Reading For A Clown

Yesterday, Joe The Plumber and I worked on a broken sprinkler head (and in the process detected a broken pipe that will just have to wait for repair). Afterwards, we stopped off at Pancake Circus, located at 21st & Broadway, where this book is on display.

I got a surprise message the other day:

Hey Marc,

My name is K. I was given your Facebook contact info by a mutual friend Caitlin Kiley. I am a local Sacramento filmmaker and film student at CSU Sacramento. I am directing a short film I wrote, as a senior film project CSUS.

I am looking for the lead role and you were recommending to me by Caitlin, who is helping a bit with casting. The character’s name is Barny and I was wondering if you'd be interested in acting for my film. Barny is a recently fired clown. He is older, scruffy faced, and dirty. He is pretty depressed and somber since being let go from the circus. He was a clown his entire life, the circus lifestyle is all he’s ever known. He had a good career as a young clown in the past, but his time in the circus is over. Now, he is having a hard time adapting to and facing the harsh and cruel 'real world'. Naturally, he is still trying to act like a clown, but people are not very accepting of him. He's experiencing a loss of identify. The character develops as the story progresses.

I replied:

Hi K.:

That sounds HILARIOUS! I'm flattered that Caitlin suggested me! The main hindrance I see is that I don't consider myself to be a very good actor. Nevertheless, sometimes people naturally fit certain roles, so it's certainly worth giving it a shot.

October looks difficult. I'm traveling next week, and I'm head of DMTC's Haunted House Committee.

Here's a video of me and a friend (who, oddly enough, was once a clown).

He replied:

Hi Marc,

Thanks for the quick response. Yes, most of the filming will be done from the middle of October to the first week or so of November. Sounds like that is a busy time for you, but we may be able to work around your schedule if that could be a possibility?

We're heading over to my house this afternoon for a reading, to see if I'm suitable for this role.