Los Angeles Actor Seeks Scripts from Stephenville

[Los Angeles, CA] Los Angeles based actor, Paul Jacob Evans, is seeking short film scripts written by the residents of Stephenville, Texas. As a former resident, Evans said it's his way to give back and allow local screenwriters an avenue to showcase their work. “It’s an opportunity I would have loved to have had back when I lived here," he said. "an opportunity to tell a story, and to see that story be told.” Evans said he was looking at producing short films for a festival run, when the idea came to him. “I was at the beach writing when it hit me, why not give people back home the chance I never had? I have access to produce these stories now, stories I had when I was back in Stephenville. I want to give someone that experience that I never had, give back to the community that helped raise me.”

Script submissions will be accepted until midnight on July 4th and can be sent via email to [stephenville@pauljacobevans.com]. All submissions must be under ten pages and in PDF or Celtx format. As far as content is concerned, Evans said he's open. "What I’m looking for is a deep story, how accessible the shoot would be, and I’d be looking at playing a lead role. I’m going to read these and at some point, one will really connect with me. That will be the one.” The writer selected will receive full writing credit and an invitation to any festival the film premieres at.

About Paul Jacob Evans

Now living in Los Angeles, award winning actor/producer Paul Jacob Evans is actively involved in multiple films across the country and theatrical productions in Los Angeles. Currently trains with master acting coach Alan Feinstein at the Alan Feinstein Acting Studio (http://www.alanfeinsteinactingstudio.com). He has most recently played ‘Ryan’ in Lewis Black’s critically acclaimed “One Slight Hitch”, and is looking forward to working with award winning directors in Texas and Atlanta, and producing his own Hollywood films for festival runs. You can find out more about Paul Jacob Evans at his website (http://www.pauljacobevans.com)

Of Words and Story

"What's this word?", the little girl asks me while reading this speech I printed out.  "Interposition."  Blank look from her. "It means like how a state like Texas or California protects everyone by enforcing national laws." I respond happily. The girl gives a 'don't understand, don't care, moving on...' sort of look. She continues reading as I asked her to do, reading this iconic speech out loud for us.

The three of us are sitting at a table outside a quaint little diner. Shaded by a large oak tree are myself, the little girl, and a extremely cautious and confused mother (yes, I did ask her first if you're wondering).

The girl gets through the entire speech and smiles, "All done!"  "Very good job, you're a great reader.", I congratulate.  Her mom smiles, "Very good sweetie" then over to me with a 'where's the punch-line' look.  I start to rise out of the chair, "Thank you so much for your time with this. It was very insightful."  "You're welcome, can you talk about what is going on?"  Yes I can....

It's about 'words'.

Yesterday I got into a discussion with someone who felt that words hold tremendous power and importance.  Authors, writers, speakers tirelessly craft written language through words.

And.... well.... I'm not sure if I agree with that.

So I went home and devised this test.  If 'words' themselves held tremendous power and importance, they are the driving factor of influence in communication.  Thus you could give Dr. Kings speech to anyone to recite, and (because the words are the same) get the same power as if Dr. King gave the speech himself.

The little girl did a great job...  but I do feel that hearing it from Dr. King (3 feet in front of me) would be QUITE a different experience.

How could this be?

Humans invented a extremely flawed communication system: language.  It is actually quite terrible at delivering information person to person without being re-interpreted each and every time.  And if all you're doing is focusing on the words themselves, then there's something very important you'll miss.

Take a simple sentence:  "That little girl went to school today."


Ok.... 

let that sit in you...

...


for a bit...





Now, go up to the top and look at that photo...


Were the 'words' [That, little, girl, went, to, school, today] effective at delivering the information of what happened?  I'll also say something quite shocking, I don't believe words have any real power or importance at all.  

So....... What are words then?

