December stretch

Ah, the days are short and the sights and smells of the holidays are in the air... Well, the days are short at least out here. I am trying to find my best course of action with the upcoming situations and changes. There is a strike occuring in the production field out here. It does not include PA's but it happens to include our bosses. Now here is the difficulty for me. The people I work for that look out for me are on strike. I am not being asked not to work in the least, but at the same time it is hard to accept that I am going to try to do my job well and thus counter their efforts to disrupt our work. Honestly, I wish I could just forget about work for a spell and join them, but this is December and I have Christmas and Jan's rent on my mind. So, I go to work. Today has been a maelstrom of calls from the folks taking over this job. Slowly but surely they are starting to see me as their go-to guy as I know the director's quirks. This is gratifying as one that enjoys acknowledgement for his efforts, but difficult for the reasons already listed. On top of all this, it's a week or so before Christmas. When we begin shooting here in LA, I will be consumed with work till I leave. This is a lot to take in.

I also just had the wonderful opportunity to spend time with a close college friend, Tanya. She came out to visit for a few days and it was so damn good. Having been out here for five months now, I have forgotten how great it is to spend time with a friend that knows you so well. I am tired and homesick and well. Here's to that holiday cheer, where ever you are!

Holiday spirit in LA

Ah, the air is crisp and the lights of the season are up. It's nice around here. Nothing makes you feel so festive as when the temperature dips down to the upper 70's! For those not completely clear on the sarcasm here, I LIKE SNOW! It does not bother me. Ergo, I am as unhappy in LA as most are with actual winter. Ever spend too much time in a grocery store? The perpetual florescent lighting kinda messes with you. Well, constant, unchanging sun and heat do the same. I wonder if the locals I see wandering about, unable to speak quickly or be on time to anything, are just over exposed?

In order to try to capture a little of the holiday spirit, Tiff and I went out and got a tree yesterday. Now with our friend staying over and a tree, our shoebox called home is a shade tighter. Still, we love having the both of them to be sure!

In final and most exciting news. I am soon to become an uncle! I got the call this morning from my brother and they are on the way to the hospital to induce labor. I am excited and a bit stunned to be honest. I want to be there but cannot figure out how to fly out to Colorado just 3 weeks before I am flying out to Colorado. Stay tuned, I will be that guy posting pictures ad-naseum when she has arrived!

A classic weekend

So the minor dry spell of auditions is starting to crack. I have 4 coming up this weekend. The odd thing is that they are all for plays. In LA, plays or live theatre seem to always be a surprise. Just not what you expect here. Seriously though, why would you? You don't go to Vegas for the libraries. You don't go to Hawaii for the museums. You don't come to LA hoping to do live theatre. I was in an audition a couple weeks back and chatting with another guy there to audition. He asked what I did mostly and I told him I had just moved here from Chicago, that I mostly did live shows and improv. He seemed genuinely impressed and said, "oh that's real acting, I could never do that." I didn't bother to inquire how he was planning on walking into the next room to audition. Conference call?

OK, so I got derailed there. The strange part about the upcoming auditions is less that they are for live theatre and more that all 4 are classical monologue requirements. I kid you not, I have 2 auditions for Romeo and Juliet tomorrow alone. My Shakespeare monologues are sort of the accessory of my audition tools. I know there backward and forwards, but it seems rare I need them. I tried polishing off a new "classical monologue," or at least period a while back. I chose a great passage from Pride and Prejudice . Of course, I was in a rebellion phase of auditions at the time and would occasionally show up to audition for a doctor role in garage shirts. Long story short, the Austin monologue failed utterly and I never went back.

So here's to a great weekend for one and all. Me and the Bard will be tight.