Awakening my acting career

I’ve been very quiet about my acting career since July. I could go through the story step by step … and I won’t. Instead I'll summarize.

I took a 3-month temporary job in August that interfered with any roles I might have taken (and I was offered one in Seraphim Falls with Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan). During that time I got sick, and that interfered, too. I skipped one casting call because of my illness (don’t recall now what the movie was).

So, anyway, I'm available again and much closer to healthy than I was, so when I read about a casting call today, I went. The movie is Funny Farm with no one I’ve ever heard of (though one, Ian Hart, was in Finding Neverland). It’s a comedy about insanity. Funny farm … get it? OK, it doesn’t sound like an Oscar winner, but it’s work in the business. They start filming near Santa Fe on Wednesday through sometime in February. So, we’ll see if I'm selected. One thing I like about this one is that it isn’t just background work. They’re looking for people to play specific roles that will continue through the shooting.

Another opportunity is a locally made film that’s Spiritual Cinema. I was invited to audition (yes, audition for a speaking role) for that one by one of the filmmakers who is also a friend of mine. He saw me do a bit of acting in the Stephen Simon workshop we were both in several years ago, so this may be the first role that’s come at least in part from that. I'm looking forward to it.

I'm also beginning to pay attention to other roles that may be coming up. I heard on the news that a new movie starring Jessica Simpson will start filming in NM later in January. Again, it isn’t going to be an Oscar winner, but it will be work in a film. I think of it as paying my dues.

Speaking of that, I already find myself growing dissatisfied with extra roles and wanting more – speaking roles. I'm impatient.

What about Bordertown? I’ve heard that it will be out in 2006, probably in the summer or fall, though one person said January. I doubt it will be before summer.

So, I'm back in film work and looking ahead to more. Stay tuned.