Tag: tv series

An Arrogant Farewell To 2017!

Chasing The George

My last blog entry for 2017! I will see you in the new year! But for now, I am here to give an arrogant goodbye to 2017. Arrogant as in “claiming for oneself” and “pride”. I have so much pride in the wins I’ve had in 2017 and I’m going to share just a sampling of them. I’m tooting my horn. As should you. What were your wins in 2017?

Cause at the end of the day, what’s a horn for but to toot it?

Here we go!

January 4th: Audited a scene study class at Jame Franco’s acting studio

January 13th: Celebrated my birthday with friends, drag queens, bottomless mimosas and twerking

February 5th: Celebrated one year anniversary with Chris

February 6th: Attended “Assassins” musical fundraiser at Rage to support my fellow Richard Lawson Studios members

February 9th: Imported the rest of my relationship map into Insightly

February 10th: Took a wonderful trip to Seattle with Chris

February 24th: Had a kick-ass audition playing a character like Huck from “Scandal” in the PDP 3.0 class

February 25th: Shot new headshots with Marisa Leigh

March 7th Made final payment to company and got rid of an outstanding debt

March 24th: Co-hosted the first of 13 viewing parties for Season 9 of RuPaul’s Drag Race

March 27th: Took a picture with my favorite drag queen: Bianca Del Rio

April 13th My blog entry, “Sending The Elevator Down”, was accepted into the Huffington Post’s Thrive site

April 13th Had coffee with one of my favorite actors and people, Justin Huen

April 17th Signed with the Paradise Group for commercial representation

April 18th Participated in the LA Law charity event (our group raised the most money in the history of the event)

April 21st Did a kick-ass cold read audition as a doctor in the PDP 3.0 class

April 29th Attended the inaugural Wearable Art Gala wearing a custom-made metallic gold mask

April 30th Attended Drag Con and took pictures with Alyssa Edwards, Nina Bo’nina Banana Fofana Osama Bin Laden Brown and Karen From Finance; received video shout out from Shangela. Also attended a handful of wonderful panels.

May 6th Attended “Assassins” musical in Silverlake to support my fellow Richard Lawson Studios members

May 13th Attended The Bougee Party in Woodland Hills

May 13th Attended screening of Chinatown at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery with Chris, Lindsay, Jordan, Sarah and Ryan

May 19th Did a kick-ass procedural audition as the CEO of Caster Industries in the PDP 3.0 class

June 1st Began Round 1 of social media campaign for my James Franco feature film project

June 2nd Had a meeting with Oakley Entertainment about my James Franco feature film project

June 3rd Wrote the first draft of my movie pitch

June 4th Posted my 100th blog entry

June 5th Was a reader for a feature film that Kim Hardin was casting

June 10th Attended screening of The Wizard of Oz at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery with Lindsay

June 17th Attended Danielle Eskinazi’s workshop and did a kick-ass read during the workshop. I had a commercial copy from a Honda spot

June 20th Did a kick-ass cold read audition as a fashion consultant in the PDP 3.0 class

June 23rd Sasha Velour won Season 9 of RuPaul’s Drag Race and represented Vassar College beautifully (Sasha was class of 2009)

June 25th I attended first Richard Lawson Studios teachers meeting

June 26th Email sent by Oakley Entertainment to one of James Franco’s producing partners

June 30th Shot a computer hacker scene with Lindsay, Lauren and Kenny

July 2nd Final cut completed of Human Revolution short film  (a film I executive produced, co-wrote and co-starred in)

July 3rd “Curtsy, Mister” became an HBO finalist at MVAAFF (in addition to 15 other film festivals it has already been accepted into. This is a feature documentary film I acted in and also was the first assistant director on)

July 5th Signed with the Paradise Group for theatrical representation

July 10th: My weekly blog, Chasing The George, turned two years old

July 18th: Shared the computer hacker scene I shot with Twinkie Byrd, Danielle Eskinazi, Monika Mikkelsen

July 19th: Lindsay shared computer hacker scene with various casting directors on Twitter

July 24th: Dropped off cream puffs and James Franco script with Reed to Rabbit Bandini Productions

