Month: August 2015

9 Sun – UCB class #2. I love learning slight variations of improv games I already know. We worked on spacework and now I have a show recommendation to see SOUNDTRACK.

12 W – Judd Apatow in Off Camera podcast says that back in Freaks and Geeks days he gave the advice to all the actors to “become a writer and make your own stuff” which several people did. This is all cementing all the hard work I’m doing with TRKS and SmallTalk.. and soon a short film and sketches.

13 Th – Four of my new headshots went ‘live’ on http://www.lacasting.com/matthewhirsch

14 Fri – I went to a murder mystery party and played “Ramsey Gordon” celebrity chef on the chef team. I tried not to yell too much.

15 Sat- Since I got back from Oz I’ve upgraded my computer RAM, ordered a fan, and bought a vertical mouse to avoid carpal tunnel issues. Finally my Custom mousepad arrived yesterday. Yes! Today I’m editing my kids show and preparing the next SmallTalk2015 episode.

Su 2: UCB class #1. I like the look of their ‘textbook’. All sorts of quirky illustrations. It was good to be in class again. With all these newcomers to LA it’s easy to get re-energized about my purpose here and excited about getting my career ramped up.

Listened to Off Camera podcast episode with Jeff Bridges. I thought it was interesting that both he and Matt Damon refer to acting as a “magic trick”. How does an actor get the audience to believe his character and get involved in the story they are trying to tell?

Tu 28: Met up with Andre to discuss projects and acting resources. He mentioned the Off Camera Podcast and the series The Chair. Then we watched Top 15 Mistakes Beginner Filmmakers Make.

W 29: Signed up for class at UCB starts first week of August. I haven’t seen their new space. I’m excited to jump back into improv after almost a year away!

I listened to a couple episodes of the Off Camera podcast. I finished the Damon episode and then listened to the episode with Jon Hamm from Mad Men. Both episodes were fascinating to hear how these actors engage the process and their hard work and lessons learned. Continue reading July 26 – August 1