So you're telling me there's a chance...

"Nothing gives me greater satisfaction than helping nurture talent to do the best they can in the audition process." - Casting Director, Lisa London, from her book, From Start to Stardom

Last week I auditioned for a television show and the casting director took a phone call in the middle of my audition. Seriously.

Needless to say, I figured my chances of booking the role were pretty slim. And yet... like Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey), I always hold out optimism no matter how stacked the odds seem against me.

That's the attitude anybody going into this crazy business has to have. I've written about odds and statistics many times. The older I get, the more stacked against me the odds become.

But I know there's still a chance. And that's what keeps me going. Whether it's one in a hundred, one in a million, or, to borrow my 4-year-old's expression, one in infinity and beyond, I know there's still a chance.

Casting Directors like Lisa London also keep me going. In a town where obstacles can appear insurmountable, Lisa reminds me that many are fighting to help us achieve our dreams.

Visit fromstarttostardom.com to order the book
and find even more great acting resources!

With a long list of casting credits that includes Roseanne, Hannah Montana, Adam Sandler's Sandy Wexler, and a handful of projects currently in pre-production, Ms. London certainly has the experience to validate the advice she gives in her amazing book, From Start to Stardom: The Casting Director's Guide for Aspiring Actors.

At my advanced age - and with nearly 20 years of professional acting experience - I shouldn't still be labelled aspiring, but until I'm fully supporting my family on paychecks from acting jobs, that's exactly what I am. And, really, no matter what stage one is at in a career, one should always aspire to learn and become better equipped for further success.

For those just getting started as actors, I can't recommend From Start to Stardom enough. This is, honestly, the best beginner's guide to the acting business I've ever read... and I've read a ton of books on the subject. This is a must-read for aspiring actors of any age and parents of aspiring actors.

Lisa's approach is so uplifting and positive that it's easy to get lost in the glamour of becoming a star in Hollywood. When she writes about casting Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana, Miley's first professional acting gig, it's easy to get lost in the dream and put oneself in the shoes of Billy Ray's daughter. But Lisa also reminds us just how miraculous it is to be "the one" for any role in any project.

Lisa London, CSA

What Lisa does so well in From Start to Stardom is break down the steps necessary for finding success. She provides sample resumes, offers headshot advice, explains how to get discovered, and uncovers the best ways to land an agent and/or manager. Then she tackles the next stages of a career by offering audition tips and explaining what goes on behind the casting director's door. The book even includes legal information for minors working in show business as well as a ton of resources for everything from the Screen Actors Guild to websites that list auditions to Los Angeles studio locations. The teacher in me is giddy with the comprehensiveness of Lisa London's book!

Again, this is a must-own book for beginning actors, but any actor, regardless of their career level, will benefit from these 166 pages. One paragraph in particular was just what I needed to read, and it came at it exactly the right time. With permission, I've included the paragraph here:

"Another killer of opportunities and creator of bad attitudes is self-invalidation. What is self-invalidation? It is making less of yourself, putting yourself down, focusing on your faults, thinking you are no good and that you will never meet your goals. This is something that will kill you as an actor or an artist. Sometimes, these ideas that you are no good, these negative thoughts, are things that you have heard from others. For example, you have a relative or friend who thinks you will never make it as an actor. You can't let your family's difficulties or lack of success become your problem. You must keep your dreams separate and not give up based on someone else's failures." (p. 107)

Man. I love these words. I need these words. Can you feel me? Leave a comment and let me know how these words make you feel.

Now, the flip-side to all of this is the harsh reality that more actors fail in this business than succeed. Look at me. While many would love to be in dozens of commercials, star in a bunch of independent features, have leading roles on cable shows, or an appearance on the number one television drama in the world, my bar is set at a level that I haven't even come close to reaching. At what point does common sense walk in and slap me across the face and convince me the bar is unattainable?

With apologies to some, the answer is, never.

This is my gift. I didn't ask for it, but here it is. I'm constantly asking God to be specific in how He wants me to use this gift. So far, I have to assume I've been on the right track. Only time will tell if my expectations align with His, but the path, I feel, has been the correct one for me; for my immediate family; for those with whom God wants me to interact.

