Audition: “Experian” @ Ross Lacy Casting.  Yeah, this was a fun one.  I like the current campaign that Experian is running and would love to be in a future funny one.

I’ve lived in Los Angeles, pursuing my dream of being a professional actor for 6,127 days, almost 17 years. In that time I’ve auditioned for television, film, commercials, print, voiceovers, industrials, theater, etc. Amazingly enough, I’ve never, in all of that time auditioned for an adult video.

Shocking I know…(well, full disclosure, I didn't have to audition...

What’s even more shocking, at least to me, is that I’ve never, not even once, had an audition for a daytime soap opera. Not once.

Now I get it, I’m not a “soap type” per se, whatever that really is, but they have "normal looking" people on those shows sometimes too. Okay, maybe I'm not "normal" looking in the classic sense, I have an extra chin, 4 eyes and a smile that's just a little too eager, BUT I'm normal enough looking. I can recite the lines, "I had no idea she was married, I couldn't see her wedding ring with the lights off!” as good as any actor in Los Angeles.

Alright, for those of you, which I'm sure are the majority, that are thinking this collection of nonsense I'm writing will end with "I finally got an audition for a daytime soap opera!".

It doesn't.

It doesn’t end that way at all because in 17 years of pursuing my dream as an actor in Los Angeles I’ve STILL never had an audition for a daytime soap opera.

BUT, finally, I can say that I’ve booked a job on a daytime soap opera.

I'm SO, incredibly thrilled!

And one day, in the future, near or far, I will land an audition for a daytime soap opera.

http://www.stephonfuller.com

So I got an email this evening from David, one of my theatrical agents, and in the subject line, in all caps, it reads: ARE YOU AVAIL TO SHOOT GENERAL HOSPITAL 5/12?

Well, I checked my schedule and the answer is…

…Yes!

I emailed him back that, I am available to work on General Hospital on 5/12!  His response was: “Sending your reel. They will book off of that. They wanted to know if you were available before I sent it. Fingers crossed.”

My immediate thought was…what reel?  My demo reel is so old that I forget that I even have one.  It’s been so long since I’ve booked anything that was “reel worthy” so I just keep what I’ve got.  I had hair back then! 

My next thought was:  Oh no!  Might I actually LOSE this job (that I haven’t yet booked) BECAUSE of my reel???  Alright, stop it Stephon, and let the cards fall where they may.  So that’s what I did.

Audition: “Bank of America” @ Cathi Carlton Casting.  I swear; it seems like every time I audition for a Bank of America commercial I am perfect for it!  One of these days I’m going to book one.  They seem to run a lot and that, of course, is what we hope for as commercial actors.

I also started my 4-week voiceover class tonight which went really well.  I HAVE to diversify my talents in the business and v/o is an area I’d like to expand into.  It’s not at all easy, but I want to remain committed to learning the craft.      

http://www.stephonfuller.com

Audition: “Toyota” @ Petite, A Casting Company.  This was another one that I feel I’m perfect for and it went really well.  It’s great that I was able to make it on a day that I’m actually shooting.  Double win.  Hopefully I’ll get a callback!

Shooting: “Sprint” @ Universal Studios.

RECAP

I moved to Los Angeles on Tuesday July 28th 1998; arriving on a 10pm flight from Chicago, originating in New York. My first commercial audition was the following morning at 10:30am at an office in the valley. I’ve auditioned at this particular office countless times over the years.

Auditions/callbacks/avail totals

1998 - 3 times


1999 - 4 times


2000 - 1 time


2001 - 2 times


2002 - 1 time


2003 - 3 times


2004 - 4 times


2005 - 3 times


2006 - 10 times


2007 - 3 times


2008 - 3 times


2009 - 2 times


2010 - 5 times


2011 - 7 times


2012 - 0 times


2013 - 10 times


2014 - 12 times


2015 - 5 times

All without a single booking…not one.

Last week, Friday, I had an appointment there. I didn’t know it was a callback session until I got in the room. They said it may book over the weekend and be reachable by phone. Before even getting home I got the call that I had been placed on avail. The weekend came and went and I heard nothing. Monday came and went - crickets. I kinda took it as “no news is good news and better than an official release from the avail”. Tuesday evening, 5:35pm, I emailed my agency for an update and was informed that I was still on avail and they should have a decision by the end of the day. End of the day came and went - bigger crickets.

Wednesday morning I get the call.

