Best Laid Plans

Okay, so I have now figured out that I am a terrible blogger. Starting this blog seemed simple, "Sure, I'll have time to write some thoughts once a week." Yeah, right! Sometimes the best laid plans end up flat, you know?

So, what has kept me so busy? Work, work, and more work! I must admit, it's been a great problem to have, because all of that work has revolved around what I love, acting.

I am now the new host for "Gallery of Guns TV", which will begin airing this summer on The Sportsman Channel. "Where I Begin" is holding a screening at the Oxford Film Festival, so I'm prepping to roll out of town to go enjoy the festival madness. My studio, Actors Anonymous, is beginning to thrive; adding new students weekly. Lastly, in my "spare time", I'm doing patient simulation for the nursing students at Radford University. There is something quite liberating about playing a paranoid schizophrenic!

I can honestly say that I am loving it; however, I never realized how fast the pace was going to be. With everything I have going, I think I'm only home for a maximum of 3 weeks between trips from now until June. Still, I do my best to get some family time in too.

"Gallery of Guns" is a fun gig! I grew up around police work, because of my dad, so we were always out on the weekends shooting at the range. Now, I get paid to do something that I truly enjoy. Every show we will feature four weapons, covering everything from concealed carry handguns to hunting rifles to shotguns. Basically, it's like QVC for firearms enthusiasts. If I end up becoming the ShamWow guy of the gun world, I couldn't care less, because I'm having a blast doing it!

I am so ready for the Oxford Film Festival and the screening of "Where I Begin". It's been a long time coming and I know that the rest of the cast and crew are just as excited as I am to get there. Our director, Thomas L. Phillips, has poured his heart and soul into this project and I can only assume, based on the trailer, that we are going to witness true movie magic very soon.


Actors Anonymous is really beginning to rock. I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of my students and their work in class. They have really devoted themselves to this craft and put forth the effort it takes to succeed in this business. We had three new folks join last week, and two more coming to audit later this month. Virginia is going to have one heck of a talent base when we get done.

As for Radford University; nursing students beware, LOL. I am going to be bringing the schizophrenic heat every day! How cool is it that my job is to act like a nutcase? Most folks who are really close to me would call it typecasting, or pessimistically say that it isn't much of a stretch. While there may be some truth to that, I can tell you that there is no better testing ground to try out that type of character. These students are training to do this for a living, and the instructors that supervise the sims are pros. If I can convince them, I can convince anyone!

So what's in store for the coming months besides all of this stuff? Well, I'm taping another film audition this afternoon. I'm booked in the feature film, "Tall Grass", for later this spring. The short film I did, "Catching Up", is coming out this spring as well. Also, I am raising money on several fronts. First, I am working with a non-profit called, Kids on Track, to generate funds to create arts training for at-risk youth here in the New River Valley of VA. Secondly, I have two films that I am dying to produce, so I'm focusing a great deal of effort towards those.


In the end, life is good. I just wish I had a little more down time with the family, but I know that will come eventually. Until next time...