Like most actors, I'm currently somewhere between start and stardom, and while I don't know if I'll ever reach the stardom end, I know if I'm persistent, I will be successful. That's what this business comes down to -- persistence. Dreams need not expire.

For those who desire a career in the movie business, specifically as an actor, get Lisa London's From Start to Stardom. Focus more on the start than the stardom and see what happens. As Eleanor Roosevelt said, "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."

I'm telling you there's a chance.

Visit http://fromstarttostardom.com to buy the book and learn more about the acting business!

The reason I'm here

I've lived in Los Angeles for about 9 months now.

Popular recommendations for [already working] actors moving to Los Angeles for a [more significant] career in acting is to allow at least two years before giving up. It takes time to build relationships and find your way out here.

So who am I to have thought I could accomplish in a year what the "experts" say takes at least two?

Well, let's push aside the notion that there are actually experts who know definitively how long it takes to make it in Hollywood. We can study statistics and trends and add a little gut-instinct to form a theoretical equation, but every path is different.

Every. Path. Is. Different.

I was hedging my bets that my path would defy the experts. And it still may. After all, I had so many things going for me back in August when I made the move. I had a theatrical agent ready to sign me as soon as I got to town. And a reputable agent at that. How? I had a Los Angeles Casting Director who believed in me and set up a meeting with the agency. That doesn't happen often to small-market actors moving to LA. Unless you're ridiculously gorgeous. Which I'm not. Or remarkably unique. Which I'm not. Or related to Francis Ford Coppola. Again, which I'm not.

I'd made friends with successful actors out here, recognizable faces from film and television. Certainly they could help me kickstart things. They still may.

Even if the acting thing didn't pan out right away, I had screenwriting to fall back on. Heck, I have two scripts right now that have turned some heads. I mean, one of them has to hit, right? They may or may not.

I've produced two feature films. That must mean something, right?

I've appeared in dozens of commercials and hundreds of projects overall. I'm not completely green. I know what I'm doing in front of the camera and behind it.

But most importantly, I was convinced God brought me out here. He wouldn't bring me out here to fail, would He? If the 2-year-rule applied to me, God would have given us more money so we could afford to be out here more than a year, right?

Besides, how many people come out here without God and still find success? I'm pursuing this career for the right reasons. It's not fame or fortune I desire. It's happiness in doing what I love and sharing God's love with an industry that needs it.

God needs people like me in this industry.

Right?

Okay, here comes the revelation I have just recently experienced. No, let me rephrase that... here comes the revelation I finally realized.

God brought me out here not to fulfill my desires but to fulfill His desires for me.

Look, I still want to succeed in Hollywood more than most folks could fully understand, but I'm rearranging my thinking, even as I type this.

Let me paint the dots I'm now connecting in reverse.

Before moving to Los Angeles, I scouted many potential landing spots. I settled on Santa Clarita because the schools are outstanding and it's more affordable to live here than Burbank. I was specific within Santa Clarita of where we wanted to be according to school boundaries. A house was available in one of our chosen areas and I connected with the rental company. A woman named Kim was my contact there. We clicked right away, but when I admitted we were moving from Minnesota and were going to live off our savings and didn't have jobs lined up, she said they couldn't help us.

And yet, somehow we ended up in this lovely house on a quiet street without even seeing it in person before signing the rental agreement.

Did I mention our realtor in Minnesota, a friend of more than a decade, didn't want to put our house on the market because he didn't see any chance of it selling in time? It sold in time.

Now, another thing I'd done from Minnesota before moving out here was connect to a couple pastors of a Lutheran Church in Santa Clarita. Getting involved with a church right away was important to us and we were all set to visit that church on the second Sunday we were here.

The only problem was getting out the door in time. Kids have a way of delaying departure times. With the church being 15 minutes away and us being 10 minutes late, we decided to visit a nearer church.

Did I mention that Kim from the rental company is a Christian and had texted a few church options in our area? Yeah.

