Tonight I got to shoot my scenes as a complete sociopath in “The Outsider”. Playing bad is fun. Playing downright pure evil is MORE fun, but it can also be a little unsettling. Bringing up such weird energy over and over can be a little distressing. Like Van Brooks talked about one class, when we play despicable characters we may start to recognize some of them in ourselves, our dark side at the bottom of the well slithers when some light hits it. After we got the take on the script our director (Steven Spencer) was kind enough to let us do it with some ad-lib and exploration. Kristin, my partner in the scene, is awesome. She really works hard and is inspiring to interact with. I love working with people that have that kind of power and professionalism.

This film was also my first time to work with a cannine actor. Zoe was so sweet and disciplined and I was amazed at how she would wait so patiently for multiple takes then go reset with me after each one. And all she worked for was a bit of Milkbone. After she wrapped Zoe got to jump in the pool. Why didn’t I think of doing that?

Twice today I got a call on my cell from “Unknown Caller”. Both times I happened to be driving and both times it was someone calling to offer me a part! I love those calls! I’ll be shooting this weekend as a cold blooded killer (God that sounds fun) and in August I’ll be playing the only decent guy in a small community of jerks. A lesson that is being reaffirmed to me today is to “keep moving forward”. I learned of an audition on Saturday afternoon a couple of hours before it started. It was hot outside, I had chores to do, gas is expensive, there were a million reasons not to go. But I went anyway and today I got the call. Go Forward all the time. Procrastination is a killer.
Today I went to an audtion with my Sister-In-Law and fellow thespian Misty Poe (she is here http://www.mistypoe.com/ ) And we are currently in the process of self producing some scenes together. Just to get our feet wet with the writing and shooting aspects of perhaps making a short. We’re starting small and have some fantastic people on our team.

I am a constituent of The Honorable Steve Ogden, District 5 State Senator and Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. I rarely contact my legislators but I’ve been moved to reach out to him on behalf of Williamson County filmmakers and our need for an increase of the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program. As the head of the Finance Committee he is pivotal in greater success for our efforts in 2009. If you live in Williamson County you can contact the Senator here: http://www.ogden.senate.state.tx.us/

One of my least favorite things to deal with on Earth is bureaucracy. And bureaucracy that is as sprawling and uncountable as the IRS is like my worst nightmare. But this isn’t a political rant… I went to the “Taxpayer Assistance Office” to deal with some old tax issues and proceeded to sit in the waiting room for two and a half hours. I studied sides for a class for an hour until my head was swimming, and for the other hour and a half I watched what people look like waiting to get audited. What auditors look like and how they carry themselves as they meander to the front desk and back. What taxpayers look like walking away from the place and heading out the door. It eased my anxiety and actually made it a learning experience to pretend that the whole room was a film set, these were all actors, and see how masterfully they captured the atmosphere of dread and boredom. The whole world is like a giant acting class going on all the time…