Highlights! Play! You!

A month a half in and I’m feeling a little more settled in the weird place that is Hollywood.

The highlights of my days are still running into old friends and the occasional messages of support from back home.

Other notable highlights so far: I now have both a theatrical and commercial agent.

In case you’re wondering, a theatrical agent focuses on things like trying to get you work on tv shows (pilots, sticoms, etc) and feature films. And a commercial agent focuses on getting you work on, well, commercials.

I actually had both when I signed with the first agent, but they decided to close their commercial department in order to focus a lot more on the theatrical side for their clients, which I saw as a good thing.

Like the good people they seem to be, they immediately recommended me to a commercial agent they thought I’d fit in good with, and after a brief meeting with them this week in which I was pretty impressed, they signed me up.

In the little that I’ve been here, both agents combined have already made me feel more welcomed and wanted than I’ve ever felt by an agent in Chicago, and they’ve already sent me on more auditions than I was sent on all of last year back home. (And that, is as much as I’ll get into regarding that whole thing.)

There have been other highlights in that general area, but having been able to sign with these agents are the most notable ones because I know landing an agent is one the hardest thing for actors here in L.A., so I feel very fortunate to have been steered in their direction by great friend with good results.

Another notable highlight of my time here so far is being welcomed to play in a highly respected show at a very well respected theater, owned by some old friends,” The Upright Citizens Brigade”.

I thought I’d be playing a lot more by now at the sister theater of the place I call home, The iO Theater, but I want to be respectful of the process the people that run things here have in place, so I’m being patient. But I’m getting antsy. J

I think not having a regular job (yet) and not having a regular show schedule has a lot to do with the times I often get homesick and lonely.

See, back home, I was playing 3 times a week at iO, worked there at least one day a week as a house manager, and was often there to watch shows and hang with friends.

So I was used to always having a place to be where I knew everyone and having that warm “Norm!” moment when walking into the building.

Here, I try to go the iO West Theater as much as I can to do my part in being supportive of the teams playing there, even if I don’t know them. But unless I know someone, I usually go home right after the shows.

I think once I start to get more involved there, or anywhere else, I’ll start to make new friends and slowly but surely get into the groove of feeling ‘normal’ in my new city.

So overall feeling better and more at home, but still miss the hell out of Chicago.

In the little time I’ve been here I know for a fact I can give one piece of advice for anyone making this move on their own:

Make sure you appreciate the hell out of the support and encouragement you get from back home and use that as incentive to get you through the tough times.

On that note, to everyone that has ever send me messages of encouragement and support, to everyone that has sent me positive vibes in public or private, to everyone that has ever said a prayer on my behalf, and to everyone that has ever wished me well in public or private: Thank You.

You have no idea how much those little things mean to me and how much uplift they provide at random times of the day.

I hope to thank you personally on what I know will be my next highlight:

My six-day visit to Chicago starting this weekend.

Party Time. Kishhhhh!

Share on Facebook