Audition/Producers “Just Legal” @ UDK Casting. Imagine that!! I was just telling a friend that I haven’t had an audition at UDK for three years. THREE YEARS!!! I still drop-off there, but I rarely get in. Matter of fact, I dropped there two days ago, but for a different project. I think the last time I auditioned there was when I worked on “CSI”.

Anyway, the read went well and it was great to see casting director Robert Ulrich whom I know through my friend William Gregory Lee. Maybe this will help me get back on the map at this office. No matter what, I will keep dropping off my photos.

After doing some early drops this morning I was looking forward to going home to chill, but my commercial agent called with an appointment for this afternoon. It was straight to callbacks for a “FedEx” national spot @ Mimi Webb-Miller Casting. YES!! This one goes well…sorta. I mean the read was good, but I had an issue with the session runner.

I like to think I’m a nice, understanding guy, but I don’t like to be disrespected for no reason. I could see that the young lady running the session was really busy so I tried to stay out of the way and have all my stuff ready. It just seemed like everything she said to me specifically was rude and nasty. Again, I understood that she was really busy. Well, the third time I’d had it and I told her that she was very rude to me numerous times for no reason. We kinda got into a bit and she apologized….I didn’t. I had no reason too.

I work as a session runner too and I know how busy it can get, but I do my best to treat people with respect. Maybe she was doing her best, I don’t know. Sometimes, people just need a reality check and I think we both got one. After a while, I got her attention and sincerely apologized. I didn’t want her to think I was a prick that just didn’t care about her because I’m sure she’s a wonderful young lady. I told her I understood that she was under a bit of pressure and that I was sorry. She accepted and even gave me a big hug! That, in itself, made the whole thing worth it! I’m kidding. All in all it was good experience with a little bump in the road. We all make mistakes, the important thing is what we do about them. We both will be able to rest easy tonight because we did the right thing and said we were sorry.

No news on the print job for Tuesday or Wednesday. I guess I’m still on hold, at least I hope so.

Cool! I get my call time for Monday on “Easier, Softer Way”. We are shooting in downtown LA.

More drops and more blood, sweat & tears out on the pavement. It’s amazing how empowered being out in the field makes me feel. Even if I’m not getting calls at a given moment; it feels great to be at least attempting to make it happen.

THIS JUST IN!! Ha!! I went in for a “Dolby” print job last week and just got the call that I am on hold for Monday or Tuesday. Cool! That’s 2-2 this year for print. Not bookings, but being placed on hold. I know that I don’t get paid for it, but usually you have to get an “on hold” before you’re going to make any scrilla(cheese, cash, dough, dollars, deniro, pesos or money). Hmmm…maybe there is a market for me in the print world too.

Lots and lots off drop-offs today and let me tell you it’s freaking hot outside, but I must continue!

My orientation session went well tonight with a group of mostly New York-based actors who are testing the waters in Los Angeles. The had great questions that answered from my point-of-view; which can be odd. My point-of-view that is.

Bright and early this morning I attended the Broadcast Preview for Fall programming. I saw a lot of stuff that I enjoyed, including the pilot that I worked on “ABC Comedy “Hot Properties”. I have to tell you that “Everybody Hates Chris” a single camera comedy based on the life of Chris Rock and narrated by Chris is very, very, very funny.

It’s a long morning, but it’s always inspiring to see all these new opportunities for acting work. I must admit that it feels great to see so many people that I know or have worked with in the past. PBS had a Bob Dylan special and I’m thinking to myself that I’ve been directed by his son, Jesse Dylan, in a “Pizza Hut” commercial with Carmen Electra. It makes me feel that I’m on the right track. I’m really excited by this new season and feel great things in the air.

From there I attended a registration for a SAG background company. I’m not sure how they got my stuff, they may be on my postcard list. Anyway, I went and now my name and photo is in the their books. I hope it wasn’t a mistake.

Lastly, Audition: “Sprint” @ Kathy Knowles Casting. This one shoots in New York next week. The audition was great; my partner Scott and just improved our way through and had a ball. Hopefully, we’ll get a callback. How much would I love to go to NYC? Yeah, that much!

Go-see: “Dolby” @ Emily Mueller Casting. This took a whole two minutes including the paper work. Cool, I can take that. I'm gonna see what I can do to raise my profile in the print world. Actually, after I finished the "Dolby" go-see I scoped out the place to see what else was going on and saw another print job for "Nissan" going on. I figured I would go over and at least drop a photo for their files. The young lady running it said "Why don't just come in and get seen? We're seeing everybody." I was like, "okay, sure". Then she went in the room with my photo; she returned a moment later and said "ooops, I guess not". SHe happily took my photo for her files though; I'll take that.

Callback: “Charmed” @ Kimberly Lanae Foster. I didn't feel great, but definitely good enough. The only this is that "good enough" isn't usually good enough. I guess time will tell.

Cool, the call came in for the “Charmed” callback tomorrow. I got another call that TOTALLY caught me by surprise. Yeah, I got an appointment for a print go-see. I don’t go out for print very often, although I do have a print agent @ KSA. In all honestly, I haven’t given her the proper tools like a zed card so I don’t complain much. I’ll take what I can get…but I have been thinking about getting a card done so I can increase my chance of working.

Speaking of choices, I got a call from a commercial background company inviting me to a registration for their files. I did tons of commercial background in New York, but none here in Los Angeles. I’m not oppose to doing it, but I do audition on a regular basis and I wouldn’t want it to conflict with that, but I don’t audition ALL the time. I like having many irons in the fire so I can increase my choices. I think it’s good to be on-set, the pay isn’t bad AND it goes to my SAG insurance and pension. So I think I’ll at least go register and see what happens.

Audition: "Charmed" @ Kimberly Lanae Foster Casting. I told myself that I wasn't going to get caught up in too much small talk about her new position and just concentrate on my work. Of course I failed because I was so happy for her and wanted her to know it. So we chatted about it for a moment and got down to business. I had rehearsed it with my friend Jon and came up with some stuff, but we were wrong. She could tell my take was wrong before I even uttered a word and stopped me to give me more info. We did it twice and she said she's bringing me back for producers. Cool! I hope it, in fact, happens.

YES!! I got an audition for "Charmed" for tomorrow. I don't know if it was from my drop-off, an agent submission or their files, but I'm just happy to have an appointment. It's my first since getting back in town.

Big day today for drops. I had to pick and choose carefully because so many casting changes have taken places and my database isn't completely updated. Are they ever updated?

Anyway, one of the most significant changes, at least to me, is that Kimberly Lanae Foster is now the CD of WB drama "Charmed". I met Kim many years ago through my friend William Gregory Lee while attending a staged reading she had cast him in. The big deal is, at least in my mind, is that she is an African-American casting director casting a one hour, primetime drama WITHOUT African-American leads, AND for Aaron Spelling Productions.

I’m not saying it’s great because she’s black and I’m black so now she gonna call everyone who is black to audition. No! I went to producers several times for previous CD Leslee Dennis and her associate Megan Entriken; they were particularly great ladies too. I just think it’s great for Kim because I understand how she is making her dreams become her reality and I’m tickled to see it happen.

Needless to say, I made sure I dropped a photo over to Kim with a note of congratulations.

I was hoping to get back in the streets today to start doing drop and the like, but my body had other ideas. I am completely beat. Jet lag maybe? I don't know, but I'm going back to sleep!

Well, it's that time again; time to go back to Los Angeles. I'm cool with that....I need to check my mail anyway. I'm kidding, I just need a break to chill for a bit and I got it. I had a great time at home; it always resets my clock and enables me to fight for another day. My brothers and I did a lot of talking about some business things we plan to do. The future is really exciting....in the business and out.

Cut to: LAX

Wow, I really am back in town. I get to my apartment go through tons of mail and get in the car to see my agents. When I return from vacation I always want them to see me in the flesh. They are great people that I like seeing anyway. So hopefully, things will get moving soon.

Race day!! Yeah, my brother's convinced me to race today. WHAT?!

I haven't been this nervous in a while. Actually, "slightly freaking out" was more accurate. My strategy was to chill and do "my" thing, ya know, ride my own race. The number one goal was to not injure myself and goal number two was to not mess up the motorcycle.

Okay, first practice is up. I tried to get a feel for the track, but it all happened so fast. I was only able to get two laps completed before it was over. I didn't fall! That was a big accomplishment in itself! I have a bit of reputation for "going for it" and taking "dirt naps" as a result.

So I made it through practice and felt really good. We still had a couple of hours before our first moto was up. I went into shut-down mode. There was no smack-talk coming from me. None. I was just trying to calm myself and breathe; I didn't want to get on the line and tighten up.

Our first moto is on the gate; my brothers Jeff and Todd are beside me. 18 motocross bikes are singing at peak RPM's. BAM!! And the gate slams down! I hit the throttle hard and began to slide a bit so I backed off. Mud, rocks, saw dust, etc are flying everywhere. I see Jeff a couple a spots in front of me; I had a decent mid-pack start.

I made it out of the first and second turns without too much trouble. Up next was a series of about 12-14 small jumps called whoops. Whoops are notorious for bucking riders off of their bike. I went through them slow and steady and passed Jeff. I still hadn't seen Todd.

Out of the whoops there was a right turn which was a bit muddy. It wasn't that bad, but I was tentative and that is the wrong thing to do in the mud. You have to go for it and keep your momentum. UGH!! I was running pretty good and I went down. Yeah, my front wheel slid out on me. I really thought I was going to get run over by one of the many riders behind me. I had some close calls, but fortunately I didn't get hit. When I got up I was almost in last place; after a bit I got the bike restarted and on my way. Todd had gone down earlier too because he passed me; I figured I'd try to follow him and move through the pack some. I stayed behind him for a while until he started to get away THEN I saw Jeff; at that moment I became a lion on the hunt. I really wanted to finish ahead of him. I passed him on an uphill jump, in the air, one turn before the finish line. YES!!

