October 10, 2018 ~ Gary Wimmer

Gary L. Wimmer
Musician, Actor, Author, Psychic, Speaker

 

This month we’ll be treated to a program by the man behind the sound at our monthly mixers, Network Austin Mixer Co-founder & Core Member Gary L. Wimmer on Wednesday, October 10th at Opal Divine’s Austin Grill!

Gary looks back on his 50 years as a self-employed and often struggling musician and his last 15 years as a writer, psychic, and actor with more pride now than he felt going through those challenging but fun-filled decades. He has come to realize that it’s all about attitude, what we learn along the way, our decision to gain insight from the past and move on, and our determination to focus on what we can do and change rather than what we cannot do or change.

Gary began playing lead guitar in 1963, studied psychic phenomena in the late 60s, graduated from Texas Tech in 1970 (BS Electrical Engineering), and soon started traveling as a professional musician, knowing it would be more fun than working as an engineer. In 1973, he started giving psychic readings and still does to this day. And in 1977, Gary had an intense revelatory “near-death experience” (NDE) that still profoundly affects him, which he wrote about in his book, A Second in Eternity, and speaks about at NDE events and in interviews.

In 1980, Gary began teaching himself piano, and by 1985 he was performing solo at piano bars. He moved to Copenhagen in 1994, and went on to perform throughout Scandinavia. In 2000, he moved back to Austin where he ventured into acting, as well as writing screenplays and books. Then Doran Ingrham founded the Network Austin Mixer in 2005, joined by Gary a year later, and subsequently honored to be joined by Donise L. Hardy, CSA. Together they made the mixer what it has become today.

All in all, Gary has led a diverse and eventful life, passionately pursued his dreams creatively, and made a living as a self-employed artist for decades. He has discovered how to make his eccentric dots connect, and will be offering empowering insights about how and what we can make happen when we take chances, imagine and realize our dreams, think outside the box, and exercise our creativity in all areas of life.

Wisdom comes with experience, and experience comes because we take chances and put ourselves through challenges. No challenges, no growth. And we are all package deals with unique fears, limitations and weaknesses, but we are also gifted with unique creativity, ability and paths toward success and happiness. We create our reality by how we percieve our lives at the moment and then act. Perception is the one aspect of life that we (and we alone) can always change. And by changing our perception, making decisions and following through we create our reality, just as baseball players who believe they can hit a home run indeed do hit more than the doubters do. And Gary learned how to believe, trust, and have faith more than doubt.

Read more about Gary here, and watch more of him here. Find his books (which he’ll happily sign at the mixer!): A Second in Eternity & Lithomancy. And for more about Gary’s NDE:
A Second in Eternity
INACS Meeting
Big Daddy G Show
IANDS Meeting

 

Last Month:
We extend our deepest thanks to Carrie Elsass and her son, actor Jordan Elsass, along with Casting Director Donise L. Hardy, CSA for being our guest speakers on Wednesday, September 12th. Jordan discussed the hurdles young actors face, and revealed his intelligence, dedication, and passion, highlighting how one must not worry about the roles one does not get. Carrie explained the challenges of mothering and managing a “rising star” son, and Donise kept the conversation going by asking great questions and providing input from her many years’ experience teaching & casting actors of all ages. It was an informative and enlightening evening, and we all thank you, Carrie, Jordan, and Donise, for such a great presentation!
See photos here, and more mixer photos here.

 

Come and bring a friend to Opal Divine’s on Wednesday the 10th for laughing & learning and of course, networking. Bring a friend, and while there enjoy Opal Divine’s Happy Hour which lasts until 7, then $3 “Three for Texas” beers the rest of the evening. And don’t cook or go anywhere else for a meal or snacks because Opal’s offers a tasty and largely locally-sourced menu of goodies.

Pass along our website and check it for details about each month’s speaker(s)!
Find this month’s mixer on Facebook and invite your friends.
Get on our mailing list and keep up with us on social media:
Like our page & join our group on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Mixing & Networking @ 6:00PM, Announcements @ 6:30, Speakers @ 6:45
Followed by More Mixing & Mingling and Networking

September 12, 2018 ~ Young Actor, Parent, Casting Director

Jordan & Carrie Elsass and Donise Hardy

Jordan & Carrie Elsass and Donise Hardy

Do you want to learn about the challenges young actors face, and how they and their parents safely & successfully navigate wily world of our industry? We’ve put together just the right panel with actor Jordan Elsass and his mom Carrie Elsass, and casting director Donise L. Hardy, CSA to share their trials & tribulations and answer audience questions on Wednesday, September 12th at Opal Divine’s Austin Grill.

