Well, I’m back home, after 3 months of experiencing one of the greatest cities in North America, a city whose name does not have to be mentioned in this blog but is awesome. I debuted in my first film (an indie short): which has been nominated for several awards, and won for best musical score, got a steady paying job; a job that has afforded me the opportunity to save a large portion of money for next year’s efforts, I’ve decided I will move to San Francisco, I’ve become closer with my family out there, grown more independent and into myself, brought home more health goals, met new friends, and had a hell of a lotta fun.
This is my post mortem, my summary, my casualty report for my vacation, which grew in to something so much more valuable and productive to me than I could have imagined when I first decided to spend it in California.
The time I spent out there was invaluable to me. I was able to live fairly independently in a new place, and I was able to find fairly steady work with steady pay (for a while, atleast) and knowing that things like that are within my reach is a nice feeling.
What a crazy ride; I initially chose to head to San Francisco this summer because of a lack of options in the summerstock theatre area. I had no idea the doors that had just opened for me when I made my decision to fly out. Upon arriving and browsing around, I came across an audition, a job opportunity and seized both figuring “Eh, What the hell?”
Indeed.
The Audition was for a film maker involving himself in the 48 Hour Film project (mentioned in length in a previous post) and I was surprised at how eager and excited I was, instead of nervous and anguishing about auditioning! The audition was fun, but I didn’t feel great about how my improv section (wtf an improv section in an audition, improv always makes me nervous) but, of course, I was incorrect to fear. From that experience I made a bunch of friends and realized that I could enjoy working in that field as much as the stage which, to me, is a huge thing to realize. I’ve discovered that I have drive and that I will make it somehow in this field, circumstances be damned.
I also submitted my technical resume to the SF Opera Center for a job advertised as a “Production Assistant Electrician.” Perfect for me, hanging lights, circuiting, doing what the master electrician tells me to do is EASY. And the pay was great. There was a small kink: The job description matched that of a master electrician, NOT a production assistant electrician. I landed an interview after submitting my resume, and of course I’m not going to say I can’t do something. I mean how hard can it be? I’ve done it at HPU before, surely I would be able to adjust.
Dear Lord was I wrong in so many ways
Now, believe me, I do not regret doing this job. But what a lesson in humility and reality I was taught! I was in over my head, and my lack of experience led to an incredibly stressful seven weeks of work. It was only until I was half-way through did I find a meager amount of comfort and swing to be able to do my job without being terrified that I was screwing something up. But it is all a good thing; It was a wakeup call, and from the ashes I rose out a stronger, more confident person. I don’t regret it at all.
I’m almost certain I will be living in San Francisco, I can’t with certainty say when exactly I will move out, part of me wants to head out there immediately after I graduate, but we shall see!
What an amazing summer.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Daily Routine
I've gone ahead and made the decision to move out to San Francisco. Made the decision to the point where I am already starting to take care of logistics things... making those plans and checklists in my head and thinking about what I will have with me when I graduate. I don't expect fantastic success out here, but I expect a genesis for my acting career that will hopefully propel me in to something more.
I am taken aback at the amount of drive I have discovered that I always have had. It has never registered to me how opportunistic I am if I have to be. I say that also because even with what I've managed to do this summer, I still feel like I have only put about 33% of effort into starting my career. My excuse is college, and its a good one. But, if I may say so, kids my age aren't taking these chances yet. Of all the friends I have made here in the city (including those in the field I want to persue) I am still the youngest, and I feel somewhat proud and boastful about it (but not too much, I hope. I never want to get complacent or let my ego get out of hand. Ever. Atleast if I can help it.)
I want to drive to California from the east coast. Just take the 1991 Ford Taurus that I hope my grandmother will let me buy from her, and just go to SF and start a lease on a room with a friend of mine. It is totally possible, I know good neighborhoods here that aren't outrageously priced (they are still expensive for VA, and NC standards but its CA so whatever) and are in good locations.
I got my first paycheck last week; pretty thrilling, I get them every Thursday and it is quite a bit of money. Much more than I have ever been used to. I opened a new bank account (Wachovia isn't in SF) and with that account came a free savings account; I plan to capitalize on that Savings Account so I can have money that stays in the city, inaccessible from my freely spending fingertips.
Days are just going by, now. There are days where nothing happens, and days where I have rediculous amounts of fun. I also have days of great productivity, and on all of those days I become more and more sure that I want to live here, atleast to start out. But I desperately miss friends from home. Starting from scratch when it comes to friendships can be tough; I've come to realize that I let people in slowly (partly in fear of overwhelming them, partly in defense of myself) and I am not very aggressive in spending time with them. That worries me slightly--that I refrain from offering to do things with my new friends in hopes that they invite me to something, but I think part of me just doesn't want to annoy them, or something... I don't want to come across (or be) clingy and needy. Or whatever. I guess it's a comfort thing.
