Back In The Land Of The Living...

... which means, sadly, there's a lot of bills to pay and paperwork to get done!

Howdy everyone. Most of last week was spent playing catch-up on everything that had "sagged" during the filming of The Outbreak, so I didn't really have much time to sit back and blog. It's a brand new week, though (and most of the fires have been put out), so I thought I'd take a moment over my morning cup of coffee to get you caught up on what's been happening (and what's coming up).

First off, lets get this out of the way... my MySpace and Facebook friends have already been emailing me wondering about my "status" update: "Harold is going to miss Trish when she's out of town this week... :(." Yeah, Trish is indeed leaving for a week. We have a good friend in New Orleans who recently went through a major surgery. Trish is flying down this morning for a week to take care of her when she gets out of the hospital... I am, of course, pretty sad to be without her for the week, but glad that she has the freedom to step in and care for one of our best friends (we've known "Jelly" for almost 15 years). So that's the deal... no great tragedy (well, other than the air fare) is taking her away, more an errand of mercy.

As I write this she's busily rushing about packing and making last-minute arrangements... so I'll have to be somewhat quick :) So, lets talk about the past week...

>>The Outbreak , as you know, wrapped shooting last weekend. After resting up I had a couple conversations with director Chris Lund. He's happy with the footage he got overall, but no so happy with the ending... we'll probably be shooting a couple more days in the next couple weeks with a new and improved ending.

The stuff we got in the can, though, is fabulous. Chris sent me a still he captured from footage for the end of the film... how cool is this? There's some more shots from rehearsals and filming at my MySpace page... I'm still putting together a behind-the-scenes gallery for http://www.haroldphillips.net/.

>> On Saturday, I shot a new commercial for First Federal, a financial institution in McMinnville, Oregon (I say "financial institution" because they're not technically a bank in a legal sense... more a community savings-and-loan). The shoot went really well; Jacob Hinmon led a small crew of three through the shots with ease and good humor, and we wrapped much earlier than I expected (though not early enough for me to make it to my friend Kathryn Bukowski's stand-up show). It's going to be a funny spot; I got to clown around a bit, and I think I gave Jake a lot of goofy options to use in post-production. Unfortunately, unless you have Comcast Cable in Yamhill County, Oregon, you're not going to see the spot... but I'll be sure to post a copy on http://www.haroldphillips.net/ when I get it.

>>Streetcar Named Desire up at Clark College is going swimingly! I attended my third rehearsal with the actors on Tuesday, after I wrapped shooting on The Outbreak. Since we'd only gone through the choreography once, I went in expecting to have to re-train the cast in the moves I'd laid down for them... but everyone remembered their sequences flawlessly, and we spent the entire rehearsal "tweaking" and polishing instead of going down roads we'd already traveled. I have to say, this cast of young actors is taking to the material (and the violence) exceptionally well; Lisa Abbott has done a great job in directing them (I'm sure she helped to keep them on-track from a stage combat perspective, too), and they're all bringing their A-Game to the production. I attended their first full run through on Sunday to take some notes, and they're in really good shape to open this Friday. Any of you up Vancouver, WA way should consider popping down to Clark this weekend or next and checking it out!

Well, that's the nutshell description of what's been going on the past week... this week I've got an audition for an Oregon Association of Realtors spot, final rehearsals for Streetcar and a rehearsal for Crackin' The Code lined up. At least that's what's on the books today... lord knows it'll probably change by the time you've read this. In a way, it's good that I'm so busy... it'll keep me from missing Trish too much while she's out of town. Luckily I set up our Skype accounts with web cams yesterday, so we can at least wink at each other while we're apart.

Ok, time to head to the airport... hope you're all doing well!

-Harold

Return From Zombie-Land

Aaaaaand... that's a wrap (sorta)!

