Audition: "Hewlett-Packard" @ Joe Blake Casting. I may be a little young for this spot according to the specs, but it went great. This should be my last audition for a while; I'm due for a break and I need to, want to and can’t wait to get out of LA for a bit.

Tonight I participated in a staged reading for a casting director who specializes in low to medium budget films. It had been quite some time since I had been a part of one and it was again a cool experience. Not to sound "connected" or "exclusive", but I probably shouldn't mention the project by name since the director and writers' name were not on the script and I heard the director say that they were trying to keep on the DL. I'll say this; the director is the son of a very, very well known actor.

http://www.stephonfuller.com/consultations.html

It's back. What? This eye twitch that I get periodically. When I've asked my doctors in the past about it they say it's just stress. Admittedly I'm putting quite a bit a stress on myself these days. Non-acting stuff. Maybe "stress" isn't the right word; how about "new challenges". Yeah, I like the sound of that.

Actually I've been in the classroom for the past two Saturdays and have really enjoyed it. Again, non-acting. I like learning about almost anything; I think I'm the most curious person in the world. I think I'd like to take a ceramics class and a typing class in the near future.

I finished my 5-week voiceover class last week. I learned a lot; mostly that I have more work to do before I am ready to compete in the commercial voiceover world - I expected that. It's not easy to do well; it's a craft and a skill.

http://www.stephonfuller.com/consultations.html

Rerun: “Weeds” eps: “The Punishment Lighter” @ 9pm and 9:30pm on Showtime.

To all of the men, women, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, mothers and fathers serving in the armed forces - thank you! Los Angeles National Cemetery

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Rerun: “Monk” eps: “Mr. Monk Is On The Air” @ 10pm on USA Network.

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Rerun: "Frasier" eps: "Love Stinks" on Lifetime @ 10am.

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Audition: “Toyota Prius” @ Joe Blake Casting. This is a spec spot for a director’s reel. It was fun and I’m right enough for it – I think.

http://www.stephonfuller.com/consultations.html

Today I'm scheduled to speak @ The Actorsite – open to non-members and free to the public. I’ve spoken to hundreds of actors over the years so you might think I’d be used to it by now, but the fact of the matter is that I’ve get unbelievably nervous in the days leading up to it. I don’t know why, but I do. In the end they always go very well and I walk away feeling like I’m making a difference – and that is a good feeling.

http://www.stephonfuller.com/consultations.html

Audition: “Skittles” @ Francene Selkirk Casting. This is a really funny spot and I had a great time reading for it. It's always funny auditioning here because Francene, the casting director, knows that I write about her in my blog. I "have" to write about Francene because she brought me in for my first audition ever in Los Angeles - one day I'll actually book something for her! She's cool and very actor-friendly.

http://www.stephonfuller.com/consultations.html

Audition: "Comcast" @ Kathy Knowles Casting. Good stuff; I get a fair amount of callbacks and avails at this office. It took me almost 2 hours to get home from Santa Monica from this audition and it nearly drove me crazy. I’m usually pretty even-tempered about most things, but for some reason I about lost my mind today over traffic. I actually had to ride my bike to my voiceover class tonight so I could calm down. If I had to drive there I would have ditched class. Maybe riding my bike is my form of yoga.

http://www.stephonfuller.com/consultations.html

Yesterday was Mother's Day and I really wish I could have picked up the phone and talk to my mom, but I can't. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t envious of those that are able to do that.

Audition: "Campbell's" @ Deborah Kurtz Casting. Funny spot and I'd love to be a part of it.

http://www.stephonfuller.com/consultations.html

Audition “Thunder Geniuses” @ Neely Gurman Casting. I read for the director for this Ultra low budget feature. The director seemed really happy with what he saw, but I have a feeling that he was just really nice and appreciative to everyone – kinda hard to read. It was one of those where I made some different choices that weren’t on the page – it took some chances, but I’m not sure they translated.

http://www.stephonfuller.com/consultations.html

Twelve years ago today @ 6:30am Eastern Standard Time I arrived on the island of Manhattan a.k.a. New York City from the suburbs of Virginia Beach, VA. In my wallet was $196 and not much else.

I spent the next 4 months living in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan at 46th & 9th Avenue. Hell’s Kitchen was very different in '95 than it is today. Now it's a much, much nicer place to live. My arrival in New York wasn't my first time there, but I hadn't ever spent more than 3 days there at one time. I really had no idea what to expect; I didn't know if I'd adapt quickly or if NYC would systematically break me down. The only thing I knew was that I was on a mission and I was very, very serious about what I was trying to accomplish. It was an eye opening experience to say the least.

My living situation was basically a large room with 3 other actors (all smokers). I shared a full-sized bed with my friend Greg who I made the move together with and sometimes the dog. My job, at the time, was the worst job I'd ever had - I was a busser at The Harley-Davidson Cafe @ 56th & 6th. A hard thing to swallow was the fact that I was actually making less money than I made in Virginia Beach - I had a tough road ahead of me.

Oh yeah, the dog didn't like me all that much; one night he/she vomited in the bed I shared....under the covers....on my side...and the dog didn't tell me. How did I find out? Well, one night/morning after a long shift at work I got into bed and felt something cold on my foot.....yeah…pretty nasty.

Things could only get better - and they did. After several moves around town I eventually got my own bed, my own room and a promotion to a server at The Harley-Davidson Cafe that tripled my pay. The worst job I'd ever had turned into the best job I ever had. I even fired the talent manager who, after a year, still couldn't pronounce my name; immediately afterwards I signed with Stephon Fuller Management; right away things started to happen.

It blows my mind when I think back to what I've seen, what I've learned, where I've been and who I've met over the past 12 years. But what really blows me away is how much I've been able to give back to the industry that has given me so much. I think I picked up being a giver from my mother; I watched her give and do for others over and over again. She is a tough act to follow, but I try.

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Audition: "Hanes" @ Ross Lacy Casting. This went great, I'm perfect for the character and my callback/avail ratio with this office is pretty good.

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Audition: "LA-Z-BOY" @ ASG Casting. Guess what I'm going to say about this audition? Yup, you're right, "it went really well!" I'm so confident these days and I'm looking forward to scoring again soon...really soon.

Audition: "Time-Warner Cable" @ Joe Blake Casting. This was fun AND I got to wear a mullet wig. Ya know the kind; "Business in the front, party in the back". I wish I could have seen myself in it.

This was the first audition that I had that implemented "The Casting Frontier" method. I'm not totally versed in exactly what they do, but in a nutshell The Casting Frontier is a system that automates the check-in process and several of the big commercial casting facilities are using it.

It's free, at least for now, I don't know if it will remain free if it catches on it.

Anyway, I had signed up several months ago so I was already in the system. When I went to sign-in like at any other commercial audition the coordinator asked if I had my "Barcode". I didn't know what she was talking about. So she directed me to one of the TCF computers and I logged in to my account and printed my barcode. The barcode had all of my sizes and agency info encoded.

As a result: no headshot needed, no resume needed, no Polaroid needed and, get this, no filling out a size card...pretty cool.

http://www.stephonfuller.com/consultations.html