Birthday Wishes!

October 27th 2010.
Today is the birthday of BOTH Dustin Duke Dlouhy and Jonny Stevens, two friends from Idaho that I had the pleasure of seeing in Los Angeles this weekend!
Jonny, thanks for the inevitable laughter. It was so good to see you!
Dustin, thanks for the adventures running along Venice Beach and multiple tours of LA. Your play was EXCELLENT. For all those who have the opportunity to see the play, TAKE ME OUT, I highly recommend it!
L.A. adventures also were opportunity to reconnect with SU alum and good friend Rowena Catalla...and finally meet her fiancee! You two make an inspiring couple, Ro Po! Hopefully a return trip to L.A. will be in store for me pre-Peace Corps departure! :)

Photos are posted from LA: http://htnyc.blogspot.com

Also a quick shout out on behalf of Dustin Duke Dlouhy... as a good friend from Coeur d'Alene, ID, he's someone you may know or have heard of through my emails. As an aspiring actor in LA, he has decided to take the next step towards a professional acting career by committing to join the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) - the largest actor's union that Dustin has recently earned his rite of passage to, after less than a year in LA - and pay the $2,393 SAG initiation fee. In honor of life and pursuing his dream, he has invited family and friends today (his birthday) to help him raise the money for the SAG initiation fees by considering a $1 donation, with a clever business proposal: when he lands his first lead role in a feature film, he will repay in DOUBLE all donations made today. :) Take a risk on a struggling actor today and you may be repaid two-fold in the future! If you wish to donate, you can do so online at: http://funds.gofundme.com/ynuk. Dustin's letter is below...I recommend reading it, even just to gain insight into the life's adventures of a kid from Idaho turned budding actor in L.A.

Peace, Love and Blessings,
Hana T.

_________________________________________________________

“Happiness is having dreams. Success is making those dreams come true.”
‐Fortune cookie from Hong Kong Restaurant, Idaho Falls, Idaho: 1999

Dear Family and Friends,

As many of you know, I moved out to Los Angeles last year to see if I have what it takes to become a professional actor. Many roads (football, business, boxing, and “Rocky” movies) have led me to where I
am on this road less traveled. It’s neither an easy road, nor a certain road, but for the first time I feel like I’m living up to my fullest potential and it is incredibly satisfying.

One of the first steps towards becoming a professional actor is to join the Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG). Established in 1933, SAG has become the nation’s largest and most respected labor union representing over 120,000 working actors over the past 77 years. It exists to enhance actors’ working conditions, compensation, and advocates on behalf of artists’ rights. Not just anyone can join: it is a significant rite of passage for working actors and requires certain qualifications that come in many forms. Brad Pitt’s opportunity arose when he dressed up as the crazy chicken in “El Pollo Loco’s” commercial for fast‐food Mexican grilled chicken in the 1980’s. Unlike your typical rites of passage for men throughout history, SAG’s rite of passage rarely entails wilderness survival or epic hunting adventures and feels more like a fraternity’s hazing. For me, it required both wearing a skirt and a four‐foot tall warrior’s mask for a scene in the up‐coming movie Little Fockers, and parading around in my underwear as a homophobic business‐man turned gay‐lover in the up‐coming film Girl Walks Into a Bar. I’ve dreamed of working with celebs like Robert De Niro and Owen Wilson, but never anticipated I’d have to be wearing a skirt or tighty‐whities to make it happen. But then again, like most Idahoans, my parents raised me to do what I gotta do to get the job done.

Having been in L.A. for just a year, I am grateful for this opportunity (skirt or no skirt) to join SAG after such a short time. I could not have made it this far without the continuous love and support that I’ve
received all the way from L.A. to Idaho Falls, Boise to Coeur d’Alene, Missoula to New York City, and Coventry, England to Valencia, Spain. Your calls, emails, and shout outs on Facebook have meant a lot to me and truly motivate me through the daily ups and downs of this industry. A strong person is created by the people around him, and you all have given me the courage to continue pursuing my dream here in L.A., even if it means auditioning in my underwear. To all of you, I say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!

For those of you who feel so inspired, I have a business proposal: Today, October 27th 2010, is my birthday. In honor of life and following this crazy dream of mine, I have committed to pay the $2,393
SAG initiation fee, so that I can take the next step towards a professional acting career. I ask you all to reach deep into your pockets or ash tray and consider donating at least $1. As an incentive, for all of you who donate, I promise to repay you in DOUBLE when I book my first starring role in a feature film. It’s like playing Black Jack: you take a risk on a struggling actor today, and perhaps I can get you onto a guest list for a ridiculously exclusive Beverly Hills event in the future. What have you got to lose? Whether it’s a $1 donation (via http://funds.gofundme.com/ynuk or my address below) or a simple “break a leg!”, “good luck” or clicking “Like” on my Facebook page, please keep the support coming.

As a kid from Idaho who now finds himself in the fast‐paced society of L.A., it’s all too easy to forget the love and support of the people who have made us who we are today. As I look back on the millions of
moments in my life, I am BEYOND blessed to have such an AMAZING community of family, teammates and friends. You all have made me who I am today, and give me the strength to believe in the man that I am becoming.

Lots of LOVE,
Dustin Duke Dlouhy

607 N. Spaulding Ave, #12, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Tel: (208) 272‐1512