July 25th: Did a successful on-camera audition from The Librarians TV series in the PDP 3.0 class

July 26th: Oakley Entertainment reached out to Laurie Holden’s people for the lead female role in my James Franco feature film script

July 26th: Successful production meeting for phase two of the Human Revolution movie

July 29th: Started window shopping for office furniture

July 30th: Did research on 10 film festivals Lauren gave to me and I reached out to them via email for premiere requirements

July 31st: Intention without hesitation. Back to back actions on:

    • Emailed top CAA agent re: Human Revolution (HR) submission to Vassar Film Festival and drop off to James Franco’s production company
    • Followed up with Jessica re: HR viewing
    • FB message to Ryan and Sarah re: Princess Bride screening and mini-golfing
    • Tweeted computer hacker scene link to various CD’s of Mr. Robot, Fear The Walking Dead, etc.
    • Sent film festival update to HR producing team
    • Tweeted Twinkie Byrd about collaborating
    • Researched and sent literary inquiry letters to Heroes and Villains Entertainment, Rafterman Media, Original Artists & Society Entertainment

August 3rd: Chasing The George was included in Vassar’s “In The Media” July 2017 round up email which is sent to graduates all over the world

August 4th: Submitted Human Revolution to the Vassar Film Festival in D.C.

August 8th: Sent Julia (my agent) my DOIN’ (aka my business plan) and she loved it

August 8th: Human Revolution submitted to SXSW, Atlanta Film Festival, Slamdance

August 9th: Submitted Human Revolution to Taos Shortz Film Festival

August 10th: Followed up with the literary agents I submitted to on July 31st

August 15th: Emailed Julia and asked her to do an intro for me to the casting director of Gente-fied.

August 16th: Received another IMDB actor credit for a feature film called Zombie TV that comes out in 2018

August 16th: Sent Tady link to HR

August 17th: Sent FB message to the creators of Gente-fied

August 17th: Sent literary inquiry letter to The Mission Entertainment

August 18th: Sent email to Kelly Edwards re: HBOAccess program

August 19th: Sent Travis link to HR

August 20th: Participated in a career administration panel at the WACO Theater Center

August 23rd: Submitted Human Revolution film to Sundance, Sarasota Film Festival and the Utah Film and Awards Festival

August 26th: Celebrated 15 years of living in Los Angeles

August 28th: The Huffington Post’s Thrive section published a second blog entry of mine, “What Is A Win?”

August 31st: Worked with a private client who wanted to start learning an approach to acting

September 2nd: Submitted Human Revolution to the Los Angeles Diversity Film Festival

September 4th: Posted my 10,000th tweet

September 5th: Submitted Human Revolution to the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival

September 5th: Emailed the casting director of Gente-fied and received her response on September 6th

September 9th: Did a self-tape audition for the feature film, French Fries

September 26th: Did cold stand up comedy in the PDP 3.0 class and rocked it

September 26th: Outlined a new short film script in 32 minutes

September 30th: Took above outline and wrote first draft of script in 1 hour and 25 minutes (which became The Doppleganger)

October 10th: Auditioned for Criminal Minds and received a callback 5 minutes later

October 15th: Did my second ever video blog and had a lot of fun

October 17th: Registered my script, The Doppleganger, with the WGA

November 7th: Co-taught the PDP open class with Kelly

November 10th: Co-taught the Audition open classes with Lindsay, Kelly and Beth

November 10th: Had first read through rehearsal for my film, The Doppleganger

November 12th: Posted third video blog

November 15th: Had second rehearsal for my film, The Doppleganger

November 17th: Had first rehearsal with Courtney for scene from The Out of Towners

November 22nd: Had third rehearsal for my film, The Doppleganger

November 23rd: Celebrated Thanksgiving with Chris and friends

November 26th: Shot a self-tape audition for the PDP 3.0 class

November 26th: Shot another self-tape audition for an exciting top-secret project

November 28th: Did cold stand up comedy in the PDP 3.0 class

November 28th: I was offered the role I auditioned for in the exciting top-secret project

