Name Change

So, I started this little diary in drama school, and it seemed only fitting at that point to call my blog ‘A Trainee Actor’s Journal’. Since graduating, I’ve considered changing this often, but kept it ‘as is’ up until this point because, in what I now realise was a puerile and utterly pointless act of self-deprecation, I wanted to show the world how wonderfully humble I am, and because, of course darling, we’re always training, aren’t we. We’re always learning, it’s a journey, and oh you were simply marvelous in that thing, I don’t know where you get it from and….

Fuck that. I am an Actor. There’s always stuff to learn, yes. But I am a trainee no more.

Man vs London, Pt 2

Not that there was technically a Man vs London part one, but I liked the sound of it.

So – whisper it softly – but things are starting to pick up now, and that is very good news. After the disaster of last month, this week so far has been great. First of all, I have finally been able to get my own place, which is a massive step forward. Well, I say my own place, it’s a room in the house that I am already (secretly) living in*, but now it’s official and most importantly, I will have my own little section of it to call my own. It’s a small room and expensive for what it is, but it’s incredibly convenient, I get to stay with my lady, and there’s no deposit, which for someone in my financial position is amazing. So I move in (or down a floor, technically) on the 11th March. This will have a massive effect on my general well-being – I have been sneaking around in this place now like Casper the frickin’ ghost for months. So, stable living area – check.

Financially things seem to be picking up too. My ‘day job’ is going well, and my promotion is rattling along which is great, but also makes me uneasy. It’s the old familiar balancing act – you need money to live, but you can’t get sucked into a job that dominates you too much that you have no time to push the business side of being an actor, and no creative juice left for it if something comes along. One thing that I realised soon after starting my bar job is that my plan B is to run my own pub one day, and this is something that I think I would be happy doing, so that things are moving very rapidly in that direction is great, but….I moved to London to be an Actor, not to run a pub. I need to stay the course here and not get distracted too much.

As well as the day job, I have recently become involved with a puppetry company and am delighted that I will be doing some work for them, starting on Friday when I will be making my debut as Pongo, who is a….giant, red inter-dimensional chicken.  Ok, not exactly the RSC, and I have made some jokes along the lines of ‘Is this what 7 grand and two years at drama school gets me?’, but in all honesty, it’s great and I am really pleased – think Jim Henson, think Labyrinth,  and you’re along the right lines. The best part though….well. This week it has been confirmed that I will be working for them on a cruise from Istanbul to Venice in July. I’ll be working, obviously, but I am basically getting paid to go on a cruise. With my girlfriend. That’s pretty spectacular I have to say. I actually have the chance to go on another one, but this falls over a festival in the Summer that I love and would be pretty loathe to miss….although now I have written this, missing out on being paid to go on a cruise across the Mediterranean, with my lady, to stand in a (possibly wet) field in Derbyshire….hmmm.

So, I have somewhere to live, am doing something creative and I have some money coming in. Now for some actual fucking acting please. It’s been a while and I am getting tetchy about this. There are a couple of short films coming up that I will be making an appearance in but I really need something to get my teeth into now. Maybe it’s time to head back into the theatre….we’ll see.

*This reminds me of this

That Old Islamotazz

I am not a religious man. Everyone is entitled to their beliefs I suppose, as long as they a) don’t try to force them on anyone else, b) respect that their beliefs are not held by everyone and c) don’t use their beliefs as a basis for making decisions that affect other people. The sensible, enlightened (snigger) and moderate amongst us have seen and been horrified by the reaction of some Islamic fundamentalists to any perceived insult to their religion, and particularly the reaction of some, calling for people to be beheaded simply because they have depicted the physical form of the Prophet Muhammad; something that is absolutely not allowed in Islam. This kind of anger and hatred is something I have never understood.

Until now, that is, when i saw a poster in London for the new stage version of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Threatening to cut someone’s head off because they draw a cartoon of Muhammad might seem extreme, but I now understand I think why some Muslims consider this a reasonable response. It’s because they’ve seen what happens when you give anyone any latitude.