Five minutes from our house is a Baptist Church. Grace Baptist, to be exact. My wife and I grew up Lutheran. We sit in the back. We don't raise our hands during praise and worship. We don't shout "Amen" while the preacher preaches.

We also didn't know the difference between "Southern Baptist" and "Baptist."

But Grace was close enough for us to make it in time. We'd give the Lutheran church a chance next Sunday.

We've never looked back since visiting Grace that morning.

I've been a church goer my whole life. There's never been a time that I haven't attended a church, at least semi-regularly. There's also never been a time when I could say whole-heartedly that I love my church. Until Grace.

I love my church.

It's funny... My wife and I had a conversation a couple months ago talking about our future and whether we'll be staying in SoCal past the summer or back in Minnesota. We both admitted that if nothing else, at least being here and getting involved at Grace has strengthened our faith. So even if I fail in the movie industry, at least a bi-product of our journey to Santa Clarita will be a strengthened faith.

And that is where the revelation happened. That misguided statement of a strengthened faith being the bi-product of our journey west.

I now know that a strengthened faith is not the bi-product of our journey out here. It's the absolute reason God brought us here! I don't doubt that even a tiny bit.

God brought us here for Grace Baptist.

If I succeed in the movie industry, that will be a bi-product of us coming out here to strengthen our faith. I had it backwards before.

If you're not a man or woman of faith, I expect you to be skeptical of my claims here. Heck, I've been a man of faith my whole life and I would have been skeptical of this claim even a few weeks ago. But I'm telling you, I have not felt this close to God since before losing my sister in a tragic car crash nearly 13 years ago.

The practical side of all of us will scoff at the price my family paid to come out here. If we have to move back to Minnesota, we will be doing so with almost no money to our names. Gone is our savings, our equity, our stability.

But you know what? God is bigger than money and material things. He's never been unfaithful to us before and that's not going to change. I'd rather live poor and unsure of my next paycheck with a good relationship with God than live rich and apart from Him.

After all, Jesus tells us in Luke 16:13 that we cannot serve both God and money. I hate that I've spent so much of my life serving money instead of God. What did it get me? Less of both!

I still don't know where my family and I will be in August, but isn't it exciting that God is already there waiting to reveal Himself in a way I cannot even imagine today?

The dots I've connected in the last several years are amazing, and maybe I'll share more about them in a future blog entry. But for now, I'm just excited to connect tomorrow's dots the day after tomorrow.

I love you, Lord. Thank you for bringing me back to You.

Rich Sommer encourages me not to go mad

"I was eating pork chops and drinking a beer while I taped it, because, well, I figured it was never going to be seen anyway." -- Rich Sommer, describing his self-taped audition that led to his breaking-in role in The Devil Wears Prada

You know what they say... a Rich Sommer is better than a Poor Winter.

Why do I do stuff like that?

Anyway, I got in touch with Rich Sommer, probably known best as Harry Crane on AMC's runaway hit, Mad Men. Rich grew up in Minnesota and has made it in Hollywood. Geographically, our paths are similar. Buuuuuttt... he's a little farther along the path than I am. Matter of fact, I can't even see him with my max-magnification binoculars from Pervs R Us.

But I'm inspired. And humbled he took the time to humor my inquisitive mind.

Rich Sommer - photo by Ben Kusler

Born in Ohio, raised in Minnesota, Rich got his undergrad degree from Concordia in Moorhead. He went to Cleveland for grad school and then moved to New York City in 2004 to continue the acting career he'd already started. A commercial in Cleveland got him his union eligibility and a commercial in NYC not long after got him into the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).

"I think you have to join [SAG] as soon as you can," he advises. "It's tough to be taken seriously without that."

Rich was a part of the union very early in his career. For me, I was happy to remain non-union in Minnesota because there was such a dearth of SAG jobs in that market. Now that I'm in Los Angeles, I'm anxious to join SAG and my eligibility paperwork is pending right now. It's a good step for me. As Rich Sommer says, "The actual work requires being in the union. I wanted to do actual work."

Me, too, Rich. Me, too.

