HOW RUDE!

I have to say that this blog post comes to you with a little bit of anger and frustration.

Over my short acting career, I have gone to quite a lot of auditions; as one would do if they were an actor. Most of these auditions have been good experiences. Not only is it fun to go and audition, it is also a great opportunity to network yourself with the other auditioners (if you have read one of my past posts, then you know my opinion on that). Most of the time, the people who you are auditioning for are pretty cordial. Whether they are sincere or not, they still act as if your audition is very important. I think that this is quite important to an actor. It lets the actor know that you are at least trying to give them the time of day when they walk in the room. Often times, the director has already made his decision about casting you the second that you walk in. I'll get more into this idea in a little bit.

Now, the reason that I am so angry right now is that I just had 2 auditions in 2 consecutive nights. Here is what happened:



At the first audition (I am not going to say where), I waited around for about 3 hours to finally get seen. I walked into the room. One of the guys behind the table said, "hello," the very second that I walked in the room. Things were looking pretty good for me. I thought, "These guys seem pretty cool!" I said hello right back. I then went right over to the accompanist. We figured out how the song was going to go, and I turned to get the okay from the producers.

I saw that they were talking with each other. I waited. A good 20 seconds, I waited. I then noticed that they were not going to stop talking. I asked them, "Are you all set?" They looked up from their conversation, and one of the men said, "Ya! Sorry. Go ahead." I sang my song. I said thank you. They responded, "Ya, thanks," and they continued their conversation. I took my music, and left.

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At the second audition (again, I am going to leave names out of this), I didn't have to wait as long. It was only about a 20 minute wait. I had to do a song and a monologue. They called me in. I walked into the theater. This time, I had to start the conversation on my own. I said, "Good evening!" There was a slight pause before I got a response, "hello". (This probably wasn't the correct response that they should have given, but that is not the point)

I gave my music to the accompanist. We figured out the logistics of the song together, and then I took my spot under the spotlight. I introduced myself this time. I figured that maybe it was my fault the night before that they didn't pay attention to me. I started my audition.

Now, mind you, during both of these auditions, I was really feeling it. If you are an actor, you know what I mean by that. When you have a great audition, you can just feel it.

Well, I was really feeling it during this particular audition. After my song, I noticed that they did not take their eyes up from their laptops. I started my monologue. I nailed the monologue. THEY STILL DIDN'T LOOK UP FROM THEIR LAPTOPS!

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The reason for why I am posting this blog is because I want to make people aware of how insanely rude this is! I am not the only person who thinks this either. Other people with whom I have spoken to about this have also told me how insanely rude they think this is.

I understand. If you are a producer or a director, and you are running an audition all day, it can get really tiring. It can be a rather long day.

But this is your JOB. No matter how long the day can get, you need to treat every person you see with the same respect that you gave the first person that walked in the audition room. Whether you mean it or not, you need to treat the last person you see just as special as the first person you see. These actors put in the hard work to prepare for this audition. They did THEIR job. What if this is audition was something that they really needed? I know that even if I don't get cast in a show, it makes me feel better if I think that I have a chance. I'm sure that other actors definitely feel the same way.

These 2 auditions are not the only times that this has happened to me. Now, you may want to tell me, "Well, maybe you should have a better audition. MAKE them give you their attention!" I can tell you that is not the point in what I am trying to make. The point is that it should not matter how bad the audition was or is, you should still give that actor your undivided attention. Because THAT IS YOUR JOB.

I hope that if you are a director or a producer and you are reading this, you take this bit of advice to heart. Coming from an actor, we definitely notice, and we DEFINITELY don't appreciate it.

If you agree or disagree, or think that I am a jerk who needs to just shut his mouth, please let me know! I would love to hear some feedback from this, especially if you are an actor and have some other horror stories.

My Top 10 Worst T.V. Dads

So, Father's Day is almost a month away, and I figured this would be a good time to make this list

Over the many decades that television has been around, one common theme that seems to work with television is that the family dynamic works. There must be something that people enjoy about watching other families deal with problems that may or may not ever happen to you. There have been a lot of great families that have come and gone: The Seavers, The Cleavers, The Bradys, just to name a few. These television programs have produced some pretty incredible parental units, as well.

What T.V. has also produced is some pretty terrible parental units. None more horrifying than the FATHERS.

Here is my list of the worst fathers that television has ever created:

10.) RED FORMAN, That 70's Show

For those of you that have watched That 70's Show, Red is the father of Eric and Laurie Forman, and is married to Kitty Forman. This family is the epicenter of the entire show. Red is actually one of my favorite characters from that show. His crass language and hard exterior makes for a great dynamic between him and his more loving and caring wife. He is always yelling at Eric and making fun of how weak and pathetic he thinks he is, which is why he is on my list. Back in the day, especially during the time period in which this show takes place, his behavior as a father would be considered pretty good. According to today's standards... not so much. In fact, whenever your parents start talking about how much harder life was when they were kids, and how we are SO LUCKY to have such nicer parents than theirs, Red Forman would be that parent.

9.) PHIL DUNPHY, Modern Family

Now, Phil Dunphy, by anyone's standards, is actually a pretty good father. In fact, I would be okay if he was my dad. His only problem is that he is not the brightest bulb in the circuit. His father-in-law on the show, Jay Pritchett (who is played by Ed O'Neill, who will be making his own way onto my list a little later), could be considered a bad father. If you think about it, he had to raise 2 kids all on his own after his wife left him, so he has a pardon in my book. Phil always gets himself into trouble with his crazy antics. His stupidity almost always ends up putting his family in serious trouble. He is also constantly trying to win his father-in-law's approval, but always fails miserably. That is why I consider him to be a pretty bad father.