December 3rd: Shot the role in the exciting top-secret project

December 3rd: Had a scouting and production meeting for my short film, The Doppleganger

December 7th: Had a final rehearsal for The Doppleganger

December 10th: Shot The Doppleganger (a film I wrote, executive produced and co-starred in)

December 11th: My feature film script was emailed to James Franco’s manager

December 15th: Had a great audition for an untitled Noah Baumbach feature film which stars Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern and Merritt Wever

Recurring wins:

I taught the PDP 3.0 class several times

I was a guest DJ several times for the Richard Lawson Studios scene study class

I posted a new blog entry every Sunday morning

Overall happiness and health

Constant give and help to others in my community

Advertisement

Hollywood 101 Recap Part 2!

Chasing The George

Hey everyone! It’s that time of the year when I like to stop for a moment, recap and catch everyone up on the exciting blog entries I’ve posted over the last 4 months. Ranging from When To Get An Agent to When To Leave Your Agent to What Is A Win to me dropping off my feature film script to James Franco’s production company, let’s take a stroll down memory lane from oldest blog entry to the newest:

 

Happy Birthday! https://wp.me/p8uI5M-iN

Taking It To The Next Level: https://wp.me/p8uI5M-jx

A Big Win With James Franco: https://wp.me/p8uI5M-jR

What Is A Win? https://wp.me/p8uI5M-mS

The Revolution Begins: https://wp.me/p8uI5M-os

When To Get An Agent Or Manager: https://wp.me/p8uI5M-6T

Happy 15th Anniversary! https://wp.me/p8uI5M-qq

Happy Labor Day Weekend! https://wp.me/p8uI5M-rq

Self-Tape Audition Adventures: https://wp.me/p8uI5M-rA

The Showrunner In Me: https://wp.me/p8uI5M-sx

Do You Celebrate? https://wp.me/p8uI5M-uj

A New Journey Begins: https://wp.me/p8uI5M-wo

The Power Of The Human Spirit: https://wp.me/p8uI5M-x6

Quick Tip: Callbacks https://wp.me/p8uI5M-xn

Pre-Production Begins! https://wp.me/p8uI5M-xx

When To Leave Your Agent: https://wp.me/p8uI5M-y5

The Showrunner In Me

Chasing The George

The only reason why I want to be a showrunner is because I love telling people what to do.

LBH (Let’s Be Honest)

……

……

……

JK

LOL

LMFAO

TTYL

BRB

According to Google, a showrunner, in the most basic terms, “is the person who has overall creative authority and management responsibility for a television program.”

I want to lead and run my own TV shows.

ICYMI, In Case You Missed It, no one is going to create my career for me but me.

Showrunner: Ryan Murphy, Gloria C. Kellet, Mike Royce, Tanya Saracho, etc.

However, I want to be in front of the camera as well. I want to see my face up on that screen in addition to developing and writing the stories I’m interested in telling. I want to see my face on billboards and magazine covers. I didn’t have anyone that looked like me or sounded like me when I was growing up. THIS IS VITAL TO ME that I represent up there as well. I BELONG.

OTOH, On The Other Hand, when I was growing up, I wanted to be Madonna. As an adult, I still do. Hell, when I come back in the next lifetime, I want to be Madonna.

BTT, Back To Topic!!

DGMW, Don’t Get Me Wrong, I want to be me too. I love being me. And it feels so good each time I infiltrate mainstream public consciousness with my work, my voice, my sensibilities, my art.

So maybe it’s more like Lena Dunham, Mindy Kaling, Issa Rae, etc. They are behind the camera as showrunners and in front of the camera as the stars.

But damn, I love movies too. AAMOF, As A Matter Of Fact, movies are my first love. I originally came to Los Angeles to be in movies. I love movies and I love being in them.

Hmmmmm, so maybe it’s more like Tyler Perry, Tina Fey, Dan Bucatinsky, etc. They are actors, writers and producers on both the film and television fronts.

Yeah! Actor, writer and producer for film and television.

I want it all!

I want to be in front of the camera and behind the camera. Film and television. Infiltrate the mainstream. Change perceptions. Fuck with perceptions. Challenge perceptions.

