“We went with someone older.” WHAT???

Imagine my total delight upon receiving a message on Facebook asking me to audition for a part in a television pilot that the director hopes to turn into a series! I was pretty impressed that someone actually contacted me. Normally, in this business (at my level) you are actually seeking places where you can talk them into letting you audition. Someone had seen my headshot on a website and decided that I had a face that might fit into their film project. (and no, it is not a horror film or a Lassie remake). I don’t even remember signing up for this website.

The Facebook message came from Jeremy Branecky asking me to contact his wife, Sara. She is the casting director for the pilot, "The Hounds", which is to be filmed in Oklahoma City and Moore. "The Hounds" is a movie about a rock band that goes on the road. After several calls back and forth, I still had not actually talked with Sara, but Jeremy did answer the phone and told me about the plot. Sounded great to me and I asked him to send me the sides. The conversation covered in the sides were two long pages. At least, they seemed long to me. The sides were a dialogue consisting of an old man talking to the fellow he hoped would be his future son-in-law who was one of the band members.

Jeremy sent me the sides on Thursday evening and we scheduled an audition for Saturday morning. Stayed up late learning dialogue. The audition was to be the morning the same day of the showcase that I covered in my last blog. I am somewhat proud of myself through this acting road I have taken. My memorization skills seemed to be getting better for by 11:30 Saturday morning, I knew the lines. Wish I had these memorizing techniques in high school and college.

My character, “Judge”, was an older man who was dying and needed oxygen to help him breathe. I assumed that from the gravity of this man’s health that if I was picked for the part, I would not last long in the series – death was hovering on his shoulder. The props would be an oxygen tank and nasal cannula, and the old man (me) would be gasping for breath. Of course, for an audition I would not have that equipment. I practiced in front of Joy taking labored breaths and coughing some to simulate what I thought was the correct response when someone is using one of these. I talked slowly and deliberately when I delivered my lines, and I make one mighty fine sick old guy.

So I headed off on Saturday morning to my audition which was being held at Oklahoma City Community College. I met Oz Davidson who was to direct the movie and he also played one of the “Hounds” in the movie. He told me he has had experience in Hollywood and had come back here to shoot this television pilot. The plan was to present this show to a cable company. Oz acted the answering part of my dialogue.

I gave what I thought was a good audition, but you never know. He told me that they would make a decision by Thursday and shooting would start on March 25th. As I left, Sara mentioned something about my looking younger than she’d envisioned, and perhaps she’d sent the dialogue for the bartender. But, that was not sent. Thursday came and went with no notice, as did Friday. In this business, you know that when you do not hear from the casting director you’re toast on a project.

Because I thought I had auditioned well, I asked Michelle De Long about contacting the auditioners (how do you like that word? – not sure if is an "o" or an "e" but it sounds good) to see if the role had been booked. She said, “It is appropriate to do so, but not to ask for feedback.” So I did. Sunday afternoon I received an email from Oz and he apologized for not getting back to me, but they had cast someone else for the part of “Judge” just the day before. However, he sure knows how to make you feel better even though he turns you down. He gave feedback which I had not expected. He wrote, and I quote, “Your audition was phenomenal though. The determining factor was age. I needed someone older”. WHAT??? OLDER??? HELLO!!! - I turn 70 in May.

But, I must say that Oz certainly knows how to make friends. Wow!! - That word phenomenal sure takes the sting out. How to accept that? I did not get the part, but I did a phenomenal audition. You all did understand that word didn’t you? You ask WHAT word. Well, duhhh - Phenomenal - don’t want you all to miss it. I did write back and offered using Grecian Formula 44 on my hair. Joy told me that product darkens hair. Again, I wrote back and mentioned using baby powder to gray my hair. But, the part had been cast, so I accepted the inevitable and went in search of another role. Which came about pretty quickly and I will write about it later. Stay tuned to read about the evil me who strings up a 10 year old boy by his feet and shoots him with a water pistol.

You can see a trailer for Oz’s television pilot at http://www.thehounds.tv/. These seem to be some very talented young people, so keep an eye out for the series. I wish to thank Oz for having someone find me and giving me the opportunity to audition. These are always learning experiences. Now don’t forget the word – phenomenal. I won’t, as it is now a new tattoo on my forearm.

