My First Gig

     I got my first gig this week. Let me say that again... I got my first PAID gig this week. Let's do it a third time. I got my first PAID GIG IN NEW YORK THIS WEEK. There... That feels great. Soooo much better. It's not that I'm really trying to brag here. It just feels like a tremendous weight has fallen off of my shoulders. Not many people understand that if you're an actor/actress living here in New York, you have to "prove yourself". You have to show people that you've "made it". You're a "success". Really this whole ordeal just validates you moving here in the first place. It tells you, "It's ok. You made the right choice to come here and chase a dream..." For me especially this rings true with my parents. You see, just booking this thing was a sign from the heavens to my parents that I should not have moved back to Texas. I am great right here where I am in the Big Apple. It also validates the two years I've spent auditioning so far with little success to agents, casting directors, etc. I have a "credit". I also find it especially funny that I got this thing in a field I have little experience in nor would I have ever guessed that I would be cast in: Print Advertising.
     I got the gig through this online talent agency I use called The Agency Online: http://www.theagencyonline.com/ What you do is pay a small monthly fee, and you get access to different castings, build a profile, etc. Sometimes they even submit for jobs they think you'd be appropriate for. To be honest, I'd been with them for about a year and a half with no success. I was ready to cancel my membership to save a few bucks that could go towards rent... Or beer. I got an email saying that I was submitted for a print ad for All-State Insurance. "Ok...," I thought. I'm not usually considered print material, but I figured I could go in for the audition. "What the Hell? Right?"

     The day of the audition, I was terribly sick. I had spent a week of late night drinking, improv shows, and just running myself ragged at work with gym time in-between. I had a singing audition that got out early, and made it over to the photo studio in Chelsea. It seems that the entire audition consisted of five photos. The client wanted you to be cheering at a football game, and the photographer would snap away in mid-action. I must have looked terrible, but then he called, "Action!" Something came to life in me, and I was screaming and yelling like a maniac. I didn't even think for a second I would get the job. Who casts a guy like me in print ads? Now some may say, "Andrew, you're racially ambiguous! People are always looking for you!" That's not always true... It's a reality/fantasy thing in terms of casting, but that's a whole other post. Honestly it just feels like a numbers game, but on that day I guess I hit the jackpot.

The "Heroes"

     I got an email a few days later saying I was on hold to be "The Hero Talent" with the celebrity talent Dean Winters. You know him... He's the current All-State spokesman, and he played the awesome Ryan O'Reilly on that HBO show OZ. A day later I got the confirmation. I had booked the job! I think I was in total shock the entire time... It was print advertising! I never get the job! I'm never the "hero"! Yet here I was... Wardrobe called me with details, I was given a call sheet with the time of the shoot, and yet as a cynical New Yorker, I still could not believe my luck. Here I was the "Hero Talent". I and three others would be in the primary shots with Dean, and we'd get paid a lot more. Score!
    The day of the shoot, I made my way to an empty garage/studio in Chelsea for our shoot. I was nervous as Hell. "Don't fuck this up, Fafoutakis!" There was catering, hair & make-up, and a full set. This was legit! I noticed one of the older extras I had seen in a few agent meet-up classes. We approached each other and introduced ourselves. He was one of those types of actors just scrambling and clawing for any crumb of recognition. You know the kind that tells you his resume before he says his name. He was the one in those classes that asks the question during the Q & A portion, "Why am I not getting work!?" He looked me over with a look of disappointment that I was here.

Jaded Extra: "Oh, are you an extra?"
Me: "No, I'm the 'Hero Talent'... I get paid more..."
Jaded Extra: "Oh... Well you know they were talking about promoting me to the "Hero" group too."
Me: "Great..."

I decided then and there not to let this guy get me down. I would have a great day with this, and nobody was going to take this from me or let the air out of my sails. We soon were put in football fan gear for the first half of the shoot. We did a big group scene in the stands cheering with Dean in the middle causing mayhem as the spokesman, Mayhem. I nearly lost my shit when I saw Dean enter for hair and make-up. I've been a big fan of his ever since I saw Oz, so to have him in the same room made this day so special and real. We took our shots in the stands with re-arranging various people in the stands. I was terrified of being cut out of the shot, but they moved me prominently in the stands close to Dean near the end of the shoot. It was finally time for the "Heroes" shot. We were taking the picture in the car with me, Dean, and Michael up in the front. Michael was supposed to be driving with Dean disrupting our trip. I was in the passenger seat supposed to look scared that we would crash. Dean was a total gentleman and very funny on-set. The car could be uncomfortable at times, but he handled it like a pro. He took the time to get to know Mike and me, even though he had to put Mike in a headlock for a few shots. It was probably the most fun job I've ever had.

On-set for All-State

     Afterwards, Mike and I went for frozen drinks at Dallas BBQ and talked shop. It was a terrific experience, and I could not be more grateful to everyone involved. I hope to have more days like that one. Short hours of work, being paid great money, catering, and frozen margaritas afterwards. It terrifies me that: "What if this is the only thing I'll ever do in my career?" Will I make it? Will I get another break? Who knows... What you have to tell yourself is to keep hustling, keep reaching, and keep striving for the great things you want to do. You have to tell yourself that you left some things behind to create a bright future. You wanted to start a new life in a new city, a new adventure. This adventure... This city...This whole thing was totally worth it. Thank you, The Agency. Thank you, All-State. Thank you, New York.