I usually let the call go to voicemail in case there is information I want to play over again. Before listening to the message I knew what it was. Why? It was only 6 seconds…Plenty of time to say, “Hey Stephon, it’s Xxxx from KMR. Unfortunately you’ve been released from Xxxx. You’ll get the next one!”

And I was right. I had been released. I think I like the crickets better…

Exactly 24 hours later one of my agents calls, which is rare, much of the communication is through text and email. The request is to go to the set at Universal Studios to…audition for a different commercial. The directive was that they’d make a decision pretty quickly and the lucky ones would go straight to a fitting and work the next day, Friday. The audition was taped on an iPhone and I didn’t walk out of the room feeling lucky. So unlucky that I drove home and got on with my day…which really meant going to sleep after working the previous nights graveyard shift.

The time frame for making the decision “pretty quickly” came and went…those damn crickets again! Maybe I will get the next one because I felt this one slipping away. Gone.

Then, hours later, the phone rings while I was on another call. It’s my agent with the unbelievable news that I had finally, after almost 17 years of going into that particular casting office, been booked on something!

So I made my way back to the valley for the fitting and shot the commercial the next day.

Sometimes one does, in fact, "get the next one!"

The shoot itself was fun and tricky.  That’s all I can really say.  Good tricky though and I think it’s going to be a funny spot…a spot that runs long and hard!

http://www.stephonfuller.com

10:06am:  One of my commercial agent, Alicia, leaves a voicemail early this morning.  The news is that Francene Selkirk’s office for Sprint wants to see a few people for another audition.  So I need to go to the set where they are shooting to audition for the director, producer, ad agency, etc.

When I arrived I find that it’s a different commercial all together.  Six actors showed up and I believe 3 will be cast.  Basically, they were going to have us read, wait around if we wanted and a decision would be made relatively quickly.  Wardrobe will be this afternoon and it’ll shoot tomorrow. 

Callback: “Sprint” @ Francene Selkirk Casting.  I was having a world of trouble executing the text and when I got in the room…I felt myself going down in flames.

After the audition I chatted with one of the production guys that I know from back in New York and then went home.  I just didn’t feel that great about my performance.  Of course, if by chance, I got the job I’d drive back over the hill with a big smile on my face.  If not, NEXT!

So I went home, licked my wounds, and got on with my day. A few hours later, to my big surprise, I got a call from my agent telling me that I have been booked on the spot!   So I drove to my agents office to sign paperwork for it and back to the set for a wardrobe fitting.  Yeah!

http://www.stephonfuller.com

I got the news this morning that I’ve been released from the Sprint avail.  Ugh!  I wanted that one…or something, but instead it’s on to the next one.

Audition: “The Blank Theatre Young Playwrights Festival” @ Cara Chute Casting.  For this audition I had to prepare a one-minute monologue.  Ugh!  Not good, monologues, but I really wanted to be a part of this project so I jumped in. 

I was absolutely horrible in the room, I just completely fell apart.  I was so far out of my wheelhouse it wasn’t even funny.  I left feeling quite dejected over my performance. At the same time though, it gave me much appreciation for the trained, stage actor.  Bad, bad bad…      

http://www.stephonfuller.com

Still no news on Sprint.  They are supposed to have made the choices by the end of the day, but that came and went with no news.  I’ll take that as a good sign.

http://www.stephonfuller.com

Callback: “Mercedes” @ Cathi Carlton Casting.  I couldn’t have asked this callback to go any better!  Hopefully, I’ll be placed on avail for this too.

No news, book or released, on the Sprint avail.  Still in the running.

Audition: “Infiniti” @ Ross Lacy Casting.  Quick and simple, in and out.

http://www.stephonfuller.com

Callback: “Sprint” @ Francene Selkirk Casting. On avail.  I had no idea this was a callback until I got in the room.  I was definitely quite a bit older than most of the other people I saw there, but I had to put that out of my mind and give them what “I” had in store.  It went great I thought!  They informed us that it will, most likely, book over the weekend and that we should make sure we are very reachable.  Just before I arrived back at home I got word that I had been placed on avail!  YAY!

http://www.stephonfuller.com

Audition: “High Level Comic Book Film” @ Tamara Hunter Casting.  I’m think I’m so, incredibly perfect for this role that I just have to book it. Right? The audition went well.  My job is done.  It shoots in a few days so I’ll know something…or nothing really quick.

