The current issue of Mens Health magazine declares quinoa as “one of the most nutritious foods on the planet”. Quinoa is a grain which was held sacred by the Incas. It is packed with protein, amino acids, fiber and healthy fats. “Quinoa has an addictive nutty flavor, cooks up quicker than rice, and can be used to make pilafs, risottos, salads, soups, and even desserts.” The Mens Health article also contains recipes to help get you started enjoying this ancient superfood. More information can also be found on Wikipedia and WHFoods. I’ve seen quinoa in the grains aisle at Whole Foods. I’ll be picking some up tomorrow.
0 CommentsSearch Results for '"000122"'
This is the question I am asking myself tonight. Not because I’m pondering my existence or place in the world, but because I need to know how to market myself as an actor. You see today I met with a photographer (Vanie Poyey) and this is the question she asked me. What roles/characters/shows do I see myself fitting in? How am I currently marketing myself?
This question actually isn’t new to me. Tom has brought up this question in class and I have also read a lot about celebrity marketing and branding. But for some reason when faced with the question, I didn’t have a solid answer. I showed Vanie my current photos and said that in the past I have been sent out for a lot of “thug” roles. But I definitely wanted to be able to play more than just a thug. I’ve also been told by one of my acting partners that they could see me on a TV drama like The Practice as a young professional. Vanie thought that I would fit a lot of shows on the WB network and could definitely play a young professional. But I don’t really know.
The studio has given me the roles of strong leading men who are commanding, or passionate, or sensitive, or romantic (a cheating husband, a war-time soldier in love, an egotistical hard-hitting producer, a passionate hedonist and a reformed arrogant bad-boy). This definitely gives me a clue as to how the studio views me and my work and what roles they think I could play. But what does this mean? It’s not as if I will be offered leading roles at this point of my “career”. I need to market myself towards roles I am right for.
So that leads me back to the question, “who am I”? In real life I am funny and quirky around friends and family. But around strangers and at work I can be the “bad-boy”, or formal, or the young professional depending on the situation. So basically, at this point, I have no answer. I’ll have to ask other people who have seen my work and see what their opinions are…
Then again, do I have to decide? During the photoshoot I could go for the bad-boy, the young-professional, and the funny/quirky guy and see how the pictures turn out…
2 CommentsYesterday was the conclusion of Joanne Baron’s Master Class. Overall I really enjoyed the experience. I learned a lot from watching Joanne critique the scenes and lecture on the process of acting, character interpretation and script analysis. I also enjoyed being coached by Joanne and learning what aspects of the process I really need to work on. For me it came down to the fact that my emotions tend to be “locked up” and repressed and I need to really work on finding my emotions and learn how to express them vocally and physically.
What happened in our scene this time around is that we didn’t make it past the first page of material before Joanne stopped us and started critiquing us. My partner and I were never really clear on what exactly was happening in the beginning of the scene and thus, it showed in our acting because our actions were very general as well. Joanne spent the next hour coaching us through the first couple of lines breaking down each moment and emotion. Although it was nerve-wrecking at first, as we followed her coaching we could sense a complete difference from when we started. The audience could see it too as we received laughs in places we didn’t before. Joanne was very gracious in her coaching paying us both compliments but giving constructive criticism as well. Even though we were not able to complete the scene for the class, it was a great learning experience for both of us.
Now that Master Class has concluded I have started to look more at the business side of my acting “career”. What I recently realized is this: my current headshots don’t work. I just don’t feel my current pictures represent “me”. My agents agree as well. They never thought the pictures were that great, they just tolerated them. So now I’m on the search for a new photographer. This is always hard. I have never been completely satisfied with any of my headshots except for the ones with me in a leather jacket. Those were taken back in 1998 by David LaPorte. That was a magical session because I’ve had five other photo-shoots with him and have not been able to re-produce the feel of those headshots. So today I called both my agencies for recommendations and this is the list so far:
The phone calls start tomorrow…
A couple months ago I did a small role in this comedic film which spoofed “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy“. Today I received an email that there will be a screening on friday. I’m debating on whether I want to go. It would be interesting to see how crazy I looked…
0 CommentsI’ve been feeling pretty frustrated with my acting career lately. (Acting career? Who am I kidding?) My audition schedule has slowed to a complete halt. I can’t remember when my last big audition was… well actually, my last big audition was months ago for a contract role on All My Children. But that was MONTHS ago. Even my commercial auditions have been few and far between.
WHAT IS GOING ON?!?!?
Ok, I know my headshots were old, but c’mon. I’m in the process of getting my new headshots out there. Why am I not getting called in? Yes, I admit I’ve blown a couple of auditions. There was that audition for the Frasier guest-starring role that was embarrassing, and the NBC sponsored showcase audition which I choked on, but throw me a bone.
I remember back in 1999 I made over $10k from acting and modeling work. That was a start. Where is my momentum now? I just want a guest-starring role. Nothing much. Any show will do.
I’m training. I’m in the second year program at the Baron/Brown acting studio. I’ve lost 20lbs. I’m putting on more muscle. I’ve got new headshots. What else do you want????
It’s time to buckle down and make things happen. My agents aren’t getting me auditions, so I’ll have to do some guerrilla marketing. Tomorrow I’ll buy the Ross Reports and Backstage West and start sending my headshot and resume to all the shows. Somebody will give me a chance. Or maybe I need to produce my own film to get noticed. Like Vin Diesel or Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
2 Comments