DIY, Do It Yourself, because no one else is going to do it for me. Work hard. Build relationships. Make bold moves.

This will be it.

It will happen. I have the talent. I have the intelligence. I have the work ethic. I make things happen. I make a set better. I uplift people. I administer tough love. I am a mensch. I love this explanation of a mensch from Wikipedia: “According to Leo Rosten, the Yiddish Maven and author of The Joys of Yiddish, a “mensch” is “someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character. The key to being ‘a real mensch’ is nothing less than character, rectitude, dignity, a sense of what is right, responsible, decorous.” The term is used as a high compliment, implying the rarity and value of that individual’s qualities.”

This will be it.

MMW (Mark My Words)

EOD (End Of Discussion)

P.S.

LBH, I really want to win some Emmys, Golden Globes, Oscars, etc. as that actor, writer and producer just so that I can go to the after parties with my awards in hand and channel Madonna’s dance spirit and outfit below. Riccardo Tisci, Tom Ford, Jean Paul Gaultier, Christian Lacroix, John Galliano and Rik Villa will each take turns to dress me.

Madonna

Happy 15th Anniversary!

Chasing The George

15years-majic-painting

Photo courtesy of Majic Painting

On August 26th, 2017, I celebrated 15 years of living in Los Angeles!!!!!!!!!!

I celebrated by attending a Moët champagne and Veuve Clicquot champagne taste testing, amongst other cool things!

I am so blessed and grateful for the journey that I have been on as a person and as an artist. I am blessed and grateful because I came here to create my dreams and I am still in the game. I am blessed and grateful because I am still living my dreams and enjoying them whereas I have seen countless others give up on theirs. I can’t tell you how blessed I am that I am still living my dreams. I am blessed and grateful to have turned many no’s into yes’s. I am blessed and grateful that I have changed perceptions and enlightened many people on what I can do by honestly being who I am. I learned who I really am by moving to Los Angeles, living on my own and becoming an adult.

I was born and raised in Brooklyn. I went to Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY. I am from the East Coast. However, Los Angeles is my home and I look forward to the next 15 years here.

I want to thank the following people and things that have contributed to my experience here in Los Angeles. This is just a sampling and not a comprehensive list:

My family: both biological and the ones I’ve created here

My friends past and present

My teachers past and present

Relationships past and present

Places of employment

My former co-workers

Past apartments I’ve lived in

My agents past and present

Actors

Co-stars

Casting Directors

Directors

Producers

Writers

Various crew members who also make the magic happen

Concerts

Writers Retreat

The beaches

Madonna

Harvey Weinstein

RuPaul

Drag Queens

James Franco

Jennifer Garner

Evangeline Lilly

Ryan Murphy

 

Happy Anniversary!!!!!!!!

 

 

A Big Win With James Franco!

Chasing The George

Hey everyone!

Last Sunday, I mentioned that I was taking a big action for my career on Monday, July 24th. That I was taking an action that would move one of my projects significantly closer towards my goal for it. I also mentioned this was a project I had been diligently working on since November 2014 and I postulated how everything would go on Monday.

The project was my feature film script that I wrote with James Franco in mind to play the villain and I successfully dropped it off to his production company!!! Shortly after I dropped off my script, my management company emailed his production office a PDF copy of my script! And let me say that this wasn’t an unsolicited drop off. This was a result and culmination of all the hard work I’ve done to get to this point. And I am filled with extreme gratitude and pride.

Monday was a lesson and RECONFIRMATION of many things.

#1 Postulates. I saw exactly how the drop off would go. I saw how the conversation would go with the contact person at his production office. I saw it so clearly. Now, on the day of, there were a couple of hilarious twists and turns that were thrown into the mix, but they still led me to the postulate I had. Everything played out how I saw it in my mind. And because I saw it in my mind, I was able to deliver my product successfully in person.

#2 Community. I could not have done this without the support of my teacher, my trusted classmates and friends. Richard Lawson for teaching me what it means to create your own career and to go after it. My classmates for asking me the next question when I would present my script in class and when I would present ideas I had to create exposure for it (e.g. From having a table read to creating an extensive social media campaign) Lindsay Hopper for researching and gathering info the week before. Reed Iacarella for being the best assistant a person could have. You are a great cheerleader!