Like everything else in my life, this gets answered with BBQ. :)

I'm from Texas and since being here in Los Angeles, I've really been missing Texas-style BBQ.  This is extremely slow cooked, blackened meats.  Cooked for anywhere between 12-20+ hours, it's by far my favorite cuisine.  There's a place up in valley at Van Nuys Blvd and Chandler called Smoke City Market.  It's legit Texas style BBQ (go late in the day though, meat gets better).  Fatty brisket with perfect marbling and a roasted bark from coarse salt and cracked pepper.  Ribs with a thin sweet BBQ spritz that just fall apart in your hand.  Ahhhhhh MAN, place is GREAT!

So if 'words' are the embodiment of their meaning, and hold total power and importance...
I want you to 'eat' the brisket.

Go ahead, reach in with your fingers and rip off a piece from that paragraph above, be it on a computer screen, iPhone, iPad, Android or printout...

Having issues?  Sorry, it's pretty packed in there.  Here let me put it here so it's easier to get to......

".....Fatty brisket with perfect marbling and a roasted bark from coarse salt and cracked pepper."

There... Taste it now?

Think of words like paint.  An artist uses paint to tell a story on canvas, but the paint.... and this is very important... IS NOT the story.  If words were so important to communication, how could we have dance, music, photography, sculpture, painting?  If words are so important, and [Fatty, brisket] is the up most embodiment of its meaning, why do we have 100s of different languages that use different words for this tasty dish?

If you still disagree with this, please feel free to go to a hardware store... pick out your favorite pint of paint....  bring it home, open it and set it on the counter....

Now stare at it until 'story' comes out.

We get so attached to the words themselves that we lose focus on what is actually important, the story behind them.  Watch the news, "Oh my!  [PUNDIT NAME] said that those [FOUR WORDS IN SOME ORDER]....."  Nobody ever stops to find out what the story was.  They are simply just glued to 'the letter of the language'.  And if you're attached to that, you can simply add in your own interpretation to create whatever story you want behind it.

Here's another sentence:  "Get out of my house."

Now I'll add story to it....

Story:    Wife caught husband cheating with her sister.
Story:    Son came out of the closet to his dad.
Story:    Rapist broke into a bedroom.
Story:    Bar owner breaks up a fight.

I can change the meaning of the words [Get, out, of, my, house] all day long.  It's the story that ultimately matters, that's what we are trying to understand and communicate, the actual words don't hold any real meaning.

It's what a 'artist' is, that is what an actor is, a painter, a dancer, a musician, and yes... a writer, even Dr. King himself ....

a 'STORY'-teller not a 'WORD'-teller.



"You're welcome, can you talk about what is going on?", from the mother with a bit of caution in her eye.   I took out my smartphone and looked up a video of Dr. King's speech online.  We all watched it together.  The mother cried.

I looked at her, "So we watched two renditions of that speech.  One from your daughter, one from Dr. King.  One of those was 'of words', the other 'of story'.  What your daughter showed me is which of those is more important."

"Story", she softly said.

"Yes.  And I thank you a great deal.  Have a nice day you two."  I walked over to the waiter and paid their bill for their time.  They have no idea how much help they've been for me.

Thank you! :')  

--Paul Jacob Evans

www.pauljacobevans.com

Looking Back : How It Will Change Your Life

"Wait... What's her name?", I stumble through her headshot and what appears to be what she thought of as her resume.  No dice.  The headshot appears to be a facebook profile pic blown up and printed on a standard sheet of printer paper, and the resume is her actors access confirmation sheet, printed out.  "PJ, what was her name?"  I keep flipping the pages over, thinking there's no way she handed us a stack of papers with not even her name on them.  I thought wrong.

This was my first time auditioning actors ever, and after watching 10 actors come in and out (24 were confirmed, 50 were scheduled) I can say it really changed my outlook on my career and life in general.  On the way home there was construction on the 134, so I had some added minutes to dissect the experience and learn.  What I found was life-changing...