You’re only a step away from having Spice Girl Melanie C performing as Mary Magdelene.

Cracking London

The path of my life is strewn with cowpats from the Devil’s own satanic herd!

– Edmund Blackadder

So, London. Not as easy as all that, it turns out.

Everything seemed to be going rather well. I was working, settled, getting the odd audition*, and finally had got myself in a position whereby I could move into my own place (Even if I didn’t feel now like I was abusing people’s generosity,  nearly four months of not having a home to call my own is now finally really getting to me). I had just missed the cut-off for being paid just before Christmas and so it’s been a long and arduous  few weeks, counting down the days and generally looking forward to payday,  looking for somewhere to live, getting my new head shots done, etc.

Then I got paid….£500.

I must admit I may have had somewhat of a minor breakdown at that point. Things were not so secure anyway and all of a sudden I was staring into the abyss again, who, by the way, took great delight in staring back at me with a rictus grin and a twinkle in its eye. £500? I need to bring in double that a month easily, and as for looking for my own place…forget it. I actually had two viewings booked for that Friday evening and dutifully went along anyway, as I felt it was too late to cancel and besides, sometimes miracles do happen. They didn’t. What made this even worse was the second place I looked at was perfect – ok, the room was slightly smaller than I wanted, but the rest of the place, and the people were awesome. So I plastered on a fake smile, told them I would let them know and trudged out into the snow knowing I couldn’t even begin to afford living there. That was quite a low moment, especially as I felt like I couldn’t stay where I was anymore, effectively sending me back to Brighton with my tail between my legs, with no money,  job, or way of paying for my storage. This is getting to be a habit. Yeah alright, this is my fault – I should have done my sums and not just assumed that I would be OK when payday came around. But you do a month’s work, even in a notoriously low-paid environment as working in a pub, and I think it’s fair to expect you will get enough to actually live on?

Since then, things have picked up a bit. Work have been great and done all that they can – I am starting on some training that will see my hourly rate increase, I am ok to carry on living where I am for a while longer (thanks lovely), and my Sister has agreed to take some or all of my stuff so I can save on storage costs. I am going to sell some of my furniture and dump the rest, but I still need more money coming in, that’s essential. So I now need a second job, and the hunt starts now. I could just go and temp in an office again, but I am going to stick to my guns until that’s absolutely the last resort; I promised myself I wouldn’t do that again and I damn well want to keep that promise. As for headshots, unless someone is giving them away free….

So, London. Not so easy after all.

*I have another audition this afternoon. Well, my hands do anyway.

To Reel or Not to Reel?

So we’re halfway through January and I am yet to begin the big push that I was banging on about not so long ago, and I am getting tetchy that things are not moving yet. However, something large has come up that, in true Glen style, that I decided to ignore for some reason – I have now got to find somewhere new to live. My current arrangements were always temporary, and have gone on a bit too long already, i’ve got cash coming in and so now is the time, but still – not moving on with career stuff feels like I am procrastinating, and I can’t stand that I have to put things off. But, for the practical reasons already mentioned, and an artistic one that I will come onto into a minute, the push might have to wait.

The artistic reason is that my showreel is coming along nicely, but is looking a little….thin. The BBC stuff won’t be ready until the end of Feb, and so to reel or not to reel refers to this – do I send it out ‘as is’, or wait until the end of Feb when it will be looking much better? My headshots will have to wait as I can’t afford them this month, so, I guess I have to wait really. I had hoped to do it all at once – new headshots, marketing gumph, showreel – and hit the casting directors with an bang. I don’t want to do it piecemeal, but….I also don’t want to wait anymore.

It’s a tough one, but I guess I have to be patient. Grrr!

++UPDATE++

Spoke to a Casting Agency today over on Twitter about this, and their view was not to wait, get your reel out there, and add to it as you go. To them, this shows progress and motion. Very good advice, that I am going to ignore! The end of Feb is not so far that I can’t wait for it. Be patient, young Padowan.