I just realized another reason why I want to be an actress- it's because I have so much freakin' material. I have been scarred so many times by my parents- not in a really bad way, you know, just in the way that crazy parents normally scar their children. I wasn't like, beaten, or anything like that. At least not often. What I mean to say is that my crazy family has given me so much to laugh about, to cry about, to reflect upon, that I can't help but become an actress because I have all of these emotions swirling around inside me.
Let me give you an example of the "material" that my generous family gives to me. The other day I went over to my parents' house to see what was going on, to hang out and have lunch. When I got there they had just finished having lunch and it was clear that there had just been some major bruhaha. I asked my mom what the problem was (this time) and then off she went.
"I asked your father to make an omelette with cheese and he didn't put the cheese in it." "How do you know he didn't put the cheese in it, sometimes you can't see the cheese in a cheese omelette," I asked naively. "I know because your father is a liar and he's lying about putting the cheese in the omelette." Logically I respond with: "why would dad lie about putting cheese in an omelette?" And she simply replied, "because that's the way he is."
I then proceed to ask my dad what all the fuss is about- his side of the story so to speak. He tells me that he indeed put cheese in the omelette, and that he doesn't know why mom is so upset- he thinks she is crazy. Then my mom comes into the kitchen and a HUGE fight ensues. My mom accuses my dad of lying, my dad swears to God he put cheese in the omelette. My mom keeps provoking my dad, my dad runs over to the icon of the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the twelve freakin' apostles hanging on the wall, and he puts his hand on it and keeps saying "may God strike me dead if I'm lying, I put cheese in the omelette!" Then my mom starts crying and runs downstairs saying she can't believe my dad would lie over something as petty as putting cheese in an omelette. I tried to calm them both down, but to no avail. My dad still thinks my mom is crazy, my mom still thinks my dad is a petty liar.
All this over a cheese omelette.
The moral of this story is that my family is nutso-bazingo. Now I know where I get my intense emotions from. I once thought that I was just a normal girl in a normal, even-keeled family... but the evidence would prove otherwise.
At least now I have this hilarious story to relate to friends on those nights when I try to drown my sorrows at the local watering hole. And this is what I was talking about when I said my family gives me all sorts of material. This kind of crap makes me a more interesting, quirky person- and one day I'll be telling this story to David Letterman on the Tonight Show.
...this kind of stuff also helps me to cry when I need to for those dramatic scenes I do in plays! See, always take the positive things out of every negative situation! Use these life experiences to help your acting! That's a lesson for all you kids out there!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Hollywood!
I recently took a trip to Hollywood and OMG was it amazing! I actually went out to LA for a friend's wedding, but the wedding was a wonderful excuse for me to finally take the trip out to sunny Southern California and explore the place where I would eventually like to live. It was so beautiful there I can't even explain how giddy I was. First of all, the weekend I was there they had gorgeous weather! It was near 65 degrees, and when I left Denver it was snowing. When we arrived I was so surprised to see green grass and flowers and people in shorts- it was truly amazing. Coming from Colorado where it is all dead and brown and cold right now, it was definitely a sensory shock for me. I was on sensory overload and I was annoyingly gleeful. My boyfriend had to make sure I didn't walk into traffic because I was so busy looking around at everything but the sidewalk in front of me!
The first night we stayed in Santa Monica at our friend's place, and I have to say that he is extremely lucky to live there. If I could afford it, I would move there in a heartbeat! We explored Santa Monica, drove to the beach and then walked around, and had a great day in the sun! We also did all of the touristy things- we went to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and we saw all of the handprints at Grauman's Chinese Theatre! We saw all of the impersonators on Hollywood Blvd. and we also saw the Kodak Theatre and even witnessed the preparations for the Oscars. It was pretty amazing! I was like "One day I'm gonna be in there!"
The first night we stayed in Santa Monica at our friend's place, and I have to say that he is extremely lucky to live there. If I could afford it, I would move there in a heartbeat! We explored Santa Monica, drove to the beach and then walked around, and had a great day in the sun! We also did all of the touristy things- we went to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and we saw all of the handprints at Grauman's Chinese Theatre! We saw all of the impersonators on Hollywood Blvd. and we also saw the Kodak Theatre and even witnessed the preparations for the Oscars. It was pretty amazing! I was like "One day I'm gonna be in there!"
