announced the introduction of the Mini iPod which has a capacity of 4gb, is smaller than most cell phones, comes in a variety of colors, is customizable and costs $250. Get one NOW!!!

You cannot fit an iron or steel pipe to an existing copper plumbing system. Fitting these two materials together will cause a chemical reaction which will rust the iron/steel pipe. Instead you must use copper or brass.

Home Depot is your friend.

I dream of the day my house is no longer a construction zone but a completed living space. Until then it kinda represents my life and my acting career - a project always in construction with visions of grandeur and potential for greatness and beauty. The "bones" are there they just need to be built upon.

Tonight I'm really going to take some time to create my goals for 2004. So far, things are off to a good start with one of my poems being published in a new independent literary magazine and my photo is being used for a book cover. I also bought my first 30x32 jeans. Last year I was pushing close to size 34!!!

Today I installed a counter-top dishwasher, fixed a leaky bathtub faucet by replacing the fixtures and added a hand-held shower attachment. Though this may not seem like a big deal, I'm not a handyman so it is a big deal to me. I'm already breaking new ground in 2004. Oh yeah.

Happy New Year!!!!

Here's to an exciting and prosperous New Year!