Allen Marsh Online

6 January 2010 – After a month off, it’s good to be back at the Creative Actors Workshop with coach Scott-Arthur Allen, this week doing a scene called “Vampire Woman” with Casey MacLaren and Noah Harden, and “Madeline and Murray” with Lanae Hassen.

31 December 2009 – Party at the Warehouse with Springfield filmmakers Darrell and Rachel Claunch, Matt and Cassie Darst, David and Robyn Fleming, and Ryan and Kate Piotrowski. Other revelers were Theresa Friedrick, Neal Leffler, Anne Young, Eli Cunningham, Justin Evangelista, Kyle Braschler, David Lee, and Sarah Marples. The festivities included champagne, cigars, dancing, a bizarre fashion shoot, fireworks, and a 60,000 BTU heater to keep out the chill. A great New Year’s Eve party.

29 December 2009 – A casting call from my Minneapolis agent for a Best Buy commercial auditioning tomorrow in the Twin Cities. I regretfully have to pass because of the short notice. Also I just got back from Colorado and can’t really afford to take an 18-hour round trip for an audition. This is why I need to be in Los Angeles.

25 December 2009 – Christmas at home with the family, and Lily even got her wish for peace on Earth.

22 December 2009 – Home! Missouri never looked so good. All in all the trip was a smashing success, and what a way to wind up the year. And the decade.

21 December 2009 – Homeward bound, though we only get as far as Hays, Kansas before having to stop for the night. The days are so short in the winter.

20 December 2009 – Another morning and evening church service / Sunday School class with Mr. Trench. In between, we had lunch with Kevin and his wife and family at our condo. The evening service was the Spanish service, and it was pretty great. More Q&A and more autographs, and Mr. Trench is about exhausted from smiling so much

19 December 2009 – Live appearance #1 as Mr. Trench for a group of Sunday School kids, and this was so fun. Got to watch a few minutes of Mr. Trench’s wacky antics on the DVD, then a Q&A session with the kids, followed by a round of autographs. Very enjoyable.

18 December 2009 – A day of skiing Steamboat Mountain, which was amazing. Haven’t skied in about 12 years, and yet I found that somehow I only fell once or twice.  The rides up and down the mountain on the lift were spectacular. Could do this all the time. Certainly shouldn’t wait another 12 years!

Kevin did such a good job making us feel at home, from a condo to ski passes to lending us his Nissan Pathfinder for the duration of our stay in Steamboat, which is a great little resort town.

17 December 2009 – Hours of driving through Kansas and eastern Coloardo, which to my surprise had a beauty all its own. But of course nothing matched the grandeur of the mountains just past Denver. The drive was kind of nerve-wracking as the weather conditions were deteriorating, but Kevin, the man who brought us to Colorado, met us in Silverthorne and drove us in his 4-wheel drive Nissan Pathfinder the rest of the way to Steamboat Springs. Too dark to see much of the town by the time we arrived, but what we saw looked beautiful. Tomorrow we hit the slopes!

16 December 2009 – The second showing of “Silent Night” at the Moxie Cinema, but I am on the road to Colorado, stopping for the night in Hays, Kansas. Tomorrow: Steamboat Springs!

14 December 2009 – My birthday, and a significant number at that.

11 December 2009 -

7 PM – “Silent Night” premiere at the Gillioz Theatre. This was so good. Brandon Allen really made a memorable Christmas film here, and I was lucky enough to be a small part of it.

I am man enough to admit that I cried when I first read the script, I cried when I saw the rough cut of the film, and I cried again at the premiere. The only other film that makes me do that is “It’s A Wonderful Life.” David Lee and Maxine Whittaker starred, and we all attended together, along with Theresa Friedrick, Blue Lightle, and Sarah Marples. The film, which only ran 10 minutes in length, was positioned to show before “Miracle on 3th Street,” which I had not seen and still have not seen, since we all left immediately after “Silent Night” and walked through the arctic streets of downtown Springfield to Lili’s Diner for a late dinner. The food there was incredible. After eating we all bundled up headed to…

9 PM – “Parhadis” premiere at Evangel University. This was the first student film premiere that I have been able to attend that wasn’t an MSU event. The whole feel of the evening was different — much more intimate and, in a way, lively than an MSU premiere. The audience here seemed less jaded and more enthusiastic. There were posters for the film everywhere, and full-page color ads in the student paper.

