Career Update

After the July-August 2013 job as the stand-in for actor Spencer Wilding in the movie “Jupiter Ascending” completed: I enrolled at the Chicago Actors Studio and have been taking acting classes there every Saturday. Performing plays, monologues and cold readings. My favorite has been playing Stanley Kowalski in “Street Car Named Desire”, Starbuck in “The Rain Maker” and 4 different characters’ for the studios’ Christmas/holiday play. I also took part in the Indie Film “The Working Dead” produced for the 72hr National Film Challenge, my 2nd IMDB credit!

My early 2014 goals were:
1) Registered and work at least once for all five casting agencies in Chicago that handle all professional background work: Atmosphere Casting, ExtraOrdinary Casting, Joan Philo Casting, and Marinella Chicago Casting, and 4 Star Casting.
2) Work at least once on all six TV series filmed in Chicago: Betrayal, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Crisis, Mind Games and Shameless, (plus the Empire trailer).
3) Work at least once for all four background-acting positions: Extra (featured), Precision Driver, Photo Double and Stand-in.

By April I had completed all but the photo double goal, having worked a total of nearly sixty days on the various film sets. My next goals are to continue taking the acting classes and add the audition class also available at the Chicago Actors Studio. It’s time to get my audition skills polished, resume and headshots in order and demo reel finished. Then let the auditioning for character roles begin!

The Audi R8 V10 Plus

The Audi R8 V10 Plus: Quattro all-wheel drive, tailored specifically for a mid-engine configuration, 85 percent rear torque bias. Seven-speed dual clutch S-tronic transmission. All aluminum 5.2 liter DOHC V10 with four valves per cylinder, variable valve timing and direct injection, 550-hp/398-lb-ft. Carbon-ceramic brakes. Revolutionary high strength all aluminum frame and body. Diamond-stitched Nappa leather sport seats and flat-bottom steering wheel. Full LED headlights and taillights. 0-60 mph: 3.2 seconds, top speed: 198-mph. Explosive performance, an exotic presence and the most confidence inspiring handling of any super car. Beauty is in the details. (Double click on videos for full screen.)

Morning Commute

Commuting to the UFC Boxing GYM this morning, temperatures at zero, major chain slip, near face plant. Oh look, cassette gear lost some weight. Another piece of it is still somewhere on Belmont Ave. Looks like its Get A Grip Cycles time!

Solitary Experiments

Solitary Experiments is a German Electro/Future-Pop band out of Frankfurt. The band’s story started in 1993 with a Commodore Amiga and a Kawai K4 synthesizer. Michael Thielemann and Dennis Schober experimented with this equipment under the name “Plague”. One year later, in 1994, the founding of the project known as “Solitary Experiments” had begun. (Double click on videos for full screen.)
https://www.facebook.com/solitaryexperiments
http://www.solitaryexperiments.de/

Life Aspirations

This simple cell phone image represents the beginning of a new life aspiration. Uwe the bicycle racer as most have known me is no more. The aspiration of being a scholar of ancient oriental philosophy has been put on indefinite hold. Even longer in the past are my attempts as a sports car racer and Buddhist Monk. And finally, my present involvement as an amateur boxer will never be more than an athletic hobby.

My new aspiration is as an actor. The above photo was the first shared as a headshot to a Chicago based casting company, Atmosphere Casting. The plan was to land the role as a driver for the film “Jupiter Ascending”, instead it landed me the job of stand-in. It is not my first exposure to acting. Long ago I was part of four different Operas at the Chicago Lyric Opera and several years ago I was a key actor in a commercial for SAP where I played the part of an elite cyclist. There were other small roles such as in a music video and in an independent short film.

But none-the-less, the aspiration of being an actual actor is a real challenge for me. I could easily give in to psychological comfort and continue on the path to being a scholar and hide myself away behind a mountain of books in a tiny office at some university. But instead I’ve chosen to confront my personal introverted and passive aggressive self, to broaden my character, to challenge myself, to embrace the change that occurs all around me and in me everyday, to make imagination become reality.

Apoptygma Berzerk

Apoptygma Berzerk is a Norwegian/Danish musical group. Stephan Groth and Jon Erik Martinsen formed the band in 1989. They have achieved success with a brand of synthpop and ballads backed with electronic rhythms, commonly known within the scene and referring to themselves as "futurepop" or “electro-rock”. The name "Apoptygma Berzerk" either has a secret meaning or does not mean anything. The name is reminiscent of the word apophthegm, which means a statement that speaks one's mind - which would make the title mean a berserk manifesto. 1984 IS NOW! (Double click on videos for full screen.)

Get A Grip Cycles

On the road Get A Grip Cycles bike service and race support.