A former educator, Carrie Elsass is the mother of actors Jordan Elsass and his older brother Derek. When Derek was in elementary school, he received several callbacks after an open call for a feature film, and after that experience, Carrie formed a negative stereotype of child actors and stage mothers. When the family moved to Georgetown, home of The Palace Theater, she allowed Jordan to audition for a play, and he spent 2 years enjoying performing in a number of plays, until he was discovered by an agent. Carrie reluctantly allowed him to sign on, and he has never looked back, now planning a career in the industry. While still a little fearful, she has learned a lot and is supportive. Carrie has spent hundreds of hours on film sets, including acting as a set tutor on 2 major SAG productions, and enjoys helping those new to the industry in traversing the unfamiliar waters that they will surely encounter.

Jordan Elsass has been involved in the acting world for 7 years, and has been in numerous commercials, plays, films, and television shows, most recently completing a role for a TNT show not yet aired. Jordan hopes to make a career of acting. He informally started his acting career at age 4, when during a VBS production he decided to improvise his way onto his family’s “Greatest Life’s Moments” DVD. It was clear that he loved humor and finding a way to make people laugh as often as possible. Entertaining people is a gift he greatly enjoys!

In 2012, Jordan was cast in multiple main stage theatrical productions, including “Inherit the Wind” (with Carrie cast as his mother) at which talent agent Tory Christopher and casting director Donise Hardy just happened to be in the audience. He quickly signed on with Tory and took off from there. In 2014, he completed filming his first lead role for a potential TV pilot called, “Billy and the Bandit”, playing the role of Billy. This show featured Western stars of the 1960s, including James Drury, Gary Clarke, and Roberta Shore from “The Virginian”, and Buck Taylor from “Gunsmoke”. In late 2016, he played a lead role in a feature film “Pony with a Broken Wing” with actors Tom Arnold, Jonathan Silverman, and Charisma Carpenter. And he was cast in the National Geographic mini-series “The Long Road Home”. In the fall of 2018, he co-starred with Liana Liberato in a short film directed by Paul Wesley of “Vampire Diaries”. He has also been cast in many commercials and other film shorts. One of his gifts as an actor is the ability to play a broad range of roles, from serious drama to slapstick comedy and everything in between. He relishes being on set and continues taking classes to further hone his skills. he attends Austin Community College, working on both high school and college credits, and is a Mixed Martial Artist. Jordan lives with his family in Georgetown, Texas.

Donise L. Hardy, CSA, began her long & illustrious career as a high-fashion model, a print model, an extra, an actor, a baby booker, a talent agent, and an extras casting director, giving her a unique perspective on principal casting. Donise began her casting career in San Francisco in 1991; 3 years later, she established her Los Angeles firm. In 1999, a move to Austin swiftly positioned her as the busiest commercial casting director in the State of Texas. She has cast hundreds of commercials, dozens of films and industrials over 27+ years. Throughout her career, she has taught classes, specializing in commercial audition technique. Her classes are in high demand and consistently recommended by agents, coaches, talent, and parents of actors throughout the state. Having conducted thousands of auditions gives her a special insight into the process. She recently published, “ACTING CAREER BASICS:  On-Camera Audition & Industry Tips” available through Amazon. And many know Donise as a Core Member of The Network Austin Mixer whom we appreciate and from whom we benefit by her boundless energy, determination, perspective and passion!

This month’s mixer offers a rare opportunity to learn about the ins & outs, the joys & disappointments, and the struggles & victories that young actors and their supportive parents experience. We are thrilled about having this panel, and hope all of you join us on Wednesday, September 12th @ Opal Divine’s for this passionate, informative, and enlightening mixer!

 

Last Month:
The Austin Film Festival (AFF) is recognized as one of the best and most important film festivals, and we extend our deepest thanks to the following members of AFF for contributing their time and insights about AFF and the Festival & Conference at our Wednesday, August 8, 2018 mixer:
Samantha Levine, Marketing Director
Rob Gonzalez, Volunteer Manager
Gabbi Lindgren, Script Competitions Coordinator
Samantha Johnson, Executive Administrator
Explore the many programs of the AFF, and don’t miss this year’s Silver Anniversary Festival & Conference from October 25th to November 1st!
We’re also very grateful for their generosity in offering us our own promo code for a $25 discount off this year’s Lone Star Badges: NAM25
See photos here, and more mixer photos here.

 

Pass along our website and check it for details about each month’s speaker(s)!
Find this month’s mixer on Facebook and invite your friends.
Get on our mailing list and keep up with us on social media:
Like our page & join our group on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Mixing & Networking @ 6:00PM, Announcements @ 6:30, Speakers @ 6:45
Followed by More Mixing & Mingling and Networking