Week 417: Invisible Progress!

Weekly Written Review 

Next week (418) marks 8 years in LA and I'm obviously making invisible progress. That's me being positive because I'm about to be 8 years deep in this business and most it still makes no sense at all. On Wednesday, I had a Nike Jordan brand audition. I personally liked how my audition went. They made us do basketball drills and I didn't mess up. I never lost control of the ball and I made both of my layups. I was a little wowed. I think my YMCA membership has been paying off. At the end of the audition, the person behind the camera embraced me, called out my name and said I had a great audition. I actually left with a good vibe. Sure there were plenty of other basketball players there much more skilled than me but it's not about the skills. It's about the look and I came with my look. I met a guy that wasn't highly skilled but he booked previous Nike commercials because of his "look." He showed me a video on his Instagram. Granted Hollywood always has a role for light skinned brothers but it's further confirmation that I always have a running chance compared to near semi-pro ballers.

On Thursday, I had Lexus audition. That was odd because luxury companies never request me to audition. Yet, I thought I had hope because they were looking for a young musician.  In the audition, I told them I played the harmonica and that I dibbled and dabbled with the guitar and piano. I did as instructed and I left the room with a pep in my step. A callback had to be in my future. If not both, at least one. The results were none and zero. That thought of possibly booking my first Nike commercial was a waste. Two sudden auditions within the range of Snake Outta Compton's USA release was delusional of me to think the universe is fortifying my favor.

I've actually come to hate these auditions. Yes, hate is a strong word that I rarely use but I do think it's appropriate. The moment I (or most actors) receives a SAG commercial notice, imaginations run wild. For me, my head fills up with thoughts of buying my parents a new house, paying off credit card debt and blessings a few good folks. I've learned not to expect anything from these auditions but my imagination is often out of my control. I'm not complaining but 8 years of the same results make no sense. I'm sure I've written about this frustration hundreds of times here's one hundred and one.

Less than two weeks ago my old agent reached out to me to say hi. In response, I shared a few things. Here's a snippet of what I wrote, "Not much has changed. I'm certainly auditioning a good amount and I'm booking a steady handful for small stuff here and there. Background work pays fairly decent now that I'm SAG, lol. The big payouts well, that evades me as usual. At times close, but that's as far as I'll get. I truly believe that I could audition as I've been doing (8 years next month) for the rest of my life and the results will stay the same. I'm just not the Hollywood type. This means I have to create a new type that doesn't currently exist. That will only happen when an unordinary/extraordinary occurrence takes place."

I stand by those words. I truly believe I could audition for the rest of my life in this industry with the same results unless something extraordinary happens. After that snippet, I went on to tell her about the upcoming release of Snake Outta Compton. I got so many eggs forced into that basket it's ridiculous. What's even more ridiculous is all this invisible progress I've been making. I've got a whole lot of invisible progress in just 8 years, it's just unfortunate you can't see it. :-/


Sunday, September 9, 2018

* Basketball audition sent

* Water/cat food pick up...(Smart & Final)

* Bike Boys trip...USC/Trader Joes/Food 4 Less.

* My landlady gave me a few nectarines last week and I realized I've been cheating myself. I love nectarines and peaches but since living in LA I normally skip them because I don't want to bother with washing them. Also because every now and then they're tasteless. Moreover, I picked up a whole bunch of them at Food 4 Less today and they were quickly devoured.


Monday, September 10, 2018

* Post Office...sent off a little gift to Arielle

* Started invited people to the Snake premiere

* Blogging...


Tuesday, September 11, 2018

* Basketball...

* Bike Boys Yoshinoya/Smart & Final


Wednesday, September 12, 2018

* Nike Jordan Brand audition


Thursday, September 13, 2018

* Basketball...

* Lexus audition

* Laff Mobb Tracks watch party at the Parlor


Friday, September 14, 2018

* Audition videos sent

* Slow day...

* Tennis...continued a previous match and lost it by losing the first 3 games. He shouldn't have done that. I won the next two sets. I believe I won one set 6 to 1 or 6 to 2.


Saturday, September 15, 2018

* Savoir Faire LA Brunch experience. Good food, music and a long night.


As the quest continues...

The future of Late Night

Motown Maurice