Summer Casting Call Roundup From Hollywood

As I mentioned in an earlier post, there is plenty of acting work to be found in the time between pilot season and episodic season. Are you not sure what roles casting directors are looking to fill? For your convenience, here are some of the latest casting notices that grabbed my attention:

• Looking for males and females (20-50) to play very thin, drugged out heroin users. Must be emaciated thin. Need to submit a photo looking straight at the camera with no smiling. 
• Leading man (24-31) with the body of Chris Evans and the emotional maturity of Homer Simpson needed for romantic comedy about a bus driver in space.
• Do you have a smile that goes on for days? If so, submit now for the role of "Captain Smiles A Lot" in our new music video. Must be able to smile for hours without a break.
• Searching for attractive and well-spoken women between the ages of 18 and 35 with superior acting skills who know how to make a guy feel "special" in the romantic sense of the word. If you are able to pull off a convincing performance, we want to talk to you about a 1-minute video that will play as a "hook" on the homepage of our website.
• Male twins, 65-80, needed for film about love on the professional bridge players circuit. Must be well versed in the rules of playing bridge as well as how to cheat to win.
• Road trip movie in need of 3 oddball friend duos ranging from 35-52. Think "The Dream Team" meets "The Breakfast Club" with a dash of "The Truman Show".
• Think clowns are scary? Casting now for a low budget horror film about two clowns who refuse to stay dead and buried.
• Love metal music? Live your days as a gamer? New movie casting male lead to play a massage therapist who secretly wants to be a metal guitarist. To achieve his dream, he gets caught up in a community of fighting game fans.
• Casting for a music video about new love. Please specify the level of PDA you are comfortable with, if you want to audition with your significant other or if you would rather audition (and interact) with a stranger.
• Can you burp for a long period of time? If so, submit an audition tape of an extended length of burping. Feature film about a high stakes burping contest, as well as a romance between burping pros, is looking to cast in the next few weeks.

Do any of these parts sound like the perfect role for you? If so, you just might be a success in Hollywood!

This actor played a drunk wrestler earlier this week.

An Audition Road Trip Story

Most of Zach's auditions take place in and around the Los Angeles area. However, he had a recent commercial audition that required a road trip to San Diego. The amount of money for the role was enough to make the trip worth our time so we hit the road to the former home of the Chargers. 

The only areas of San Diego I've spent much time in are the downtown area and Point Loma. Both of these areas can be reached by driving the 5 from our area of Los Angeles. I decided to use the Waze app to monitor any traffic issues, Imagine my surprise when the app decided to not put me on the 5 going to San Diego. My journey took me from the 101 to the 134 to the 210 to the 71 to the 15 to (briefly) the 79 and then back to the 15. 

In other words, I had no idea where I was going in terms of getting to San Diego. 

It was a fun drive because I got to see parts of California I didn't know existed as well as the locations of a few casinos I had heard of but didn't know where they were located. The trip took about two and a half hours which isn't bad for a drive to San Diego.

We found the audition location in the Sorrento Valley area of San Diego. Zach entered the building and came out about 15 minutes later drenched in sweat. He explained that part of the improv audition involved acting like he was passing out and having water thrown on him in order to revive him. He seemed to feel good about his audition and I left the studio with a wet kid in search of food.

Even though I didn't know it at the time, that is when I made my big mistake of the day.

There is a place in San Diego that has tofu with a great thai peanut sauce. Since I was in town, I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to eat there. The restaurant was about 10 minutes away from the audition location which took me just far enough away from the 15 that Waze decided to put me on the 5 going home. 

Good news: Easy to navigate all the way home

Bad news: Traffic on the 5 is often a nightmare

Remember how I told you it took me two and a half hours to go the 135-140 miles to San Diego? It took me almost double that time as I spent over four and a half hours driving the same distance on the 5. On the plus side, it gave me some serious bonding time with Zach in the truck. 

Whether or not he books the commercial, it was nice spending the day with him since he is always off on an adventure at school or a comedy club or acting or with his friends. He even stayed awake and talked with me the whole way. A teenager talking to a parent for more than 5 minutes! What are the odds of that happening???

New Zach Louis headshots on his IMDb page.

It's The Most Tolerable Time Of The Year

It's the middle of December and there seems to be a change in the air. Traffic isn't as bad as normal and auditions are slowing down. That can only mean one thing:

Welcome to the holidays in Hollywood.

Even though we've had an abundance of 70-degree days and sunshine (until the rain event on Thursday night), there are fewer people around town to enjoy it.

Question: Why do so many people leave town during the holidays?

Answer: Many actors move here to break into the entertainment industry so they go back home to see family and friends during the holidays.

The entertainment industry slows down as 2017 grow closer on the calendar. The week between Christmas and New Year's Day is really the one time of year actors can leave Los Angeles without being afraid they will miss an audition or booking a job. When Zach and I lived here before Dana moved to California, we would visit her as much as possible. There were many times I would get a call from a casting director asking if Zach could work a job for them. Of course, the job would always be the next day. It would never be next week or next month. It would always be the next day. No matter how far ahead we planned our trip while letting as many people as possible know that we would be out of town, there always seemed to be someone who needed Zach to work the day after we left town.