Here in Los Angeles, we're taught to 'Reach for the Stars!', 'Always look forward towards your goals!', "NEVER LOOK BACK!".  I think it's good to keep you in focus, but I feel they miss a very important perspective point.  And that point is this....

If all you do is look up at the stars, then you are always looking 'above' your experience, 'above' where you are at.  Conversely, what you are always seeing is a reality where you are always last place.

I'm sitting in a CD workshop next to a friend who constantly works co-stars and day-player roles, roles I would love to be getting.  But what is he doing?  Complaining.  Complaining that he isn't getting guest star roles to stick.  I wanted to scream at him weeks ago, now I understand why.  To him, the reality that he sees is guest stars, recuring, series regulars.  To him, co-star IS last place.  

Would this stop with him?  No.  Not at all.  Take a look at anyone you highly respect as a artist.... Me?  Kevin Spacey.  Now, would I like to have his career? Absolutely.  2 time Oscar winner, 54 award wins, works in numerous productions with new and seasoned filmmakers a like.  I would love that, because it's 'above my experience'.  But look at his perspective, what if he is looking 'above HIS'.  Maybe EGOT?  Platinum record? Wherever he is looking, that reality is putting himself last place within it.

And if it doesn't stop with him, it doesn't stop with you either...

Right now, there is someone in the middle of Kansas that would kill to be having the experience I have right now.  I just happen to be at a place that's above their perspective.  And the same goes for wherever you are at in your career.

When that 'no-name' actress left the room, I didn't see a failure.  I saw myself back when I was just starting out, AND how far I've come since then.  What I saw in myself as stagnant yesterday, I see as success now.  I am doing a great job, and it feels amazing to be able to see this.

So stop looking up, and look back from time to time.  You'll stop seeing yourself in last place, and pick up a lot of gratitude for the amazing amount of ground you've covered.

I know I did. :)  Changed my life. :')

Have a fantastic day!

--Paul Jacob Evans

www.pauljacobevans.com

The Trials of Angeles : Los Angeles Done Right

"Los Angeles is a living being.  She will be test you, pressure you, tempt you in a attempt to break you.  She wants only those living here who must live here."  I stared back at him, he was a good friend whom was minute by minute  convincing me to move here.  "I don't understand." I beckoned.  "And you won't, you have to move here first then you'll understand."  I was pretty silent, as the air had a mood like was being inducted into the masons.  "How do you know I'm a good fit for LA?"  "I don't.  But I think it's where you need to be.  You need to trust me on this one."  I thought about it for a few days, and made a decision.  I moved a few months later.

3 years later I found a keepsake from that week-long visit that got me to come out here.  Played back 3 years of life to see just what he was talking about.  The trials and tribulations of Los Angeles.  So I sat down to write this article... Not a piece about me coming here, this is a piece about her.... Los Angeles.

It was day one, sleeping in my car parked in front of the bungalow I got in Silverlake waiting for the landlord to come by and let me in.  My phone buzzed with a text. "Hey!  Heard it's your first day!", my friend who got me out here.  He's been rather cryptic with his explanation of the magic of this city so I asked a (what I now know) VERY important question. "Any advice?"  I see his iMessage notification... he's typing.... erasing.... He's Typing.... erasing..... long pause.... He is typing.  'Boop' my phone chrips.  "Yes.  Los Angeles is a magical place, and the city will have a place for you.  Do not fight this.  Allow the city to move your path and you will be rewarded greatly, fight this and the city will destroy you."

I had no idea how right he was.

There were a lot of friends that I had out here as well... And one by one, they all fought the city, and one-by-one I watched them turn viciously cynical all ending with a text message to the effect of "This place sucks!  I'm gone!"  I would read that and sigh, yet another soul lost to the trials.  Remaining friends hear this and push their agendas harder (worst thing to do) and I watch them fall even faster.  Me?  Every time some trial crossed my path I went right back to his advice: Accept the change Los Angeles is gifting you.

