Just Do It

Posted on January 22, 2013 by JConrad622

I had a rush audition this week. It also happened to be one of my best auditions. Coincidence? I think not!

At 4:00pm I was told I had an appointment to make by 5:45pm. The appointment was in Los Feliz, I was in Beverly Hills. It was rush hour. Angelenos will certainly understand the “rush” aspect.  I was also headshot-less (stupid, stupid, stupid!) and wearing the dingiest work clothes you can imagine. There was no thought of not going, though, because this was one of the most important auditions of my career. I had been working at it for months. I jumped out of my seat and HIT THE ROAD!

There was no time to think, and that was a blessing. I was so focused on weaving through traffic, printing my resume, getting my hair did, and switching shifts at my side job that I didn’t have time to worry. (Those that know me, know that I like to worry, its in my nature.) All I had time to tell myself was “Julian, you are professional. You’ve been working hard for this. JUST DO IT.” I got to that office, got 15 solid minutes with my material, went in there and nailed it.

If I had received the audition notice two days prior, I would’ve had 48 hours to worry about my clothes, my hair, my voice, my complexion, how I might be percieved… but I didn’t, and for that I am grateful because I learned a solid lesson: JUST DO IT.

Whether one know’s an hour in advance or a year in advance, its important to remember that an audition is about bringing yourself, showing them what you can do, and being a professional. Its not about how you “come off” or even whether you book the job. Its about booking that room and making the casting director a fan for life.

I’ve realized Just Do It can be applied many ways. I also had an opportunity to take new headshots this week but I only got two days to decide. In the past I’ve spent 3 months deciding. Well, I Just Did It and I am VERY happy with results. Check out Stephanie Girard Photography (http://www.stephgirardheadshots.com/) if you get the chance. She is A-Mah-Zing.

We can waste so much time in worry, but when you let go and TRUST it is a truly uplifting experience and life is more FUN! Don’t hold back, Just Do It.

Julian “Just Do It” Conrad

 

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GOAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!

Posted on January 2, 2013 by JConrad622

I’m not making any New Year’s resolutions this year. Why? They don’t work.

This was my 26th New Year, which means I’ve settled on roughly 18 New Years resolutions and I cant remember 1 that I followed through on. Some were more successful than others, usually my resolution to hit the gym more lasts into March, but every year come the New Year I’m usually resolving to make the same resolutions as the year before. Make sense? Its circuitous and frustrating and I am resolving not to do it anymore!

I am resolving to SET GOALS! Not vague, grandiose, all encompassing goals that are really just resolutions in disguise, but specific, clear, quantifiable goals. Goals that can be met with a strong, thought through strategy. Goals in which I can determine my progress throughout the year and modify my strategy in response.

 

For example, I’m not going to resolve to go to the gym more in 2013.  I’m setting a goal of less than 10% body fat. I’m not going to “focus on my career more”, I’m going to book a Television Co-star or better in 2013. To meet these goals I’m setting strategies of hitting the gym at least 4 times a week and targeting specific casting directors in workshops.

Get goals. Like David Beckham.

I advise the rest of you to do the same. Lets resolve to meet our goals so we can set new ones in 2014. Cause when we make a goal we score, and who doesn’t like to score? ;D

Julian “ready to score” Conrad

 

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Smell the Roses

Posted on December 17, 2012 by JConrad622

“Open your senses, no matter how painful it may be. Doing so will heighten your sensitivities, which are an integral part of the actor’s talent.”

- Uta Hagen

Exploring Uta Hagen’s 6th object exercise, I began to realize how desensitized I’ve become to the world around me and how detrimental this is to my craft. In the exercise the actor is required to recreate an outdoor environment, such as the beach, within the space while performing a simple task, such as stretching before a run. Essential to the exercise is the physical manifestation of the outdoor elements on the body and mind.  In order to accurately recreate the sensation, one must accurately recall the feeling. 

