Day 144: Emailed Stan Kirsch Studios to inquire about their upcoming audition bootcamp held on Saturdays in June.
Day 145: Kristyn, the Operations Manager and wife of Stan Kirsch called me to give me all the particulars of the Audition Bootcamp. The class will be 5 hours long and will cover drama, comedy {single-cam and multi-cam} and on-camera. Since I'd already been given the greenlight from Stephen to enroll I told her to count me in. She suggested I do another consult with Stan prior to the class so that we could get reacquainted with each other since my original consult with him was over a year and a half ago so we've scheduled it for Wednesday. Now normally I wouldn't enroll in a class that I haven't audited since I've already made that mistake once before, but since I actually hired Stan to coach me on an audition a long time ago for Twinkie Byrd, I know that he speaks my language and I speak his.
Day 143: Audition for America's Most Wanted. I was brought in by Billy DaMota, a HUGE supporter of actors and ran into quite a few familiar faces in the lobby. I must admit I was pretty self-conscious for this one because I had to have an emergency root canal done by a specialist a few hours before. I wanted to reschedule the dentist appointment but I was getting on a plane to go out of town for 4 days so that wasn't an option. I also couldn't reschedule the audition because they were bringing people in in pairs and they weren't accepting tape so it was now or never. I made the best of it but I'm so glad they didn't put us on tape because part of my mouth was still quite numb. When it was over, however, Billy said I did an awesome job and told me to kiss the baby for him. All in all I'm glad I went but I hope to never be in that position again so I'm taking care of all of my dental needs over the next 2 months... all $2800 worth of them, ugh.
Day 140: Saw Gypsy performed by members of West Coast Ensemble Theatre. I wasn't familiar with this musical before, though I did know Bette Midler was in the movie, so the story was completely new to me. I went with Stephen and we both had a nice time. The entire cast did a great job but the standout to me was Stephanie Wall who plays Louise.
Day 141: Watched Blue Valentine- a heartbreakingly beautiful movie about the beginning and end of a relationship.
Day 142: Had our first production meeting with the main crew for the documentary. 4 hours later we had to call it a night after a successful brainstorming session. We'll probably hold these once a month.
Day 137: Updated my theatrical representation target list using IMDb Pro to look up the rep of the actors in the last 10 episodes of True Blood.
Day 138: Updated my theatrical representation target list using IMDb Pro to look up the rep of the actors in the last 10 episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice.
Day 139: Updated my theatrical representation target list using IMDb Pro to look up the rep of the actors in Jumping the Broom, American Weapon, Stomp the Yard 2 and Notorious, all films recently cast by Twinkie Byrd.
Day 136: Watched the first cut of episodes 4 & 5 of DWP and sent my notes over to the director and editor as they prepare to work on the director's cut.
Day 135: DWP Party! So.Much.FUN!!!! Seriously, we had a BLAST. Our turnout was great. Lots of friends came out to show their support as well as many local wedding industry professionals. The flowers and linens were gorgeous. The lighting was beautiful and the catering was delish! The best part though, was that my family drove and/or flew in from all around to come be by my side. I love them all so much!! Here's a taste of the fun we had....
Day 134: Documentary meeting. We usually meet on Tuesdays but I knew I'd be busy getting ready for the party so we met today instead. We've decided to call our production entity for this film Dark Creek Productions as that is the name of the street near where Mitrice Richardson's body was discovered.
Day 131: Mailed over 70 postcards to CD's, agents and managers inviting them to the DWP screening.
Day 132: Last minute shopping at Michael's and Target for a few remaining items needed for our raffle at the party.
Day 133: Joined Sold Out Crowd for free for the month of May.
From their website: Sold Out Crowd is the only Los Angeles-based service that connects theatre producers withtheatre loverswhen those extra, unsold seats need to be filled. Our members gain free access to some of the best shows in town. That’s right; the tickets are free! Members just pay a small processing fee. Plus, we donate 10% of proceeds back into the L.A.-based, non-profit theatre community!