All-in-all we did just okay; out 18 riders in the 125D class Todd finished 11th, me 12th & Jeff 13th. Todd and I definitely should have been in the top 8. Jeff rides cautiously and rarely falls and probably could have been in the top 10. Todd and I hate getting beat by him because he doesn't take chances. It's all good, he has his strategy and we have ours.

Back in the pits we all talked a lot of crap and got our laugh on. I felt pretty good about things and was ready to do better in the second moto. So we're back on the gate waiting for it to drop and NOOOOO!!!! I get caught in the backward falling gate AND stall the engine. I finally get the bike started and blast down the start straight. I was determined to make up time and was doing okay, much better than the first moto. I was passing some riders and moving forward.

There were a couple of jumps that I felt like I could do if I put my mind to it. It was a double to a step up to a double combination. I wanted to just go for it and see what I could do; I didn't want to regret not trying it. So I come around the corner and hit the jump and come up short with a bone-jarring landing. I was barely able to stay on the bike and kept moving forward. Then I see Jeff again and I really wanted to finish ahead of him and I go for the jump again and come up even more short. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have done it because I could've passed Jeff on the uphill, but I went for it. For some reason I was going even slower this time and landed right beside Jeff and then bounced into him. My bike started sliding and I bounced into him again and crashed in a heap. Again I thought I was going to get run over, but I didn't. I ran over to the bike got it restarted and was back in the chase.

Todd was in sight; he had wrecked a bunch of times too. He was in front of me and I was going to follow him to catch up to Jeff, but then Todd went down again. I ran out of time to catch Jeff. Todd and I were really frustrated anf Jeff was happy that he didn't fall. Jeff finish 10th, me 13th and Todd 14th. Our overall finishes were Jeff 11th, me 12th and Todd 13th out of 18 riders. Jeff was really happy that he finished ahead of us. None of us were particularly happy overall, but the great thing is that nobody got hurt and the bikes ran great. It was a great family day.

Cool, Dori Zuckerman Casting called with my new date to work on "Easier, Softer Way". Now it's July 25.

Yay!! Today is my xxxx birthday. I'm always surprised at how many people remember because I'm usually pretty low key about it. I have my reasons......Thanks for all of the phone calls, cards, e-mails and stuff.

I was hoping this would happen. My day of work on "Easier, Softer Way" got pushed back because production is starting later. This is great news because I'll be able to stay in Virginia for another week. Also, my commercial agency calls to make sure I'm not there because they have an appointment for me. I hope it's busy when I get back, but I really need to be away right now.

Yeah!!! The Fuller MX Challenge is on. My brother Jeff and I were heading out to the track with my youngest brother Todd joining us after work. It's about 45 minute drive down into North Carolina. I started out slow on the track getting used to things again because one of my biggest concern is getting hurt. I've had enough with doctors for the moment.

It didn't take long for me to feel like my old self again. I was playing cat and mouse with Jeff, ya know showing him that I still had it even though I hadn't been on a bike since December.

After a couple of hours of riding Todd joined us. He was crisp and smooth while I was completely exhausted and ragged. Previous to Todd arriving I had only fallen once, but after he got there I couldn't stay on the bike to save my life. I was beat, winded and ready for a break. Of course they wanted to race and I couldn't back down from the challenge.

There we were on the starting line, engines peaked to the proper RPM's. 3....2....1 and the bikes are screaming to the first turn. It's a dog fight and Jeff gets the holeshot to the first turn on the Kawasaki KXF250F. I'm right on his tail on the Honda CR125, exhausted, but looking to make a quick move. Jeff was flawless, he didn't at all resemble the guy I'd been playing cat and mouse with in practice. He stepped it up and totally caught me by surprise. I finished second with Todd on a Suzuki RM125 in third.

The second moto is on the gate and ready to go. 3...2...1!!!The three of us blast our way to the first turn with Todd leading me in second and Jeff bringing up the rear. Todd quickly started to get away from me so if I was going to make a move it had to be quick. I wasn't really able to close the gap but was keeping Jeff at bay without too much trouble. Then BAM!!! Agh!!!! There was this turn that was pretty flat and very slick. I found a line that I liked around the very edge that had a little berm and was able to do it as long as I committed to it. For some reason I hesitated and my front wheel got into the soft stuff and it was too late. I went down while running a respectable second. Jeff got around me and I finished third.

The Third Moto: BAM!!! The gate is down. I stay on the gas and win the race to the first turn. I'm determined to win this moto. In and out of the first turn, over the table top jump and a left into the sand whoops. I find the energy to ride standing up and I'm feeling good. Next up is a right hair-pin into a right hand sweeper to a set of doubles and I'm feeling great. Todd is close behind and I know he is looking to make a move. A table top jump with a little kicker is coming up fast and I'm moving a bit faster than normal. I hit the jump and........lights out!! Yup! I don't remember what happened. I just know I went down in a big heap. Todd said I got twisted up in the air and landed really crooked. I just remember hoping that Todd didn't land on top of me. When I stopped tumbling I also remember making sure I had feeling in my fingers and toes...and I did. Whew!! A broken bone wouldn't be a big deal as long as I had feeling in my extremities. I laid there for a while and wasn't able to finish the race. I took a break and got back on the bike to make sure I didn't lose my confidence. I was very, very sore but fine.

Tonight I attended my old acting class with Sylvia Harman @ The Actor's Place. Whenever I go home I try to stop by and check-in. Sylvia is an amazing instructor and it's great to watch her teach.

Usually, while I'm there, I speak to the students about the business for a bit. It always shows me how significant it was that I left for New York. For Greg and I it was never a question about whether we were really going to go for it or not. I'm glad I have the knowledge behind me that I do; it helps with my confidence.

I spoke and answered questions for about 90 minutes. Many of the students seemed to be serious about moving forward in the business. I tried to be encouraging yet straightforward with what they are up against. I usually tell groups I speak to that what we are trying to accomplish is "damn near impossible, but people are moving forward in the business everyday" and it's true. I wish them all the best of luck.

And were off! To the AMA National Motocross Series Championship stop in Budd's Creek, MD. It was a great family trip with a lot of exciting racing and perfect weather. I wish I could ride 50% as good as the guys I paid to see. PHOTO: Me and Motocross Star Mike Alessi

Here I sit at Cincinnati International Airport waiting for my connecting flight home. I am so glad to be out of Los Angeles for the moment. I already feel younger!

The only thing my brother's have been talking about is "The Race". Well, not the only thing, we are looking into some business ventures in Virginia Beach as well, but for the most part it's "The Race". "The Race", as in the motocross race. You see, currently I hold the title amongst my brothers. Yup, the champ...the don.

Audition: "Saturn" @ Ross Lacy Casting. It goes well and I think I'm right for it even though I wouldn't be here for callbacks...if I was so fortunate. Who knows, there is no shoot dates scheduled yet.

Afterwards, I stopped by KSA to get a photo of my picture as "Client of the Week". YEAH!! I gotta tell ya, it really means a lot to me to be recognized at an agency like Kazarian-Spencer & Associates.

Okay, so it looks like I'm not going to get an avail for the "Motorola" spot; so I'm on a plane tomorrow night. YES!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe it; I'm a week late going home beacuse of the commercial and have to return a week early to work on Mekhi Phifer film "Easier, Softer Way". My month trip has been cut to 2 weeks. No!!!!!!!.......YES!!!!!!!!!! This is a great reason for my trip to be altered, I just hope it's as busy when I get back. My brother wanted me to come back to Virginia at the end of July for a MX race anyway....hmmmmm.

Back in the saddle for the "internet interactive" part of the "IBM" shoot. We shot at Sony Studios. I am so thankful for this extra day of work, especially with it being Saturday. It really made it worth it to change my flight home.

It was fun, we worked in front of a green screen, so I'm not sure what the background is going to look like. The people from the ad agency were really nice and I hope to work with them again in the future. Actually, sooner than later, they are also the agency for the "Motorola" spot I auditioned for yesterday.

Audition “Motorola” @ TLC/Loree Booth Casting. I am really right for it and it goes well. I have my fingers crossed.

Check this out!! Brooke, @ KSA, calls to tell me that Tracy and Kelly, two great young ladies who work in the bullpen at the agency made me “Client of the Week” for next week. WHAT!?!?! WOW, that’s cool. The bullpen is where they handle the hundreds of calls that come in and go out everyday in the commercial department and they do a tremendous job. THANKS! I’ll have to stop next week and see my photo in the frame. That’s a real honor at an agency like Kazarian-Spencer & Associates.

Alright! It’s confirmed that I am working tomorrow/Saturday. It won’t be Joe Pytka directing, but his second unit. That’s cool, it’s another director that I’ll get to know that I’m sure will be directing commercials in the future if he or she isn’t already. Whew!

Tonight I attended a small get together for a pre-release of "Acting Q's" by Bonnie Gillespie and Blake Robbins. I am one of several actors based in New York and Los Angeles that were interviewed for the book. I've got to tell you this is an excellent book. I am not finished, and I don't want to finish because the stories are so rich. It covers actors at all level in the game. I highly recommend getting a copy.

I have a hard time reading my chapter without laughing because it's "so me". It's like reading in a mirror. It's totally in my language, which means I go off on many little sub-stories and such. I am proud to be a part of it and envision writing my own book in the future.

I was treated to a beautiful drive up I-5 to Valencia for the "IBM" commercial shoot. The location was the Vista Valencia golf course.

I knew right away I was in the right place when I saw one of the production people erecting a basketball goal on the set. The director, Joe Pytka, is a legend in commercial direction; I mean top dog. He is also a basketball fanatic who is known to always have a basketball goal nearby while shooting.

