Don T Alive

Happy Spring to You and Yours

2011-05-24T13:43:00.000-07:00

Too Late Baby...

2010-08-24T14:08:00.000-07:00

Well I forgot about this blog but will try to be more attentive moving forward. Though Facebook and Twitter and work and family sometimes seems to be enough.

Film Fests

2009-04-29T14:10:00.000-07:00

After our debut in February/March at Sedona, and the “Best Comedy Short” award in LA at the International Family Film Festival, The Day My Parents Became Cool will finally be screening in Seattle!

We are an official selection of the 35th Seattle International Film Festival!

You can see us in the press release at www.seattlefilm.com/about/news/detail.aspx?NID=158%26year=2009. Specific dates and times are TBD, but we will be screening on weekend of May 29-31, 2009. We will screen in the new state-of-the-art SIFF Cinema at Seattle Center, where all formats are brilliantly projected. SIFF is an Oscar-eligibility-nominating festival (winning films become eligible for Academy voting) – so hopefully we’ll fill the house with motivated Parents’ fans! SIFF is the largest and most well-attended film festival in the United States with 150,000 attendees expected in 2009. With extensive local, national and international media coverage, SIFF is frequently included among the top 10 film festivals in the world.

But wait, there’s more…

Big Island Film Festival
Festival dates: May 14-17, 2009
Parents screening date: Saturday, May 16
BIFF is one of MovieMaker Magazine's “Twenty Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee."
www.bigislandfilmfestival.com/

Prescott Film Festival and Series
Parents screening date: May 13, 2009
This is a brand new festival and film series (the festival directors saw us at Sedona), and we have been invited us to be the opening night short film (so, does that mean “we’re number one?”).
www.prescottfilmfestival.com/

A very special treat - the Seattle True Independent Film Festival
Festival dates: June 5-14, 2009
Parents screening dates: June 8, 2009
This festival is the ultimate in cool, eclecticism, and fun. Last year, Moby (yes, Moby) was the special guest. We love this fest.
Check us out at www.stiff.bside.com/2009/films/thedaymyparentsbecamecool_stiff2009.

The other day and more to come

2009-03-23T22:34:00.000-07:00

The other night my wife Sam and I watched The Bucket List which we both found most enjoyable. Nicholson and Morgan Freeman did outstanding jobs with their roles as aging cancer patients. Terminal illness. We are born terminal I read somewhere twice. It is just a question of when we die.

A few days later I was talking with my brother who lives in MN about how he liked the movie as well.
We went on to discuss aging in all its glory. I made a comment that it is hard to go from being a thoroughbred (youth) to being a plow horse (40 something).
He said that at least you're still a horse and not glue. Hmmm.

3 Cheers for Hollywood...

2009-02-23T09:16:00.000-08:00

International Family Film Festival!
http://iffilmfest.org/09films/thedaymyparents.shtml

Trailer

2009-02-11T23:44:00.001-08:00

http://www.thedaymyparentsbecamecool.com/

The Day My Parent Became Cool goes to AZ

2009-01-22T23:50:00.000-08:00

The 15th Annual Sedona International Film Festival will take place February 25 – March 1, 2009 in Sedona, Arizona. The five-day festival features more than 125 films, including features, documentaries, shorts and animation. Filmmakers and audiences from around the world have heralded Sedona’s festival as one of their favorites. Our workshops bring Academy Award-winning, industry professionals to Sedona to teach, inspire and share their knowledge with the next generation of filmmakers.

Snow is Good

2008-12-23T00:19:00.000-08:00

Seattle has gotten a great deal of snow in the last week. It is amazing to see (even though my car is stuck). Went for a walk with my mutts tonight and found it peaceful and it takes me back to my days in Minnesota as a youth...

Don T Alive: Short Film

2008-06-21T02:24:00.000-07:00

Don T Alive: Short Film

Short Film

2008-06-21T01:00:00.000-07:00

Did some work on a short film this week here in Seattle.
The Day My Parents Became Cool.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer ran an article about it here:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/ae/367851_highschoolfilm21.html

It was a great time with a great writer, director and filmmaker Steve Edmiston

One day shoots are fun and easy on the family. That said when I start making 6 and 7 figures for roles being away for a month or two will be worth it indeed.

