The Year In Review For Zach Louis

I started writing this update from the very frigid South where we were visiting family for the holidays. One of the main questions actors get on a daily basis is "What have you been in lately?"

It makes sense that people want to know if they will be able to watch a relative/actor in a movie or TV show.  However, they often seem to think any work by the actor doesn't count if it doesn't appear on their TV set or in their local movie theater.

Zach accomplished quite a bit this year in terms of advancing his career. In fact, here are the Top 10 moments of Zach's professional year:

1. Sharp Objects - This is the title of the new Amy Adams HBO show. Zach played a drunk high school wrestler in one episode of the show. Even though the episode was filmed in May of this year, the show won't air until summer 2018.
2. Fresh Off the Boat - One of the first "industry connections" Zach made in Los Angeles was a guy that books actors to play football players on TV shows. The actors are either real football players or actors that have the size and build of football players. Zach was called into action again this year as a football player on this ABC sitcom.
3. The Marriage Zone - One of two plays Zach was in at the same time in North Hollywood. The theatres were about 2 miles apart which made it easy for Zach to perform in both productions back in July, August and September.
4. Somewhere in the Middle - The second No Ho play AKA "the play with the better snack selection during the show".
5. Burbank Comedy Fest - Hundreds of comics from across the country sent in submissions for this comedy festival. Zach was chosen to participate for the second year in a row. Plus, none of his sets were lumped into "teen comic" nights. He was placed in showcases with veteran comics.
6. Flappers Comedy Club - The first club that took a chance on Zach by booking him on a regular basis in 2016. They had him perform multiple sets in 2017. While Zach fit well with many of the comedians he opened for at the club, he probably meshed the most with the sensibilities of Hal Sparks the night they performed together.
7. The Ice House - While this is not a new comedy venue, it is a new club he is performing at on a regular basis. The Ice House has multiple locations but Zach always performed in the main room at the Pasadena location. 
8. The Laugh Factory - This club is one of the most famous comedy venues on Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles. Zach had his first chance to take the stage there just a few weeks ago. The thing that instantly struck him was the fact that it was "one big room". Flappers and The Ice House have multiple stages and rooms so Zach was happy to find out that The Laugh Factory is a venue with multiple seating levels while still being one large room 
9. Mike Sager - Mike is a bestselling author as well as a award-winning journalist. He contacted us about writing a profile feature on Zach and his loving, supportive and amazing parents. The feature also includes an awesome video profile. The article and video are being shopped around and I hope to have some news soon about a home for the project in 2018.
10. AGT - The year closed with an email (out of the blue) from one of the casting producers of "America's Got Talent". She had seen Zach doing stand-up earlier in the year and asked him to provide some video for her to show the producers of the show. We helped Zach go through his sets from various clubs and found a strong set to send her. They must have liked what they saw because he has an audition with them in early February. It certainly bodes well for 2018.

Thanks for following along with Zach's adventures in 2017. I hope everyone has a happy, healthy and fulfilling 2018!

This actor is looking forward to a successful 2018.

Why Haven't I Been Posting Lately?

There has been a definite lack of new posts by me in the last few months. I have plenty to discuss and stories to share from Hollywood. The main problems are a lack of free time and (sometimes) a lack of motivation to compose a new blog.

It's not that I don't want to update my blog on a regular basis. There are just times when my brain is in "writer overload" mode.  In the past two weeks, I have written a combination of news stories, blogs, articles and white papers about these topics:

*The overseas cryptocurrency market

*Fishing season tips for residents of Texas

*Cosmetic surgery including Mommy Makeover, Rhinoplasty Revision, BBL and forms of Lipo

*Steps to take when talking to insurance companies after a hurricane

*Hot topics for parents in 2018

*How to track down company funding information

*A new cosmetics line based in Greece

*A film festival manual for aspiring filmmakers

*Duct cleaning scams

*Crowdfunding ideas and incentives for a number of companies

After spending about 10 hours a day writing, I sometimes don't have the mental energy to compose a thoughtful blog. 

While I might not be able to update you on Zach's adventures as often as I would like, I will give you a quick bullet point rundown of his recent activities:

• Contacted by "America's Got Talent" 
• Appearing on "Fresh off the Boat" 
• Stand up gigs in Burbank and Pasadena
• A show at iO West
• Auditions for series leads and recurring characters
• A part in a play running every weekend in North Hollywood

The kid stays busy while also going to college and working at Universal Studios.

Even if I don't get a chance to share everything with you on my blog, I do update his adventures in Hollywood on my social media pages. The links to my social media profiles can be found on the right side of this page.

Thanks for your patience. I will be back with more tales of Hollywood as soon as possible!

You can always check this page for updates on The Artist.

