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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Okay, now I’ve been officially released from the “Sprint” print ad. I actually had a talk with my agent about always being the "just released" guy. I get a lot of avails, but a lot of releases too. Anyway, moving right along. Today was a really good day of accomplishment in getting some other exciting things done; I’m still not sure how I’m going to finish it, but I know I’m moving forward. I hardly notice how quiet it’s been lately on the acting front; hopefully that will change soon.

Blast from the past alert!!!

Long A** Time Ago
Long A** Story
Long A** Cadillac

Who knew there were several cheerleaders in my past? Ha! She might have been voted “Most like to….”. I don’t know. I was voted “Most likely to jump in a lake…on my BMX bike”…not really, but I did it anyway.

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

Again?! What?! You have to be kidding. Nope. It's only the beauty of my life experiences.

The anatomy of how booking the job isn't always the whole story. An "official booking" is about 91.07544% of the way - Let's talk about the other 8.92456%....

A couple of years ago I booked a role in the film of an Oscar winning director, Steven Soderbergh. I was scheduled to work with two Oscar nominated actors; Elliott Gould and Don Cheadle. Unfortunately, the scene was cut before I got a chance to shoot it - yes, I was paid. The film was "Ocean's Twelve".

One of the cool things about the booking was that I booked it about 3 months before I was scheduled to shoot. So I had those 3 months of promoting it in postcards and on my resume. Then the news came that the scene was cut from the script. I took it in stride, of course, and after a while I thought about it less and less and moved on. Then, of course, when the film was getting ready for release it was like it was happening all over again. I would drive past Warner Bros Studios and see the posters and just shake my head.

I looked at the experience as a great story to be a part of and I strongly felt that Steven Soderbergh would hire me again in the future.

Cut to:

A couple of years later. Mr. Soderbergh hires me a second time and, true to form, I am scheduled to work with an Oscar winner – this time Al Pacino. I book the role four months before shooting with gives another great window of promo and the enjoyment of knowing that the shoot is coming up.

The months turn into weeks and before I know it the shoot is “next week”, but conflicts were on the horizon. Conflicts in the form of a commercial booking. The moving dates started shifting and things got really interesting. In the end I had to pull out of the film due to “scheduling conflicts”. Having to back out of this role morphed into a pretty cool story I must say.

I shot the commercial only to get cut out 4 months later just before airing. Wow. So here I sit again; another “Ocean’s XX” movies that I booked, but will not appear in. Who else can say that? Actually, I wish I wasn’t able to say it myself. It would have been nice if things could’ve worked out, but I trust that things happen the way they do for a reason…and with that I trust that Steven Soderbergh will hire me a third time…and I might even get to shoot it…and that is the other 8.92456%...

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

This writing that I do and the effects of it never ceases to amaze me. Even I’d think that I would be used to it by now, but honestly I get extremely nervous when someone says something to me in public about it. I have no idea why. I think at the end of the day it comes down to me not being too comfortable in the spotlight.

Don’t get me wrong, I can handle myself with no problem, but I kinda like being in the shadows and watching others. I have little desire to “make it” on any type of mega-crazy level. The attractive part of that for me would be to be able to fly home to see my niece play field hockey and my nephew play baseball, have dirt bikes to ride, learn to play tennis, start racing BMX bikes again, do ceramics and woodworking, learn about investing, work on cars, learn to cook, etc.
Make no mistake; I really want to work more too – a lot more. Being on-set and on- location is an incredible feeling. Landing in another country after a long flight with a different native language and seeing the driver picking you up holding a sign that says “Fuller” is pretty incredible. Getting per-diem in another country’s currency is also pretty incredible.

Anyway, what the heck am I talking about? Who knows. I was at a workshop tonight, sitting in the back row, against the wall – a comfortable spot for me. It’s a safe place where I just kinda watch what goes on – I am fascinated by people in general and just love to watch what they do and why.

So I’m sitting there, sorta hiding, hat pulled low and the one of the guest is talking about how it’s great to meet new actors. Shortly after that he looks straight at me and says “I’ve seen your website”. I was frozen and just muttered something; he then said “You have a website right?” I answered, “uh…yeah…yeah I do”. He told the room that when he was an intern at a talent agency he read my entire Long Ass Bio over a 3-day period. What? Are you kidding me?

Afterwards, we spoke one on one and he told me the he’s recommended my writings to others to read. Who would’ve thought – not my English teachers in grade school that’s for sure.

Also this week I received a particular e-mail that nearly brought me to tears. It just hit me at the right time. I’ve been putting a lot of pressure on myself lately to get a few really important things accomplished and it gets to be overwhelming at times. Nothing bad, in fact, they are all very good things. It just involves a bit of concentration, patience and research. Nothing I can’t handle. After having a tough couple of days it was the right medicine for me – thanks again Debbie.

Supposedly, I’m still on-avail for the “Sprint” print ad, but to be honest, I’ve mentally released myself – NEXT!!!

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

Tonight I started a new voiceover class with Lori Tritel; I’m trying to make it happen in this area as well. Gotta diversify my portfolio! Class was fun; I have to work on finding and controlling my voice, learning to breath, trusting my instincts yet being much more imaginative at the same time – whew!

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

In general, actor showcases are designed for performers to hopefully get representation from Agents and/or Managers and to be seen by Casting Directors. I haven’t been in one because I, fortunately, have usually had effective representation. Tonight I attended the Cricket Feet Casting Actors Showcase produced by:

Cricket Feet Casting is a company run by our showcase producer Bonnie Gillespie, indie film casting director, author of Self-Management for Actors, and weekly columnist for Showfax.com. Showcase coordinator Eitan Loewenstein is a working actor, available through Origin Talent. In addition to being an accomplished theatre director, our showcase director Richard Tatum is a busy voiceover actor/coach and headshot photographer.

There were 35 very talented actors participating in 17 very well directed scenes – all in one hour.

The team did their homework in putting this event together and it showed. The scene transitions and music were great. Complimentary food and drink before and afterwards and get this - validated parking. Something else they accomplished was to smother the myth that it’s impossible to get industry professionals to attend showcases. The house was packed with CD’s, agents, managers and producers, etc.

Congratulations to all and I predict that many phones will ring with opportunities as a result of the showcase – good luck!

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

Callback: “Bank of America” @ Jeff Rosenman Casting. The callback went pretty well. Jackie “my wife” was so sweet beautiful and smart. I really enjoy talking about stuff other than acting with her – nice! For some reason I don’t expect to hear anything else from this spot. I don’t know why.

Audition: “Swiffer” @ Craig Colvin Casting. It went okay, nothing special.

Jenny, my print agent, informs me that I’m still on avail for the “Sprint” ad; I was supposed to hear “book or release” last Friday. One of these day I’m gonna……

In other news, my friend, photographer Aaron Wulf, finally has his new website up and running. Aaron shot my print card and was great to work with. He has an incredible eye for composition and is reasonable – check him out at https://www.aaronwulf.com/portfolios.html

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