Worthwhile Exhaustion
I am so tired! I have had a very busy and exhausting week. For the last ten days or so I have been in final rehearsals for my latest show "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You." I also just finished out opening weekend with 3 shows! I get a break tomorrow and then it's back to the theatre for Industry Night. I love theatre, but it does take its toll. To top it all off, this show is the late show playing now at the Vintage Theatre (www.vintagetheatreproductions.com) so we don't even take the stage until 10:30pm. After working my lame 9-5 job I am drained and I just want to relax, but then I have to wait and go to the theatre at 9pm to get ready for my show. But it's worth it!!!
Other people don't realize how hard actors work. They think it's so easy, like we only have to work for a couple hours doing a show, but they don't realize how much preparation goes into it, and that most actors have other jobs too. Most times we come to the theatre after work when we would just like to go home and take a bubble bath. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of times I just love running off to the theatre, because it's fun, but it's work too! It's pretty exhausting to put on a show, but we do it because we love it! We may be broke as shit, exhausted a lot of the time, but we love coming to the theatre and getting up on that stage! No matter how tired you feel before the show, no matter what kind of mood you're in, once you get up on that stage you feel so alive and so happy! Nothing else matters but what you are trying to express, and the experience you are trying to create. I don't know how else to explain it, but you just get so into the moment that you forget all else. At least that's how it is for me. I love the theatre and its unpredictability, and I love the bonds that develop with other actors when we're all crammed together backstage.
Sometimes I might complain about being tired after a long rehearsal, and I might dread going back to work after a weekend full of shows, but I wouldn't trade this life and career path for anything. I want so badly to be an actress, that I don't care how many late nights it takes me to achieve my goals!
All that being said, all the work that goes into a show is for naught if people don't come to see it, so please come see "Sister Mary Ignatius" at the Vintage Theatre! Come out and support live theatre!!
Other people don't realize how hard actors work. They think it's so easy, like we only have to work for a couple hours doing a show, but they don't realize how much preparation goes into it, and that most actors have other jobs too. Most times we come to the theatre after work when we would just like to go home and take a bubble bath. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of times I just love running off to the theatre, because it's fun, but it's work too! It's pretty exhausting to put on a show, but we do it because we love it! We may be broke as shit, exhausted a lot of the time, but we love coming to the theatre and getting up on that stage! No matter how tired you feel before the show, no matter what kind of mood you're in, once you get up on that stage you feel so alive and so happy! Nothing else matters but what you are trying to express, and the experience you are trying to create. I don't know how else to explain it, but you just get so into the moment that you forget all else. At least that's how it is for me. I love the theatre and its unpredictability, and I love the bonds that develop with other actors when we're all crammed together backstage.
Sometimes I might complain about being tired after a long rehearsal, and I might dread going back to work after a weekend full of shows, but I wouldn't trade this life and career path for anything. I want so badly to be an actress, that I don't care how many late nights it takes me to achieve my goals!
All that being said, all the work that goes into a show is for naught if people don't come to see it, so please come see "Sister Mary Ignatius" at the Vintage Theatre! Come out and support live theatre!!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Commercial Time: part deux
Acting is awesome! I can't think of any profession that I would like half as much as this one! I wish I could film commercials and movies every day. Being on a set, working hard, having fun, it's great!
Anyway, I just did my car wash commercial a couple days ago, and I have a LOT to talk about! I'll start by telling you all the logistics and details- I was called at 8:30, and I made sure to show up early. I was told to bring several business casual outfits, which I did, all carefully picked out, and then I went and met the director and the makeup artist for the shoot, who helped me pick my outfit for the commercial. Then the makeup artist worked her magic on my face and hair. It's so much fun to be pampered and have someone make me feel pretty. She actually made me feel really good because she kept telling me that I was beautiful and that I look like an old Hollywood movie star. She was kinda giving me a big head.
While all this was happening with me, the director and crew were setting up the first shot in the parking lot. The first shot was me in the car, looking miserable because I am stuck in traffic. We set up a bunch of cars to complete the illusion of traffic and then I got situated in my car. We completed several shots from several angles, and all I had to do was look bored, then suddenly see the car wash and get excited and happy, and turn the wheel of the car to go toward the car wash.
Then we packed everything up and left to got to the second location to film the next shot. This was done in the office building of the director. This shot was of me leaving work, looking miserable and bored because I had to wait in line for the elevator. For this scene I had to stand in a crowd and look anxiously at the elevator up/down sign.