Anyway, life is awesome out here. I think the house im living in has mold that is drastically affecting my respiratory system. Im coughing up phlegm constantly, and as a singer I HATE that. But, wow, two months have passed. Im flying back home on the 15th of August, and it is closer than it feels! Here's looking towards that.
I am taken aback at the amount of drive I have discovered that I always have had. It has never registered to me how opportunistic I am if I have to be. I say that also because even with what I've managed to do this summer, I still feel like I have only put about 33% of effort into starting my career. My excuse is college, and its a good one. But, if I may say so, kids my age aren't taking these chances yet. Of all the friends I have made here in the city (including those in the field I want to persue) I am still the youngest, and I feel somewhat proud and boastful about it (but not too much, I hope. I never want to get complacent or let my ego get out of hand. Ever. Atleast if I can help it.)
I want to drive to California from the east coast. Just take the 1991 Ford Taurus that I hope my grandmother will let me buy from her, and just go to SF and start a lease on a room with a friend of mine. It is totally possible, I know good neighborhoods here that aren't outrageously priced (they are still expensive for VA, and NC standards but its CA so whatever) and are in good locations.
I got my first paycheck last week; pretty thrilling, I get them every Thursday and it is quite a bit of money. Much more than I have ever been used to. I opened a new bank account (Wachovia isn't in SF) and with that account came a free savings account; I plan to capitalize on that Savings Account so I can have money that stays in the city, inaccessible from my freely spending fingertips.
Days are just going by, now. There are days where nothing happens, and days where I have rediculous amounts of fun. I also have days of great productivity, and on all of those days I become more and more sure that I want to live here, atleast to start out. But I desperately miss friends from home. Starting from scratch when it comes to friendships can be tough; I've come to realize that I let people in slowly (partly in fear of overwhelming them, partly in defense of myself) and I am not very aggressive in spending time with them. That worries me slightly--that I refrain from offering to do things with my new friends in hopes that they invite me to something, but I think part of me just doesn't want to annoy them, or something... I don't want to come across (or be) clingy and needy. Or whatever. I guess it's a comfort thing.
Anyway, life is awesome out here. I think the house im living in has mold that is drastically affecting my respiratory system. Im coughing up phlegm constantly, and as a singer I HATE that. But, wow, two months have passed. Im flying back home on the 15th of August, and it is closer than it feels! Here's looking towards that.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Inner Dialogue (no, not monologue. Dialogue. I'm talking to myself, not air.)
I could easily see myself moving to this city the more I live here. I've always loved it, and it seems that my love for it and my excitement at the opportunities I can find outweigh the stark terror I have in moving to a place where the cost of living is so high.
Gulp. Leap. Soar! (right?)
I'm meeting different kinds of people here, and also have a lot of personal time away from the people I'm used to. Away from HPU and all of that crap, away from my comfort zone. Away from all things that encourage stagnation. I've come to realize that if I DO change from this trip, it's not going to be myself that notices. So I don't know, and it is probably still to premature to really call it.
In a few days it will be a full month that I have been here. Two more down! Next up I'm tackling this electrician job. Woohoo
Gulp. Leap. Soar! (right?)
I'm meeting different kinds of people here, and also have a lot of personal time away from the people I'm used to. Away from HPU and all of that crap, away from my comfort zone. Away from all things that encourage stagnation. I've come to realize that if I DO change from this trip, it's not going to be myself that notices. So I don't know, and it is probably still to premature to really call it.
In a few days it will be a full month that I have been here. Two more down! Next up I'm tackling this electrician job. Woohoo
Sunday, June 7, 2009
10,000 Eyeballs' Production of... well, It hasn't been named yet.
Wow.
The experience I had making a film yesterday was... huge. There was so much to take it and it was so much fun, in many ways (not to be dramatic, but...) it was life changing. I've never had such a great opportunity to see the process of making a film from ANY perspective, and getting it from an actor's perspective really excites me because I could see myself doing film just as easy as I could do stage. Good news there if I ever make it in THAT avenue because the money is rediculous on that side of entertainment. Of course the downside is the loss of art in certain situations... but that same problem is on Broadway for the most part too.