6:00 this morning saw the wrap of principal photography on The Outbreak, the very exciting internet zombie movie I've been working on. It was a tough but very satisfying shoot... five straight nights of shooting is always tough on the actors and crew; you wrap up the day's work at dawn, go home and sleep (if you're lucky) and then get up and do it again somewhere between two and five the next day. Add to that the inevitable technical problems that crop up on any shoot, the ambitious schedule (we had a lot of very complicated stuff to get in the can in just five nights), the need to make up a horde of zombie extras (I don't know the exact number, but we must have have had over 40 zombies)... and by the end of the shoot everyone involved was exhausted.

The shoot definitely took its toll on my body... I'm involved in just about every scene in the film, so I got no nights off. The physical action plus the long hours had me hobbling my way home in the early hours of the morning.

I have to say, though, I'm pretty happy with what got caught on tape. The action sequences are going to be pretty awesome (thanks Jerry!), the zombies will look terrifying (thanks Christina!!), and everything should come together into a pretty damned wild ride. I'm so so so grateful to the creators of this film (thanks Chris, Scott, Sean and Kent!!!) for letting me take part.

Chances are we'll need to do some pick-up shots in the coming weeks, once all the footage is logged. I'll keep you posted as the post-production process continues... too tired to write more now, though :) Glad to be back!

-Harold

Filmmakers Are Flocking To Oregon

Hey folks

I'm a little ragged from last night's shoot... but I was forwarded this great video about shooting in Oregon this morning that I thought you'd all want to see:

Also, Film Oregon Alliance has launched a new website (www.FilmOregon.org) which is designed to showcase and promote Central Oregon's vast resources for film, broadcast and new media production companies.The www.FilmOregon.org website is the first of its kind in the state of Oregon that will allow individuals, companies and organizations to create online listings of talent, skills and services. Production companies can then search and view resources that are available that will include crew, talent, support services, transportation, lodging, locations and virtually anything a production company might need to locate a film, broadcast or new media project in Central Oregon.

Stop by and take a look!

Gonna need a nap today... tonight's shoot is set to go 'til 2:30 am!

-Harold

Storm Before The Calm Before The Storm

Howdy folks!

I'm off to the gym before starting my first day's shooting of The Outbreak. Before I head out, though, I thought I'd take a little time to get you caught up on what's happened over the past couple days, and what's ahead.

Like I said, The Outbreak begins shooting in earnest today, and I'm looking forward to a week's worth of late-afternoon-into-the-early-morning shoots, wading through a ravening horde of zombies. We had a long rehearsal on the set Wednesday night, and again all day Sunday (that day was largely focused on the action sequences in the film. We're going to be doing some crazy stuff, all under the watchful eye of Stunt professional Jerry Buxbaum). The cast and crew are ready - I think we're all looking forward to getting the show on the road today.

In between Outbreak rehearsals, I had a stage combat rehearsal with the cast of Clark College's upcoming production of Streetcar Named Desire. We'd had one rehearsal before, where I went over some basic stage combat principals and moves... this rehearsal, though, was focused totally on the choreography we're going to be using in the show.

Doing combat with young actors can be challenging, as they bring varying levels of experience and focus to the process. They're often uncomfortable in their own bodies, and nervous about getting too close to each other. I have to say, though, that the cast Lisa Abbott has assembled for this production is really top-notch. They approached their work with both focus and a healthy respect for the material (and each other). By the end of the night we'd choreographed all the violence in the show. I'm very confident in this cast; I'm sure that by the time I join them at our next rehearsal (after The Outbreak is done shooting) they will have worked on the moves and they'll be comfortable enough for fine tuning and work on timing and integrating the action with the rest of the scene.

Saturday was one of my last "normal" days before shooting, so I wallowed a bit in suburban life. The sun was out and I took advantage of that fact by making some sun tea and mowing my lawn. Doesn't seem like much of a way to spend my one Saturday afternoon off... but I have to say, I take great pleasure in simple domestic tasks. Maybe it's because I'm away from home so often... but sweating it out a little mowing my lawn, doing dishes, laundry, or whatever gives me a quiet sense of accomplishment. There's a lot to be said, I think, for enjoying the simple tasks in life; "chores" can have a lot of appeal if you look for the magic locked inside them.

