Postcards

Self-promotion never ends... I've been sending out postcards for well over a decade. Designing. Labeling. Stamping. Spending... The inevitable question: Does it work? Does spending the time, efforts and money in sending out postcards work? 

Does it change a Casting Professional's perception of you? Does it remind an Assistant that you saw at a Casting Workshop of who you are? Will it cross the "right" desk at the "right" time... The answer...

I don't really know.

What I do know...

* I've been able to carve a living as an actor for a while now.
* I need to feel like I'm doing something in order to stave off "unproductive" feelings.
* I can't imagine a reminder that I exist, that I'm still kicking, that I'm still being productive, that I'm still being hired, that I'm being hired for bigger and bigger roles, that I'm starting to do more film work... That any of that could possibly be a bad thing.

It's not as tax deductible as it used to be, both legally and personally. And if you don't know what the ALT MIN tax is yet, someday you will. And just because something is "tax deductible," doesn't mean it's the same thing as having that money in your pocket. Making 60K a year with no expenses is a heck of a lot better than making 80K with 20K in expenses, or 90K with 30K.... Or whatever numbers you put in there... 

I barely remember the days I sold pharmaceuticals. Those days when I got a salary and had an expense account... But I do remember how sweet it was to get those expense checks, and steady direct deposit checks every other week... That my friends was SWEET.

Anyway, postcards to 70 Casting Directors will go out later today...

Yesterday I was back in the closet, recording a new song. This time with another friend. A professional singer who gigs out all the time, and who is currently working on her third solo album... The experience was humbling. Currently she's recording in professional studios, with a sound engineer, producer and live musicians... Even though she knew what she was getting into, literally a closet, it took her a few takes to realize we were actually singing in a closet. That I was the untrained amateur technician. That the "muzak" "karaoke" that cost me $70 to have my coach record playing through our headphones was what we were indeed singing to. She was a super sport and we laughed a lot... Hopefully we'll be shooting the video (another no budget no crew exploit) soon!

I had a thought of making "Closet Singer" postcards as another something to send out in the future... And I'm pretty sure that if I could actually get a few CDs to watch a few of those posted on YouTube, some perceptions of "Tom Kiesche" may indeed change... Though I'm not sure if that'd be good or bad.

Alien Hunter, Mover, Cop, Closet Singer...

-- Quiche Me A Postcard ~ Tom Kiesche