We Both Like Products in Boxes!

Ever since those Progressive ads with the lovely and charming Stephanie Courtney began playing, I've had a bee in my bonnet about being in them. I may be a perfectly able commercial actor, but how often do you get to see someone that doesn't look like a straight-up Midwestern catalog cut-out or a polished alpha-dork (male) take to the 15-second screen? Flo is both great and ground-breaking. This month there were open tryouts to win a role in a commercial helping her sell more insurance, so of course I strapped on my red lipstick, Flo-hair and pumped up my girl-nerdiness and headed to the audition. Instead of just the usual suspects, random tourists wandered through like lost cattle, stopping to creepily tell the cameras of their Flobsessions. Hey, it's harder than you'd think to improvise 30 seconds of pitch to an imaginary character while on a glossy white stage facing both casting directors and a throng of foreigners straight off the star-watching bus! As geeky as I was in the swimming pool lighting, I hope those CDs keep in mind the standup bits that preceeded taping...and that I came with enough enthusiasm to drown a gaggle of kindergartners. Cross your fingers that I make it to the next round! You can watch me attempt to help Flo here.