I had a meeting with a director Monday about a new feature that will be shooting throughout the rest of the year... well, actually, it's an old feature that he's re-shooting because he's brought some new cast members on board. I think the meeting went fairly well. If something develops, I'll be sure to let you know - it's a very exciting project, and one I'd be very proud to be part of.

Tuesday, I got some VERY VERY good news:

Giggity Giggity Giggity - Awright!

I'm especially happy about this one, since I negotiated my own deal. Let me give you a little back-story... a few months ago I saw a post on Craigslist looking for actors... so I submitted my headshot and resume. The poster, an ad agency in McMinnville, responded by saying that I wasn't right for that particular spot, but that they'd keep my information.

I didn't think much of it until a couple weeks ago, when The Hinmon Agency contacted me directly and asked me to read for a new spot they're doing for First Federal Bank. McMinnville is a bit of a drive - about 50 miles from my house in Portland - but I headed down there and read for the spot. After the audition I encouraged them to contact my agent, Kaili, if they wanted me for the spot (she's much more experienced with contracts than I am).

I didn't think much about it afterwards... you're usually better off after an audition to just move on rather than to dwell on whether or not you're going to get the role - so many factors are outside your control, and the chances are always against your landing the job from an entirely statistical standpoint. Focusing on the the audition and the mistakes you might have made... how important the job is, how much you want it... those things can lead you into a maddening cycle, and when you don't get the job (again, the statistical probability), it can hit you pretty hard. My general rule-of-thumb is to think over what I might have done differently and then focus on the next one.

Much to my surprise, I got an email from my agent last week saying that the director did, indeed want to hire me for the spot. She'd turned him down, though, because the pay was too low. She wanted to let me know, however, so I could work out my own deal with him - she just couldn't see getting involved and taking 15% of such a small pay-check (have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE my agent Kaili?). So, I contacted The Hinmon Agency and told them that I'd be happy to do the spot, but that the pay was too low for a lifetime buy-out. After a few phone calls and emails back and forth I was able to work out more acceptable terms with the client and the agency (including a little bump in pay, a one-year instead of lifetime buy, and a re-negotiation clause in case they use the spot outside the local market it's being created for)... and the spot was booked.

Just goes to show, you can accomplish a lot more by working with people than by digging your heels in and making demands. Everyone's coming out ahead on this deal - that's the way negotiations are supposed to work.

So yeah, I'm pretty happy about how things turned out. I'll be shooting the First Fed spot next Saturday. Unless you live in Yamhill County Oregon, though, you probably won't see it... that is, until I get my copy and post it on http://www.haroldphillips.net/.

Well, that's pretty much all that's been going on around here... time to get myself put together for the shoot. The zombies are waiting... Hope you're all doing well.

-Harold

Anyone Headed To Zurich This May?

Hey folks

Just a quick post before I head out the door to my first appointment of the day... I got an email from director Scott Cummins this morning. The short film I was part of for last year's 48 Hour Film Competition, Secret Identity Crisis, has been selected by the Pink Apple Film Festival in Zurich, Switzerland. So, if anyone happens to be headed to Zurich on or around May 3rd, you might want to pop by the Arthouse Theaters to check it out.

"Innocent Bystander #2" will be developing an international fan-base... you just wait and see! :)

Trish and I had a great time last night doing "Capone's Place" for Wild Bills' Murder For Sale division. The show was at the Resort at the Mountain up in Welches (on Mt. Hood), and the resort staff treated us really well. We kept the clients, a forklift sales and rental company, laughing throughout the evening, so I think the show turned out all right. It was snowing by the end of the evening (big fluffy flakes), so I think we got off the mountain in the nick of time!

