Another week flown by; I can't believe I've been here six months! Incredible. The job hunt continues, still no joy there and I confess it's making me anxious. Aside from that life is good; rehearsals for Beaten Hearts are a joy and the production side of things is keeping me busy. I'm also proofreading my roommate Gina's novel, which is very interesting and engaging; in short, a good read. I'm tidying up her punctuation and grammar along the way. I like to take the manuscript to a cafe and sit in the sunshine with a double espresso and my red pen. It's rather pleasant and a kind of advertising; after all, in this town, having a coffee can be a networking opportunity and I've had more than one person ask me what I'm doing and then we have a chat about writing and editing, and sometimes exchange cards. You never know who might lead to what or what might lead to who.
On Friday I auditioned for a commercial agent, so fingers crossed. There were lots of hopeful actors waiting in the lobby, and they whipped through us efficiently, calling three actors into the inner sanctum at a time. Then one by one we were ushered into a very small room - really tiny, it may once have been intended as a bathroom - in which I had to stand right up against the closed door to deliver my audition to camera. The audition was a piece of commercial copy provided by the agency, a unisex piece with a few nice beats/changes of thought and pace to play. I went in with my best Standard American accent and I have no idea whether or not I fooled the guy, as no chit chat was engaged in. He didn't even introduce himself, it was all business; got your headshot? ok, stand there, look at the camera, when you're ready; ok, thanks, profiles please (this means turning left then right, to display my regal profile) and goodbye.
Saturday night I went out with Gina for a bite to eat at the local Mexican restaurant, El Torito, and then on to the local cinema to see Tim Burton's take on Alice in Wonderland. It was an enjoyable bit of escapism, although not as dark and twisted as I've come to expect from Mr Burton. Helena Bonham-Carter absolutely stole the show as the Red Queen - Off with their heads! - and Johnny Depp was delightfully disturbed as the Mad Hatter. Stephen Fry and Alan Rickman's velvety tones lent the Cheshire Cat and Blue Caterpillar, respectively, a delicious authority. All in all though, the film felt like a mash-up of Lord of the Rings, Labyrinth and Charlie & the Chocolate Factory; lots of digital special effects, psychedelic dreamscapes and a Quest. We've been here before and I found myself tiring of the computer generated scenery, longing for an authentic landscape and some genuine interraction between characters, uncluttered and undistracted by prosthetics and special effects.
We're back on Daylight Saving time in L.A., after what seems like only a couple of months without it. Spring is in the air (and hayfever along with it) and summer will be here before we know it.
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