After having breakfast, going through hair/make-up & wardrobe, I watched Joe and some production guys play a game of 3 on 3 b-ball. It’s kinda funny to watch this 60 some year-old man play ball with these young cats. He can play too; sinking bank shots from all over the court. Interesting. Usually on-set it’s “time is money”, but Joe truly runs his own show.

Cameras are ready , first shot up, I am playing “The Helpist”. I am sitting at my desk in the middle of a golf course right beside a bunker/sand trap. It’s a funny spot and we had a great time shooting it. Let me tell you, Joe Pytka is one interesting fellow. He is known to be quite tough on his cast and crew when he wants to be. Some of it is very, very harsh and some of it is completely hysterical. This is my second time working with him and I haven’t received any of his wrath….yet.

He really knows what he wants and does not waste time. You really need to be ready to work and pay close attention to what is going on. The script and other things changed many times and you have to be able to roll with it.

LUNCH!!

Oh...my...WHAT? I just had a conversation with one of the executives from Ogilvy & Mather, the New York-based advertising agency handling the campaign. She told me I was a "double miracle". What? Yeah, she explained to me how the whole process worked for this particular spot. I auditioned Thursday morning on my way to Dori Zuckerman's office to be a reader; I almost had to miss it because I had to in Encino by 11am. By Thursday evening I had been approved by all but one person. She said I was a "double miracle" because I was the right type, had the quality they were looking for and being African-American helped too…..a lot. Of course, I didn't know any of that going in, but it was cool to hear it directly from the people involved.

She was talking about how great it is to find good actors that you know can do the job. She even said that I’ll probably get a bunch of bookings in the next 6 months from them. WHAT!?!? Cool! I mean, I won’t wait by the phone, but it sure sounds good.

She also explained that I was going to be a different character, but how and why that changed. Interesting stuff.

STEPHON’S WRAPPED!!!!!

So I’m done for the day. The spot is due to break in conjunction with the US Open Golf Tournament in August. Although, I haven’t gotten the official booking yet, but it seems that I will working on Saturday as well for an interactive video too that has something to do with the commercial. That’s cool, weekend commercial shoots pay double!

Okay, now back to reality and getting my ticket to go home for Saturday. Thankfully, I have some friends that are really stepping up and helping me out.

Shortly after talking to Kimberlay about scheduling my flight home with a buddy pass I get another audition. Huh? I thought I was done. How did I get in this great situation? I mean…yeah…I developed a plan years ago and have stuck to it, but it’s always still kinda surreal to actually see it work.

It all goes back to my days in New York and researching the companies who I wanted on my team when I moved to Los Angeles. Seven years later it’s still working with most of the same people I aligned myself with back then. I have a great team on my side.

Anyway, if this was any other audition I would probably just say no because of time; ya know, audition, hope for a callback, then an avail and wait to see if you book. I just really want to go home. BUT I have a team for a reason. Some decisions are made by committee. If it was soley up to me I never would have booked the “IBM” spot because I was so in the “I’m out of here!” frame of mind. I just wanted to leave. Alicia and Brooke @ KSA have been doing this for years and I trust them.

Back to the audition, it’s for “Motorola”. Whom is this audition for? TLC/Loree Booth Casting, the same casting director I just booked through and the same director, Joe Pytka. They don’t normally have callbacks. They usually just put you on avail after the first call if they are interested. So the process is a little quicker.

The spot is scheduled to shoot next Wednesday through Friday of next week, the 15th-17th. I am supposed to leave on the red-eye this Saturday night 11th to go home. I still don’t know if I am working Saturday on the other part of the “IBM” spot or not.

Alright, this is the deal. I’ll change my Saturday flight to the red-eye on Wednesday the 15th. I don’t know if it’s 3 different spots or one spot with a 3 day shoot or how it’s working. Listen to me, getting carried away; I haven’t even auditioned yet!!!! CHILL!! I ain’t like I’m a big booker in the first place. The “IBM” was the first one in 14 months! BUT, I do need to figure what I’m going to do. By Wednesday, I should know if they are interested in me.

YES!!! The risk paid off, I booked the spot the "IBM" commercial. I'm really excited, it's been almost 14 months since I've done a commercial. It shoots tomorrow and possibly Saturday. Another great thing is that a friend of a friend, whom actually I know a little, that is a flight attendant. She has offered to extend a buddy pass to me to help me get home for less than $803. Kimberlay thank you, thank you thank you!!

The Robey Theatre Company called yesterday and scheduled me for a general meeting with casting executive Fern Orenstein @ CBS Beverly this afternoon. It was really cool. There was about 12 of us in attendance. Fern was very, very candid with us. She talked a lot about what we are up against in the business and was extremely specific about photos. She asked each of us what was going in our careers and we even did a cold scene for her. Fern oversees much of the casting done at CBS, so that is a really great connection to make. Ben Guillory, artistic director for Robey set it all it up. Thanks Ben!!

Okay, back in the saddle being a reader for “Easier, Softer Way” @ Dori Zuckerman’s office. Another session of non-stop laughter. As I was leaving, they told me I have a part in the film. Cool!! They even gave me a tentative shoot date. It’s July 1st. No!! That’s a week before I’m supposed to return from my vacation. Cool, I’ll be back.

On the way home, I stopped by to see my commercial agents to say good-bye before leaving town and the agent handling it, Brooke, attempts to find out what’s happening with “IBM”. It seems like I am definitely the guy the are going to book. There are no other choices at this point; even the ad agency has approved me. It’s just that the casting director hasn’t gotten the go ahead to book it yet. So, I told my agent I would take the risk and not leave on my flight and hope for the best. I haven’t booked a commercial in almost 14 months so I am really excited about the possibility of booking this one. My fingers and toes are crossed.

Okay, it’s time to figure out what’s going on with “I’mPerfect”. So far, they’ve told me that the scene I’m in is still in the script, but the day hasn’t been rescheduled yet. I’d kinda like to know since my ticket is booked to go to Virginia for a month….and I’m due to leave Tuesday night which is tomorrow.

So I call the production office and they are still not sure, but they say they’ll call me back before the end of the day. Cool. Then I call my commercial agency to see if they know anything about the “IBM” avail. Not yet, but they should know something today. Cool. It’s supposed to shoot on Thursday, so if I book I won’t be leaving as scheduled. That’s cool, I’ll stay in town for an “IBM” Joe Pytka directed national spot. Then my agent calls back to tell me that I need to be available this Saturday the 11th as well for another part of the shoot. Okay, cool. I think Saturday pay is double time for commercials, I’ll take that.

Later, the line producer of “I’mPerfect” calls to tell me that the scene has been cut for the time being. Some things happened that made it necessary to trim a couple of days from the shoot. He said, most likely, those days will be shot in about 6-8 weeks.

Then my commercial agent calls to say that they won’t be making the decision today for the “IBM” spot. I should know, tomorrow, Tuesday morning. They are shooting several spots and they’re booking each spot one day prior. Since I am on avail for Thursday I may not know until Wednesday, but hopefully I‘ll find out Tuesday early so I can figure out if I’m going to leave on my flight Tuesday night. They say I am the first choice for the role.

I figure I better call American Airlines to see about changing my ticket. They wanna charge me $803. Are you f^&$@ng kidding me! I’m pissed. Not about the acting stuff, the $803.

Take three. Day 3 for "Easier, Softer Way". Today was short day and I was having withdrawals because I have had such a great time in the room.

I also auditioned for a role in the film. It went okay. I mean, I felt I was funny in the room, but I also felt kinda one note and not special. It was weird because I think I knew too much about how it was going to be shot and tried to incorporate that in the audition...stupid. I hope I didn’t make too much of a fool of myself. Maybe, I’ll go into the pile of "people to consider". I'll be back next week as a reader. I'm still trying to find out when I will be rescheduled for "I'mPerfect". Hopefully, it will happen sooner than later.

YES! My commercial agent just called with avail dates for "IBM" of June 8th-12 with a target date of June 9th.

Audition "PetSmart" @ Jeff Rosenman Casting. It goes okay.

The appointments keep coming. I just hope it's as busy when I get back in town.

Take two! Another day as a reader for "Easier, Softer Way". Early in the session we had, what had to be, one of the worst auditions ever...and I mean ever. Not the worst actor, but a really, really strange performance nonetheless. Mekhi attempted to give this actor direction, but he just couldn't or wouldn't take it. The interesting thing is that this actor has worked quite a bit. He completely caught the room by surprise. It was just odd.

Tonight I conducted my first real consultation; I was happy with how it went. The client gave me a list of questions prior to the meeting. When we met discussed her specific situation, exactly what she was trying to accomplish and different, “outside of the box” ways of going about getting them accomplished. She had booked two hours, but we ended up going a bit longer. I could see it as something I would like to do more of in the future.

Audition "IBM" @ TLC/Loree Booth Casting. Yes, this went really well and I think I'm perfect for it. This office doesn't usually do callbacks, so hopefully I'll get an avail.

Today is my first day as a reader for "Easier, Softer Way". This is the directorial debut of "ER" star Mekhi Phifer. Of course, the casting director is Dori Zuckerman.

When I walked in and introduced myself to Mekhi Phifer as the reader he immediately felt like we'd met before. I refreshed his memory and told him that we had done a scene together in New York in the feature "Hell's Kitchen". He was like "Oh sh*t, that was when I was still living in New York!!" I worked with him on "ER" as well. I also met the writer Ronnie Warner and producer Bill Baker.

I have to tell you, we laughed our a**es off today, non-stop. I was reading 18 different roles and had a complete blast. I read with plenty of actors I recognized from TV and Film and even a few I knew personally.

Additionally, I got to sit in on a meeting today too. This was a known actress that doesn't have to actually audition for every project, but was willing to meet with Mekhi. It was cool to be in the room when that went down. Mekhi, Ronnie and Bill seemed to really like her and she seemed very interested in doing the project. It'll be interesting to see if the deal can be made and she actually does the project.