Tonight it's off to Damascus, OR for the first Outbreak rehearsal in the location we'll be filming most of the scenes at. We're getting pretty serious now - up til this point we've been going over scenes in Chris and Lynn's (the director and producer, respectively) living room; starting tonight, though, it's hands-on-high-intensity rehearsal. Jerry Buxbaum, one of the area's top stunt directors, will be on-site to start working us up on the action, and we may even have a zombie or two to try and avoid.

Well, that's it for now... there'll be another update soon, I'm sure! Hope you're all doing well...

-Harold

A Few Items To Start The Week Off...

'Morning everyone.

Well, it's Monday and I'm on the run again (as usual)... the week ahead promises to be busy, so I'm taking a moment to collect my thoughts and clear out the memory banks. This is going to be one of those hodge-podge kind of posts... a little bit of everything.

>> First off, new content has been added to http://www.haroldphillips.net. I finally got around to posting two new video clips - one from the OEN videos I shot this spring and a clip from a motiviational video in the Answer to Absolutely Everything series. Slowly but surely I'm building up a critical mass of video samples that can be turned into an actual, like, professional reel.

>> Friday was my first rehearsal with the cast of Streetcar Named Desire at Clark College up in Vancouver. I'm choreographing the violence in the show. We didn't go through any choreography on Friday; rather, the evening was deveoted to a "workshop" session on stage combat principals and some basic moves that'll be used in the choreography. I was pretty happy with the session; the cast was very focused and attentive, and by the end of the evening we'd gone over "preparation, action, and reaction," falls, punches, and slaps.

I go back on Friday the 11th to start working the "real" choreography into the play. Ironically, I got invited to opening night of another production of Streetcar that night (this one at Artists Repertory Theater); but like the T-Shirt says... "I can't. I have rehearsal."

>> Sunday was "Zombie Bootcamp" at SilkTricky. In preparation for the shoot of The Outbreak, Chris Lund brought in movement specialist Ira Kartoum (did I spell that right, Ira?), make up artist Christina Kartoum, and a veritable zombie horde. Ira worked with our zombies on movement while Christina did makeup tests. We've got a great assortment of undead for this little project, and they're going to be one hell of an unholy mob to go up against. Wednesday is our first rehearsal at the location out in Damascus... and the shoot is coming up fast!

And that's what's happening in my world at the moment... this week's going to be pretty full, with rehearsal and performance of a Wild Bills Murder Mystery tonight and tomorrow night, Outbreak rehearsal Wednesday, and Streetcar rehearsal Friday. Gosh... maybe I'll get to sleep a little on Thursday and kick this cold that's been hanging on, huh?

Hope you're all doing well... have a good week!

-Harold

Portland Show-Biz Types - Items of Interest

This one is aimed squarely at the Portland theater and film communities... a couple of items have come up that I thought I should let everyone know about.

>> First off, subscribers to the PDXBackstage listserv here in Portland know that there's been a lot of discussion about the acting unions' presence here in Portland and people's varying feelings about them. After a long-running discussion on the list (I won't try to encapsulate it here - start reading here and move forward through the posts... unfortunately, due to changes in subject lines not all the posts are threaded), members of the Portland boards of SAG and AFTRA have put together an informational meeting about union membership with AFTRA & SAG executives Wes Jones and Dena Beatty.

The meeting is open to anyone interested in finding out more about the unions and how to work with them (you can find out more by clicking here), but you'll need to RSVP with Dena Beatty at DBeatty@sag.org.

If you've got questions about the actor's unions, what they can do for you, and how to work with them, I'd encourage you to attend this event.

>> Secondly, I received this email from Portland City Councilman Sam Adams last week. In it, he addresses the worsening national economy, Portland's current economic condition, and a 10-step plan to "to help mitigate local impacts of the national economic slowdown on Portlanders and Portland businesses."

As the national economy worsens, arts and media organizations are often among the first to feel the effects. Donations and ticket sales go down as our audiences and benefactors start to worry about their income, ticket sales go down, and backing for independent production dries up.