How much is that small processing fee you ask? Only $3 per ticket. That's right, just 3 bucks to see live theatre all around town! In order for this to be possible, you pay a membership fee of $50 a year {though as a member of The Actors Network it's half-off!} but for the month of May you can try them for free to see if you like their service. If you're interested in taking them up on their free offer, and why not? then follow these easy steps...
Day 130: Attended my first Power Group meeting at The Actors Network. This is a once a month meeting designed to get you motivated and inspired to take action by listening to the action steps your colleagues have been doing in the last 30 days to further their career as well as announcing the goals they want to meet for the next 30 days. I LOVED IT!!! There's something about sharing your short term goals with others that makes you feel like you really have to DO something now because they're going to hold you accountable. I can already tell this will be my favorite activity this organization has by far.
Now that I'm done with physical therapy it's time for me to get back into the dancing scene since that's my preferred method of exercise. Lo and behold Beyonce has teamed up with my favorite First Lady, Michelle Obama, to create an exercise dance video called "Move Your Body." After watching it a few times I've picked up the moves and I started off this morning dancing to it. I must say, it gets your heart rate up rather quickly!
Day 127: Watched The King's Speech. I still prefer The Social Network to it but it is definitely a beautiful story and the performances are rich and well worth watching.
Day 126: Watched a must-see documentary called Waiting For Superman. It's a peek into our broken public school system and into a teachers union that seems to be doing far more harm to our children than good. As a parent and as a former teacher of one year {I coudn't do it ya'll!}, it was pretty deplorable to see how many of our kids are being given a subpar education while their ineffective teachers are protected from the threat of losing their jobs.
Now don't get me wrong, I understand that teaching is one of the most difficult careers you can have. Both of my grandmothers were teachers, many of my close friends in TX are teachers and let's be real, when you have no parental support it's incredibly difficult to really get through to certain students. So I'm not naive in thinking that better teachers are the only solution but I certainly think it's a big part of it. I know the teachers who impacted me the most were the ones who truly cared about whether or not I was learning, growing, grasping the concepts they were trying to convey and hopefully enjoying the process. I don't want to give the film away but I will say that I love Michelle Rhee's stance towards the end of the film. Whether you have children of your own or not, this is still a film I'd highly recommend you take the time to rent {we got it for $1 at the Redbox} as the future of our nation rests in the hands of our chidren- most of whom are receiving public education.
Here's the trailer... Email subscribers can view it here.
Day 125: Created a weekly routine for administrative tasks aka Office Hours. My plan is to do the following....
Sunday: Calendar Check- look at the various entertainment industry organizations for upcoming networking events & seminars
Monday Mailings: Send out any headshots or postcards as needed
Tuesday: Documentary Day
Website Wednesday: Post any updates needed on my various websites & profile pages. {I don't usually update my main site as quickly as I should so this weekly update should get me on track}
Thank-You Thursday: Send thank-you notes and/or gifts as needed
Friday Follow-Up: Return emails & phone calls I've put off and contact folks I simply want to reach out to.
I'm hoping that organizing my admin duties will help me do them consistently until they become like clockwork rather than always trying to fit them into my schedule haphazardly.
Day 122: Attended the topical discussion on Theatre in LA at The Actors Network. Very very interesting discussion. As an actor who got started on the stage and really misses the energy and thrill that a live audience brings I've always found the dismissive attitude that many LA actors have towards the theatre to be perplexing. By the end of this discussion my perspective shifted a bit. Though I still believe there's nothing like cutting your teeth on a stage, I plan to be even more selective when submitting to plays choosing only those that are:
Centrally located
Produced by a reputable theatre company
Has a proven record of industry attendance
Has a short run
Whether you choose to do theatre or not {this is a film/TV town after all} is a personal decision but either way I do hope more actors will learn to RESPECT the stage!
Day 121: Went to The Bungalow Club for the networking party of Ursa Productions. Carrie Certa, the director of the soon-to-be-filmed episodes 5 and 6 of DWP invited me. Since I had to head in to work afterwards I didn't get to stay for long but it's always nice to pop in to show your support.