Wow, it looks like I am conducting my first consultation this week. I got a call the other day from an actress who has inquired about it in the past and I was flattered, but now she wants to officially sit down and see what I can offer in the way of strategies. Oh well, I guess it’s time to get my act together and start "really" doing it.
Ah man, my commercial agency just won't quit, bless those wonderful, hard working women. I'm kinda in slow-down mode, trying to make a clean get-away, meaning getting out of town for my vacation without anything immediately pending. Especially since I've committed to being a reader for Dori Zuckerman Casting all day, for the rest of the week. Trust me, I never hope to not have auditions, but I really want to get out of Los Angeles for a while.

Luckily, my agents at KSA are very aware that I need to make some money and keep calling with appointments so that I don't have to go back to waiting tables....at least not anytime soon...I hope, LOL!

I’ve already turned down 3 or 4 appointments because I didn’t think I would be here, but that’s changing because I keep getting rescheduled for “I’mPerfect”. So, I guess I’ll start auditioning again, especially for this one. It’s for "IBM" @ TLC/Loree Booth Casting and the director is the legendary Joe Pytka. He directs some of the highest profile commercials anywhere. He has a reputation for using actors over and over and I'm trying hard to get on that list. I worked for him about 3 years ago on an "IBM" spot and I would love to do it again. I've gotten close to booking again, but haven't sealed the deal yet.

Okay, I am finally scheduled to shoot my scene for “I’mPerfect”. My call time is 1:15am. Yes, in the morning. So I show up @ LA Center Studios downtown, park and make my way to the set. I check in and am taken through a maze of buildings to the wardrobe department, then to my room. The PA, Vanessa, gives me my contract and all of the usual paper work and then gets a call on the radio. Right as I’m taking my back-pack off to fill out the forms, she says, "you're wrapped".
Stephon:
huh?

Vanessa:
Yeah, sorry, they just said you’re wrapped.

Stephon:
You’re kidding.

Vanessa:
No, they’re going to be shooting the karaoke scene for the rest of the night and won’t have time to get to your scene.

Stephon:
Okay…I’ll be rescheduled. Right?

Vanessa:
Yeah, we’ll call you.

Stephon:
Okay, cool.

Go figure. That’s cool though. I guess, I’ll get an extra day of work out of it, I can always use the dough. So I finish my paperwork and hang out on set for a couple of hours. I meet Wayne Brady, who is a really nice guy and reacquaint myself with Sydney Tamiia Poitier, who came in the first day of auditions and is just…like…5’11” and hot. I also chatted with the writer of the script, Marcus Folmar, for a while. I told him that I am working on a script myself and he shared some of his experiences with me. The director, Brandon Sonnier, assured me that the scene wasn't cut, just rescheduled. I put a big in his ear about when I am leaving for Summer vacation, so hopefully, I'll shoot before then and won't have to change my ticket. So, all in all, it was still productive night…morning.

Audition “Staples” @ Kathy Knowles Casting. This one goes well, I was paired up with an actor I did a play with last Fall. Afterwards, I attended a memorial service for Julien at the Actorsite. Quite a few member of the Actorsite and others were in attendance to pay respects. Rest in peace Julien, you will be missed.

This morning I decide to go to the doctor to get something to make me feel better. I was $60 lighter, but I felt better right away. It’s amazing what drugs can do.

On the way home Dori Zuckerman Casting calls to see if I’m available to be a reader for another project. Um yeah. Right away they give me 6 dates, but I can only do 3 because I am leaving on vacation to Virginia soon. I happily agree to do the 3 dates next week. The project is called “Easier, Softer Way” and the director is Mekhi Phifer of “ER”. I've worked with Mekhi twice in the past. The first time was in New York on a feature called "Hell's Kitchen" and here in LA on "ER".

It’s been pretty quiet lately acting wise lately, which is fine because I am preparing to leave town soon. Still feeling kinda crappy, so I go to the gym to sit in the sauna and try to sweat it out.

Afterwards, I go home and try to sleep for a while and I get a call from a friend. She informs me that a fellow actor friend of ours, Lee Julien Hamilton-Payne, has died. She and I know Julien from the Actorsite, where we do Casting Director workshops. I’m not sure all the details of what lead to his condition, but I know it had something to do with the lack of circulation in his legs. About 5 weeks ago he had one of his legs removed and seemed to be on the road to recovery, but started having complications that he couldn’t seem to get beyond. The last time I visited him in the hospital he was heavily medicated and probably wasn’t even aware that I was there.

Right after getting off the phone with her, the owner of Actorsite, JP, calls and asked me to take his brother Bill out to get a bite to eat. Bill arrived in town to take care of the estate and things like that. I know exactly what he was going through, having experienced it with the loss of my mother. So we went to Barnie’s Beanery to watch the NBA Playoff game and just take his mind off things for a moment. Hopefully, I’ll be able to spend more time with him before he leaves town.

Last night was a rough night of sleep. I didn't even get out of bed the entire day yesterday. By mid-day I felt a little better. I wanted to go out, but I just didn't have any energy. Nyquil was doing wonders with clearing my head, but it also put me to sleep. Still, no word on my status with the film.

THEN, at 12:36pm a major, major film casting director calls and asked if I could be a reader from 2-4pm. Uh yeah. I immediately felt "less sick".

This is a CD that has cast me in two films in the past. Two weeks ago I went to her office and volunteered to open submissions or whatever else I could do to help. I had been meaning to volunteer at this office for months, but I didn't want to walk in at the wrong time. Actually, it was my first stop after I saw that my car had been broken in to.

Auditioning at this office is a dream for an actor. I was there for two hours. Guess how many actors I read with in two hours..........four. Yeah, four actors scheduled with 30 minute time slots. They have studio lights, they mike you, the CD is in the scene with you the associate is running camera. They rehearse with the actor before taping, they give direction, they answer questions, they are definitely on the actors side. The actors were auditioning for a huge film with an acclaimed director.

Okay, my agent gets word from “I’m Perfect” that I have been rescheduled for Saturday. Cool.

NO! Sigh…my younger brother calls to inform me that his next-door neighbor in Virginia Beach, whom I know as well, was killed a couple of hours ago. He was struck by lightening while riding his motorcycle. He was riding his street bike to a motorcycle school out of town. I’m speechless.

Oh no, I'm sick. What happened? I'm not sure, I went to a motocross race over the weekend up in Sacramento. It was a lot of driving in a very short period of time, almost 1,000 miles. I'm probably just exhausted and caught a bug or something, I rarely get sick.

Most of the trip was cool. I had great company for the long drive and I just love being out on the open road. Seriously, most of the trip was really fantastic, BUT a couple stretches were a bit ^&& up at times. Actually, it was really, ^&& up at times, yeah straight up, it was.........ANYWAY, we made it back safe and sound, the ride back was great too. It's all good, no really it is. I wanna take more road trips!!

Back to matter at hand; I feel horrible. I hate getting sick. Meanwhile, I am scheduled to work on the independent film, ImPerfect, tomorrow, but its after 10pm and I havent received a call time yet. Oops, did I get written out and not know it?

Okay, today is the big day ABC announces their Fall schedule and the pilot I worked on, ABC comedy "Hot Properties", made it! It stars Gail O'Grady, Nicole Sullivan, Audra Blaser & Sofia Vergara. I played a doctor in the pilot episode. I don't expect to be back on the show, but I got to work with writer/creator Suzanne Martin and director Andy Ackerman. I just gotta keep chippin' away at it.

Also, my friend, Jonathan Julian, also worked on an pilot that was picked up. It's called "In Justice" an hour drama for ABC and co-stars Constance Zimmer who I worked with on "Good Morning, Miami".

Tonight I attended the wrap party for the independent film I worked on last month "Boppin' at the Glue Factory". I gotta tell you, the footage looked absolutely fantastic. It was great to see most of the cast and crew too. I really think this piece is going to go somewhere.

Audition “AOL” @ Anissa Williams Casting. This was a 2-minute spot and had wall-to-wall copy, but I think I handled it pretty well.

Another day in the field, actually a short day. I had just a handful of drops to do today. I’m in slow-down mode because I’m preparing for my Summer trip back to Virginia Beach. The last thing I want is to get calls while I am gone so I’ll stop doing drops about 10 days before I go.

So I get my act together to get out of the house and on my way. When I got to my car there was bird crap all over from the tree above. I thought to myself “I have to wash my car today”. I put some things in the trunk and walked around the passenger side to see just how much bird crap is on the car and ….UGHUGHUGH!!!!!

My passenger window was completely smashed. I immediately saw that my stereo/CD player had been ripped out. I was speechless, I just stood there shaking my head. Those mot^%&fu^&#$ finally got me! Whoever they are. Ya know, the low-lifes who go around breaking into cars and stealing things? Well, after almost 7 years in LA they finally found my name on the list. BUT I’m not mad, at least not anymore. It’s SUCH a violation to say the least.

I had alot to do today, I really didn’t factor this is in. You’re never ready for something like this. I know it could have been much worse, but it shouldn’t have happened at all. So I sat there and figured out the reality of what I was going to do. I learned long ago that “what happened?” isn’t so important; “what are you going to do about it?” THAT is what matters. It makes all of the difference in the world. So what did I do about it? I continued on with my drop-offs wearing a smile. There was glass all over the place, but I gotta keep on keepin’ on. I’m not gonna let some thief ruin my day. It takes much, much more than that to get me down.

Yes!!! I made it! Today is my 10-year anniversary of moving to New York from Virginia. Wow, I can hardly believe it. So many things have happened along the way, mostly really, really good things. I so vividly remember getting on that Greyhound bus with William Gregory Lee for the overnight trip to Manhattan. At the time, I felt like I was being released from the prison that my life could have become if I didn’t opt to follow my dream. Here I am, almost 4,000 days later, still doing what I said I would do. I have to say, it feels good. It feels great!!

