California

Snow...

in Seattle which allowed me an adult snow day today and time to hang with the family. More snow on the way. Grew up in Minnesota so snow, snow away. Problem is Seattle has all these hills and stuff. Imagine snow in San Francisco for example. And it is 21 degrees as we speak.
Otherwise we act like a salesman and sell myself for acting jobs.
Audition this weekend for Skin of Our Teeth.

Thanks for listening and I will try not to be a stranger.

I am going to write for 6 minutes

and then go to bed. The rain has arrived in Seattle. I had an audition yesterday for a SAG film here in Seattle. I have an audition on Monday for a Boeing industrial. I have not yet made a finished spot for the Chevy commercial I shot 2 months ago. I have an audition on Monday at the Seattle Public Theatre for a play called Stop Kiss. I would/will be playing a police detective.
Baseball is over for the year and that kinda sucks. 4 minutes in and this is all you have.

I wish I lived in LA and made my living as an actor. Tom Cruise is slated to restart United Artists (UA). Acting is a bold and grand adventure. Time!

New News

Remember what it was like before...

Voices

Began working today with a gal to get a voice demo tape made. This is something I have talked about for years and am finally ready to lay out some time and capital to get it done and get some voice work, etc.

I rode my motorcycle the 60 miles round trip to the voice teacher and I have to say that is hard on the body. It was a great and beautiful day in Seattle for a motorcycle ride although....

Time for bed.

Invest in America...Buy a politician.

I have a cold and I feel like shit

Picked up a cold this week and have been down but not out. Head colds with the sweat and fever do make for some awesome POW type dreams. Fall has descended on Seattle and the rains will begin soon and ski season will arrive shortly and everything will be green again.

Had an audition for a regional commercial for Washington State University (WSU). In this commercial, that I should get, I will be playing a doctor talking with a elderly woman about hip replacement surgery. WSU apparently is doing research so that hip replacement can last 20-30 years unlike the 7-10 it apparently lasts now. It would be the kind of spot that would show during regional WSU sporting events to promote the school, etc.

That be it for now. Stay tuned and don't touch that dial.

A National Chevrolet Commercial

I got the role and it shoots tomorrow in LaConner, WA (home of Tom Robbins). This was supposed to shoot on Wednesday but after I got to the location I was informed they wouldn't get to my spot that day and to go home. Show Biz....

This is the biggest commercial success in my 20 years of calling myself an actor here in Seattle. I will get national exposure, money and SAG membership. All this is good as I plan my move to LA scheduled to happen June of 2009.

That is it for now.

Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie and

an audition today for a national Chevy commercial to be shot in Seattle Aug 30-Sept 1.
I am up for the role of a lumberjack. It was a good audition and I am happy my agent is able to get me up for these since they don't come through these parts that often. So we wait and wonder what I would do different if given another chance to audition for this or how I could influence the "judges" to choose me....

Otherwise I about got run into on my motorcycle today on the Ballard bridge here in Seattle. Guy came right across-no signal, no lookie-into my lane. I saw him the whole time, honked the horn and flashed my headlight. Bastard.

I will be down in LA in a week and 1/2 for biz around my day job in sales. Staying at The Standard on Sunset. Stay tuned.

Happy Saturday

Well I wrapped on Natural Possession yesterday. My kid just walked into the room and it is time for Fatherhood.

Better to burn out...

Hey, hey. So I have this plan that takes me to LA (family in tow) in 3 years. All I have to do is stick to the plan. Well my head shakes and aches from the patience one needs to wait and wait while the others fly free? Things a bit dry here in Seattle acting wise and the weather to boot. Doing some reshoots for Natural Possession http://www.naturalpossession.com/ next month.
Riding my Triumph is fun and a thrill. Gots to go now and thanks for listening.

It is going to be in the 90's today in Seattle

Hot days in Seattle are few and far what with our 359 days of rain ;>
It is always green and the sky's as blue as can be. The first person that tells me it's toooo hot will get a reminder of the 6 months of hell weather we endure for the 4 months of joy. The other 2 months are bland and grey though no rain.

Audition tomorrow at the Seattle Public Theatre for a play about John Lennon's last hours. I would (will) play the reporter who interviews him and Yoko hours before his death....

It is raining in Seattle

My agent put me up for a movie being shot in Portland later this summer. The Feast of Love starring Morgan Freeman. I didn't get called in to audition but I just wanted to have Morgan Freeman's name in my blog. I do have an audition tomorrow for (2) 30 second spots for Hollywood Video. So I got that going for me.
Pick up the motorcycle on Saturday and I hope it isn't raining then.... Thanks for listening. Your friend Don.

I am buying a motorcycle

Mother's Day and the NSA

Is it safe to call your Mother tomorrow and discuss things?
Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers. My wife is the best mother in the atmosphere I inhabit.
It is a good day Mother's Day.
My own Mother died in 1994. I think about her fondly.

The NSA will be busy tomorrow.

And to those who are willing to give up your rights as Americans to prevent another attack like 9/11 (which can not be guaranteed) to our trusted government I ask you this; suppose a day comes when our government isn't to be trusted. What do you fight back with then?

Good Day!

