Category Archives: Acting

Just A Simple Dinner Out (or A Union Working Hangout)

Posted on December 18, 2018 | Comments Off

I’ve been helping out with the Union Working group for a while now. For me, it seems so easy to run the FB live and it’s not a big deal. But I know that for the core members/leaders of the group, it is a big deal because that is one less thing that they have to worry about. And they really don’t have to worry about anything because I come to the meetings with all the equipment needed to run it and I set things up without needing any help. And with our new location for the meetings, we have WiFi so it’s even easier to run the live stream.

I know how hard the core members/leaders of the group work to run Union Working, so when they invited me out to a hangout to celebrate an awesome year as a group I was really honored! I am friends with some of those leaders, but others are people who I don’t know that well and I was excited to get to hang out with them in a casual setting and get to know them better. When we are at the meetings, I don’t want to bother them since they are so focused and working on running the meeting. So this was an opportunity I didn’t want to miss.

The hangout was at a brewery that is near where we have our meetings. I got there early and had a chance to hang out with a friend of mine who is one of the leaders before other members arrived. We found a big table that would fit us all and people started arriving pretty quickly once we were sitting down. A bunch of people were ordering drinks, but fortunately the brewery had a nice food menu too so I got a grilled cheese (which was delicious!).

Most of the time we were there we were just talking about random things. Some of them were acting related, some of them were just normal every day things. The conversation never stopped and there were times that 2 or 3 different conversations were happening at the same time. I was seated at the middle of the table so I was able to be a part of it all, but sometimes I just sat back and enjoyed listening to everyone else. It was pretty entertaining when some people got a bit silly and I just had fun watching it all happen.

There were some moments where the group and the accomplishments of the past year were mentioned and each of us were singled out for what we were able to do. When it came to me, they thanked me for taking over the FB live and for just jumping in and helping. They also thanked me for keeping them on task and bringing new ideas. It just reminded me of how something that might not be a big deal to me is really appreciated by others and I should accept their thanks instead of playing it off. When it’s a big deal to someone, I should acknowledge that and allow them to thank me however they feel appropriate. I don’t have to play it down and try to be modest that I’m not doing much. It’s not an easy thing for me to do because I don’t like feeling like I’m getting credit I don’t deserve, but I did deserve the credit from their perspective.

As it goes with so many events like this, I had every intention of leaving at a reasonable hour so I could get home and to sleep, but that didn’t happen. I was just having too much fun hanging out with everyone and I didn’t want to leave. But I couldn’t stay too late since I did have a bit of a drive home and had an early workout the next morning. But I was there for a few hours before I said my goodbyes and headed back to my car.

I left the hangout really feeling like I had made friends out of more of these core members/leaders. While I’m sure they were always my friends before, I really got to know them when we weren’t worried about working and I feel much more a part of the group now. I’m happy just doing my FB live work, but if they want more I know that I am willing to do that because I want to help however I can. And I’m much more comfortable now asking for help from those leaders if I need it because I know them better now.

We’ve got some amazing things happening with Union Working in the new year and some things that will still be happening this year. I can’t wait to get to share them when I can because they are really cool. I love getting to be a part of this group and every time I meet with them I appreciate the group more and more.

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Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff

Tagged acting, dinner, friends, hangout, SAG-AFTRA, union, union working

A SAG-AFTRA Party (or Finally Getting Photos With My Friends)

Posted on December 14, 2018 | Comments Off

The SAG-AFTRA Holiday Party is an event that I love. I haven’t always gone to it, but I’ve tried to go every year the past few years. It’s not often I get to attend a union event that is all about being social and not about various union politics or issues. While you can’t always avoid discussing those things even at a party, the holiday party really is a time to relax and have fun.

And this party isn’t just a hangout. The LA Host Committee does an amazing job having a nice buffet meal, entertainment, and a photo booth. I usually don’t eat while I’m there and I don’t know if I’ve ever taken advantage of the photo booth, but I have always appreciated the options to have fun and I know that it makes so many people happy.

