L.A. Dispatch - 7/30: Winding Down

All evening long I've been trying to shake an impending feeling of melancholy as I'm trying to process the fact that the L.A. Experiment is coming to a close. The opening strains of "One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)" have literally been bouncing around my head all night. (The live mid-70's Sinatra version with the Nelson Riddle arrangement, of course. The one he sings, cigarette in hand, playing drunker and sleepier as the song goes on. A Channel 13 fundraising drive classic.)

First: a recap of the past few days. 

• Been getting in fairly regular runs, which feels great. 
  
• Did some pro-bono consulting for Eion and Raf last week re: a potentially ridiculously cool opportunity for their project. (Will expand on that down the road if it comes to pass, at which point the "pro-bono" pun can be fully appreciated.) 
• Played tennis with Willis in Griffith Park on Sunday. Haven't really ever played, but... I have to say... as it turns out... I'm not very good. But I had a blast and it was fantastic exercise. 
• Sent my laptop rental back on Tuesday, followed by a drive up the PCH to Zuma Beach. One of the most perfect marriages of drive and soundtrack ever. 
• Second workshop with Russell Scott (Lie to Me, Breaking Bad) last night. Mock producer's session. Put my sides up against three other guys and was chosen as the guy who'd ultimately get the part. Second experience with the whole "mock producer's session" setup and the second time I was chosen. Not tooting a horn, just taking the info and running with it. 
• Second workshop with Todd Sherry (Chuck, Human Target) tonight. Really amazing teacher.  Tons of nuggets.  Aced my scene. No adjustments and an enthusiastic verbal thumbs-up to my work. 
• Ending the night at Darkroom with Lindsay Lohan and John Hamm. 
  

So, yeah. Here I sit. Musing, replaying, digesting, questioning. Recognizing all the while that evaluating this experience before it's even concluded is akin to writing a review of a play based on a tech rehearsal. I'm fully convinced that the nut of the L.A. Experiment won't be sussed for some time to come.

Would I have LIKED to have gotten a meeting with a legit agent within the 4 weeks I was here based on the mass mailing I did a week prior? Yes. Would I LIKE to get a call from one of the 13 CD's I've now met for an audition BEFORE I LEAVE? Of course. Do I wish we had the funds to keep me here a couple more weeks to sow more seeds and tend the ones I've already sprinkled? Well, sure. These would all be more readily measurable ways of evaluating the efficacy of this trip. And yet... I don't know how valuable that line of questioning is. Especially since I'm STILL HERE. And ANY one of these CD's could call me at ANY time. Tomorrow, three months, two years. Not a supposition, just the nature of the business.

While I have no ultimate summation of what the past month has "meant", I will simply say that the basic idea has been served...  The idea of rebooting myself. Of physically lifting myself out of the rut I'd carved in NY.  Of putting myself in front of industry folks and DELIVERING. Of investigating Los Angeles and all it has to offer.

I have a new lens.  I have a fresh attitude about the pros and cons of both L.A. and NY.  I have renewed confidence in my own work.  I got a BREAK from the grind.  

And right now, that's feeling okay...

-IMBA