Of course, getting into SAG doesn't guarantee actual work. With far fewer jobs than actors, it takes patience, diligence, luck, and talent to elevate oneself into the coveted status of full-time actor.

It also takes thick skin.

I reached out to Rich after hearing him as a guest on Pilar Alessandra's On the Page podcast. I know I've raved about Pilar and her podcast before, so I won't do it again here. More than once. Pilar's On the Page podcast is great and if you're not listening to it, you're mad, man.

See what I did there?

I got sidetracked.

That's what I did there.

Back to Rich and the thick skin segue I hijacked from myself.

On Pilar's podcast, Rich shared the story of his adventures through pilot season 2006, when at one point his manager was called by the CBS comedy division. The suits asked Rich's manager to stop sending him on any more comedy auditions because he wasn't funny. The only callback Rich received that entire pilot season was for Mad Men.

The rest, as they say, is language arts. I mean, history.

With my slow start out here in Hollywood -- and granted, three months is hardly enough time for anyone to really get themselves established in a new market -- I'm encouraged by Rich's 2006 pilot season. Not because I take pleasure in knowing a very talented actor wasn't getting called back, but because it proves that it's just a numbers game. The key is to stay in the game until the numbers work in your favor.

Naturally, I wanted to know if Rich had considered throwing in the towel after the less-than-encouraging phone call from CBS. "It wasn't a super fun phone call to get," he says obviously. "Of course there were times I considered bagging it all, but most of those preceded that pilot season."

It makes sense he would stay in the game. After all, he'd landed the role in the Meryl Streep comedy, The Devil Wears Prada, a summer earlier. He had a good manager, who he says he'll be loyal to forever. He'd booked commercials and was getting called in for auditions.

He even claims the CBS people were right. That he wasn't funny.

I doubt it.

But it's that kind of humility that makes me root for Rich Sommer. And it's his thick skin that allowed him to press on after a rough message from the CBS comedy division that encourages me to stick in this game.

He adds, "Besides getting a career-changing gig (Prada), I didn't know what else to do. I did three years of grad school for acting, and I wasn't ready to chuck it all yet. There are people who have been grinding it out for decades. Two years and a bad phone call from CBS isn't a reason to bag it. For me."

Full disclosure -- I asked him if he considered quitting the game after the CBS phone call without knowing the correct timeline of when he booked Prada. To have a significant role in a major studio picture starring one of the greatest actors in the history of cinema is reason enough to stay in the game no matter what the next year brings. Duh.

Still, we actors are a sensitive lot. I know I have a tough time believing my past successes are any better indications of my true talent than my current failures. But that's just me.

Rich has encouraged me and I hope anybody who stumbles across this little blog entry finds encouragement as well. Perhaps the tastiest nugget I devoured is Rich's story about his self-taped audition for The Devil Wears Prada. To go along with his quote that prefaced this writing, he says, "I took the result of [the audition for The Devil Wears Prada] as a lesson. Putting myself on tape is a pretty laid-back affair, and I definitely owe it to that little happening."

In the end, all of what we do as actors should be approached with a laid-back attitude. Not lazy. Not half-assed. Just relaxed.

If we can't find a way to relax in this game, we're all going to go mad, man.

I did it again.

Q & A with Casting Director Scott David

"Here I am! Look at me! See what I can do!" -- Every Undiscovered Actor

Half a lifetime ago, I believed my acting talent would open doors for me. I had grown up in an environment where I had plenty of people applauding my juvenile impressions of Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, and Jim Carrey. Looking back, it's hard to believe every bit of praise was sincere, but there were a few people that I know weren't blowing smoke up my formerly toned behind.

In the last 20 years I received further validation of my talent by being cast in a variety of roles in feature films, commercials, industrials, and a handful of live theater gigs. I can call myself a professional actor. And a good one at that.

I continue to train and study and practice my craft at every opportunity. I want to get better. And better. And better.

But with the big 4-0 looming, I can't simply hone my craft and wait for the bigger doors to open. I have to get in front of the people behind those doors who can get me the gigs that pay more than a tank of gas.