What I’ve come to realize is that I spend a large portion of my day on my phone, on my computer, with my headphones in, or listening to the radio and very rarely do I take a moment to see, hear, smell and feel what is going on around me. I’m not the only one. You can’t stop at a stoplight in L.A. without being held up by the person in front of you checking his texts, or Twitter, or Facebook, not realizing he is supposed to go. Get on a bus and no one is talking to each other let alone looking at each other, they are mesmerized by their iPhones or lost in their music. People eat dinner together in silence as they check their emails and check in on Foursquare.  Its a 21st century epidemic and it is really, really bad for the actor.

Less of this…

Whens the last time you saw a movie where texting was the primary form of communication? Seen a play where a character is constantly on his computer? Heck no! Our craft is about revealing human behavior in relation to others, or the environment, or current events, not technology. Our craft is about COMMUNICATION not ISOLATION. In order to excel at our craft we need to have a thorough understanding of humanity and how it interacts and experiences and feels and we begin to understand by reflecting on how we, ourselves, do all these things.

…and more of this.

I am a chief culprit, but I am ready to WAKE UP.  My goal is to look at my phone less and smell the roses more. To find new hikes not new Facebook friends. To talk instead of text and spend more time away from the keyboard (right after I post this blog entry of course ;D). Actors: I challenge you to do the same! We can be revolutionaries in the movement to unplug. After all, the desensitization of America is bad for both our industry and our art. Lets be the change we want to see!

Logging off,

Julian Conrad

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May The Force Keep You Going

Posted on December 3, 2012 by JConrad622

What I observed about my fellows actors was that most gave up very easily. – Harrison Ford

From the mouth  of Han Solo himself, this quote illustrates the number 1 piece of advice I hear most given to actors at workshops, seminars, Q&A’s, etc. that, unfortunately, is not followed. That is, simply PERSEVERE!

  • persevere [per-suh-veer] (verb) to persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement; continue steadfastly. (via Dictionary.com)

I relate most closely to the ‘in spite of difficulties, etc, etc.’ part of that definition. When one chooses the profession of acting (and I do believe it is a choice) they are committing themselves to a life of uncertainty, rejection, wrong turns, exploitation, and more. Sounds lovely, doesn’t it? But the payoff for the true actor is far greater than any of these road blocks are difficult, because connecting to humanity through acting is better than any drug imaginable (or at least any of the ones that I’ve tried). Its like adrenaline, its carthatic, its exciting, its bliss, and too many of us give up before we have actualized ourselves into that holy grail of “financially sufficient actor”. Basically when we don’t have to wait tables anymore.

For some reason Leno, Letterman, Kimmel and the rest don’t like to discuss the long and arduous paths many actors took to get to their couches, but those are the stories I find most fascinating. Yeah, I’m biased, but Hollywood is full of actors that worked their butts off over long periods of time to gain commercial success. Jon Hamm, Amy Adams, Jim Parsons, and Eric Stonestreet to name a few. A TV casting director recently mentioned in a workshop that he still remembers rather recently when Jennifer Lawrence was going in for Co-stars! Now look where she is…

Yeah I used to rock Co-star auditions. What of it?

You never know, you’re big break could be tomorrow, it could be in 6 months, or it could be  in 6 minutes, but if you give up now it will be never. If you truly don’t think its worth all the trouble, then you truly are in the wrong profession, but if you want what I want then perservere, perservere, perservere, and we will wear them down! HA!

May the force be with you,

Julian Conrad

 

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My Type

Posted on November 21, 2012 by JConrad622

The first principle of Shambhala vision is not being afraid of who you are. Ultimately, that is the definition of bravery: not being afraid of yourself -Chogyam Trungpa (via The Sun Magazine)

Type. An overused word in the industry in my opinion. As in, “Whats your type?”, “I’m afraid I’ll get type-cast”, and “She’s the Lindsay Lohan type” (heaven forbid). Many actors in this town are struggling to determine their type, possibly losing sleep from the stress and removing their focus from equally important endeavors. Many casting directors remind us to nail down our type in workshops as if we all can be sorted like Howgwart’s students into our appropriate houses. Over and over we ask ourselves “whats my type?”, but who of us have asked ourselves, “who am I?“.

