'God Throws Me A Bone....Again. My Magical Audition'. Live Shows, Here I Come! Week 31.

As I was leaving Sony Pictures after my big audition.

Dear Diary,

Here's my offering to you this week.....

*  Remember the last commercial I booked and shot a couple of weeks ago?  It's out!  It's a promo trailer for the new X-Men movie, 'Days Of Future Past'.  I'm not too familiar with the comic books, just remember bits and pieces from watching cartoons and movies.  But, fans are going crazy over the fact that Trask Industries will be in the movie.  Marvel and Fox has created a website to create a world in a world.  It's a real Trask Industries site.  And my commercial is on it!
Here's their official site
www.trask-industries.com

Believe me, I watched the crap out of it to see where I appear.
I come on right after the Sentinel Robot on the homepage.  Then, click on MEDIA on your left, you'll see the actual commercial.  OR, here it is!  Click Here for direct link to video.

*  I went on my FIRST big-budget feature audition on Monday!!  Read below for more.

*  I'm still trying to figure out what to do for a GIVEAWAY.  If you have any suggestions, feel free.




Now on to the main attraction.......


I went on my FIRST big-budget feature audition on Monday, July 29th 2013 at 10:10am!!!!

I want to make sure I remember everything.  Especially when I'm 80 years old one day.


I went to Sony Pictures and read for Francine Maisler's office.  A little backstory.....

One of the reasons why I moved out to LA WHEN I did was because of Francine Maisler.  I was obsessed with the book, Memoirs Of A Geisha.  When I finished reading the book, I knew deep down that it would eventually be turned into a film.  I had to be in it.  I kept researching it online for months. Nothing until one day, I found info that Rob Marshall will be directing the movie and Francine Maisler will be casting it.  Somehow things just aligned for me to move here.  And I did.  I had no idea how to get in touch with Francine.  I didn't have an agent.  I didn't have the proper head shots.  I had no credits or resume.  I was at an internet cafe and was checking Craigslist for acting work (I thought that's how you got jobs back then........I've come a long way).  I saw one post about a casting.  It was for the movie Memoirs Of A Geisha!  They were looking for backgrounds!  I thought, "This is it!  I don't care if it's background, I just have to be in this movie!"  I didn't have a car yet so I called my roommate and asked her to drive me to Burbank so I can go to Central Casting.  I get there.  The line was so long.  I finally get to the front and as soon as they snapped a photo of me, they said, "Sorry.  Didn't realize how tall you are.  We can't use you."  I went home, heart broken.

That didn't work out but, I never forgot Francine's name.  I never forgot how hard I tried to reach her.

CUT TO:  9 years later.

I finally made it to her office.

This is how it happened.

I get an email from my commercial agent asking if I was up for a particular audition.  I read the breakdown.  It's a big budget comedy feature, working with some of the top names in comedy.  My brain couldn't wrap around what I was reading.  Is this for real?  I read it over and over and over.  Then my brain began to understand what was going on and my heart followed quickly.  I got super excited and wrote back to her, "YESSSSSSSSSSSSS".  Then, I realized, "Uh oh.  I already have a theatrical agent.  What happens now?"  So, after replying "Yes, I'd love to!  Thank you", I asked her what the protocol/etiquette is for this situation since I already have a theatrical agent.  My commercial agent basically said, "Sorry, didn't know you had a theatrical agent.  I will confirm you online and you can go ahead and forward all the info to your theatrical agent and she can handle it from here.  Good luck!"

Whaaaaaaat.  Her kindness.  I'm still in awe of her kindness.  For some reason, I was so worried about how complicated it can get.   Something wonderful has happened and all I could do was think of different ways this can get fucked up.  But, she squashed that with her kindness.  I will never forget.

I had 4 days to go over my sides.  I did everything I could.  I worked on it alone, I worked on it with friends.  And I'm so grateful to Suzanne Whang for coaching me even though she's on vacation on the East Coast.  We did FaceTime.  Thank you technology!

Now, it was time to just let it all go and trust that I did the work.

I go to the audition.  I met and read with Kathy, Francine's associate.  What a lovely lady.  It was just me, her, and the camera person.  We did the first scene.  Kathy said, "Great.  Let's move on to the next one."  We did the next one.  Kathy said, "That was great.  Thank you."  We shook hands but honestly, I wanted to hug the shit out of her because I was so happy to be there, and I left.

That was it.  Done.

I asked my theatrical agent if she'd be willing to call the office to see if they can give any feedback.  I know some casting directors get annoyed when agents call to see how their clients did but, I just had to ask.  My theatrical agent said she'll call the next day to make sure my representation information was correct since I was originally sent out by my commercial agent, and see if she can get anything.  Next day, she gets back to me saying that they didn't give her too much to go on but, they said "She did a great job."

We've got our fingers crossed.

That's all I wanted to hear.

I just wanted to know that I have a fair shot at it.

Being in Francine's office was already a dream come true for me.  I want to book it of course, but, I really want to book the office.

This is a role I could have only dreamed of getting right now.  Yes, there are rules but, I'm also seeing that there are NO rules too!  I have 10 credits on IMDB, with one co-star television credit included, and I got to read for a role that's at least Supporting in a big budget film!!!  There are NO RULES when it comes to God/The Universe.

I KNOW this was a Divine Intervention.  I like to call it, "God throwing me a bone."  This is too magical for me to even say I know how it happened, I know what I did.  But, I DO know what I did.  Who knew days, weeks, months leading up to the audition, I was 'putting it out there'?

1.  I set an intention that I want to do comedy.  I spoke about it, I wrote about it, I took action on it.

2.  Two weeks ago, actually it's now going on three weeks but, I began self-submitting on Actors Access again, every freaking day.  And I made some new ground rules for me.......open up to both features and tv, and only submit for paying jobs.  

3.  I've been doing casting director workshops again.  And I was only targeting comedy casting directors.

4.  I've been writing and performing my own stories at spoken word events.  This taught me who I really am.  I began to figure out my style and my brand.

5.  Have fun.


I do believe everything happens for a reason.  I wasn't ready to meet Francine 9 years ago.  I guess I am now because I read for her office.  I believe in Divine Interventions.  I believe in Divine Timing.  My job is to just take each step that I can and watch what God/The Universe delivers, and be in awe by it, and be grateful for it, and do what I can to pay it forward.

And just FYI, I wasn't in the best of spirits when this audition came to me.  I go in and out of depression.  I was feeling unmotivated, scared, lazy, defeated, and lost.  That's why I call it 'God throwing me a bone'.  God does this from time to time....or maybe he does it all the time but, I only see it when I want to.  This is how God humbles me every time.  He shows me what I deserve despite how I feel about myself.  He shows me a world so kind, so loving, so supportive, so magical, that I'm able to start again with what I have to do.....with his help.

I don't know where you are in your journey.  God's probably throwing you a bone or bonesssss right now.  Ask for it.  Expect it.  Catch It.  Then Give It Away or Let It Go.



Have a THRIVING week peeps.


with MAD LOVE,

x Alex