One of the opportunities the city gave me was driving for Uber.  Very sobering experience.  Night after night driving people new to the city and seeing yet again people fighting the city... losing.  One girl got in my car, around 18-ish, gave me an address and continued a call with her father.  "Dad I HATE it here!  Nobody respects me!"  She was balling.  I asked her what was going on and she gave me her story.  "Pop singer, came from Nebraska to 'become the star she's destined to be'"  "How's that working for you?" I ask.  Silence from her, then a "I keep going into these studios and they keep calling me ameatur, needs direction.  THEN my agent keeps getting offers for musicals... I DON'T DO MUSICALS!  I'M A POP STAR!"

"Well... Ok.  Would you like some advice?"  I looked at her in the rear-view mirror.  She wiped away tears from her eyes and nodded yes.  I told her everything my friend told me.  We arrived at her destination, I open the door for her.  "So you think I should do these musicals?"  "Hon, for whatever reason Los Angeles has decided that you need to do musicals right now.  I don't know why.  All I know is that you are either going to do them, or you're outta town that's it."  "Yeah, I think you're right."  "In a year, you'll look back and see that this is by far the best thing that could have happened.  Trust me."

"Thanks."  Smiled and walked into the building.

It's a lot like a rollercoaster.  If you go with the flow they are fun, but if you fight the turns and drops it's a horrifying experience.  But the most important point to understand is you can't change the track.  You will go where Los Angeles wants you to go and that's it.  The more you fight, the harder the trials.  Los Angeles will win, but she only wants the best for you.

So trust her.  :)

--Paul Jacob Evans

www.pauljacobevans.com

A Quick Word On Gratitude...

We just got finished playing our set.  I was looking out from the merch table, and saw a girl pushing through the sea of avid music lovers towards us.  She seemed to be in a fantastic mood, smiling and belting out "EXCUSE ME!  THANK YOU!" as she ninja'ed through the crowd.  Finally approaching us, handing me a sharpie while she put her leg up on the table.  "SIGN IT!" she commanded.  I smile and grab the sharpie, to sign yet another appendage for this night.  Her finger pointed right back at me.... and she charged with "Make it a good one."

The band is a interesting story.  It's a fairy-tale tragedy, with a snow white beginning and a Hamlet end.  I got to experience a dream most music fan fanatics all have: Fan-turned-member. From the front row, to playing drums in my favorite band ever.  It taught me a lot about being in entertainment and I gift the experience with my success as a actor now.  But there's one part of this experience nobody can prepare you for.

We would sit down in the band room at the house and go through mail.  Letter after letter, piece after piece, story after story.  First there were a few letters posted to the walls, and slowly that became dozens to hundreds.  The walls of the room literally wallpapered with messages from our fans.  From a far, I'm sure that sounds like messages of 'Ya'll ROCK!' 'Love you guys! xoxo', 'Kick ass show!'....  And those are there, those are fun, I was prepared for those.  However, real fan mail goes something like this...

... I wanted to let you know how important you are to my life.  That night back on valentine's day, your show at Room 710 changed my life forever.  I woke up that morning and decided that life wasn't worth living anymore and made plans to kill myself that night.  I went out to walk down Red River one more time before heading home.  But I ended up at your show and you gave me the courage to live again.  I'm not alone anymore.   

Love,  ---

The singer handed that one to me, "You might want to read this..."  I hung it above her guitar amp and both of us sat down and stared at it for an hour, neither of us saying a single word.  What could you say?  

... you gave me the strength to tell mom what dad has been doing to me.  Mom and I are moving away now.  Please come and see me soon in Iowa.   

Your biggest fan, --

 I couldn't sleep for a few days after reading that.  And that's really what nobody can prepare you for, the humbling obligation of love towards others.  When your art turns from 'we're doing this for us' to 'she is alive because of us', 'she's no longer abused because of us', it changes things a lot.  We continue on so she can live, so she can heal, so she can love.  The art becomes healing, filled with love.  We become a family of healers.  Then art becomes 'we're doing this so [people] can live', 'so [people] can heal', 'so [people] can love' and become a living entity made up of artist and fan.  A living entity that can now heal and help millions.