Now that’s a loaded question and one I believe is a more effective one to ask for the true artist. It’s not easy to ask and for this reason a lot of actors avoid it. I have a theory that many people aspire to act as a means of pretending to be someone else for a little while, reflecting their own insecurities. I truly believe, however, that in order to be a successful, affecting actor one must strive to achieve iron-clad self acceptance. Those actors that define a type of their own, Al Pacino for example, do so by applying their true selves so honestly to a role that everyone else aspires to be like them. The good, the bad, the ugly… they are not afraid to face it and use it to great effect.

That is the true bravery illustrated in the quote above by Buddhist scholar and teacher Chogyam Trungpa. That is what I aspire to be. That is what I will continue striving for until the end of my days, because I cant imagine doing anything else.

So look out, friends, one day there will be legions of young actors in Hollywood defining themselves as the “new Julian Conrad”,  and hopefully they’ll then read this blog and realize that all they really need to know is who they are, because that is what makes them interesting, and that is what will make them stand out. Not what makes them like me (although that’s pretty cool too).

Eternally yours,

Julian Conrad

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Keep Singing!!

Posted on November 12, 2012 by JConrad622

To share the secrets of David Coury’s life altering course Singing and Speech for Actors at The Howard Fine Acting Studio would be tragic, not because there’s anything to fear, but because much of the learning and transformation takes place ‘in the moment’ and any controlling ‘actor need’ to prepare could hamper the power of one’s authenticity.

Say what you feel, not what you aught to say!!

Lucky for me I embarked on this 3-day intensive with little knowledge of the path that lay before me. What I will tell you is that I emerged from the weekend feeling like a new man with a new voice and new excitement for my ART. I believe my twelve SFA compadres that accompanied me on the journey would speak similarly.

David is a great man who infuses the class with love, energy, and most of all, JOY. He has been perfecting the SFA curriculum for over 10 years and it shows. The 13 of us laid our hearts, souls and voices on the table, and in the gentle, but firm hands of Mr. Coury, magic was made.

The class has a reputation for making people cry, but it is so much more than that. Did I cry? Yes, buckets. I also experienced profound happiness. I said things I’d never admitted to anyone before (including myself) and because I took those leaps I’m now ready to infuse my work with the honest, authentic me. Not the lame idea I have of me. ‘Cause that’s the job description, folks. As Marilyn McIntyre likes to say, “Actors must run into the burning building”. That’s the kind of work I want to bring to the table, that’s the kind of work the actors I admire do.

You don’t think you can sing? Doesn’t matter. I assure you, you can. In high school my dream of singing in a musical was violently crushed when I was unceremoniously fired from a show. I cried and cried and swore I would ‘never sing again!’ Well that dream is newly alive friends and I’ve never felt more confident.

Take back your voices people!!

I apologize if I’m vague, but to say too much would ruin the experience for any actor (or human being) interested in taking the class, and I recommend that everyone take this class!!!

Loud and proud,

Julian Conrad

For More Info: The Howard Fine Acting Studio, David Coury Website

 

 

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Labor of Love

Posted on September 17, 2012 by JConrad622

Remember Nip/Tuck? I loved it! It ranks as my #1 Ryan Murphy show with American Horror Story coming in close 2nd. However, my sentimentality runs deeper than a love of boob jobs, bare asses, and Joely Richardson because Nip/Tuck was the show on which I received my 1st SAG voucher. A random LA Casting submission for a college age photo double of Julian McMahon, the sexy, sadistic Dr. Christian Troy, resulted in a quick interview in which I did NOT get the gig, but did create a relationship. A relationship which resulted in a SAG background gig as a hospital orderly (remember when Julia got shot in the head?) Pretty f***en cool.

Twinsies!

If you don’t know, to join the SAG (now SAG-AFTRA) union an actor must be Taft-Hartleyed or collect 3 union background vouchers. Vouchers are like Willy Wonka’s golden tickets to a non-union actor because most  film & TV productions are required to use union actors unless they are in need of a very specific type, and often they have to pay a fee to break the rule. Its a catch-22 because you’re not likely to get hired on a voucher unless you’re in the union and you can’t get in the union unless you have 3 vouchers. Frustrating, right?