Audition: “Mercedes” @ Cathi Carlton Casting.  Just another commercial audition that I think I’m perfect for is all…  Call.  Me.  Back.

http://www.stephonfuller.com

Audition: “Walmart” @ Sonnenberg Casting.  I had so much fun in the room on this one, it would be great to get a callback on it!

http://www.stephonfuller.com

Audition: “Dunkin’ Donuts” @ Good People Casting.  This went well, it was pretty simple, just an interview type situation.  There was one guy that seemed to be really struggling in the interview part, but he might’ve been just being really natural, less “actory” and more “real people” like. 

http://www.stephonfuller.com

Audition: “Sprint” @ Dan Bell Casting.  Hmm…I had fun in the room with this one, but I think somehow I might have been working too hard…I don’t know. 

http://www.stephonfuller.com

Tonight I participated in another table read.  This time for writer Chris Innacone at the New York Film Academy.  Chris was a winner of the Hour Long Spec Category of The 2015 Final Draft’s Big Break Screenwriting Contest. Funny enough, I’m not usually able to follow Sci-Fi stuff all that well, but I was totally invested in the piece that Chris wrote.  As an actor, it’s great to get involved with writers at this early stage in their careers.

http://www.stephonfuller.com

Audition: “Hyundai” @ RMB Casting.  This was a blast!  Had a great partner and a great time!

http://www.stephonfuller.com

Audition: “The Untitled Dan Schneider Project” at Bullock/Snow Casting.

I took a private voiceover class today and felt pretty good about how I performed in the booth. 

http://www.stephonfuller.com

Audition: “Comcast/Xfinity” @ Francene Selkirk Casting.  I think this is the type of commercial I’m perfect for, therefore I WILL, somehow, someway get a callback…maybe.

Tonight I participated in a table read for writer Ty Freer at the New York Film Academy.  Ty was a winner of the Half-Hour Pilot Category of The 2015 Final Draft’s Big Break Screenwriting Contest.  I was honored to be included by NYFA teacher, Crickett Rumley, who cast the actors for the read.  It was 36 pages of fun!  We had a blast!  It was a great time and hopefully helpful to Ty as a writer with the feedback session. 

http://www.stephonfuller.com

Audition: “Zillow” @ Sonnenberg Casting.  Man!  This was so much fun.  I was a husband again.

http://www.stephonfuller.com

Audition: “Whirlpool” @ Ross Lacy Casting.  I’ll say it again.  I just love auditioning as a dad.  Maybe, one day, I’ll actually be one.  In life and a commercial.

http://www.stephonfuller.com

Audition: “Comcast” @ Cathi Carlton Casting.  Wow, it’s been a long two weeks since my last appointment so this is quite welcome.

The read went well; lots of fun, subtle stuff.

http://www.stephonfuller.com

Audition: “The Advocate” @ UDK Casting.  Just a few days ago I was thinking that it didn’t feel so much like pilot season for me.  Then this pops up; a pilot audition!

I hadn’t been to this office in a good while and I’m glad to be here today!  The cast a ton of TV and film projects.  The audition goes well I think and I’m perfect for it.  It shoots in Vancouver…wouldn’t that be nice?

http://www.stephonfuller.com

Audition: “McDonald’s” @ RMB Casting.  This was SO much fun.  I just love playing a father and husband in an audition.  I was paired up with a lovely actress and a wife and two smart, sweet and beautiful daughters!  If only!

http://www.stephonfuller.com

Callback: “Olympic Paints” @ Ross Lacy Casting.  Well, ya know, you go in, do your thing and hope for the best.  Right?  That’s what I did.  I should have informed them that I’m a pleasure to have on set...  oh well, NEXT!

http://www.stephonfuller.com

Audition: “Olympic Paints” @ Ross Lacy Casting. Fun audition improving with my fellow actors.    

http://www.stephonfuller.com

Audition: “Lift Me Up” @ Scott David Casting.  After a long 2 weeks without an audition this appointment shows its face.  I’m so thankful for this office.  It seems that many of my TV/Film auditions over the past year have been here.  On the one hand, it’s great!  On the other hand I haven’t booked any of them.  The great thing is that they obviously still believe I “can” book for them.

The audition went well and I think I’m right for the character.  One day, hopefully, I’ll book another job.  When does one know when they’ve already booked their last job…I hope I haven’t.

http://www.stephonfuller.com