I'm still here, are you?

 

Wow. It's been a minute, fam! In fact, is any of the old fam still here?? Did anyone move back home? To a smaller market? Some of you are probably new in town. Welcome to Hollywood my young grasshoppers.

I've been here this whole damn time. I'm still out there, riding these mean streets.  Well... the grind looks a LOT different these days. Self tapes reign king, CAZT is closed (RIP) and Argentum moved to Burbank. (that actually doesn't matter because I haven't printed a headshot in years.) But a grind it still is... I've booked. I've leveled up, I'm primed to level up again... and I want to share every dirty detail with you.

Like you, I'm going to have to go back and re-read my old posts and re-live some of our old memories. Oh but there's so much more to tell. To be honest though, blogging is a little... well, 2015.  Let's bring this journey into the modern era by moving it to The Gram. As always, dates and specifics will be slightly altered so the TRUTH can be revealed. 

I'm ready. You ready?

Pay It Forward

At any audition, it's not about booking the role. You know that, I've told you before. 

(I have told you before, right? I've been writing this for a while. I forget. Well, if I haven't told you, undoubtedly someone in LA has. And if they haven't yet, they will.)

It's never about booking the role. It's about doing great work, meeting casting and filmmakers and winning them over. It's about getting fans. That's how you get more auditions.  More auditions will inevitably lead to more bookings. It's just math, kids.

I didn't land the lead in that movie last week. I received such great feedback on my initial submission, I figured it was worth the risk and emailed casting to follow up. Casting graciously responded that she "LOVED my tape and shared it with the team." Unfortunately, they decided to just go ahead and make an offer to a "name."

Ugh. Is my blog getting repetitive?? Yeah. It is for me too. 

Still, it's not about this role, it's about winning the room. I thanked her and offered my assistance as a resource. The film was slated to shoot in my home state, after all. She was ecstatic to have the help and I spent the following afternoon getting in touch with some folks to find her local talent to fill a couple bit parts. 

It wasn't too much effort -- just a few emails -- and she was incredibly appreciative. Most importantly, it never hurts to have a casting director in the position of owing you a favor... you can bet your britches I'll call that in at some point.

She's a Natural!

You studied Stanislavski. Strasberg. Meisner. Adler. Maybe you earned an MFA. You read Shakespeare on the daily. Your shelves are lined with worn copies of Chekhov, Chubbuck, Hagen and even Sedita.  You spend endless hours and thousands upon thousands of dollars in class struggling to increase your capacity as an artist.

Your Cmail pings. New Audition! Yay, let's put all that study into practice!!

You read the breakdown...

Cute young coed with big breasts.

I guess the body truly is your instrument. It's just that some things they can't really teach in class....

Welcome to Hollywood kids!

An Update

I sent in my self tape last week for the lead in a film. I couldn't attend the session because I was traveling all week, yet I made sure to steal away from the group for half a morning so I could put the audition together.

I got her done, sent in and I kid you not, the casting director emailed back within fifteen minutes.

"You are really good, Anony, and lovely and interesting to watch."

We then proceed to email back and forth for the next half hour on availability, height and all sorts of other details that are usually only asked once you're close to booking. I start to get excited...

That was nearly a week ago.  You usually only hear this much radio silence once you're close to... well... not booking it.  

I find this so annoying.  

Welcome to the hustle.

When Everything Must Stop

I had a mega day last week. It was jam-packed from dawn until well after dusk. It was a day when I had to literally write out my appointments to make sure they were in the most optimal order for location and travel time. There was no room for deviation or wasted driving in this schedule. 

Then it happened (and it always does on days like this). 

I heard about casting for a film. This film is shooting in May in my home state. This film had a lead role appropriate for me. These are the shots you wait for, coiled like a puma ready to pounce. 

So everything -- the day, the whole schedule -- it has to stop. A giant pause. A record scratch. That meeting on the Warner Brother's lot? It has to wait. My film festival after parties with contacts I only see a couple times a year? They're gonna have to sip their first drink without me.  

It all must wait for me to track down the casting director, contact information and anyone who may know anything about the film so that I can make a special pitch. 

"Hi - I'm Anony, I'm from this state and have worked there many times. Would love to read for this role. I am traveling tomorrow, but would it be possible to submit a selt-tape?"

Sure enough, that casting director responded with the script and sides. 

My day continued on. Maybe I was a little late for the rest of the day, but I got everything done. I have an audition for the lead in a film. It's all worth it.

