ACTOR'S UPDATE - a personal journey

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0><script> (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga'); ga('create', 'UA-47423994-1', 'fortunecity.ws'); ga('send', 'pageview'); </script> <center> <br> <div> <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://ad.broadcaststation.net/ads/show_ad.php?width=728&height=90"></script> </div> </center> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=110 BGCOLOR="#339900" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0a400840dwnjun.gif"> <div> <B>ACTOR'S UPDATE - a personal journey</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Life As An Actor Auditioning, Acting, S"><U>Life As An Actor - Auditioning, Acting, Surviving</U></A><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Life As A Writer One Bird At A Time"><U>Life As A Writer - One Bird At A Time</U></A><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="And Sometimes Life Just Happens"><U>And Sometimes Life Just Happens</U></A><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="id99.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="More of Life"><U>More of Life</U></A><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="id40.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Rest"><U>The Rest</U></A><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Favorite Links"><U>Favorite Links</U></A><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Me "><U>Contact Me </U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#CCCC00" TEXT="#080000" background="09e11c00dwocio.gif"> <div> <B><IMG SRC="2079eea0.jpg" border=0 width="158" height="234" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B>Mark McConchie          </B></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=370 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Site created May 1, 2000 </B></div> <div> <B>Last updated  February 17, 2001</B></div> <bR> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="5" CELLSPACING="2" WIDTH="768" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#FF0000" BORDERCOLORDARK="#990033" FRAME="ABOVE" RULES="COLS" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFF33 HEIGHT= 91 ><NOBR><div> <I><B>Welcome to </B></I></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>the </B></I></FONT><I><B>ACTOR'S UPDATE</B></I><B> </B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP ROWSPAN=2 BGCOLOR=#FFFFCC WIDTH="252"><bR> <bR> <div> <B>The long trek - lessons in life</B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="24b27e10.jpg" border=0 width="295" height="225" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Me and Jann.  A momento of my role in the premiere episode of Big Sound (Fall/2000)</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Its been a tough year. The first half was affected by the threat of a Screen Actors Guild strike in the U.S. And just when things were starting to heat up again, a rag tag group of terrorists changed the world and practically killed production in my world.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I did manage to book a role in a Zucker film called "The Guest" starring Ashton Kutcher, Terrence Stamp, Tara Reid and many, many others. The day after the Twin Towers collapsed I had to audition for, and surprisingly I booked, a role on a fabulous new series called "Smallville".  </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Auditions are scarce. New productions are few. But I'm hopeful. The 62 cent Canadian dollar and the incredible resources available here in Vancouver will hopefully see a comeback in the Spring of 2002.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I'm keeping my fingers crossed.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I've got a lot of catch up to do, but please enjoy some of my older exploits while I do my best to capture some of the highlights or lowlights of this past year.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I did film my first lead role in a feature. An ambitious independent film which is the brain child of a fine writer/director, Regan Payne. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>More on that later...</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>In the meantime, enjoy .. and if you do, let me know! Write me an</B></FONT><B> </B><A HREF="mailto:mmcconch@home.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:mmcconch@home.com"><U><B>e-mail</B></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B> or sign my guest book.</B></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>    <SCRIPT>  </SCRIPT>  <form method="POST" action="http://mindit.netmind.com/mindit.shtml" target="_top"> <input type="hidden" name="SOURCE" value="511"> <input type="hidden" name="URL" value="http://www.fortunecity.com/westwood/trendy/627//TlxTransfer.txt"> <input type="hidden" name="DOC_TITLE" value="http://www.fortunecity.com/westwood/trendy/627/"> <input type="hidden" name="REDIRECT" value="http://www.fortunecity.com/westwood/trendy/627//"> <table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"><tr><td align="center"> <font face="arial,helvetica" size="-1"><b>Click to receive email <br>when this web site is updated</b></font></td> </tr><tr><td align="center"> <input type="image" src="http://mindit.netmind.com/images/mindit511.gif" border="0"></td> </tr><tr><td align="center"> <font face="arial,helvetica" size="-2">•<b> Powered by <a href="http://www.netmind.com/" target="_top">NetMind</a> </b>•</font> </td></tr></table></form>   </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 3236 ><NOBR><div> <B>A long time ago in a life far far away ...