Let's Play

2008-03-30T21:40:00.000-07:00

Phaedra
by Matthew Maguire

www.outsiders-inn.com

May 9,10,11 and 16,17,18 8pm Friday and Saturday and 3pm on Sunday

Stone Soup Theatre
4035 Stone Way North
Seattle,WA 98103

Cast: Bradley Harrington, Jennie Luiten, Rachel Santoro, Don Taylor, Steve West, & Haley Wolfe

Maguire's Phaedra is a contemporary response to Racine's classic, in which he asks the questions: What is desire and why does it never release us? What are the elusive and amoral mechanisms of desire? Ben Brantley in the New York Times said,"Mr. Maguire has the smart idea of extending the sexual interests of the characters to explore desire as a verb in eternal fruitless search of an object." This is a provocative story of forbidden love, and as such, must end badly. (directed by Gregory Berry)

Matthew Maguire is a co-artistic director of Creation Production Company. His plays include The Tower, originally commissioned by the Walker Art Center, Phaedra, and Throwin' Bones. He created with Philip Glass and Molissa Fenley A Descent Into the Maelstrom, based on a story by Edgar Allan Poe, for Australia's Adelaide Festival, and wrote the libretto for Chaos, an opera with music by Michael Gordon.Matthew is the Acting Head of the Theatre Program at Fordham University as well as the Head of the Playwriting Program. An OBIE award winner for acting in 1998 for his performance in Mac Wellman's one-man play, I Don't Know Who He Was and I Don't Know What He Said. In 2007 Maguire won an OBIE for the direction of his play Abandon. In 2005 he received the Back Stage West Garland Award of Honorable Mention for Best Adaptation/Translation, for Phaedra. He lives in New York City.

Salon

2007-12-29T01:02:00.000-08:00

My wife Sam and I are going to start a group whereby some of the artists we know get together to perform short "things". We know various writers, actors, filmmakers and musicians and we think it is time to create for ourselves. Waiting for the phone to ring for acting jobs here in Seattle is a lonely task indeed. I will keep you posted as we go into to this....

Otherwise the short film I was part of last month has a website: http://www.creativerune.com/Seconds/

Check it out and let me know what you think.

My agent James Jones was in town from LA last week and we met to discuss my career. He is a good agent and quite savvy to what we need to do to get me going faster and wider. The biggest thing of course is moving down to LA. With the writers strike in full bloom though the time to move can wait....

The Latest Word
(12/28/07)
"Big media walked away from the table and refuses to negotiate. The media conglomerates know that the core issue in these negotiations is new media. Their current proposals would cause writers even more economic harm in the future than they claim this strike has caused. To sidestep this fact, they erroneously claim we are focused on other issues. The conglomerates are responsible for creating the economic havoc. They should put their energies into making a fair deal with writers rather than issuing misleading statements.” - The WGAW Web site

Issues in the strike
Every three years, the Writers Guilds negotiate a new basic contract with the AMPTP by which its members are employed. This contract is called the Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA), which is the entertainment industry's equivalent to a sports league's Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).[6] In the 2007 negotiations over the MBA an impasse was reached, and the WGA membership voted to give its board authorization to call a strike, which it did on Friday, November 2, with the strike beginning the subsequent Monday, November 5, 2007.
Among the many proposals from both sides regarding the new contract, there are several key issues of contention including DVD residuals; union jurisdiction over animation and reality program writers; and, perhaps most importantly, compensation for "new media"-- content written for (and/or distributed through) emerging digital technology such as the Internet. There is also discussion of the desire for higher pay. - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Happy Holidays

2007-12-23T21:43:00.000-08:00

Audition

2007-12-05T23:11:00.000-08:00

Have an audition tomorrow having to do with me playing a chainsaw carver. I am with full beard and will look the part which is 72% of getting the part. Will keep you posted.