Film Shoot and Agent

I have a new agent that I am quite pleased about.
Agent

Also tonight I shot my first scene for the indie feature film Natural Possession

The director about died 5 minutes after I arrived on set when a light fell and hit close enough to smash his coffee cup. It got better from there and I enjoyed my scene with Larry Lavery who seems to be the hardest working man (right behind James Brown) in show business.

Late on the 8th

I am about to sign with a new agent in Seattle who has the ability to work and find his talent work in LA. I will say more as soon as I get the signed contracts back to him, etc.

Speaking of my back it is still sore and may (key word is may) require surgery to correct an injury first sustained 30 years ago. Oh what fun.

Hey

Basketball

My alma mater, the University of Washington, lost tonight in the quarter finals of the NCAA basketball tournament. It was a great BB game and a thrill to watch even in defeat. This is a great event to witness and I am convinced that even if you don't know sports from sage brush you would appreciate the drama that this tournament brings each and every year. These are kids 18-23 (though one of the teams had a player who served 7 years in prison for rape and was 29) that play their hearts out lest they break in this single elimination contest. Good stuff and I am still alive in the office pool to boot.

Otherwise life is a journey for which maps do not help and my back hurts and it is late and I am going to play a few online chess games and call it good. Check please!

Writers Block and no Time to be a famous blogger

So now I write at night when I sleep and forget it all by morning.

March 13

So on Saturday I shot the short for the UW film program and will see the finished product in a few months. We shot 3 rolls of 16mm film for a 6-8 minute film. It was a great deal of fun. I enjoy the process of being an actor in film even whilst we wait for lighting and dolly to move into position for the next shot...hell it is a great time to go over those lines again.

So...

You know it has been too long since a post when you almost forget your password.

Since last we've talked (my 3 loyal readers) I've secured yet another film role that will keep me in Oscar contention. The University of Washington Extension College has a highly regarded film program and I scored the male lead in a short film that tells the story of a photographer in Rwanda during the genocide. My character (the photographer) comes upon a young woman and her child taking refuge in a church and she asks me to save them. The issue being that I can't save all the people in Rwanda I can only tell the world the story....This shoots Saturday.

Also had a voice audition today for a Nintendo game and a Seattle Mariners radio spot.

Otherwise I watched the Oscars and enjoyed it. I thought Jon Stewart was a adequate host. It seems like a tough crowd. Perhaps the best actor and actress from the previous year (assuming they are not nominated again) should host the show.

Film Role

Natural Possession is a indie that is going to be shot this spring in Seattle on 16mm. I got me a talkie part playing a cop who is moderately drunk most of the time. The film is about a serial killer offing the homeless, hookers and drug dealers in the Pioneer Square hood of Seattle. Stay tuned.

Audition

More and more and more until something gives and you are in and it is good and splendid for months and then back to auditioning. Which is good. I am glad to be addicted to acting and all that being in a production entails. Words put to life and inserted into the mind and passed along to others if they so choose. The fun comes.

Wind and Costco

I am a moderate Costco fan and one of the main reasons is because of the way they treat their employees. I was there the other night with my wife Sam and two daughters. It is a wacky place also in that you can get a 15M
Candlepower flashlight for 30 bucks. That is a very bright light that might come in handy since we in Seattle are due for Wind Storm 2006! Seattle gets quite crazy about its weather to the point of the media causing panic in the streets at the thought of 30 mph winds. Or at least runs on Costco for 30 MILLION CANDLEPOWER flashlights, 30 MILLION Candlepower. That is fucking bright and I wanted one for my 9223 sq ft spread here in Seattle. As my wife would say, I am such a guy.



Employees
Costco is noted for providing full benefits and comparatively generous compensation to its employees. For instance, a cashier with four years of experience can earn more than $40,000 with full benefits, including medical, dental, Rx, disability, and life, and is even entitled to participate in a 401k program and purchase stock options.
These perks are the highest in the industry and especially surprising considering Costco's price-centric sales strategy (similar to Wal-Mart's, a company criticized for its low pay and refusal to offer benefits to most employees). A recent estimate (New York Times, July 17, 2005) puts Costco's average pay at $17 per hour, or 42% higher than Walmart-owned "Sam's Club". Wall Street analyst Bill Dreher of Deutsche Bank criticized Mr. Sinegal in 2004, saying "it's better to be an employee or a customer than a shareholder." Sinegal counters that good wages and benefits more than pay for themselves by holding down employee turnover, reducing employee theft and by appealing to a certain percentage of affluent customers who appreciate that the low prices do not come at the workers' expense.- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Waiting on

2 audition callbacks and a possible new agent. We actors seem to wait alot. Someday I want to not have to wait....

Actor

Audition tomorrow for Ping Golf. The premise is that I'm a Park Ranger at Mount Saint Helens and I confront 2 golfers hitting drives and the concern that the volcano will erupt because of the Power of the driver. Stay Tuned.

6:37 AM...

and I am off to rehearse a monologue for an audition happening on Saturday for a play. Haven't had time (see husband, father, salesman) to do a play in 2 years. Although I am able to take part in what small amount of film work happens in Seattle. Good day.

Hawks Win! Hawks Win!

The Seahawks had an impressive win in the NFC title game today. Superbowl Sunday will be long and sweet like a first kiss. Hawks by 3 in one of the greater games ever.

Don T Alive

Don T Alive

Welcome to my first post. It seems like just 1992 when I thought the internet would be a fad. Kreskin I am not...