And now I sit on a plane -- my eyes barely open from exhaustion -- reading the script for my next audition. But trust me... this is the good kind of tired.  

Make Your Own Break

Okay Mom. I'm here, see?!

Yeah, you read that correctly. My mother has been not-so-subtly hinting that I've neglected my blog. She is completely right, of course (as mothers often are.) I have neglected you, readers. And the truth is I've cheated on you. A lot.

But please, let me explain. This is a weird instance where cheating is actually a good thing!

You see, I've been writing elsewhere. In recent years, I too have come to realize what many other actors fighting for a place in this business already have. Being a good actor isn't enough. Being attractive isn't enough. It won't get you through the door. It won't get you ahead of the pack. You have to be more. You have to give more. You have to make your own break.

I cheated on you by writing my own feature. It took months; years actually. Guys, it's great. It has gotten competition attention. It landed me an Oscar nominated mentor. It has given me a profound sense of control over my career. It has transformed me from desperate to audition actor into a creator.

But guess, what? It's still not enough. I still don't have offers flooding through my door. It has to get made before it really starts turning heads. That is my next challenge.

There's also another feature and three shorts coming down my writing pipeline... So unfortunately that means I've written for you less. But I'd like to come home to you, because I've missed you.

It has been a long road in the past few years --  as I am sure it has been for you -- but we don't have to do it alone. We can do it together. And we should.

Ahhhh. It feels good to be home.

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.

Does Your Car Park for Scale plus 10?

I was in a parking garage last weekend. Did I unintentionally park in the actor section?

At least it was easy to remember.

The Agent Situation

Someday CAA or WME will come knocking on my door. Until that day... we must deal with the ever-present, ever-annoying struggle of assembling a team that actually makes shit happen. There have been some huge changes for me in this department over the last year.  I keep promising to fill you in on the details one day... well that one day is here.

Last year I had an agent whom I loved. He was great. He was at a great agency. We were finally starting to get some doors to open. Yes, it was slow progress, but we were working together and had a great relationship.  Then he decided to move back to the East coast to be closer to his family and left the agent game altogether.  I was seriously bummed.  

But I stayed at the agency with those other agents, despite the fact that they admitted to not even knowing I existed. (I didn't remind them that they passed on me when I first interviewed and my agent had secretly put me on his private list. Some details don't need to be shared.) I stayed and they were okay. Not amazing, not terrible. In the few months since my guy left, they got me a couple auditions for D-list projects. Nothing that blew my socks off. I was debating making a change, but I was dreading the process.

So when I bumped into an old friend at a film premiere, it seemed like the universe had planned it. I knew him from way back when he was an actor and we were both walking around parties in black ties, passing out flutes of champagne. Turns out he had been busy in the four years since I'd last seen him. He became a manager and was very quickly moving up the ladder in the talent rep world. We immediately felt like it was destiny to start working together. 

The only catch?? There was bad blood between the head manager he worked for and my current agent. Normally, signing on a new manager doesn't effect your agents; they serve different functions and you can have both simultaneously. However, you do kind of want them to like each other. You don't want to be the kid caught between two feuding parents. Everyone knows who ends up getting screwed the most in that situation.

This manager wanted to sign me, but wouldn't work with my current agent. I was left with a decision: Keep my respected agency logo and get a couple lame auditions every couple of months, or drop them and hope to heaven that the new manager will be able to get me meetings for a new agent.

I went for it. I felt like I'd seen very little to get excited about at my last agency. So it couldn't be worse than that, right?? My gut was telling me to sign with this old friend and (even though I had hesitations about the head manager) I like to trust my gut. I made the leap. 

Then I immediately booked a couple movies. Life was grand!

Life and career kept pushing forward. The waters started to get choppy when we could not get me into any meetings for a new agent. No one wanted to see me.

"Too many client conflicts."

"She doesn't have enough guest star credits."

Frustrating words we heard over and over and over again.

Still. No big deal, I'm not surprised.  I've been the driving force behind 100% of the major projects I've landed so far anyway. I don't need to pay someone 10% commission on what I'm doing myself. I still wasn't crazy about the other manager... especially after she misspelled my name in contract emails and I called her out on it because I feel like, at the very least, you should know how to spell your fucking client's name. I don't think that's asking too much.

Things started to get really exciting when, after only a couple months, my friend decided to leave and start his own management company.  (Turns out, my instincts were spot on and he didn't like working with terrible-speller manager either.)