Then we ate lunch. Awesome! I get paid and I got a sandwich for making faces all day!
Then we moved onto our final location which was the actual car wash. This was when the real fun began! I got my makeup touched up, which made me feel really cool, and then I got to drive a Range Rover around! We had to do several different shots: me driving up to the car wash, me using my special express tokens, me driving through the car wash, me in the car during the car wash, me vacuuming my car after the car wash...many many shots which resulted in me going through the car wash FIVE times! Hey, I'm not complaining! It was awesome! They use multi-colored soap in there! It's really pretty!
So those are the details... Overall the whole day was just a blast because everyone was really nice and friendly to me. We had fun, but everything was still really professional and efficient, which is what I love so much about this job. It's like play time, it's easy going, but it's still a business, you still have to pay attention to detail, and you still have to work hard. It is a career which perfectly fits my personality and my temperament.
I am also really excited because the director told me that I did a really great job and he actually wants to use me in another commercial! More work! WOOHOO! I want to keep getting these jobs and just keep working! Doing this commercial allowed me to make great connections, work with very friendly and wonderful people, and we produced a great commercial to boot! It's going to be aired on a bunch of cable channels too, which is really cool! I can't wait to do this again!
A lesson to actors out there: take advantage of your opportunities! This commercial presented me with an opportunity and I took full advantage of it. I impressed people because I listened carefully to everything I was told, did everything I was asked to do, I was very friendly, fun, and professional, and I showed people that I am easy to work with- and now they want to work with me again! This is what taking advantage of opportunities means! Don't let anything go by, and when presented with the chance, knock their socks off!!!
Anyway, I just did my car wash commercial a couple days ago, and I have a LOT to talk about! I'll start by telling you all the logistics and details- I was called at 8:30, and I made sure to show up early. I was told to bring several business casual outfits, which I did, all carefully picked out, and then I went and met the director and the makeup artist for the shoot, who helped me pick my outfit for the commercial. Then the makeup artist worked her magic on my face and hair. It's so much fun to be pampered and have someone make me feel pretty. She actually made me feel really good because she kept telling me that I was beautiful and that I look like an old Hollywood movie star. She was kinda giving me a big head.
While all this was happening with me, the director and crew were setting up the first shot in the parking lot. The first shot was me in the car, looking miserable because I am stuck in traffic. We set up a bunch of cars to complete the illusion of traffic and then I got situated in my car. We completed several shots from several angles, and all I had to do was look bored, then suddenly see the car wash and get excited and happy, and turn the wheel of the car to go toward the car wash.
Then we packed everything up and left to got to the second location to film the next shot. This was done in the office building of the director. This shot was of me leaving work, looking miserable and bored because I had to wait in line for the elevator. For this scene I had to stand in a crowd and look anxiously at the elevator up/down sign.
Then we ate lunch. Awesome! I get paid and I got a sandwich for making faces all day!
Then we moved onto our final location which was the actual car wash. This was when the real fun began! I got my makeup touched up, which made me feel really cool, and then I got to drive a Range Rover around! We had to do several different shots: me driving up to the car wash, me using my special express tokens, me driving through the car wash, me in the car during the car wash, me vacuuming my car after the car wash...many many shots which resulted in me going through the car wash FIVE times! Hey, I'm not complaining! It was awesome! They use multi-colored soap in there! It's really pretty!
So those are the details... Overall the whole day was just a blast because everyone was really nice and friendly to me. We had fun, but everything was still really professional and efficient, which is what I love so much about this job. It's like play time, it's easy going, but it's still a business, you still have to pay attention to detail, and you still have to work hard. It is a career which perfectly fits my personality and my temperament.
I am also really excited because the director told me that I did a really great job and he actually wants to use me in another commercial! More work! WOOHOO! I want to keep getting these jobs and just keep working! Doing this commercial allowed me to make great connections, work with very friendly and wonderful people, and we produced a great commercial to boot! It's going to be aired on a bunch of cable channels too, which is really cool! I can't wait to do this again!
A lesson to actors out there: take advantage of your opportunities! This commercial presented me with an opportunity and I took full advantage of it. I impressed people because I listened carefully to everything I was told, did everything I was asked to do, I was very friendly, fun, and professional, and I showed people that I am easy to work with- and now they want to work with me again! This is what taking advantage of opportunities means! Don't let anything go by, and when presented with the chance, knock their socks off!!!
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