3 weeks later

Since my last post I've flown to Denver and back, had a few auditions, started teaching a new class and continue to excel at a meaningless job. don't get me wrong, I am happy to have the work, I would simply rather be doing the things I love to do... but wouldn't we all. Whilst in Denver, I worked with some folks I'd seen before and had a good time of it. I was working a trade show for Kimberly Clark selling impenetrable OR gowns. (that is Operating Rooms... not the conjunction) It turned out to be more fun than I thought it would be. I basically served as a carnival baker in attempts to lure all the RN's that would listen to the booth. For those who don't know, the live industrial is an interesting animal. You get a lot of folks looking for free stuff and then the small percentage who are actually interested in what you are selling. The ancillary benefit is you usually get to roam the floor and bag some free stuff yourself... or "S.W.A.G." (stuff we all get) as it is referred to in the trade. This time I didn't get the chance... but I did get to see the TSAs in Denver do their job while smiling and carrying on conversations with passenger. I almost freaked out... after all I live in Atlanta where the TSAs make you feel like you are imposing on their time by going through the security line. It was refreshing.

The auditions I had have been all over the map. One for a pilot... that involved an airline pilot, one for a movie called "Red" where I played a frightened flower shop clerk who was being thrown in a closet(I didn't get it), another for a movie called "Butter" where I played a butter sculptor. Pretty sure I didn't get that one either. Then I just auditioned for a TLC cross-promo. It is an ad for Lysol Handi-wipes... the future is TBD on that one. I played a bumbling dad who is trying, and failing, to fix the sink creating a huge mess that mom then has to clean up use the aforementioned wipes. Three weeks of auditions... things need to improve. I did however do a voice job for Bob Evans... I use the term "job" loosely because, while I was paid, it's what is called a spec spot. That means, they don't know if they want to use it. It' a pitch right now to the client. If they choose to use it, then I will get paid in a real sense... not a life changing sense, more of a "hey, I can pay for power this month" sense.

I am still doing improv from time to time. I get a lot of joy from doing these shows. Most of the time they are or elementary school or middle schools. In the past couple of weeks I've done both. First I did an elementary school in a very affluent area. In fact, en route to said school, I passed what looked like a castle in a hill. I mentioned it to the teachers and there had been some speculation that it was Ushers house, though no one seemed to know for sure. The shows went well, we did one scene where we were tunneling and we pushed ourselves through the audience stepping over children and the like... the kids just love that kind of stuff. The middle school shows went well too, I suppose. We did have an unusual incident when we asked for volunteers from the audience. Small preface, we go to the teachers to help us select volunteers since they know their student better than we do. We asked for volunteers who were physically able and love to move about. One teacher sent us a 300lb student in a wheelchair, no exaggeration here. I understand diversity and wanting to encourage your students... but really? Why not send up Terri Schivao... too soon? Seriously, we did a scene only moments before involving verbal acuity, that would have been a good fit for this student... not the game where you have to pantomime playing football! That is the beauty of improv, I suppose... in the immortal words of Ms. Gump "you never know what you are gonna get."