You Just Never Know Where Opportunity Will Strike...

If you were following my Facebook or Twitter feeds yesterday, you probably saw that I had an industrial audition during the afternoon (what's an "industrial?" Click here for a handy definition...). The audition went pretty well, but that's not what I'm writing about today.

One of the actors I read opposite during the audition was, to my surprise, a lawyer I've worked with in the past (as part of my "other life"). He'd never auditioned for anything in his life - in fact, he'd never acted before. As we rode down in the elevator together, he explained that he went to the audition to experience what "that part of the business" was like... because he's helping a client who's in the process of putting together a web series.

Of course, I offered to help him in any way I could... to explain things to him, put him in touch with people in our local industry, chat with his client about the web series I'd been a part of... anything to help the project get off the ground. Sure, there were some mercenary motives to my offer - I'd love to get a job in another web series and work with people I haven't met yet. More to the point, though, I want to encourage more people outside our industry to get involved, and to treat it like a "real" industry here in Oregon.

As I walked away, I just shook my head at the situation... I might get the part I auditioned for in the industrial, or I might not... but by going, I made a valuable contact that may very well lead to future work for me, and for a lot of people in our local industry. You just never know where opportunities will pop up - the key is to get out there and keep your ears open, so you'll recognize them when they do show up.

That's my thought for the day...

-Harold