The fans are what make this possible.  The fans are what make a artist.  And I think that some forget this...

I drive for UBER, and have had many-a-people in my car.  From the IT worker getting off at 3am from work, to the people who walked across the stage at the Oscars to receive their award.  And I'm shocked by how some view their respective fans.  One person I wanted to backhand in my car for calling their fans, 'retarded shmucks'.  

This is a dead-beat dad, whom is only around when it benefits them, not caring at all for their children.  You are a parent because you have a child.  And I firmly believe that you are a artist because you have a fan, and that fan deserves that highest level of gratitude.  They've placed so much trust and love in you, that it's your obligation to treat them the same back.

A fan is the child of a artist.  And that cannot be abused.

The fan smiled after I finished the autograph on her leg.  She screamed out "PERFECT!", kissed me on the cheek and ran off.  I thought it odd, but much stranger things have happened...  .....

...before I continue this story, I want you to scroll back up and look at that photo for a while.

seriously, I'm not kidding....

That's a tattoo.

Unbeknownst to me that fan ran down the street to a tattoo parlor, where a tattoo artist was already waiting for her to come in.  She showed up at a show a few weeks later, "Hey Number 3!  Remember this..."  I looked and saw it, "Yeah... wait... is that Sharpie?"  "I had it tattoo'ed".  Everyone at the merch table froze.  She smiled, said "Oh yeah.  Bye!"  turned, and walked off.  I was speechless, and gratitude is all I could feel.

I'm a artist 'because' of her, my fan.  And that gratitude is what my child deserves.

:')

Much Love to All of You,

--Paul Jacob Evans

www.pauljacobevans.com

Never Let Your Child Die

She stopped momentarily, staring at the items on the conveyor belt. "So, you still play with crayons?"  With no sense of humor in her voice. "Yes.  Why not?", I defend.  "I just thought they were for little kids." With a sneer I've never seen before, then continued scanning the UPC codes and ringing me up.  I pay for the bunch.  Poster board, crayolas, sticky letters, glue, .....  A pack as if I'm getting ready to build a project for a 2nd grader. "Nope.  It's all for me.", I smile back while leaving.  Honestly, I was half expecting to be escorted out by security from her reaction.

I'm still a person who puts his hand out the window driving, fanning the air as if to give my car wings. I imagine taking off in a plane when ever I go over a huge interchange bridge. I still make my own echo sounds.  I imagine having rocket boots when I run (complete with sound effects).  I seriously will hum my own backtrack music throughout the day.  I talk to imaginary people. And yes, I go to stores to buy crayons... For me.  I don't find any of this odd at all. 

I take the loot back to my house and begin to put together a "What If" board.  It's a board to help keep your life positive and on track. While working on it, and humming the theme to The A-Team, I began to notice something very simple...

I have completely embraced my inner child.

And I don't think that is something most people do.  Growing up, I feel that we're constantly beaten down with 'grow up!', 'responsibility!', 'act your age!' (whatever the hell that means).  That most people lock their child away in the deepest recesses of their mind, never allowing them to come out again.

For some, that child goes there and dies.

What is lost?  Your child is the real you, the 'core' you.  Who you are today is this child with stacks of 'life' on top of them.  And if you allow this child to die off, you cease to be a definable person, as 'life' is merely a series of facts, events, and variables.  'Life' doesn't define 'you' ...... here..... Mmmmm....... I'll use math to describe this: 

x = 4

x + 3 + 9 + 7 + 1 + 15 + 3 = ?

So the answer is '42'.  We have a starting point, then a series of variables that happen, and end up at 42.  Nobody would argue at this conclusion.  But what about this:
x = ?

x + 3 + 9 + 7 + 1 + 15 + 3 = ?