The Play's The Thing...So Is The Stand-Up Stage

I was able to watch Zach Louis do something this past Friday night that I haven't experienced since 2011. I watched him onstage in a play before a live audience for the first time since he was in middle school in St. Louis. I've seen him onstage doing stand-up comedy in Los Angeles as well as improv at Second City in Hollywood. It's just been a long time since he has performed in a play.

In fact, he is currently in two plays in North Hollywood. Friday night saw him take the stage in a production of "The Marriage Zone" at the Secret Rose Theatre. Zach plays the child of the couple in the play as well as the narrator who sets up the play at the start of the show. The plot revolves around a married couple who are both unhappy in the marriage for different reasons. They are visited in "The Marriage Zone" by younger and older versions of their characters so they can see where they started and where they might end up as a couple. There are certainly some heavy moments in the play but Zach helps to keep things light with a number of funny lines.

The cast features a combination of younger performers and veterans who have appeared in such TV shows and films as "CSI: Cyber", "Grimm", "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade". If you are near North Hollywood, and looking for a night of entertainment in an intimate theatre, you can find your tickets here. Zach's next performance is Labor Day Weekend and a code for discount tickets will be provided if you sign-up for emails from Plays 411.

Why is Zach not in the play this coming week? Because he is performing three shows this week during the Burbank Comedy Festival. The list of comedians is a mixture of established names and emerging comedians. Zach's three shows this week include:

1. Laugh Revolt Repeat
2. Emerging Comedians
3. Opening for Hal Sparks

All of the comedians hope to make a good impression on the crowd as well as the organizers of the festival so they will be invited to take part in the "Best of the Fest" shows on the last night of the festival. The festival also features panels, parties, podcasts and networking opportunities for all of the comedians taking part in the event.

I'm looking forward to a week of comedy with many people I've never seen before as well as watching Zach do his "thang" in front of industry veterans.  As always, I haven't heard his set in advance so I hope I haven't done anything stupid enough (lately) to be made fun of in his set. If I am made fun of by Zach, he is too old for me to ground so I guess it's all just part of the #funnybusiness of the festival.

This TV and movie actor is living onstage this week.

A History Of Comedy (That Only Focuses On One Stand-Up Comedian)

Zach recently got the news that he will be competing in the Burbank Comedy Festival for the second year in a row. The festival receives entries from comedians all over the country and features both household names and comedians starting to make their name in the business.

The festival runs August 13th-19th and is more than a series of stand-up comedy shows. The event also includes panels on the business of comedy such as :

• Working corporate comedy events
• Joke anatomy
• Getting an agent
• Insider tips from comedy venue bookers, owners and casting directors 

Zach attended many of the events last year to try and further his comedy career. He has already had a pretty good run as he has moved from open mic nights to gigs at established comedy clubs.

He started out doing open mics anywhere that would allow a person under the age of 18 to perform. His venues included restaurants, coffee shops, a few bars, opening for singer/songwriter friends and being an unofficial member of a group of comedians that did gigs around town together. He was an unofficial member because he was the only person under the age of 18 on stage as well as the only comedian without a set that leaned towards an African American audience. All of the other (very funny) comedians would talk about hip hop music, race relations and dating in your 20s and 30s. Zach was usually in the middle of the lineup and spent most of his time making jokes about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

He got a lot of experience with that group of comedians but Zach wanted stage time at an established comedy club. He started to attend open mic nights at Flappers in Burbank and was able to get booked on shows in the YooHoo Room at the club. His opportunity to have more stage time at Flappers resulted in Zach being booked in their main room as well.

Besides being in the Burbank Comedy Festival for the second year in a row, he gets to make another dream come true in August by taking the stage at The Comedy Store in Hollywood (on Sunset Blvd.) for the first time. Zach has spent many hours doing improv at Second City in Hollywood making it up in front of the audience. However, he seems to really enjoy constructing a joke and seeing how his creation plays in front of a live audience. It's a good thing he enjoys writing jokes and telling them on a stage since he has three sets during the Burbank Comedy Festival and the show at The Comedy Store.

He likes to talk about events that happen to him in his daily life. I will be spending the next few weeks being extra careful so I don't end up as the punchline of one of his jokes.

This actor has been busy with auditions as well as comedy shows.

The Most "LA Thing" That Has Happened To Me (So Far)

I have been in Los Angeles for over 5 years and have certainly had some odd moments since moving here. However, a business meeting earlier this week might be the most "LA thing" I've ever experienced.

I had a meeting the other day with a new business connection. He contacted me out of the blue about working on 2 upcoming projects in the entertainment industry. We are both located in the Los Angeles area so it made sense to meet in person. I have ongoing freelance copywriting, marketing and publicity projects with clients located in New York, Florida, the Philippines and West Virginia so it was nice to make a business connection where I live.

