Audition: “Priceline” @ Francene Selkirk Casting. This was a funny spot featuring William Shatner. It went well.

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Audition: "Dairy Queen" @ Joe Blake Casting. Wow, a Sunday audition. I'll take however they come. I felt this one went okay, but not good enough for a callback. They were having callbacks a couple of hours later. Oh well...on to the next.

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Wow, two interesting days in a row, but this time for a very different reason.

I've always attended acting related events around town. I did in New York and Virginia as well. Why? Because I'm an information junkie. I’m curious about everything - absolutely, positively.

Anyway, I attempted to attend an event yesterday, but was asked to leave by the guest. Why? Well, at first I thought it was a joke. Then I asked the guest why I was being asked to leave. Let me explain; this particular guest, a manager, speaks around town often and I attend if I can. During the events he usually called me out in some form or fashion, in a fun way, but no less embarrassing for me. It wasn’t “The Stephon Fuller Show”, it was his gig and I was a random actor in the audience. As a result others would assume I was a client of his – I wasn’t.

His problem with me attending was that he heard that I’m now consulting for a fee and he strongly disagrees with it. He went on about how I shouldn't be charging actors and that if I'm going to consult I should do it for free. This was in front of 25-30 actors.

I calmly listened to him with dignity; knowing that I have a tremendous amount to offer as a consultant and also that he's entitled to his opinion. But when he said something to the effect of "...do it for free and stop ripping off actors" I had to respond. "Ripping off actors?" What?! I say “whatever” to everything else he said, but to say that I need to stop “ripping off actors” was just stupid. What does he base that on in order to say it in front of 25-30 actors – some of which are my friends?

First, I had done a free event in the very same room less than two weeks ago and more importantly I'm doing anything but "ripping off actors". I very calmly told him exactly that, wished him a good day and left the room.

What was it all about? I don't know, but he's certainly entitled to his opinion. I must say, I would have expected him to handle it in a much more professional manner. The 25-30 actors there didn't attend this event to see a pissing match between him and I so I kept it short.

Could this be because I didn't accept his offer of management some time ago? I don’t know, I don’t think so. I had already hired theatrical, commercial and print agents for my team and didn’t feel it necessary to also bring in this management company at an additional 15% commission. If I’m going to pay 25% in commissions it better be for a good reason. Plus, I’m with KSA for commercials; why would I pay another 15% when I already have some of the best, most effective agents in the business on my team?

He thinks I gather information from him and pass it on to others; or sell it to others. Nothing could be further from the truth. Why would I do such a crazy thing? To be honest, the information that I hear at most of the events I go to is the reason why I need to consult actors and give them alternative ways of thinking. Most of what is passed on at these events, in my opinion, is “one-size fits all, general information”. What I offer is the complete opposite of that.

I remember one time, years ago, being on vacation in Virginia Beach and getting a call from his office asking if I was a groupie of his. I kinda laughed it off because I didn't want to draw more attention to me - that might have been a mistake. What it showed me was how off the mark he was about me. Groupie? Are you serious? What is there to be a groupie about? It's not like I subscribe to his philosophy of how the business works. That's pretty funny - or not.

It’s not that I think he’s a bad manager or anything like that; it just wouldn’t be a good fit for me - and fit is important. I’ve even recommended him to others over the years. I’ve kinda told myself that when I do decide to hire a management company it will be one that charges a 10% commission - yes, they are out there. I’ll shoot for a 10% manager when the time is right.

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Half-pipe skills from back in the day - No helmet? Ha! It was the 80's.

I got some great news today. Last year an actress friend of mine had been urging me to move forward in my plans to consult actors on the business of the acting business for a fee. In reality, I'd been doing it for years, but I wanted to step it up a notch.

This young lady and I would often talk about the business in a general sense, but she wanted to have a sit-down and focus on her career. So she called and said in a very direct manner, "let me know what your fee is and when we can get together". She was right; I needed to move to the next level with it. She was the first person to actually pay me a fee for my time.

Even now we discuss every facet of her career; more because we're friends than client/consultant. During a consultation I'm very straight-forward and specific in my questions about exactly what a client is trying to accomplish. There were obvious areas in her business approach that I knew she could improve on. Her talent wasn't an issue; plus I'm not an acting teacher/coach.

One of the many things we discussed was the utilization of CD workshops. I didn't convince her to attend them; she was already attending them. Matter of fact I met her at years ago.

We also discussed her current agent/manager situation. In my opinion, she was spinning her wheels; it just wasn't working. She asked why I didn't have a manager; I told her I was managing myself. I don't have anything against managers; it's just that I largely feel that if I need a manager at my stage in my career I may really need a better agent. I have great agents through and through and haven't met a manager that I felt would bring more to the table than I already have. There are a lot of great managers out there but I'm not ready for that step just yet. Often times I find that actors give the power to someone else - I encourage actors to drive their careers and not wait to be driven.

