John Christopher – Hands on 3rd: Teacher – Patternmaking/Sewing
Watch John recall his worst moment in LA:
Age: “30’s”
John has lived in LA “off and on for about 10 years,” but is originally from Austin, TX. He has worked at Hands on 3rd for 1 year.
MOVED TO LA BECAUSE: “I wanted to do acting and fashion. I knew I had to be here to do both.”
BEST MOMENT IN LA: “A few months ago I had the opportunity to be in a play at the Odyssey Theater, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. The play was received so well and we got such great reviews. It was a really positive experience for me. It added fuel to my fire wanting to be a successful actor.”
BEST AUDITION STORY: “ I got to the audition, which was for a musical, and didn’t have time to warm up. I sang my 16 bars in the regular key of the song and the woman who was conducting the audition looked at the piano player and said ‘take it up another level.’ So the piano player took it up a half step and I did my 16 bars again. To make a long story short she had the piano player go up 7 notes and then told the piano player to stop. She said, ‘I can tell you can continue to go.” It went from me being scared to a fun audition. I didn’t get cast for the part, which is part of the story in LA, you can think you did well but still don’t get it.
YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN HIM IN: The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at the Odyssey Theater, Permanent Collection at Company of Angels. Background work on “The West Wing.”
UPCOMING: “Going out and auditioning.”
THIS JOB HELPS ME AS AN ACTOR: “The technical side of designing helps with my focus and my attention to detail. Those are the two things that make an actor really good. It helps me to work and then go and act. It helps me speed up my attention.”
DREAM ROLE: “I would like to play a detective on a crime drama, or a solider in a war film.”
ADVICE FOR ACTORS MOVING TO LA: “Don’t….No, I’m just kidding. Get as much training as you can before you go out and audition. You’re gonna go on an audition and there are gonna be 25 people who look exactly like you. What you’re able to do in that audition is what will separate you. Will you be able to use an accent? What are your improv skills like? If they throw a curveball at you, how well will you adjust? Those types of things you can only acquire skill in them through training.”