Art

2007-11-23T01:28:00.000-08:00

Late on the day after the day of thanks. Art keeps me sane and drives me to live free and passionately. Did some short films the last few week and there will be more on those.

Allowing yourself confusion is true faith.

I can post from my home PC again...but will I??

2007-11-14T00:07:00.000-08:00

Post it

2007-06-28T14:07:00.000-07:00

For the love of god post something...

It is raining and 65 in Seattle today.

Play

2007-05-01T18:39:00.000-07:00

Went well. I am taking the summer away from theatre after 2 plays in succession and 4 months of time rehearsing, etc.

Hope to score some film work in Seattle over the summer, play golf, ride motorcycle and hang with family and friends.

Hope to be a better blogger as well....

Alive

2007-04-19T11:53:00.000-07:00

Play opens tonight and LA is 6-12 months away.

Movie and Play

2007-03-28T18:03:00.000-07:00

This is the website of the film I was part of last summer. http://www.naturalpossession.com/
So give it a little click and let anyone but me know what you think.

This is the play I am part of http://www.outsiders-inn.com/season_prettytheft.shtml

Otherwise what is there to speak of???

Welcome Back

2007-03-21T10:07:00.000-07:00

Hello again I think.

Tomorrow

2007-01-27T18:29:00.000-08:00

Looks like I will be able to ride my motorcycle tomorrow.

Sunday morning's fog will lift and give way to more sunshine. Afternoon highs will be in the upper 40s to lower 50s. Temperatures should even be a few degrees warmer in the Cascade foothills with the easterly wind mixing the air. - KOMO4 News.

Not bad for January. This isn't possible back in Minnesota where I grew up:

Current Conditions
4°
Mostly Cloudy
Wind: NNW 17 mph Humidity: 55% Dew Point: -9 Visibility: 10.0 mile Barometer: 30.19 Windchill -16

WCCO4 News

So now that we have talked about the weather let's do lunch.

I am a Thespian

2007-01-13T12:40:00.000-08:00

I have started rehearsals for a play at the Driftwood Theatre in Edmonds, WA. It is a one act play with 2 characters. Info below. It is good to be back in a play. In March we take the play on the road to Walla Walla, WA for a short play festival.
http://www.ltww.org/kaleidoscope.htm

February 18 - 26, 2007
Sundays at 7 p.m. and Mondays at 8 p.m. Traffic Stop
By Jeff Stilwell

How many ways to beat a speeding ticket? Attractive and bored, if slightly spoiled, Claire tries them all - plus a few you've never heard of! Join us for the premier of a local playwright's comedy that offers up laughter, romance, and an appreciation of the divine when a small town officer pulls over this big city girl on a country road.

Alternative Stages productions are special, limited engagements with dessert theatre performances. Tickets are $10 for the show and dessert buffet following each performance.

So there....

California

2006-12-30T09:11:00.000-08:00

Snow...

2006-11-28T23:15:00.000-08:00

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

2006-11-03T00:00:00.001-08:00

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

2006-10-20T22:43:00.000-07:00

Remember what it was like before...

Voices

2006-10-04T23:11:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-31T22:14:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-24T23:42:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

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

Better to burn out...

2006-07-19T23:04:00.000-07:00

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

2006-06-25T13:49:00.000-07:00

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

2006-06-08T22:36:00.000-07:00

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

2006-05-29T00:58:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day and the NSA

2006-05-13T22:48:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-22T01:16:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-08T23:33:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-04T22:31:00.000-07:00

Basketball

2006-03-25T01:37:00.000-08:00

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

2006-03-20T21:28:00.000-08:00

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

March 13

2006-03-13T00:59:00.000-08:00

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...

2006-03-06T16:35:00.000-08:00

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

2006-02-21T05:40:00.000-08:00

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

2006-02-11T18:18:00.000-08:00

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

2006-02-04T02:59:00.000-08:00

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

2006-01-30T06:34:00.000-08:00

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

Actor

2006-01-25T18:41:00.000-08:00

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...

2006-01-24T06:36:00.000-08:00

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!

2006-01-22T23:09:00.000-08:00

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

2006-01-22T01:09:00.000-08:00

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...