Anyway, back to the actress, several months ago a certain great situation arose from one of the workshops she attended. I immediately knew how I felt it should be handled, but I can’t make anyone do anything. Every now and then the situation would come up and I would offer the same advice. Well, on this certain day I was a little “less nice” about what I thought should happen. I think it really clicked for her.

Within 3 days she had a meeting scheduled with a great agent and that agent got her an appointment for a film with a casting director. I didn’t get her the meeting with the agent. What I did was to consult her through the situation and prevent her from letting a great opportunity slip through her hands. This all came about from a CD workshop with a casting associate from a different office.

The film appointment, through no fault of her own, was cancelled; but the agent signed her about 3 weeks ago. She called me today to inform me that she booked an episode of “Criminal Minds”. I am completely thrilled for her! It’s her first job in two years and I must admit, I feel like my professional guidance made a difference.

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Audition: "Nissan Altima" @ Jessica J. Casting.

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YES!!! Callback “Jackson-Hewitt Tax Service” @ Ross Lacy Casting.

YES!!! Another second round shot. Cool. I'm so overdue for some bookings it's not even funny.

Callback: "FedEx" @ Kathy Knowles Casting. The only issue is that they are 15 minutes apart and one is in Hollywood and the other is in Santa Monica. I HAVE to find a way to get to them both.

The “Jackson-Hewitt Tax Service” callback goes great! My job is done there…for now. I got there early and it was running pretty much on time so I was able to get a good jump in traffic to Santa Monica.

There were quite a few people at the “FedEx” callback for the 6 spots they were casting. This one went really well too and I think I’m really right for it. So we’ll see; I’m determined to book something before the holidays. Ha!

So I had two really good callbacks today AND I even got several drops in that I didn’t think I’d get done.

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

Finally, I’m finished – for the moment. I got the rest of 23 out of 24 drops that I didn't finish yesterday done this afternoon. The 24th will get done eventually - maybe.

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Audition: "Jackson-Hewitt Tax Service" @ Ross Lacy Casting. I did a commercial for them back in '94 in Virginia Beach when I was non-union and they shot non-union - I guess we've both come a long way.

Alright, I get to this audition and get the group explanation. All good, right? Wrong!!! I was so pre-occupied with “my busy day” that I didn’t hear what the session runner was explanation. I mean I heard him, I was just ‘out to lunch’. Bad Stephon!!

While we were doing the rehearsal I just stopped and asked the session runner to help me though it. Fortunately, I audition for him often and he didn’t give me a hard time. So then we go to tape it and I had to stop again. WHAT!! The funny thing about it was that I felt that I would pull it together somehow and it would have the right amount of realness to it – my voice, my realness. The smart thing to do was to stop and start over – own MY AUDITION…well, mine and my partners’ audition.

See, I knew the director, producer, ad agency and Ross Lacy the Casting Director wasn’t going to see all of my “tune-up work”; they would only see the ‘money shot’. Actually, that’s not totally true, some audition rooms have cameras watching them from the casting office. The last thing I wanted to do was perform the ‘money shot’ in the car later while doing drop-offs.

The last take was it. It felt great; a little off balance, my vision, my voice – worth watching. I felt weird when I got to my car; rattled and little embarrased. I was also proud that I had a say in the outcome, because as actors we do have a say – and I said it this morning – Good Stephon!

So I get home from the audition and my agent calls and asked if I made it to the appointment. I answer, “Yeah, I just got home”. She says, “Okay, they didn’t remember you coming in. “Really”, I answer. She says, “Yeah, no problem. Sometimes, the front office isn’t sure what the back office is doing.” “Okay”, I say. Then she asked, “Did you sign in and out?” Complete silence…………”Oh $%^#, I forgot to sign in and out! I’m sorry…….” Yeah, I was out to lunch……

Today was a really busy day for a very specific reason. It’s my mother’s birthday; I lost her 4 years ago last week. I knew if I sat around and did nothing I would be depresed…I don’t like being depressed.

What to do, what to do? I wrote up a route with 24 drop-off stops on it; from the far reaches of Northeast Burbank to Malibu and Venice. I didn’t expect to get it all done, but I was going to try. Since I had to move my car @ 8am for street sweeping I figured I’d start then.

My plan was to get a good chunk done in the Valley before going back home to put on a suit for my 11:15 audition at the Casting Studios. After that I’d grab a bite to eat and work my way through Beverly Hills, West LA and out to Malibu. Then I’d swing back through Santa Monica for my audition and continue to Venice and Culver City.

I think keeping myself busy worked. Of course I often thought about my mom, but I wasn’t overwhelmed with grief. To be honest, I miss my mom terribly, but I’m happy that she’s resting in peace. I couldn’t have imagined her, me or the rest of my family going through her illness for one moment longer than we did. Happy Birthday Ma! We love you, We miss you.

