Friday, January 13, 2006

Happy New Year

The year's off to a good start. Since the first of the year, I've had my first non-stand-up audition in Los Angeles, performed stand-up twice in one evening for the first time in a long time, and started taking acting class.

I've even done Karaoke.

It's all connected.

As much as I've avoided Karaoke over the years, the urge hit me between stand-up spots this past Tuesday. I'd already done a show at the Improv in Brea, then raced across town for my second spot of the evening at Martini Blues in Huntington Beach. When I got to Martini Blues, I discovered that I'd have a _lot_ of time to kill. I'd requested a late spot, so it wasn't a problem or anything. It's just that the drive from Brea was quicker than I'd thought. So, next thing I knew, I was doing Karaoke.

It's all connected.

When people go to a Performing Arts school, they learn multiple disciplines. Nothing new. I'm just doing a roll-your-own Performing Arts school.

Taking the plunge into a "real" acting class feels real good. Not only does it put me on the road to becoming a disciplined actor, but it also takes some of the pressure off of the stand-up path. Maybe that's not the best way to put it. What I mean is, since all of my eggs aren't in one basket, I don't feel the need to push so much to get "seen" by the folks at the Hollywood Improv (for example). That's not off of the table, but it's also not an all-or-nothing thing anymore.

And getting that audition earlier this week was a cool milestone. And to think... it only took me fifteen years to get it. Stephanie and I moved to LA early in 1991, and were living back in San Diego before the end of 1991. About seven months. And in that time, I didn't get a single audition. There's a reason. I had no clue how to get one. Now, I've got a slight clue, and have finally popped my audition cherry.

Not a huge milestone, mind you. But a milestone nonetheless. It's like that ancient Chinese proverb about a journey of a thousand miles beginning with a single, "Oh, crap! I've got a thousand miles ahead of me!!".

Or something like that.

And the trippy thing about the audition is that it was just a stone's throw from the apartment complex my parents used to manage. Just a couple tenths of a mile away, in the same 100 block (audition at 10960 Wilshire, parents' old apartment at 10969 Rochester). Considering the massive sprawl that is Los Angeles, I can't even calculate the odds of that happening. It was a strange feeling walking around that area before and after the audition. Can't put it into words. Let's just say there's some full-circle stuff, some looking to the sky stuff, some holding back some tears stuff...

It's all connected.