No Business Like Show Business...

Golly gee willikers wow-za, folks... it's been a hell of a couple weeks!! There's been a whole lotta stuff going on... and I've been running so hard I haven't even had time to sit down and quietly contemplate everything, let alone share the news.

Well lets see, where did I leave off last time...

You might recall that Trish and I were just getting ready to leave for a quick visit with my family up in the Blaine, WA area (near the Canadian border). Checking my email on the way up the highway, I found out that I got called back for the Oil Can Henry's ad that I'd auditioned for that week, so I was off and running Monday morning. I felt like the call-back went pretty well, but I didn't get the part (as it turned out my friend Tim Hill got cast instead, and I never mind losing out to him).

The week got a lot more exciting on Wednesday, though because...

Giggity Giggigy Giggity !!!

Out of the blue, Trish got a call from Lana Veenker Casting asking if she could step into a role in a little feature that's shooting in the area... called Twilight (based on the best-selling book series by Stephenie Meyer). See, Trish had auditioned for a role in the film a while back and not gotten cast. It turned out, however, that a scheduling conflict had developed with the actor who was cast, so Trish got the call.

Needless to say there was much hustling around as she got wardrobe together and fielded one-hundred-eleven phone calls from the casting agency, assistant directors, second assistant directors... you name it. They ended up not getting to her scene on Wednesday, so they called her back this past Monday. They didn't get to her scene Monday either, so she's currently on call - sometime in the next month or so she should get in front of the camera.

It's a wacky business...

Things get even MORE interesting, though. Friday I had a meeting with Lisa Abbott at my favorite home-away-from-home (the Fireside Coffee Lodge) to go over the violence I'm choreographing for her production of Streetcar Named Desire at Clark College. Nothing too over-the-top; Stanley isn't going to pull a broadsword on Blanche or anything like that. I'm going to have to get in to rehearse in the next week, however, since filming of The Outbreak is scheduled during prime rehearsal time.

Then, Wild Bills contacted us over the weekend to ask if we would both do a murder mystery at the Resort At The Mountain in early April (Trish will be directing and I'll be acting in "Capone's Place," a wacky 1920's romp featuring Al Capone, Elliot Ness, and all sorts of mob and flapper-type characters). We of course said yes...

Then I had a callback last night for a local indie feature called Crackin' The Code, written and directed by Steve Coker.

Giggity Giggigy Giggity !!!

I auditioned for the three lead roles back in February, knowing that I was too old for the parts. After my audition, Steve contacted me and asked if I'd be interested in playing a featured role - the lead character's brother's boyfriend. Of course, I have no problem with playing a gay character, so he sent me some sides to look at. The couple, Clay and Nick, are so real; the scenes really resonated with me.

I got to meet "Clay" at my callback last night, and we really clicked. I felt a great connection with both Shawn Cates (who plays Clay) and Steve, and by the end of the evening we were hanging around like old friends. I think they're going to be great to work with.

We're going to have some workshop and rehearsal sessions in the coming months. The film starts principal photography in July.

Want even more wacky? I have a call-back for another indie on Friday; if I get cast in this one, shooting would begin almost imediately after my zombie movie, The Outbreak, wraps.

So, like I say... things are kinda crazy around here. Trish is waiting to hear about her next day on the set of Twilight, I'm in pre-production rehearsals for The Outbreak and Crackin' The Code. April is going to be pretty much one thing after another - if it's not one-thing-scheduled-around-the-other... Our trip to Alaska this summer is going to provide us a very welcome break.

Hope your lives are a little more stable...

-Harold