Guys, It's Working...

A couple years ago, I decided to change my approach. I'm a little bit out of touch with what the newbs are doing these days, but when I started it was all about postcards and hitting the streets with a headshot in hand. Okay, I admit I was never one to do the whole physical drop off thing, it just seemed like wasted effort to me. But I did send headshots out with cover letters. In fact, one had a CD raving so much, he called in for a co-star on a major television show. When I didn't get that role, he called me in again for another. And another. Flash forward five years later... that CD has now graduated to one of the fanciest offices in the city is still calling me in for other shows. He's my favorite. Doesn't matter how big I get, I will take that man's phone call whenever he wants me to consider a project.

Then we all quickly transitioned into a workshop culture, and I did those too. I was even called in from them a number of times. But honestly, I didn't get called in enough to spend forty bucks a pop. So I stopped. (Well, more or less. I am flirting with the idea of taking a choice few here and there again though. Are people still doing it?)

All this was working-ish, but at a pace that just about drove me bonkers. So a couple years ago I decided to make a shift. I decided that I was going to devote most of my energy to going directly to the source, meeting talented filmmakers who were out there doing it on the independent scene. It's all who you know, right? Well I needed to "know" a hell of a lot more poeple than I did at that time.

I started going to festivals and getting involved in industry organizations. I started to write a feature so that I had something to contribute. I started spending a huge amount of time organizing coffee/drinks/hikes with contacts and attending events to get out and support their projects.

Has it worked? Well... I'm currently developing 3 short films and a feature with people I "know". Last week was the Sundance Next Fest in Los Angeles and sadly, I was out of town. Yet a programmer from a major film festival emailed me this week asking why I didn't attend.

"It was a blast, of course. But if it means anything, your absence did not go unnoticed."

Wow, blush! Though it's a bit silly because I consider this big shot to be a friend, it still made me feel like Molly Ringwald at the end of Sixteen Candles when Jake Ryan waves at her: Meeee??

Then this week I was scheduled to grab a coffee with a CD I met during an event for women in the industry. She read my screenplay is so supportive, she has agreed to jump on board pre-financing in order to help me attach a star and get the thing made. My phone chimed yesterday with a new audition notification; that casting director was bringing me in for a national commercial. I immediately confirmed and fired off an email.** 

"Was going to ask if we were still on for tomorrow, but I guess you're in a session! Should we reschedule to next week?"

Her response...
"I was just going to email you to tell you! Ha! I saw you were submitted so thought at least if I have to cancel on you I can bring you in."

Uhhh.... Abso-fucking-lutely. You can do that to me any time you want. 

I don't know guys... I think the new approach is working.



**Holy smokes! I'm in this crazy position where I can just, you know... casually email the CD after getting a big audition notice. What?!? Who am I right now?? What a different universe from 5 years ago.

This Crazy Train Life

When I first moved to Los Angeles, I had a certain picture in my head for what life would be like as an actor. I imagined that working the actor hustle would consist of printing fancy headshots, auditioning for all my favorite television shows, taking general meetings with studio casting departments and occasionally getting to work on a few projects that would play on every screen-- big or small-- across the country. An exciting life to be sure, but I never imagined how odd it really is.

The #actorslife hashtag can't even begin to capture the real grind of this job. I have filmed on locations that required a half mile hike in order to use the restroom. I have changed my clothes in my car around LA so many times I don't even care who sees a flash of my bra anymore. I have cut the extra inch and a half from my 8.5X11 resume to fit my 8X10 headshot so many times, I now believe it's actually a big psychological experiment designed to test an actor's sanity. I worked hard on screen only to become the victim of bad lighting, bad hair or bad makeup rendering footage totally unusable.

Sure, there are fancy trailers and celebrities and film festivals and people seeing me on TV. But mostly it's crying/screaming/stripping down to a bathing suit in front of strangers in random rooms all around Los Angeles. It's feeling the pang of shelling out $175 for one hour with an audition coach before you walk into one of those rooms... but then walk out without booking the job. It's long email strings with your reps about exactly how long you should keep your hair. It's last minute canceling on evening plans with friends because it's 6pm and the next day's audition requests are rolling in. It's my roommate laughing from the other side of the apartment because I'm endlessly muttering dialog to myself when I'm getting ready. This life, it's crazy.

But folks, ain't it grand??

I Believe in a World Where 80% Love What They Do

Whoah!! It's almost Thanksgiving. Where did 2015 go?!

