Coastal Brothers and Sisters

Well, it only took five months for me to get out on a golf course in LA. It wasn't a good course, but it was free, so that was definitely a bonus. I had been trying to set up a game with a childhood neighbor's friends pretty much since moving here but for a number of reasons and scheduling conflicts, it just didn't happen. Thankfully, he and the two buddies he brought were cool dudes and fun to play with. I didn't play particularly well, but just getting out there was good. And, now I have some guys to play with every now and again. One of whom works for an elite agency. There is no chance I would be represented by them at this juncture, but it is good to know someone who shares an outside interest, that way talking shop is easier and more natural, and could also lead to some positive things. We all exchanged numbers, so hopefully I'll be playing quite a bit more than once every five months now, which is good.

Keeping in the spirit of following up with friends of friends, I met an industry professional for breakfast yesterday. I had met with him once before back in the fall for the obligatory, "yeah, sure I'll meet with this random dude because he says he's your friend" breakfast. Thankfully he didn't think I was a big loser, and agreed to meet with me again. While there are certainly other factors to gauge how well get-togethers go, a one I sort of focus on is the length of said meeting. Maybe these folks don't have somewhere they have to be at a certain time, but they could absolutely lie about that fact and get outta there. Regardless, I feel like it was a good meeting. I mean, it wasn't really a meeting in the business sense of the term, we just "met" for breakfast and discussion. We went to this french café in Culver City, which was pretty tasty. I had the 3-egg (organic, of course) omelet with bacon, spinach, and goat cheese. It came with a small arugula salad and I got myself a coffee as well. We chatted about what movies/tv we had seen, select performances, "that guy", the process of getting a movie made - all sorts of things. We also talked about my upcoming classes at UCB, and how great of a thing it was to do. First, to stretch the boundaries of comfort, to meet other people (some of which you may click with and go on to do your own content with), and to see what areas you're talented in. We got a little more in depth into finding things you are good at, and really being the best at them, while managing the things you were not as talented in. Basically, the journey is important to success, which I guess is a little esoteric, certainly so LA, but also true. It is imperative to find the things you are good at, and really hone those abilities so you (and others) can "pitch" yourself. Potential is way harder to pitch than the tangible, something I am finding out all to well right now. Lastly, he is going to try and make it to my "graduation showcase" and give me honest notes, something we also discussed - finding people who will give you honest feedback whether it be good or bad. He also energized me about reading and writing more, which is a good thing, no doubt.

The last thing I'll leave you with is a few thoughts from a workshop I took this past Saturday. A few of the shows this particular casting associate works on are: Sons of Anarchy and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Both great shows (in my opinion), but the first is a drama and the second a comedy. I initially was attracted to the Sons angle, but quickly learned that this workshop was going to skew more towards comedy. There were a number of people who performed who got some really good laughs. I happened to go last, and managed to get some laughs myself, which really is quite a good feeling. I thought I did an OK job, but wasn't really sure I left much of an impression. While at the gym yesterday, I got an email from my consultant (the girl who passes along workshops she thinks I might enjoy) saying how much both the employee who produced the workshop, and the casting associate enjoyed what I had done. This news made me feel pretty great. There is always kind of an empty feeling after workshops, or auditions for that matter, because there is rarely any personal feedback. I mean, you can sort of tell, but nobody is really all that interested in telling each individual what they thought. So, it has been a pretty good week or so, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the next couple of weeks bring before I throw myself headlong into the world of improv, which I have less than zero idea whether I will be good, decent, or terrible. Regardless, it is sure to be an adventure as well as a learning experience.

Till next time.