Also, my first film, “Touching the Sun” directed by talented Bryan Cook, premieres on April 5 at Oklahoma City University in the Meinder’s School of Business auditorium. You need to be there early as folks will be fighting for seats to see my Oscar winning performance. See my blog for September 7, 2010.

Producers Talent Showcase

I really feel sorry for my spouse. For several months, she has not had the opportunity to cook and serve a big dinner for me on Thursday nights as I take an acting class. I’m feeling she might not feel loved or appreciated.

With other adult actors at Actors Casting and Talent in Oklahoma City, I go to class, and have for several months. Our instructor is Michelle De Long, a casting director in the city. She has cast many films and commercials with her latest movie “Bring Up Bobby” now in the process of being edited and finished.

She told us several weeks ago that she wanted to have a “showcase” inviting several people in the industry to watch her students perform. Industry people would be those in the industry who are local casting directors, agents, Oklahoma City University and Oklahoma City Community College film students and professors. The reasonable purpose behind inviting the university crowd to see her students perform is that students taking film studies at these universities need to film a movie as an assignment for graduation. In casting their films, they need to have a whole menu of actors from which to draw. For the actors performing, it is a chance for them to be seen and perhaps get invited to audition for a part in one of the student movies. The actor’s reel (a disk of scenes in which they have spoken dialogue) can include these student films. Agents and casting directors like to see the presence and talent of an actor before agreeing to audition that person for a part. I know I know - too much to take in at one time?

Michelle decided that she wanted this exposure for us. We all readily agreed to perform in the showcase. Each of us was paired with another student in a scene from a movie, television show, or play. I was assigned a role to play, “Ben”, a recently widowed older gentleman. Widowed I’m not familiar with, but older I am. Lorrie Chilcoat was assigned the role of “Elizabeth”, my daughter. The scene takes place in an upscale restaurant, and I was to tell her that I was going to get married. Big drama, as their relationship had been strained – and the daughter is deeply distressed.

The scene calls for her to speak loudly and for me to try to get her to soften her voice because we were in public, and this wasn’t nice behavior. Plus, I might know someone in the restaurant. At one point, the scene calls for her to be so upset that she starts crying. My acting talents kicked in and I become fatherly and tried to comfort her. She and I had practiced this any number of times and she even came by my office and we practiced there. ( -- As an aside, the walls in my office are not very thick and I am sure the gentleman on the other side wondered what was happening with all the yelling going on. The next time I saw him I explained what was going on and he just laughed and said he was curious. Do we suppose he believed me? --) During our practices, Lorrie had not cried during the scene at all, but the night of our dress rehearsal she did and with such conviction, we were all shocked. She had tears rolling down her cheeks. I was really impressed and then she did it again during the actual showcase. WOW, a real actress!

Next week we will all do this again and Michelle will record the scenes and send these to agents and casting directors in Dallas and other markets. I can’t say enough about how talented my fellow thespians are. There was a good crowd in attendance and all industry people, guests, and family members were duly impressed.

Those of us in the acting field need all the exposure we can get and this can be added to our reels. I will have several scenes to put on a disk for my reel once I get a copy of the OCU movie I filmed with director Bryan Cook. (See my blog November 5, 2010) plus a DHS training film I did last summer. You can see my fellow actors involved in the showcase in the attached picture and what scenes they performed in the program. What a hoot – and I look forward to having this experience again. I’m now primed for the casting director who sees my innate talent and casts me with my line in a movie or television show.

And that may happen with "The Hounds". The morning of the showcase I auditioned for a role in this tv pilot in front of several young talented film makers. Watch for my next blog and see if I got the part. Also, check out the trailer for the pilot at http://www.thehounds.tv/
Tony Gregory, Matt Rehkemper, Cary Hawkins, Rett Terrill, Robyn Cannedy, Yasmine Barve, Mila McCoy, Dawn Marie, Lauren Analla, Andrea Moser, me, Lorrie Chilcoat, David Hanson, Bill Brewer