We set a meeting time to get some coffee and discuss the projects. He has a European accent so each mention of coffee sounded like "We will get-uh da coffee and discuss-uh the project over da coffee."
I drove to his office and discovered that his office was his home. No big deal because I work at home as well. The surprise was that we were just doing coffee at his place and not at a coffee shop.

I rang the doorbell and was greeted by his assistant as well a dog that excelled in the art of crotch sniffing. Super sweet dog but extremely fascinated by the crotch region. After making some small talk with the assistant and bonding with the dog, I went into the backyard to meet with my contact and his partner. Before getting into the business at hand, we discussed our personal lives, They were tired from different social events and had meant to relax in the pool earlier in the day. However, they had run out of time before our meeting.

That's when they had a "great-uh idea"...What if we all got in the pool and did our business meeting relaxing in the water????

Without any hesitation, I politely declined by using the (very valid) excuse that I was not wearing appropriate pool gear and did not bring any with me. No problem (according to them) because the giant pink flamingo in the pool was big enough that I could just sit in it rather than having to get my body in the water.

I realize this is easy for me to say since I was experiencing the offer in person. The offer to get in the pool didn't strike me as straight up odd as it sounds. It was more European eccentric and probably something they do on a regular basis.

After thinking about it for about 20-seconds, I agreed to get in the pool. I removed my shoes, rolled up my jeans and climbed aboard the giant pink flamingo. I have never seen the show "Entourage" but this experience was exactly how I imagine the Hollywood in the show was portrayed all the time.

We floated in the pool for a good 30-minutes drinking "da coffee" and discussing the different ways to promote their projects. We even worked on a PowerPoint while my flamingo drifted next to their panda and martini glass floats in the pool. The dog even joined us in the pool at one point.

There was only one or two times that I was floating in the pool and thinking, "How the hell did my life get to the point that I'm drinking coffee in swimming pools and taking meetings on flamingo floats???"

I'm not complaining at all. It is just not a thing I ever imagined happening in my professional life.

It was a very productive meeting and I think great things (creatively and financially) will come from our partnership. I even made it out of the meeting without falling in the pool! If nothing else comes from this meeting, it will make a great story if (and when) I do an Open Mic comedy night around town.

This actor has a stand up comedy date in Burbank this month.

The Week In Acting Review For The Artist

Zach had a big audition this week for a comedy project that is also a dream gig for him. As with most auditions, I can't give too many details but it involves some of his favorite comedy folks currently working. Fingers and toes crossed.

The audition itself was on the former NBC Burbank lot. The production facility is now known as The Burbank Studios. They currently film "Days Of Our Lives" there and I've seen the back parking lot used for a crowd scene on "Superstore". The building was the home of The Tonight Show for Johnny and Jay for many years. I was there for a work meeting once and got lost trying to find my destination in the building. I somehow ended up on the set of "Days Of Our Lives". The show crew was very nice to me after it became obvious that I wasn't trying to crash the set. 

As with most auditions, it is now the "wait and see" game when it comes to hearing whether or not he gets a callback. I was happy he got the audition because it was his first chance to pass out his new headshot.

The new headshot for auditions

He won't need a headshot this Saturday because he is not going on an audition. He is attending his first class at The Groundlings Theatre on Melrose Avenue. Zach has been doing improv since 2012 and was a cast member at Second City for 2 years (before he aged out of the teen troupe). While he enjoyed these opportunities, the chance to take some classes at The Groundlings to improve his sketch writing skills is very exciting to him. Zach doesn't even mind getting up early on a Saturday morning!

The final bit of actor related business this week was the arrival of his new computer. The one he used for a few years worked fine but Zach needed an upgrade to a computer with better editing software. As part of his sketch writing plans, he wants to film and edit some sketches and put them on YouTube. Be on the lookout in the near future for Zach's videos online. He also plans to videotape some of his stand-up comedy gigs and put them online as well.

Dana and I will be uploading his new demo reels to IMDb soon so you can take a look at the reels that get sent to casting directors when Zach is submitted for a part. 

So long (for now) from Hollywood!

This Actor Likes To Write Comedy Material.

How To Deal With Different Comedy Crowds And Still Get Laughs

The Burbank Comedy Festival was earlier this month and Zach spent the week absorbing as much info as he could from the other comedians and festival organizers. Overall, I'd give him an "A" or "B+" for his week as each show presented some challenges.

