It's a Hit!

Well, looks like we did something right.

The past two performances sold out with a vengeance. Tonight we packed that sucker to full capacity and then some, seemed like. This chivalrous playwright actually gave his seat up and watched from the booth.

People linger after the show to discuss the play and shake my hand until Note kicks us out. Everybody keeps telling me how smart/mature/talented I am.

It's all pretty overwhelming stuff for a scrawny kid who always got picked last in dodgeball. (Their loss. I can dodge those suckers like a spider monkey.)

I guess the only thing I'm really trying to convey in this little post is "Wow." And "Thank you." So grateful and humbled by everybody who's come out and made this thing a success so far, and I can't wait to see the last half of the run.

Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't include a huge thank you to Michael Nankin, without whom this play never would've been the same.

Serial Killers at Sacred Fools: Mom's Dead

Five shows enter... three shows leave. So goes the creed of "Serial Killers" at Sacred Fools, in which five original short serials are performed every Saturday night. At the end of the show, the audience votes on which three they'd like to return the next week and which two they want to kill.

It's a pretty intense machine, and I was lucky enough to run for three episodes this past month with my dysfunctional family drama "Mom's Dead." I went into the process being pretty certain that we'd be a "one and done" piece. Writers of SK tend to stay on the flashier comedic side to ensure maximum votes, and my piece was about as dark as it gets, featuring a dysfunctional, selfish family who murdered its own mother. Characters screamed at each other and cried pitifully into their liquor. Even the jokes had a warped cruelty to them.

So you can imagine my surprise and delight when I got voted back not once, but twice! That first night of victory was filled with very flattering compliments, cheap drinks, and the inevitable dance party at 2am.

But then Sunday morning came and I had myself a problem. Time to write Episode Two! People the night before had been asking me what would happen next, and I'd somewhat smugly shrugged and said "I have no idea." It had been a funny joke the night before, but now I was staring at a blank Final Draft document and I still had no idea!

See, I'd had a "one and done" go up the year before in which I'd written out Episode Two ahead of time, and even had a general outline of where I wanted the story to go five or six glorious episodes down the road. So you can imagine how stupid I felt when it was viciously butchered on the first night. I decided to throw every good idea I had into the first round. Well... that worked. Now what?

The terror was invigorating though. I can't tell you how much fun it was walking up and down Vanowen street with all of Leo, Alice, John, and Arthur's problems rattling through my head. For me at least, this edge of my seat approach wound up being pretty effective. Everybody seems to have a different approach to writing these things.

But the writing phase was only part of the frenzy. I'd decided to direct as well, so it was off to the theater with me at 10 in the morning every Saturday to try to get all of my light/sound cues ready to go in thirty minutes! I built my first sound cue for this show. Because I guess I enjoy creating problems for myself, I also had to roll a giant hospital gurney to the theater for my third episode.

Then comes thirty minutes of stage time with the cast. (Pros, each and every one of them.) Then the run-through of the whole show, where you pretend like you aren't secretly sizing up the other four pieces to see if you have a shot at surviving another week. Then it's showtime, baby!

I think it's a testament to Sacred Fools's audience that something as dreary as "Mom's Dead" could flourish and develop there. It's nerve-wracking to do drama for me. You don't get laughs to let you know what parts people are enjoying. I once directed a production of Oleanna and sat in agony for an hour and a half on opening night, confusing the audience's silence with boredom. They wound up giving it a standing ovation. That's kind of what getting voted back felt like. "Wait, you LIKED it? Well... what parts did you like?!"

And even though I wound up getting beaten out by an incredibly fun piece featuring a crazy clown hellbent on destroying vegans, (seriously) what an awesome ride it was! Can't wait to do it again! And who knows? Maybe those awful drunks will be back for the playoffs this summer.

52 Sketches in 52 Weeks: Noise (Goodbye Matt)

I met Matt Hatfield in college. He was without question the funniest guy in that department and insanely talented onstage. That guy is still the only person I know who can hold a whole cafeteria table's attention for three hours. People would literally skip class just to sit around and listen to Matt crack jokes.

Even more interesting (to me) was that he was THE WRITER of the group. People respected that about him, and as an aspiring freshman writer myself, it gave me something to shoot for. I wanted people to talk about my work the way they talked about Matt's one day. In this way, Matt was pretty influential in the fledgling stages of my writing career.

