brianchristopherjaime-blog - Tumblr blog

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I Need New Headshots

Are their any new photographers in the Los Angeles area that need people to pose for them? I'm about ready to strike one! I know that many new photographers offer free or discounted sessions. So, if you are one of those, hit me up cause I'm still a starving student and deals are my bag! With that said...

I feel the time has come to get some new headshots done already. The ones I have are weak sauce status. I mean, okay, they are fine. I am just being over dramatic about the whole thing. But, I just set up my new website and Facebook page and it would be nice to have some new headshots gracing the front of those. 

I actually just took one for my Virgo Talent affiliation (it is required to get booked through them), but the pic came out horrible! I hated it. I am going to their next session and retaking it for sure (they do it twice a year, so I am stuck with it for a good six months). It came out really lame. I look horrible, my shirt is wrinkled, my hair is having a bad day, and I totally was turned facing "my bad side". I have headshot remorse. I was just not prepared and I felt very rushed.

I probably should have read  Mark Sikes' post No Bad Head Shots over at the Casting Corner or Christina N. Dickson's How to Take Perfect Headshots: Six Tips over at Digital Photography School. I've also recently stumbled across HeadShots 101, a site dedicated to informing actors about everything they need to know about taking, editing, choosing, and preparing for excellent headshots, as well as how to know who to hire and what pricing is legit. All these sources are a really great wealth of information.

My next headshot session will be very well prepared because I have spent time learning that the power of a good headshot isn't just in the photographer's hand's or in the lense of the camera, but also in how well prepared the actor or model comes to the shoot.

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I stumbled upon your blog from Google. Great stuff! Do you have any tips for actors who have to memorize line fast? Like where you only have a day or two to get your lines down? You know what I mean, right?

Yes, I know what you mean. I've been in that position several times.

The technique I use is steady repetition, reading aloud, and movement. For example, if I have to memorize a monologue, I read the first sentence out loud and then I re-read it several times until I have it fully memorized. Then, once it is in my brain for good, I read it again and add the sentence after it and so on and so forth. 

I also move around a lot when I am reading lines out loud. I pace, walk around the room, jump up and down, and act like a general weirdo. For me, movement helps to add a pace to the lines. 

I have heard some people write their lines out, others use highlighters (which I do when I have scene work), and some have told me that they remember what the pages look like (almost like a photographic memory). You just have to find the technique that works for you. 

You can check out the link below for more advice and tips regarding actors and memorizing lines. There are some good tidbits here:

http://plays.about.com/od/basics/a/memorizelines.htm

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Some great advice for actors regarding procrastination from acting coach Emily Grace. What can be accomplished in just 10 minutes? 

[brianchristopherjaime-blog]

1st Play Submitted to 31 Plays in 31 Days!

Yay!

After battling with my computer for forty minutes, I was able to upload a PDF file of my play "The End". The play is about the relationship of two men that is explored in reverse chronological order. It's actually inspired by true events. You know what they say about writers putting a piece of themselves into their work? Well this a huge piece of me and it was very therapeutic to write. It ended up being about twelve pages long, which in retrospect is exactly how long I should have made the relationship it is based on last. 

On a side note...

Many people attempting this challenge are posting excerpts of their plays on their blogs. I am not going to do that. It's not that I am selfish and want to keep it all to myself (part of me does), it's just that I want to protect my intellectual property. That is something that playwrights should really think about. I am happy that we are able to use Google Docs to submit our work through Submittable because the rights to the works we submit remain ours. But, not if everyone can see what we are writing. Sorry to be a Scrooge McDuck about this. But plagiarism and intellectual property theft are on the rise and very real. It is just good to always be cautious of these things. That's all.

What I will be doing is posting the titles of the plays I write and a little blurb about them and what inspires/d me to write the play in the first place. I very rarely use prompts, but who knows what will inspire me this time around?

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It's awesome when fellow Tumblrers find your posts and are experiencing the same things as you no matter where they may be! Good luck to you my friend on all the playwriting!!! 

The journey has commenced!!! I am officially on way to writing 31 plays in 31 days. And, this could not come at a better time! This summer, I have been devoid of anything creative (mostly). Sure, I’ve done a few acting gigs here and there but the vast majority of my creative energies have been in…

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31 Plays in 31 Days: Day 1

The clock is ticking and I am still not ready to submit. I have made it my personal goal to literally write a play a day and I am already lagging behind. Ugh. Life happens. 

