| | Day ta day
Well, so far this has been a very interesting week. It actually started off with a real bummer of a "Actor Training" sessioin this past weekend. The "workshop" given by some total stranger who is home-based in Denver, charged the attendees $300 for a two day diatribe on how wonderful she is, how many directors are clamoring to get her into their photos, and also hundreds of folks are bombarding her with requests to tape "Inspirational Tapes" because she has such a "soothing" voice. Basically, that was pretty much what the "workshop" was about. I have now learned a very valuable lesson. Don't sign up to learn from folks about whom you know very little or nothing. Funny thing is, though, since the movie business is expanding here in New Mexico, "Acting Teachers, Coaches, Mentors, Trainers, Guides, etcetera, have been oozing out of the wookwork. One "Trainer" started off a program by annuncing that they had a degree in engineering from MIT. As time passed, and she began getting more and more students, the degree became a degree in acting from Harvard or some such backwoods school. So, I suspect that those of us aspiring to "make-it" as actors here in New Mexico are going to have to be far more cautious with whom we place our dollar bills. As for me, I have attended a training class in Los Angeles taught by Bob Fraser which I felt was a most valuable experience. His course is entitled, You Must Act. And you can contact him through You Must Act.com. If that is not correct, contact me, and I'll get the correct address for you. Another really good trainer here in Albuquerque is Steve Willmon. He has a studio on Morningside NE, and his classes are very actor centered. In lieu of sitting, listening to some alleged Instructor go on and on about the same stuff you can easily read in just about any book on acting, Steve brings his students together in front of a camera during each class. Later we get a chance to observe the film and hear valuable advice from both him and students about the performances. I find that style far more valuable to me than sitting listening to an instructor tell how great they are, or listening to an instructor giving pin-point instructions to another student. So, from this point forward, by training will be from Steve Willmon. Check him out if you are interested. On Monday, I had an audition that I completely blew because of the stressful experience I had over the weekend. So, I just hope that I can contnue to get more chances to audition, because, I AM NOT DONE YET! Aside from those minor problems, my life is going quite nicely. My "Real" friends are keeping in touch and are very supportive, and that is very important to me. I appreciate all of you. Oh, did I mention that I have a new cat? Yeah, my daughter and her family moved in with us for a while, and when she left, she conveniently forgot her cat
"Angel" who is now my cat! I'll try to remember to post a photo of her in a day or so. She is a very arrogant self centered egoistic creature. (Kinda like the instructor I had this past weekend! Well, as they say, bye, bye. Email me. Call me. Love me. But don't abandon me. Gary |