Backstage for Matt's Midnight Beckons

Over the years, we started emailing manuscripts and screenplays back and forth for the other to viciously critique. His play Midnight Beckons was the first show I ever directed outside of class, and he later acted in Oleanna, which I directed as my sort of goodbye to Morehead State.

Matt in Oleanna

So I was of course delighted when Matt decided to come with me to Los Angeles. If we pushed each other forward at school, imagine the possibilities in a place like LA! We crammed into a tiny little bohemian apartment, and Adventure Team Extreme was born. (In fact, he came up with that name.) And what a ride it's been.

But, over the past year and a half, it became abundantly clear that for whatever reason LA just isn't a place where Matt can thrive. The personality of this place just always seemed to clash with his. So I wasn't too surprised when one night he told me that he was leaving to go pursue other opportunities.

Before he left though, he wanted to make an ATX piece that was more epic/ambitious than anything we'd ever tried to do. So for the past three weeks he and Zach have been constructing makeshift camera dollies, splashing blood all over our walls, and screaming in agony at 2am while our neighbors tried to sleep. This creepy Hitchcock tribute is the result of that effort. I think the cinematography on this is our best yet.

Noise (#28)

I'll miss collaborating with ol' Matt. It's a shame our paths had to part. But I'm excited to see what new opportunities come his way. See ya soon, old buddy.

Also: You left your copy of The World Ends With You here. You're not getting it back.

The Scarecrow is published!

Here it is:

Smashwords (Laptops, other e-readers): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/282046

Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/The-Scarecrow-ebook/dp/B00BB7BVVI/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1360086028&sr=1-5&keywords=the+scarecrow

And just like that, a small, delicate kernel of an idea that I had over two years ago is now available for the entire world to pick apart and dissect. Although surely the only reason we write is to be read, there's an intense helplessness that accompanies the sensation of another pair of eyes looking over your precious words. Could it have been better? Am I really so great, or am I just full of self-indulgent delusions like so many other Los Angelenos who fancy themselves "writers"?

The insecurity is invigorating, though. It's similar to the feeling of that first step onstage from the safety of the wings, that "whoo boy, I'm not ready for this" rush to the brain as you take the plunge anyway. No going back now.

Regardless, The Scarecrow is up and running. There's still a lot of things I need to do and learn, marketing-wise, but for now the biggest way you can help me out is by shelling out a couple bucks to buy yourself an awesome story, tell your friends about it every way you can (word of mouth, Facebook, your blog, etc.) and writing a quick review after you've finished it!

If I've ever needed my Nathan Wellman fans to step up (as you always do) it's for this project. Let's make sure this awesome book gets read by as many people as possible!

Theresa Rebeck's Seminars: The frustratingly unbeaten path to being a "great" writer

Last night I scored a free ticket to Theresa Rebeck's very funny play, Seminars over at the Ahmanson Theater. It was starring my costar from Glee Jeff Goldblum, so I figured I'd check it out. Here we are together:

Wait... that shot's a little too close. Zoom out a little bit. 

There I am! In the back there, see me?

Pretentious celebrity name-dropping aside, this show really got me thinking about writing and what it means to be a "great" writer. The show revolves around four twenty-something aspiring New York writers desperately trying to impress a foul mouthed pro who acts as judge and jury regarding whether their stuff is good or crap.

This isn't really a review of the show. What I want to talk about is how much I identified with the four aspiring students and their desperation to be acknowledged as even a contender for the title of greatness. I wish there was one writer god who could tell me if I had the Gift of Writing, like in the show. But the pit I often fall into is the swampland of completely subjective opinions and tastes that can wrap around a befuddled writer like brain-sucking tentacles. (Which also happens in the show. (Not literally.)) Whose opinions matter? Who do you ignore?

It's somewhat easier to know if you're on the right track if you're a playwright or a screenwriter. If the audience laughs or gasps, keep it up! But prose is a different beast. Nobody gives you feedback because, for the most part, you can't get anybody in the professional industry to comment on your 20 page story. (Or, God forbid, your 500 page novel.) It's just piles of form letters saying your work "does not fit our needs at this time." 

"All this 'well done' bullshit means you're not being honest," Leonard insists in Seminars. "And if you're not being honest who gives a shit what you're writing?"

Good prose writing is, most would agree, a reflection of "the truth." If you want to be a good writer, you have to "be honest." Ah, well that was easy. Go write the truth. Article over!