I can’t promise I’ll still be doing it in 10 years. Not because I don’t like it, because there are other things I want to do as well. One day I would like to get married and have children, but for the life of me, I can’t imagine doing it in Los Angeles or New York. Maybe those feelings will change in time. Who knows what the future will bring. I can say this, I am very, very excited about tomorrow and beyond whether it’s in Hollywood or not.

YES!! What a great gift I got today for my anniversary. I worked on a show! Yeah, it’s a Showtime ½ comedy called “Weeds” starring Mary-Louise Parker and Elizabeth Perkins. I also worked with Andy Milder and Matt Nolan. I had a bright and early call @ 5:30am. Well not bright and early, because it was still dark when I got there. It was a great day of shooting for me and I even got to do a little improv. The series premieres Wednesday August 10th @ 10:30pm.

Tonight I participated in a great staged reading at the Renberg Theatre. I called got for it through the Robey Theatre Company. The hour drama script was called “Pont’s Orleans”, by Myra Taylor. We had a nice turnout and a good time was had by all.

My theatrical agent calls to tells me that I'm booked on "Weeds" for Britt/Coloff Casting. I shoot Tuesday the 10th.

Okay, so the call comes in AGAIN!! I’ve been released from the “Pampers” national commercial. This is really getting old, but I’m going to hang in there and stay strong. I joked with my agent about it and she’s confident that I will strike again soon. Hopefully, it will be sooner than later. Commercials have been good to me and miss doing them. I’m kidding, I know it will happen again soon!! If I didn’t feel that way I would need to find another job.

Audition: “Hyundai” @ Michael Sanford Casting. Another really good audition.

Audition: “Weeds” @ Britt/Coloff Casting. This is for a dayplayer as an assistant on the show. It goes well. The creator, Jenji Kohan, is the sister of the creator of "Good Morning, Miami" David Kohan. Maybe having "GMM" on my resume will give me an edge.

Audition: “SBC” @ Ross Lacy Casting. This went great too.

This is good. Lauren from Dori Zuckerman Casting called to book me on "I'm Perfect", the film I've been working as a reader for. It's a day of work later in the month as an "AD". I asked her to call my agent for the official booking. Ya know, don't want them to think I'm sitting around waiting for the phone to ring. I work on the 24th.

Everyday someone would say that I was going to be in it, but you never really know until you know. For me, it's just the icing on the cake because I get so much out of just reading with the actors. I'll take the icing, yes I will. Thanks!

Callback: “Pampers” @ Sheila Manning Casting. AHHHHH!!!! So I go to the callback @ for the “Pampers” national spot at Sheila Manning Casting. I listened to the message a second time from my agent to make sure I was going to the right place because the initial audition wasn’t at her usual place of business. I walk in, right on time, @ Village Studios in Santa Monica and through the sea of absolutely stunning women I don’t see a sign-in for “Pampers”. I asked one of the young men running another session and he says that it’s not there. WHAT? Oh Sh*t.

So I call my voicemail to listen to the message AGAIN. Yes, I am in the right place, at least according to the message. So I call my agency and tell them what’s going on. She tells me that they just called for me to find out where I was. I tell her that I’m in Santa Monica @ Village Studios. She puts me on hold and calls the casting office. She clicks back to me and says “they gave us the wrong address”. Ahhhhhh!!! “You’re kidding” I say. She replies, “No, the callbacks are being held at Dektor Film on Highland”. I tell her that I am way in Santa Monica and ask how long are they going to be there. She said they weren’t going to be there too much longer. I tell her that I was going to try to make it there through rush hour traffic.

I don’t get pissed off very often, but I was pissed off. I wasn’t upset with my agency or the casting office; these things happens. Many, many calls are put out everyday and occasionally mistakes are going to be made. BUT!! This is a callback AND it’s a national spot AND I’ve worked through this casting office before AND I’ve worked for this production company before. I don’t want to miss this, not for this reason.

So I get back on I-10 heading East @ 4pm, yeah, the slow moving parking lot. I had to let off some steam so I called my little brother. I knew I would get my laugh on talking to him or we could talk business. 35 minutes later when I arrived at Dektor Film I was back to my normal very positive self. I didn’t expect to get seen, I figured they would be gone for the day.

Guess what? I made it in time and I was the last person to be seen. The callback went great. It was another personality interview. Mark Dektor is directing the spot and, get this, he is a big motocross fan. So, of course, we talked about riding dirt bikes. Mark directed the “24 Hour Fitness” I did several years ago.

During the interview I was asked why I cut my hair, if I had a girlfriend and why not, whether or not I should date actresses, if I liked kids and what other things I do in my life. So the interview went really well. I am so glad I was able to get there in time.

Two hours later I get the call that I’ve been place on avail. They give me the shoot date, which is the same day of my staged reading with The Robey Theatre Company and ask if I have any kids. Getting close…again.

Today we celebrated the life Eric Gelman. It was really hard for me to say goodbye. It just tears me apart to see people go through this for no good reason. I know how hard it is to lose someone and I hate to know that people are hurting. But I guess that is the way it goes. One thing is for sure there are many who loved and cared about him.

I was able to give his family a framed photo of the 6 of us that had dinner together in March shortly before he died. They really appreciated it. I think it helped for me to see his family so that they were no longer nameless, faceless people. It was quite easy to see how Eric became such a great person. I wish his family well and I hope they are able to move on with Eric in their hearts. I have no doubt that they will. Eric J. Gelman, July 10, 1972-April 17th, 2005. R.I.P.

Audition: “Trust Me” @ Carla Lewis Casting. I was really right for this film and worked on it to make a strong choice. I was a little off, but commited. She gave me direction that I feel like I took well. On my way out of the room she said that callbacks would be in about 10 days. I don’t know if that meant that I’ll be getting one or not, hopefully I’ll find out in 10 days.

Audition: “Stub Hub” @ Joe Blake Casting. As I walked into the maze of casting at Westside I see a guy that I see a lot at auditions. At first I thought he was there for the same commercial I was there for. As we said hello to each other I saw that he had theatrical side in his hand. This was odd because it’s usually all commercials at Westside. So I immediately start checking the scene to see exactly what was going on. I see that there was a film being cast. Me and this actor are pretty much the exact same type so I’m really checking this out while keeping an eye on the commercial that I was there for.

I glanced at his sides to see which character he was reading for and go to the sign in and grab a set of those sides. I look it over and I am perfect for this…at least I think so. So I’m trying to figure out a way to get seen for this. A man comes out of the room and says something to one of the actors waiting to go in. So asked that actor who that man was and he says that he is one of the producers. I tell the actor that I wanted to get in on it and he says “just sign in, it’s cool”. I didn’t want to do that and possibly get busted in the room. After that I kinda went into stealth-mode. I followed the producer guy around for a moment to see if just ask him, he seemed pretty cool. So I did, and he said to ask the guy who was running the actors in and out of the room. So I asked him and he said cool. BINGO!!

I signed in, waited my turn and had a great audition with the producer and director. This character was in the snowboard world and I totally know that world and language of it. I even added a little of my own dialogue that I thought would work. After all I had nothing to lose. They seemed to be really happy with my read so I guess we’ll see what happens…if anything.

The film was “White Air” @ Peter Wise Casting.

Reader: Project, “I’mPerfect. Dori Zuckerman Casting. Starring Wayne Brady and Sydney Tamiia Poitier and directed by Brandon Sonnier. Today was another really cool experience in the hot seat. I was present while a decision was being made on one of the supporting leads. That was cool to watch the tape with the director. Very, very cool. Oh yeah, they still say that I am going to be in the movie they just don’t know where yet. I guess time will tell they start shooting May 12th.

Audition: “Jack-in-the-Box” @ Alyson Horn Casting. This was the same office where I got really close to booking that “AM/PM” spot earlier this month. The audition went great. On the way out, I asked the session running who they went with for the “AM/PM” spot. He said they ended up going with a rather large Caucasian man. Cool, so they “went another way”. Ha, that never happens to me! LOL! Actually, it makes more sense for that spot. I’ll book another commercial one of the days.

Dori Zuckerman’s office calls for me to be a reader again on Wednesday. I say “yes” and hope I don’t have any conflicts that day.

Audition: “Pampers” @ Sheila Manning Casting. This just consisted of a personality interview. The session runner asked me what was important to me. Of course, I said “family” and I talked about my relationship with my family and motocross. Those two things really make me shine brightly.

When I was walking back to my car there was an older woman, like in her late 70’s or 80’s, walking in front of me. I was careful to not to walk to close to her and invade her space, plus I didn’t want her to think I was going take her purse or something like that. Right as I was walking past her she immediately turned and said:

Older woman:
I vant to go to 4th and Montana. I vant to take de bus. I wait so long.

Stephon:
Uh, I’m not sure where that is. Wait, there’s 6th that way, so you are going in the wrong direction and I think Montana is that way.

Older woman:
I vant to ride de bus.

Stephon:
I’m sorry, bit I’m not sure where the bus stop is that would take you there.

Older woman:
I vait and vait and vait fo de bus.

Stephon:
Um..well…uh I will take you if you want. I mean you don’t know me, but I’ll take you if you like.

Older woman:
(she looks at me for a moment, then smiles.)
I vant to take de bus.

Stephon:
Okay, well, 4th is that way and I think Montana is that way. But I’ll give you a ride right now.

Older woman:
You take me?

Stephon:
I take you.

Older woman:
You be good to me?

Stephon:
You be good to me? You promise not to hurt me? I don’t want to be afraid of you.

Older woman:
(she smiles)
I be good to you.

Stephon:
OK, my car is right down there.