The picture itself was quite enjoyable, despite being only partially complete. I suppose technically I should classify this as more of a rough cut viewing than a true premiere. There is still work to be done effects-wise, and especially sound-wise. It’s an admittedly ambitious film, with action on two different planets, including spaceships, explosions, and laser guns. But for a student film it looked incredibly good. The word I kept hearing  from students attending the showing was that it looked “legit.” The writing, acting, and cinematography were solid, and audience reaction, as mentioned, was enthusiastic. Part of the enthusiasm was due to the students recognizing so many friends and professors in the movie. The other part, though, which was amusing, was that the audience reacted like a bunch of grade schoolers every time my character and the female lead held hands, touched, or hugged. Make of that what you will, but I would say that the audience had a bit of pent-up energy of one sort or another.

9 December 2009 – 9 AM to 2 PM – Shooting Branson Chamber of Commerce national ad – day 2.

8 December 2009 – 10 AM to 7 PM – Shooting Branson Chamber of Commerce national ad – day 1.

7 December 2009 – Final day of shooting “Parhadis” – Commercial Street exteriors.

6 December 2009 – Shooting “Parhadis” – porch exterior goodbye scene (reshoot) and woods exterior fight scene.

5 December 2009-

11 AM – Shooting an untitled short film for Justin Cardoza’s Doorpost Film Project entry. This came about through a craigslist posting, and stars fellow CAW student Ariel Rose.

3 PM – Shooting “Parhadis” car interiors.

4 December 2009 – Booked! Through my Kansas City agency, a national ‘come to Branson’ ad shooting December 8-9.

1 December 2009 -Audition with daughter Lily for “A Christmas Snow” at The Warehouse. Thanks to Ryan Piotrowski, Matt Darst, David Fleming, Darrell Claunch, and Theresa Friedrick for their help.

22 November 2009 – Shooting “Parhadis” – car interiors and pickup shots.

21 November 2009 – Shooting “Parhadis” – car interiors and house exteriors.

20 November 2009 – 3:30 PM – Shooting “Parhadis” – house interiors and exteriors.

19 November 2009 – 10:30 AM – Shooting a commercial for an as-yet unnamed solar-powered exterior light that hangs off your rain gutter. Right now it’s called the Gutter Light, but apparently they’re renaming it. Working with Scooter, Rob, and Nate from Opfer Communications.

3:30 PM – Shooting “Parhadis” – car interiors. Well, we were supposed to shoot, but something went wrong and the shoot date got moved to Sunday. We did do a photo shoot for the poster, though.

14 November 2009 – Shooting “Parhadis” – church interiors and exteriors.

13 November 2009 – Audition for some kind of novocaine relief product for Chicago agency.

Shooting “Parhadis” – house interiors.

9 November 2009 – Shooting “Parhadis” – woods exteriors.

8 November 2009 – Shooting “Parhadis” – hangar interiors.

1 November 2009 – Shooting “Parhadis” – spaceship interiors.

31 October 2009 – Shooting “Parhadis” – Astronomy lab interiors.

27 October 2009 – Nebraska Furniture Mart audition.

24 October 2009 – noon – Creative Actors Workshop showcase 2009 with Phil Brock of Studio Talent Group.

23 October 2009 – “Twisted Steel” rehearsal.

22 October 2009 – 7 PM – Creative Actors Workshop friends and family showcase.

20 October 2009 – Shooting “Parhadis” scene 26.

18 October 2009 – 12:30 PM – “Liberty Lost” table read at Rendezvous coffee shop.

13 October 2009 – Print go-see in Chicago for Purina. Unfortunately there is not enough notice on this for me to make the 10-hour trip.

12 October 2009 – 5-8 PM – “Twisted Steel” photo shoot.

10 October 2009 – Shooting “Parhadis” scene 12.

3 October 2009 – Shooting “Twisted Steel” at Mexican Villa on National.

2 October 2009 – “Twisted Steel” rehearsal.

27 September 2009 – Shooting “Twisted Steel” at The Magic Bean coffee house.

24 September 2009 – 7 PM – “Twisted Steel” rehearsal.

18 September 2009 – Meeting with Evangel student Zachary Kidder about his film “Parhadis.”

10 September 2009 – “Twisted Steel” rehearsal.

8 September 2009 – 9:30 AM – Shooting commercial for Steamfit 3 in 1 for Opfer Communications. I play a dad at a grill in this one. Fun except the chicken was raw and we never actually lit the grill, so kinda yucky.

