Day 178: Finished writing the webseries pilot, woo-hoo!!! It's a dramedy tentatively titled "Now or Never." Had to trim it down just like I thought I would in order to stay within the 10 page requirements but I'm happy with the results. I sent it to a small handful of friends to get their feedback before I submit it. Gonna keep my fingers crossed that I make it to the next round and if not then I'll look for screenplay contests to submit it to or one day {long after DWP is done} I'll produce it on my own.

Day 176: Listened to the score for episode 4 of DWP and sent my notes to the director.

Day 177: Hoped to get a call from my agents that I booked at least 1 of the 2 commercials I was up for, but alas, that call never came. *Sigh.* It would be really REALLY nice to book SOMETHING this year but until then, onto creating content. I started writing the webseries pilot today. Per contest rules, it can be no longer than 10 pages and I have 7 written thus far. Now my only problem is condensing my last 2 scenes so that it fits within 3 pages or less and I have 2 more days to do so.

And in other news I was blessed to win a Twitter/Facebook contest sponsored by Laser Away for free tattoo removal. The contest will give me 6 free sessions valued at $1600 so I'm thrilled! I had my first treatment today and that bi%$h was painful! Much worse than getting the tattoo itself but it was over in less than 10 minutes so I can't complain too much. Unfortunately though, since my tat is big and kind of a solid mass, it will probably take 10 - 12 sessions for it to be gone completely so somewhere down the line I will have to spend some change. It'll be worth it though.

Day 175: Held callbacks at CAZT for episodes 6 and 7 of Diary of a Wedding Planner. Oh my god, I've never had this much fun at an audition! Episode 6 is actually my favorite one and the actors we brought in did not disappoint. They brought my words to life better than I imagined and they were all really good at improv so the extra bits they added were like icing on the cake. Plus, some of them got to make out with each other {no, it wasn't required for the audition but it will be for the shoot so it was up to them how they wanted to convey "passion"} so the guys clearly had a great time. 

My little Stevie is 3 today.

Hi Barney!

Sure I'll sit in the train, as long as you don't turn it on.

Stevie with big brother Jayden and cousins Ryan & CJ

Cheeeeeeeeeeeese!!!!!!!!

Today he went to Chuck E. Cheese with his auntie & cousins to celebrate his birthday. Him & Jayden will be with them all week having fun swimming, going to the movies, the park and more AND giving mommy & daddy a break. We'll celebrate his birthday with him over the weekend though.

Love you little man!

Day 174: Brainstormed ideas for a new webseries pilot. Now I never planned to write another webseries after DWP. I actually want to focus more on shorts and eventually tackle a feature film but I just found out about a screenplay contest that is for webseries pilots only. The pilot has to feature a black female lead (easy enough) and the winner will have it produced with a budget of up to $10,000 so I figured why not toss my hat into the ring?

Day 170: Called the regional agency that I emailed last week since the agent hadn't opened her email yet. Turns out the address on IMDb Pro isn't one she actively checks anymore so she gave me another one to send it to. She said she was happy that I followed up with her so hopefully she'll be just as happy when she sees my resume and reel.

Day 169: Mailed my headshot & resume to a manager on my target list who I've emailed before. Thanks to IMDb Pro I found out that one of my classmates from the audition bootcamp was represented by her so I asked her what her thoughts were on this manager. She said she's been with her for a number of years and loves her so I decided I might as well send a hardcopy submission. My classmate will let her know that I'm submitting so hopefully this will make it a bit easier to get a meeting.

Day 164: Studied sides for audition bootcamp. This week we'll be put on camera and we're working on 2 scenes from Cougartown. I've never watched this show before but there were some pretty funny moments in the script so I may give it a shot one day.

Day 163: Read the June edition of The Hollywood Reporter which is all about the Emmy nominations. The marketing machines of these TV shows do a great job because there are a bunch that I want to see now that I've yet to watch a single episode. Sons of Anarchy, The Walking Dead, Mad Men and Nurse Jackie to name a few...

Day 162: Monday Mailings

• Mailed 5 managers and 11 theatrical agents. {FYI- Postage for envelopes with your headshot & resume have gone up from $1.05 to $1.08, so be sure to add that extra 3 cents to each one if you're using stamps to mail from home.} 
• Mailed my info to ABC's Diversity Showcase
• Emailed 26 managers using mailchimp so I could see who actually opened it, how many times and which links they clicked.
• Emailed the Kaiser Educational Theatre Program my info. They offer a well paid day job where you act for students- not bad.

Forgive the abbreviated posts. My body has been experiencing murphy's law over the last week so I'm going to keep this short and sweet and then go back to getting some rest.

Day 155: Mitrice Documentary Meeting. Came up with some deadlines for what we need to have done in order to get a rough cut of a trailer by mid-July.

Day 156: Set up an account with Basecamp, a project management website that is a WONDERFUL tool producers can use to both organize and collaborate with key crew more efficiently.