So where are we at now?  Who are we?  We have the same 'life' in both situations, so we should have almost the same number... Right?  This 'x', this starting point, this 'inner child' IS the foundation of who you are.  Without it, you become a wandering soul desperately looking for anything to help you define yourself.

What's worse...  Are those people who warp you, telling you that:

x = political party
x = religion
x = race
x = job
x = money
x = sports team
...

It's ok for these to be a part of your life, but they are not the 'core' you.  Unfortunately, for the 'lost ones', they will substitute these into their core definition of themselves.  They'll move through life changing 'x' over and over again trying to 'find themselves'.  All while their true 'x' is locked away inside of themselves waiting to be freed.

So, let your child out and be free.  Become re-acquainted with your child.  Get to know your child.  Love and embrace your inner child everyday.  Allow your child to be as silly and fun as they want to be.  And MOST important... 
Never let your child die.

That child is 'you', the real you.

(...and if your child wants crayons, you buy them some crayons)

:)

Have a fantastic week!

--Paul Jacob Evans

www.pauljacobevans.com

Ho'oponopono?

"How can you be so happy all the time?"  She was staring right back at me with a 'drop the bullshit' kind of look.  "What is up with you?"  I looked right back at her, shrugged my shoulders... smiled.  "It's a choice.  And I choose to be happy."  That didn't seem to quite satisfy her... "No... no, no.. There's bad shit going on out here in the world, you have bombings and shootings.  Hatred and ..." I stopped her right there.

"That's all 'so what?'", I said, "I'm here to tell you that none of that matters. These 'facts', people, places, events that happen have no meaning... no 'charge'.  It's your emotions that fill these images that make them positive or negative..."  DING!  Another customer comes in, she looks at me with a contemplative look then over back to the counter.

I look back down at my breakfast and ponder what I can tell her to help give her more to life.  This blog always seems to piece my thoughts together, so today's encounter is creating this post.  :)

Has something ever happened in the past (something more than a year ago) that hurt you?  Maybe someone stole from you... cheated on you.... etc etc etc.  Do you notice now, when you think about that event that there's a little bit of calmness around it?  Detachment?  Maybe now, thinking about it... You see some good that came from it.  Maybe you're looking back at that event and even chuckling about the situation?  And here's the break-though with this exercise...  

If that sense of detachment is there 1 year later, maybe it was there the day it happened.

Think of these 'facts' as little cars.  They have no power, they are powered by emotions.  So a 'fact' will happen: [your boss fires you]  At that point, some emotion will get into the fact-car and start driving it towards 'rotten-land' or 'happy-ville'.  What you can learn to do, is decide which emotions get to drive these little cars.  And you'll be amazed what changes you can make in your life.  

So 'fact' happens: [SUV cuts you off]  'Rage' is already getting into the fact-car... But you say 'NO.'  And offer that little car to 'Love'.  "You know what?  Maybe his wife is in the hospital... Maybe that's why he's in such a hurry." You say to the SUV that you were about to scream at.

How do you do this?

There are 4 phrases you can say that interrupts the auto-pilot most of us have our emotions on....  And that's when I know how to help the waitress.  :)  I grab a napkin and write the following:

I Love You

I'm Sorry

Please Forgive Me

Thank You

The waitress came back and dropped off the check.  "I think I can finally answer you...", I say, "Here.  Whenever you feel that 'facts' are happening that you don't like.  Say these words.  It's called 'Ho'oponopono', you use it to keep bad emotions from literally driving your life."

She smiled while reading it, and tucked it in her apron.

DING!  Yet another customer.

"Thank you hon.", she says.  I look right back at her, "You're welcome.  And I hope you have a awesome day."

She contemplated for a second, then a deep confident smile.

"You know what?  I will have one."

:D

And I hope you have a awesome day as well :')

--Paul Jacob Evans

www.pauljacobevans.com