2 September 2009 – 9 PM – Shooting “Twisted Steel” at the High Life Martini Lounge.

30 August 2009 – In St. Louis for the wedding of my old Air Force friend Carey Windham.

21 August 2009 – 1 PM – Hewlett Packard audition.

14 August 2009 – Guest appearance on “The Mystery Hour” with Mystery Jeff Houghton.

12 August 2009 – Shooting commercial for the Power Dock at Opfer Communications.

9 August 2009 – 2:45 – “Twisted Steel” meeting.

25 July 2009 – Shooting “Zombies of the World.”

10 July 2009 – “Ragman” plays at Springfield Little Film Festival.

27 June 2009 – 4:20 PM – “Teaching Faith” audition in Tulsa.

18 June 2009 – 7 PM – “Twisted Steel” read through.

17 June 2009 – 7 PM – Memorial Service for Lori at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Springfield.

16 June 2009 – 4 PM – Print audition for Con Agra in Kansas City. New friend Charley Reaves accompanies me on this trip.

11 June 2009 – 2 PM – Lori’s funeral at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in York, Nebraska, the same church where she was baptized and confirmed, and where we were married in 1996.

4 June 2009 – Lori dies at 11:20 PM, after 44 days in the hospital.

29 May 2009 – Shooting episode 4 of “Faith Case” – the museum scene, yet another trash can scene, and a scene at my new house.

28 April 2009 – 4:15 PM – Audition for Silver Dollar City in Branson.

22 April 2009 – Shooting “Faith Case.”

19 May 2009 – “Dreemor” callback. Oddly enough, I end up not getting cast in this role of a man whose wife has died, even though my actual wife is actually dying. Probably for the best.

16 May 2009 – “Ragman” public premiere at Werner Auditorium, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.

15 May 2009 – Moved to new house.

14 May 2009 – Shooting “Faith Case.”

13 May 2009 – 9 AM – Shooting “Faith Case.”

6:30 PM – 3 new films at MSU – “Roommate Wanted,” “An American Psalm,” and “Roberto and the Robot.”

11 May 2009 -Two auditions in Minneapolis – 1:15 at JR Casting for Cox Cable, and 4:20 at Lynne Steele for Home Service Plus.

9 May 2009- In Minneapolis.

6 May 2009 – “Ragman” private premiere.

1 May 2009 – “Dreemor” audition at MSU.

30 April 2009 – Shooting “Faith Case.”

23 April 2009 – Lori is moved to the coronary care unit.

22 April 2009 – We arrive home from St. Louis after midnight and go to bed. Lori awakens me at 8 AM doubled over in pain. I take her to the hospital, where she is admitted and diagnosed with pancreatitis. At the time I have no idea how serious this is.

21 April 2009 – On the set of the George Clooney film “Up in the Air” in St. Louis. Was part of the extras pool but did not end up shooting anything. Of infinitely more importance, this turned out the be the last day before my wife Lori went into the hospital. I vow never to be an extra again.

17-19 April 2009 – in Nebraska

15-16 April 2009 – Mr. Trench episodes 6 and 9 shoot.

14 April 2009 – 6 PM – Looping session for “An American Psalm.”

13 April 2009 – 11 PM – “Ragman” looping session.

1 April 2009 – “Fallen Angels” shooting day 4.

30 March 2009 – BOOKED! To play Sheriff Danny Apple in an as-yet untitled Patrick Bond / Steve Turner feature film in Cape Girardeau.

29 March 2009 – Tour of KY3 and script meeting with Harv Jamison for “Twisted Steel,” to be filmed in June/July 2009.

28 March 2009 – 4:30 PM – “Liberty Lost” table read.

27 March 2009 – 9 AM – Mr. Trench episode 3 shoots.

26 March 2009 – 9:45 AM – J. David Jewelry commercial in Oklahoma.

1:30 PM – “Heaven’s Rain” audition.

25 March 2009 – 6 PM class, which I was LATE for because of family entaglements. Well, family’s gotta come first, now matter how much I get chewed out. Not only was I late arriving, but I had to sneak out early to tape an audition for the Cape Girardeau film. Bozana Cavar read the part of the sheriff’s wife, and Ryan P. read the other male roles, as well as recording and editing the audition. An invaluable friend.