However, this is the time of year that the entire industry starts to shut down With few productions, auditions and workshops going on during this time period, actors can leave town without the fear of missing a gig.

It's also the time of year that reminds me that many people still consider somewhere else to be their home. As I write this entry, Zach is eating with one of his friends who is leaving town for 3 months to see family and friends. Many actors that leave town in December don't come back until February when pilot season is happening. They stay home to save money as well as see their loved ones.

It's not easy living in Hollywood away from your family. The people in California miss their family as well as the joy of being home. The people back home don't see their family that often and they also miss being involved in the daily lives of those chasing an acting dream.

We were a "split family" for a little under a year until Dana landed a job in Los Angeles. We've left town to visit family but we (thankfully) live together in Los Angeles.

Even though Christmas is around the corner, there are still some folks not in the holiday mood. I had the crosswalk signal in my favor the other day as I was walking to the gym. I started to cross the intersection when a van driven by a lady who looked like Mrs. Claus decided to stop waiting on me so she turned at the light. She zoomed past while barely missing me and then flipped me off as she drove away to her destination.

All I could think was, "If I get hit by the wife of Santa Claus, does she get a pass on the naughty or nice list?"

I'm looking forward to a fun holiday with this actor.

It's Almost Like A Billy Joel Song!

Billy Joel has a famous song called "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" (which has much less rage and angst than "Say Goodbye Hollywood" by Eminem) that first came out in 1976. Forty years after that song was released, our family is staying in Hollywood and officially saying goodbye to Missouri.

I can hear you asking, "Haven't you been away from Missouri for four years already? Why are you just getting around to saying goodbye?"

The answer is....We finally sold our home in St. Louis.

I've mentioned before that Zach and I moved to Los Angeles in January 2012. We put our house on the market but we were in no great hurry to sell it because the two of us would go back to Missouri if he didn't like trying to be an actor. It quickly became apparent that Zach had a future out here so we decided to seriously try and sell the house. While the "serious selling" was just starting to kick into gear, Dana landed a job with the American Cancer Society and had to be in California in two weeks. This left us no time to handle the necessary landscaping, painting and repairs that normally need to be done to any home to make it "seller friendly". Instead, we decided to use the home as a rental property so we could get the monthly mortgage covered and not have to pay both California rent and a Missouri house payment.

We were pretty lucky with our renters most of the time. We had one family rent it while they were repairing storm damage to their home that turned into eight months worth of rent as their repairs went on longer than expected. We also had a series of families that were temporary Missouri residents while their husbands were doing their medical residencies at Washington University. All of the families took care of the property and seemed to care about keeping it in good shape.

However, there were a few bumps along the way.

Here's a fun fact for you: If your home in the state of Missouri sustains water damage while the house is being used as a rental property, your homeowners insurance will not cover any of the damage. Let me repeat that for you: NONE OF THE DAMAGE!!!! After our last rental family failed to check the sump pump in the basement (to the tune of $6000 worth of out of pocket water damage repair expenses), we decided it was time to finally sell the house.

The ease of owning a rental property is often related to how easy it is to reach the property in times of need. When we first moved to St. Louis, we still owned a home in Memphis. In the 4-5 months it took us to sell that home, I would go check on it and take care of the yard and any small repairs. I also worked at a country radio station so my trips to Memphis would often go like this:

• Get off the air at Midnight in St. Louis
• Drive 4 hours to Memphis
• Take a sleeping bag and crash on the floor of the empty house for 3-4 hours
• Get up at 8am and take care of any pressing issues
• Leave by 1pm to drive back to St. Louis to be on the air at 7pm

Does that sound like a pain to you? Yes, it was a pain but at least I was close enough to drive there and take care of any issues that needed to be handled at the house. Using the water damage example again, I couldn't exactly jump in the truck and go take care of it because it would have taken me two days to get to Missouri. We were lucky enough to have a great rental property company watching after our home. Greg Rybacki, and the entire team at Rybo Properties, found the people to get the water out of the basement and fix the entire mess for the lowest price possible. Greg also watched over the whole project and made sure it was taken care of correctly and on time. I can't praise the guy enough for taking care of us over the past four years. 

When we made the final decision to sell the house, we turned to an old friend who would have our best interests at heart. Joanne Balis put up with way too many questions from me as well as a couple that flaked out on the first contract we had on the house this year. After that disappointment, she found the perfect couple to buy the property from us.  

When we made the decision to sell the house, I emailed some friends in St. Louis asking their advice and recommendations about painting and landscaping. I sent the email asking this question at 1am California time. At 8am California time, I woke up to a message from Mark Seibel asking me to call him. Mark runs a stone, paving and concrete company and instantly went over to my house when he got the email. He had already taken photos of the property and had a plan of what to do around the house. Zach and his son have remained friends over the years and I am glad to say that Mark and I are still friends. He went far beyond what my simple advice email asked and I can't thank him enough. Plus, I love the fact that he made his son mow our yard for free the entire time it was on the market.