I started working on a play today and I ended up on page four just stuck and not knowing where to go. It was my fault. I didn't begin with an end in mind. I ignored one of the first rules of writing and it got me good. I am going to need to come back to this play and re-evaluate it on a later date to see what it's potential is.

After reaching that hurdle, I started another play. It is aptly called "The End", which is fitting since it is the beginning of this playwriting endeavor. 

I've edited once already and am going through a second edit. An artist's work is never done, so this is a great lesson in learning to let go of your work (your children) to meet a deadline. But, as the midnight hour comes calling, will this one act play be ready for submission? I am hoping so. 

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Dear Brain, I stumble on your blog while trying to find is there any workarounds using hasaportfolio theme that doesn't break in Internet Explorer. Just wondering would you be able to shed some light?

Hey there, not exactly sure what workarounds you were looking for. I stopped using the theme awhile back because I was having issues with it. I still use the hasaportfolio.com name, though. :/

[brianchristopherjaime-blog]

Is this your website?

No. This is just my unofficial blog.

My website is located at: http://brianjaime.protalentsites.com/

You can also visit my Facebook page (and click like) here: http://www.facebook.com/brianchristopherjaime

Or, you can Tweet with me here: https://twitter.com/bchristopher11

:D

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31 Plays in 31 days Has Officially Begun!

The journey has commenced!!! I am officially on way to writing 31 plays in 31 days. And, this could not come at a better time! This summer, I have been devoid of anything creative (mostly). Sure, I've done a few acting gigs here and there but the vast majority of my creative energies have been in storage. Until now.

It's day one of the 31 plays in 31 days challenge and I am determined to complete the tasks at hand and to get myself in that staged reading! How awesome would that be?!?!!! 

Normally, I can write like there is no tomorrow. One Act Plays and Short Stories seem to burst forth from my fingertips. Truth be told, after a very bad breakup two years ago, I was left in writing limbo. I couldn't pick up a pen or type words on the screen for the life of me. I was devoid of words. I had nothing to say. It wasn't until I took the playwriting class at my college (which has since been taken off of the schedule due to budget cuts), that my love of writing re-surfaced and blossomed. That class yielded some pretty interesting results from me, including one that has found its way into my school's upcoming one-act festival (eight plays were picked in total). 

So, from this experience, I am venturing into new territories hoping to complete this challenge, a screenwriting course this fall, and fulfilling my dream of directing a play (one of the one-acts-not mine-this fall). There are a few others from my college playwriting class that are attempting this feat along with me. I wish them, and all other playwrights partaking in this venture, a boat load of good luck and well wishes! 

To see what all the fuss is about, click here. Are you playwright enough?

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So, I've decided to take the challenge and write 31 plays in 31 days. Lord knows I've got enough stories in my head to write a billion plays. So, here we go world. Starting August 1st, it's on and crackin'! 31 one act plays in 31 days is my goal. I will be blogging, facebooking, tumbling, and tweeting my experiences from this point on. To all my fellow playwrights partaking in this journey with me...may the force be with you. And, remember: There is no try. There is only do or not do.  Are you playwright enough?

[brianchristopherjaime-blog]

#Ursula #realness last night at the #mtsac #musicaltheater showcase. #PoorUnfortunateSouls #TheLittleMermaid #Disney #mtsaclife #mtsacmusic (Taken with Instagram)

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Actor's Project at El Sereno Elementary School this morning. #actorsproject #childrenstheater #theater #commedia #commediadellarte #commediadellwhate #acting (Taken with instagram)

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Foster's Diner immortalized on #canvas. I wonder who painted this? #mtsac #mtsactheater #mtsaclife #WhenYouCominBackRedRyder #painting #art #set #setdressing (Taken with instagram)

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The set is looking good! Tix on sale now. #WhenYouCominBackRedRyder #mtsac #mtsaclife #mtsactheater #theater #stage #set #tech (Taken with instagram)

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Reaches into #pocket, pulls out #prop #money. Lol! #mtsac #mtsactheater #mtsaclife #stage #theater #props #theatricalprop #WhenYouCominBackRedRyder #million (Taken with instagram)

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#Bang! And...scene. (Re-posting this because an error hapoened & it didn't show up in some of my streams. If you already liked it, please ”like” again. Thanks.) #mtsac #mtsaclife #mtsactheater #WhenYouCominBackRedRyder #theater #gun #shoot #webstagram #badass (Taken with instagram)

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#Hogtied #mtsac #mtsactheater #mtsaclife #theater #WhenYouCominBackRedRyder (Taken with instagram)