8.) GEORGE BLUTH, SR, Arrested Development

Now, I have not seen too many episodes of Arrested Development. I don't think I need to in this case. I've seen enough episodes to make this call. George Bluth, Sr. is the father of Michael Bluth (played by Jason Bateman), and gets arrested in the first episode for embezzlement and defrauding investors as the CEO of his family's company. It doesn't really matter how much of a good father he may think he is. If you get arrested and put in jail, then you definitely deserve to be on this list. One of the other things that I have actually seen is when he promises his son the promotion to CEO of his company, and then out of nowhere, decides that he does not want to retire. That is a pretty shitty move on his part. That is why he is on my list.

7.) FRANK BARONE, Everyody Loves Raymond

HOLY CRAP! Frank was my favorite character on this show. Played by the late Peter Boyle, he would constantly be insulting his 2 sons and not caring whatsoever. His crass behavior also makes for a great dynamic with his passive-aggressive wife, Marie. I definitely compare him to Red Foreman. In fact, if you were to take Red Forman, age him several years, and put him in modern times, then you would have Frank. He was the funniest character on that show, and was the only reason for why I would watch that show.

6.) RANDY MARSH, South Park

Now, South Park is an hilarious show to begin with. Eric Cartman is one of my favorite T.V. characters of all time. My 2nd favorite character on the show, however, is Randy Marsh. Randy is probably one of the worst dad's in T.V. history. Randy, however, has gone through a makeover. When the show first started, he was not really a major character. He was mellow and actually not a terrible father, as far as that show is concerned. Over the years, however, he has been given a hilarious personality. Every time the kids get themselves involved in these crazy shenanigans, Randy also gets himself crazily involved, as well. In the more recent episodes, he has become more of a central character. He is so self-centered, he doesn't even think about his 2 kids, Stan and Shelly, when he goes off on his crazy adventures. Of course, no one on that show has any redeemable qualities, but they don't have to. It's a cartoon.

5.) HOMER SIMPSON, The Simpsons

D'OH! Of course Homer would make it on my list. It is a good thing that he is only a cartoon, because if he was to do any of the things that he does to his children in real life, he would be put in prison for the rest of his life. He neglects his 2 daughters, Maggie and Lisa, and whenever Bart pisses him off, he starts choking him with his bare hands. He is also a pretty stupid father, as well. Well, he's a pretty stupid guy, in general. Cartoons can get away with creating characters like this, though. He is definitely one of the worst fathers in T.V. history. He has been on T.V. for more than 20 years now, and who knows when they will ever get cancelled. All I know is that Homer is just a horrible father.

4.) PETER GRIFFIN, Family Guy

Now, in all fairness, if you remember from one of it's previous episodes, Peter is actually legally retarded. That right there tells you that he is not a suitable parent. It's like if you take Homer Simpson and make him a complete psychopath and retard. That is why I think he is way worse than Homer. I mean, Seth McFarlane has created a character that has no limit to what he can get away with. It has only gotten worse over the years. You could create a 10 page long grocery list of all the things that are wrong with his parenting. Whether it is blowing his entire family's life savings for his Peter-copter or Peter-dactyl, his constant bullying of his only daughter Meg, or, most recently, turning his entire family into meth addicts, Peter is one of the worst fathers I have ever seen. And he's only number 4 on my list!

3.) CHARLES WHIDMORE, Lost

LOST was one of my favorite shows of all time. All the characters were so intriguing in their own way. Charles Whidmore was no exception. Charles was one of the most ruthless men in the history of television (although later you find out he may not have been as bad afterall). I mean, this is a guy that literally did not give 2 shits about the safety of his daughter, whatsoever. He was also the sole reason for why things got so messed up on the island. He made life completely miserable for everyone that was on the island. As if they needed more shit to deal with? Also... HE ALSO HAD A SON!! Way to be there for Miles! Now he's dead, and Penny can't trust you either because you keep trying to kill Desmond. WAY TO BE!!! If you notice, he is actually the only father on my list that is NOT from a comedy.

2.) ARCHIE BUNKER, All in the Family

To be completely honest, I think I have only really seen like 3 or 4 episodes. I put him on here purely because of the reputation that he has. In those 3 or 4 episodes, I think I saw enough that I needed to see. If you want to know how bad of a father he was, watch South Park. The South Park guys, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, based the creation of their most famous character, Eric Cartman, off of Archie Bunker. They have gone on record saying that they wanted to bring an Archie Bunker-like character back to television. Cartman is one of the most irreverent characters in the history of television, so I can only imagine that Archie Bunker got way worse than just the 3 or 4 episodes that I saw. Also, if I didn't put him on my list, then I would not hear the end of it from my readers. So, that is pretty much why I just can't bump him up to the number 1 slot.

1.) AL BUNDY, Married... With Children

Al Bundy, in my opinion, is the worst father in T.V. history. He was a slob, crass, stupid, and often tried to find any opportunity to leave his family. The only pride in his life was his accomplishments on the football field at Polk High School, where he ran for 4 touchdowns in a championship game, which is still the record even to this day. Like all of the other fathers on my list, he would often make fun of his children, and because of that, they ended up becoming horrible people, as well. His daughter is a slutty dumb blonde, and his son is an immature sleazeball .. who is also a moron. I'm pretty sure he set the standard for horrible treatment to his kids. Just ask his wife Peggy, who was no angel, either. Congratulations, Al! You're constant ball scratching and neglect has landed you at the top of my list.

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Now, I have not watched every television show, but of all the shows that I have watched, these are the worst fathers that I have ever seen. If you would like to add to this list, please post on the bottom and let me know.