Brooke and I always tell our actors the importance of preparation. Here is what one of our actors learned recently when he booked a pilot and worked with LA talent-Dawn:                    "I recently completed shooting a co-star role in a new pilot for TNT.  As a Chicago actor, the experience was eye-opening; the level of preparation of the actors playing the series regular and guest star roles, most of whom were from LA, was humbling and beyond impressive.  Yuki Matsuzaki, who has played significant supporting roles in two Academy Award winning films--Letters from Iwo Jima and The Last Samurai--and a starring role in The Pink Panther 2, prepared for his role in our pilot as an Elvis impersonator by studying every song in Elvis' oeuvre, and could dance the choreography to Jailhouse Rock in his sleep.  For his role as a starving Japanese soldier trapped inside a cave inLetters from Iwo Jima, Yuki did not eat for a week prior to his shoot.  We've all heard that Chicago actors face stiff competition from LA talent for the larger roles in projects that shoot here.  For me, witnessing Yuki's almost frightening level of intensity and focus really drove the point home: for any Chicago actor to book a role over someone like Yuki or the thousands of other extremely talented actors in LA, we must reach for the same level of focus and preparation--we must live and breathe acting the same way they do.  We don't deserve the work otherwise," -Michael Liu