One thing about me and my “mini series” of blogs that I’ve done in the past, I tend to just go with whatever name comes to mind when I start writing… Mostly because I don’t like to get hung up too much on titles as I do on content.
So while my series about my journey in Los Angeles was simply titled “L.A. Times” I’ve really started to feel more comfortable with “Tales From the WestSide” mostly because the L.A. Times is obviously actually a thing. While “Tales From the Westside… Well Anyways let’s get right into it.
Church Of Scientology
So like I said from my last post, I ended up taking a trip over to the church of Scientology a few weeks back, and what motivated this journey was my curiosity, after an invitation of a free personality test. Personality tests, like reading your “sign” and things similar to that, have always caught my eye because I always want to know whether or not they’re “right” as well as whether or not I’ll learn something new about myself.
This test in particular was a little underwhelming (Even as I’m writing this, I can’t find the paper with the results)…. “You know what to do but sometimes you lack motivation” – the type of analysis that sounds like something you’d find in a fortune cookie, and then of course you get some things that don’t even fit you AT ALL.
Ultimately, the trip ended with me having a long, interesting conversation about Scientology and then being told about all of the things that the Church could do for me. Being the kind of person that I am, I’m always open to hearing about new ideals and ways of living, which is why I like learning about the ins and outs of different religions, but it’s always from a “Hmm that’s interesting” perspective not a “Hmm! I’d REALLY like to join this!” Perspective.
The most interesting thing about all of this, is how much they seem to focus on getting people in the entertainment industry to try to join. After all, I found out about the personality test while waiting in line for a casting opportunity, and even now, I’m getting phone calls and letters in the mail from them (I’m not going to lie, it’s a little disturbing) but it just makes me wonder how many people within the wider scope of the industry are connected through this particular church ideal…
Waiter Job
I told myself that I was going to duck all stereotypes of a struggling actor when I moved out here (or at least as much as I could) and yet, two weeks ago, I’m going in for back to back interviews for a job as a server in a restaurant. Maybe they could sense that I didn’t really want that type of job, or God has bigger plans for me, or they couldn’t get over me having zero server experience… But I didn’t get the job.
So now the journey continues in finding creative ways to make money (because again, I’m broke) but strangely enough, I’m not worried about it. I feel like I’m going to find something awesome soon. Something that will make for a great story…
Auditions and Extra Work
After 2 months of being over here in Los Angeles, I’ve started to get auditions. I say “Auditions” and NOT Roles, because I have yet to book a single job. However, you need to have one to get the other.. So I’m hoping that I’ve started to build this “momentum” of sorts that will start to get me some paying work.
Funniest thing about this whole experience is that I’ve got auditions to play roles that are outside of my age range, at least in my opinion. Can I play a 30 yr old? Absolutely. Do I look like someone in their thirties? Not at all.
I age in the face like every 5-7 years, and right now, when I shave, I have problems convincing people that I’m older than 21.. Not that I’m complaining.. It’s awesome. It just gets weird when you’re auditioning for the role of “Dad” a mid thirties father of 2.
I’m thinking I might have to work this from another angle and just fully embrace my youthful appearance.
Rhymeology
I’m trying to get more involved into my musical artist side, now that I have a better idea of how the Acting world works over here. I ended up at this event titled “Rhymeology” and based off the description, I thought that it was something like a networking event for artists, and to an extent it is, but it’s really a spot for spoken word Hip Hop Artists to get their rhymes out. I can rap, but since I’ve moved more to a song writing format, my lyrics don’t quite have the depth that spoken word tends to have… Despite this, my plan is to start going to similar events and just perform to start getting some feedback, even if I end up sounding like the most superficial poet in the building.
Shooting Skits
Rounding everything up in my update, my friends and I have started working on our skits and original content. I’m going to leave it vague for now since we don’t yet have enough material to go “Live” but this past Friday we put out a little promo of one of the series that’s being worked on by yours truly.. I know this post was a little longer than usual but that’s what I get for taking so long to update.. Till Next Time.
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