Category Archives: YouTube

April 10, 2018 · 6:32 pm

Day 9 Operation: Television’s Curtis Andersen 2.0 – I need to go to the gym Part 2.

I got so distracted yesterday trying to get things done that I kept starting and stopping the blog post and I completely lost track and steam on what I really wanted to talk about. Again, this is the warts-and-all experience that this blog is going to be, especially since I’m pretty determined to post something every day. So, yes, I am tired (although I’m getting more sleep which is nice) but I really wanted to talk about going to the gym!

Yesterday I bemoaned the lack of energy and brain fatigue and one of the things that can combat that for me is working out! I don’t even have to do that much to make it work, thirty minutes on the elliptical and I feel super charged. Lots of endorphins. Even better if I can get on a couple weight machines! Endorphins AND rippling dad-bod muscles.

Am I going to start that tonight?

No.

Tonight I go play D&D.

But soon!

Here’s the playlist for April:

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April 9, 2018 · 9:56 pm

Day 8 Operation: Television’s Curtis Andersen – I Need To Hit The Gym.

Mondays are a double edged sword. On the positive side of the blade is the fact that it is officially the start of the work week and progress can be made with the people and businesses that have normal business hours. The downside is that it also means I have all the obligations that go along with my “normal business hours.” I do realize that I need to check my privilege because I do have the benefit of two jobs that allow me to work remote and allow me the flexibility to follow the path of O:TVCA2.0 in the first place. That is not lost on me and I hope that the reference to obligations do not come off as a complaint. My complaints are not with the jobs, only with the lack of hours in the day and with the limits of the human body that require mental and physical rest. But working the survival jobs while trying to make progress in your creative life is a huge consideration for anyone trying to make a living in entertainment. It’s so common we did a live discussion about it a few months ago:

As I mentioned, there’s a mental and physical toll. I’m tired. I’ve struggled just to get this post out. I’m not even sure that I’ve made my point.

Or if I had one.

No, I did.

Mondays are exhausting.

I should go to bed.

We’ll get back on it tomorrow.

Here’s the playlist for April:

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April 8, 2018 · 10:42 pm

Day 7 Operation: Television’s Curtis Andersen 2.0 – It’s Sunday

I’m actually really busy today playing catch-up and getting my self-taped prepped. We’re also seeing the new Cirque de Soleil show, Crystal, tonight. So this post is very nearly just an excuse to serve up advertisements and Amazon bounties. Click on those if they are showing things that you might like. Also we’ll be updating the Patreon now that we are making so direction changes since Frankie’s passing. You can find that HERE.

And part of me was fine with a bullshit “at least I posted today” post until we actually saw Crystal. It was REALLY impressive! We also saw it at a very appropriate time. The show story follows a girl named Crystal (hence the title of the show) who is a dreamer, one who is out of place at home, school and society in general. She doesn’t do things the way that she is expected to. I don’t want to ruin the journey of the story but, SPOILERS, she chooses to keep on regardless of how hard things are because that’s who she is. This is a very familiar story to many people who end up in the arts (myself included) and as I’m getting started on this renewed journey seeing an incredible show with this theming was a nice booster shot.

For what it’s worth, Crystal is a really great Cirque du Soleil show. If you get a chance I highly recommend it. It’s all the things you are used to from a Cirque show, but on ice. It’s very impressive.

Now I need to get ready for bed so I can be ready for Monday.

Here’s the playlist for April:

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April 7, 2018 · 4:38 pm

Day 6 Operation: Television’s Curtis Andersen 2.0 First Saturday

Weekends are my days to be able to catch up on all the stuff that I cannot complete during the week. Working 12 hour days on my other jobs can mean that the weekends end up having some pretty long to-do lists in addition to all the other regular domestic responsibilities that go along with, you know, life.

That being said, I actually need to get on this to-do list.

One of the steps on that list is in regard to an acting intensive that I’ll be doing at the end of the month at the Actors In Action studio in the Alberta Arts District of Portland. This class will be four packed hours of character and script study. Since I’m doing this through my PNW agency enrollment is open to other talent in the agency first, then we’ll open up registration to the public. Naturally I’ll mention that here and on the YouTube channel.

Now that I’m done shamelessly self-promoting it’s time to go back to work.

Here’s the playlist for April:

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April 6, 2018 · 1:34 pm

Day 5 Operation: Television’s Curtis Andersen 2.0 – V.O. Thing TONIGHT!

The days are going by so quickly! I’m already one work week in and I feel like I just started this project yesterday. Tonight I go read with the Portland V.O. actors and that should be a lot of fun. Like I mentioned before, I’m not sure what happens to these recordings, but if they become available for public consumption I’ll share the way that you can do that.

I’ve been thinking about the video element of this project and I’ve come to this decision:

  • I will do videos as often as there is something to add to the conversation outside of these blogs and my own journaling. I don’t know that creating a video of me reading or coding at the computer would be all that entertaining and, even though I do want to document my progress, the work and the end result of that work are te most important things so if shooting a video would get in the way of that I will skip it in favor of the bigger goal.
  • I probably won’t do a lot of videos on Fridays and weekends. Friday, Saturday and Sunday are the days that have the lowest views for me. There doesn’t seem to be much point in posting on those days.
  • If I do shoot something over the weekend, you’ll see it during the week, probably Monday.
  • I’m sure that I’ll break these guidelines in the future at some point.

Now I still have some audition prep and some prep for tonight. Gotta’ go!