22 March 2009 – Recorded missing lines of dialogue for “Marshall’s Agency.”

17 March 2009 – This is my first day with no shooting or auditioning in 18 days! Feels good to have nothing on the calendar. Well, almost nothing. I found out I somehow skipped an entire page of dialogue for “Marshall’s Agency,” so I need to go record that. There’s still one pickup shot needed for “An American Psalm, ” presumably next weekend. There’s lots more of “Fallen Angel” to shoot, but not till Sunday. There are ten more Mr. Trench episodes to shoot, but the scripts aren’t written yet. And I have an audition to tape for a film in Cape Girardeau, so I need to come up with an actress and another actor to read with me, plus a camera. But that’s not due until March 28. So even though I have to work at my day job today, it still feels suspiciously like a day off. Beannachta file padraig oraibh! St. Patrick’s Day blessings upon you.

16 March 2009 – 7 AM – “Fallen Angel” shooting day 3.

15 March 2009 – “An American Psalm” shooting day 3.

14 March 2009 – 8 AM – “Fallen Angel” shooting day 2.

12 noon – “An American Psalm” shooting day 2.

13 March 2009 – 8 AM- Commercial shoot for Holloway America.

9 AM – Mr. Trench episode 2 shoots.

4 PM – “An American Psalm” shooting day 1.

12 March 2009 – 8 AM – Tempest Pictures’s “Fallen Angel” pilot shooting day 1.

11 March 2009 – 6 PM – Creative Actors Workshop.

7 PM – “An American Psalm” table read.

10 March 2009 – BOOKED! For a commercial for Global Designs, shooting Friday.

BOOKED! For “An American Psalm.” I don’t know how I’m going to do all this, but I’m going to die trying.

9 March 2009 – Audition: “An American Psalm.” Yet another MSU student film. I know, how many can you do without becoming an insufferable camera whore? This shoots this weekend, and I’m already double booked as it is. Thing is, I’d still like to do this one just because of the title. Isn’t that crazy? I just like the title. It’s like buying a CD because you like the cover art, which I’ve also done quite a few times.

8 March 2009 – Back to school! Yes, I decided I’m going to spend some of my tax return on returning to Scott-Arthur Allen’s acting class. There are just too many reasons not to do this – Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule, the fact that I never seem to get cast in SAG films, and the fact that at least five of the local actors who were cast in Winter’s Bone are students of Scott-Arthur’s. Plus I think it will be fun. He’s already emailed me a scene to do this Wednesday, from “The Sixth Sense.”

7 March 2009 – John Leach’s “Roommate Wanted” shoots. This was a really easy half-hour shoot. I played an ethics professor giving a lecture to a bunch of bored students. This is the second MSU student film I’ve done this month, with a lot of the same crew from “Roberto and the Robot.” I like the script and what’s more, my good friend Ryan Piotrowski is playing the lead.

4-6 March 2009 – Dale Ward’s “Ragman” shoots.

3 March 2009 – GPH segment 1 shoots.

2 March 2009 – On the set of “Winter’s Bone.” Sarah Johnson called me in as a stand-in for the actor playing Teardrop. I’ve never been a stand-in before, so I didn’t know what to expect. What I did not expect was how remote the location was, nor how muddy it would be, nor how cold it would be. Even bundled in five layers as I was, it was insufficient to keep out the chill, especially after the sun went down, and especially in the region of my toes. Lots of friends were on set, though, including David Fleming shooting stills, Sid McGregor and Bryan Manning, Ben Clutter, Easton from the Hilton shoot, and Lauren Sweetser, who’s in the cast. What I didn’t expect was that my job as a stand-in would be to stand around and do nothing all night.

28 February – 1 March 2009 – Shoot Jonathan Stratman’s “Roberto and the Robot.”

25 February 2009 – 9 PM – BOOKED! Actually AT the audition, for a small role as an ethics professor in the MSU student film “Roommate Wanted.” I was the very last person to show up for this open call; in fact, by the time I got there, they had already put away their equipment. Not by design; that’s just the way this day turned out. Not a bad strategy though, because if they like you enough and you’re the last person to read, they can compare you with everyone else who’s read and give you a quick answer, which is what happened tonight.

