Los Angeles vs St. Louis! Is There A Clear Winner?

I've been back in St. Louis for all of 24 hours but the differences between the STL and Los Angeles are very apparent to me.

Here's just a few of the differences between the two cities.  I've also noted which city wins in each category.

*Los Angeles has a greater number of women dressed as strippers doing the weather.  If they aren't dressed as strippers then they are definitely dressed to go a club after the newscast.  (LA)

*St. Louis allows their baseball fans to actually watch the games on TV.  Los Angeles continues to allow at least 70% of its population to go without televised Dodgers games. (STL)

*There are way too many pop-up showers in St. Louis followed by humidity that causes even my few hair to curl. (LA)

*People in the Midwest don't feel the need to say "Hey Boss" to every customer (man, woman or child) that enters their store. (STL)

*A neverending display of Plaid Shorts/White Socks; Plaid Shorts/White Socks; Plaid Shorts/White Socks. (LA)

*Less traffic and better commute times. (STL) (I also apologize to everyone I honked at today while I rushed to beat red lights.  Force of LA driving habit)

*Henry's Tacos and Hugo's Tacos (LA/SFV)

*An amazing amount of people I've talked to since yesterday referring to where they live as the "armpit of America". (STL...if you want to call that a win)

*Brightly dressed crazy/homeless people making a spectacle of themselves for money. (Tie between Hollywood Boulevard and Downtown STL)

As always, can't we all just get along???

Time to take a break with the comparisons.  I need to get out of this hotel room and get some STL food!

A Teen Actor Who Ate Some STL Pizza Last Night

It's All Coming Full Circle

Greetings from Oklahoma!

Zach and I are on our way to St. Louis where The Artist will spend the month of June filming a movie.  

His audition for the role was just about a month ago via Skype.  We finally got the word he won the role a few weeks ago on a Thursday night.  The news came around 8:45pm which was perfect timing because Dana and I had to pick him up at 9pm from his acting class in Beverly Hills.  It was awesome to be able to share the news with his friends in the class.

While it was exciting to find out the news about the movie, we were in high gear mode to get ready for the journey.

Zach had to speed up the process of finishing his school year before leaving town.  His final week of the school year was filled with The Artist turning in six 90-page units in four days.  Along with the mad school scramble, Zach also had a stand-up gig, an acting class, a script to study and a last minute audition.

We finally got everything together for the trip (script, clothes, school work for the June break, etc,) and hit the road Tuesday morning.  

The last thing Zach said to me before he went to bed the night before was "I'll get plenty of sleep so I can help you stay awake for the drive."  We were about 5 minutes away from Sherman Oaks and he was already passed out in the truck.  I woke him up 3 hours later for a bathroom break.  He went right back to sleep and didn't wake up until lunch 4 hours later in Arizona.

After his never ending nap, we studied the script (which involved him reading his lines out loud since I couldn't drive and read at the same time).  We also took some time to check out a meteor crater, robot dinosaurs and a wildfire raging on a hill behind a sign warning drivers to watch out for ice on the bridge in front of us. 

Thirteen hours after we hit the road, we decided to call it a night in New Mexico.  While getting ready for bed, I realized I didn't have any deodorant or toothpaste.  I walked two blocks to the grocery store and bought my items.  While waiting to cross at the stoplight, I met an extremely intoxicated guy who was stumbling to the corner.  I asked "How's it going?" and he replied, "Not too good.  I got my love gun stuck in my zipper."

I looked down (because you have to look no matter how much you don't want to look) and his "love gun" was indeed stuck in his zipper because someone had used duct tape to hold it in place.

He asked me if I could help him correct this situation.  Although I believe in helping others in need, I politely declined and made my way across the street.  I had visions of being arrested for public lewdness along with a general feeling of "no thank you" about the request.

The second day of the road trip involved watching The Artist sleep (again) in the truck, a two-hour stop in Oklahoma City to take care of some pressing work matters, a car museum pit stop, the Roger Miller Museum, a peek at Zach's report card and a truck driving past me containing one adult/2 kids/4 dogs in the back and a pontoon boat being pulled behind the truck with what appeared to be a moonshine still riding in the middle of the boat.

The #roadtrip ends today with our arrival in St. Louis.  Rehearsals for the movie are this weekend and filming begins next week.  I'm very excited for Zach because he has worked hard for this opportunity. It's odd that he had to leave St. Louis to study acting in Los Angeles just to return to St. Louis for his first role in a major theatrical release.  It's a very "full circle" experience.

I have to wake the kid up so he can get dressed to go back to sleep in the truck.  I'll have updates from the set throughout June so check back with me when you get a chance!

The IMDb page of my Road Trip Partner

I'm Sending The Artist To Summer Camp

Sometimes it's hard to give a teen actor normal childhood experiences.

Zach doesn't go to a normal school, he doesn't play organized sports anymore because he has to be ready at any moment to go to an audition and he doesn't have an opportunity to play his string bass in an orchestra.

Dana and I are excited because he is going to attend summer camp this year at Camp Abercorn.

It's a really nice camp filled with people mostly older than Zach.  He met them last Sunday during the orientation meeting at Lake Arrowhead.  The older campers didn't look down on him like he was a little kid.  He fit right in with the group.

One other item of note about the camp...It is a series that he is shooting starting in August.

After one audition and one callback in April, Zach got the exciting news that he booked a leading role on the series.  We found out on a Friday night.  I had just dropped Zach off to meet some friends at the neighborhood church carnival.  His management called Dana but she let them know Zach was not with her.  They called me and I gave them the same info.  I called Zach (using my best "you're in deep trouble" voice) and told him to call the office ASAP.  He called and was (happily) surprised to hear the news.

