bloggie blog

Only one episode remains in Battlestar Galactica! Okay, two episodes, but they’re going to be Part I and Part II of a big final episode.

In “Islanded in a Stream of Stars” we get a strong sense of Hey I’ve seen this before when we see Anders babbling in a tub of goo. This is a hopeful event for the Cylons’ future.

Then we have a non-hopeful thing for humans, what with giving up on the title ship. I don’t believe it. The ship is falling apart, yes. The writers are certainly not afraid to go there, sure. Destiny of a species is much bigger than one machine, true. But I just don’t believe what Adama and Tighe say in the quiet ending to this awkwardly named episode (directed by its star, Edward James Olmos):

“So we’re gonna send her off in style. To Galactica, best ship in the fleet.”

“To Galactica.”

“Some people need to learn how to park.” That was the relatively polite commentary I made early this morning as I walked up my street, passing a young woman trying to fit her small car into a large space. The space was plenty big enough, so her friend jumped out to help guide her. Aargh! If I couldn’t parallel park worth beans, I’d practice. That’s all I’m saying.

That experience was on my mind as I pulled into the lot of the Starbucks in Los Feliz a few hours later. I took the back way, and was pleased with myself for knowing where that alley led, but the one empty spot was next to an atrociously parked Prius. I’m having a good day, so it set me off only just a little. The owner was coming out just as I was exiting my car and she immediately fessed up to a bad parking job. This is the right behavior to make me not care any more. I made a joke back to her, it’s all good, I’m on my way. And then I looked a second time, as she seemed familiar. “I know you, don’t I?” Now, besides fessing up to her bad parking, she also didn’t pretend to be nobody. Two for two. (Two for three, I should say. She missed one point for the crappy parking job.) A little conversation ensued with Annabelle Gurwitch. You remember her from “Dinner and a Movie” on TBS. I remember her from a podcast on Fired! that I listened to a few months ago.

I’m not used to having conversations with people I recognize, but that’s two days in a row. (Yesterday’s will remain un-blogged.) Conversations are not always appropriate, but they’re better than “I love [insert favorite show here]!” Annabelle and I agreed that times are tough. She’s into writing exclusively these days, so even though the timing is better than ever to revive Fired!, it ain’t gonna happen. Too busy writing to revive Fired! … or to park well, wink wink. And when I said I was an actor, she said gloomily, “How’s that going?” Since I’m still on the six-month upbeat kick, I was all “Great!” … but eventually I did agree that the numbers are not good. No worries, though. I feel better about life because of all the savings I have in the stock market.

In brief: it was nice chatting, Annabelle!

When I came out of the Starbucks, her small grey Prius that had been parked at a horrible angle was gone. In its place was a small yellow Honda Fit — parked at a horrible angle. Aargh! You small-car drivers need to learn to park!

I just sent out a milestone email. Here it is, for those not on my list:

Hi there! Time for another update. This one is a little milestone. Six months ago, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting here. Holey moley, what a whirlwind experience it has been. One reason after another to use exclamation points — but I’ll exercise editorial restraint and not burden you with too many of those.

Of course, I’m not new to acting, having done lots of good work in Boston, where I was in several commercials and plays (from 1776 to Streetcar), and a TV drama (Brotherhood). But one thing that is new about acting here, is the quantity. It may not be an exaggeration to say I’ve had more auditions since moving here than during my many years in Boston. Which is just what I wanted.

With all that, I’ve landed several projects already. A few highlights: a disturbing indie film, a hilarious USC film, some readings and benefit performances, and recent voiceover work on AIDS in Thailand that is being presented at the UN this month. Also … kind of exciting … as I type this, I am deciding whether to accept an offer to play the lead role in a full-length independent feature film. My people will be contacting their people soon. Seriously, there are so many things going on, so many ways for me to be a busy happy actor, so many sentences that could end in exclamation points — but I’ll try to dish those out judiciously, as I said.

Beyond any of these individual projects, I have a strong sense of hope for 2009, a strong sense of personal progress so far, and a deep appreciation for all the people I am meeting. I’m seeing the results of being here, meeting people, getting in gear and working hard to figure it out. It’s all good.

Okay, I know, six months is nothing. I’m still the new guy, so welcome me to town on Facebook, or on my web site, where you’ll find my acting news and updates, my demo reel and my blog which I update several times a week, on topics ranging from Life in Los Angeles to Battlestar Galactica.

By the way, here is my awesome Tip Of The Day: Before venturing into Hollywood, do a quick check of NavigateHollywood.com. My neighborhood is sometimes a pain to navigate, but this handsomely designed site almost made Oscars week bearable. Don’t let road closures get you down.

Well, that’s it for now. More (always more) on Bloggie Blog. Thank you for reading this far, and please let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.

Here’s to six more amazing months … amazing for me and amazing for you! Exclamation point!

