Back In The Swing Of Things...

Well, Trish and my first month back in-country is behind us, and it occurred to me this morning that it's been a while since I posted an update here on the ol' blog... so I figured I'd take a few moments and let you all know what's been going on in our lives.

Overall, it's been a busy month. I've been playing catch-up with my computer clients, and Trish has been head-deep in her job as TB Surveillance coordinator for the National College of Naturopathic Medicine. But that's just, ya know, the boring day-job stuff. No one cares about THAT.


It hasn't been too busy, though. I just posted a major update to http://www.haroldphillips.net/, including my Grover Plumbing and Electric spot that's currently running on ESPN and (finally) photos and audio from Swiss Family Robinson (remember that show, way back in May?) Pop on by and check it out.


Because of the timing of our European trip, Trish and I didn't audition for anything playing or shooting in the fall. That means for the moment we don't have any theatrical endeavours happening. How to Breathe, a short film I'm featured in, will be playing at the Northwest Film and Video Festival on November 10th and 16th - check http://www.haroldphillips.net/ for details.


Also, Trish's Regence Blue Cross/ Blue Shield ad (Choose "My Sister's Battling Breast Cancer" from the link) went national and is still running on the internet and (we think) nation-wide. We've been bowled over by peoples reaction to this ad - several folks have stopped Trish and said, "I'm so sorry to hear about your cancer!" She has to patiently explain that she doesn't really have cancer, that she's an actor, that it's just a commercial job she did... I guess it's a compliment to the producers of the spot (and to Trish) that the audience assumes that the characters in the ad are real. We can't help but looking at each other, though, and asking, "Do people really just assume what they see on TV is real?" I think it says something about us as a culture... and it's more than a little scary.


You may remember that in my last post I mentioned a couple of film premiers Trish and I were going to. We were very happy with the way From Kilimanjaro With Love turned out - you never know what the final product is going to be like when you work on a film. The folks over at Roads End Films did a fine job, though, of putting the film together. The camerawork looks great, the editing is very well done (something I was especially interested in as the fight choreographer - editing makes or breaks a fight scene), and the story was told in a way that the capacity-crowd-audience really appreciated (there were a couple of reporters there as well - one from the Newberg Graphic interviewed me as part of his story. Click here to read the article).


Now it's time for the waiting game - the film's been submitted to Sundance and a couple other high-profile festivals. I think it's got a better-than-even chance of being accepted and finding distribution. We'll keep you posted!


The other film Trish was involved with that premiered that weekend was a documentary about the Japanese Balloon Bombs of World War II called On Paper Wings. This was a truly moving documentary about war, loss, and redemption. Trish's voiceover was icing on the finely crafted cake that filmmaker Ilana Sol has put together about this episode in history - I can almost guarantee you that you'll be able to see this film in the near future through some outlet. Again, we'll keep you posted of its progress.


Lady Wasteland is still in post-production. I know that I'm going to need to go in for some ADR before the webisodes start "airing -" the director is still working out schedules for those sessions. In the mean time, if you haven't already, visit the site and sign up for updates; you'll be notified via email when the first episode is ready to be seen.


That's pretty much it for the performance aspect of our lives... I've had a few auditions that haven't panned out, and a standardized patient gig (yes, it's like that episode of Seinfeld... sigh...) for the OHSU School of Nursing earlier this week (I had conjunctivitis. FUN!!!). I'm going to be doing a Murder Mystery performance at The Mill Casino near Depoe Bay next weekend, and I've got a couple of auditions scheduled (including a very exciting chance to read for Northwest Children's Theater's upcoming production of The Devil and Daniel Webster - I'd be tickled RED to play The Devil in that show!).


Now it's time to head out to Trish's brother Pete's new place and help him un-pack. He found a lovely little place out in the woods near Scio, Oregon (about 20 minutes south of Salem) - plenty of room for him and his music equipment, with a fishing stream nearby and lots of peace and quiet. We helped him move out there on Monday (quite the task, to be sure), and now we're going to go out and help him set the place up.


That's pretty much it... hope you're all doing well!


-Harold