Fast forward three weeks later and we found ourselves 90 miles from Los Angeles shooting promos for the show.  It was his first opportunity to meet the entire cast and crew.

The first few hours were spent solo with The Artist filming 5 or 6 scenes for the promos.  The pace was fast and furious because it was the last day of shooting in the mountains.

Stepping into frame for a shot.

He's either discussing the motivation for his character or talking about video games.

Can a teen actor fit into a mid-sized trash can?

Whatever you do, don't touch the chocolate!!!!

Here's why you don't touch the chocolate.  It's used to make fake #Hollywood poop!

I can't share too many details (yet) about the project.  Zach has another day of promo shooting this Sunday somewhere in Los Angeles (Yea!) and then the show begins filming in August.

Summer Camp Swagger

Zach also has one other major project in the works before the summer camp series begins filming.  I'll share the details about that when I get the OK from the producers.

The IMDb page of my summer camper

(The Latest) Casting Notice Roundup From Hollywood

The list of casting notices from the last few weeks have included a few roles that caught my eye as a little more "out there" than usual.  I just had to share them with you!

Here are my (latest) favorite casting notices:

*Are You A Drag Queen Cab Driver?

*Seeking Two Friends Who Want To Give Dating A Shot For Money Not Love.

*Have You Caught An Appendage In A Very Inappropriate Public Place?

*Get Paid $750 To Let Us Film Your Ugly Hangover!

*Looking For Rockabilly Mavens 25-40 With Big Personalities And Little Success.

*Do You Have A Crazy Story About A Hookup With A Blind Asian Person?

*We Need $60,000.  Want To Be A Movie Producer? Or Just Give Us $60,000?

*Looking For Men 35-70 Willing To Eat 20 Pies On Camera.

*Looking For Married Pregnant Women For Extremely Physical Game Show Competition.

*Want To See The World With A Group Of Aspiring Polish Dancers?

*Ready To Be Famous For The Most Vile Reason Possible?

*Looking For A Teen Actor Willing To Go Off The Rails.  Are You Ready For America To Hate You?

Do any of these casting notices fit you?  If so, get ready to be a STAR!!!!

A Teen Actor That Has Not Gone Off The Deep End

What Kind of Acting Style Fits Your Approach?

You can hit an acting studio in this town by throwing a rock in any direction.  The list of acting coach options, as well as acting technique options, are endless. 

Here are just a few of the choices available to the working actor.  You can book a coach/class to teach you:

*How to access your feelings
*Improv ("Yes And...")
*Cold reading
*Psychological Gesture (Showing the state of mind of the character)
*Adler/Meisner/Strasberg (All forms of American Method)
*Disney!!!!
*Classical Acting
*Practical Aesthetics (Literal/Want/Essential Action/As If)
*Affective Memory (Calling on the memory of a similar situation to those of the character)
*Voice Acting

Sounds great doesn't it????  All valid acting techniques that intersect with each other in different areas of the acting spectrum.

How does an acting coach make a living? Well....

An acting coach can charge you for a "private" lesson running 30-mnutes to an hour.  We've paid anywhere from $40-$180 for an hour lesson.

Course tuition can vary from monthly ($200-$300) to paying for an entire course in advance ($600-$1000). 

You also have to ask:

*Is the coach good with adults and kids or does he only work with one of the groups?
*Does the end of the course lead straight into another course/tuition fee?
*Who has the teacher coached to success in the past?
*Does the teacher specialize in the acting skill you want to work on?
*Do you click with the teacher?
*Do you have the same goals as the teacher in terms of what you hope to learn?

Not all teachers are created equal.  Zach has been lucky.  He found a great teacher right when we moved to town.  He recently found a second acting coach that has helped him exercise different acting muscles.  The two teachers are different in their approaches but both of them have valid artistic viewpoints.

And when it comes down to it, growing as an artist is a wonderful thing for every actor.

The IMDb page of the ever evolving artist.

It Takes All Kinds Of Parents To Ruin This Town

Don't worry, this is not a Buzzfeed online quiz that asks for permission to access your Facebook account information.  This is a rundown of the types of parents I see on a regular basis in Hollywood.




1.  The Hoverer:
The parent that is always there...And just a little too close each time you notice him.  The parent that can you tell you every conversation happening between everyone in the audition waiting room.




2.  The Psych-Out King:
This parent isn't doing the humble brag.  This is the person who likes to talk about the achievements of their underage thespian in front of the other kids.  The Psych-Out King is convinced that he can get in the heads of the other kids at the audition.  If it's a mom, she is normally the person asking "Who did your headshots?"  She'll ask to see your headshots because "she's looking for a new photographer".  She'll look at yours, give you an "I'm so sorry" look and point out the flaws in your photo to your face.




3.  The Bait And Switch Parent:
I love this person!  How can you not admire the parent that takes the time to stand outside the door of the audition location and tell you the audition ended early because the casting directors found their guy/girl?  I love the amount of effort put into BS'ing other adults just so their child has a better shot at the gig.




4.  The Coach:
The parent who won't shut up in the waiting room.  The one who tries to analyze every kid that enters the casting office before his actor has a turn  The one who changes the game plan based on the look and facial expression of each kid leaving the audition.




5.  The "We Didn't Really Want It" Parent:
The parent who tries to convince you their kid had qualified to be a contestant on a reality show, booked a role on a hit sitcom or turned down a Disney/Nick deal.  Their kid had the keys to the kingdom but decided instead to devote more time to their art because it's closer to their heart.




Uh-Huh.


I like to think of myself as "The Minding My Own Business Parent".




No matter what type of parent I run into at an audition I know it's always going to be entertaining!




Speaking of parents, I'm the parent of this kid!