All Change! New Headshots, New Showreel! New Scenes!

Well it’s been a hell of a year – and it’s not over yet!

First up: New Showreel and Headshots ahoy!

I loved doing these new scenes and it’s taken me AGES to edit them into my reel in a way that I’m satisfied with. That’s mainly “Hunted”s fault.

With new material available older material was shown the door. “A Life Like Mine” has a comedy replacement so that goes. “Date Night”,… well, while I love the scene I don’t look nearly that thin any more so: gone. But I wanted to keep “Hunted” – the car scene.

My difficulty was one of quality: the age of the clip is reflected in the quality of the image: a grainy 720p in an old TV aspect ratio. I initially removed it entirely but found that my Showreel felt hollow and 2D without it so I went hunting for the original DVD. Happily, I still had it.

Ripping the footage fresh, the scene impressed me – it’s a good performance! But the quality was still iffy. Enter an online AI tool called Aimages which I used to repair the image, fish out smudged detail and upscale the 720p footage to shiny new 1080p!

I still look like that (plus a beard and ‘tache) and it’s another “type” for the reel so back in it goes!

….

News!

Since we last spoke I’ve been springing up and down to London for an audition and callback on dishwashing tablet commercial (there’s a story – and something of a rant – about that,… for another time).

I’ve also taped an audition for Sky1’s thriller “Cobra” and was recalled for another Commercial down in Media City.

Discussions continue on further developing and touring “Seven Songs of Love” in 2023.

We’ve also been chatting to our producer about funding for “The Secret Keeper”, though that has to wait for the BFI’s next funding round in March. Fingers crossed there!

Will there be anything else to report before Christmas? Well, things tend to tail off as we race to Yuletide so it may be 2023 before I have anything more to announce. Let’s see, shall we?

Stay frosty!

Tim x

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The Beauty of Frustration

It’s an interesting career, this. Sometimes you end up working on projects that you’d love to shout about,… but you can’t.

This happened to me this month. I auditioned for, and secured, a fantastic little role in an upcoming videogame sequel that,… well, I can’t tell you about. Not until it’s announced and released, which will be well into 2023. And so my Spotlight CV now has “Unnanounced Videogame Sequel” listed with TBA’s across the board and that’s all I can tell you.

Well I don’t think it’s a huge stretch to say that it involved a fun studio shoot with a lovely team and that I look forward to sharing more details when the game has been let loose on the world.

It’s a nice kind of frustration.

Anything else to discuss?

Ah yes.

I filmed two showreel-bound scenes with the wonderful Rachel Cummins earlier in the month and I’m waiting on that footage to make my reel a little more current. I also have a new set of headshots planned, so it’s all change on the self-promotion front!

The last 2022 showing of Seven Songs is now dusted and we’re working on our touring options for 2023. We (Rough Magic Theatre and myself, that is) are also back in discussion with our producer about a new funding round to produce a pilot for The Secret Keeper. It’s such a cracking story and such a wonderful idea that we couldn’t leave it in Limbo.

Recent auditions might have taken me on tour with Hey Duggie or over to Switzerland but, alas, such joys are for my alternative universe self. Plenty more to come!

But until I spill the beans on those tasty treats, y’all take care of yourselves, y’hear?

Tim x

13 hours on the Road and Other Animals

What a hectic Summer!

Quite apart from the usual intrigue of having two minature people home from school for nearly two months, I’ve been a busy, busy bunny.

Seven Songs of Love premiered at the Beverley Puppet Festival and is back in rehearsal as I type, for two showings to booking agents for touring next year. It’s a fantastic show to work on, refine and develop, and I’ll have lots more on that alone in future updates!

I’ve been very busy auditioning – both taping and in the room. I did a commercial casting just this Monday which required a solid commute. Thanks to a burned out lorry trailer on the M1, that ended up being 13 hours of travelling (much of that going nowhere at all) there and back,… for 5 minutes in the room. Which, to be crystal clear, I don’t mind in the slightest – it’s what we do to get work.

Other castings have involved eating my body weight in french fries (at least it felt like that), being rubbish at buying fruit and surviving terminal illness.