So I walk her to my car, help her get in and we take off.

Stephon:
Where are you from?

Older woman:
Israel.

Stephon:
Oh. How long have you been here?

Older woman:23 years.

(I look over at her and she looks kinda terrified; like she possibly made the biggest mistake in her life by getting in the car with a stranger).

Stephon:You have nothing to be afraid of.

Older woman:
You be good to me?

Stephon:
Yes, I be good to you if you are nice to me.

Older woman:
(She smiles.)
Yes, I am nice.

Stephon:
Here it is, which corner should I let you out on?

Older woman:
Right there, 401.

Stephon:
Okay.

Older woman:
You are very nice boy.

Stephon:
Yes, I am very nice.

Older woman:
You have card, so we can be friend.

(I’m thinking “what?” why does she want my card?)
Stephon:Um, yeah, here’s a card.

Older woman:
Thank you so much, you are very nice.

I get out to help her get up on the curb.

Stephon:
Bye bye, have a nice evening.

Older woman:
Thank you.

So I made a new friend today, a really old Israeli woman, go figure. Hopefully, she won’t call. LOL!!

NOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Yes! Today marks a year since I shot my last commercial. I am SO overdue. I mean I get close, sometimes really close but...It will happen soon. It will happen soon. It will happen soon…….

It’s 11:30am and I’m at a stand still in I-5 traffic on my way to Norwalk for my last day of shooting “Boppin’ at the Glue Factory”. I hope things go smooth because I have a lot going on today. Within 30 minutes of arriving we are shooting. Cool. We shoot my two day exterior shots and at 3pm I’m on my way to Warner Bros. to finish working on “Hot Properties”. On my way, I decide to at least try to get in on that commercial audition that conflicted with my schedule since it’s on the way. I get there about 90 minutes after the appointment I would’ve had. It was too late, they had already changed categories. You never know if you don’t try.

So I arrive at WB Stage 9 at around 4:30pm and it looks like it’s going to be a while before they get to me. Ooops, I gotta get back to Norwalk. So I hang out and watch them shoot for a while and then I go to my room to relax.

Ok, it’s 7:30 and I still haven’t shot. Normally, this wouldn’t have been a big deal, but I needed to get back down to Norwalk. Now I’m wondering if it’s going to get pushed again. That wouldn’t be a problem, I have nothing going on tomorrow and it would be another day of pay. Two minutes later I get the call. They are ready for me. I get in my wardrobe and, get this, I look like a doctor!! We shoot the scene and it goes well. I thank the other actors in the scene Gail O'Grady and Jay Kenneth Johnson, director Andy Ackerman, creator Suzanne Martin and the rest of the crew and I’m out.

I get back to Norwalk about 8:40 which was perfect timing. We finish just after midnight and the director, Jeff Orgill, takes us out for a bite to eat. Whew!!! Two things wrapped in one day. I’m so glad it all worked out. The only thing now that with all this running around I think I'm getting sick. Ugh!

Okay back in the saddle at “Hot Properties” Stage 9 WB Studios. I’m still here, I still have a job. That is good news. I think there is a lot of funny stuff in the show, I hope it gets a shot on the air. I like Gail O’Grady more each time I rehearse with her, she’s really cool and fun. My scene is with her and Jay Kenneth Johnson who is a really cool guy too. Today, mostly consisted of doing one rehearsal and chillin’ in my room.

It looks like tomorrow is going to be really crazy since I’ll be working on “Hot Properties” and “Boppin’ at the Glue Factory”.

Finally, today is my first of two days work on the ABC Comedy pilot "Hot Properties". It reminds me how much of a great time I had working on "Good Morning, Miami". I miss working on a more regular basis. So I think it's time to step it up and get more work. YES!!!

The director, Andy Ackerman, is a comedy veteran and a very nice man. The cast and crew are great too. I'm playing a doctor, which is new for me. I guess it means I'm growing up.

On my way home driving through Burbank I see "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno driving beside me in a 2005 Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR. I remember seeing that car on the cover of car magazines like 3 years ago. So I'm talking to him at the traffic light and he says it's a great car and that it's the first one. I guess he meant the first one in the US or the world. Jays’ got it like that. He was really cool. Wow, MSRP $400,000. I guess I need to book a few more pilots, huh?

I got some terrible news this afternoon. One of my friends in New York called to inform me that a friend of ours was murdered last night. He worked at a restaurant at The Grove here in Hollywood. I don’t have the details, but from what I understand he was walking to his car after his shift. I’m speechless.

Just last month about 6 of us who all worked together at the Harley-Davidson Café in NYC got together here in LA and had dinner. We had such a great time trading stories and taking photos. His name is Eric Gelman and he was a great, funny, talented actor with a big heart who was going places. A true “life-of-the-party” type guy. I am crushed to know it ended that way for him. R.I.P. Eric Gelman.

Late this evening a get a call from the 1st AD telling me that they have added a day for me to the pilot. Ooops. I told the production of “Boppin’ at the Glue Factory” that I would be available on Wednesday. So I get on the phone immediately and let them know. I hope it all works out. I was supposed to shoot Tuesday, but now it’s Wednesday. My call tomorrow of 3pm changes to 9:15am.

Ugh! I missed a commercial audition today because I had already committed to being a reader for Dori Zuckerman Casting. Ooooh, I hate when that happens, but I also hate going back on my word. I tried to get it rescheduled by I couldn’t. They said they would keep me in mind if they go another day.

It was absolutely crazy being a reader today. It seemed like we were playing catch up for 3 hours non-stop. I read Rae Dawn Chong, who looks great I might add. I think today was the last day of auditions. I’m still being told that they are going to put me in the film. Matter of fact, when I left Dori said, “I’ll call you and tell you what role you got”. I guess time will tell. It’s not a big deal, I really enjoy being a reader.

What a day today was. It started off with the table read this morning for the ABC comedy pilot “Hot Properties”. Several weeks ago I was told when it was going to be and at what time, 10:30am. I wasn’t required to be there, since they were not paying me for the extra day. It’s a smaller role that’s getting smaller and didn’t require being there for the entire week. Plus, I am pre-shooting, so I won’t be doing the live audience dealio. Of course I wanted to attend the table read, but wasn’t sure what my schedule would be, especially since I’ve been working on the indie film and have getting quite a few commercial callbacks/avails.

Anyway, I decide to go. So I’m driving over the hill to the WB studio and the 2nd AD calls @ 10:04 and ask if I’m making my way over. Of course, I then start thinking that I’m late. I told her that I thought it was @ 10:30, she yeah it’s 10:00 at Stage 9 for a 10:30 start. Oh, I was originally told 10:30 so I thought I was fine for getting there on time. As it turned out the whole cast was to meet at Stage 9 @ 10am for a shuttle to another location on the other side of the lot.

So I get there, park, go through the security gate and a golf cart is waiting to take me to the location. I hadn’t really thought too much about this job for some reason, I’m not sure why. I’m definitely excited to be part of the cast, especially since it’s a pilot. I think it’s just that I’ve been kinda busy in the last 6 weeks or so.

I get to the location and WHAT!!!! It totally caught me off guard. Geez, it’s been a while since I’ve done a pilot. There was like 60-80 people there. Production people, ABC execs, WBTV execs; I recognized some of the WBTV people from working with them on “Good Morning, Miami”.

So I find my name at the big table and sit down with the rest of the cast. Can I say that Gail O’Grady is beautiful and Sofia Vergara smoking hot. WBTV President Peter Roth thanks us all for coming and WBTV casting head Mary Buck thanks us too and sits beside me during the read. I was wondering to myself how many pilot table reads have they attended over their long careers. I’d say hundreds, if not thousands.

So the director, Andy Ackerman, introduces the cast with me first since I am at the bottom of the cast list. There were so many people in that room that it felt like we were shooting the darn thing! So we read it and it was funny, at least I thought it was. I mean, how can it “not” be funny, everybody is feeling good and has a job…at least for the moment.

Thirty minutes later the cast is back in the van while the writers start the notes process and begin with re-writes. I guess time will tell if I’m still in the script after the revision are done. My original 3 lines has already been reduced to 2; I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

After the table read I have a couple of hours before I am due back down in Norwalk for more work on the indie film “Boppin’ at the Glue Factory”. I get to set and I’m informed that our lead actor has injured his back while working. He was taken to the local hospital to be treated. He is in almost every scene, so it definitely threw a wrench into the schedule. The crew figured out how to keep shooting around him. It looks production will be down for a couple of days until he recovers, he is going to be okay.

Tonight was also when my intimate scene was scheduled. WHAT!?!?! Yeah, the moment of truth has arrived. I’m eating when a member of production approaches me and says “Stephon, have you met your wife yet?” I almost choked, It just sounded weird.

Anyway, I was introduced to this attractive woman, Dominiqua Lint. Yes, it was really awkward, but I tried to break the ice as best I could. I asked her if she was nervous and she replied yes and told her I was nervous too. We made small talk, ya know, “where are you from”, “how long you been in LA”, “do you like it?” She was great, cute and I felt like it could work.

The director, Jeff Orgill, walked me through the shot and made me feel comfortable. I mean for me it wasn’t so, so bad because I had already spent a lot of time with the cast & crew, but for her she didn’t really know anybody so I felt like I wanted to protect her. Not that she needed it. After they lit the set we were brought in. Dominiqua looked nervous. How could she not be?

So we takes our places so they can measure focus for camera. , Dominiqua is dressed in a sexy nighty and me, I’m in my boxer briefs. Ha!! Dominiqua whispered to me “are we supposed to like really kiss?” I looked at her and said, “Yes, it’s supposed to be like, real”.