That’s why I moved heaven and earth to get my 2nd and 3rd vouchers in LAS VEGAS on Get Him to the Greek. Basically, a friend in acting class knew a casting director in Vegas willing to give vouchers to mutual friends (not sure how it worked, but it did. I didn’t ask questions). When the opportunity arose I jumped on it! And like most good opportunities, it came very unexpectedly with no time to switch or cover my shifts. I was going to have to drive to Vegas, work, and return within 24 hours. Cake.

It was a 7am call time. I left LA at 2am. I arrived at the Planet Hollywood hotel with an hour to spare. After a quick cat nap in my car I brushed my teeth and washed my face in the hotel’s public restroom (very glamorous), then headed to set. I spent the morning on Las Vegas Blvd. watching P. Diddy get hit by a car.  After lunch I was in a few shots of Russel Brand and Jonah Hill exiting the hotel. After about 9 hours I headed home to wait tables another day, but not without first schmoozing the Casting Director and securing myself one more day on the project later that week. A guys gotta do what a guys gotta do…

My next day on Get Him to the Greek was actually a night, sandwiched between shifts at the cupcake shop and the Yard House. I left LA in the afternoon, arrived in Vegas, checked myself into the Plaza hotel at 4pm, where I had reserved a room this time (and where we also happened to be shooting), and headed to set. I spent the evening milling about in a bar room scene and watching rat pack impersonators perform. At 4am I was released. Like a zombie, I trudged to my hotel room, slept 4 hours, then hit the road only getting to my serving shift 30 minutes late. A guys gotta do what a guys gotta do…

And the movie turned out pretty well if I do say so myself.

The whole experience was exhausting, expensive, and maddening, yet in the end it was oh so REWARDING. Not only because I became eligible to join the Screen Actors Guild, but because I learned what I was truly capable of in order to make my dreams a reality.

Proud Union Man,

Julian Conrad

 

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The Beam

Posted on August 28, 2012 by JConrad622

Surely you’ve seen the omnipresent photo of our national hero Gabby Douglas flipping upside down above a balance beam legs extended in a beautiful split on her way to Olympic gold. If not, here it is:

I could do that…

Watching the gymnasts earlier this month got me thinking about the importance of balance and focus in the life of an actor. Of course the obstacles we face in these terms are not nearly as physical or potentially neck-breaking as an Olympic gymnast, I do believe them to be comparatively strenuous.

Gabby achieved gold on a stage surrounded by thousands of people and their flashing lights, under the up close scrutiny of NBC’s television cameras, and with several other Olympic feats taking place in the surrounding areas. Talk about FOCUS.

How different is this from a film and television set? You’ve got cameras, boom operators, lighting equipment, directors, and special fx setups, to name a few things, directly in eyesight and sometimes in your personal space and yet your job is to create an honest illusion of privacy. Talk about FOCUS. While I do not condone Christian Bale losing his sh*t on the set of Terminator: Salvation several years ago, I can understand where it may have come from. Our job, though, as professional actors is to perform under heightened circumstances and NOT go ape crazy when distractions arise. A man of Mr. Bale’s caliber can keep his career even with that behavior, but those of us still scratching our ways to the top must retain an even keel and do our best no matter what the circumstance, that is if we ever want to work in this town again.

To draw from personal experience, my first TV gig would seem like an easy affair. One scene, three lines, boom. When I arrived on set, however, the reality of the fast pace, bright lights, tricky props, cramped set, and (what seemed like) hundreds of people working their asses off to keep everything on schedule and on budget caused my chest to pound. My bit of dialogue and blocking seemed less like a scene and more like a high bar routine. When the moment came I focused out of my fear and did my job. I’ll let you be the the judge of whether I did it well: http://www.julian-conrad.com/Video.html

In the words of Howard Fine, “actors must train like Olympians.” Hollywood offers a plethora of distractions, sometimes in the form of booze, drugs, clubs and other frivolous ways to spend time and money. What would happen if you devoted as much time to your dream as Gabby Douglas did hers? Would actor gold (an Oscar comes to mind) be within reach? You’ll never know unless you give all your time and FOCUS on what will set you apart from the rest. When the big opportunity comes you want to win, not suffer a broken neck, right?