Over the phone when he asked me to join him at his new company, I said, "Wow. We're in it deep now. We definitely need each other or we're both going to sink."

I felt like we were really in the trenches together.  In the span of a couple months, I found myself without an agent and sitting on the roster of a brand spanking new management company that didn't yet have access to breakdowns.  It was a risk by every definition of the word... but still, my gut was telling me to take it.

The risk has paid off. I booked another movie after that and I now have the management relationship I've always wanted. We are in constant communication and the man fights harder for me than you could possibly imagine. We have candid conversations about the challenges and strategy and the crappy times it doesn't go our way.

He's even landed me a new agent. Last week, I signed for commercial representation for now, with an option for theatrical down the road. I had to leave the commercial ladies I've been with for a while (whom I love) but have gotten me less than a dozen auditions in the last two years. It was hard to make that drop, but it was time for a change.  We need an injection of new blood. I'm pumped to see where it takes us.

May we always be brave enough to follow our instincts. If you haven't in a while, start listening to yours and see where they take you.

And Like That... *hoo*... It's Gone

ARGH! I didn't get the movie. To be more specific, I didn't even get to audition.  

In a cruel twist of fate, a different star was replaced at the last minute which ended up altering my character's age.  You see, I was going after the younger sister.  But when the older sister all of a sudden becomes even older than what was originally called for in the script... I would have looked more like the older sister's daughter.  

So I'm out. Nadda. No Bueno. 

Despite having at least four different people pushing my name at them, they wouldn't budge. I admit I was pretty bummed about this one.  When you're working on hustling a film for two and a half months, it's hard to not get emotionally invested in the outcome.  Obviously, the final decisions had nothing to do with me, the role changed the week they started casting. There was nothing I could have done, but when you recognize an opportunity like that, it's hard to blink the stars out of your eyes right away after it's gone.

On a good note however... an actress friend of mine (whom I met working on this film) DID get the movie. (!!!)  I'm so proud of her, in fact I thought of her when I read the script. It's an even larger role than the one I was after and it is a Big Deal for her.  A real game changer.  And while yes, I admit I'm totally friend-jealous, I have nothing but excitement for her.  She is crazy talented and deserves every ounce of success that is definitely coming her way. Can't wait to see how this helps her career.

So for me, no movie.  But we forge ahead. I have a busy week already, three auditions by Tuesday.  My weekend is jam packed with learning new material and also trying to earn a couple bucks at my side job.  

Let's carry on, shall we?

A Career is the Accumulation of Strategic Moves

I've been a little absent, but I haven't been away.  I've been busy.  For starters, I went to Sundance Film Festival for the first time and it was amazing. 24 hours a day. It's like adult summer camp for movie lovers in the middle of winter. 

At some point, I'll tell you about it all: about the panels and the parties and the gifting suites.  I'll tell you about how stupidly difficult it was to get into screenings, about the extra bag I needed  in order to carry all my swag, and most importantly, about the stack of business cards walked away with on the way home.  

I'll tell you about all of it, but there's something bigger going on right now. 

I think I've mentioned to you before, I hustle people and projects connected to my home state ruthlessly.  I think you have to utilize whatever network you are given, and the hometown crowd is one of my biggest supporters. In Los Angeles, I'm still clawing my way out of obscurity, but back home, I'm a respectably big fish in a small pond.

In the last couple years, I've worked on a few projects connected to various members in this network.  Most of them are pretty small, but it has meant that I've worked with basically everyone who is anyone in the industry in my home state.  None have really done a ton for me yet, but right now, there is serious potential for all that groundwork to pay off.

A very prestigious indie just got the green light to shoot back home. It's an art house kind of film, and I doubt the average person will even know when it's released.  The director is not a household name, nor are their projects ultra famous.  But on the festival circuit?  They are big time. Their past films are festival darlings with A-list names attached.  In fact, this one already has two Oscar-nominated stars on board. It also just so happens that the film has a supporting character who is perfect for Anony. 

For the past two years, I have been positioning myself as a star in my home state, and though I don't live there, I can as a work local hire. (Meaning, I can save the production beaucoup dollars.)  Most of those in the industry who so live there permanently have worked with me before and would vouch for me -- professionally, personally and socially.  Even the film commissioner is committed to pitching me to the producers.  

I've been building these relationships for years waiting for an opportunity like this to come along. It's huuuuuge. It's a big deal to be seen and would be a big deal to land this role.  Obviously  nothing is certain, I haven't even been able to audition yet.  But that's my goal.  It's what consumes me this week. 