I recently got in touch with kind-hearted Scott David, Casting Director of the CBS hit crime procedural, Criminal Minds, and the spinoff, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders. He graciously answered some questions I had as a recent small-market transplant to Los Angeles. More than anything, he confirmed what I already suspected, which isn't bad or good. It just -- is.

Scott emphasizes the importance of acting classes before one arrives in LA and also to take classes once relocated to LA. "Acting classes and studying your craft are of utmost importance," he says. I agree, and I've taken many classes over the years, most of which have contributed to my craft -- some better than others. I'm surprised by some of the excuses actors contrive to avoid taking classes. Even the most successful stars take classes.

Scott also highlights the importance of learning audition technique and how to do self-taped auditions. There are audition classes, but in small markets, the audition techniques are usually focused on commercial auditions which differ considerably from film and television auditions. A good starting point for learning how to audition is to read Casting Qs by Bonnie Gillespie and The Actor's Encyclopedia of Casting Directors by Karen Kondazian. If nothing else, the books give insight into what casting directors are looking for in auditions. (Hint: they're looking for you to be you!)

Casting Director, Scott David

Self-taping has trended upward in the last few years. Anybody with an iPhone can self-tape an audition, but understanding framing, audio, basic editing, simple color correction, upload specs and video compression practices can go a long way in making a self-taped audition stand out. There are companies in LA that will assist in self-taping auditions, but they seem to charge anywhere from a couple hundred bucks to a kidney. I'm fortunate enough to be an editor and decent camera operator so I can put together good audition tapes with little effort, but once you learn how to do it, you'll see it's remarkably simple. Heck, if I can do it...

Now for the tricky part of this blog entry. I asked Scott David, "Once in LA, what are the first steps one should take to get noticed by casting directors?"

He answered, "The BEST way to get noticed and to start making relationships and networking is to invest in Casting Director Workshops on a regular, consistent basis at The Actor's Link."

Why is this tricky? Because Scott David owns The Actor's Link.

My cynical side can't help but wonder about the nobility of such a suggestion. Pay my company $30 to $50 and you'll get to perform a short scene in front of a casting director who may or may not call you in for a real audition based on the impression you make.

My pessimist side wonders, "How else can I get in front of these casting directors?"

And my practical side pries, "I'm out here to make connections and build relationships with the people that can get me work. Suck it up and pay the money."

And here's the thing. I really don't think Scott is a swindler. He's been as accessible as anybody out here and I've heard first-person accounts from actors who got called in to audition shortly after meeting a casting director at a workshop. While certainly not a guarantee of booking gigs, Casting Director Workshops are a legitimate way to get in front of the people who can get actors work.

Aside from workshops, the only control one has over getting oneself on the radars of casting directors is to directly communicate with them. Sure, it would be nice to know our agents are pitching us and fighting for us to get called in to audition, but the reality is that nobody is going to be more passionate about finding acting gigs than we are.

With resources like IMDb Pro and Backstage, it's generally easy to find contact information for nearly every casting director from New York to Atlanta to Austin to Los Angeles. I've personally sent out almost 50 postcards and nearly that many e-mails to the casting directors and associates who cast the shows for which I feel best suited. Considering most of these people receive hundreds, if not thousands, of unsolicited messages every week, the chances I'm being noticed are pretty slim. Still, if I want to win the lottery, I have to buy tickets.

I asked Scott his thoughts on the line between tactful self-promotion and becoming a nuisance. "That is a fine line," he said. "It's like dating. Rejection is the hardest aspect of life, and most of the time actors are rejected."

Ouch. Most of the time actors are rejected. I mean, I know that. But it's still tough to swallow.

"Don't push too hard," he continues, "and try to make relationships with professionals IF they are open and accessible to doing so."

That last sentiment is perhaps the most difficult for us creatives to accept. In our minds, we know we have so much to offer and that anybody who isn't open to getting to know us and our work is truly missing out. Right?

