Taming the Tiger

Hello Joe. Chasen here, AKA Taming the Tiger; I'm a dirtbag in his late twenties who grew up in a boring suburb in SoCal. Was diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum when I was young and was raised in the most perfect, accommodating environment for it, and by that I mean they had no clue what they were doing (another story for another time). Who knows what kind of repressed monster I would have become if it wasn't for the acting camp in Washington I attended for seven summers? I found other misfits and weirdos like myself and thus started a life long love affair with art. I decided to go to college as far away from my shitty town as possible and went to acting school in London, where I made amazing friends, saw sights, drank to excess, and became absolutely cynical of the bootlicking institutionalization of acting, in spite of a few great teachers and directors.

Graduated, moved to New York, accomplished little in three years, came back to LA, had a shitty year and a quarter, made some mistakes, and am now recovering with family in Palm Desert. I've been making changes in my life; learning to work harder for my joy and become more pro active with my dreams. I'm learning Kung Fu ( a lifelong dream), Hung Gar to be precise, getting back in shape, learning some film theory and finally making the effort to understand more of this condition I think of as both blessing and curse. I met some wonderful people in Slab City who directed me to this amazing website. It's high time for me to grit my teeth, throw my fear on the killing floor and learn how to rough it to the places I want to go. I am an empty cup, fill me up dirtbags!

"Fear and Fire: good servants, bad lords."-Ursula K. Le Guin