Category Archives: The Business of Show

Oh, Nothing Much, Really.

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What have I been up to recently? Celebration.

Celebrating  a successful run in Seattle Shakespeare’s “Antony and Cleopatra,” about to go into it’s final week of performances at the Intiman Playhouse at Seattle Center. This play is EPIC. Grand in scope and scale. Imposing. It’s not only one of Shakespeare’s great ‘late play’ triumphs, with indelible characters and themes that resonate as loudly today as they did when first produced 400 years ago, but for the same reasons, it’s far from dry or tedious. Sex, Politics, Battles on Land, Sea, and in the Bedroom, Ego, Hubris, Humiliation, Comedy and Drama are just some of the elements which combine to create a story that spans 10 of the most tumultuous years in the history of the Ancient World. Go see it. Here’s a link to Seattle Shakespeare’s website for tickets and more information.

Celebrating the release of HALO 4. Yes, that HALO 4. THE HALO 4. “Why?” you ask? Because I now get to see my work fully rendered, voiced, realized. It’s such a privilege to have worked with the tremendous artists at 343 Industries to continue to tell the story of Master Chief and Cortana, and to help write another chapter in another grand storytelling universe. Here’s a link to CNN Tech’s Review of HALO 4. Enjoy.

Celebrating completed projects. Recently: Filmed “A Bit of Bad Luck” on location in Morton, WA. Completed a voice-over session at Microsoft Studios for an industrial project. Also voiced a radio spot for Banner Bank. Voiced the role of Captain Jack “Stratosphere” McGraw in Moon Bullet Studios’ “Airship Daedalus” Serial Audio Adventure.

Celebrating upcoming work! I’ve shot a pilot for Mighty Tripod’s “The New Jack” web-series, and am preparing to film a new role in Dead Gentlemen Productions/ Zombie Orpheus Entertainment’s “Gamers: Hands of Fate”. In January, I’ll begin rehearsal for the title role in Taproot Theatre’s “Jeeves in Bloom”, based on the P.G. Wodehouse stories of Bertie Wooster and his “Gentleman’s Gentleman” Jeeves.

Stay tuned, y’all. The best is yet to come.

Antony and Cleopatra

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Yes, we’re coming to the part where I only really post about projects as they’re about to go into performance. I can find two reasons for this:

1) I’m busy working.

and 2) I’m busy enough that projects are coming one-after-another.

Of course, that should keep me blogging and posting: what with all the new experiences I’m having, new insights gained, old ideas rejected, etc.

But it doesn’t, which brings me to the topic of this post.  I’m currently rehearsing “Antony and Cleopatra” with Seattle Shakespeare Company. In it, Antony, living in the lap of Egyptian luxury declares “These strong Egyptian fetters I must break, or lose myself in dotage.”

Dotage: idleness, laziness, thoughtfulness. A static condition. Work gets in the way of this condition and propels one past idleness, through action, toward something else, whatever it may be. My focus when in rehearsal or on a shoot is on the work, the project, the process.

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to make the time to post about the work, the process, the projects that I’ve been involved in recently to give my uncountable online readership some digital love.

S-U-C-C-E-S-S! (that’s the way we spell success)

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The “Gamers: Hands of Fate” Kickstarter is a success! The online pledges are above $320,000 and the film is fully funded! Now I get to not talk to friends for quite a while as we dive into pre-production with casting, meetings, more casting, more meetings, etc. Thanks to all who pledged! I can’t wait to get to work. If you’d care to send any more love (and eventually, money) our way, you can still find us on kickstarter for the next four days at:

Support your local geek filmmakers!

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It’s Tuesday! JourneyQuest Season 2, now in full-swing, is taking a teeensy break this week. So INSTEAD, click the image below and take a look at this!

Photo-full

The same production groups behind JQ are making the third movie in the GAMERS series …at least, they’ll be making it if they get the money. 17 days to go and several thousand left… and if we don’t get ALL the money pledged, we don’t get ANY of the money pledged.

Watch the video, check out the crazy fan support in comments, and pitch in $10 bucks if you have it. It will go towards supporting professional Seattle artists–actors, writers, directors, production assistants, camera and sound techs, special effects, composers, costumers, caterers, and sooo many more– doing what they love and what they are good at. THANK YOU!

And if you REALLY don’t have $10 bucks, please re-post or re-share. Getting the word out is crucial, and I GUARANTEE you at least ONE of your friends is as big a nerd as we are and wants to see this movie made!

Praise and Thanks-giving

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The sunset over the last 2012 Wooden O performance of “Twelfth Night” at Luther Burbank Park on Mercer Island. (Courtesy John Bradshaw Photography!)

Wooden O “Twelfth Night” 2012 is no more.

It has come to an end again. Another closing, another show. And I must say that it’s been a great one. I’ve truly loved this summer’s production of “Twelfth Night” with Wooden O. It was my second ‘rodeo’ with the traveling crew, and an experience that for me was truly fulfilling.