I’m working with an actor friend on some film scenes that could pop up on my Reel by the end of the year, been talking to CDs about the shape of my Reel (and editing it accordingly), been working with CDs on some self tapes and generally been pounding pavements constantly, in partnership with my very hard working and quite, quite brilliant agent.

I’ve not even talked about saving kids from Veloceraptors or my continued work in Medical Roleplay. Or, in fact, that a major publisher took a good long look at a short story of mine.

In short, it’s been a productive time and it’s only getting better.

What’s next? I’ll let you know,…

Work Begins on Seven Songs!

Rehearsals have now started on Seven Songs of Love – Rough Magic Theatre’s upcoming show, which combines storytelling, shadow puppetry and english folk song into an immersive exploration of infatuation.

I’m working as a performer, puppeteer and co-director on the piece, with an initial scratch space showing for bookers and audiences on the 16th and 17th of July at Beverley Puppet Festival (beverleypuppetfestival.com)

We’re testing out prototypes and making changes to puppets in this first week so it’s a very busy time, now that we have our rig and space up and running! We’re also in the studio recording a couple of songs (most will be performed live but there are a couple of shadow plays that won’t allow it).

It’s a busy month and a fantastic show to be collaborating on.

If you want to see the scratch space show, pop onto the link above and search for “7 Songs” for dates, venues and times.

See you there?

T x

Showreel Updated with Added Heart To Heart!

Heart To Heart is now heading off onto the short film festvals circuit and I’ve had a gander at an early cut (It’s fantastic). The producers have kindly allowed a clip onto my showreel. Take a look on my Showreel and Gallery page now!

Heart To Heart – First Pictures Released!

A few screengrabs of my most recent short film role to tide you over until editing is complete, the film is out there on the festival circuit and I can slip some footage into my showreel.

Enjoy!

New Representation Secured!

I’m delighted to announce that I’m now working with Harry Vella Thompson at Vella-Wozniak, who is representing me for both acting and literary works! I look forward to a long and productive working relationship 🙂

You can visit them at https://vwtalent.com/

Short Film, New Theatre Show, Further Training and Auditioning for TV.

Well hasn’t the time flown?

It’s been a busy ol’ few months – let’s see what I’ve been up to, shall we?

Jurassic Earth.

Having secured touring work as part of the cast for Jurassic Earth back in January, the next job was to rehearse the show and work with the puppets. Cheeky things they are too! My first show was postponed by the dreaded Covid but I eventually went out to perform on the show last month, which was tremendous fun. More dates to follow!

Short Film at Media City.

I’m just back from filming a lead role on a short film in Salford, including some studio time over in Media City – genuinely one of my favourite places in the world.

It was a great script and a great idea, which I won’t spoil here.

I look forward to seeing the finished film once they’ve graded, edited and scored it. News and clips when I have them 🙂

New Theatre Show for July.

An opportunity to create a new show with my longtime collaborators at Rough Magic Theatre presented itself in February, too.

Beverley Puppet Festival were offering Scratch Space showings and funding for new shows in July and we pitched one that’s been sat on the backburner for a while. We were delighted to be awarded funding and space to develop, and premiere, the show.

Work has begun in earnest on “Seven Songs of Love” – a combination live-action, storytelling, musical shadow show based on traditional folk songs. You can see an example clip below. You can see the scratch performance over the weekend of 15th-17th July and we hope to be touring the full show in 2023.

Further Training.

In February I started working with casting director extrodinaire Sarah Leung, picking her brains on the industry and how best to navigate castings. We also arranged some one-to-one workshops to polish my film performance. It’s essential to know what casting directors are looking for and what they need to see when you put yourself forward.

Of her many invaluable suggestions, one really resonated: tape constantly.

Don’t just wait for a casting to come along – find scripts online and film yourself daily. Keep practicing. Keep improving. Keep working, even if you’re not in front of a casting director. This will keep you sharp for that moment that you do step into that audition.

It also means that you can build a library of performances that you can send to Casting Directors later.