Well, if our work is that good and we are truly worth knowing, eventually the wall will crumble and we will have access to those that are currently inaccessible. The trick is to find those who are accessible and (patiently) prove your value to them first. Then, who knows who will eventually give you access to their inner circle?

In Minneapolis I accumulated a lot of credits, from features to commercials to industrials. I asked Scott if my long resume of mostly unrecognizable credits means anything out here or if I would be better off having one credit from a recognizable show like Criminal Minds or The Big Bang Theory. "Being able to show that one has TALENT and is a good actor is much more important when the actor does not have many legit credits, if any at all," he explained. "TRAINING... is very important, and marketing oneself is KEY."

Bottom line is this: Keep training. Keep working. Keep finding new connections. Do as many casting workshops as the budget will allow. Eventually, all the hard work will pay off. For me, it's been fifteen years of hard work. I gotta believe I'm due. You are too.

***

If you've stumbled across this blog and any of the above information is new to you, I encourage you to check out The Actor's Link. If you're in Los Angeles, you can start workshopping immediately. Of course, it's best to make sure you're good before spending the money, but that's obvious, right?

*** More About Scott David ***

A member in good standing of the Casting Society of America (CSA), Scott David has been casting everything from small Equity Theater to Studio Feature Films since 1996. He is currently Casting Director of the long running CBS hit TV series, Criminal Minds, and also the new spinoff series, Criminal Minds Beyond Borders. Scott also consistently works on indie films throughout the year.

Scott enjoys meeting all sorts of actors from all sorts of places. He has an appreciation for actors and is totally passionate with his efforts in helping out newer actors. He admires their hard work and diligence in pursuing their dreams.

Check out Scott David's iOS app on iTunes: Scott David Casting

Uphill

"This hill goes on forever!"

Says I when I run in the hills overlooking the Santa Clarita Valley.

"It's a good burn!"

Says I when I near the top.

"What? That's NOT the top?"

Says I when the road winds around a corner and my muscles turn to undercooked cheesecake.

"Stop talking to yourself."

Says I when people give me weird looks.

So I'm here in Los Angeles(ish). Actually a little north. But only a half a podcast away from the places I need to go. Well, the places I hope to need to go.

But as I laid out in my first post nearly seven years ago, my journey was never specific to geography. So while I've technically made it to Hollywood from Minnesota, I am still a long ways away.

But I'm closer than I was seven years ago. Seven months ago. Seven weeks ago. At least I hope I am.

I've still got a lot of big hills to climb, metaphorically and literally. Seriously, running in my neighborhood is brutal. If nothing else, living out here is going to get my quads back into shape.

I can vouch for the views at the top of the hills. They're amazing. Dry. But amazing.

So as I continue to climb uphill, I remind myself that the view from the top is worth it.

Believe!

"I know that sounds like a cat poster, but it's true." -- Vitruvius

The optimist inside of me believes I have an amazing Hollywood career ahead of me. Unfortunately my inner pessimist keeps pinning the optimist down, sitting on his face, and launching lethal butt missiles.

Dare I say that the optimist is finally fighting back? Finally emerging from the pessimist's cheeks? Finally launching a few weapons from his own turret? He's always had his moments, but they were too few and far between to really give the pessimist a run for his money. Or his gas mask.

Now is the time for the optimist to fly like a kitty and heed the words of a master builder. It's time to prove I am special by building myself up and destroying the blocks in my way. Today I will construct a new outlook and Lego of the deconstructive attitudes of the past.

Tomorrow I will stop overusing references from that one movie about those little block-like things.

Can you feel me?

Let's have a little inspirational session. Just you and me and a few people that have accomplished a thing or two in their lives. Hopefully we both feel better after this virtual hug fest of pastel colored unicorns and strawberry flavored hope.

Some say that Francis guy was a sissy, but I think he was a saint. If these words of his don't fill you with at least a hint of fuzzy warmth, don't bother reading any further; you're not my target audience.

No matter where you're at in your career, there are necessary things that have to be done. Some of them can be done today; some can be done tomorrow. But they must be done if you expect to get wherever it is you want to be. Much to the chagrin of many who are starting out in the world of screenwriting or acting or directing, there are no shortcuts.

