Up early again! He's a little terror, he is!
Well, final day at the GV today (for a month anyway). Everyone was in great sprits and looking forward to the shows. Everything throughout the day seemed to go off without a hitch. There were, of course, a few fluffs, bumps, mumbles - pretty much what you'd expect but the audiences said they were thrilled!
Photo call was at 2.30 on stage and it was like a papparazzi fest. Five or six cameras flashing (well, OK, a small papparazzi fest). Between the shows, went for a stroll around the campus, including the cafe which is raised up above the entrance to the Villa proper. Gives an amazing view of the amphitheatre, the piazza and, if you peer through the trees, you can see the Pacific! Beautiful.
At the end of the last show, we were treated to presents and an emotional thank you from the curator herself.
Can't wait to work with the team again very soon. What a talented, inventive bunch and so very nice too. No egos at all. Fantastic!
Had to dash off to another fitting for the CC job! Yep, another one. Apparently, we're 'close' now to what the client is after. J was there and she had a ton more stuff to have to try on than me. Perhaps they're not as close with her look, I suppose.

Borrowed A's car today. It's a little rattley but it does the job.
Performance day today! Shows at 11, 1 & 3. The houses were very small but appreciative! They all enjoyed it and so did we.
The rest of the Villa was packed with people. There were VIP tour groups in from all over the world, other museums mostly, I think.
Hopefully, the word has spread around the campus so we'll have a better turnout tomorrow. We may even do the opening number 'al fresco' by the amphitheatre to drum up some interest between the shows.
J booked his T-Mob commercial. MUST ask him for a referral for his agent.
Watched the snowboarding dvd tonight - these guys are completely mental! They'll board ANYWHERE on any slope, even if it's a drop stright down. Very cool! Looks easy though, I'm sure I'll be an expert in a day or so (ha ha!).
Today's picture was snapped through the sunroof as I sat in traffic on Sunset Blvd, inching eastwards...

Here's a great list of stuff to listen to, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous.
Everything from Leonard Nimoy to Florence Foster Jenkins.

Whipped up another fruit shake this morning. Peeling and blending a ton of fruit is a major pain but ultimately a good thing (also ensuring that at least one of my new year resolutions is kept up). Off to rehearsal. Weather is beautiful but Sunset Blvd seems to get longer every day (it's a long drive). Anyway, dress rehearsal day today and we were allowing friends and staff to see it so, really, it was our first performance. By the way, we have a kick-arse wardrobe lady, Allison Leach, who has just been featured in American Theatre Magazine. Superb. Actually, while we're on the subject, we have an awesome Director, Musical Director and Stage Mgr too!
Anyway, the 'performance' went really well and what a difference it made to finally have an audience (as you can imagine). Loads of laughs and everything went almost perfectly. Director, Musical Dir and the G staff seemed to be very happy with it. We all had a ball, too.
A joke about the neighbours almost stopped the shop dead as it rang home with most of the staff who have had to live with rules and regs brought upon them by litigious neighbours. Did you know that litigation held up the reopening for about 4 years?
3 shows tomorrow... excellent.
Came home to a housefull of kids! Monkey had some friends over. Toys everywhere... looked like a tornado had rolled through! They were having a great time though!
Oh, received my snowboarding DVD in the mail (Standard Films' "Paradox"). I'll have to sit down and watch that in the next few days. If you're learning to snowboard, some great advice here.
Gonna post some more pics on Buzznet.

