Taryn Hough

Go to my website tarynhough.com

2010-06-30T11:18:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-25T22:21:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-25T22:13:00.000-07:00

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

2010-02-17T15:07:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-12T11:02:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-07T23:03:00.000-08:00

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

Unit 30 update

2010-02-07T22:56:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-10-23T23:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-31T14:38:00.000-07:00

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!

My 90 sec. reel

2008-11-08T07:46:00.001-08:00

So I decided to edit a 90 second reel for myself. I tend to go out for "quirkier/character" parts and my agent felt that I needed a reel that reflected that. So with that being said, below is my 90 sec. reel. It consists of clips from: the short film Tejava: Intervention, a T-Mobile commercial I did with Molly Shannon, a series of commercials I did for the Sony Mylo, and some scenes from an episode of the hidden camera show Trapped in TV Guide...Please excuse the slight pixel look to the video, what can I say? Photobucket is not the best hosting site for this sort of thing....

onset photos

2008-11-04T14:53:00.000-08:00

I've been working on a short film called 'Unit 30' for the past month or so. The short is a thriller/comedy/mystery about a planned community and the evils that lurk within the H.O.A. Below are some onset photos that have been taken throughout the shoot. If you'd like to learn more about the short, click here

I booked a part in a short film

2008-10-16T17:45:00.001-07:00

I booked a role in a short film called, "The Absent Journalist". I'm not quite sure what the short is about.....But I do know that my scene was funny! Myself, along with another actor, play tourists in Hollywood who give the lead actor (who plays one of those people who dresses up in costume by the Kodak Theatre) a hard time. The scene was scripted, but the director gave us the freedom to improvise with the lead actor. Everyone on set was really nice and the filming went quickly and smoothly. I will keep you updated with info about the film as I get it, in the meantime, enjoy these screen captures of myself from the short.

A fun fact about my part though: I'd initially auditioned for another part in the film where I would have been acting opposite the female lead, but they thought we looked too similar so they switched my role and had me acting with the male lead instead. Whoa, didn't that tidbit make your day!?!

My latest project

2008-09-25T08:26:00.000-07:00

Check out my latest project 'Unit 30'.

Recent photo session

2008-08-27T14:42:00.000-07:00

I recently took some new photos,- not because my old photos aren't working (they are, scroll down to see some of the recent stuff I booked), it's just something I feel the need to do every few months or so. Check them out, I posted some of my favorites (click on them to make them bigger). The pictures were taken by Hamilton Photography

"Dead Creek" photo slideshow

2008-08-27T13:50:00.000-07:00

As you know, I booked the lead role in a short film called 'Dead Creek'. The short was shot in Vermont and I was lucky enough to spend about a weeks time in the beautiful state. I had never been to Vermont before and was blown away with how picturesk it was. Literally every picture I took looked like a postcard. Each day we filmed we shot in a new location: in the woods, on the edge of a lake surrounded by mountains, etc...Everyone on set was really nice and I have never meet a more motivated, talented bunch of people. I hope to see all of them in the future and look forward to working with them again.

Below is a photo slideshow of some onset photos. The photos were taken with my camera, or by photographer Kelly Schulze. Enjoy:

My "Deal or no Deal" commerical is airing

2008-07-30T18:48:00.000-07:00

I shot a commercial for 'Deal or no Deal' with Howie Mandel 2 months ago, you may remember a picture I posted below about the shoot. Hmmmm, ring a bell? Any who, the spot is now airing and I must say, my mom thinks I did a great job.

Taryn DND
Uploaded by cherhamilton

Dead Creek

2008-04-18T18:54:00.000-07:00

I booked a lead role in a short film called "Dead Creek". The short film is about 'two sisters, lost in the Vermont woods, who must attempt to cross a vast marsh before sundown and come to grips with the terrible tragedy that took place there when they were children. As the mist gathers and night falls, they are haunted by ghosts of their past and the evil lurking along the muddy banks of...Dead Creek.' I play the older of the two sisters, Erin. I'm really looking forward to working with the Dead Creek team, I've seen some of their other work and it's amazing. The film will shoot in Vermont in late May, I will of course keep you guys updated as things develop

NBC Promo

2008-04-18T16:50:00.001-07:00

I booked an NBC Promo (fancy word for commercial) for the tv show 'Deal or No Deal'. My scene is with Howie Mandel and from what I could tell from the storyboards, myself and Howie are the only people who have lines in the spot. The commercial was shot today, I play a cashier, my line was "$79.17". I had a great time of set, everyone was really nice and I look forward to working with all of them again in the future. I've attached a photo from the shoot that I took in the dressing room of me in my wardrobe. My character had a goth feel to her, the makeup department did an amazing job. Look for the spot to start airing as early as May.

Working Together

2008-03-03T16:55:00.001-08:00

Above is a short film I wrote, directed and edited. It's about 6 minutes long and is a behind the scene look at three actors who have worked together in the past and the things they will say about each other when they think no one else is listening. I don't appear in the film, but I play the role of the interviewer, so you can hear my voice asking the actors questions.

an article was written about me!

2008-02-06T09:41:00.001-08:00

A film I wrote and directed called 'Night Terrors' had an article written about it by a journalist, named Baron Craze, who attend the Terror Film Festival last October. Baron was nice enough to include myself and 'Night Terrors' in the article.

"First, of significance were NIGHT TERRORS an interesting film from California, and from Taryn Hough who never went to film school, and is a self-taught woman, who funded her film by doing corporate videos, which probably inspired this production as it deals with a man dealing with the conflicting worlds of fantasy and reality. In which, life in many corporate videos tries to sell a happy, blissful positive side while actually, there is nothing but lies and grim reality. It is easy to detect why the film selected to festival, for its very promising, both in cinematic creation and directing style.."