9:30 PM – So from there I drove to Ryan Piotrowski’s and shot another audition on tape, this one for another student film in St. Louis. I think the title is “Botched Magic,” or else it’s “St. Auburn.” Not sure which. “Botched Magic” may be the name of the production company. At any rate, this time I read the part of a scientist. The whole thing was him talking on a phone, which I’m good at. Kate helped out a lot by reading the part of the sceintist’s wife off-camera, and then chucking a bottle at my head at the end. Thanks Kate! Here’s the audition online:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_Ytf7Gkolg

21 February 2009 – 9 AM – GPH shoot at Cardone Media Center. This was supposed to be my daughter’s commercial, along with her friend Kaitlyn and some other kids, but at the last minute Dale pulled me in to do a voice-over intro and out-tro. So it became a father-daughter gig. Plus Rachel Masters was there doing announcer duty.

13 February 2009 – 2-4 PM – AGTS shoot.

12 February 2009 – Call from Sarah Stubbs about using me in an industrial for Assemblies of God Theological Seminary.

10 February 2009 – 11 AM – Got my DVD copy of “The Horde: Desolation” in the mail. Love the logo. Movie wasn’t too bad either.

2:00 PM – Call from Dale Ward letting me know he got the green light for at least 10 episodes of the GPH educational project. Very excited about that.

6:30 PM – Ragman costume fitting. I met Barbie, the costumer for this film, and together with Dale Ward, the director, we hammered out what the Ragman will be wearing. It’ll be a good-looking costume, I think.

9 February 2009 – Back home to Missouri.

8 February 2009 – Shooting scenes from three EWTN shows — “The Catholicism of The Lord of the Rings” and “The Quest for Shakespeare,” in both of which I play young C.S. Lewis, and an episode of “Theatre of the Word, Inc.”, a G.K. Chesterton Father Brown mystery called “The Honor of Israel Gow,” in which I play a Presbyterian minister.

7 February 2009 – To Birmingham, Alabama.

6 February 2009 – Up at 4 AM and off to Tulsa for an Oklahoma lottery commercial, with my nephew Ben Leif, David Lee, Neal Leffler, Lacey Pacheco, and Lauren Sweetser. While at the shoot, my Tulsa agent called with an audition, so after wrap we drove across town for that. Then back home just in time for bed. Off to Birmingham tomorrow.

5 February 2009 – Well, it’s official now that I didn’t get cast in “Winter’s Bone,” and in hindsight I feel silly for thinking I even had a shot. I’m told that the guy they cast is an actual Army recruiter, so I guess they’re going documentary style? Well, I have more work now than I can handle, and I need to be grateful for that. And so many of my friends didn’t get cast either, so what we need to do is throw a huge “I Didn’t Get Cast In Winter’s Bone” party! And Shelley Waggoner can buy the first round. Now I need to forget it and get some sleep, since it’s up at 4 AM for the drive to Tulsa. Thankfully I’m taking a carload of people with me, so I shouldn’t have to worry about falling asleep en route.

4 February 2009 – BOOKED! As an extra in an Oklahoma lottery commercial shooting in Tulsa on Friday. Yeah, it’s ‘extra’ work, but it pays cash at the end of the day, which I can use (and yes, it’s more cash than it’ll cost to drive down and back). Plus it’s for Oklahoma CD Chris Freihofer, with whom I’ve been steadily trying to cultivate a working relationship for over a year now. I’ve taken his class, I’ve used his preferred headshot photographer, and I’ve submitted myself for numerous projects, but this is the first time he’s booked me for something. Only problem: The shoot conflicts with the Ragman rehearsal and costume fitting in St. Louis.

2 February 2009 – Recorded voice-overs for Lucinda McNary’s film “Gone,” reading the part of Jeff, and Ed Wode’s sitcom pilot “Marshall’s Agency,” playing the role of agency owner Marshall MacPherson. Big thanks to Ryan Piotrowski for helping me record this, and to his fiancee Kate for the grilled chesse sandwiches that powered us through the evening.

31 January 2009 – Mickey Stone’s “Rain in Hell” shoots.

27 January 2009 – Wings with the filmmakers. Had to spend 30 minutes de-icing my Saturn Stiletto, and there was a huge group today despite the weather. Later met Ryan and his fiancee at Patton Alley and borrowed a pro mike from him so I can finally do the two voice-over jobs I’ve been putting off for weeks. Tomorrow. Yeah, that’s it. Also ran into Justin Evangelista at the Mud Lounge, and somehow we wound up on Walnut Street in a snowstorm accosting strangers and getting them to sing Christmas carols. Ah, youth.

