goodbye Two Thousand and Tenacious, hello Two Thousand and Elevated

2010 is soon behind us. Myself included. I loved 2009, a year full of adventure and experiences for me. In comparison, 2010 was dull and unsatisfying, even disappointing. I didn't have many adventures, and the ones I had didn't meet expectations. I didn't get to travel. I didn't meet any resolutions that I can remember. I didn't really move forward or up or much of any direction this year. But I don't mean to say 2010 was all disappointment.
Like all things it had it's good points. I didn't get to be Bert or The Grinch this year, but I got to play Peter Pan and Jack Skellington. Those are lifelong goals that I got a taste of this year. I didn't land an agent or a regular acting gig, but I got a feature film, I got to be a working actor for a while, and I even got to audition for the lead of a major motion picture!! I got to shoot a sketch comedy show, and for a good while I managed to be part of a pretty successful improv troupe at one of the biggest improv houses in LA! My 2010 Resolution project was also kind of a failure, but I did it, and it's given me tips to make it better next year. And that's really what I'm looking forward to, getting 2011 right, especially where 2010 fell short.
I've already checked, 2011 is going to be an awesome year for me. This is the year where I get things done! I get around, I make things happen, I make better puns... Not only is the whole acting career thing gonna hit off, but entrepreneurship gets started. I get the agent, and better auditions, and I'm pretty sure I land a gig that a lot of people notice. I can't recall what it was, or maybe I do and I'm just not telling you, but trust me.. it's awesome! (yes, I sang that last part.) And, lots of adventures. I get to travel, frequently, though a good chunk of it is work related. Thought getting to visit Orlando and all is still very cool. I also got to conventions and fairs and parties. Lots of cool events. It ends up being a really interesting year. And I end it not owing money to anyone! Which is a welcome change from these past few years. It's especially noteworthy since I finally get those video games I've been wanting. But that's beside the point. 2011, awesome year.
I'm really looking forward to the coming year and all the many wonderful things I get to be a part of. The 2011 Resolution project turns out really cool because of it, and there's not so much a silver lining, just silver. Sterling silver. And I make it rain!
Anyway... 2011. Awesome year.

My bad. It seems that zombies didn't rise up for a new pagan world order like the recalculated prophecy foretold.
But this only proves that it's going to happen in two years. Tell everyone!

I thought I had at least two more years, but I just found out, like five minutes ago, that early tomorrow morning might bring the "Shift of the Ages."
I heard that around 1am tonight (I still count that as tonight, not tomorrow. get used to it cuz I'm gonna say it a lot) was a big lunar eclipse that happened to fall on the Winter Solstice. I figured it just meant that the moon would look especially mystical, and I had read that both of the America continents could see. I had also read this coincidence was an extremely rare occurance.

Since Year 1, I can only find one previous instance of an eclipse matching the same calendar date as the solstice, and that is 1638 DEC 21", Geoff Chester of the US Naval Observatory.

Still, I figured it was just a coincidence. But then I read that not only will there be a lunar ecclipse on the Winter Solstice, there will also be a meteor shower, and Mercury is retrograding, and the entire galaxy is going to line itself up. Thus beginning a "3 year galactic journey ..., ushering us into a new world age." Oh my god! Or gods!
So a miraculous event is occuring tonight, the aligning of the galaxy. But does it mean anything? YES! We've all heard of the Mayan calendar's prediction that the world will end on Decemeber 21st, 2012. Years from now, tonight. But there's a theory that we may have gotten it wrong. Dead wrong. Supposedly, we may have been off translating the Mayan calendar to match ours, because of a 16th century switch between the Gregorian and Julian calendars. We may have been off by 2 years. It just makes sense! This year's Decemeber 21st is the only one with the galatic alignment!
The only question that still remains is how. We know the why, and the when (later tonight!), but the how is still a question. I haven't heard of any asteriods coming to hit the Earth in a few years, and we're nowhere near ready for the robot takeover, and the crystal skulls are still missing. I'm not sure what it is, and I'm probably better off not knowing, but I have an idea: zombies. I just now found about this, so I haven't made much sense of it yet. But it's got to be zombies. I thought there was more time. And I didn't think retail super centers were gonna help them! I was gonna hide out there, now what do I do?!
I know it's last minute, but we still have a chance. Tell everyone!

