Are You Ready To Laugh In August?

Zach recently did his first gig in the main room at Flappers in Burbank. He was pleasantly surprised to find a dozen teenagers and a table full of adults in the audience to support him that night. I think the only person not happy about the crowd was the headliners as he remarked a few times that the millennials in the crowd were not getting some of his jokes. He was a good sport about it but you could tell he didn't know what to make of the teenagers.

It was a good gig for Zach because he did a mix of new and old material. He has to write a lot of new material in the next few weeks because we just received his bookings for the Burbank Comedy Festival. Zach is performing three sets that week and he is one of the youngest performers booked for the event. The Festival receives hundreds of entries each year and one of the main goals of performing is to make it into one of the "Best of the Fest" shows on the final night of the Festival. Those shows are attended by comedy bookers across the country and serve as an industry showcase for the comedians that are part of the "best of" shows.

The performers are a mixture of household names, seasoned road comics and people trying to make a name in the comedy world. If you're in the Burbank area the week of August 14th, you can catch Zach during the following shows:

http://flapperscomedy.com/booking/h2f_flyer.php?id=40569

http://flapperscomedy.com/booking/h2f_flyer.php?id=40563

http://flapperscomedy.com/booking/h2f_flyer.php?id=40619

While he is preparing for his week of shows, he is still busy with auditions. He went straight to callback yesterday so keep thinking good thoughts for him for that one. He is busy enough between acting, auditions, improv and hanging with his friends that he always has new sources of material. His friends might not realize they are providing him with material but they will discover it when he is talking about their adventures during his shows.

I just realized I should keep my mouth shut for the next few weeks or I will end up being part of his set as well.  Shutting up now!

New photos of Zach are now on his IMDb page. Check them out when you have a moment.

Not All Auditions Are Performed Equally

When the average person thinks of an acting audition, they picture someone walking out on stage or going into a room to read lines for a group of casting executives. These examples are still sometimes true but they are not always the case these days. There are many times actors audition for parts and are not in the same room with the casting director. Here are some examples of how auditions are currently conducted in Hollywood:

In-Person - The traditional way to audition and one of the methods most preferred by actors. Being in the room with the casting director not only gives actors an audience during the audition, it also allows for instant feedback. The casting director can ask for a different read of the script. He or she might even give the actor a different scene or part to read for on the spot. While it can be a nerve-wracking experience for the person auditioning, the fact that the casting person is there in person allows for an immediate connection to be made in the room.

Eco-Cast - This form of auditioning is provided by a company called Breakdown Services and they provide casting services to the entertainment industry. The service allows casting directors to send audition invites to actors, or their representatives, to record an audition. Once the auditions are recorded, they are sent to the casting office through the designated Eco-Cast account. This method allows a larger number of actors to audition since they don't have to be in the same city as the casting director. It does take away the intimate aspect of the casting process since the audition is simply recorded to be viewed at a later date.

iPhone - While this method is like an Eco-Cast since the actor is recording the audition for the casting director, there are a few ways that it differs as well. When an audition is recorded for submission, an actor normally tries to go into a studio with professional cameras and a generic background so there won't be anything distracting from the performance, Filming on an iPhone gives a greater sense of urgency as well as more of an intimate and "in the moment" feel. Plus, it allows actors to show off their creativity by choosing the manner in which it is filmed as well as any effects or tricks they want to add to make the audition stand out beyond their performance.

No matter which audition method is used by an actor, the end goal is to land the role and be part of the production. Zach has an audition to record on an iPhone this week and he is already thinking of ways to use the phone to his advantage during the recording process. With all of the audition methods available these days, can virtual reality auditions be far behind?

Besides his audition this week, this actor is preparing material for the Burbank Comedy Festival.

Comedy Is Funny But It's Also A Competition

I recently discussed having to make a run to Santa Monica late on a Friday because Zach had to get ready for a stand-up gig at Flappers that night. The one thing I left out of the post was the fact that his entry for the Burbank Comedy Festival had to be uploaded that day or he would be out of luck.

Thankfully, the video was submitted in time because we found out earlier this week that Zach was picked to be one of the Showcasing Comedians in the 2016 Festival. The event received hundreds of entries and the comedians chosen to take part include some familiar names from TV, movies and the comedy circuit of the United States. Comedians enter from all over the country for the chance to compete in the event. Zach's entry gives him three 5-minute spots during the week (Times and Dates TBD) with the hope of being picked to perform during the "Best of the Fest" event the last night of the festival.

Plus, he has the opportunity to attend panels and seminars that focus on club owners, talent bookers, working the college market and other industry related topics. It gives him the chance to trade notes with comedians who have experience working clubs in other cities. He's very excited to perform in front of his comedy peers but it also means he needs to write some new material before the event. Three 5-minute spots might not sound like much but that's three different sets to fill during the week.

Once I get more info about the dates and times he is performing, I will share it with you. If you're interested in seeing his entry video, it can be found in the video section of the link below:

Scroll down the page to see Zach's entry video.

Sometimes The Artist Is Such A Teenager!