24 January 2009 – BOOKED! Apparently. I guess I’m cast in this TV pilot for Tempest Pictures for which I auditioned last Friday. I hadn’t heard anything on it, so I assumed I was out, but tonight I get an email apologizing for not sending the script, along with said script and a character breakdown. So I guess I’m in. And the script is SO GOOD! Amazing. Well, I’m excited. I seem to be on a roll. Praise God.

23 January 2009 – 2:30 PM – To Noble & Associates to shoot the project about which Chad Harris contacted me, which turns out to be promos for the Addies, the local advertising industry’s annual awards ceremony. These are a series of lighthearted little sketches about a pack of nervous ad reps (Jared Lee, Dan Clair, etc. ) making pitches to a cantankerous two-year-old. They will air on the web and at the ceremony. Chad said he might be able to get me a ticket to the banquet. That’d be sweet!

21 January 2009 – So I checked my imdb page like I do every week or so to see if there are any new credits added (there never are), when lo and behold, there’s actually something new! Ben Cox added his film “Rounding Third,” which was shot in early 2007. Ben is now attending the Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University in Orange County, one of the top film schools in the nation, and apparently he submitted “Rounding Third” to some festivals via withoutabox.com. So I now have three credits on imdb instead of just two, so I look just slightly less like a rookie than I did yesterday. Especially since “Rounding Third” was shot in 2007, so now my oldest credit is now from ‘07 instead of ‘08 (even though the film from ‘08 was actually shot in ‘05… got that?). This is one of the many reasons I love acting as a vocation – you do your job in front of the camera, knowing that long after you’ve moved on to your next project, there are dozens of people continuing to do their best to make you and the film look as good as possible. And when one person succeds, everyone succeeds. It’s kind of like what they tell you in Amway, only in this case it’s actually true. So thanks very much, Ben!

20 January 2009 – Email from Chad Harris about needing some actors with improv experience for a video shoot for Noble & Associates on Friday. While I don’t quite understand the nature of the project, I also have absolutely no work to do right now for my day job, so I said, “count me in.”

19 January 2009 – 7 PM – Read-through of “Roberto and the Robot.”

16 January 2009 – BOOKED! Dale Ward emailed offering me the title role in “Ragman,” to be shot in St. Louis in late February/early March.

3 PM – Audition for Tempest Pictures.

14 January 2009 – BOOKED! Jonathan Stratman called today and officially offered me the role of radio host Timothy Miller in “Roberto and the Robot.” This sounds like a really interesting film. I haven’t read the script yet, but I know enough about it to know I want to do it. A movie with a dystopian futuristic steampunk setting, a female ex-con rocker with the name ‘Roberto’ on her fake ID , an evil corporation, and a robot… how could that possibly miss? Plus it’s a Missouri State Electronic Arts production, which is an imprimatur all by itself.

11 January 2009 – 3PM Callback: “Winter’s Bone.” Again they were running behind, which was fine with me, since I really wasn’t sure which Hilton building they were in. I guessed right – it was the Hilton Promenade, where I shot a commercial last year with TVC Productions. Saw so many famililar faces – Scott-Arthur and Elizabeth Allen, Nathan Shelton, Rodney Wiseman, Jess Bardroff, Clayton Moore, Brett Hermann and his family… After a nice leisurely wait they called me in and I was reintroduced to Debra, the director, and Anne, the producer, and Casey MacLaren read the part of Ree while I read the part of the Army recruiter. The first time I read it a little stiff, so Debra had me do it again but in a more friendly manner, and the second time felt much better. I put a button on the end of the audition (thanks, Chris Freihofer), and left everyone laughing, so I feel like it went really well. We shall see.

EDIT: Ironically, it just now occurs to me that this is the 20th anniversary of my enlistment in the Air Force. Twenty years ago today I got off the bus at Lackland Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas and stood in the first of many, many lines. I still remember what was playing on the radio as the barber took a clippers to my lustrous locks: The King himself, Elvis Presley, singing, “Wise men say… only fools rush in…” And I remember thinking, “What have I gotten myself into?” That was probably the only twinge of regret I had, though. The Air Force was a blast, at least until it wasn’t anymore. Back then I didn’t think more than a day or two into the future, so imagining what life would be like twenty years later was inconceivable, but had I tried, I doubt I would have imagined that I would be married with two daughters, living in Missouri, and auditioning for the part of an Army recruiter in a SAG feature film. On the flip side, I certainly wouldn’t have imagined being this broke.

6PM – Second HAMS meeting, Big Momma’s Coffee & Espresso Bar.