You might note that #8 on Commissioner Adams' list of strategies is "Maintain Tourism Support." I took a moment to fill out his survey (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=GfUZ6Ux9kBGuaAV_2fY_2bRK5g_3d_3d), and in the additional comments field I reminded his team of two things:

1) Part of maintaining tourism support includes giving visitors cultural attractions to visit. For this reason, increased support for arts organizations is crucial so that there are theater and other performance options for them.

2) Given the amount of money that visiting film and television productions have pumped into Portland's economy, it's important to maintain or increase incentives to bring these productions here, and to support our local industry so that these productions have talented and experienced Portland residents to work with.

I'd encourage you all to take a moment and visit Commissioner Adams' survey to echo these comments, and voice your own. Chances are good that the next few years may be rocky for Portland's economy, and making sure our presence is known will help keep us on the politicians' radar.

Stay active and stay involved, folks...

-Harold

Surprise!

I got a call from Trish on Tuesday.

"Do you have anything on your schedule for tomorrow night?"

"No..." I said.

"How about Thursday morning?"

"Ummmm... no..." I said.

"Ok, then, block them out. Don't schedule anything for Wednesday night or the following morning."

I hung up the phone a little confused... but only a little. Conversations like this happen between Trish and I a lot; given the anything-can-happen nature of our lives, we pretty much live by our Outlook and Palm Treo schedules. An audition, rehearsal, or shoot could pop up at any moment (not to mention the day-to-day challenges of our day jobs), and we're often checking with each other to make plans.

She usually tells me what she's planning, though... she obviously had something special in the works. I didn't know what she had in mind... but given how crazy our lives are and how full my upcoming month is going to be, we've resolved to grab any chance we get to spend a little time together. I reconciled myself to the fact that I wouldn't know what she had planned and let it go at that.

So, yesterday morning Trish told me to lay out any clothes I'd need for Thursday (in case an appointment did pop up). After an audition in McMinnville I met her downtown. "The place we're going," she said, "has expensive parking. Lets drop one of the cars at home." After doing so, she directed me to drive back downtown, and to Portland's Riverplace Hotel where she'd rented a room for us. After a little bit of food in the lounge (the "3 Degrees" restaurant has a fantastic happy-hour menu... good food, good drinks, and all for $3 each! Can't beat it!), we wandered down Portland's waterfront to...

Cirque du Soleil's traveling show, currently residing in Portland: Corteo. She'd found a pair of seats in the third row on a "rush" (she assumes there was a cancelation, as the seats were much less expensive than you'd expect) Tuesday, and she'd set the whole evening up from there.

The show itself was, to be honest, a little disappointing. The acts were, for the most part, the high-quality circus acts we've come to expect from Cirque du Soleil (we've seen several of their shows). The style of this show, however, was very different from the other Cirque show's we've seen in the past. The action on the stage was much more episodic, with blackouts in between many of the sequences... and the over-all "story" of the evening wasn't as fully realized as the other shows we've seen - characters were introduced that didn't seem to go anywhere, clown acts didn't seem to fit the over-all arch of the tale being told, and the general momentum of the show didn't carry through to a climax. Also, most of the characters in the show spoke English... generally the speaking parts (largely clowns) speak French or a nonsense language, getting their message across through action and intention rather than dialogue. Hearing actual lines seemed to lessen the experience somewhat (for me). And a couple of the performers were, frankly, weak (being as it was a Wednesday night and there's a flu bug sweeping Portland, it's possible that we were seeing an under-study or two).

These are fine points, however. The evening was still a fantastic paegent of costume, light, music, special effects, engineering, and of course acrobatic excellence. Memorable high points included a group of women suspended on chandeliers, a little clown (as in "little person") suspended by helium balloons, a phenomenal arial strap performance (at one point, the male in the pair was actually suspended by the female's hair), acrobats rolling around the stage in metal hoops, and a ladder routine that would have to be seen to be believed.

After the show, we had a nice, intimate walk down the waterfront back to our hotel. A wonderful night... what can I say, folks. I'm incredibly lucky to be married to such a crafty woman!