I haven't set foot in the house since 2012. I drove past it a few times when I was in town but that was just to check on the outside of the home and to make sure the property was being cared for by the renters. It long ago stopped being a home to me and was just a piece of property that I owned. It's only been in the last week that I've actually started to feel some nostalgia for the place. The sale closed yesterday so I'd like to say goodbye to:

• Ken - The neighbor we never saw and only knew was alive when the pizza delivery guy would show up at his door.
• Miss Norma - The widowed neighbor who was always nice to Zach and snippy with me.
• The homeowner next door - Thanks for showing me the kind of people I would never let rent my house.
• The neighbor on the other side of the house - I don't remember her name but I do remember her dislike for everyone else in the neighborhood. I think I sealed her hatred for me when I was playing with my dog and she came out to complain that the dog was barking too much. I replied with "Would you like me to teach her how to moo or meow? It would be a great trick and might not hurt your delicate ears so much." She had no use for me after that moment.
• The neighbors with the live chickens in their backyard - I'm pretty sure they were running drugs out of their home but they were low key about it.

Unlike Billy Joel, we will keep saying "Hello to Hollywood". I may not live in a big house in Los Angeles but at least I don't have a home in St. Louis anymore to give me constant worries about flooding and tornadoes and whether or not the renters are taking care of the place.

Having said all of that, I certainly wouldn't mind an order of toasted ravioli from St. Louis!

This actor is in Hollywood for the long run.

Where Were You Four Years Ago?

I can still remember the feeling of change in the air in January of 2012. I was spending my time taking care of business and school related odds and ends as Zach and I prepared to head to California. 

My time was also filled with Internet research trying to find an apartment while not knowing anything about the various cities in the Los Angeles area, touching base with friends before departing, making sure my truck was ready for the drive and trying to determine how many of our belongings could fit in my truck and still be a comfortable drive to California. We had to take a good amount of Zach’s clothes since he would have auditions and other acting events. I took some jeans, about ten shirts, some sneakers, socks and underwear. I figured I could buy anything else I needed once we got to California. We also packed a TV, Zach’s Xbox 360, pots, pans and our computer.

The afternoon of January 19^th, 2012 was a bittersweet one for us.  It was Zach’s last day at school and I went to pick him up as usual. I didn't say much to any of the parents that I visited with each afternoon because I didn't feel like having a long conversation about our plans. Zach came outside about ten minutes after school ended with a look that was a combination of sadness and excitement. The idea that we were going to California the next day hit him at that moment. We were excited but nervous at the same time. His friends were coming over to our house that afternoon but Zach still had one more task before leaving school. We went back inside so he could (as a joke) put a “Do Not Disturb” sign on his locker until he returned to school.

Think about how you feel on Sunday night once you realize you have to go to bed because of work the next morning. There is always a feeling of dread about the next day. I didn't feel a sense of dread because I didn't want to go to California. I was dreading the road trip that I was about to undertake in the morning. 

Dana, Zach and I hit the road at 5am on January 20th as a light dusting of snow fell over St. Louis. I took the snow as a sign to get the heck out of town! Dana took a week of vacation to drive with us and help us get settled. She needed to make sure her family was safe in California.

We made good time the first day as we went from Missouri to Oklahoma to Texas to New Mexico. We spent the night somewhere in New Mexico because the combination of high winds, winding roads and UFO talk made us ready to rest for the night. We hit the road again on Sunday around 8am and went from New Mexico to Arizona to California as we finally arrived in Los Angeles. 

We left at 5am on the 20^th and got to our hotel in Universal City at 10pm on the 21^st. Our drive across the country included stops in Tulsa, Amarillo, the car museum at Russell’s Truck & Travel Center in New Mexico (3 miles from the Texas/New Mexico state line), a hotel stay somewhere in New Mexico, fast food in Albuquerque and our arrival in California. 

After a week, Dana went back home and we settled into our new routine of being apart for what we thought would be about six months before heading back to Missouri. Dana and I were pretty sure that the lure of football season and his friends would make Zach want to go back to Missouri.

That's what we get for thinking we had any idea what the future held for our family! 

Here's to four years of Hollywood, child actors, stage parents, porn king neighbors, a cross country family relationship, a TIA stroke, agents, managers, making new (and good) friends, a near death hospital experience, family visiting us in California, blogs, casting directors, Disney, Nickelodeon, improv, making a life in California, Russian cell phone kings, high school graduation, sky poison (rain) sending the California natives into a panic, filming television shows and movies in Los Angeles as well as Missouri and Oregon, a series of freelance gigs that have found me working with people in the entertainment/physical fitness/life insurance/crowdfunding/spices/public relations/social media management/plastic surgery industries, theme parks, college, baseball, traffic, learning our way around Los Angeles and the three of us living in the same city again.

There hasn't been a dull moment since we arrived in California. I can't wait to see what the next year brings for all of us.

This Actor Explored Los Angeles With Me After We Moved Here.