Day 157: Studied Sides for the comedy scene I have to put up in class on Saturday. Not really feeling it because comedy isn't my strong point but I'm definitely looking forward to LEARNING because this is certainly an area where I can grow.

Day 158: Power Group. This monthly meeting alone makes the membership to TAN more than worth it. I got some great ideas for CD drop-offs that I plan to implement sometime over the summer. I also got a referral to a regional agent on my target list. Score!

Day 159: Emailed my website along with a quick blurb on who I'm training with and what I'm working on to a colleague of mine who offered to pass it along to his manager. He has a pretty good amount of co-star credits and has read for guest star roles as well so he's told me she's a good starter manager in his opinion. He  forwarded it to her and within a few hours he emailed me back to tell me she wanted me to give her a call. I did and I now have a meeting with her scheduled for next Friday.

Day 160: Audition Bootcamp Part 2 - Today we worked on a comedy scene and wow did I learn a lot of technical crap. Reversals, turns, builds, triplets, mirrors, patterns, we worked on ALL of that and though it was a bit mind-boggling at first, the ish works! Using these techniques made every single person have funny moments throughout the piece, including myself. It was incredibly freeing for me to discover that even if you're not inherently funny you can still kill a comedic audition with the right technique.

Day 161: Bought 100 envelopes from Office Depot for $9.99 since I was fresh out and want to do a mailing tomorrow.

Day 154: Watched the audition videos of the actors that the director wants to bring in for callbacks for episodes 6 and 7 of DWP. I wanted to see more of the ones who were great but I immediately pressed the fast forward button on those I wasn't interested in after the first 45 seconds. Sent my notes to the director and we'll be scheduling callbacks for later this month.

Day 153: Today was our first day of audition bootcamp at Stan Kirsch Studios. WOW!!! I've never experienced a class like this. It was challenging, much more challenging than I expected it to be. My weaknesses were identified immediately and I had to work to correct them in front of everyone again and again and again and it was AWESOME! Everyone got to work multiple times and seeing the progress that each person made from the beginning of class to the end is such a great feeling. Being able to learn even while watching others work through their blocks is amazing. I'm looking forward to the next 2 weeks.

Day 151: Broke down the sides for the scene I have to prepare for the audition bootcamp using The Lyndon Technique. It's pretty funny using the technique of one class to get started with another but I really do like the checklist Amy Lyndon provides for breaking down a script. She has 15 guidelines but I use 14 of them as one just doesn't work for me. You gotta make things your own - use what works for you, toss what doesn't.

Day 152: Worked on the sides for Saturday. I ran the thoughts of my character over and over and then the lines.  I feel pretty prepared and ready to do this. I'm sure there will be some nerves as there always is for me when I'm introduced to a new class setting but I'm really looking forward to learning as much as I can.

Day 148: Updated my contact lists in my Mail Chimp e-newsletter database. Planning to send out a newsletter in June to recap what I've done the first half of the year.


Day 149: Watched the director's cut of episodes 4 and 5 of DWP to give notes. For once there actually weren't any additional notes for me to give which is great! This means they're both ready to get scored and color corrected and keeps us on track for our release date.


Day 150: Looked through the Actors Access/Breakdown submissions for the 3 roles we're casting for episodes 6 and 7. The director of these 2 episodes, Carrie Certa, put out the breakdown and will be running the casting session. For the first time ever I won't actually be there during casting {since I'll be in class} but I'm actually happy to turn this over to someone else which is why I wanted to make sure I took a look at who she's planning to bring in. I added a few people who I'd like to come in and I removed a few actors who, for one reason or another, just don't fit the bill. There were quite a few actors who look absolutely perfect for the role so it will be great to see their auditions since she'll be putting them on tape.

Day 146 - 147: Took the weekend off to enjoy my college roomie's wedding. No phone calls or emails that were business related, just fully enjoyed spending time with friends that I haven't seen since this time last year. And I had a wonderful time!

Hey now!

Good food (Pappadeaux) and Good friends!

Me and Tuck

Rehearsal dinner with the bride Shani

Same hair!

Me and my little brother

The absolutely gorgeous bride with her stunning dress & birdcage veil!

Dress Details

Officially Married!

Gorgeous Golden Backdrop

Cheese!

Me & Mommy of the Bride

Jumping the Broom

Me & Arlice- my theatre major buddy

Band Buddies! They played, I danced, and we all had a grand ole time!

Congratulations roomie! You's married now! {Watch The Color Purple if you don't get that last line}

Man it was wonderful seeing my old friends again - laughing, catching up, eating great food and enjoying the awesome Happy Hours that Houston has to offer. Though it was great to reconnect with people who have known me for so long, I laughed at how differently I felt the last time I was in Houston. Last year I wasn't too excited when I came back to Cali because we were living in Long Beach at the time and I was just so lonely and {felt} friendless remember? But this time around I couldn't wait to get back to the hustle and bustle of LA and to people who understand the craziness of this business and yet still want to do nothing else. What a difference a year makes!