Two weeks from today we're gonna have ourselves a grand ole time at the screening party for DWP. There will be complimentary passed hors d'ouevres, a cool photo booth to snap shots with your friends and a bit of magic to hopefully leave you in awe. If you're free that night and want to come join in the festivities be my guest! RSVP at the eventbrite page and I'll look forward to seeing you there.
Day 119: Tweaked the e-vite design for the DWP screening party. I freaking LOVE it and can't wait to send it out to everyone! We're trying to secure just a few more sponsors before it goes out but the invitations will be sent out by Tuesday at the latest. Other than this I enjoyed my Sunday with my family. I think most Sundays will continue to be this way. Church in the morning, family time afterwards and something very light that doesn't require a lot of time or effort for my daily career task.
Day 120: Met with Kevin at TAN to learn all about how the website works and requested to join a Power Group. These groups meet once a month to basically exchange ideas, resources, career activities they've done in the last 30 days and those they plan to do in the next 30 days. I'm very much looking forward to going to my first PG meeting.
Day 118: Today I attended the inaugural fundraiser for Mitrice Inc. at the Pasadena Playhouse Library along with Lex & Greg. MitriceRichardson is the beautiful young lady who we're producing a documentary about and she would've been 26 years old today. There was a silent auction {and I actually won one of the items that I bid on} as well as a lovely program explaining the goals and future plans of the Mitrice Inc. organization. It was nice to meet people whom I had only previously read about in my research of this story. There were a few tears shed but for the most part the mood was celebratory and there was definitely a spirit of determination in the air as we all want to do whatever we can to get to the bottom of this case and help bring Mitrice some justice.
Day 117: Uploaded my reel to my LA Casting page. Surprisingly they don't charge anything to add this to your profile which is a vast difference from their photo policy! I will have to pay $5 a month to keep it up there but that's not too bad. I also ordered the DWP postcards that Aaron Graham designed and I LOVE THEM!!! Notice how he kept my brand consistent by using the same font & color and playful vibe as that of my website. Aaron's the bombdotcom! Gonna send these out to agents, managers and CD's to invite them to the screening.
Day 116: Got a new sponsor for the DWP screening party. I contacted Greg Riley of Urban Illusionist and let him know the type of event we were planning and that I thought he'd be a good fit for this crowd since it will be a mixture of both entertainment industry professionals and wedding/special event industry professionals. He agreed so I'm happy to say he'll be performing his street magic at our screening! I love magic! Not black magic of course, nor the corny pull a rabbit out of a hat, but I think the type of illusions he creates is pretty cool. Maybe that's the Vegas in me.
Day 115: After months of prodding from friends & classmates I finally joined The Actors Network today. This is an organization that I've heard nothing but positive things about from so many different people who are proud members. I can't wait to begin taking advantage of all the many benefits membership has to offer, starting with signing up for some of the topicals they're having in May.
After attending the TAN orientation I met with Aisha Lomax afterwards to catch up. Found out she's taking class with Doug Warhit, a teacher whom one of the casting directors of True Blood loves. He was one of the acting coaches on my list but since he doesn't offer daytime classes I can't work with him right now. Still employed at the night job (thank God for that) so I try to limit my nighttime exploits to things that will allow me to come late to work rather than missing a whole night altogether. So for now Doug is off my list but it's good to know that one of his students highly recommends him.
Day 113: Commercial audition at ASG casting for a commercial that actually shoots in Dallas. It would be so much better if it shot in Houston so I could see my friends or even Austin since I've never been there but D-Town is still nice if I'm traveling on someone else's dime! I auditioned for the common SBG ("Sassy Black Girl") role and ran into Stacey Shevlin and Danielle Cloutier (who so reminds me of a young Tina Fey!) while there. Always nice to see familiar faces in the waiting room.
Day 114: Commercial audition at Shooting From the Hip casting for Zatarains, a product I actually really enjoy. This place was PACKED with all kinds of folks so I have no idea what kind of chance I have of booking this but it would be AWESOME to get chosen as it shoots in New Orleans.