Alright first rehearsal is up. I’m in my undies, on top of her, fresh breath strip in my mouth and ACTION!! We start going at it…I mean at it….I mean at it…..Finally the director comes in and cuts us. I wasn’t saying my lines. WHAT LINES?!?! You mean I have to talk too? Oh yeah, I have dialogue. I totally forgot. I couldn’t remember or hear anything...nothing. The director shows me our dialogue and we run it a couple of times. He says it looks great.

Okay, now “Pictures up! We’re going to shoot this one! ACTION!!” By now Dominiqua and I are seasoned pros. We are delivering the goods, kissing, petting, groping, the whole nine kid!…well almost. I mean, neither one of us was completely naked but still. CUT!!

The director says “That was great! We just need more moaning and Stephon more time at the top before you hear the noise the makes you stop and get up. He asked for more moaning, he got more moaning. “ACTION!!” This take was the crown jewel, we let them have it. “CUT!!” The director comes in says “We got it all, it’s beautiful, thanks”. The first thing I do is give Dominiqua a big hug and a thank you. She was great to work with, I couldn’t think of a better person to go through that with.

I’m convinced that they got it and it looked great because for the rest of the night I heard about it from the crew. They said that there was never that many people in front of the monitor at once. Done.

When I got home at 3am there was another script from the pilot at my door. I’m still employed!! My 3 lines that was reduced to 2 is now down to 1, but I am still in the script.

Audition: “Chex Mix” @ Beth Holmes Casting. Fun audition with a fun partner.

Audition/Pilot: “The Untitled Holly Hester Project” @ Joanne Koehler Casting. I felt a little weird about this one because I had to get re-scheduled and they kinda forgot I was coming in at that time, but I felt that it went well enough to at least get a callback. I think I am right for it. It’s just a few lines, but this character would definitely come back if it goes to series. I must say I’d be a little surprised if they cast me because I’m pretty similar in type the series lead.

Today I’m back as a reader for Dori Zuckerman Casting. It’s always interesting to see and hear the inner workings of how it all comes together. Today they found out that an actress who was already set to work in another film they’d cast was unable to work. It had something to do with her being emancipated or not AND she was supposed to start working tonight. Immediately, they got on the phone with the actress who had been the second choice. She ended up getting a weeks work in a film at a moments notice...starring Paris Hilton no less.

Audition: "T-mobile" @ Spot Casting. Goes really well.

Audition: "AOL" @ Judy Landau Casting. This is a two minute spot with wall-to-wall dialogue. I felt like I delivered it well. Hopefully, they'll bring me back.

Audition: "Southwest Airlines" @ Pamela Starks Casting.

Lots of fun, we get to dance.Shooting: "Boppin' at the Glue Factory". Another long, fun night.

Audition: "Hefty Trash Bags" @ Craig Colvin Casting.

Shooting: "Boppin' at the Glue Factory". I got to do a scene with Mews Small tonight. She was in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". She was really cool to work with. I'm really happy to be involved in this production, I'm learning alot and having a great time with the cast & crew. I hope it gets a distribution deal.

For most current entries: http://www.stephonfuller.com/bioVII.html

Back on set in Norwalk for "Boppin' at the Glue Factory". I shoot a scene with Rance Howard; father of Ron Howard and another actress I knew previously, Barbara Kerr-Condon. Then I head back to Hollywood for a film audition.Did I mention that I have a intimate scene in the film. Yeah. WTF? Cool, I guess. I don't know how it's going to be shot, who my wife is or how involved it is. This is definitely going to be a challenge for me. Possibly a really fun challenge. I'M KIDDING!! It's just part of my job.

Audition: "Loveless in Los Angeles" @ Morman/Boling Casting. I felt really good about this one; so hopefully I'll get a callback.

My agent calls to give me the word that I've been released from the "AM/PM" commercial. WHAT!!! That's twice in a week. Oh well, I guess it's better than not having an avail in the first place. I guess.

Production from the pilot "Hot Properties" delivered my script and gave me the date, time and location of the table read. Cool, I'm still employed.

Audition/Producers: Pilot "Friends in the Morning" @ Landsberg/Fiddleman Casting. Man, these small co-starring roles are getting more and more difficult for me. I used to be so good at them, but the last year or so it’s been tough. Not knowing anything about the character is getting boring. Yeah, you can just make it all up, but I think it's a sign that bigger and better things are on the horizon for me. At least that's how I'm going to take it.

So, to sum it up, I don't think I was bad, but maybe just an "also-ran". At the same time I felt a positive connection with the Casting Directors and the producers.

I rarely miss auditions, but two days ago I missed a national commercial audition because I was committed to speaking to a group of actors from New York. I tried my hardest to get seen, but they were only seeing my type for a very short window and it was right when I was supposed to speak. Oh well, sometimes that will happen.

BUT!! My wonderful agents at KSA got me another chance to be seen. THANK YOU!

Audition: “Listerine” @ Craig Colvin Casting. This audition goes great! Craig calls me in often and I get quite a few callback, but haven’t booked…yet!

My agent calls about the “AM/PM” commercial. I am officially put on avail and the dates have changed to a date that I’m not working on the film. Cool! Hopefully, they really want to use me for the spot.

My agents calls back 5 minutes later and the dates have changed back to the original dates. Oh well, I can’t worry about it. We’ll see what happens. The bottom line is, if I book it, I’m shooting it.

Today was my first day on set for the indie film “Boppin’ at the Glue Factory”. My character is “Joe Tones”; he’s a late night security guard at a convalescent home. The script sounds like a lot of fun; it's a black comedy.

We are shooting @ Metropolitan State Mental Hospital in Norwalk, about 25 miles from where I live. It’s a real, operating mental hospital so that is a little odd, but it’s good for my character. The crew is great; I worked with the DP a couple of years ago on an AFI film.

Typical with film production it’s “hurry up and wait”. There were a couple of day shots that I was scheduled to do that we didn’t get to. When I finally got to film it was great! I did two scenes and the other actor was great to work with. I can’t wait to go back on Monday.

Okay, I didn’t hear anything else about the “AM/PM” spot. I’ll just say “no news, is good news”, because they didn’t release me either. Most likely, they would have booked it on Friday if they were going to shoot it Monday. I’ll just hope they are going to book Monday to shoot Tuesday. Time will tell.

Sounds of my pager start the morning with my commercial agent letting me know that I had been released from my avail for the “Star Wars/Lucas Arts” commercial. WHAT!!! I didn’t even know I was on avail! I call them back and get it all figured out. It was a misunderstanding on my part. I thought when they cancelled the callback that was the end of the line. Turned out, they cancelled the callback, BUT still put me on avail. Cool, I guess. I’ll book something soon.

Callback: “AM/PM” @ the first read was at Mimi Webb-Miller Casting, but the callback is @ Alyson Horn Casting. I’ve never booked through Mimi, but I have through Alyson. The callback goes so, so well.

I get to the production office and sign-in. They give me the size card from the first audition and it has complimentary notes on it. It also had some marks that I think are from the ad agency and director separately so I was feeling good. The shoot dates for the commercial are April 4th or 5th. I am scheduled to work both of those days on the film. I knew the dates conflicted, but the film is some days and some nights. Ooops. I informed the Casting Director.

I was paired up with a teen actor and immediately had a cool vibe with the director; he told me what he liked about my first read. So I tried to tap into that, but be open for direction. We did it about 5 different times and I tried to show something a little different each time.

After we finished, the CD asked my partner and I to wait in the lobby. We waited about 10 minutes before they released him and asked me to stay longer. 10 minutes later I was paired up with another young actor and we did it another 4-5 times. As I was leaving, she pulled me aside and said, “The director really likes you, can you call your theatrical agent and find out what you can do with your schedule for the film? Find out and call me back.” She then gave me her cell phone number.

I got on the phone with Production and explained what was going on. They said the 4th was a pretty heavy day for me, but the 5th I had just one scene. They could possibly move everything to the 4th. I passed the info to commercial production and let my commercial agent know what was happening. If they do, in fact, want to hire me for the commercial I do not want to miss out on it. Did I say I do not want to miss out on this job? Yeah I don’t want to………

Today I did another orientation for a group of actors from the Actor's Connection in New York. It went well, the actors were eager and had lots of questions about the LA market.

I got a call today to participate in a staged reading with The Robey Theatre Company in May. Arrgh! I was considering going to Vegas that weekend. But after thinking it over I probably should stay in LA and do some acting. I’ll go home in June.

What a way to start the week. I spoke to students at Reseda High School again this morning about going for what you want in life. The kids are interesting. Some are very difficult to reach, even just to say their name aloud while others are very expressive about what they want in life.

Over the weekend a friend, Joan Blair, contacted me about an independent film she is involved with. I know Joan from workshops and we worked on a project together a couple of years ago.

Anyway, she instructed me to send my URL to the producer. The producer called this morning and wanted me to meet the director on set...right away. So I drive from Reseda to Echo Park and see Roger, the producer. Roger, said he had just seen me in a commercial. Well I knew he was mistaken, I don't really have anything running at the moment. He thought about it for a moment and then I said "The Terminal"? "YEAH!" He replied.

He then takes me straight to the director who was in between shots. The director quickly gives me the low-down on the character and then has to resume shooting. Roger, the producer, says "that was pretty much your audition and tells me that the role is mine if I'm interested". I say "yeah, of course I'll do it." He says, "Great, I'll send a deal memo to your agent this afternoon." They check my availability(I told them that I was on-hold for the ABC pilot "Hot Properties"), gave me a script, get my sizes and agent info. My first day of about 6 or 7 is Thursday. This all happened in like 35 minutes.

Since it's under a SAG Deferred contract I wanted to inform my agent that they may receive a call about the project. Right then my phone rings and it's my agent. I thought they had already gotten the call, but no, the call was telling me that I was booked on the “Hot Properties” pilot. It's an ABC 1/2 hour comedy.

It's been a loooong time since I've booked two things in one day.

