I BOOKED IT!

My friends, I come bearing amazing news!  

(drum roll)

I booked a national NOKIA commercial!  

Whew~ What an emotional roller coaster these past week has been.  Details.

First, I got called to audition for the Kaiser Permanente Educational Theatre Group.  At first I thought big deal, but after looking at all the benefits and compensation the job entailed I shut myself in my room for two days and solidified my monologue and 15 bars of a song.  Two days after the audition I was called in for callbacks.  The callback was nearly 5 hours long.  It was no joke.  The day started with an orientation with the entire creative staff of the company.  It then moved onto a dance section which was led by a severely over-weight, hispanic man who I thought would not be able to move the way he did.  I learned Fosse that day.  The severely over-weight, hispanic man was magnificent, and by the end all 30 of us that made it to callbacks had a new appreciation for Bob Fosse along with a new found respect for the severely over-weight hispanic man.  Then came the Improv part.  Some people really shined here, some didn't.  They cut 20 people afterwards and then stood the final 10.  We broke off into pairs and studied sides to perform them in front of the staff.  Overall, I had a blast and thought I'd secured a spot with the company, for sure.  From 1,200 submissions to 250 auditioners to 30 called back to the final 10 that made it to the end of day.  A few days later, I found out I didn't get it.  Needless to say I was pretty frickin devastated.  I was never so sure of an audition before.  Lesson learned... never say YES before the YES.

Now the NOKIA.  When I got to the audition I saw some familiar faces I've been seeing along with a good handful of other very good looking Asian men I've never encountered before.  Surprisingly, I wasn't phased at all.  I think I'm really starting to grow my audition skin.  It's becoming impenetrable.  Kind of.  While others were nervously shifting their weight, making bad conversation, I played it cool and kept to myself.  It was weird but even amongst these somewhat exceptional guys, I felt that I somehow stood out.  They were hands down taller, tanner, and better looking than I was but I just felt right being who I was.  Pale and red.  After the audition, the casting director had very little to say except for a quick look that spoke to me, "you will be called back."  That evening I got the callback call.  A couple days later I went in and did the same thing I did the first time around except this time it was in front of the producer and director.  A bit more nerve wracking but I stayed calm nevertheless.  I got a call from my agent later the next evening saying I've been put on STRONG ON-AVAIL.  Now I know what on-avail means but strong on-avail I've never heard of.  I'm guessing this means being a stronger runner up?  Well whatever it meant, I ended up booking the job.  Got the call today and I'm shooting on Friday!  I'm really REALLY excited and happy and then excited again.  I've seriously been praying so hard that something tangible would materialize from my efforts.  Audition after audition, callback after callback... all for just one measly day of work and then off to the next job.  This is the life of a struggling actor.  A life I would not recommend to any poor soul unless you really love the grind and the rejection like I do.  Only then does it become a manageable life.

In the words of Babe Ruth, "Every strike gets me closer to the next homerun."

I'll keep ya'll posted.  Much love!