Best,

Kevin

Here are a few observations from a callback audition I had this morning for a national commercial. Each observation is about confirming common knowledge in such situations, or contradicting it. These are things I’ve heard many times since moving to Los Angeles. (This blog entry would be great reading for an actor on the verge of moving here.)

Getting the callback
After the initial audition, I wondered if my performance was a little off, maybe a little forced, and I didn’t expect to be called back. So often, an actor will think that … and then get the callback. And just as often, on the auditions you think you “nail,” you never hear back from them. It’s a funny thing. Not funny ha ha, but still funny ’cause it’s true.

Rain
Not too long after arriving in LA, I heard that the rain keeps actors away. I didn’t believe it at first, but it’s true: on rainy days, not only do some actors arrive late because the traffic is worse than usual, many just can’t get their sorry butts out of their apartments. (Regarding LA drivers in general and the rain … a whole other blog entry. Don’t get me started.)

I was 20 minutes early this morning, as I always try to be, but as the time approached and I was still the only one there, I suddenly remembered the rain. It wasn’t still raining, but it had poured earlier this morning. Cats and dogs. Yup, the rain causes some actors not to show up. This, for me, is good news. This, for me, means I’m even more motivated when it rains. If the day comes that that’s not true anymore, it will mean I have washed away all my Boston and New York heritage.

Going first
I have heard a number of casting directors say that you shouldn’t shy away from going first or early in the day. The subtext is that early birds often get caught up in start-up problems and thus have a disadvantage, but still, the casting directors need somebody to sacrifice themselves or the day will run long. This morning, I went first. The clients were late getting started, so there were many of us there by then, and I thought another guy was up first, but they switched to me. “Let’s do it,” I said.

By going first, I met an attentive, respectful group of clients, and I worked with a director who was awesome and ready to go. He had me do it five times. I’ve never been asked to do a read five times. It was great! Some actors might not like that, but I figure it meant he liked my work. And they definitely saw five different takes, where I took direction pretty well and made adjustments every time. Excellent.

Clients at callbacks are rude
Not this time. Yes, the worst actor stories of rudeness in the audition room do indeed come from the world of commercial callbacks, but this morning, it was all good. They all had laptops, maybe some in the back weren’t paying attention, but it was a good, attentive vibe as a whole. Plus one guy from the client team was named Kevin — he got a special thank-you as I exited professionally when I was done.

Summary
All in all, it was a good morning, and I hope to have many more like it. National commercials? Bring ’em on!

Look, listen: lotsa piano! I vaguely think there was some piano playing on a previous episode of BSG, but it seems pretty fresh to have a pianist in the bar in this episode. A pianist for Cara Thrace to flirt with and to take out her frustrations on. Frustrations that her destiny still isn’t resolved and there are only 3 episodes remaining! Time for three more instruments — a violin, recorder and accordion? — but surely not enough time to figure out what’s what with Starbuck! And Hera! And the whole shebang!

But seriously. The piano player remains nameless, and they name a composer we don’t know here in our world (Nomien?) — and discuss the pronunciation of his name. Lovely touches in writing, both those things.

But. However. Come on. Wowsa. Okay. Here’s the thing: about 15 or 20 minutes into “Someone to Watch Over Me” — a title of a great George & Ira tune from the days when piano was still king — there’s a close-up of the piano being played. I’m pretty sure the actor playing the piano is an actual piano player. (Wish I knew the actor’s name.) But something goes wrong when, after seeing a very strong connection between the action of his playing and the notes I was hearing, suddenly the last note of an arpeggiated run was sounded up an octave or two, and yet we saw him play the note down a half-step. Whoops! Or is that how pianos work in that world, man? Now that’s some mind-blowing philosophy.

And was that, or was that not, a visual reference to Chico Marx and his piano-shooting style? Little known fact: Chico pronounced his name with an “ih” sound in the middle, not as in the Spanish.

I went downtown for an audition today, and decided to take the subway. As it turns out, the escalator at the Civic Center stop was out of order. The entrance there is a whopping 105 steps straight up — which is kind of awesome. There may be other staircases in LA with about the same number of steps, but the ones I’ve found have landings, turns and other distractions. This is one-hundred and five steps straight up (albeit divided into 5 groups of 21 with a slightly longer step between groups).

First of all, let me say that I believe in stairs. I take the stairs whenever I can, and I go for walks. When I’m weak, I take the escalator walking. Taking stairs over taking the elevator is one of the keys to health that merits greater promotion: I secretly suspect that if Americans started doing this as they went about their business, it would provide greater health benefit than, say, free gym memberships to everybody over 30. I can just feel our collective BMI dropping a point or two.

Anyway, I observed that 105 steps in a row turns into a mental thing. It can mess you up — especially if you’re thinking about it! Try it. Walking a long, straight staircase and counting or marking rhythm is a fascinating mental exercise in concentration — or the lack thereof! I recommend the mental experiment next time you’re near Temple & Hill in downtown LA.

(Google Maps link to satellite view of the opening of this subway entrance.)