Secret Audition (which I'm still not telling)

Last Monday I had an audition for a huge project. So big that I signed a confidentiality agreement for the audition. And since then I've been losing my mind over whether I'd hear back from them on it, and that I can't tell anyone about it!
I changed my Facebook status to inform my friends "Kevin Allen has his biggest audition yet today at 3. He asks for your good thoughts and energy. Thank you." I've mentioned that I've had auditions and asked for good luck before, but this time I was overwhelmed with response from my friends. Not only in how many wished me good luck and were rooting for me, but in quality too. One friend of mine mentioned she was praying on my behalf. That's incredibly sweet and thoughtful, and I'm grateful for my wonderful friends. And they helped. I had a practically perfect audition, everything went just how I hoped it would, and I think all that good energy was a big part of it. When I saw the audition noticed, I really wanted the part, and I knew that I would be perfect for it. I started doing research on how to best portray the character, and in doing so, I stumbled across info about the movie. I discovered it was a MUCH bigger project than I thought, there was buzz on the internet, and I was pretty far out of my league. So, I was already putting a lot of attention and energy into it, but now I had reasons to be very nervous. Nevertheless, I treated it like every other audition I've been to; was calm and professional, made friends with the casting director taping the audition, and had a great time. And I'd like to think that part of that was in thanks to my friends and their support.
The other thing that with all my friends' loving wishes, was their restless curiosity. Everybody wanted to know what this big audition was for. And I did my best to let them know that they were not going to find out. I made an agreement, and I was going to honor it! Not only because I signed my name, but I want to honor the wishes of the people behind the film, and because I like fun of surprises, and I wasn't about to ruin that! Maybe a little bit for good karma too. But still, they were determined! I had a few people claiming that they could figure it out. One person even saying that she had physic abilities and pretty much knew, then asked if I wasn't allowed to tell. YES! She had this marvelous talent to write comments on my Facebook that, to the people who would be looking for any evidence of me breaking my word, could easily appear as if I had told her. I had to delete that, delete another comment, delete an article someone posted on my wall about another very similar casting which was a complete coincidence that she was oblivious to by looked like I had told her about my secret audition. It was driving me nuts.
Now I'm freaking out that the producers had a team of people checking the internet for any leaks and that they had stumbled across my page, saw this stuff, got the wrong idea, and nixed me from any future consideration. Not only that, but the audition was the day before my girlfriend and I drove up to the mountains of Northern California to visit family for the holidays, and I didn't have an internet signal to check for any of this stuff. I was losing my mind that I was going to have this opportunity ripped away from me. And that was on top of not being SAG, wondering if my read was what they were looking for, and every other usual audition paranoia inducer. And since it was the holidays, I wondered if they were going to get back to me right away or wait until the holidays were over. Then the scope of the project and having taped auditions in cities outside where it's being filmed made me wonder if a response would be be soon at all.
Well, it's been a week and a half now, so I'm going to let the nerves go and move on. Focus my attention on new auditions coming up. Though I'll still have to deter my friends from asking me about the audition. And I keep getting reminders of the project from the world. At first it was like a sign, continually seeing keywords or mementos everywhere. As if the world was telling me, this movie was for me. But now, it's like I'm just going crazy.
And I can't tell anyone!

the audition that kept it up like a lovesick crackhead

I had an awesome audition on Wednesday. Probably the most fun audition I ever had. It was to host an internet-based, music video countdown show. I had only a little hosting experience, and even less teleprompter experience, but I thought that was enough to audition. And it was. It was even enough experience to get a callback.

At the audition I read a prepared script, but had room to add my own jokes. That I have plenty of experience in, and it was definitely where I really shined. I had the room laughing, I was playing with the script in the style of The Soup, as if bantering with the crew. It was a blast! I loved doing that. They had me follow that up by winging an entire read, just making sure I hit the important bullet points. Well, I hit the points no problem, but making stuff up on the spot wasn’t nearly as smooth as inserting jokes here and there. But it was no problem too. The people I was auditioning for were such great, and fun people, they liked it regardless. They were fun to read for, and even when I was screwing up, it’s like we were friends joking around. Even after the read, I was still cracking jokes with them, they were firing back. It was exactly like we were all friends, I had the role, and we were just having fun shooting ideas back and forth.