I had a lot of fun experiences on this shoot. The director really pulled together an amazing effort to get this done. Take in to account that NOTHING was paid, none of the crew was paid nor talent. I was extremely impressed with how professional the endeavor was with no one being paid. The director (his name is Isaac Camner www.isaaccamner.com Most of his experience is in directing music videos, I beleive this was his first narrative film) must have some crazy contacts. The equipment was top notch, hell we even used a green screen in one of our scenes. We had some awesome cars in our shoot, too. Yours truly got to cut his teeth on a stick shift inside of a 50's Ford Falcon during a scene. They threw me in the car, told me how to do it and of course the first take of the scene I couldn't even get it to move. (It kept stalling, damnit.) So they pushed it the second time and I was able to drive the car onto the set after they did that (I really need to learn how to drive a stick shift.)
Let me rewind some. This whole project was done as a part of the 48 Hour Film Project. This event happens in other big cities, and essentially it is a contest. Film makers have 48 hours to write, shoot, and edit a film. Even better, at the beginning of this contest they have to pick their genre from a hat, and are given a prop and a single line of dialogue that must be included in their film. When I initially met with the director and a lot of the crew and talent of this, they were dead set on including music in their film. Optimally, they wanted the film to be a musical. How lucky it was that they picked the musical/western genre from the hat. As soon as they got the genre they had to begin writing, the musicians began writing music, and they wrote the script. At 6 AM I was mailed a rough screenplay and an mp3 with the rough track of the song I was to sing. (Hah! Something i'm comfortable with. The fact that it was a musical movie sort of put in my element more.) I showed up on the set in Oakland at 8 AM. The first thing I got to do was record the song I was to sing. The cool part of that is that I recorded at Fantasy Studios in Berkely. This studio was outrageous. I'm pretty sure a lot of artists that are well known have recorded there. As far as the song I was to sing goes, it was the most campy and juvenile song I've ever sang. (Me and the woman I played opposite of were these really preppy annoying characters whose purpose it was to really annoy the main character and, I assume, provide comic relief. There was a lot of fun ad libbing we were given liberty to do in our scene, baha.) I did that, then sat around. For a while. One thing that is important to note is that if you are acting in a film, be prepared for down time. Of course when my scene(s) came up I was busy and it sort of went on through the night. We filmed until 12 AM.
What a huge, fun experience. And a nice start to my reel, since I might as well begin one. I haven't seen it yet, going to a bar tonight where everyone is meeting and they are going to screen it. It goes up in the Roxie Theatre on wednesday. I don't think I will go, haha.
The experience I had making a film yesterday was... huge. There was so much to take it and it was so much fun, in many ways (not to be dramatic, but...) it was life changing. I've never had such a great opportunity to see the process of making a film from ANY perspective, and getting it from an actor's perspective really excites me because I could see myself doing film just as easy as I could do stage. Good news there if I ever make it in THAT avenue because the money is rediculous on that side of entertainment. Of course the downside is the loss of art in certain situations... but that same problem is on Broadway for the most part too.
I had a lot of fun experiences on this shoot. The director really pulled together an amazing effort to get this done. Take in to account that NOTHING was paid, none of the crew was paid nor talent. I was extremely impressed with how professional the endeavor was with no one being paid. The director (his name is Isaac Camner www.isaaccamner.com Most of his experience is in directing music videos, I beleive this was his first narrative film) must have some crazy contacts. The equipment was top notch, hell we even used a green screen in one of our scenes. We had some awesome cars in our shoot, too. Yours truly got to cut his teeth on a stick shift inside of a 50's Ford Falcon during a scene. They threw me in the car, told me how to do it and of course the first take of the scene I couldn't even get it to move. (It kept stalling, damnit.) So they pushed it the second time and I was able to drive the car onto the set after they did that (I really need to learn how to drive a stick shift.)
Let me rewind some. This whole project was done as a part of the 48 Hour Film Project. This event happens in other big cities, and essentially it is a contest. Film makers have 48 hours to write, shoot, and edit a film. Even better, at the beginning of this contest they have to pick their genre from a hat, and are given a prop and a single line of dialogue that must be included in their film. When I initially met with the director and a lot of the crew and talent of this, they were dead set on including music in their film. Optimally, they wanted the film to be a musical. How lucky it was that they picked the musical/western genre from the hat. As soon as they got the genre they had to begin writing, the musicians began writing music, and they wrote the script. At 6 AM I was mailed a rough screenplay and an mp3 with the rough track of the song I was to sing. (Hah! Something i'm comfortable with. The fact that it was a musical movie sort of put in my element more.) I showed up on the set in Oakland at 8 AM. The first thing I got to do was record the song I was to sing. The cool part of that is that I recorded at Fantasy Studios in Berkely. This studio was outrageous. I'm pretty sure a lot of artists that are well known have recorded there. As far as the song I was to sing goes, it was the most campy and juvenile song I've ever sang. (Me and the woman I played opposite of were these really preppy annoying characters whose purpose it was to really annoy the main character and, I assume, provide comic relief. There was a lot of fun ad libbing we were given liberty to do in our scene, baha.) I did that, then sat around. For a while. One thing that is important to note is that if you are acting in a film, be prepared for down time. Of course when my scene(s) came up I was busy and it sort of went on through the night. We filmed until 12 AM.
