Hurricane of Greatness!

So, for the past week and a half, we've been readying ourselves for a supposed vicious hurricane called Earl. We've stocked up on Nutri-Grain bars, oatmeal, water, apples, etc... As Friday came to a close, we braced for a night of gale-force winds and heavy rain.

However, to our surprise, we woke up to quite the opposite. The sun came up through a cloudless sky and a cold breeze passed through the apartment. I believe this is the first time we've only had one fan on in the whole apartment, and it feels as if we've got fully working air conditioning. And with a full bowl of oatmeal, an apple and a Nutri-Grain bar as my breakfast, I'd say this is by far the best morning I've had up here so far.

New York Heat

It's 8:00pm here in the big city, and the temperature couldn't be more unbearable, it seems. While there is a nice breeze passing through the streets, the heat has been making its way up to our apartment for a few days in a row now. There are fans in nearly every room and still the sweat drips like dew from a heavy leaf, somewhere out in the jungle.

And yet, life goes on. AJ and I made turkey and bacon sandwiches for ourselves and Lauren tonight. We spent a few minutes on the fire escape, enjoying the savory combination of dinner, breeze and a red sky on the horizon.

And now, since we have cable, we are watching football. Life may have its difficulties, but it sure is good.

A Special Thanks

Thanks for all the great response on the new headshots. I need to give credit where it's due for a fun photo session to my photographer, Dave Mead. He's a real pro, based in Austin, Texas but will accept an assignment from New York to LA and all points in between. You can find Dave's work included in Sports Illustrated, Rolling Stone Magazine and Texas Monthly to start. He's focused his camera on the likes of Cheryl Crow, Taylor Swift, Queen Latifah, Coldplay, Tom Petty, Billy Idol and I don't have room to mention the sports greats! You just have to check out his website. Besides being a great photographer, Dave drives an awesome old, orange truck (he's a University of Texas grad) that has been spotted in Sonic tv commercials! He's got a great, laid back style (not sure he owns a suit), a wife who is a stylist by trade, does a lot of work in NYC and they have two of the cutest baby girls ever! (Imagine growing up with a camera trained on your every move....those girls have it made right out of the shoot!)

So, a huge Thank You to Dave for his time spent getting hundreds of great images taken for the few that I've posted here.....just don't have room to lay them all out there!

Website: davemead.com

Special link: magnificentspecimens.com (hairy guys from a beard and mustache competition in Alaska, images hung in a collection for several weeks this past summer in the Chelsea Market...watch for an upcoming 2011 calendar based on the best of these)

So Far, So Good

Second day into classes and I'm already lovin' the Theatre Year!

Our section is really great--lots of talent and plenty of dedication/professionalism. Classes are going very well so far. Our first class on Mondays is Dialects. We'll be working on upper class English and Southern (guess that won't be too hard) this semester. Right after that we have Movement with, once again, the amazing Ms. Connie Rotunda! We had an excellent review of getting into our bodies and focusing our attention on our breath. An hour and a half after that, our first of three Acting classes, where we reviewed the exercise of repetition and meditation (moment to moment to moment to moment).

Today was a blast! Our only class was Stage Combat from 11 - 1pm. It's a very fun and exciting two hours, and our instructor has got one heck of a since of humor!

Tomorrow will be similar to our Monday schedule, being at school from 9am - 6pm with very little break time. Thursday is our off day and Friday is a two-class day - Theatre History and Acting. Three day weekend coming up, leaving us plenty of time to get some work done.

Meanwhile, Lauren has introduced me to a site called Mandy.com where I can find postings for casting calls around New York. I sent in a resume and head shot yesterday morning to a small independent film company looking for a male actor (18-24 years old) for a small feature film. Haven't received any emails yet, but it's gotten me so pumped. Hopefully at the very least I'll get to audition. Bring on the work!

Rockin' In The City

Tonight, for Lauren's big 2-0, we went out to Chipotle and then went over to the Brooks Atkinson theatre to see her favorite musical... ROCK OF AGES! The show was an absolute blast, featuring the best rock songs of the 80's. Apparently a movie is in the works. Couldn't be more stoked for it.

New Headshots

Photography by David Mead

Progress