-Harold

Gettin' In Gear and Stayin' Organized

Well, it's that time of year again. April 15th is just around the corner, and (if you haven't already) it's time to get your receipts in order and get those taxes filed.

This time of year can be especially nerve-wracking for we actors, since our income isn't generally steady, and our working lives aren't the usual "punch-a-clock-get-a-paycheck" kind of lives. As actors, we all run our own businesses: We're the CEO, CFO, Middle-manager, Clerk, and Janitor for Me, Inc. Our tax forms are often a mix of W-2 wage income from our day-jobs (and, if we're union members or just lucky, some production companies that pay us as employees) and Schedule C's (for 1099 "independent contractor" income. As PDXBackstage subscribers know, there's a lot of debate as to whether actors should or should not be paid as Independent Contractors, but it happens and we have to report it).

A couple years back I wrote a post with some tax tips for actors... if you're quivering at the approach of April 15th, you might want to check it out. I want to be clear, though, that I'm no tax professional - don't take my advice in this post as gospel. If you have questions, go see a certified tax preparer (like Sandra Vincent, Trish and my tax person. She's awesome!).

No matter how we're paid, a professional acting career is a business and needs to be run as such. There are (deductible) costs associated with running that business, but you have to be able to document and produce them in case you get audited. There are things you need to do to make your business grow (i.e. get more work), too, like network, communicate with directors and producers, and keep your schedule organized. Staying organized and on top of things helps at tax time, and during the rest of the year when you, the actor, is hustling after the work.

For the past two years I've been using a computer program called ActorTrack from Holdon Log. Some of you have probably heard me sing its praises to anyone who listens. It's a perfect out-of-the-box solution for staying organized and on track as you build your acting career. I just heard some very exciting news about a new version of the program that's due to come out in the next couple months, and I'm like totally psyched about it, dudes!

Before I go any farther, I want you to know that I don't work with Holdon Log, the producers of ActorTrack. The only relationship I have with them is my status as a very very VERY satisfied customer. As most of you know, when I find something I think my friends, neighbors, or peers can benefit from I'm happy to share that information. This is a completely uncompensated testimonial - I've just really loved using this program, and I know it's helped me build the number of jobs I've gotten over the past few years.

(If you already know about the program and want to skip straight to the news, you can click here. If you want to find out more about why I love it so, however... keep reading)

Ok, now that that's out of the way, what's so great about ActorTrack? Well, the program lets you keep track of your entire business in one place. Contacts (it's not what you know...), auditions, booked jobs, income, expenses and schedule are all accessible from the home page (set up to replicate one of Holdon Log's log book products) with tabs for each area.

Each area has a number of detailed fields to be filled out which, at first blush, can seem needlessly complicated. Who cares which headshot I used or who I met with at that audition, right? Over time, though (and with the VERY useful help file full of industry tips), you come to realize that this data is very valuable, as it helps you keep faces and names straight.

The data you fill into these areas is all cross-linked. For example, contacts can be linked to particular jobs and auditions, and expenses and income can be linked to a particular job as well. Everything gets linked to the Calendar tab, so you can see all your appointments at once.

At the end of the year (or whenever you feel like it, really) you're able to print out reports from the "Breakdowns" section on how many jobs you've booked vs the number of auditions you've gone on, your career income and expenses to date (or for a given year), which headshots and clothing choices have worked best, and more. This is useful information for tax time... but there's an intangible value as well. Many actors feel like they keep going and going, but never seem to get anywhere in their careers. These reports put it all in front of you in black-and-white: how many jobs you've worked in a given year, what you've made... in essence, it's a year-by-year record of your success.

For a more formal view of ActorTrack's features, take a look at HoldonLog's online tour of the software at http://www.holdonlog.com/pages/at-tour.html.