Audition: "FedEx" @ Kathy Knowles Casting. I booked here in late '03 and have gotten close many times since - it's time to revisit.

Alright, I get to this appointment and least this time I remembered to sign in. After a while the session runner takes 5 of us in for an explanation and he goes through it so fast that everybody’s head was spinning. We all just looked at each other and proceeded to take a shot at it. I can always tell if this particular session runner likes what you did; he doesn’t hesitate to let you know. He liked it and we did another one for kicks. Cool! Two really good auditions today!

I got 16 of the 24 drops done today. Whew!

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Today I'm doing a group consultation @ Actorsite. It's free for Actorsite members and at a promo rate for non-members.

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My agent calls this morning to say that my December 22nd shoot date for "Privileged" that changed to December 8th has now changed to January 26th '07. That's a pretty big change; I wonder if they will lose some actors due to scheduling. Make me think I'll be working as a reader some more on this in the future.

While out preparing to do drops today I get a call from my agency @ 3pm to see if I could make a 4:15 producer session for a one day Guest Star. I wasn’t home and I needed to get home to shower, shave, put on a suit, print material, fight traffic to Universal, but I thought I could make it.

Audition “Crossing Jordan” @ LaPadura/Hart Casting. I didn’t feel so great about this one – bottom line; I wasn’t as prepared as I would have liked to be. The only time I really read the material was in the car on the way to the studio. That is okay to get the words down, but not enough to make real choices. Thankfully, we usually aren’t as bad as we think we are.

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

Audition/Tape ”Jericho” @ Bialy/Thomas Casting. YES! I had an appointment at this office about a month ago for a small co-star role on “The Unit” and passed with hopes of getting in for something more substantial. This is a recurring co-star role.

I read with CD Sherry Thomas and I was very happy with how it went. She wanted it real with a foundation – not a lot of “stuff”. I was pleased with the first read; she gave me some direction and I did it again. I felt like I was a bit young for the part, but I can’t do anything about that; I just wanna be solid and continue the relationship. The bookings will come soon enough. Who knows, maybe the producers will see something they can use.

I went to my fitting for "Privileged" this afternoon. While I was there I went in the director office and got a photo of the cast on the wall. I always like seeing myself on "the wall".


"Privileged" - The Wall

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Back on a plane to LA. My layover was in Cincinnati and shortly after we took off there a medical emergency on the plane. A lady with two children had collapsed and needed medical attention. I must admit I got the chills when the flight attendants asked over the PA system “is there a doctor on board?”. There wasn’t. I played one in an ABC pilot, but this was for real. A moment later a young soldier volunteered to help.

I don’t know what had happened to the woman, but for the next 3 hours there was 1-3 people attending to her. It made me remember to enter my ICE (In Case of Emergency) entry in my new cell phone. I don’t know if the ICE thing is a hoax, but it makes sense to me so I do it. She had two children with her at 30,000 feet and she was totally incoherent.

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

Tonight I spoke to a group of actors in Virginia Beach about the business of acting. It reminded me of when I was starting out. It was a little different than my usual consulting because they aren’t in a major market yet, but it was great for them get a sense of what to expect if they choose continue in the business. I may return in March/April to do a full seminar/consultation session.

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

Today we went to two youth football games. One of them was my nephew’s team; they had an undefeated season and were playing a team from another city in a bowl game. It was a pretty good game, but they lost 13-7.

Father and Son

Every time I got back to the house I would enter through the garage rather than the front door. Why? So I could walk past my motocross bike. I just like seeing it – it gets me really excited. My older brother, Tommy, wanted to go for a spin. So I put on my new gear, got Todd and the three of us blasted up to “the field” to get in a few laps. It only lasted about 10 minutes, but it was SOOO much fun. It was definitely one of the highlights of my trips.

My family has had a couple of very, very successful Philadelphia-style hoagie shops for 26 years – Philadelphia Cold Cuts is the name of the business. Myself, I worked there for 15, so I’ve sliced enough onions for a lifetime. When I stopped by to get a bite to eat my brother Jeff, who runs one of the shops surprised me with some remodeling he had done. It’s just the beginning, but it’s what I’ve wanted to do years and years ago. I don’t know how much longer my father will be working everyday, so my brother will eventually take over. I was really happy to see this new beginning. I constantly think about being back there in Virginia Beach in the family business – maybe one day.

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LAX here I come!!! I’m taking a little break to go to Virginia Beach to see my brother Tommy that lives in Prague and his daughter, Nikita, who I’ll be meeting for the first time.

Here I am arriving in Atlanta for my connecting flight home and who do I see? One of the actors I read with yesterday for “Privileged”. Small world - and getting smaller. For some reason when things like that happen I always feel like I’m in the right business.

