Squirrelly – be who you were born to be.

Good ole Squirrelly played by Jayme Bell is one of the funniest characters we have for The Fellows Hip. Not only was it well written by Scott and Christopher, but was well executed by Jayme. When Jayme auditioned, we knew pretty quickly we had our man. Jayme was one of the first people we ensured we got locked down to take on the roll. Jayme had us cracking up, right from the start. However he’s just not all about laughs. Just like all of our characters, Squirrelly goes on a journey of his own to find out who he is.

                *Spoilers* Starting out, Squirrelly thinks he’s the every man (much like the characters from the hit show “Big Bang Theory”). He believes he is a lady’s man, a great leader with superb marksmanship skills and a guy who knows how to rough it. What he finds, much like Nate, is who he was born to be. He is the opposite of the fake persona he wants everyone to think that he is. But through this journey/this test – he reaches deep within himself to find out the truth. And in this, he begins to embrace what he originally believes are weaknesses. He finds that these are who he really is, and can now be used as strengths.

                Once he’s able to do this, he finds out that he can now embrace who he was born to be. And, if you stayed through the end, you find out how he’s rewarded…

                If you have a geek in your life, like my wife does, than just like Squirrelly – encourage them to embrace who they are and you’ll help them find that there’s a little bit of geek and hero in all of us.

TFH: At Look into the character Nate Bingley – Fearful to Fearless

**Spoilers**

Now that I (Ron) have had some time to reflect on our film, “The Fellows Hip: Rise of the Gamers,” I find that one of the characters I really have enjoyed has been Nate Bingley, played by Cole Matson. For a film, a character changes at least three times. That’s once when you write him, once when the actor owns him and once then in the editing room by how the editor (Brian) portrays him.

Who is Nate? Nate is a scaredy-cat; one who is a momma’s boy and never wants to leave home. He’s happy where he finds himself. He’s not the adventurer… or so he thinks.

But it’s through the love of his friends and his loyalty that he is called out of his comfort zone. He must leave his safe haven to right a wrong. When he is thrown into the adventure, he is at first excited and ready for the challenge. But at the onset of his first test, he almost falls apart. With each step doubt creeps in. That is until he is introduced to the life of a hippie. There he begins to see who Nate is all about. He shows through his monologue that he has come to realize that life is meant to be lived, and he’s going to “suck the nectar out of life and drink down every last drop.”

Nate “gets it” and knows this could be the adventure of a lifetime. He who was fearful has become fearless. He begins to embrace his destiny and become the man he’s always meant to be. He puts aside the fearful gamer and begins to embrace the fearless explorer.

Isn’t that who we should strive to be like?

Actors: A word from a director: Be unique!

In the indie market we are competing with big budgets and big stars; so the only way to do this, is we must have a great script with compelling characters; unique characters. The unique part – the one with depth, the one that has to have that certain look, appeal, charisma – now that’s the one I’m more concerned with casting. That is the one I will spend more time on.

Point #1 is to know what role you are putting in for and what role you should be putting in for. Sean Pratt, a DC area actor/coach (www.seanprattpresents.com), calls this your “essence”. This is knowing who you naturally are. Knowing you will always be cast as the biker gang member and never the cop is good to know. It doesn’t narrow you, it streamlines you. I’m doing that in my head anyway, perhaps you should help me come to the right conclusion.

I was told – never take auditions personally. Well guess what? They were right. If I, as the director, receive a headshot – I don’t immediately flip to the resume that I’m sure is on the back – I look at the photo. Point #2, have a professional looking headshot. This is not necessarily the one you pay for the most. A headshot should just be an honest picture of what you look like right now. So, if you are a teenager and have a growth spurt, or you change your hairstyle; do me a favor and update your headshot. I also like seeing other shots if you have them. I know this is not the norm, but again when I’m looking for that unique part – I need to see you differently perhaps. With headshots I make up my mind in about a split second on whether or not this person could be my “Squirrelly”; my unique character. Do they have the right look?

As most know, auditions are generally very quick, why? It is because the ability to act is in fact assumed. I am not certain what skill level you are at, but I am assuming you can act. The audition is to confirm your acting ability and to see what unique things you might bring to the table with the character. Are you naturally my Squirrelly? This brings me to point #3, know your ability. If acting is assumed and you just don’t have the gifting to be an actor – then the sooner you find this out the better.

Point #4, be unique! Joaquin Phoenix has a great career even though he has a big scar on his face that he doesn’t hide. It gives his characters more depth and uniqueness about him. He is a leading man, but he is also unique. When young Daniel Radcliff walked into the audition for Harry Potter – they knew right then and there that he was Harry Potter. No audition had even taken place – he had the right look, the essence.

What you may see as a weakness can be turned into uniqueness if putting in for the right role! So your weight, your height, the fact you look young or you can play “the nerd” – great! Use this to allow the director to come to the right conclusion; that you are unique and are the person the director is looking for.

I hope this helps and I am looking forward to seeing you submit for our film, “The Fellowship” in 2009!