</B></div> <bR> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="452" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 965 WIDTH="446"><div> <B>There was a time when I was faced with a cross-road. One path led into the unknown territory of acting. The other offered a road previously travelled by two older brothers. I chose the familiar and began a jouney through law school and into the world of law. All the time, I was haunted by the siren's song that whistled from the memory of the path I abandoned.  </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>After sixteen years, the lure of the path less travelled rang too loud for me to continue to ignore. I made the fateful decision to stop taking new clients, moved myself back to Vancouver, let my license to practise law lapse at the end of 1997, and set about discovering how to live life as an actor. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>This website is my attempt to chronicle my new journey. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Its been a hard road made more so at times by my own reluctance to let go of the memory of my old life and its seductive offer of material rewards.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>But I am driven forward by the promise of a greater reward, the satisfaction of following my dream. Like a sunny day in Vancouver, the moments of joy in practising my art almost make up for those long periods of grey skies, the inevitable droughts most actors face while waiting for the opportunities to present themselves.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>This site is largely journal mixed with a sampling of prose ..  a bit of poetry .. and a lot of living.  Bottom line ... this is me.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>This website was largely born out of my involvement with a program called "the Artists Way" (more about that later), based on a twelve step program to help recover your creativity. It helped me find my way when faced with disillusionment that often goes hand in hand with trying to survive as an artist in our world. I joined an online discussion group working through Julia Cameron's book and came to sharing my experiences with the others through installments which I named "Actor's Updates". I've combined those with new ones (when I write them!).</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>And so I share them with those internet surfers who happen across this 'message in a bottle'.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I hope you find something in these pages, whether it be inspiration, amusement or even the knowledge to avoid some of the mistakes that I have made along the way.  </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>To bring you up to speed ... a brief summary ...</B></div> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 736 WIDTH="446"><div> <B>After I closed my last legal file, I took several months of workshops to begin to build the skills I needed to audition effectively. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I obtained representation from a talent agent who, despite her best intentions only managed to get me one audition every six to eight weeks. My savings were depleted during this stage. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>One thing I will credit that first agent. She encouraged me to take a workshop with Cameron Thor, a Hollywood actor/producer/director and acting coach, who gave me incredible support and affirmed that I had made the right decision. His words helped sustain me through the next few difficult months for which I will be forever grateful. Thanks Cameron!!!!</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I got my first break as an actor in the fall of 1998 when a theatre director called me up from out of the blue and asked if I would consider peforming a role in a semiprofessional play as a cross-dressing J. Edgar Hoover. Another director for whom I had auditioned months earlier recommended me to this particular director. I was at rehearsal that evening. It didn't pay anything ... but I was acting and working with other professional actors. I was in heaven.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Just as that play was ending, I booked my first professional television role on Millennium playing the new owner of Frank Black's old house. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Then came a new agent, new opportunities in the form of three to five auditions a week, and within five months I became a full fledged professional actor with full membership in the Union of British Columbia Performers. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>As I write this, I have accumulated 24 professional credits including a recent role in Warner Brothers "Smallville".</B></div> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 358 WIDTH="446"><div> <B>My silver screen debut happened in the summer of 2000 with a questionable little scene in Keenan Ivory Wayan's "Scary Movie". Don't blink or you might miss it. I'm the bad Dad who runs over 'daughter' played by Carmen Electra. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Another other of my movie roles also opened that summer,  "MVP: Most Valuable Primate", as the coach of a senior hockey league team offering the teen star his chance at the big leagues. My only regret was that I didn't get to work with the chimp.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Well, that was the first step. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I'm now settling into a life where I maintain my readiness to audition, while honing my other skill as a writer. Ideally, I would love to survive on my creative offerings. This is proving difficult but I won't give up.</B></div> <bR> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 379 WIDTH="446"><div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>My experiences are divided into categories depending on what I was up to.  I would write about the process I went through each time I got an</B></FONT><B> </B><A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Auditions"><U><B>audition</B></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>,  the strange and wonderful things that happened to me when I worked</B></FONT><B> </B><A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="On Set As An Actor"><U><B>on set</B></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>, and my experiences working</B></FONT><B> </B><A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="On Set As A Background Performer"><U><B>background</B></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B> on film sets (which is also known as working as an Extra for those unfamiliar with the politically correct name of 'background artist'). I also capture those moments when 'life' just happened.</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>And  I've also included some of my favourite</B></FONT><B> </B><A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="My Home Town Photo Album"><U><B>photos</B></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>, a sampling of my</B></FONT><B> </B><A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Life As A Writer One Bird At A Time"><U><B>prose</B></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B> and</B></FONT><B> </B><A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Rhymes And Reasons"><U><B>song lyrics</B></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B> and (for some reason) my resumes, both</B></FONT><B> </B><A HREF="id25.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="My Acting Resume"><U><B>actin</B></U></A><B>g</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B> and</B></FONT><B> </B><A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="My Other Resume"><U><B>'other'</B></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>.  </B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>I strongly recommend to prospective artists that they familiarize themselves with the Artists Way and the exercises through the 12 week program. But  I won't do the hard sell. Its up to you whether or not  you look further into it. </B></div> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 268 WIDTH="446"><div> <B>I am continually modifying, and adding to, this web site, trying things and experimenting. I don't know where this is going so I hope you come back (if this is your first visit) and see what happens. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>One final word ... when I originally set this page up, I intended it to be viewed full screen. I've heard from a number of people that they still had to scroll to the side to view all the text. I've thinned it down now. I hope it works for you.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>And ...  I hope you enjoy your visit. </B></div> <bR> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 420 WIDTH="446"><div> <B>You can click on the following links to get to the rest of the Web Site or the links at the top of the page:</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Life As An Actor Auditioning, Acting, S"><U>Life As An Actor - Auditioning, Acting, Surviving</U></A></div> <div> My new passion in life    </div> <div> <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Life As A Writer One Bird At A Time"><U>Life As A Writer - One Bird At A Time</U></A></div> <div> The passion I am now exploring</div> <div> <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="And Sometimes Life Just Happens"><U>And Sometimes Life Just Happens</U></A></div> <div> Miscellaneous thoughts and observations</div> <div> <A HREF="id99.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="More of Life"><U>More of Life</U></A></div> <div> Continuing that frame of mind .. </div> <div> <A HREF="id40.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Rest"><U>The Rest</U></A></div> <div> Other aspects of life</div> <div> <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Favorite Links"><U>Favorite Links</U></A></div> <div> A few of my favourites</div> <div> <A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Me "><U>Contact Me </U></A></div> <div> My e-mail address</div> <bR> <div> <B> ... thanks for dropping by!</B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <bR> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>   <SCRIPT language=JavaScript src="http://counter.mycomputer.com/get_counter.html?u=MarkMcConchie&c=1"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT> <a href="http://counter.mycomputer.com/"><img alt="Counter" src="http://counter.mycomputer.com/c.count?u=MarkMcConchie&c=1" border=0></a> </NOSCRIPT>   </div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.trellix.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.trellix.com"><U><IMG SRC="06b52280.gif" border=0 width="82" height="40" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <div>  <A HREF="http://counter.xoom.com/xc-cgi/map1/72213"> <IMG SRC="http://counter.xoom.com/xc-cgi/counter.gif?72213" BORDER=0 ISMAP></A>  </div> </td> </tr></table></body>