Saturday, January 24, 2009
Video Addition
I have permanently added another video to my Reel/Video page. Some of you may have already seen it on my News & Views page. Take a gander.
To Catch Y'all Up
January has proven to be a time of eclecticism. I have found myself writing a fair amount. My good friend approached me with a concept for a comedy web series that I think has solid potential. I've written an episode for the show and we have talked much about the various aspects of development. It draws inspiration from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which is far and away my new favorite comedy series. I've been catching up on Hulu. I've also found myself returning to a film script that I've been nibbling at for the past three years. Aside from scripts, I've really been enjoying writing character snapshots for an audition that I am preparing.
I am in the midst of auditions for an independent film for which the process is heavily based in improvisation. I prefer using a possessive form of the word that in place of 'for which the' but I am fairly confident that the word that's in reference to something being owned by that is a fabrication. And I do so strive for grammatical correctitude, for my father's sake. I oft stray in service to expressiveness. But I digress and regress and must redress my wandering prose by addressing the matter of the audition that I spake of moments ago before I figuratively blow my brains out. I'm an idiot, forgive me. The next round of callbacks entails the presentation of four characters before the director. I am to 'exist' for ten minutes in the skin of each character. That means a total of forty minutes for the strictly literarily minded. It has been a fun and interesting challenge to prepare for such a callback.
The challenge primarily has been in creating a structure of some kind. Typically in any audition the actor is grounded by the structure of the script. The character is revealed through their written language and behavior. In this case I literally can do just about anything for my ten minutes. I may talk to the director, deliver a monologue, or completely ignore the circumstance and have what's called a "private moment" as the character. But the most illusive question has been, who are these characters? What do they do? There is no answer, because it's up to me to create them. This offers complete artistic freedom which is great fun but initially daunting. Exploring physicalities is certainly a useful and critical step. Vocal qualities are also such. But these, for me, are to be developed subsequent to basic background work. Where do these people come from? How do they interact with people? To answer these questions I simply had to start writing. Writing specific stories from their pasts, who their parents are, what they're up to in the present, and for some of them what kinds of phone messages they leave for people. Now, some actors reading this might say, "well that's character development 101 for any script you tackle," but I've never been much of a character biographer. I admit it can be extremely helpful for building depth and subtext, but I find at times that focusing on "filling in the gaps" distracts from the more pressing matter of discovering what needs to happen in a scene as dictated by the script in hand. In this circumstance however, character biography seems to be an inevitable, unexpendable, and primary concern (the Oxford comma is a shout-out to my peep on the West Coast). All this rigamarole is more or less to say, I've enjoyed the experience of writing these characters. Next step is actually preparing some kind of presentation, and then letting it go to leave room for improvisation.
Aside from the aforementioned proceedings, I will begin rehearsal soon for a show with Rising Phoenix Rep who brought you such crowd favorites as Too Much Memory. I can't wait!
Another exciting development is the convocation of a number of talented Middlebury Alumni living in New York City with the intention of starting a theater company of our own. Things are in a nascent stage but the will seems to be there.
Amidst all, I have been attempting to breach the world of recording audio books. Another challenging yet enjoyable endeavor.
Also, I have been urged by MacLeod Andrews Management to acquire new headshots, so if anyone has actually read all of this and knows of a good and cheap photographer, please holler!
Excruciatingly sorry for this verbal masturbation. But I hope it has given you something to do while at work.
All my best! If you're reading this, chances are you're one of my favorite people, so all my love too!
Good Things,
MacLeod
I am in the midst of auditions for an independent film for which the process is heavily based in improvisation. I prefer using a possessive form of the word that in place of 'for which the' but I am fairly confident that the word that's in reference to something being owned by that is a fabrication. And I do so strive for grammatical correctitude, for my father's sake. I oft stray in service to expressiveness. But I digress and regress and must redress my wandering prose by addressing the matter of the audition that I spake of moments ago before I figuratively blow my brains out. I'm an idiot, forgive me. The next round of callbacks entails the presentation of four characters before the director. I am to 'exist' for ten minutes in the skin of each character. That means a total of forty minutes for the strictly literarily minded. It has been a fun and interesting challenge to prepare for such a callback.
The challenge primarily has been in creating a structure of some kind. Typically in any audition the actor is grounded by the structure of the script. The character is revealed through their written language and behavior. In this case I literally can do just about anything for my ten minutes. I may talk to the director, deliver a monologue, or completely ignore the circumstance and have what's called a "private moment" as the character. But the most illusive question has been, who are these characters? What do they do? There is no answer, because it's up to me to create them. This offers complete artistic freedom which is great fun but initially daunting. Exploring physicalities is certainly a useful and critical step. Vocal qualities are also such. But these, for me, are to be developed subsequent to basic background work. Where do these people come from? How do they interact with people? To answer these questions I simply had to start writing. Writing specific stories from their pasts, who their parents are, what they're up to in the present, and for some of them what kinds of phone messages they leave for people. Now, some actors reading this might say, "well that's character development 101 for any script you tackle," but I've never been much of a character biographer. I admit it can be extremely helpful for building depth and subtext, but I find at times that focusing on "filling in the gaps" distracts from the more pressing matter of discovering what needs to happen in a scene as dictated by the script in hand. In this circumstance however, character biography seems to be an inevitable, unexpendable, and primary concern (the Oxford comma is a shout-out to my peep on the West Coast). All this rigamarole is more or less to say, I've enjoyed the experience of writing these characters. Next step is actually preparing some kind of presentation, and then letting it go to leave room for improvisation.