I'm still here!! LOTS of big things happening in my world. It's been a crazy year. An... I finished a screenplay that got a little festival attention kind of year. An... I think I've changed agents three times kind of year. An... I'm four months into callbacks for a biiiiiiiiig movie kind of year.

More details to come. But in case you're facing the 4th quarter burn out and looking for a little inspiration to keep you going, here's an incredible Ted talk that did the job for me today.

More from me soon!!

Your Passion is Your Invitation

Man alive. Where to begin?!  

I feel like my career has really shifted in the last year and a half.  My mindset has changed, and with it, the entire way I approach everything.  I find myself much less focused on a lot of the standard "actor" tasks... post cards, agent-hunting, casting director workshops... I'm not doing any of that anymore.  Not to say that I won't ever again, but I'm just not spending a lot of energy focused on it. 

Instead, I have been trying to get out there. To get involved. To contribute to industry organizations I believe in. To attend reputable industry events with independent filmmakers. To generate my own project pipeline and support filmmakers whose work I respect and admire. 

It's not a magic carpet to the red carpet, but my career has really started to move forward, and it's entirely more fulfilling than sitting around waiting for a postcard to trigger a phone call. I may be inching my way into recognizable projects, but I'm making giant strides into the film community and I can see it over and over...

It's moments like when the third person at an event comes up to say hello to me, the actor/writer/director/festival darling I'm standing with (and secretly adore slash hope to work with someday) raises an impressed eyebrow and says, "Wow. You really know everybody, don't you?" 

Or similarly, another LA Film Fest guest recognizes me from the festival circuit.  Spoiler: I don't have a film on the circuit... nor have I ever (yet). I used to think I couldn't rub elbows with the people who have unless I did. I used to be wrong.

Or when the crazy-talented Sundance writer finalist is introduced to my manager at another event and says to him, nodding for emphasis, "She's a good one. She's a really good one."

Or the night a small collection of wonderfully talented actors gathered around my living room coffee table and read my screenplay out loud, and nailed it.  Then the recording I have of them declaring in the post-read discussion, "Those characters are so much fun! I love them!" over and over again. 

None of those things would have happened if I hadn't decided that I deserve to be here. That I didn't need to be invited to act... to write... to connect with people. I could do it all on my own.  

It's true when they say, Don't wait for them to give you permission. Or to encourage you to join the discussion.  You have to do it yourself.  You have to get your own butt out of your yoga pants and slippers, do your hair, swipe on some lipstick and show up.

Well hi there. How you doin'?

I took a break from blogging to finish a screenplay. But holy smokes, I did it! I finished an entire feature film with a character I might sell my first born child to play.

Did you miss me? I sure missed you.

Even when blogging stops, career doesn't. There's lots happening and lots more to come!!

Giddy up!

Here's to the Dream

...and to you and me getting one of these gentleman someday...

Unexpected Fuel for the Fire

Pilot season has finally started hitting me.  No, I'm not testing at the network yet, but my manager has been able to land a couple self-tape invitations.  It's been beautiful... eight auditions in the last week and a half.  It's times like this that make me feel like a "real" professional actor. 

I also haven't landed any of them.  Nadda. Zilch. (Good thing I have another one today.)

In the middle of the recent madness, however, there was this amazing moment.  As I was running around in my own little bubble, an actor recognized me at an audition. We tried to figure out how while were waiting to go in and realized it was because this casting director calls us in for a lot of stuff so we had crossed paths in his waiting room before.

The CD came out and affectionately warned us... the accompanist has been struggling a little today. You know, the accompanist who is supposed to take whatever sheet music you bring in and play right along with you... but unfortunately this accompanist couldn't sight read.  

Yeah. It's as frustrating as it sounds.

I went first and somehow made it through.  The actor complimented my song on the way out and asked me how it went. We bonded in the waiting room, laughing over needing to white knuckle through it. I tried to prepare him for what awaited on the other side of the door, wished him all the luck in the world and ran out to head to another audition.

Later that day, this was in my Facebook inbox:

I didn't end up booking this gig either, but it was so amazing to receive an unsolicited compliment like that.  Especially when you hustle and bustle around all day and it feels like no one even noticed that you were there. It's little moments like this that make this grind bearable.

It also kinda made me remember... Yeah!!  I am a goddamn star!! :)

Keep doin' your thing out there!  Be your best you and people will notice.