I thank Baron again for his kind words and look forward to seeing him at many more festivals. If you would like to learn more about Baron Craze, you can check out his website here

Pictures of me from the Terror Film Festival

2007-12-11T14:31:00.001-08:00

As promised, here are some photos of me from TFF 2007. They were taken by Baron Craze during my q&a session for Night Terrors. Baron also wrote an article about the event which I was interviewed for. Look for the article in various publications after the 1st of year, I will of course post a copy of it here when I get my hands on it. If you would like to learn more about Baron, check out his website here

Myself, Alan Blackney (a lead in the short) and Princess Horror

Myself and Alan Blackney

Terror Film Festival

2007-10-26T13:00:00.000-07:00

A short film I wrote and directed called Night Terrors was accepted into the Terror Film Festival. I just got back from TFF, which took place in Philadelphia Oct. 16th-21st. I wasn't able to attend to the whole festival, but I was there for the last two days of it and I had a GREAT time. I met a lot of great people, saw a lot of great films, one of those great films was of course Night Terrors. The short was shown twice on Sunday (the last day of the festival), after which I gave a q&a to the audience. I'll post some photos of me that were taken at the q&a soon. I can't stress enough how nice everyone at the festival was and how honored I fell that my film was accepted. I'm excited to start working on my next project to submit to the Terror Film Festival next year. If you'd like to find out more about the festival click here or to learn more about my short film, click here or here

BUY my dvd!

2007-07-19T01:15:00.000-07:00

I was in an episode of the first season of 'Trapped in TV Guide' and guess what? You can now purchase the first season on DVD! I know, I know, you can thank me later for making your day. Click HERE to purchase the set thru Amazon.

Link to me on IMDB

2007-06-27T17:22:00.000-07:00

Wow, that kind of rhymed, and, uh, it didn't cost a dime-a?

Any who, after much "encouragement" (aka harassment) from friends and people in my cellphone, I broke down and created an IMDB page. I suppose the next step would be to put a picture up. Eventually I'll do that. Eventually.

Oh, you wanna see the page?!? Click here

Night Terrors is done

2007-04-10T20:36:00.000-07:00

'Night Terrors' is done! NT is an 11 min. short film that I wrote and directed about a young man who experiences disturbing dreams. Can he figure out the difference between reality and a dream before it's too late?...You can see the poster for NT on the left, but if that's not enough for you and you're yearning for more, check out the blog dedicated to the film at:

http://nightterrorstheshortfilm.blogspot.com/

You'll find a lot of fun things on the site including: onset photos, screen captures, screen test footage and the meaning of life. What? Oh, you're still reading this...Uh....Just go to the site.

I won an award!

2007-04-10T20:16:00.000-07:00

I won an award for the short film "Let Some Air In", which I wrote and directed."Let Some Air In" is a 40 minute short film about three friends in L.A. living an aimless existence, looking for change, only to find themselves back where they began. One of them is coming to terms with their sexuality, another is discovering what it means to be a "grownup", while the third is learning to tell the truth about their perfect life. As their day unfolds, the trio realize that change is easier said than done......You can see the poster for LSAI above and a picture of the award I won below. But you knew that. Seriously, you'd figured that out before I said so, right?

Trapped in TV Guide

2006-12-10T15:17:00.000-08:00

My episode of Trapped in TV Guide, "Gilmore Girls Gone Wild" premiered this week. We shot the show in Sept., but they saved my episode for the season finale because it was SOOOO funny, easily the funniest episode of the entire series. What? You don't believe me? I guess you will just have to see for yourself and try to catch a rerun of the show or wait until I post the episode on here; which I will do in the next few days.

In the meantime, to find out more about the show in general, check out their website here. You can also catch clips from my episode on their site. That's me on the right side of the picture above, and if you go to the site, click on the red arrow that's across my face, my episode will play.

Series of commercials for IFC

2006-11-12T14:08:00.000-08:00

I am appearing in a series of commercials for the Independent Film Channel (IFC). Watch the spots, they are toe tappingly awesome.

3 Sony commercials

2006-11-09T18:39:00.000-08:00

This is a screen capture from one of three Sony commercials I appeared in. This particular spot won 4 awards on YouTube. CLICK HERE to visit the website for the product the commercials were advertising, the Sony Mylo, or watch the amazing spots below.

Let Some Air In - Comedic Scene

2006-05-13T22:54:00.000-07:00

This is a really funny scene I had in the short film, "Let Some Air In". My character was just caught in a lie and is trying to justify what she said to the other person in the scene. The dramatic clip below this clip follows this scene.

Let Some Air In - Dramatic Scene

2006-05-13T22:49:00.000-07:00

An emotional scene I had in the short film, "Let Some Air In". Have you ever felt like your best just wasn't good enough, and no matter how hard you tried you just couldn't get things right? If so, you will relate to my character. The comedic scene above this clip happens moments before my character's breakdown.

Passion of the Reefer - Comedic scene-Feature Film

2006-02-08T13:49:00.000-08:00

A really funny scene I did in the feature film, "Passion of the Reefer". I play a girl that is selling maps to star's homes, and, well, I guess you'll just have to watch the clip to see what happens!

Thrasher - Commercial

2006-02-08T13:29:00.000-08:00

This is a spot I did for Thrasher Skateboard magazine.

T-Mobile - National Commercial

2006-02-08T13:22:00.000-08:00

This is my scene from a national T-Mobile commercial I appeared in for the T-mobile Sidekick 2. You can see me standing next to Molly Shannon "spying" on her as she text messages Big Boi from Outkast

Microsoft - National Commercial

2006-02-08T13:08:00.000-08:00

This is a clip from a national Microsoft Commercial I appeared in. I am on the right side of the screen and am wearing a light blue jacket.