Here’s the playlist for April:

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Filed under actor stuff, Operation: Television's Curtis Andersen 2.0, video, videos, YouTube

April 5, 2018 · 2:40 pm

Day 4 Operation: Television’s Curtis Andersen 2.0

It is days like today that make the daily-ness of this feel a little repetitive and risk the chance of this whole experiment becoming dull to the public who are choosing to come along on this ride. There is only so much progress a person can achieve in a 24 hour window and when 12 of those hours are committed to other jobs and eventually you want to sleep (at least a little bit) that leaves a very limited window to complete your tasks. This is the cold, unfeeling reality of time. It goes forward whether you are finishing things or not.

In a job interview, if I were to be completely honest, when asked what I felt my worst attribute is I would normally say time management. However, I no longer think that is true. If I actually look at how I spend my time, what goals are accomplished and how all of these things track together I actually think my biggest flaw is enthusiasm management. When I get started on something, like Operation 2.0, I’m usually pretty excited about it, I like the challenge it brings, and I’m looking forward to the results. I want to do it and so I find the ways that will make it work. I can work in batches, manage my time, make the time when it can’t be managed. I make it work. It’s when I lose steam that things start to go awry. If I lose the excitement I also stop being as dedicated to the process of making things happen (which is totally the case with my relationship to the gym right now #CurtisIsBloated).

So, with that in mind, I actually failed to achieve the progress I had set for myself yesterday. This now needs to be completed today:

  • Finish preparing my sides for the audition.
  • Review the VO scripts for Friday (oh lord, that’s tomorrow!)
  • Read my stinking book!

Staying rested is key. A tired brain is a sloppy brain.

Here’s the playlist for April:

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Filed under acting, Operation: Television's Curtis Andersen 2.0, video, videos, YouTube

April 4, 2018 · 3:20 pm

Day 3 Operation: Television’s Curtis Andersen 2.0

Today started off strong! I went in and confirmed that my headshots were finally uploaded into my PNW casting account (that’s a long, dumb story not worth repeating) and got an audition from my L.A. agent for a really cool recurring role on a prominent genre series – THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I’VE WANTED EVER SINCE I STARTED O:TVCA THE FIRST TIME AROUND!!

So, I have preparations to do (maybe get a little coaching too) so that I can put my best performance forward on this.

It’s worth mentioning that typical advice given to the actor is to “book the room, not the job.” This is solid, sage advice that is often repeated and not as often heeded. It’s really easy to fall into the trap of wanting the job (or in some cases financially needing the job) but unfortunately your desire for a job has no bearing on whether or not you get the job. Your amount of control in an audition situation ends the second your performance ends. so it is your duty as an actor, as someone who wants to work, to do the best job you can each and every time so that casting has a reason to call you back even if you aren’t right for the role you are auditioning for that day.

I will be hanging on to this advice between now and when I submit my tape.

Something I keep forgetting to talk about is that I’ll be doing some classes up here in the PNW through my new agency Actors In Action. They have a studio in the arts district and it seems a crime not to use it. I’m doing a one-day intensive at the end of April and will mention that more as we get closer to the date. #ShamelessSelfPromotionIsComing

Things are starting to happen!

Here’s the playlist for April:

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Filed under acting, actor stuff, Operation: Television's Curtis Andersen 2.0, video, videos, YouTube

April 3, 2018 · 7:11 pm

Day 2 Operation: Television’s Curtis Andersen 2.0

Today has been pretty simple. Between jobs I did an update on the blog coding and updated my AdSense information since I’m seeing a sudden spike in traffic (Thanks for that everyone!). I also continue to read my book. These are the little steps, the “warts and all” steps that need to be taken to get where I want to go. This is not the glamorous part – in fact, like most things, there’s not a lot of glamor until the very end when you hit the goal – but it is a very necessary part.

That being said, I do have a gig this Friday!

Being a performer (in my particular case an actor) means that you are required to put (at least some) of your career in other people’s hands. For the most part, especially when you want people to book you for the better paying jobs, you need someone to book you for work. To get those people to book you they need to know what you can do. In order for them to know what you can do you need to put yourself out there. Often this happens with things like acting reels and going to auditions, but sometimes it is just dropping your name in a hat.

Last week I dropped my name in a hat for voice actors in Portland. They were looking for people to participate in script reading at a local radio station. Surprisingly I got cast in this week’s group! I don’t think this is broadcast, but if it is I’ll share a link. I just got the scripts today and it looks like a lot of comedy, so it should be a lot of fun. This is a bonus “achievement” (I should work out the vocabulary I’m going to use for this) that was unintended, but following the advice of my friend Amy (subscribe to her channel) I’m taking the time to appreciate each victory.

And here’s the playlist for April:

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Filed under actor stuff, Operation: Television's Curtis Andersen 2.0, videos, YouTube

February 20, 2018 · 10:39 am

Frankie Update for the Year of the Dog

Nothing major to report – and that’s a good thing! Frankie’s heart is stable and there is no identifiable cancer. There is a very slim chance that he has a stomach based mesothelioma, but his other symptom make that difficult to diagnose. Currently there is not enough evidence in his blood work to suggest that there is mesothelioma or, if it is there, that it is affecting him. We’re counting that as a win. I also made a quick video with him that you can see below:

We are so grateful for his stable status and it is allowing us to catch-up a little bit. Rene and I will keep on updating via his fund page. Again, without your support we don’t know what we’d do.

Frankie Fund

Thank you.

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February 12, 2018 · 7:00 am

Frankie Update 2/11/2018

Rene and I are so grateful for all of the support and assistance we have received for Frankie. We wanted to give you all an update on Frankie’s situation and let you know what your aid is going to:

We cannot thank you enough. We will continue these updates as we learn more about Frankie’s condition.

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