Go to my website tarynhough.com

Here's the thing, I don't update this blog as often as I should. I recently rebuilt my website and have gotten in the habit of posting there weekly. If you want updates, go there or go to my production company website, www.chainsmokingmonkey.com

Unit 30 review

Unit 30 is a short film I did the typical actor trifecta on: I wrote, directed and acted in the short film. Well apparently my parents aren't the only ones who liked it! Check out the awesome review Unit 30 received from Dystopia Magazine! You can read the full review HERE. Below are some highlights:

"The short 21 minute film was well worth seeing and had this horror fan giggling at the blend of tongue-in-cheek horror and playful music..."

"I have to say how much I enjoyed this fun little film. While watching, the viewer can see just how much these actors are enjoying themselves and it's contagious for the viewer. Ms. Hough did a nice job of directing this short-film and I was impressed by how much story-line and laughter she was able to pack into a mere 21 minutes; that cannot be an easy task! Original and refreshing, Unit 30 definitely has that be-careful-what-you-wish-for feeling at the end. A playful mystery with an ending that may have you considering buying instead of renting next time around...

Look for Unit 30 at your local film festivals; it's definitely worth catching!

Overall Rating: 4"

If you'd like to learn more about Unit 30, check out the shorts blog or IMDB

Media Film Fest Update

As my fateful readers know, Unit 30 played at the Media Film Fest a few weeks ago. I had an amazing time at the festival and was glad that I not only got to experience the audience reaction of Unit 30 with more than 75 strangers, but I was also on the East Coast just in time to be apart of record breaking snow fall! Below is my experience of the Fest, and yes, I was lazy and just copy and pasted from the Unit 30 Blog

Unit 30 screened at the Media Film Festival Friday Feb. 26th in the town of Media, PA. Unit 30 was the last film shown that night to an audience of 75+. It was a great crowd and we could not have asked for a better audience reaction. As soon as the film started we were getting laughs and as Unit 30 went on the laughter was so loud at times you could not hear the dialogue on screen! I was told by multiple people on the Media Fest board that Unit 30 was the film, out of both nights, that got the biggest audience response. You couldn't ask for anything better than that. Thank you again to everyone on the Media Committee that made the festival happen.

schedule of film fest

3 movies I was apart of in one way or another are playing at the Media Film Fest next week. Below is the fest's schedule:

Media Community Center @ Borough Hall
301 N. Jackson St., Media, PA

$10 each night
(box office opens 1 hour before)

Listing of Films:

Friday Night General Program - 7pm
(box office opens at 6pm)

• Bleeder
• Dan Zimmerman, Musician, Painter, Cosmic Patriot
• Birthday Girl
• Voice of the Desert: MERASI MURLI
• You: Keith’s Enigma
• When Beliefs Are Questioned
• My Dearest Love
• Mother’s Cave
• Unit 30 (a short film I acted in/wrote/directed, IMDB here)

Friday Late Night Horror Fest
(begins approximately 1/2 hour after the main program)

• Foreclosed
• Night Terrors (a short film I wrote and directed, IMDB here)
  
• Masterpiece

Saturday Night General Program - 7pm
(box office opens at 6pm)

• Niger ’66 – A Peace Corps Diary (Trailer)
• Clubhouse
• Norman Normal
• Boomtown
• Dead Creek (a short film I acted in, IMDB here)
  
• Jacob and Death
• Warrior Queen

movies I acted in playing at festivals

Wow, I have a lot going on in PA this month! 3 projects I was apart of in one way or another are official selections of the Media Film Festival. First up is Unit 30, which is a short film I wrote/directed/acted in. Another project is Night Terrors, which is a short film I directed/wrote. Last but certainly not least is Dead Creek a short film I acted in that was shot in Vermont. Below you can see the trailer for the Media Film Fest that features all of the selected films. Unit 30 at 1:09ish, Night Terrors at 1:14ish and Dead Creek at 24 sec.

Actors have a lot of spare time on their hands

I've been animating a lot lately, this is your consequence Seasoned Curly Fries

Unit 30 update

A short film I wrote, directed and acted in called Unit 30 was accepted to the Media Film Festival in Media, PA. The fest runs from February 26th-27th, Unit 30 is screening on Friday the 26th at 7pm. Check out Unit 30's IMDB here

Why yes, that is my face covered in black mud. Thank you for noticing!

If you are looking for something to do October 24th and are going to be in the Philadelphia area, boy have I got an event for you! A short film I acted in called Dead Creek is going to play at the Terror Film Festival at 3:15. TFF is a great festival put on by amazing people, I promise you will have a lot of fun! And yes, that is my face covered in black mud, because really, who hasn't been there before!?!

*On a side note Dead Creek is nominated for 5 Claw Awards at the TFF!!!

Long overdue update

Wow, has it really almost been a year since my last post?!?! Well for everyone that follows this (I'm talking to you Mom), here is a long overdue update:

- Unit 30, the short film I wrote/directed/acted in is almost done! It basically is done, we're just having issues with the composed music sounding the same on every T.V./format it is played on. I'm actually going to watch the hopefully finished short tonight. If you would like to learn more about Unit 30, check here.

- Remember the short film I went to Vermont to shoot? Of course you do Mom, but just in case you don't, it was called Dead Creek and you can read a recap and see some onset photos of my experience here. Dead Creek received an amazing review on the Dystopia Magazine website. The review was done by Carol Sullivan and we couldn't have asked for a more glowing review or kinder words. To read the full review go here and to learn more about Dead Creek, go here

-I am also starting to work on a new short. Yes, Mom, the one we talked about the other day. Because the short is kind of high concept, I thought it would be helpful to the actors involved to create a small "trailer" that explains what the short is about. I should have the trailer done by this weekend, I will make sure to post it here when it's completed.

-Last week I had a callback for a Domino's commercial. The initial audition went great, and not to toot my own horn, but *toot toot*! I kind of figured I would get a callback for it. When I went into the room for the callback, I could tell that they just weren't feeling me and that I wasn't going to book it. "Wow Taryn, thanks for the story about NOT booking something" you may be saying to yourself right about now. The reason I thought I would mention this, because as my avid reader knows (again, looking at you Mom) I normally don't mention my auditions, is because when I got to the callback, it was like the all stars of commercial acting were all called back. Everywhere I looked I saw people I recognized from numerous commercials. It was at that point that I realized two things: 1). Wow, if they want a familiar face, I am so not booking this. And 2). Wow, that's really cool that I got called back along with all of these actors who work all the time. It's call backs like that that you don't mind not booking.

Okay, I'm making it a point to try to post stuff here more often, so check back soon for more updates!