HAPPY EASTER! Today, I went to a play with a friend. It was "Medea" @ The Boston Court Theatre. The performance was incredible. Two actors that I did a play with last Fall were in the cast.

Afterwards, we stopped by the hospital to see our friend L. Julian Hamilton-Payne. We all do CD workshops together. He recently had one of his legs removed after having serious problems with blood circulation. It's hard to see him go through this, but his fellow actors at Actorsite are showing support for him in a big way. He has a lot on his plate concerning his recovery, but he cannot give up. Please keep him in your thoughts.

Today is my 4 year anniversary of resigning from my job at The Standard waiting tables. I still have a hard time believing it. I'm not sure why, I always knew I could do it, but the reality of it is still quite surreal. It has been a great rollercoaster ride to say the least.

I am very fortunate to have a great team around me. I developed a plan many, many years ago, stuck to it and it's working. Here's to another year in the game.

I had another session today at Dori Zuckerman Casting. Soon as I walked in Dori told me that the producers and the director really like me and are trying to put me in the film. I guess it helps to get compliments from the actors that are auditioning. Anyway, it was another great time being deep in the process of how it really works. Oh, and when I left the director also told me that they'll find something for me in the film. For me, that would be icing on the cake because just getting to work out with the actors is incredible in itself.

Audition: “Dell Plasma TV” @ Ross Lacy Casting. Lots of fun, it goes well.

I got a callback for the “Star Wars” commercial audition that I had this past week. It was the one that I kinda/sorta crashed when I missed the "Sprint" one, but before I could even call my agent back to confirm I received another call saying that it had been cancelled. WHAT!!! Yeah, I had to find out what that was all about. I was informed that they had cancelled callbacks for that particular role. Okay, that’s not hard to take. I thought, at first, that they decided that they didn’t want to see me particularly. Oh well, on to the next.

I worked as a reader today @ Dori Zuckerman Casting. It’s always fun for me to do. I get to listen to all of the “producer talk”, which is quite interesting and read with actors I see on TV and in films. Today I got to read with Guy Torry, Jennifer Elise Cox, Elise Neal, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Olympic champion Tara Lipinski and others. The thing that really tripped me out is that the director, Brandon Sonnier, is only 22 years old and has already had a film at The Sundance Film Festival. WHAT!!

It’s cool to see what choices these working actors make. I think the biggest thing is that they all take ownership of their performance. They are prepared and have lots of confidence. It looks like I’ll be doing more days as a reader in the near future.

Audition: "Sprint" @ ASG Casting. YES! I made it this time and it went great.

Audition: "AM/PM" @ Mimi Webb-Miller Casting. This one went really well.

Audition: “Sprint” @ ASG Casting. My first commercial booking in Los Angeles came from this office. It’s time for another! Usually, I am able to get through LA traffic pretty well, but today it was not to be. I missed the "Sprint" audition. I just couldn't get from Westside Casting to Riverside Drive in the valley in 30 minutes at 4 in the afternoon. The session runner was really cool about it and told me to come back tomorrow and he would squeeze me in.

I was wearing a suit for the audition, but I saw a few guys that were there for a "Star Wars" audition and they were dressed casually; how I normally look. My plan was to go to my car and change clothes and try to get seen for the other spot. They hardly even recognized me when I came back in dressed casually and they let me read for the other spot too. So it worked out really well for me.

It’s a busy day today with drops and appointments. I really don't want to go a year without booking a commercial; April 22nd ’04 was the last time I did a commercial. The clock is ticking! It would be nice to book a ‘couple’ of things before then. I've definitely had ample opportunities; in fact, I have 3 commercial appointments today.

Audition: "Burger King" @ Bad Girls Casting. This one goes pretty well after getting a lot of help from the session runner. She even let me and my partner watch the first take and do it over.

Audition: "Mastercard" @ Ross Lacy Casting. This one went great.

Audition: "GM" @ Ross Lacy Casting. This one went great too.

Check this out. I read for the pilot "Hot Properties" @ Dava Waite Casting a couple of days ago and, in all honesty, I thought I blew it. I mean, it wasn't a complete disaster, but I got tripped up on some words and you especially want to be careful of the that in a comedy.

Anyway, my agent calls this morning to say that they want to "pin me". "Pin me?" Basically, they are checking my availability and want me to let them know if my availability changes. They aren’t going to hire me yet, but are very interested. WHAT!!! I'll take that. Another cool thing is that it's through one of my two newer agents that I acquired since the merger of my theatrical agency.

Dori Zuckerman Casting called to ask me to be a reader next week for a film project. Cool!

Audition: “CitiBank” @ Cathi Carlton. At the audition I spoke with Danny Wooten. If you don’t know this guy you have most likely seen him. He works in commercials like you would not believe. I mean it’s incredible how often I see him. I can’t believe he didn’t already have a conflict in this category. Anyway, it’s good to see that he’s nice humble guy. Hopefully I can learn a thing or two from him. My audition goes well.

Audition/Producers/Pilot: “Hot Properties” @ Dava Waite Casting. Cool! I remember dropping off a photo for this a couple of weeks ago. Dava hired me for “Yes, Dear” back in the Fall. The role is a young doctor. It goes okay. The character was there, but I got a little caught up in some of the words. I’ll have my fingers crossed.

Audition “SBC Global” @ Joe Blake Casting. It was all good and think I’m sorta right for it.

Audition: “Amica” Insurance @ Crash Casting. In this audition they were looking for couples. I wanted to give someone a chance who wasn’t already auditioning for commercials on a regular basis. I made a few phone calls and ran into some scheduling issues. In the end I had two people show up. Ooops. The audition goes well.

Callback: “Miller-Lite” @ Joe Blake Casting. YES!! One step closer. This had to be the most fun I’ve ever had at a callback.

Audition: “Holiday Inn Express” @ Bad Girls Casting. Ahh, this one went okay. I don’t expect to hear anything though.

Today should be a heavy day for drop-offs. Gotta keep the ball rolling.

Tonight I went out with several people that I used to work with in New York at the Harley-Davidson Café. Can I tell you that I love these people? I experienced some of the best times of my life in New York. We laughed and traded stories for hours. It was great to hear about how everyone is doing. We are all growing up and changing (some absolutely shocking, others not so). It was an unbelievable job to have as an actor trying to make it in the City. I think the thing that made it such a great experience was that we knew it was magic in the making while it was happening. I wish I had more photos of my time there. Even though I don’t talk to them all of the time I really feel a strong connection to many of them. There are times where I would love to go back to 1995-98 for a couple of days. I don’t necessarily miss living in New York, but I really miss the experiences that I had.

As I sit here and type, I think that Los Angeles has been freakin incredible for me as well. I’ve had a great life, there isn’t a whole lot to complain about. There is a lot more that I want to accomplish and I feel like I have what it takes to accomplish it.

I count my many blessing on a continual basis. Not everyone is so fortunate as I. Lately there have been things going on around me that have made my heart heavy. A good friend of mine who had a brain aneurysm about 18 months ago had another situation recently and had to go into the hospital. Fortunately, she seems to be okay. Another friend lost her mother after a lengthy illness. I know, first hand, what she is going through and what lies ahead and I can hardly even talk about it. It’s so painful. A fellow actor that I do workshops with had one of his legs amputated last week after complications from a blood clot.

Between these, real life, situations of people that I know personally and watching the news sometimes you just wonder what is going on in the world.

The flipside of all of this is the children. Kids just equalize so much for me. I spoke to my younger niece and nephew this morning and I can hear them growing up over the phone. It’s truly amazing and inspiring.

Last week I changed a couple of diapers of my Goddaughter, Hazel. The act of doing it wasn’t the most pleasant thing I’ve ever done, but she was really cooperative and made it easy on me. The laughter of a child is one of the most pleasing things sounds I have ever heard in my life. I really hope to have children of my own one day.

Nothing but cricket sounds going on right now, but I’ve been doing my best to try to make some things happen.

SFX: Pager going off.

Cool, it was my commercial agent with a “Mazda” audition for this afternoon. YES!! And a couple of hours later my theatrical agent called with an audition for “Malcolm in the Middle”. I wasn’t sure if I was going to go in on “Malcolm” at first, but after discussing it with my agent I decided to. We don’t how many more seasons the show will be on the air and it looked like there was a slight possibility of the role returning.

Audition: “Mazda” @ Lisa Fields Casting. It goes really well and I think I’m right for it.

Audition: “Malcolm in the Middle” @ Stiner/Block Casting. I wasn’t clear that this was a pre-read, if I had known that I probably would have passed on it. Anyway, it was one of those really small ones where it’s kinda hard to figure out what is going on. I could make a choice and risk being way, way off or ask the CD what is happening in the scene. Barbie Block was very nice and gave me the low-down on what was going on.

To be honest, I didn’t feel like it went all that well, but I was funny. She gave me a callback to producers for 30 minutes later. The callback was nothing special for me. Actually, it was kinda frustrating because I used to be so good a getting these 1 to 5 line roles. I don’t want to get good at it again, I need to book more substantial roles and move on. Matter of fact, I think I am going to start a new acting class in the next couple of weeks.

Audition: "Miller Lite" @ Joe Blake Casting. Well I guess I'm available since I'M NOT IN NEW YORK!!! I'm kidding, I'm just glad to get seen.

It's official, I've been released from the "Levi's" campaign. They decided to "go another way". Imagine that!

This is something I've been thinking about for years; being a consultant for actors trying to move forward in the business. It's not a new thought, I've been considering it for years. I also think, in the future, I'll write a book and do motivational speaking engagements. I think I have something to say that can help others. There are specific reasons why I haven’t already done it, but I’m working on that. As it stands now I speak/consult quite a few times a year. I don’t go out looking to do it necessarily, but that may change. I would really like to do it in different markets around the country. Hmmmm……interesting.