The festival kicked off two Sundays ago and Zach's first show was that night. It was also one of those nights where the audience was not on his side at the start of the show. It's not that the crowd was hostile or not there to be entertained. The reason he had to win them over became apparent a few comics into the show. The host for the evening came out and did 5 minutes that were okay but was well received by the audience. The host brought out the next comic which turned out to be his wife. She did a stronger set and the crowd was with her. As the crowd was laughing, Dana and I looked at each other as we realized a good portion of the audience was made up of their family members. The next few comics were greeted with polite laughter but nothing major. The host then brought out his son to do a set. The crowd was alive and into the show again! Once the son finished his set, Zach came out to do his material. The response was lukewarm at first but he won them over by making fun of tourists on Hollywood Blvd. By the end of the set, I wouldn't  say he killed but he did get more genuine laughter than the other comics who simply scored polite laughter. (BTW...the only comic after Zach that was loved by the crowd was yet another host family member.)

Zach's second show of the festival was the next night and there were no family members involved in the show. The Monday night show was probably his best show of the week. The comic who received the least applause from the audience was the host of the show. His "killer bit" was introducing each comic as an old friend and randomly announcing their city of origin. It got to the point that the other comics would come on stage and let the audience know they had never met the host in their life and they were not from whatever city he announced to the crowd. Zach seemed to connect with the audience as he was the youngest performer on the bill. I think the audience was genuinely curious to see what the kid was going to talk about on stage.

He was supposed to do a show on Thursday night. However, the organizers moved him to a Saturday afternoon show along with the other teen performers of the festival. The Saturday afternoon show at the comedy club is specifically designed for a younger crowd so it only made sense to have the teen comics do the show. Plus, the show was in the main room which is always more fun for the audience and the comics. Dana and I arrived a little bit early so we were able to watch the crowd enter the room. We quickly realized that "a younger crowd" meant a really young crowd. The room filled with parents and their children who were anywhere from 7 to 12-years-old. Little kids are great because they will laugh when they find something funny and don't politely laugh like adults do on a regular basis. However, a good portion of Zach's set for the day involved college and girls. How would that play to the crowd? The show host got the kids in a great mood by doing silly tricks and jokes designed for their age group. The first two comics before Zach did okay but were not loved by the kids. It was finally Zach's turn and he came on stage and started talking directly to the kids. I could tell he was adjusting his set as he was going along to discuss school and superheroes (two big topics for young kids). He definitely held his own and was one of the best received younger comics during the show. The MC killed but Zach was able to read his audience quickly and adjust to fit the crowd. It's a skill that should serve him well in the future on stage and in the business side of acting and comedy.

Zach also took advantage of the fact that being part of the festival allowed him to attend panel discussions and other shows. He watched Andy Dick's set which he said was "strange and entertaining but not laugh out loud funny." Zach was also able to attend industry panels and seminars about getting booked on the college circuit and how to use social media to help get noticed by others in the comedy field.

I'm definitely proud of him for getting into the festival. There were over 800 comics that sent in a submission and Zach was one of the comics that made the cut. He was able to meet comedians from all over the country and get advice from industry professionals. The chance to witness so many different styles of comedy in one week made a big impact on him. He's working on new material right now and it will be interesting to see what he writes after this experience. Hopefully it will be funny and not "strange and entertaining" like his review of Andy Dick.

This comedian starts the new college school year tomorrow.

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.

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.

How Not To Relax During Summer Vacation

It's been a busy week with a variety of auditions for the teen actor. The auditions have been all over the road in terms of the characters he's had the chance to read for in the last 7-10 days. The roles have included:

*A bratty high school student forced to be part of the school play thanks to getting in trouble at school

*A kid named "Diego" that I discussed here

*An alien from the future who is 4-feet tall and trapped in the body of a teenager

*A kid who wants to have a pet cow in his city dwelling

*An action hero destined to save our world once he is no longer grounded by his parents

*The owner of a gem that a group of international thieves is looking to steal

*A boy who thinks he is a dog trapped in the body of a human

Whether or not he gets any of these parts, the audition process is giving him plenty of material for his stand-up gigs. There are times I'll ask him how an audition went and he will just smile and tell me to wait for his next stand-up gig.

Speaking of which...Rare in-blog plug time! Zach is doing stand-up in July at Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank. He's opening for Felicia Michaels on Friday June 1st during the 7:30pm show in the YooHoo Room. Want half-price tickets? Get them while you still can here. He'll play the main room at Flappers for the first time on Monday July 25th at 8pm as part of "Make Em Laugh Monday". While I'm linking and plugging things, here is his Flappers talent bio if you want to book the kid and also his IMDB page containing some new photos of Zach at recent showbiz and charity events.

It's definitely a busy summer vacation for the teen actor/stand-up comedian. I think he is enjoying not having to learn the wonders of Economics 101 while also having to write fresh material for upcoming shows. I can help him with Economics and I can sometimes be a test audience for his stand-up material. However, I am completely lost when he needs help with his math homework!