YES!! I’m glad to be home. It’s always great to get away from the hustle of the big city. It’s nice to NOT have to parallel park so often; I’m pretty good at it since I used to be a valet, but it signifies congestion to me.

Two of my brothers picked me up at the airport and 20 minutes later I got to see my niece Nikita for the first time. She just started walking last week. As expected, she wondered who the heck I was and already had her favorite people since she had been in town for week. I had my work cut out for me.

Nikita and Dad

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I took my brother, Todd, to meet my agents today. It's funny, because it was like they already knew him. I guess I really do talk about my family a lot. I wanted him to see the people I talk about so often.

AGAIN!!! I get another last minute request from the director of "Privileged" to read with two actors this afternoon for the same role that they've been having a hard time casting.

I thought one of the actors was really right, really prepared and really good. After we read the second actor myself and the director had a nice little chat about what we saw - I'm always mindful to keep those conversations at arms length. It’s easy to get “caught up”.

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Producers: “The New Adventures of Old Christine” @ Katherine Eckert Casting. This is a co-star role. My agents are trying to get me in for more guest star roles, but it’s going to take time. I don’t have a problem going in for co-star roles, but I won’t go in on all of them – just depends on the who, what and where.

I’ll definitely go in on this one for Katherine Eckert. Katherine was who brought me in for the pilot of “Good Morning, Miami” when she was an associate at Tracy Lilienfield Casting. They hired me for what they knew to be a recurring role without even sending me to producers. My agent called with the booking before I got home from the audition. I booked roles in 3 pilots that season; 2 of which got picked up. The other one that was picked up was “Life with Bonnie” in which Deborah Barylski hired me as well without going to producers.

As I was walking up to Bldg 136 on the Warner Bros lot I saw a gentleman that looked familiar, but I had no idea from where. He stopped and greeted me, but I didn’t know his name. It was Paul Walia, the actor who replaced me in “Ocean’s Thirteen”. How funny.

I go in and read and it goes well; I understood the piece and I’m right for it. It’s great to get back in to read for Katherine Eckert. On the way out I catch up with Paul. We’d never actually met, only spoken to each other on the phone and through e-mails. I could still tell that he appreciated how I handled him getting the role that I had in “O13”. It couldn’t have gone to nicer and more appreciative actor; funny I thought the same thing when the role was mine. I’m kidding! I’m sure I’ll get something else soon.

It seems to have really set Paul off on a roll of sorts. He did 3 jobs in 3 weeks. The very next day after shooting “O13” he auditioned for “Old Christine”, didn’t get the role, but was called back to do a voiceover, then booked a commercial for “Chrylser” now he was back auditioning for “Old Christine” again. Go Paul!!

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Audition/Tape “The Daily Show” @ Zane/Pillsbury Casting. I was ready, I watched the show to get a since of the satire and the style of the correspondents. Let me tell you, it was work. This political satire doesn’t naturally come off my tongue, but I listen to enough of it on talk radio to know how it sounds. The first “scene” was going well until about ¾ of the way through when I stuttered..and stuttered..and stuttered. We finally just stopped and picked it up again were I stumbled. I got through the rest of it with a sigh of relief.

I took a moment before starting the second scene and another huge mouthful of dialogue; actually it was much more like a monologue really. I didn’t want to get rattled and then regret it in the car 5 minutes later so I found my center and proceeded. The second one went okay; I definitely had a few high points, but all-in-all I left feeling kinda “partly cloudy”. I do think I am “right” for it though.

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So Caleigh, my theatrical agent calls me this morning and asked if would consider relocating to New York. The question caught me off guard, but after thinking about it for 9 seconds I said “yes, of course”. She was calling about a recurring role as a correspondent on “The Daily Show”. It’s very different than what I’m used to, but I confirmed and said I’m stop by stop pick up the material. One problem, the audition is scheduled for Monday 13th when I will be in Virginia Beach.

This project “Privileged’ that I’ve been a reader for @ Cathy Henderson-Martin Casting just doesn’t want to seem to end. It's cool with me because I get to read with actors again, but I'm sure the producers would like to get it finished. There is still one role that needs to be cast. So I was there today reader with about 6-8 guys. It’s amazing to see the process working in front of your eyes.

I hope they get it cast from this session. They even asked me what I thought and who I liked; I was careful not to get too involved in that conversation. It was a good short session and I think they saw someone they liked, but that is only the beginning - there's the whole negotiation part.

Cool, my agent got me rescheduled for tomorrow for “The Daily Show”. It’s FIFTEEN pages of dialogue! I don’t know if I’ve had that much dialogue in auditions all year!

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

Cool!!! My youngest brother, Todd, is flying in today.


My 'lil bro Todd - the subject of my lens back in the day

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