Breakfast with the littl'un. It's fun to look at the window at the world outside as opposed to watching TV some mornings.
Off to rehearsal. Full light rig and tabs today. Tried new stuff and lost some old stuff. All volunteers started today so there were people everywhere.
Had some insight as to my fellow performers today. Chatted to one chap about him trying to 'act' too much in auditions. He doesn't seem to understand that 'less is definitely more' for LA TV and Film. "Casting directors in LA seem to want you to have real conversations and not look like you're acting". "Yes, that's right", I continued, "That's the whole point. When you watch TV and film you are only drawn to the performers because they're acting naturally and having REAL conversations". I said. "But anyone can do that. Anyone can have a real conversation", he said. Oh my god! "Er, no they can't! How can you have a real conversation using somebody else's words, be in an emotional place that actually belongs to you in the imaginary circumstances you are in, not the emotional state you are in in the real world just after someone yelled "We're losing the light, let's nail this one... scene 23, take 6". Have a POV about the person you're speaking to and remember where the camera is", I said. "You have to train SO much in order to look like you're not doing anything, least of all, 'acting'". "But, it's so different to the style of acting we do on stage"! "Of course it is"! I said, "stage isn't TV or film and vice versa". Reeling from that one I was speaking to someone else about, of all things, smell being evocotive of times past and memories of various things. "Yes, it really helps sense memory", he said. Oh my god, I thought. This chap practices sense memory. I told him that "I don't use sense memory". "Oh", he said.
If you have no idea of what I'm on about, basically, 'sense memory' is the WRONG method to prepare yourself for a particular role or scene where you have to change your current emotional state to one more accurately atuned to the emotion you are feeling at that time as the character. You can read about this incredibly damaging & limiting method here. Why damaging and limiting? Well, two main reasons I can think of straight off the bat: 1) Recalling a traumatic experience that you may have had in your life (e.g. the sudden death of a loved one) may even be psychologically damaging, putting yourself through the experience again. It certainly isn't healthy, chaps! and 2) How can you hope to have had all of the experiences in life that you will have to have as an actor in many and varied roles? What happens if you haven't had a particular experience? What if you have to be a person who has just murdered someone? Erm... not sure about you, but most actors I know wouldn't have any experience of, or emotion to draw from (recall). Death of a spouse? How are you going to recall it if you are single or even happily married with your better half currently very spritely and calling you on the cell? Slightly flawed method then I think. Certainly Adler, Strasberg and Stanislavsky dropped it from their teachings when they realised how ineffective it ultimately was.
Back to my ramble... Most of the guys in the show are long term stage actors, mostly from NY. I have total respect for all of them, they are all very talented and so much fun to work with. They are just letting LA kick them in the nuts. The same guy was talking about how he was totally phased on one audition when he saw everyone else who had turned up and convinced himself that he had no chance before he even went in to the audition room. Professional suicide. It's all about faith. Having faith in yourself. Knowing you're the only you that there is. That 'they're' looking for you and not someone else. Not trying to be someone you thing the director is looking for. KNow that a good director will cast the person (i.e. you) and not the part (a character based on a list of prerequsites). Case in point, another guy in the cast talking about when he went into an audition behind a guy who knew the director (hugs and kisses with him), was cock-sure of himself and managed to make the entire audition panel roll around laughing. The first guy (waiting outside) even checked the sides for comedy as he hadn't seen it when he looked at it. BUT, he went in and decided not to change any of his points in order to suit what he thought would be a character choice more 'attractive' to the director. He just went in, it was him, only him (not someone he thought he should be) and he booked it!
I know I'm rambling but I am passionate about this thing - it's my career and it's going to pay for food and rent for my family. I have to know who I am and what I'm doing. I need to be confident, make strong choices and not try and be someone I think people want me to be. For that I make no apologies.
On a totally different point, I guess Howard Stern, the Shock Jock, has just debuted on Sirius satellite radio and I snapped a picture of this amuzing billboard on Sunset Blvd....

Flying harness fitting day! Holy moley - it don't half pull on one's nether region. Owww. Major chaffing in the groin department. The harness fits VERY snugly around your hips and is tightened as tight as it will go. Clips are attached from the frame to the side of the harness, the grip pulls and up you go! As I'll be riding a hoverboard in the film, another crane was fitted with a universal movement joint-thing and a snowboard went on top of that. So, in effect, I was attached at both ends, one with flying crane, the other end with boots secured to the snowboard.
I went up for about 15 minutes and tried all sorts of moves to get a feel for the assembly. The grip guys pulled, pushed, dollied, raised and lowered to add to the effect. Anyway, 15 minutes later, I was sore, ankles and crotch! Doing it for real next week but I think I'll be ready by then. I have to study a snowboarding DVD to get some 'rad' moves down before the shoot. Should be a laff!
Off to class and did my activity with Michelle. It went really well - I let my activity affect me and was still open to M. Can I stay consistent? Hope so.
Turns out that Miche is from Atlanta and she knows exactly where the film is going to play. Apparently, there's a NEW World of Coke planned, across town from the existing one. It's being built at the moment and should be finished in 2007, which, funnily enough, is when our film starts its 10 year run! You can see the construction progress here.
Home again to fun and games with the monkey. Bath and bed then off to check out Saturday's audition tapes for VI with Stephen and Scott - four tapes' worth!
Stephen told me that they had ditched 90% of the auditionees without even putting them on tape! Even so, the level of those filmed was appalling to amazing with various stages in between. It completely floors me how many actors 'act' so hard and think they're the dog's whatsits when they actually look like they're trying WAY too hard. Even being biased towards the plight of the hard working Thesp, I couldn't make allowances for some of them, they were bad! That said, we managed to build a respectable 'callback' pile and I think whomever we end up with are going to make a superb cast. Home at 1.55am!

It's my birthday today and I'm thirty-something! And I had to work. Booo. Great rehearsal though, the first one in the Theatre. It's gonna be great! Everyone adapted to the new space very well and we're still adding little touches all the time.
I have to pinch myself everytime I go to rehearsal. Being able to play the Getty, tranquil and serene and just amazingly beautiful. Fabulous!
Came home to a fun din-dins, cake and pressies too.

We watched Ladies in Lavender and I got incredibly homesick. Very sad =(. Images of Cornwall and a violin soundtrack played by Joshua Bell... well, let's just say that I was a mess!
But, as my missus said to me, "You're just going to have to be so successful that we can buy a house there too". I like that idea a lot and I'm going to enjoy the challenge of making it happen!
Green screen harness fitting tomorrow and class too...