Working in The Asylum

Yea, it kind of is like working in an Asylum. A little crazy.

So I have been working at The Asylum for almost a week now and it has been really cool. I'm glad that I got this gig because I am getting to do a lot of stuff. There are two other PAs with me and we have really been keeping things moving for the production.

Mainly what I have been doing is working on casting. The other PAs and I pretty much run the auditions we have been having for the past couple of days. It's actually a lot of fun. I am the one who has been reading the sides (mini scripts) with the actor during the auditions. They will come in and go through the scene once with me, then we will tell them if we have any notes or things we want them to change about their performance. They go again and if we like them, then we will have them read a second set of sides. But if they weren't any good we just say "Ok, thank you very much" and smile as they leave the room and put their head shot in the "No" stack. Sometimes the directors are in there and they decide if they like them or not, but usually it's us PAs who are deciding their fate.

This is because most of the production is taking place in Belize and the two directors and the producer are already there. And no, I am not getting to go... me and the PAs are holding down the fort here in LA. Oh, well. They send us an email from time to time telling us something we need to look up or an errand we need to take care of for them. But mainly we have been keeping busy with the auditions.

The Asylum keeps pretty busy as a whole. There is one production that is wrapping now, while this one is getting started. Everything they do here is low-budget, so they can really churn out movies. That makes things around the office kinda hectic. A bunch of people doing a bunch of different things. It was a little difficult for us because we had been working with the producer, but she left for Belize at the beginning of the week, so we were left by ourselves for a little while, trying to figure things out. We now have a LA coordinator, but it was a little crazy for a while there.

But overall it has been good. There is a chance they might keep me on for the next movie, which would be pretty awesome. I'm still not getting paid, but I am getting to do some cool stuff and I am learning along the way, so it is ok for now. I guess I would just be sitting at home doing nothing if I wasn't here...

-Things I've learned: To just go with the flow. Sometimes things may seem like they are going off-the-wall, but you just have to keep your head on strait and go with it and figure out a solution to whatever problem there is.

-Plans for the Future: Hopefully to keep working here and getting some more experience. I will keep look for the next thing, but I wouldn't mind putting some more time in here.