Tidbits

I've decided that I'm going to sign up with Hollywood OS next week for extra work. I've already checked with my supervisor & my uncle, they are willing to give me the flexibility to come in to work at the office on the days I'm not booked for extra work, so that means I don't need to worry about not earning enough money from extra work. I'm still very scared about the whole thing and I can't quite figure out why, it's not like I haven't done extra work before. And it's only extra work, it's not like I'll have speaking lines or have to audition or anything.

I've also made a financial decision that since headshots & postcards are so vital to actually pursuing my acting career, I should be saving my money to get my headshots ASAP. I was putting the money towards my "Financial Freedom" account that I felt needed to be paid back first, but by doing that, I'd be making sure I was stuck at the office for another 6 months before I could start saving for my headshots. I suddenly realized it just didn't make sense to do it that way. I didn't take any money out from that account, I simply used money I had received and planned to deposit for my chiropractic care instead. So it doesn't need to be paid back right away. If I save the money for headshots instead, I can get my headshots next month. And my postcards very shortly thereafter.

So, I've started reading Bob Fraser's Headshot Secrets Revealed in earnest a few days ago, get to decide what "type" I want to project, and start practicing for my headshots. It's a really good book, because he includes photo examples of good head shots and bad headshots, it really makes it clear what we are trying to achieve visually with our headshots, and also, what the purpose of a headshot truly is. And as I was reading the book last night, I suddenly the "strange" audition process for City of the Stars Screen Test 2006 didn't seem so strange anymore. See, Round One of auditions is simply signing up and then gathering votes/building your fan base. If you get enough votes, you get to move on to Round Two, which is submitting a picture. From the pictures, the CDs will pick who moves to Round Three, where you send in a 3 minute video of yourself, which is your opportunity to sell yourself. From the videos, again the CDs pick who move to Round Four, which is an in person interview, an audition. Anyway, in Fraser's book, he tells us the only purpose of a headshot is to get you called in to an audition, to get you the opportunity to sell yourself. The headshot is only a marketing tool. And so now the audition process makes sense to me. If they didn't do the voting thing first, they'd have way to many photos to sift through, and plus they assure themselves they have a ready made market for the show. Then, from the headshots, they choose who will have the opportunity to sell themselves to them. It's actually a very practical audition process, from a business standpoint. Please go to the City of the Stars Voting Page and enter audition # 1218 to vote for me!

Moving on. My sister gave me a silver frame for my birthday last year, with a wonderful quote around the edge: "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." -- Henry David Thoreau I've finally found something to put in the frame. I discovered that I had two copies of the program from Honeymoon At Graveside Manor (the first play I was in since 1998, only my second play ever.) So I cut out my mini-picture & mini-bio from the program and put it in the frame! This way, I am honoring the steps I take towards my goal, it's almost a trophy. So that's all of the tidbits.