Are there lottery winners? Sure. But not many. Most overnight success stories are actually years in the making. They begin by doing what's necessary (education, practicing one's craft), then doing what's possible (networking, practicing one's improved craft), and finally achieving the impossible (worldwide stardom, private jets, and fancy macaroni and cheese).

By the way, does it really need to be stated that if you're in this for worldwide stardom you're never going to be satisfied? Okay, good. We're on the same page.

Next quote. By a palm tree. How nice.

Even if sports are to you what common sense is to Justin Bieber, you know the name Lombardi. I'm pretty sure half the streets in Green Bay are named Lombardi Street or Lombardi Way or Lombardi Favre. Oh, and the trophy for winning that bowl that's really super is named after him, too.

Vince Lombardi inherited a team that finished with one victory the season before he took over. Under his tutelage, the Packers won seven games the following year. That was 1959, long before NFL teams changed dramatically from year to year with free agency. In other words, the team that won a single game in 1958 was pretty much the same team that won six more in 1959. Lombardi knew what he had and he got more out of it than anyone expected.

My point? I don't know. Something about Legos I think.

Nah, my point is that we all come from different backgrounds, carry different baggage, have different privileges and shortcomings. Yes, plenty of people get their start in Hollywood because they have an "in" while those of us with zero built-in connections pound on door after door only to be pelted with double-edged razor blades and anthrax balloons.

I exaggerate. The razor blades are single-edged.

Still, rejection hurts. Actually, rejection would be a welcome reprieve from the silence that follows so many attempts to reach those on the other side. We can lament our misfortune of being born into blue-collar flyover families, or we can just work that much harder.

Let's combine the quotes from St. Francis of Assisi and Vince Lombardi:

"Start by doing what's necessary with what we have."

It's so important to have a clear understanding of what we have and what we can do with it. I've spent so many years letting my inner pessimist have his way, sulking in my lack of money, connections, and support (another topic altogether that I'll maybe get into at some point).

I finally had to recognize what I do have -- talent, telephone, Internet, books, magazines, podcasts, support (not from everybody, but that's okay!), family, friends, shelter, food, and water.

And gum. How fat would I be if I didn't have gum?

With libraries and Amazon, we have access to more books than anyone could ever read about acting, directing, writing, producing, editing, and everything else involved in making movies. With iTunes, we have access to dozens of podcasts featuring Hollywood insiders who are already experiencing the success we want to have. With the Internet, we can locate the e-mail address and phone number of every agent and producer from here to Timbuktu. I can't tell you how many letters I've written to Al Gore thanking him for inventing the Internet.

Okay, I can. Zero.

The point is everything is awesome when we're living our dream.

Wait, no it's not. The Lego Movie lied to me! I feel like such a blockhead.

Awesome or not, there are plenty of things we need to do before we can realize our dreams. I will keep reaching out. I will keep writing. I will keep acting. I will keep learning. Over and over and over again.

We can't expect to see tangible progress every day as we pursue our dreams of being a consistently working actor, director, or screenwriter. But at the end of each day, we should rest on our double-decker couches and feel satisfied that we did something to get closer to achieving our dreams. Whether we listen to an educational podcast, read something, reach out to someone, write a few pages, or spend twelve hours on set, we need to take time every single day to further our career.

Not every seed will grow and those that do will do so at different times. But if we are patient and continue to plant them, one day we will reap a harvest more bountiful than anything we could ever have imagined.

Believe!

Sassy Cassie, never owned a Lassie

Funny. Sweet. Adorable. Talented.

These words describe me well, but today I want to get to my conversation with Ms. Cassie Daniels, a cool cat herself on her way to fame. And I don't mean the TV show.

If you haven't listened yet to the On the Page podcast on which I discovered Cassie and her writing partner, Cheryl Texiera, you need to. Skip breakfast. Skip hygiene. Download the podcast. Cheryl and Cassie are inspirational. Seriously.

Cassie Daniels and I seem to have a lot in common. Our first names are each two syllables, we both like broccoli, and I'm pretty sure we both have ten fingers and at least nine toes.