Nerd Map

Thanks to Buzz Feed, this has warmed my nerdy, New York heart. I love that they included Queens and Brooklyn, but there has to be quite a few in the Bronx right?

9/11

   When you do a blog that focuses on life in New York, I'm pretty sure it's expected that one covers 9/11. This might be the one and only time I write about this. Sure there will be future Facebook status updates and maybe some tweets, but I only want to cover this once in full detail. Just listen closely. I think the message is clear. Let's begin. This is the view from my neighborhood in Queens: 

  How beautiful is that? It's magical at night. It's just a street on my corner. It's a beautiful reminder that I'm following a dream. I live in a city of dreams. It's missing something I know... That's where we find ourselves today. On this day a terrible tragedy took place here in New York. An event that hit so many people far and wide and changed if not the world, it changed our country, my country.
  I actually wasn't in New York yet on 9/11/2001. New York City was still a far away dream for me. None of my friends were in NY yet, and I barely knew anyone from the city at the time. I was in my freshman year of college at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis on the day the planes hit. I got up early to check the internet in my dorm's computer lab. In the lobby of Middlebrook Hall, they have this huge big-screen TV. The 1st plane had hit, and the screen showed a tower on fire. That image is still burned into my memory. I didn't stop to watch the news. I breezed past to the computer room. My morning brain had not processed that something terrible had happened. Later, about noon classes were cancelled. I think I was in my Intro. to Theatre class that was being taught by the department head at the time. He stopped class and announced that all classes were cancelled. Something big had happened. Again, my brain had not made the connection. My rehearsal for my first student play in college met that night. It was our first rehearsal, and we got to know each other. We shared feelings and fears, and decided to cancel the rest of the rehearsal that night. I returned to the dorm, and my fellow dorm-mates on our floor were crowded around the tv in the lounge watching the non-stop coverage. I couldn't watch it. Something inside of me was disconnected. It wasn't that I didn't care. I did. Somehow it just didn't seem real to me. Something out of a terrible dream. I was lost in a fog. My heart went out to everyone affected, and parts of me inside were screaming, "Why aren't you crying? Why aren't you glued to the tv? What is WRONG with you?" I just honestly didn't know how to deal.
   Cut to February 2006. I was in the ensemble for this play: The Trial of Osama Bin Laden. The play was terrible and confusing, but it's heart was in the right place. I was just happy to be in the midst of such talent and grace. In the play we had actual video/news segments from 9/11. We had short clips of people jumping from the towers that we had to watch in the middle of the show. The first time we watched them in rehearsal, I finally lost it. Every time I saw those clips I would cry. It finally hit me. It was good knowing that I wasn't cold or dead inside. I was starting to worry that I couldn't feel anything. Thinking of the sacrifice and love that was given burned a fire inside of me. I wouldn't take life for granted. I had to push forward and do what I wanted to do. Follow a dream. Move to a city I love and adore.
   I moved here to New York in the summer of 2009.  Broke and struggling, times were tough, but I managed. I pulled myself up to a better place, and I'm still a work in progress. Hopefully next year will be better then the one before it. I love New York, and the love affair will never end. It just grows stronger each day, even if it's always a surprise when I can make my rent. I'm heading into the city soon. I'm leaving safe Queens for the unknown in Manhattan to practice with my musical improv team. 5% of me is terrified to see smoke and crumbling towers. The other 95% is proud and happy to step out onto the streets knowing that I'm in a country that is free. Doing musical improv today seems kind of petty in the grand scheme of things on a day of such importance, but it's how I carry on. We have to be strong and rise up against our fear. That's at least what my parents have taught me. And so today I vow to sing and laugh on this day with some special people, and that's how I know that neither side necessarily won... But we will have heart and hope and love. I hope the other side does too. I just want people to remember. To take a moment, to think, and just try to make life better for those around you. Just never forget.

iReporting from Hurricane Irene Update 3: Reflections

Update! Operation Storm Watch Continues! With more in-depth coverage of Hurricane Irene, I face the aftermath of a city devastated by a national disaster.

Update! iReporting from Hurricane Irene 2011

Update from Hurricane Irene 2011! Hitting the hard-hitting news. Hard. Covering the important news, so you don't have to!

iReporting from Hurricane Irene

I've been doing a little iReporting for CNN.com for Hurricane Irene 2011. Here we detail the struggles, the trials, and tribulations of surviving this national disaster. Check it out:

Be Kind, Even on the Internet

Thanks to of all things Twitter, I found this post. I've only read selective Tweets from Rob Delaney thanks to other people retweeting, but I really appreciate the thought that went into this in terms of apologies, tweets, and perspectives on comedy. It takes a real person of integrity to admit they made a mis-step and take responsibility for it. It's so easy to hide in the vast web on the internet and completely ignore that on a base level we're all human. We all have hearts and minds that wish for the best in our world and in all of us. So often we can see the hideous side of the internet, and it's nice to have a reminder of how great it is that we have this thing that can connect all of us across the globe. I also appreciated his take on how to "make it" in comedy. Every lesson couldn't be more true. Carry on, Mr. Delaney... Carry on... You've just made a new fan.

Be Kind, Even on the Internet:

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