9 January 2009 – Audition: “Winter’s Bone.” Shoots in February. Directed by Debra Granik, based on the novel by Daniel Woodrell. Just as every actor in St. Louis was reading for the George Clooney movie two days ago, so every actor in Springfield seems to be reading for Winter’s Bone today. I know Sean Cain, George Cron, Jerry-Mac Johnston, Ryan Shields, and Rodney Wiseman are. It was fun seeing so many friends waiting to audition – Jeff Jenkins, Nathan Shelton, David Lee, Phillip Secca, Jamie Bower, Eli Cunningham… and Rachel Masters, who played my wife in “You Can’t Take it With You” at the Landers, which was my very first project, four and a half years ago. Great to see Rachel again. Jeff and Nathan mentioned a role in Twelfth Night that I’d be good for. Man, there’s a lot going on right now!

So anyway, I had arrived on time, but they were running an hour behind, so I signed in and then dashed off to pick up my daughter from orchestra, which had ended at 11 AM, the time my audition was scheduled to begin. I actually had time to pick her up, drive her home, and come back to the Landers, and they still hadn’t gotten to me. Nathan and Jeff were gone, but David Lee was still there, and he said they’d cast him in a role in “Twelfth Night” while I was gone. Ya gots ta be quick around here…

Finally Sarah Johnson came out and called me in and I got to meet KC Casting Director Heather Laird in person. Surprising that I haven’t met her her before today. I read for the part of an Army recruiter and got a callback for Sunday, but so, from the sound of it, did just about everyone else, so I guess the real audition will be sometime Sunday in Branson.

Got home and found a DVD in the mail of the Family Medical Walk-In Clinic ads we shot last month. They’re pretty good, but Paul asked us not to post them online, which I can understand. Maybe in a couple years. Also got an email from Dale at GPH with a clip of the test project we shot yesterday. Hope they like it, because if they do, we’ll be shooting a lot more. Yeah!

Email from Omaha about another commercial audition, this one for Sleight Advertising, something to do with basements and inspectors, but I’m swamped. That’s why they call me Marsh.

8 January 2009 – 1 PM – GPH project shoot. I may be the only actor working simultaneously for the Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, and the Assemblies of God. This was fun, but for some reason they had me sign a nondisclosure agreement, so for now I have to respect that. Once it’s released I can talk about it. They were pleased with what we did.

Also got a call from Kevin in St. Louis with my intinerary for Alabama next month. This will be the first time I’ve flown in an airplane in 8 years. Wow — the length of the entire Bush administration!

Contacted by Mickey Stone about playing a role in the film “Rain in Hell,” written by Mickey, starring Mickey and Nathan Shelton, and directed by the great Darrell Claunch. It’s a gangster short, and he wants me to play a father who soon becomes a corpse.

Email about a commercial audition for OERB, whatever that is, tomorrow in Tulsa, but I’ll be at the Winter’s Bone reading. I’d rather book a SAG film than a commercial any day.

7 PM – Rough cut screening of Brandon Allen’s new Christmas film “Silent Night.” This was so good. I think a suspicious moisture even gleamed in my orb, as S.J. would say. Brandon, Maxine, and David really did an outstanding job on this little film. We got to watch it three times and critique it. Can’t wait to see the finished product!

7 January 2009 – 2 PM Audition: “Up In The Air” at Talent Plus, St. Louis. Directed by Jason Reitman, starring George Clooney. Shoots March 3 to late April. I think this was my third audition for casting director Joni Tackette, and I’ve yet to book anything for her. This was a relatively simple audition – two lines and some pantomime of taking care of kids, which I do all day anyway, so you’d think it would be a breeze. But for me the simple auditions tend to be the hardest, for some reason. She had me do three takes before we finally got what she wanted. I appreciated her taking the extra time – not every CD is so patient. She said callbacks are in mid January, but with all of St. Louis and half of Kansas City auditioning, I’m not holding my breath on this one. Also, while there, had new digital photos taken for the T+ website.

On the way from Talent Plus to the next audition, I got rear-ended by a minivan. We had gotten detoured unexpectedly by the closure of highway 64 onto a side road with lots of stop signs in weird spots, and the guy, who was from Chicago, was trying to figure out where the hell he was on GPS while I was doing the same thing with my crappy Google map. Felt like a bad bump, but we couldn’t find any damage to either car, so we wished each other luck and continued on our way.