I think we all understand the problem here. Sure, let's be honest. Honestly, I just had a hot cocoa from my Jack Skellington mug while watching an hour's worth of The Office. I miss Steve Carell, but I still really enjoy the new season. Andy's a funny character and he's really vulnerable in a way that interests me...

Snore. One time, in a panicked fit of writer's block, I decided to just writewhatevercomestomedon'tstopjustgo! This way I can discover MY INNER VOICE! Well, I wrote about sitting on a couch and having writer's block. How many editors do you think were clamoring to get ahold of that gem? (And yes, I actually did send it out.) The line between finding your own personalized "truth" and complete self-indulgence is pretty thin.

On the other end of the spectrum, if you only worry about what your audience wants, then you're selling out, right? Gah! (To my shame, I've tried that too. It was crap.)

I suppose what an aspiring writer should really be chasing is a surprise. Whether it's a particularly creative simile or a plot-shaking twist to the entire story, I think what audiences really crave is that of the unexpected. It's not enough to write about your dying grandmother. You also have to do it in a way that nobody has ever thought of before. Like, ever. In the history of literature. That's where honesty comes in, and the journey you get to take as a writer is discovering what your voice sounds like while communicating that honesty. When you get to a point where every sentence is surprising the reader in some way, then maybe that's when you've hit greatness.

So... yeah. Go do that.

Check it out. Might get you thinking. Or you might hate it. Or maybe you'll just remember that there's boobs in it. It's pretty subjective, really.

52 Sketches in 52 Days: Dick Jokes (Saddest wig in cinema history...)

Well, we've hit the one month mark and the project's still rolling! Here's week four:

Dick Jokes (#4)

Ah man, I love that long silence about midway through, haha. All credit goes to Matt for that ridiculous Easter egg at the end too. That sucker would make a pretty jacked up ringtone. I was also pretty pleased with how all the laughing and hooting sort of became the soundtrack for the piece.

Okay, okay, so we really did make an honest effort to do the cross-dressing thing right. Picture two straight guys standing hopelessly in some high class wig shop, walking around in circles. The internet told us there was some big sale, but the saleslady acted like she had no idea what we were talking about. Eventually we had to tuck our tail between our legs and just use the same ratty one we had from Dude Tips. We'll do better next time, I reckon.

I've started trying to recruit some other actors in the hopes of giving us some new talent to play with. Evan's a fine actor that we know from Kentucky. You can see him for a very hot second in this national Lexus commercial. Stay tuned for more awesome LA actors showing us up soon!

It was a pretty simple shoot, except for the fact that we had nobody behind the camera. We literally just ran back and forth to start and stop each take. It's still a pretty humble operation, but by Jove we're getting things done!

Whoa! Dude Tips made it to 160 views last week! Thanks for all the support and feedback so far. We are a contagious disease that has infected your brain. Now go to a public place a sneeze a bunch!

52 Sketches in 52 Weeks: Cat Bowties (Wait, we started?!)

Whoo boy. Lots to discuss. But first... Here's a link to the first video:

Cat Bowties #1

Alright, so judging from early feedback (which ranges from "LMAO!!!!" to "I hated it") you either had a good time or were left scratching your head, wondering what the heck you just watched. Either reaction is okay. It's kinda how you're supposed to feel.

Tim and Eric (examples of which can be viewed here and here) are notorious for making supercharged pieces of comedy that basically crank up the intensity to the point where logic snaps and the viewer is bombarded with absurdity. The goal isn't so much to tell a story as to basically assault your senses as brutally as possible. (They're kind of a comedic version of Antonin Artaud's work with theater of cruelty.)

I set out to emulate that style with Cat Bowties, and then Matt took it to a whole other level in the editing chair. As far as I'm concerned, we were totally successful. 

That being said, this wasn't really supposed to be the first episode of our series. For every one person who thinks Tim and Eric is funny, there's another fifteen people who hate it. I know this kind of stuff is really polarizing, and I would've rather posted a more user-friendly introduction. Buuut some wires got crossed and it wound up getting posted first. Actually... we weren't supposed to launch at all for another week. Whoops! 

Anyway, we are officially moving, and I have no idea where we're headed. It's a totally terrifying feeling, to be honest. I can't help but envision the whole project crashing and burning, with everyone I know and respect just shrugging and saying "I don't get it." I woke up this morning and I felt like a giant anchor was wrapped around my barely-floating artistic career. Basically the same question hit me that, I suppose, hits everyone who tries something ambitious: "What if I suck?" 

