I find myself often going to callbacks and even to producers so this is a great thing but I’d love it book the job.  I got called in again for Chips Ahoy and it went great.  The casting director was rad and let me know taht I am in the final “6″.  I did my best and that’s all I can do.  I trust that everything will work out the way it is supposed to. 

On the flip side, my buddy, Bob Lambert (casting director for All My Children) called me last week to ask if I’d like to work as an extra on All My Children.  Of course I said “yes” and it was a quick easy day in the casino.  Not to mention, I even shared a bathroom with Rebecca Budig/Greenlee (she is beautiful in-person too).  Perhaps I should clarify one minor detail… Bob isn’t really my “buddy” but I’ve found that many people in LA use the word “friend” loosely and so I figure I can too

I also heard back from Jason Kim, a fabulous manager at Lovett Management, and he told me that my scene was, “one of the best of the night” last week.  He seemed kind, smart, articulate and has an incredible roster of talent that he manages.  Fingers crossed.  He said he’d be in touch shortly…ah, the life of an actor.  

Now I’m off to my ”other job”….managing a tiki bar – - the fun never stops    I can feel it, good stuff is headed my way!

I had a great casting director workshop with Ani Avetyan - – don’t think it could have gone any better.  She gave me “5 out of 5′s” in every category and said, ” Solid, natural choices. Fun journey, very adjustable – SO GOOD.”  While this is great feedback, it is sometimes even more frustrating because here I’ll get great feedback but no job yet?  I can’t lie, it’s a little frustrating but I have to have faith that this journey is teaching me perseverance and a million other lessons that I am sure I am not even aware of.  I also just completed a wonderful 3-week workshop with Todd Sherry, of Patrick Rush Casting, and he was wonderful as well.  Fingers crossed.

I am also performing in an exciting showcase tonight and will be doing a comedic scene with the fabulous Candice Carr (ensemble member from Duck Tape Improv and fellow Groundling) - – wish us luck! 

Lastly, just received a call from Gwen Hillier with General Hospital and I get to work again next Thursday and Friday – woo hoo!

Prayers are always welcome!!!

I just returned from Mexico and not a day too soon because I have several awesome casting director workshops scheduled for this month! Already, they are off to a great start because last night I began a three week class with casting director/actor, Todd Sherry.  Not only is Todd a working actor, he is also a really neat guy with a refreshing approach – - namely, “have fun and play”.  He has s a “don’t take it too seriously” approach to acting and stressed the point of knowing who you are, what you have to sell, and recognize early that you can’t please all the people all of the time.   These all seem like common sense objectives but in a town where many acting teachers and casting directors make a living ripping actors apart and proving that their approach will put you back together (ughhh the internal monologues, the process, the objectives, the this and that etc….), they take the fun out of acting.  With his natural charisma and “actor friendly” approach, Todd spoke about acting with an authenticity and true joy that I responded to and honestly needed to hear. 

The only other time I have heard such a refreshing approach was when I hear Jack Plotnick speak about his, New Thoughts For Actors last spring.  Ironically, as I was thinking this exact thought, Todd mentioned Jack and it mad perfect sense because I had been thinking to myself how similar their approach is to acting and that they should be friends (if they aren’t already).  Overall, it was a really nice evening and left me feeling hopeful and happy – - two feelings that can be difficult to experience after spending three hours with a casting director   I’ll keep ya’ll posted on how the next two weeks go but already I can tell you to sign up for a class with Todd because he’s just an overall genuine human in this generally artificial town.

* on a side note, I had a great audition for a hosting gig yesterday and am crossing my fingers the director and producers also thought it was good

xo

I needed a couple of “business” shots and this is what the talented Wayne Rutledge and I came up with.  Would you take advice from me?  Buy my product?  Hire me to be your CEO?

St. Patty's Day Mailing!

This is the sort of mailing I do once in a while.  I know that I need to get in front of casting directors somehow and what a great excuse – - St. Patty’s Day!  Now if only Wendy O’Brien would call me in, she’d like this right?