What a huge, fun experience. And a nice start to my reel, since I might as well begin one. I haven't seen it yet, going to a bar tonight where everyone is meeting and they are going to screen it. It goes up in the Roxie Theatre on wednesday. I don't think I will go, haha.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Well I'll be damned.
Remember that Master Electrician-esque job I was so skeptical about?
I just got hired. $550 a week beginning June 22nd and ending August 12th.
I just got hired. $550 a week beginning June 22nd and ending August 12th.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Something that ISN'T four sentences long.
I've noticed that i'm beginning to fall into a bad habit of brevity in my updates. So I will henceforth (atleast in this post) make a strenuous effort in putting some body in this blog.
So it feels as if absolutely nothing, and a lot have happened to me at the same time. Nothing life changing, but while part of me is discouraged, I already have 4 or 5 different avenues that I'm exploring for jobs (most of them gig-by-gig sort of jobs. But hey, thats theatre) and I shouldn't be as worried as I am feeling. I've done a lot of sitting at home, going out to interview, audition, or spend time with my family.
It's been like vacation in a way.
My sister is much too generous, I'm almost living here for free. When I finally got some cash I handed her some because I've been eating her food and stuff; hopefully that will ease my conscience, atleast for a while.
Let's see... that master electrician job is looking more and more bleak as a wait for a response from SF Opera. They seemed interested in the get go, but when she(the woman who was hiring) met me and found out my age, she seemed less and less interested in hiring me. Her silence these past few days have been quite loud. But who am I kidding? I'm only 21 years old, I haven't even graduated college, I wasn't even aiming that high. I suppose I should be flattered that my resume speaks so well for my ability to do work like that. Now I just need to get older, right?
The 10,000 Eyeballs Production movie project-thing-that-I-can't-accurately-name, looks promising. I will be working for free, but I really hope I will get the chance to meet people that aren't older friends of my mother or something. That's something else that worries me, I suppose. I'm really hoping for my trip here to be something that will help me grow more into my self... but I don't see myself evolving if I have no where to go or no one to meet. I mean I've met a few people, friends of my sister... a few random conversations here and there. I have to keep telling myself not to rush it. If I force something like this then I'm just going to end up frustrated and get stalked by someone or something.
I may not have to work for my uncle on that houseboat. My mom returned from Belgium the day before yesterday (Duh-da-da-DUUUUUUH) and she might have landed me a job with a sausage place (SWEET) that is next door to a bar.
So, I suppose that's a large enough update that covers all the bases...
So it feels as if absolutely nothing, and a lot have happened to me at the same time. Nothing life changing, but while part of me is discouraged, I already have 4 or 5 different avenues that I'm exploring for jobs (most of them gig-by-gig sort of jobs. But hey, thats theatre) and I shouldn't be as worried as I am feeling. I've done a lot of sitting at home, going out to interview, audition, or spend time with my family.
It's been like vacation in a way.
My sister is much too generous, I'm almost living here for free. When I finally got some cash I handed her some because I've been eating her food and stuff; hopefully that will ease my conscience, atleast for a while.
Let's see... that master electrician job is looking more and more bleak as a wait for a response from SF Opera. They seemed interested in the get go, but when she(the woman who was hiring) met me and found out my age, she seemed less and less interested in hiring me. Her silence these past few days have been quite loud. But who am I kidding? I'm only 21 years old, I haven't even graduated college, I wasn't even aiming that high. I suppose I should be flattered that my resume speaks so well for my ability to do work like that. Now I just need to get older, right?
The 10,000 Eyeballs Production movie project-thing-that-I-can't-accurately-name, looks promising. I will be working for free, but I really hope I will get the chance to meet people that aren't older friends of my mother or something. That's something else that worries me, I suppose. I'm really hoping for my trip here to be something that will help me grow more into my self... but I don't see myself evolving if I have no where to go or no one to meet. I mean I've met a few people, friends of my sister... a few random conversations here and there. I have to keep telling myself not to rush it. If I force something like this then I'm just going to end up frustrated and get stalked by someone or something.
I may not have to work for my uncle on that houseboat. My mom returned from Belgium the day before yesterday (Duh-da-da-DUUUUUUH) and she might have landed me a job with a sausage place (SWEET) that is next door to a bar.
So, I suppose that's a large enough update that covers all the bases...
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