But my philosophy has always been that if I'm scared of the project, that means that I took risks and tried some things that were outside of my comfort zone. That, in my humble opinion, is what an artist is supposed to be. It's certainly how one grows. Somewhat perversely, the only ones who get to decide if it's a success or a failure is you, my esteemed audience. All I can do is offer as many burnt offerings to you as possible in the hopes that one of them is pleasing to your mighty appetite for entertainment. 

So yeah, go me. Sound off in the comments section about what you thought about our crazy video, and if you've ever been scared of failing! Did you triumph or crumple? I starve for your stories!!!

Project ATX: 52 Sketches in 52 Weeks

A little less than a year ago, I moved out here with two of my best friends from college. We split a crappy one bedroom apartment in North Hollywood that has since acquired a permanent aroma that can only be described as "dude stink." We're awesome actors, we're gonna be famous one day, blah blah blah, you get it. Anyway, we quickly got the idea to film some of our own stuff in the name of wowing the world with our jaw-dropping talent. So we bought a Canon Vixia and started calling ourselves filmmakers.

And Adventure Team Extreme was born. 

Me in Melvin Becomes a Man, an ATX short film.

We shot a couple of shorts that Matt directed and wrote, and I directed my first short film with ATX as well (pictured above), but I've always felt like the process was a little slow. In one year we've made four Youtube videos, averaging between 200-300 views for each. This totally makes sense for the first year, as we've all still been getting over the whole "Holy cow! This place is big and scary!" phase. But now it's time to kick it into overdrive, baby.

The harsh fact is that in LA, nobody cares about your short film. Short films multiply out here faster than rabbits, so it's tough to convince somebody to sit down and watch your 15 minute masterpiece.*  That's a lot of time in internet years! Think about the Youtube videos that you click on. Unless it's from a source you're already familiar with, I'll bet that they usually aren't much longer than two or three minutes. 

So I've started writing some micro shorts. Two minutes tops each. When we launch in the next few weeks, we're gonna release a new short every week. My goal is to have 5,000 views for the final episode. Not sure what we're gonna call this yet... Turbo Tuesdays, maybe?

We can't wait to tickle your eyeballs.

Anyway, my hope is that, as we start to gather a following, we become more valuable to potential agents, casting directors, etc. It'll also be a good way to show off my writing chops, and therefore any screenplays I send to big shots would have a better chance of being taken seriously. So if you enjoy them, share them! Uh, you know. Please?

The material that we've got so far has turned out pretty great, so I'm excited for everybody to see it. And of course I'll keep you guys posted on everything ATX on this blog as we go.

Nathan

*There are, of course, merits to doing short films, but I'll discuss that later.

Nice to meet you and stuff

Okay, so I guess this is the post where I introduce myself, explain what the point of this blog is, and why you should care, right? I reckon I've got about two more sentences to wow you with my dazzling wit and explosively profound writing style before you go "meh" and click on that little red x at the top-left corner of this window, effectively killing me forever. Harsh, dude.

Anyway, the name's Nathan. Um, hi. I live in Los Angeles. I write and I act. I've been on TV a couple of times. You've never heard of me.

I'm the cross-eyed dude with the cool tie. Guess that makes you the chick.

The reason I'm starting this blog is because... well... golly gee, this acting thing is hard! There are hundreds of thousands of actors living in LA. According to the infallible wisdom of wikipedia, there are only about 21,000 WORKING actors.* Who are these artistic Goliaths, and what do they know that I don't? What are they doing differently? I've been here a little less than a year, but boy do I still have a lot to learn.

While I scamper around trying to crack into the impenetrable acorn that is LA's acting/writing scene, I figured I'd chronicle all the messy trials and tribulations right here. If you're thinking about doing the acting thing, maybe this blog could give you a glimpse into what you're in for. If you're out here too, I would of course love to hear any input/experiences that you might have to share. Whether you're just getting started or are starring opposite Brad Pitt next month, let's take this wacky ride together.

So yeah. Comment. Share me with your buds. Make me feel loved. If you don't... I'LL KNOW.

Nathan



*Not sure what their criteria for "working" is, but based on what I've seen, I would say the number of "working" actors who are SUPPORTING themselves entirely with their art is much, MUCH smaller.