I have to say, though, that one of the most pleasant surprises ActorTrack has given me in the past couple of years is their commitment to their customers. Holdon Log is, for the most part, made up of working actors. They understand the wild and wooly life we live, and they've tailored their software and their service to our bizarre existence. I've had a software glitch here and there, and my emails to support@holdonglog.com have always been responded to promptly by the same person (the company assigns one support tech to you when you begin your use of the program). He set up a phone call for a time that's convenient for me (even Saturday at 11pm), calls me (Holdon Log eats the long distance) and helps me work through the problems. Because my "rep" is the same guy every time, we get to know each other on these support calls... I ask him how his stand-up career is going, he asks me what new projects I've got in the works. From time to time he'll even pass on industry tips that he's learned along the way.

It was on one such support call this weekend (he called me back at 11am on a Sunday. I mean, come on, what small company does that for its customers?) that I heard some exciting news about the new version of ActorTrack due out this year.

Holdon Log is creating a new web-access version of their software called PerformerTrack, set for launch later this year. As the name implies, they've opened the program up to other performing artists besides actors; they want to make these tools available to dancers, comedians, musicians, and any other performing artist.

Because the software will be online, it can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection (unlike ActorTrack, which is licensed to a single computer). This means that if you take a gig out of town, you can access and update your information from anywhere. The current version of ActorTrack has a PalmOS conduit, but this also opens the software up to access from IPhones and other PDA's with internet browsers.

Perhaps best of all, having the software online allows HoldonLog to make updates to the software quickly and easily. If you see a category missing from one of the areas, you can contact them with a suggestion... and your suggestion may well show up in the system within days.

They're also planning on adding a host of features to the Contacts, Booked Projects, Income & Expenses, and Breakdown sections.

I'm really excited to see where this software is going; as I said above, it's been a great tool for me over the past couple years in building my career. I can only assume that it's going to get better with this new version. Holdon Log is planning on making FREE presentations (see http://www.lightscameratracking.com/) in a number of cities around the country to support the launch of this new product; I'm working to convince them to add Portland to their tour (Portlanders, go here to sign-up: http://www.holdonlog.com/pages/inyourarea-portland.html). If you're reading this from outside Portland and are interested in seeing a presentation come to your town, then go here http://www.holdonlog.com/pages/InYourAreaHLPTcitylist.html. You can also receive launch news about PerformerTrack by stopping by http://www.performertrack.com/.

I'll post more info about this as I find it out... and for you actors out there (or friends and family looking for a gift to give the actor in your life) consider taking a look at ActorTrack. It'll probably make next year's taxes go a lot smoother.

**UPDATE: I mentioned to my Holdon Log Rep that I was going to make this post, and he suggested that I pass along Promo code JXT8 to my readers - they're grateful for my testimonial, it seems, and want to give any of you who want to try out the software 10% off the purchase price. So, if you're interested, save a few bucks and use the promo code :)

-Harold

Morning Inspiration

Yes, I have those occasionally.

So, Trish and I have been a bit under the weather over the past couple of days. There's a cold / flu bug going around Portland, and we've been coughing and feeling generally crummy. I probably had a low-grade fever last night when I went to bed.

I always have the most interesting dreams when I'm feverish... night-before-last I dreamed that our friend Lindsay and a couple other women I knew took me to a clothing store to buy clothes for Trish, and I tried on blouses and skirts to see what they'd look like (Freudians, start your engines!). Never mind the fact that I'm, ya know... six inches taller than Trish and, like, a guy and all. Yeah...

So, this morning I woke up with the mantra from The Little Engine That Could running through my head.

"I think I can I think I can I think I can."
"I know I can I know I can I know I can."

Then, my subconcious took it a step further.

"I will."
"Will."

"You know," subconcious Me said to concious Me as I tried desperately to fade back into sleep, "in every endevour, what matters is Will. Believing you can succeed is only the first step. Deciding you can succeed, and Willing yourself to succeed is the path to making things happen."

So, that's it. Just a little first-thing-in-the-morning insight that I had today... much more interesting than the mornings I wake up with Stevie Wonder or Gordon Lightfoot songs running through my head.

Hope you're all doing well...

-Harold