But it doesn't stop there. Like yours truly, Cassie started writing out of her frustration with acting. "I was sick of only [getting auditions] for Hooker #3," she reflects, "[so I] began my new venture as a hope to create opportunities for myself."

I didn't get very many auditions for Hooker #3, but I was only being sent out for Young Dad, and I wanted to play something I wasn't. The irony is that now I'm not Young Dad anymore - sigh. Still, Old or Young Dad aren't the auditions that excite me. I wrote Horror House so I could play a character that my agent would never have sent me on an audition for.

Cassie has written eight screenplays, two television pilots, and three web series in six years. That's a faster pace than I'm on. Plus, she's sold two features. I've produced two features and optioned another, but I've yet to cash a significant check for anything I've written.

The selfish side of me wanted to know how Cassie connected with buyers for her scripts. "I send lots of emails, reach out to industry professionals, and am constantly pitching my projects," she said.

Not the magic beans answer for which I was hoping, but it serves as a reminder that I need to just keep plugging away and not let rejection discourage me. The rejection comes not from those who read my scripts... the rejection comes much sooner than that. The few industry pros who have read my work have given glowing praise for the most part. As a glass half-empty guy, I tend to ignore the positive responses I've gotten and focus more on the dead-end connections I try so hard to resuscitate.

Actor/Screenwriter, Cassie Daniels

I love Cassie's motto and practice it myself, but I need to adopt it fully instead of only when my mood embraces it: "My motto is to reach out to people and not wait for them to discover you. You have to be proactive and get your material out there. Don't wait for an agent; you are your agent. There is no one in this world that can more passionately pitch your script than you. If no one is reading your script right now, it's no one's fault but your own. There is too much damn opportunity at your fingertips to get it in front of people."

Amen, Cassie. Amen.

Cassie sold her first two screenplays without representation, one being sold through the website, VirtualPitchfest.com. She remembers, "I got pretty lucky on Virtual Pitchfest. Within a week, my script was ranked as the third most requested script and it was optioned within two weeks."

It's been probably ten years since I posted a script on InkTip.com. Looking back at that script now, I recognize just how poorly written it was. And the concept of alien robots changing into cars and airplanes was pretty ridiculous, don't you think? Okay, it wasn't a Transformers script. It was about transvestite gardeners. I called it Transfarmers. *

What I've learned in the last ten years is invaluable and knowing Cassie had success with an online screenplay hosting site, I'm motivated to post a script or two as well.

My website of choice is going to be The Black List. I'll probably post the screenplay that I'm currently developing with a financier even though I can't sell it right now. It's time to get some recognition from industry folks for work I know is high quality. I'll keep y'all posted. Both of you.

Like Cassie, most of my writing these days is focused on low-budget indie fare. "My script, Bachelorette Weekend, found success quite easily because we (my incredible writing partner, Cheryl Texiera, and I) purposely wrote the script small and self-contained," Cassie explains. "I always say, when you are starting out, give people few reasons to say no to your idea."

I'll add this to Cassie's great advice to keep your first scripts smaller in scope: Until you've sold a few screenplays, JJ Abrams is not going to buy anything from you. He won't read it. Nobody who does big-budget tent-pole movies is going to be interested in anything from a newbie writer.

There's always going to be an exception, of course, but it makes a lot more sense to put your effort into playing the odds. With so many odds against anybody making it in Hollywood, it's best to resist the urge to try to be another exception to the rule.

So there you have it. Cassie Daniels is working hard and getting her name out there. She's making her own opportunities, building her own career. That's the way to do it. Hollywood doesn't send out invitations for free. Invitations must be earned. She's earning hers, and I applaud her for her attitude and effort.

And she likes broccoli. "Who doesn't?" she asks. "I will tell you who... psychopaths."

Follow Cassie on Twitter @MsCassieDaniels.

Follow me on Twitter @Just_Over.

Follow the yellow brick road.

* I haven't written a script called Transfarmers, but it would be hard to beet a script like that. Too corny? Don't have a cow.