Yours,

Julian “Flying Chipmunk” Conrad

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Grindhouse

Posted on August 8, 2012 by JConrad622

One can easily lose themselves in the ‘Hollywood grind‘. That is the all consuming urge to stay busy, create momentum, and drive towards that ambiguous goal of ‘making it‘ which is always just out of reach.

I, myself, get short of breath with the notion that a single day of  non-productivity will lose me this rat race. Its not healthy.

So, naturally, 3 days into a recent family vacation to the Midwest I get an audition notice for a casting office I’ve been hustling hardcore to get into, on one of TV’s hottest new dramas, for a role that’s my type to a ‘t’. Splendid.

My head began to spin, my skin began to tingle, and my heart sank straight into my stomach. For a moment I fell to pieces. Just for a moment.

Then, I took a deep breath, surveyed my gorgeous surroundings, looked into the smiling faces of family and friends and realized ‘it’s okay‘. At that very moment I wasn’t meant to be anywhere else than right there, in the country, celebrating life with those who matter most. And then I got over it.

It was a tough pill to swallow, but I’m thankful for the medicine because I learned a valuable lesson. I pride myself on my ambition and work ethic, but I should never lose myself in it. Everyone has their own journey in this crazy actor life and there will be more opportunities. At the end of the day, everyone needs a little down time, even me, to just relax and enjoy what else life has to offer. Of course, one can lose themselves in the reverse, but I don’t think I’ll have to worry about that anytime soon. Too ‘Type A’ here.

Love & Relaxation,

Julian

Worth a missed audition, right?

 

 

 

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Let’s Be Real.

Posted on July 30, 2012 by JConrad622

“Art is not a skill contest, nor an innovation contest. Art is an honesty contest. If we can be precisely who we are, in the most intimate and candid and courageous way, we will start to connect to the universal”

– Ran Ortner

My soul stirred reading this quotation from oceanic landscape painter Ran Ortner in The Sun Magazine. 

As artists we are often asked to define our art to those who are less inclined, and often I find my definition falling short. Attempting to concisely verbalize the abstract aspects that make-up my art, acting, elicited either an effusive, circuitous, and unintelligble monologue or a blank stare and a chuckle.

For me, the above quote hit the nail on the head. Art is an “honesty contest” and none more-so than acting (in my completely unbiased opinion ;D)

What exactly differentiates the good from the bad, the exciting from the tired, or the real from the fake in acting? Movies, TV episodes , plays, etc. create critics out of everybody. Often, though, when the discussion turns toward acting people find it simply ‘good’ or ‘bad’ with no vocabulary to define why. How does Meryl Streep resonate with the masses? Why is Robin Williams so good at making people laugh?

Honesty.

Anyone can memorize lines, step onto a stage and repeat them for an audience. Easy accessibility fosters an infuriating belief that “anyone can do it” and is the reason hordes of the untalented flock to L.A. and New York seeking stardom over artistry.

That’s not what interests me (but would be a welcome side effect).

The actor as artist discovers the life within the lines. He applies the essence of his personal experience, personality, and soul onto the canvas of the script to create something new, vivid, interesting and “universal”. Many actresses will play Margaret Thatcher, but no one will do it like Meryl Streep. She assured this through the level of personal honesty she brought to the  role.

The honesty required in acting is difficult to achieve. Its what separates the masters from the posers. To look inside yourself and  personally identify with any character imaginable (serial killers, bigots, icons, etc. included),  and put these qualities on display for the world to critique requires insane COURAGE. However, when the fear is overcome and the expression is pure and the audience is touched, the feeling within the artist is indescribably exhilarating. Far better than any drug your money can buy.

Just look at the panting below. BREATHTAKING. That level of beauty, skill, and emotion found in the simplicity of lapping waves. That’s what I strive for everyday in my acting. Sometimes I’m successful, sometimes I’m not, but I never want to settle for anything less. Mmm-kay?

Muah!

Julian

by Ran Ortner. I think this would look good in my living room :D

 

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