SOME MAY CONSIDER THIS BACKGROUND. I'M JUST HAPPY THEY NEEDED AN ACTOR WHO COULD DRAW PT. 2

So the show aired on Father's Day, and now its available to watch online for those who can't get TV Land on their televisions

So in my last post I discussed my gig on The Jim Gaffigan Show, where I played the role of a Court Room sketch artist. As as mentioned in the post, happily I can report that yes, my work actually made the final cut. 

And even better, I, shall we say punctuate the jokes in what I think is an incredibly funny 1/2 hour of television. And I would say that even if I wasn't lucky to have nabbed the assignment.

Here's the description of the episode: Jim finds himself jailed and on trial for a crime he may or may not have committed.

As showcased here, I've screen captured some of my appearances in the episode, and as you can see I'm pretty much in the middle of all the action.

What was great about working on the episode was the amount of guest stars that appeared in it.  Sadly I didn't work the jail sequences, but man what a cast of performers.

And the actors I did see and/or work with, man I felt like a kid in a candy shop. I mean come on Judy Gold! I actually went to see her One-Woman-Show The Judy Show: My Life As A Sit-Com Off Broadway, which rocked.  

To be perfectly honest with you, watching this episode was the first time I've ever seen the series. I am a fan of Jim Gaffigan, but for some reason I never had the chance to sit back and see his sit-com. 

Well, all I can say is, even if I wasn't in it, I am now a fan of the show and will be watching it from now on. And the great thing is, I there's an entire first season to catch up on that I missed. 

And if you'd like to watch it, now, or in the near future, the good people at TV Land, have uploaded the episode on to their website. 

Here's the link: 

http://www.tvland.com/episodes/isx3dv/the-jim-gaffigan-show-the-trial-ep-201

See, told you, the episode rocks. 

Until next time,
Neil

SOME MAY CONSIDER THIS BACKGROUND. I'M JUST HAPPY THEY NEEDED AN ACTOR WHO COULD DRAW

Its nice getting a featured role, without actually realizing it till you see it at a screening. 

Who said going to art school wouldn't pay off... again. As showcased in this promo, tonight on TV LAND, I'm on TV! To be more precise, The Jim Gaffigan Show's 2nd season premiere's at 10/9C PM, and I have a featured role on it.

It's non-speaking mind you, but shall we say I am an integral part of the plot of the episode.
Of note, there are two shows premiering tonight, I actually think that the show I'm in might be airing 2nd, at 10:30/9:30C PM, cause I just checked the viewing guard, and the episode is listed at 10:30/9C entitled "The Trial"  so who knows. Heck watch them both. The man's funny, and the episode I'm in is hysterical, even if I wasn't in it I'd laugh. 
As soon as I get a few images of it, I'll add them to this blog. 
On Thursday night, June 16th, I was lucky enough to go to a screening of the episode, and afterwards, we the people in the audience were treated to an interview with the stars of the show, Jim Gaffigan and Ashley Williams who plays his wife on the series, and Jim's real wife, Jeannie Gaffigan the co-creator/co-writer of the series. And it was really interesting listening them discuss how they developed the series, and why it eventually landed on TV Land.

I don't want to give too much away, but, Jim writes a tweet that shall we say backfires badly. And he goes to jail, then trial, for it. Lots of guest stars appear including Judy Gold.
As for me, I was very lucky to  nab the assignment.  I actually worked on this three weeks before I played a Court Room Sketch artist on Bull, and on that I'm actually drawing.
On The Jim Gaffigan Show, I'm pretending I'm drawing. The art showcased was actually done by another artist. The funny part is that in order to get both jobs, I had to prove I could actually draw. I had to send samples, showcased what art supplies I used. Besides sending my head shots, I had to send pictures of my hands front and back.
It wasn't till I got to the set of The Jim Gaffigan show, did I realize I wasn't gonna be doing the art. I also was told to bring my own art supplies, and once I got there was also given art tools to work with. 
The highlight of the entire shoot was at the end. As everyone else wrapped, I was told to go to set. I actually thought I was just picking up my own art supplies I had left there. But instead once I arrived, I discovered that I was gonna be the star of the show. So I was directed to sit in my spot, and prepare to well act. I was now confronted with 3 cameras facing me, One aimed at me from the front and the other cameras were behind me to see what I was was pretending to draw, and a third angled on the side for another perspective. So now, instead of actors seated where they performed during the scenes we were added sequences to, the people behind the camera were now in their place, telling me how to react to what was occurring. For example, instead of Judge Judy old occupying the judge's chair, sat the director. And they all were telling me where to sit and how to react to what I was pretending to be capturing on my sketch pad. It was like watching film clips of the making of Silent Movies and you see the director barking at orders to the actor on camera. Neil now look at the judge, now look at the defendant, now look at Jim. Draw. Draw. Draw. All in all we spent approximately 20 minutes shooting me. I wish I could get that video. And then my job was done, they yelled thats a wrap, and they seemed happy with what I did, so I was happy. 
Whats fun for me now is seeing how they edited the show together and to discover how I was featured in the plot of the episode. And for once in this gig, I wasn't just a blur or an accidental sighting in the movie, I like to call Where's Neil?
The other funny part in all this, was when I got the call to work on the pilot of Bull, which actually occurred weeks before the Jim Gaffigan call, I never thought that 3 weeks after filming the Court Room scenes in The Jim Gaffigan Show, I would return to the same Court Room in Yonkers, New York to film another court room scene there for Bull. And in fact it was the exact same Court Room! I guess small world, right? I just hope I get as much screen time in that episode, as I got I this one. 
So you see dad, sometimes your son can be right. When I decided to ditch my music future, my dad's idea for a way for me to make a living, instead to try to become an artist. Once I was accepted in The High School of Art and Design, I knew some day that my decision would turn out to be the right one. I just never knew that being an artist would help me land a non-speaking featured role on a national television show. I guess dreams can come true, even if not in the ways that you imagined them to be.