#3 Research. Knowing what I’m walking into. Knowing who the buyers are. Speaking their language and vibe. When you take the time to do research and be thoughtful about your outflow to someone, it makes a difference. Research creates an honest connection and it was incredibly satisfying to see items that I had already been outflowing to them in their possession.

#4 Always be nice to the gatekeepers! They are the first line of defense: Security guards, receptionists, assistants, etc. We were so nice to the gatekeeper and treated them like a fellow human being, that they quickly became our ally. When we arrived, the person we were looking for wasn’t there yet. We waited. We knocked on the door. We made a phone call. We then decided to go downstairs and because we were so nice to the gatekeeper, they asked us how it went. When we told them that our contact person wasn’t there, they immediately said, “Wait, I just saw them go upstairs. Go back up there!” They wanted us to successfully complete our meeting.

#5 Celebrate. After all was said and done, I celebrated and let it go. I focused on that win. What happens afterwards, happens afterwards. The win was that I delivered my script to James and his staff. My manager also delivered my script to them. That’s the win. I delivered my product. The rest is out of my hands now. I DELIVERED my product and the rest is now out of my hands.

That being said, I WILL finish my social media campaign today (Sunday) just to complete that cycle of action (and so everyone can see all the cool celebrity endorsements I utilized to create visibility for my feature film) And I’ve already begun working on securing an attachment for the female hero and lead of my feature film script.

Onward and forward!

Happy Birthday!

Chasing The George

IMG_1453.JPG

Photo courtesy of Party Ark

Chasing The George is 2 years old! (Actual birthday is July 10th, but I post new blogs every Sunday)

I am so proud and grateful that my weekly blog has come this far and has inspired so many people around the world. What an incredible and magical ride it has been. I look forward to the year ahead and continuing my journey with you all!

I would like to thank:

  • Richard Lawson for encouraging me to begin this blog
  • My fellow friends and classmates at the Richard Lawson Studios
  • Chris Beber
  • My family and friends
  • My reps
  • The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
  • The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
  • Madonna
  • RuPaul
  • Alyssa Edwards
  • Bianca Del Rio
  • Sahsa Velour
  • Tatianna
  • Aja
  • RuPaul’s Drag Race
  • James Franco
  • Jennifer Garner
  • Evangeline Lilly
  • Harvey Weinstein
  • Tyler Perry
  • Vassar College
  • My acolytes
  • Champagne
  • Trader Joe’s
  • Superman
  • Three’s Company
  • The Twilight Zone

Being “On Go” Update!

Chasing The George

Hello my fellow artistic warriors! I hope you all are having a safe and wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

Last Sunday, I posted a blog entry about being “on go”. I challenged myself to be on go for the next seven days for my career. I also encouraged others to share with me how they would be on go for their careers as well. Here is the link to that blog entry: http://wp.me/p8uI5M-cK

Today, I’d like to share my experiences and accomplishments. Now, please understand that this is not about me showing off. Not at all! This is about creating accountability for myself. To hold myself accountable and to see where I backed off when it came to being “on go”. I hope that what I experienced will help others out with being “on go”.

When I look back at the last seven days of being “on go”, I think I did a pretty good job of doing so. I tackled and accomplished a lot of things from my list without hesitation. I reached out. I acted on something. I moved on something. I asked for things. I communicated and expressed. Again, I think I did a pretty good job of being on go. Being on go forced me to not question, to act now. To do it now.

I learned that being on go means that you also honor your instincts. I had an instinct, a knowingness about something on Tuesday morning (May 23rd), but I went against it and now I’m experiencing the repercussions of it. Fortunately, the repercussions are not damaging or devastating or irreversible, but still annoying because I KNEW. I KNEW! My instinct told me to act in a certain way and to go in a particular direction, but I went against it to not rock the boat. To not cause trouble. Lesson learned. I won’t do that again.