Aside from the aforementioned proceedings, I will begin rehearsal soon for a show with Rising Phoenix Rep who brought you such crowd favorites as Too Much Memory. I can't wait!
Another exciting development is the convocation of a number of talented Middlebury Alumni living in New York City with the intention of starting a theater company of our own. Things are in a nascent stage but the will seems to be there.
Amidst all, I have been attempting to breach the world of recording audio books. Another challenging yet enjoyable endeavor.
Also, I have been urged by MacLeod Andrews Management to acquire new headshots, so if anyone has actually read all of this and knows of a good and cheap photographer, please holler!
Excruciatingly sorry for this verbal masturbation. But I hope it has given you something to do while at work.
All my best! If you're reading this, chances are you're one of my favorite people, so all my love too!
Good Things,
MacLeod
Monday, January 5, 2009
Time to tend the machine
The Holiday is officially over and I'm greasing up the engine. It's good to be back under the hood.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
The New Year: promising developments
Well It's been a whirlwind December with Too Much Memory. The show is over and I had a blast. We got some fantastic reviews, some impressive press coverage. Most importantly, a number of my friends (the type that wouldn't lie about this sort of thing) expressed how great they thought the show was. Some were avid theater-goers, some hardly ever see theater. I will miss working with this company. You get used to saying goodbye fairly often in this line of work, but I am sorry to be ending my run with this group of people. I cannot reiterate enough how talented and truly enjoyable they are. It's a small industry though and I hope to stay in touch.
I'm writing from Louisville, Ky where I am home with family for Christmas. It was a wonderful respite from the city but I am happy to return for New Years and the new year. Things are shaping up to be fairly interesting if not unpredictable:
I will be doing an Off-off Broadway show with the producers who brought you Too Much Memory. That will happen in January.
Last week I met with a commercial agent who is excited to start working with me. The feeling is mutual. January will hopefully see me auditioning for some commercials to help subsidize my acting habit.
Early December I met with a very well respected Los Angeles based manager. His focus is Film and Television and he likes to push for the "big stuff". I am interested and excited to find out what opportunities this relationship might present me.
Traditionally, the first quarter of the year is "Pilot Season". I have heard, "there is no Pilot Season anymore" given the economy and the Union strife that has laid like a fog over the industry since 2007. Being new to the game and having never participated in Pilot Season I cannot really know what to expect from the now potentially defunct perennial flourish, but I am hoping to see an increase in auditions.
I hope that your holiday season is joyful. All my best for a fulfilling new year.
Good Things.
-MacLeod
I'm writing from Louisville, Ky where I am home with family for Christmas. It was a wonderful respite from the city but I am happy to return for New Years and the new year. Things are shaping up to be fairly interesting if not unpredictable:
I will be doing an Off-off Broadway show with the producers who brought you Too Much Memory. That will happen in January.
Last week I met with a commercial agent who is excited to start working with me. The feeling is mutual. January will hopefully see me auditioning for some commercials to help subsidize my acting habit.
Early December I met with a very well respected Los Angeles based manager. His focus is Film and Television and he likes to push for the "big stuff". I am interested and excited to find out what opportunities this relationship might present me.
Traditionally, the first quarter of the year is "Pilot Season". I have heard, "there is no Pilot Season anymore" given the economy and the Union strife that has laid like a fog over the industry since 2007. Being new to the game and having never participated in Pilot Season I cannot really know what to expect from the now potentially defunct perennial flourish, but I am hoping to see an increase in auditions.
I hope that your holiday season is joyful. All my best for a fulfilling new year.
Good Things.
-MacLeod
Saturday, December 13, 2008
MacLeod pictured in New York Times
THEATER REVIEW | 'TOO MUCH MEMORY'
A Modern Thebes, a Tragedy Eternal
Full Review at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/
MacLeod pictured in New York Magazine
http://nymag.com/listings/theater/too-much-memory/
This picture is from the play Too Much Memory which was featured in New York Magazine as a "Critic's Pick"!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Performing at New York Theater Workshop
Too Much Memory has started its run at NYTW and it is going great so far. We are still in previews but open soon. This past Saturday there was a political forum after the show that was really thought provoking. Every night is a different experience because a big element of the show is spontaneity. We'll just have to see where this adventure takes me. To learn more about the show visit www.risingphoenixrep.orggood things
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