Until next time,
Neil

MAYBE THE SECOND TIMES THE CHARM

Guess it pays to keep everything when you're actor

The life of an actor... How funny, yesterday I was asked to do a Video audition for a film, yeah me! But that's not the entire story, you see the other day I saw a casting notice on Backstage that I seemed to be right for and so I applied. And yesterday, I received notice that I passed the first test, that the producer of the film, asked me to do a video audition. Yes, at least I'm still in the running, and I get to perform, and its on video, and I get to act. I get to showcase my ability. Great! 
Of course I was a little confused, because in their email to me, they opened the good news with another actor's first name… not mine. So I queried that, and also mentioned that the included sides I needed to learn which he had mentioned hadn't been included in his message to me. Well a few minutes later I received his response. Yup it was for me, and he made a joke of his error and this time he also included the sides for the part I was gonna be auditioning for.
Well as soon as I printed it out I sat back and went… hmm
You see, it turns out last September I actually had already video taped the exact sides for the same project and sent it to them. Thats right! The funny thing was, I had never heard back so I figured I didn't get the gig... next. But it seems either, they never got it, or the project at the time was put on hold or something. In any event, I guess I passed the first test twice. 
So the good thing is, I have the video on my computer, and tomorrow I'll again be sending them my audition, perhaps this time, I'll hear back from them... if I pass part 2 of the exam.
I queried with a friend if I should re-do the video, but the suggestion I got was to send the original tape and not worry about it. So I guess wish me luck, if anything comes of this I'll let you know. The life of an actor, every day a new role to play.

Until next time,
Neil

DONALD 'TRUMP' DRUMPF: CON MAN, LIAR, CROOK, 
AND THOSE ARE HIS BEST QUALITIES 

I don't usually do caricatures, but I needed to get the orange faced buffoon out of my system

Donald 'Trump' Drumpf:  Con Man, Liar & Crook, & those are his best qualities. © Neil Feigeles 2016

Even since Donald Trump decided to officially become a candidate for the Presidency I've been biting my lip, trying to somehow skip doing a sketch or finished illustration of him. Though all my years of doing artwork, for the most part I've been lucky that I've never had to do anyone or anything that makes me really angry or sick.

The closest I ever came was in college, where we were given the assignment to illustrate something. And whatever you got, no matter what, you had to do it. Well mine was abortion, and I was given the assignment to be against it. 

While I am not pro-abortion, I am pro rights for women to choose. Prove to me there is a God and that he or she is against it, not some religious leader or zealot, then I'll believe, but until there is, my belief is, its now of my business. So in protest, I illustrated a baby hanging on a meat hook, in a butchers freezer. Its from a sick joke I had heard as a kid, Whats small, Red and Swings? A baby on a meat hook of course. Well when I hung the assignment on the wall for class discussion, the reactions were quite amazing. And our instructor actually liked what I had come with. Seeing that I hated the subject, and that I took something and made a statement on it. The best part he actually liked my art. Yeah! I'm not known for being an editorial artist, so I was very happy that for once my art made a statement.

Well, back to the art, a few days back I decided to attempt my hand at The Donald, and after a day of sketching out ideas, I decided to illustrate my ideas more as a caricature then just a representative portrait of him. And decided to do  a trifecta of heads, showing him in several of his worst expressions. Revealing the hate within him. 

Well as showcased above, this is what I came up with. Hope you like. I decided to showcase it on my political blog today.

When I wrote a piece on Hillary's delightful twitter bombing of Trump all afternoon.

If you get the chance, please check it out. Here's the link: 
http://neilizms.blogspot.com/2016/06/seems-twitter-war-is-on-and-surprise.html

Below is the art in stages.

Until next time, 

Neil