As Zach continues to get older, we are letting him take the lead on certain aspects of his career.  He writes all of his own stand-up material, chats with his manager about YouTube activities, pays for his acting class and sometimes drives himself to auditions.

The decision on driving himself depends on where the audition is located. It's not so much distance to the audition as much as ease of parking once he gets to the location. I took him to an audition near the Beverly Center because it was an area of town with little street parking and too many daytime parking restrictions in the surrounding neighborhoods. I didn't want him to deal with the stress of finding parking when he needed to focus on the audition. However, there are other audition locations where it is easy for him to park near the casting office.

Dana took him to an audition on Friday in Santa Monica. Her office closed early for the 4th of July holiday so she had time to get him to the casting office. While he was waiting to see the casting director, he discovered his buddy Jake was at the callback. Jake and his parents live near us and they offered to give Zach a ride home so Dana wouldn't have to kill time waiting outside.

Great!!! This was around 3:30pm and Dana was eager to avoid as much Friday rush hour traffic on the 405 as possible. What could go wrong with this fantastic plan?

Flash forward to 4:50pm. Zach called and was close to being dropped off at home. He had a stand-up gig at Flappers that night and had to get ready for his show. He did have one problem to take care of before getting ready for the show:

He left his acting folder at the casting office.

Plus, the role he was trying out for had him dressed in athletic gear so he had to put his wallet in his acting folder.  This meant that his driver's license, debit card and all of his acting paperwork was in Santa Monica. On a Friday. At 5pm. In rush hour traffic. On a holiday weekend.

We quickly called the casting office and hoped they weren't closing at 5pm that day. Thankfully, they were still casting for other projects and would be open until at least 6pm. Zach couldn't drive back to Santa Monica because he had to get ready for his gig and be at the club by 7pm. Plus, he didn't have his license and I didn't want him to risk getting a ticket.

I jumped in the truck at 5pm and hit the 405. Santa Monica is a great city but it is also a giant pain to get in and out of on a daily basis. From Sherman Oaks, you have to take the 405 to the 10 or the 405 to Wilshire or Pico or Olympic to get to Santa Monica. It's one of those destinations where all routes seem to be backed up at all times. This was not going to be a short, or easy, drive to the casting office.

I quickly discovered I was going against the flow of traffic and was actually making pretty good time. The drive that took Dana 65-minutes earlier in the day took me 30-minutes on the nose. Traffic going home looked to be a nightmare but at least I was going to make it to my destination and get his stuff before they closed.

I walked into the casting office and was greeted by the sight of about a dozen guys all over 6-feet tall wearing tight athletic clothing to show off their muscles. I was wearing a baseball cap and a t-shirt I've owned for about 4 years. I was definitely the answer to "one of these things is not like the other" from Sesame Street.

I walked over to the girl who appeared to be in charge and said I was there to get a folder they were holding for my son.  She looked at me with relief and we had the conversation below:

(Girl): "Thank goodness you made it here to get the folder."
(Me): He couldn't drive here because he has a stand-up gig and his license is in the folder."
(Girl): "His license is in here?" (Looks in the folder) "Is that his wallet????"
(Me): "Yes it is."
(Girl): "Wait...Is that all of his paperwork?  Coogan account and Legal 18 paperwork???"
(Me): "Yep."
(Girl): "How could he forget all of that and his wallet????"
(Me): "I guess you don't have a teenager or you would know the answer to that question."
(Girl): (Hands me the folder while laughing) "Tell him the folder was lost! That would be funny."
(Me): "I'll just steal from the wallet and tell him the cash was already gone when I picked it up."
(Random Guy In The Room): "That's a great idea!!!"

My adventure was only half over as I had to figure out how to get back to Sherman Oaks in less than an hour because Zach needed to leave by 6:30pm to make it to Flappers by his 7pm talent check-in time. I left the casting office and was able to get a good view of the 10 which was completely stopped. Rather than relying on Google Maps, I decided to make it up on my way home.

I went from the casting office to Pico and made okay time as I passed McCabe's Guitar Shop and other landmarks. I was getting near the 405 but there was a large backup to get to the exit. I randomly decided to turn left to see where it would take me and I ended up passing Cotner Ave. Cotner took me to the same 405 exit I had bypassed by turning left but in half the time. I was now on the 405 and it was around 6pm. Traffic crawled along and I could feel myself losing the battle to make it on time. Once again, it was time to try a different route so I made a last minute exit on Moraga Drive and headed down Sepulveda Blvd. I raced down Sepulveda and made it back to my place at 6:27pm!

Zach got his wallet and headed to the comedy club. I still had time to go inside and get ready. Everyone made it to Flappers at their expected arrival times. He had a good set and I was able to brag to our friends at the show that I made it to Santa Monica and back in just under 90-minutes.

I would have been out of luck if it hadn't been for traffic being off a little bit thanks to the holiday. Having said that, I'm glad I was able to help the kid as well as beat the clock during rush hour on a Friday!

I did not take the money out of the wallet of this actor.