News

August 7, 2010

Busy, busy, busy....I've had a busy couple of weeks! The GOOD: Lots of auditions. The BAD: dealing with AFTRA and SAG. The GREAT: Getting a part I didn't audition for!

There's been quite a bit of activity lately, which is refreshing and encouraging. My participation in the theatre company has been minimal lately (my own fault), so it's nice to feel like my career isn't spending my days at an investment firm, but is one of an actress who auditions, rehearses sides, and even shoots.

The best thing about auditioning is walking away feeling happy with my performance. I've had a long, long, too long of a streak where that wasn't happening. My nerves have a tendency to get the best of me, and I've notoriously been a bad auditioner. I think the improv classes I was taking with Javier Ronceros have helped build my confidence tremendously. Of the past 7 or 8 auditions, I felt really good about 90% of them. That, of course, does not mean I landed any of the roles for which I auditioned. But for me, that's ok. As long as I can walk away proud of what I've done, I'm happy. I even got feedback from one of the casting directors complimenting me on my improv skills! (Thank you, Javier!)

Earlier this week, I got a call from a casting director for a webisode series that I auditioned for. No, she wasn't calling about the webisode (I thought I nailed it....pfft); instead, she was calling because she was also casting a feature film called The New Republic. Principal photography was already finished, but they were doing some pick-up shots and she thought I would be perfect for the role of a news anchor. Sweet! We shot my scene on Friday, which I thought went pretty well. I also got to see the trailer, which looked really great. Turns out my scene is opening the film....love it!

Oh, I did not get the part for the pilot I talked about in my last post, unfortunately, but they did like me and asked me to be in the pilot as one of the secondary characters. To be honest, I love the script so much that I am just happy I can be involved in any capacity.

I don't want to start rambling about my union issues because I may end up ranting until the wee hours of the morning, but let's just say that for the amount of money one must pay to join the union, you would think that they would be way more helpful than they are (read: more helpful than doing absolutely nothing). I am finally eligible to join SAG, but because of one organization's lack of recordkeeping, I'm getting the shaft. I don't give up easily, so this storyline is not over...

I also want to give a shout-out to two of my great friends (who happened to be married to each other) who BOTH booked guest star roles on episodics this week...watch for JP Hubbell on NCIS, and Royana Black on Medium! Congratulations!!!

July 8, 2010

Happy Birthday to me! heeheehee I love birthdays...always have! Happy to be alive, happy to be pursuing my dream, happy to be surrounded by amazing friends and family, and just happy to be happy.

I had a really great couple of weeks. Aside from an awesome birthday gift to Vegas last weekend (had the best time...thank you Seth..), I got to shoot a scene for an upcoming film titled Changing Hands, directed by Scott L. Schwartz. It was a pretty intense scene and I hope it ends up looking as good as it felt. Scott was a pleasure to work with and I was honored to be asked to be in his film.

I've had a few auditions lately - most of them went pretty well, I think. I definitely feel like the improv classes have boosted my confidence when asked to do something cold or just differently. I have a callback next week for a pilot I auditioned for last Thursday. When I first read the sides, I knew the part was perfect for me. Swearing, sarcasm..what more could I ask for?!

Wish me luck!

June 9, 2010

New theatrical reel is up!

April 27, 2010

Wow….Chapter Two seemed like so long ago already! The run went really well, I think. I had a lot of fun doing it. During the second act of the play, I had a particularly long monologue that, when I felt truly connected, was very much cathartic and liberating. That’s the beauty of acting…it’s its own kind of therapy. During much of the run I was going through quite a bit of stress in my personal life, and the one place I could either let it go or embrace it completely, was on stage. Analyst schmanalyst…I’ll take the stage any day.

Since Chapter Two ended, I’ve been taking improv classes at the theatre, which is led by one of our members, Javier. Javier and I were in The Last Judgment together, so I’d already gotten the chance to know him, and see his talent. What I didn’t know was how well he could conduct a class. Sensational. I was terrified of improv. Seriously terrified! But by the end of the first week I fell in love with it. What a challenge! I never thought I was one who could think on my feet (that idiom sounds really strange right now..huh.) since I often have trouble conjuring up requisite small talk. But it turns out I’m not as bad as I suspected. It’s been a remarkable learning experience, and I’m hooked on Javier. That’s what he should call the class…Hooked on Javier!

Another thing that’s been happening at the Alliance is something called 5.4.5. Every Friday night, the Company puts on five short performances and the public pays $5 to see them. (now ya get it? 5 for $5? Ahhhh...). Anyone is encouraged to submit pieces…writers can submit their work to see how a scene might flow, or gauge a reaction from the audience, and the company members will perform it. Or members bring in something of their own – a monologue, a stand-up bit they’ve been dying to try, a song, a scene, whatever. It’s a free-for-all, really, and the only requirement is that the piece be under 10 minutes. Well, I don’t know if I’m into self-torture or what, but last week I decided I was going to sing a song a capella in a language that I don’t speak. Yeah. It's a song that’s stuck with me for years. It’s from a scene in the movie Mulholland Drive, when Naomi Watts and Laura Harring are sitting in a theatre, and Rebekah del Rio comes on stage and sings “Llorando”, which is a Spanish version of Roy Orbison’s “Crying”. It’s insanely beautiful and gives me chills every time I hear it.

So on a last-minute whim, I signed up on Thursday and performed it on Friday. Mind you, my commute to my day job is only about 4 minutes, so that didn’t really leave me a whole lot of time to learn the words. The Spanish words. But…I did it! I was really nervous. I was really really nervous. I know I messed up a few (many) of the words (hopefully I didn’t say something vulgar) and my voice quivered from the nervousness. But what’s important is that I allowed myself to be completely vulnerable and surrendered to it. It wasn’t my best singing performance in the world, but nobody could say it didn’t have some heart…

I believe that all these things are helping me…in my hopes to gain confidence, and my abilities to be more open with the world – not just the select few in my inner circle.

In other news, a couple of the guys that produced and wrote The Missing Link (which I hear is coming along nicely!) just finished principal production on another feature film, called Fate. These guys were kind enough to think of me when casting, so I got the role one of the leads’ older sister, Kristine, in a very clever time-travel type of movie. I only had a couple of scenes, but I was grateful to them for including me! We shot my scenes last weekend and I think they’ll turn out nicely. One was an emotional scene, which again, I find to be the most fulfilling…both for the film and for myself. Therapy, I say!

A couple of weeks ago, I finally got my hands on an “almost-final” cut of Chronicles of a Love Unfound. I haven’t watched the whole thing yet (busy busy!), but from what I can tell, it looks great! Here are a couple of screen captures of me from the film.