It's a big move and if success is what happens when preparation meets opportunity... 
this. is. it.

It's not the end-all, be-all... but it's one helluva strategy if it can pay off. Cross your fingers for me!!

Keep Shooting

Feeling that mid-day Tuesday slump too?   This may help. (For the record, it's not about giving up coffee!!)

26 Inspirational Quotes That Will Get You Motivated Better Than Coffee

This one really got me going today: 

23. “Big shots are only little shots who keep shooting.” - Christopher Morley

Here's to you and me and all the other little shots out there.

Let's keep shooting. 

Season's Greetings

There are two seasons kicking off right now. Pilot season and awards season. Okay, maybe there are three... I forgot about Winter. I guess that's happening too for most of the real world. But here in LA, pilot season and awards season are the only ones that matter. 

I've dabbled in pilot season, remember last year I got pinned for a role?!? That was pretty cool. But this is a whole new year and I'm still trying to squeeze my way in the door, and *surprise* it's a battle. I left my agency last fall (more on that later) so I'm heading into the next couple of months with only a manager. It's scary, but he's working like a dog to get me meetings. I have one scheduled for the end of the month. Fingers crossed.

Awards season however, still feels a long way off.  I have attended the Emmy's just by having good connections, but I haven't ever been personally invited by any Academies, and I definitely haven't been nominated yet.

I did however, manage to get into a gifting suite for the first time last week.  I wasn't actually invited to that either, but I was there for other reasons and got to watch the action. It wasn't as fancy as you'd think.  Maybe I was at a lower end one, but I hardly recognized some of the "stars" who were there. The whole thing was just kind of weird. Everyone had tables full of product displays and the guests were shuttled around to talk and take pictures with the product reps.  Then they got gift bags stuffed to the gills with free crap. Okay, I'll admit, that part was pretty cool. 

Eventually, one of the vendors turned to me and excitedly described how he got to meet "the guy" (he didn't know his name) "who played James Brown on that tv movie."

"No. He played Little Richie," his partner interjected.

"Oh, it was Little Richie? I thought it was James Brown."

I just looked at them. You don't even know who these people are!!! I so badly wanted to tell them that they'd seen me on TV too and I'm in an big movie coming up, so why the heck weren't they wanting to take a picture with me?! But then I realized I was thinking like a brat and and a bit of a bitter actor.  I just took a deep breath and said:

"Oh wow. That's cool."

I didn't really think it was that cool, but I am fired up.  Let's make some big things happen this year.  Not for the stupid gifting suites. (Little ol' me did end up walking out of there with a bunch of free crap and I didn't even have to take a picture for it.) 

No. Not for the gifts but for me. And for you. For the love and blood, sweat and tears we've put into this career. Because there are no reasons why we can't do it. Because we deserve a steady income, a fulfilling career and we are greater than the stack of invitations we have (or don't have) sitting in our mailbox.

Letting Go of Baggage

Despite some travel hiccups, I finally made it back to Los Angeles. It was touch and go there for a while, airports were nutty. Like Home Alone, racing from Gate A12 to Gate D94, style. There was bad weather all over the US, my perfectly confirmed boarding pass was even rejected once, and check engine lights appeared at the most inconvenient of times. One of those times, I sat at the airport for about for hours, waiting for my flight to get approval to leave. 

As hour four came around the corner, the gate agent basically said, "Yeah. See that plane leaving from the gate next to us? It's going where you're going. You should try to get on it."

So we all ran there as if iPhones were on sale for 99 cents and desperately begged for a seat. Shocker, that gate agent became a little annoyed. She asked, "This plane leaves in three minutes. Are you willing to separate from your bag?"

Oh man... This seems like ideal circumstances for lost luggage. Suddenly I was worried if I had anything I'd like to see again in my checked bag. I did, but it didn't matter.  I had to get my body back in Los Angeles. I had an audition the next day.  And if I didn't get on that plane... I likely wasn't going to make it at all.

So I took a deep breath and nodded, knowing I may never see my favorite pair of yoga pants again. But for the lead in a film that shoots for a month on the East coast... it was a worthy sacrifice. I settled into my seat and started running my lines (probably creeping out the person sitting next to me).

Good news: I made my audition. 

My bag even made it to Los Angeles too. I have no idea how they did it, but I still have my favorite yoga pants.

Here we are in the year two thousand fifteen.  It's only a few days old and we're already off to a great start.