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 Chance To Perform Is Always There (If You Look For It)

I often receive emails asking me when Zach will be on TV again  or when he will be in a movie on the big screen or direct to DVD.

To answer those questions, he will be seen on television sooner (rather than later) in an episode of "Fresh Off The Boat" as well as an episode of the new HBO series "Sharp Objects" starring Amy Adams.  However, these are not the only projects he has been working on in 2017.

Acting is a tough business because the odds of you landing a part are not in your favor if you stop and think about it:

• Agents and managers submit their clients to casting directors
• By the time all of the submissions are turned in, the casting directors likely have hundreds of submissions to look at
• Out of the hundreds of submissions, they will choose anywhere from 5 to 50 actors to read for the part
• Out of that group of actors, some may get a callback while others will never hear anything from the casting folks about the part
• The lucky actor is finally picked out of the hundreds of submissions that started the process

When you break down the various steps in the casting process, it's easy to see why the odds of landing a role are not in the favor of an actor.

That is one of the main reasons why many actors (like Zach) find other avenues to practice their craft beyond being on a film or television set.

Since July of this year, Zach has either been practicing or appearing in two plays in North Hollywood:

1. "The Marriage Zone" (which recently completed its run with Zach in the role of "Ryan")
2. "Somewhere in the Middle" (which recently extended its run with Zach in the role of "Adam")

Plus, he has been working on expanding his comedy career by playing new comedy clubs and networking with both established and rising comedians in Los Angeles.  He just added The Ice House in Pasadena as one of his regular venues and is already working the main room of the club.

While Zach certainly enjoys being on set and acting in front of the camera, he also understands the need to keep his acting skills sharp between movie and TV roles. I admire him for taking matters into his own hands and creating opportunities that give him the chance to perform in front of audiences that might not have a chance to see him otherwise.

Staying busy, and staying focused, are paying off for him now. I believe that his hard work and dedication will pay off with more big (and small) screen roles in the future.

This actor is also a stand up comedian and a thespian. 

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.

All The World Is A Stage

The Artist had an audition last night for a play. While this isn't his usual type of acting gig, he has performed in plays in the past.

Zach arrived at the theater and was greeted by a long-haired dachshund and four older gentlemen who looked like they were booked by Central Casting to play the part of theater directors. They were dressed in a variety of hats and scarves and sat in the shadows to observe the proceedings happening on the stage.

After the initial introductions ended, Zach was called up to the stage to perform his scene, The character was a smarty pants teenager having a conversation with his mother. He performed the scene with a reader sitting to the side of the stage. The scene ended and there was silence in the room. Finally, the guy in charge of the group of theater people said this insightful comment:

"Huh."

Silence once again filled the room as everyone tried to determine what he meant by that one word comment. Zach was the first to speak up:

"I have absolutely no idea what that comment could possibly mean."

Everybody laughed and the audition director gave Zach a few notes while looking at his resume. The director noticed all of the comedy and improv in his background and remarked that he had perfect training to play a kid with a smart mouth. After a few more jokes back and forth, they started the scene again. Zach got halfway through when the director said that was enough. Of course, Zach was afraid that he had missed a line or not followed the directions properly. Instead, the director said:

"Callbacks are Monday night at 8pm. Can you be here???"

After agreeing to the time and date, Zach was dismissed from the stage.

Think good thoughts for him over the weekend and into Monday night for his callback. He is okay with not getting much in the way of conversation from the folks running the audition as long as they keep inviting him back to the theater.

This actor also has a stand-up comedy gig next week.