Wow. I guess, uh, it’s been a while, huh? What’ve you been up to?
Oh, that sounds nice, seems like you’re doing well.
Oh, me? Since the last time we spoke? It’s uh, yeah, I’m great.
I moved, again. Back to the west coast. Those LA dreams didn’t quite fizzle out, so I went ahead and threw my hat back into that
At a birthday party, I had a conversation with my old downstairs neighbor. He welcomed me back and asked me what I was doing for work. At that particular time, the answer was ‘not a thing.’ He said he had a project coming up and if I was around and interested, he’d love an extra set of hands.
I was around. And interested.
The project was an independent feature film written and directed by a married French couple. Half of the crew was also French, including my friend. I took 3 years of French in high school, so I was practically part of the gang, AKA an easy target for teasing when I attempted to join in on conversation. Over the course of the next month of shooting, I was able to work myself up from ‘an extra pair of hands’ to a ‘co-producer.’ That in-and-of-itself was a pretty cool thing.
35 days of shooting a film with a mostly French crew was fun. Then, a few months later, we learned it was about to get even more fun. The movie was headed to France, as part of the Cannes Film Festival. That was certainly not the expected outcome when I had said, “sure, I’m not doing anything else”, six months prior. I, of course, had to go. I mean, there’s a better than decent chance this would be the only opportunity to go to Cannes as a participant, so I registered and booked all of the necessary logistics. Carpe Diem, etc. There were screenings, and dinners, and parties. I had bought a few white shirts for the tux that I was going to be wearing all the time, but ended up wearing once, and only because I had packed it and I damned well was going to wear it even if I didn’t absolutely have to. When I wasn’t with the group, I would wander the town by myself and then down to the Plage Croisette. It was a very fun experience that I can’t really believe happened.
During the shoot, I met the casting director for the film. She also taught classes, and I thought that maybe it would be a good idea for me to get involved with those in addition to knowing her on a professional level. I started classes with her and built a rapport. Not long after, she asked me to help with the production of a play. Which I did. Then she asked me to stage manage another play, which I did. Then did it again for another play. Now, I am the TA for her scene study classes. Which is nice, because that means I get to take them for free, which is pretty clutch. She keeps telling me how impressed she is with my growth which either means that I started off pretty terrible and am now not terrible, or, started off just okay and am now better than okay. Tough to tell really. In the most recent class, I did a scene and when we were getting feedback she said, “I never thought of you as a leading man, but after seeing you there, I said, ‘oh, Mack can play leading man.’” So, if you know me, you know which part of that statement I’ll be fixated on. I do think I am getting better, and I do feel like I’m making an impression on the guest directors our teacher brings in. Who knows if it ends up making any difference at all, but it doesn’t hurt.
Along the way, I decided I needed to brush up my comedy chops, so I got back into some improv classes. I had previously taken classes at UCB here in LA, and wanted to try something different. So, I found myself at The Second City Hollywood. The Second City is likely the most well-known theater and school when it comes to improv and sketch comedy. So many names have come out of their Chicago location, it’s insane. Once I began classes, I knew I wanted to see it all the way through to their graduation program, Grad Revue. It would take a long time, and a lot of money, so I decided to join their work study program where you trade hours of working at the theater for classes. I continued through the program, doing shows along the way, and began to make friends with the staff. Some part time, actually paid, jobs opened up, so I decided I was at the school so much, I might as well get paid for it. So I began working in the office. I’ve since been in two sketch shows, one of which I co-wrote, and a dozen or so improv shows. I’m nearing the end of the program, and my classmates and I are in the process of writing our final sketch show, which will run for 6 weeks this summer.
Since doing all of that isn’t scary enough, I have started to do some stand-up here and there. I don’t think I’m very good, but I do get the occasional laugh and as one of my friends says, ‘it’s shots on goal’. Gotta keep on putting shots on goal in order to score. So, that’s what I’m trying to do.
Being back in LA has been a good thing, overall. I certainly miss my family and friends back home, but it feels good to be trying to make stuff happen out here. I’ve managed to reconnect with friends here, and make a good amount of new friends. I don’t know that I’ve made too much measurable progress, but it feels like something might be around the corner. How far away that corner is, remains to be seen. I think that’s about it for now. If I think of anything else, I’ll edit the post.
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