I also flinched Wednesday morning (May 24th) on executing the beginning of my social media campaign for a project I have developed. I flinched (to draw back or withdraw from) because I realized I wasn’t ready to launch that social media campaign. I know that this social media plan (plus a couple of other things related to my project) will put me in a position of attention and accountability…and there’s just one dynamic regarding my project that I haven’t mastered yet. So that’s where my flinch came from and why I stopped being on go in this particular instance. I was like, “I have one shot with this. I have to make sure that when I do launch this campaign, that I’m ready to deliver.”

But like my teacher, Richard Lawson, says, “The wrong way is the right way.” Meaning that it’s better to stay in motion than to remain at rest. Cause at least while you’re in motion, you’ll figure out that you’re going the wrong way and then you’ll equip yourself with the right tools or knowledge to start going the right way. I didn’t want to start my social media campaign because I’m still trying to understand this one important dynamic about my project.

That being said, I should have started my campaign and then been on go to get the information I needed. Being on go means that I’ll figure it out. Being on go involves trust and confidence that everything will work out. Being on go means that there are no regrets or what if or would have, could have, should have. I wonder what would have happened if I had launched my campaign on May 24th? I’ll never know now.

However, I won’t stay stuck on that. I won’t kick myself and feel bad for myself. The point is that I identified my stop and now I’m on go again. Since Wednesday, May 24th, I have been on go to get this information and I will execute my social media campaign once the holiday weekend is over. Be on go! I still don’t have all the answers, but I’ll start the campaign and know that I will have the answers and info I need. When the opportunity comes, I will be ready. Trust that, Jorge (“George”)!

Here is a list of things I was able to accomplish by being on go. And this is not just a random list of things. I’m not trying to be busy for the sake of being busy. I’m pushing a career forward as an actor and writer. All these actions are connected to my DOIN’ (Declaration of Independence) aka my business plan. These actions are connected to what I want to accomplish this year from my DOIN’. For each action, I bolded what area that pushes (e.g. actor, writer, producer, human being)

  • Responded to a contact that used to work with someone I am targeting. (Writer)
  • Printed a series of postcards at FedEx for my feature film project. These postcards will be part of my campaign. (Writer)
  • Typed up and printed mailing labels for postcards. (Writer)
  • Posted new blog entry about being on go and shared it on social media and with my contacts. (Actor and Writer)
  • Responded to post-production timeline on a film I produced. (Actor and Writer and Producer)
  • Returned a ton of emails. (Actor and Writer and Human Being)
  • Found other projects that a casting office casts and engaged with them via Twitter. (Actor)
  • Found out who the casting directors were for two TV shows I could be on. (Actor)
  • Donated to a fundraising campaign for a web series that my friend created. (Human Being)
  • Reached out to a director in scene study class and asked them if they would direct me in a scene. They said YES. They suggested I look at “A Fish Called Wanda” (the Kevin Klein character.) I will watch the movie as soon as I post this blog entry. (Actor)
  • Emailed a showrunner to check in and rekindle communication. (Human Being)
  • Posted two procedural auditions on Youtube and shared them with my agents. (Actor)
  • Followed up with and read the marketing campaign my commercial agency did for me. (Actor)
  • Continued reading articles on pitching movie scripts. (Writer)
  • Sketched the floor plan for my office. (Mogul. Empire)
  • Read three new scenes for my actor reel. (Actor)
  • Communicated with team about my feature film project. (Writer)
  • Met with a student from class to answer questions they had. (Human Being)
  • Helped another student on their journey to secure an agent or manager. (Human Being)
  • Sent self-care reminders to another student. (Human Being)
  • Emailed my agent a proposal. (Actor)
  • Engaged three separate times with a list of individuals I admire and respect. (Artist)

 

Sleeping With James Franco Part 2

Chasing The George

Dear James Franco,

I haven’t forgotten about you! I know, I know! The last time I wrote you an open letter was on July 15th, 2015. It was titled, “Sleeping With James Franco For 8 Months”. For those of you who are interested in reading that blog entry, here is the link:

https://chasingthegeorge.wordpress.com/2015/07/26/sleeping-with-james-franco-for-8-months/

Rest assured that I haven’t forgotten about you! I am implementing the next phase to seal this deal! And to make it up to you, here is a song I want to dedicate to you from “The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd”. Lyrics appear below the picture.

james-franco-smile-computer-wallpaper-52853-54571-hd-wallpapers

“Look at that face –
Just look at it,
Look at that fabulous face of yours.
I knew first look I took at it,
This was the face that the world adores.