Whitstable Pearl.

I put this advice into practice immediately and it came in handy when I was asked to audition for the TV show Whitstable Pearl a few weeks later. This was a self-tape audition that I ran a few takes together for. I wanted to give them a few choices to pick from and I enjoyed the process immensely. I was also very happy with the results.

Sadly, the role was eliminated in re-writes so nobody ended up being called back. As a practice exercise it was invaluable, however. It also validated my approach to representing myself while I’m in between agents. Which was nice.

I’ve not even mentioned playing hide and seek with the tremendous Sarah Punshon or discussions on directing a shadow short movie.

There’s plenty more to come!

Until then, stay Frosty!

Tim x

Tim is currently seeking representation and casting opportunities. If you like what you see on his showreel and gallery, he welcomes approaches from casting professionals.

Herding Dinosaurs into 2022!

Image courtesy of Bigfoot Events.

In 2022 I’ll be Working with Dinosaurs (see what I did there?) as I join the cast for the national stadium and walkabout touring show “Jurassic Earth”.

While my focus into this next year is on Film and TV work, joining Jurassic Earth was too tempting a gig to pass up. I’ve a very long history of performing in family shows and street theatre, and I thoroughly enjoy it. Working an audience, interacting in unpredictable situations, improv and just plain making people laugh: it’s in my DNA.

So I’ll be touring the country throughout the year as part of the ensemble, hosting, educating and compering events and stadium shows with some of the biggest dinosaur puppets in the UK.

So expect to see me guiding, entertaining, acting alongside and (probably) running away from T-Rexes near you very soon!

Thoughts About 2022.

So it’s a red hot start to my year, with a casting right out of the gate – but there’s so much more to come. My previous acting agent retired before the first COVID lockdown and I’m searching for a new one to partner with me on the journey ahead.

I have also set myself a few goals for the year, the first of which is to step back in front of cameras for two TV gigs in the coming year, minimum. To help me do this I’ve given myself a goal of 5. Always aim high: you won’t always get there but you’ll get further than you would if you didn’t.

I will be working with a Casting Director this weekend to learn more about her work and how I can improve my chances of remaining in the eyeline of the CDs I want to work with.

I’ll also be creating my own work – both with long-term collaborators Rough Magic Theatre and other creatives. I want to display my ability and make my own opportunities: sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring doesn’t cut it in the 21st century. You have to get out there.

I’ll be talking more about my writing work in the upcoming year, too. I have one eye on writing a full novel this year and I hope it’s something I can find time to do. My work in short stories and flash fiction is fairly well established – it’s time to try long form.

So there’s a lot to be doing in the year ahead and plenty of exciting news to come! Say hello and follow the blog to keep up to date.

Until next time: stay frosty!

Tim x

Tim is currently seeking representation and casting opportunities. If you like what you see on his showreel and gallery, he welcomes approaches from casting professionals.

Green Screens and Four Hooves!

Adding new skills and,…. Learning Satanic Verses?!

Exciting times!

I’ve just completed filming a,… devilish role for a short film. Two wonderful new experiences in this – my first time being filmed specifically in black and white (some lovely lighting work to excentuate my features) and my first time filming against a green screen. I’m amazed that I’ve not filmed against a green screen before now!

It’s a role that I’ve wanted to sink my teeth into for a while, and I look forward to sharing more details very soon, including, perhaps,…. some footage?

In other “new experience” news, I’m deep into riding lessons. Yup: me on horseback!

It’s always a good idea to add to your skill set, as an actor. The more skills you have, the easier it becomes to meet a niche. As casting directories can be filtered by skills, having plenty of them puts you in a better position.

In my case, with my voice – a voice that’s ideal for period drama – having the ability to ride a horse is a no-brainer, and something I’ve wanted to do for YEARS. Now I can.

There’s plenty of other news, and some more career thoughts, coming soon – so click that subscribe button and keep in touch.

Until next time: stay frosty!

Tim

Tim is currently seeking representation and casting opportunities. If you like what you see on his showreel and gallery, he welcomes approaches from casting professionals.