The callback was good too. It was a little less casual, probably because of the two new people in the room, who I assume were the important powers that be. But like I said, it was like I had my friends there behind the table. This time I had my own script prepared, as requested, and read that. They were cracking up behind the camera, which is the feel I was going for in my audition, so that worked out well.  It was a great read, and I was having too much fun to be proud of myself. but I was proud of myself. Anyway, yeah, great read, then they threw the curve ball at me; that the show had switched channels and was going to have a different feel to it. I read again, with the adjustment, and apparently took their note very well. Still, I had the attitude and look all prepare for a more ‘rock star’ attitude, and I’m pretty sure that I was no longer the perfect choice.

The callback continued with five minutes of original material, so that they might get an idea of my style of humor and acting for sketches. I decided the best way to show them that was improv. I did a scene with one of the auditioners, and I gotta say, I could’ve done improv way better, but it was still a great scene. And it was still a lot of fun. The guy, PJ, said that he hadn’t done that in a long time and he had fun too, and I could tell in the middle of the scene he was having fun playing. Then I did some air guitar, cuz PJ wanted to see that.

So yeah, I haven’t gotten another call from them, but I’m just happy the audition and callback went so well. It was ass-kickingly kick-ass.

That might’ve been why I didn’t get the gig. Oh well. Rock on!

There's nothing like coming home from an audition you're not sure of, and seeing a commercial you didn't book, changing the channel, and then immediately seeing it again.

Expected Income?

Yesterday morning I gave my time to help a friend film a spec commercial. I got up before 10 for the first time in probably two months, went to the other side of the 405, and dressed up in my coattail tuxedo. It was a quick little shoot with a few good people. The way the plot and the shoot went was each person adding on their bit, one after the other, until all of us were gathered and having fun. The crew just started filming whatever ideas came to mind, the cast was pitching in and playing, and by the end there was plenty of footage for them to use. We all had a good time and somehow, we ended only a half hour off schedule.
This wasn’t a paying thing by any means. It was an acquaintance-produced submission for a contest that might pay off for the filmmakers. For me, however, it was an opportunity to help a friend out and play in front of a camera. And it didn’t pay, but I got to meet with some very nice and talented people. And who knows, maybe they’ll do very well for themselves and hopefully I’ll get to work with them again, and sometime down the road, I could get paid to help them out.
This morning I woke up even earlier and went to the other side of Magnolia Boulevard, and dressed up in a borrowed Jedi padawan outfit. I was watching a fencing party for Best Action Events, who I started training with four weeks ago. I attended a five year old’s birthday party to see what exactly I’ve been training to do. I went as a padawan assistant to the Jedi performer so that I could help out and not be some fly on the wall, but I was there to watch and learn. With all my time spent at Disney, and having done birthday party entertainment with kids before, it was still somehow odd to be there thinking that performing for younglings is how I’ll be making money.
I’ve been training with them to add to their talent pool, not working for any pay yet, but I’m learning fencing stage combat. It’s completely worth it to me. Today, however, the idea of getting paid finally made it into my head. I don’t actually know how much I’d be making at each party, but it seems like it’s a good amount. I joined for the perks of learning sword fighting skills I’ve been after for a few years, and working with the skilled people there, but now that I need employment I’m noticing how profitable this might turn out to be.
Tomorrow I have an interview for a day job, doing retail at a shopping plaza. I haven’t had a day job since I started what I call the ‘theme park circut’ in Orlando six years ago. The last time I had a job interview was earlier that year, spring of 2004. Even applying for a job is something out of my element, and I’m nervous to have an interview. However, I need employment. I expect that a day job would pay, consistently, and well. Nothing from this job would really a long term gain, unless I needed another day job. But like I said, I need money, and jobs get you money.
So, this weekend I’ve got the three examples of how I could pursue my career and an income. I could either continue pursuing straight up acting and really not get any pay for it, I could pursue it as a part time thing and see how that works out, or I could just forget it for a while and be alright.
Might as well see how the interview goes first.

It's Kevin Allen!

He's blogging!

I’m blogging.

Two days ago was the fourteen month anniversary of my moving to Los Angeles. Yesterday was the end of my entertainment day job. I spent the night at the cast party and ended the night talking with a friend who was moving to Hollywood to pursue an acting career about what it’s like being an actor in Hollywood. Today I figured it would be a good day to start a blog.


It should be pretty good.