Look at those eyes –
As wise and as deep as the sea.
Look at that nose –
It shows what a nose should be.

As for your smile, it’s lyrical –
Friendly and warm as a summer’s day –
That face is just a miracle.
Where could I ever find words to say.

The way that it makes me happy
Whatever the time or place?
I’ll find in no book
What I find when I look
At that face.”

ShondaLand Update!

Chasing The George

So in last Sunday’s blog entry, “Yale + Harvard = ShondaLand?”, I shared with you all an assignment I received to read challenging material out loud for five minutes in the morning and five minutes at night for one full month. The objective was to train myself to pick up material cold, on the spot, and read from it with confidence and fluidity. This practice will help me with procedural auditions (cold readings in particular)

I decided to tackle articles from the Yale Law Review, the Harvard Medical Journal and the New England Journal of Medicine. I want these journals to be one of the tools I use to understand and get myself into a procedural world like ShondaLand.

Lord chile! I stumbled through all of the journals for the first fews days. I think I had a 70% success rate of ease and comfortability. The remaining 30% of challenge came from law and medical terms I was not familiar with. Or a series of large words that require effort and thought. Every time I stumbled, I would read the section over and over again until I nailed it.

DEFIBRILLATOR!

AORTIC!

UNILATERAL HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION!

Critics of the criminalization of aggression adopt the same understanding of the internal normative posture of the law, but object to its classification alongside the other international crimes precisely because it privileges sovereignty over humanity. (Yale Law Journal. “Why Have We Criminalized Aggressive War?” by Tom Dannenbaum)

The cool thing I noticed was that I read each article as an actor. Meaning that even though I stumbled over unfamiliar words here and there, I still had a strong sense of storytelling. I understood setup and payoff with certain sections. I added emphasis in certain sections to drive a point home. I felt like I was delivering a speech to an assembled audience of doctors or lawyers and I wanted to make sure that my communication landed on them. That I was impinging them. That I was connecting to them.

One week down! Three more weeks to go! At some point, I’d love to film myself reading one of these articles cold and then sharing it with you all.

Yale + Harvard = ShondaLand?

Chasing The George

I recently did a cold read audition in class. I had 10 minutes to prepare for this procedural type material. I was playing a character who was one of the top heart surgeons in the city. I quickly started making strong choices, but I found myself tripping over the medical terms. I realized that procedurals are an area where I need more strengthening. By the way, “procedural” is a term used to describe a type of television series: medical, law, cop/detective.

I did my cold read on camera and it went very well. When I watched my audition and assessed my work afterwards, I said that I was happy with what I created in 10 minutes. However, I could see that my attention was on making sure that I delivered the medical terms correctly first and that my performance came second. I was more focused on getting the words right then focusing on my performance.

So my teacher, Richard Lawson, gave me an assignment. Actually, he gave the entire class an assignment. Over the next month, he wants us to pick up and read challenging material out loud for five minutes in the morning and five minutes at night. In this way, we build certainty and strength in picking up challenging material and reading it cold out loud.

Like anything else, it’s about the reps. It takes practice. Some people are just naturally at ease when it comes to procedural terminology. For others, like myself, it takes practice. If I go in for any procedural show like Scandal or NCIS New Orleans or Chicago Med, I need to be comfortable with saying their words in a clear and confident way. Picking up challenging material and reading it out loud for the next month is going to be very helpful.

So I decided to read articles from the Yale Law Journal and the Harvard Medicine Magazine. I’ll also read articles from The New England Journal of Medicine.

In a month, we’re going to do cold read auditions again and he’s going to give us sides from procedural TV shows. It will be great to see how much I improve in picking up challenging procedural sides and reading them cold with more certainty and confidence.

Will Yale and Harvard lead me to ShondaLand?

Stay tuned!