We received a nice notice from the Seattle Times, and served up some hot, free, al fresco comedy to thousands of Seattle-area theatre-goers.

Much of what makes a production great for a performer is what the audience doesn’t get to see (or at least, outdoors, they don’t see much of it). The backstage life of an actor: I was blessed in particular, with a fantastic group of artists in the cast of “Twelfth Night”. Old friends and new. Coming to work was something to which I looked forward. Given my commute, I can say that’s an achievement of some note, and I already know that I’m going to miss this show, and this cast, desperately. The chance to clown together for fantastic audiences, take risks physically and emotionally in performance, and enjoy the outdoors during the best of our Northwest weather has been a privilege and a pleasure.

Represent(ation)!

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So, as some of you know, last month I acquired new representation for my work. I have a new agency in Topo Swope Talent, locally based in Seattle.
Switching representation can be a tough and personal thing, but as I was fortunate in my previous talent agency, they wished me well.
An agent does a few things for an actor, and at the same time, leaves a few things completely up to you:
An agent gets you in the room.
An agent makes sure you get the best pay for your time.
An agent makes sure the client pays you.

An agent DOESN’T guarantee you get a fair shake in the audition room.

An agent DOESN’T make you a better actor.

An agent DOESN’T allow you to wait around for opportunities.

For instance: In the last couple weeks, I’ve had several auditions. Some of which were set up and confirmed by my agent, some of which I pursued myself, and some of which came to me from casting directors who knew my work and offered me a chance to show them how I’m the right performer for the role. An agent increases your opportunities to be seen. After that, it’s all on you.

Cue the Rick Ross. As an actor, ‘Every Day you’re Hustlin”.

(Though maybe not in the same way as Mr. Ross, but with a similar spirit of élan and determination.)

Word.

“Freud’s Last Session” Extends it’s Run!

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Hello out there! It’s Opening Weekend for Major League Baseball (Let’s Go, Mariners!), it’s Good Friday on the Liturgical Calendar (Let’s Go, Church!). Hope of all kinds springs eternal, and I have news!

I’m very pleased to report that due to high ticket demand, “Freud’s Last Session” at Taproot Theatre will be extending it’s run of performances through April 28!

Freud's Last Session Exteded

If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s a great play, and has had a terrific reception by Seattle audiences. I’m playing CS Lewis and it has been an absolute pleasure to bring this story and this character to life on the stage.

Here are a few reviews:

“Opening Nights: Freud’s Last Session” – Seattle Weekly

“Freud’s Last Session” – Arts Stage – Seattle Rage

“A Psychoanalysis of Theology” – Heed The Hedonist

“Sigmund Freud and CS Lewis Walk Into a Bar” – Unlikely Places

For tickets and information about the show, you can visit the Taproot Theatre website by clicking the ‘poster’ above!

I’ll see you after the show.

A Dude among Models

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So, I had an audition today. It was a pretty normal call in to Seattle, with a pretty innocuous audition listing. “Scruffy but handsome ‘man’s man'” who drinks a certain kind of beer. Little did I know that my scruffy would look awful in comparison to the other men auditioning.

I was auditioning against male models.

“Sure,” I think, “They look great, GREAT, but can they act?” I mean. I’m an ACTOR. The internal and external life of my character are on display here, I’m not just showing off my All-American good looks (Heh. That, right there, was me being optimistic.)

When the audition situation calls for you to just be yourself and have a chat, a la “in a bar” with two other really, ridiculously good looking dudes, it probably DOES only come down to a beauty contest. So, in this case, all that time spent in the conservatory, polishing my craft, honing my instincts and impulses, dissecting scripts, learning and sharpening my physical skills and vocabulary, studying the great playwrights and the great plays . . . all that might just not do me much good . . .

But, I see two outcomes.

In the first, I’m overwhelmed by the sheer physical confidence (and rightfully so, these dudes were really, REALLY good looking) of my scene partners, am underwhelmed by the premise we’re about to play, and fail to engage my own creative engine for the audition.

In the second, I take my own confidence from my training, my body of work, my un-shaven countenance, and really use my imagination to put myself “in a bar” having a conversation with my really, really handsome new friends.

I chose to have fun, and play. They probably didn’t even know I wasn’t a model.

Yes, Actor/Consultant. Really.

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This is the part where I take myself all-too-seriously and post something like “And from this tiny pinecone of a webpage, a mighty content-laden extravaganza of networking and career growth shall spring! Look upon my humble web-beginnings, ye mighty, and despair!”

I’m just starting out with this whole blog thing, so please be kind with the comments, folks.

Soon, there will be more multimedia content (things along the lines of photos and whatnot, eventually video), witty and sometimes insightful prose, and actual business info (resumé, contact info, additional portfolio material, web-links). So, please stay tuned!