I am nearing the end of my class at The Groundlings and, while I am a little sad to say goodbye to some incredible actors (AJ Prats), I am also excited to keep moving forward.  I will be forever grateful to Scotty (Donovan Scott), one of the most incredible improv teachers EVER, I have found the classes at Groundlings to also be wonderful.  Of course, things are always slightly different depending on the people you are “working/playing” with, but we’ve had some great camaraderie and it’s been loads of fun!  Hopefully, one day ya’ll see me in the Sunday Company

"The Crew"

Is this really the "best" pose I could come up with?

Only in Hollywood can you book a commercial for a network where the criteria was to make a huge fool of yourself!   The audition asked me to act like I had won a million dollars.  Well…what would you do?  I threw in a bit of the running man, a little booty shaking and of course a couple of toe touches for good measure.  It was actually a ton of fun and I felt so incredibly stupid that the laughing came naturally.  Way to go, we shoot tomorrow and I get another paycheck – boo ya!

The Disney/Milk commercial was a lot of fun!  While they don’t tend to pay a whole heck of a lot of money, it’s a great way to practice and it’s fun being part of a team for the day.  I’m not going to lie though, I had the most difficult time with one of my lines.  Sometimes it’s the most simple thing in the world that thows you off.  No sweat though, we got the footage we needed and I can’t wait to see the finished product!

My "kids"

A few exciting things that I’m excited to tackle this month are:

I auditioned and was accepted into The Groundlings.  I start next week and will be going two days/week.  It’s a lot of class time but I’m looking forward to learning more.  A lot of really talented and super funny actors have gone through this school people like: Will Ferrell, Maya Rudolph, Chris Kattan, Lisa Kudrow and many others so lets just hope that I can keep the momentum going.  It’s a great place to study and they offer multiple opportunities for industry people to watch the shows .  I still love my “original” improv teacher, Donovan Scott, but it’s always good to be uncomfortable so that you can grow.  I suppose I actually “started” my improv training with the Groundlings back in Seattle because I used to do improv workshops with Gary Austin when he’d come up to Seattle for the weekend.  Gary actually founded the Groundlings here in LA so it’s sort of like I’ve come full circle

Also, I started my class with Bob Lambert from All My Children and he is absolutely fantastic.  He took a lot of time with each actor, filmed us and gave us excellent feedback.  This class/workshop will continue for the next several weeks so I am excited to learn more.  I also have a workshop with Dorian Frankle tonight from Curb Your Enthusiasm so let’s hope it goes well!

That’s it for now….the next big job is out there waiting for me to find it! Gotta scoot.

I guess Disney is the one shop in town that seems to really have a shine to me, which I’ll take.  I just booked a commercial for “Milk” via Disney and guess what….I play a mom again!  Maybe the universe is trying to tell me something (fat chance mom). 

In any event, I was actually feeling a little discouraged because I’d been put on “hold” several times before for Disney and while I book a decent amount, it was getting frustrating.  Being put on “hold” means that you should hold a specific date on your calendar because the decision making process is down to you(me) and another person or two.  The odds of booking are fairly strong and so I’ve been known to let my hopes get ahead of the actual job only to find out that I didn’t actually book the job.  Nonetheless, the persistence and Saturday auditions (that’s right, Saturday morning) paid off. 

I think I’ll use the cash to buy some tile for the bathroom surround in our shower or…(gasp) maybe I’ll buy a new lens for my camera.  I am thrilled and have to remember that these small bookings are eventually going to lead to something bigger.

For all of you wondering if I booked the Hannah Montana gig…I think it’s safe to say that it’s a “no”.  I am disappointed of course but met Carol Goldwasser and Andrew Green (one of the producers) and they were fantastic and just very nice people.  I also think Richard Meltzer is a gem too and just count my blessings that I got called in at all.

One of these days, they are going to hire me for a recurring role   Until then, I’ll keep on keeping on.

xo