Who cares?! Or more to the point, why do we care?

I’m a little torn on this. As an actor, I understand the desire to be recognized by your peers for doing great work, particularly since a lot of us take up this craft and profession to compensate for our own insecurities. (Much as I hate to admit it, I absolutely include myself in that group.) The trophy you get is merely a symbol that says “Hey, we, the people who do this as much as you do, think that you’ve done some amazing things professionally this year and that merits a token of our esteem.”

On the other hand, as a TV viewer I’m not a big fan of the spectacle that these things have become. I didn’t watch the Emmys this year. That’s not a slam on this year’s host (the incredibly funny Jane Lynch) or the nominees (I’m a fan of most of them). I haven’t watched any awards show in quite a few years. It’s just gotten too ridiculous for me. The musical numbers, the awkward pairing of celebrities who deliver jokes that just don’t land, the stiff applause of those who don’t win while seething with rage and/or tears inside… the endless commercial breaks!!

You cannot swing a dead cat without hitting an awards show these days. Off the top of my head, here’s a short list of awards shows that air their ceremonies on TV:

• Oscars
• Emmys
• Tonys
• Golden Globes
• SAG Awards
• People’s Choice Awards
• Kid’s Choice Awards
• MTV Movie Awards
• Independent Spirit Awards
• Blockbuster Awards (defunct)
• Webbys
• Streamys

Again, that’s a short list. And that’s just the ones that affect actors directly! There are awards for every part of the industry out there. And many televise their ceremonies. It’s even become a gala event and breaking news when they announce the nominees — that’s right, we’re supposed to get excited to hear them tell us names of the people who only might have a chance of winning.

What can be done about this? How do we return some sensibility to these things? IMHO (and this is a long shot), if they’re going to televise it they should do it like the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Prize Patrol. Throughout a particular day, they should roll an armored truck up to the winner’s house and deliver the award with a bunch of balloons and one of these legendary “swag bags” I’m always hearing about but have never seen. They can televise those without disrupting the normal broadcast schedule or depriving the viewing audience of either the spectacle of an awards show or the programs these people are being recognized for. Done and d–

Excuse me… there’s someone at the door.

OMG! It’s TV’s Jon Cryer with my Emmy Award! I take it all back! This is the greatest day of my life! Outta my way, world, I’M BETTER THAN YOU!!!!

(UPDATE: Ummm… so it turns out the guy at the door was just a UPS guy who looks like Jon Cryer. And it wasn’t an Emmy… it was a Lemmy. Which is really awkward, because I’ve never even listened to Motorhead. But still an honor… I think…)

One of the first goals accomplished this year was that I actually finished the scripts for Magellan’s Children and got most of the dialogue recorded. Is it perfect? Heck, no… and that’s fine. The next step is mixing all the sound effects and getting music made so that I can release Episode 1 on target at the end of next month.

I’ve also managed to get into an acting school here. Presently I’m studying at the Australian Institute for Dramatic Arts (AIDA) and I’m having fun. It’s a good experience and I like being around the people there. I also have been fortunate to barter my mad janitorial skills in exchange for class, so that’s less money (that I don’t have anyway) out of pocket.

Speaking of that, this month has been largely spent really focusing on the kind of work I want to be doing as an actor. My class at AIDA this month was “Image & Career” and we’ve been spending class time refining out goal-setting and business management skills. It’s been an eye-opener. Last night was the last session and we talked about typecasting. I enjoyed getting up there and hearing what my fellow classmates discuss what I could be cast as. Some were things I had already guessed for myself, but a few surprised me.

Additionally, I attended the Showbiz Expo this past weekend. Although the show seemed to be geared more to the production side of things (and that’s totally cool), I learned some good things. One of the highlights for me was meeting the folks at Holdon Log, the folks behind the web app PerformerTrack. Brian Vermiere, CEO, was kind enough to attempt — multiple times — to take me through a walkthrough after I decided to invest some precious gold in buying the product. Although we never finished it at the show because of a lot of interruptions, he was kind enough to finish the tour personally via a phone conference a couple of days later. Way cool. I’ve only been using the tool for a few days, but I like what I see so far. He answered all my questions and even gave me some positive career advice on the side. So thanks, Brian, for your time and putting out a killer app for actors.

So I think I’m off to a good start. On top of this stuff, I am more actively seeking representation to give myself more opportunities to work. So if any of my L.A. friends or readers know an agent or manager who needs a dimensional overachiever for their client portfolio, have them give me a ring!

I’ll catch you on the flip side next time with… some other cliche I can’t remember.

I currently am still looking for a day job (NOTE: if anyone has any leads, pass them on) which means money has gotten insanely tight, up to and including the fact that I owe my incredibly generous and tolerant roommate for my half of the utilities. Over the last two weekends I’ve had a dozen auditions — all for non-paying projects — and it comes down to two productions that directly conflict with one another on the calendar. Details later. I get a callback for one and while I’m at the callback I schedule an audition for the second one on the off-chance that I don’t get cast.

A few days later, I go to the second one, which was a bit of a drive, only to find out that it was a last-minute casting and rehearsals start that night. I nail that audition and get cast, but I started feeling queasy at the read-through, because I hadn’t heard from the first one yet.  (Honestly, I was hoping I was sensing an immortal who was going to lop my head off.)  Turns out, after I get home , I get a late-night email that I was cast as the lead in the first play!  Sonofa–

An ominous choice lay before me, because I committed to a tiny role in this second show. I hate going back on my word and I talked to several people whose opinions I value before making the choice to back out of the second show. For a better role? Oh, yes. Guilty? Hell, yeah. But if I made an enemy or a mistake, I’d rather make these mistakes now. The lesson I learned? As much as we as actors need to keep hustling work, this kind of thing is vital to watch out for so that you don’t step on a lot of toes on the way up. I don’t know what consequences I’ll incur in the future for this action, but I can only hope they aren’t too severe…