This year, even though the party fell on a nausea/pain day, I wasn’t feeling too bad when I got there. I was a bit tired from having a long day, but I perked up when I arrived and saw a friend of mine in line. She was nice enough to let me join her in line and that gave us a chance to catch up! Once the party officially started, the check in line went pretty quickly and we were inside within a few minutes!

Our first stop was to get some food and this year I was going to be enjoying it too! There was a really nice spread with lots of options. I had some salad, chicken teriyaki, shrimp ceviche, pot stickers, and prime rib! And there was a dessert spread too with cookies, brownies, and cake (I got some cake that had really delicious frosting!). After we all got our plates we found a table to stand at so we could eat without worrying about holding our plates.

The party was a bit crowded, but that is to be expected. And I was constantly running into friends and people I knew! I really felt amazing when I realized how many people in the union I do know. Sometimes it feels like I don’t know anyone or there are too many people there, but this year it didn’t feel like that. And even though I didn’t get to spend too much time catching up with many of my friends, I did make an effort to do my best. And I also tried to get photos with a couple of people too since I usually forget to do that!

Where we were standing to eat ended up being right next to where the quick speeches were going to be, so that worked out well for us! There was a quick speech to thank the LA Host Committee for doing such a great job with the party and to thank those of us who made it for attending. Then there was a short speech about the current strike we have with BBH. BBH is an ad agency that has declared that they no longer have to follow our union agreement and we as a union are not ok with that. They have an agreement to do union commercials and they should abide by that. So we are on strike until an agreement can be made. It’s an important issue for the union and I’m glad that they took some time to talk about it at the party so everyone there could be up-to-date on what is happening. They also had signs for us to take photos with to show our support for our union, and of course I took advantage of that!

The party was only 2 hours long as I was planning on leaving before it was over because my tiredness was starting to kick in. But of course I kept running into people I knew and got caught up into different conversations. I think I ended up leaving about an hour after I started to say goodbye, but that’s normal for events like this. I always end up finding people I know and hadn’t talked to yet and I don’t want to leave without at least saying hello and goodbye. And I was also helping a friend get an Instagram account set up and didn’t want to leave them until they had everything ready and knew how to post photos.

I’m so glad that I took a bit of a rest day earlier this week so that I could be at the SAG-AFTRA party. Even though I was still a bit tired, I think that had more to do with my early morning workout and maybe not getting enough sleep and not because of feeling overwhelmed and burnt out from too many events. I still have some more holiday parties to go to, but I am evaluating which ones are the most important so I can prioritize them if necessary. I want to make sure that I can have as much fun at any other parties as I did at the SAG-AFTRA one!

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Posted in Acting, Celebrations, Fun Stuff

Tagged acting, friends, holidays, party, SAG-AFTRA, union

The First Holiday Party Of The Season (or A Meeting And A Mixer)

Posted on November 30, 2018 | 2 comments

This week was the last Union Working meeting of 2018. With the holiday season starting, it’s tough to plan for a meeting in December because so many people have travel plans or other events to go to. And this meeting wasn’t a regular meeting, it was part meeting and part holiday mixer. But it was the perfect way to kick off the holiday season and the parties I’ll be going to.

I got to the meeting early so I could set up the Facebook Live things. I know that the team at Union Working appreciate that I do this for the meetings, but I always feel like I should be doing more because it’s not that hard for me to do. But if that’s what they need me to do, I’m glad I can do it! When I got there, a lot of the things for the party were already set up. There was a table full of amazing food and a bar area set up and I know that we were expecting a lot of people to be there (actors love free food and drinks!).

People arrived in waves since it was more of a party so I felt like I was always seeing someone I knew and getting to say hi and catch up with them. It was nice to not have to worry about getting everything ready for a meeting to start and to just enjoy time with those who were there.

About an hour into the party, the meeting portion of the evening happened so I got the Facebook Live video ready. It was a very brief meeting with the premiere of a new video that will be released soon regarding keeping the union strong, some notes about how we have merchandise for sale for those interested in representing Union Working with a hat or key chain, and then the leaders of the group were sharing their appreciation for everyone else. It was really nice to see how passionate the leaders of the group are about working hard for all actors. We see that passion when they are running the meetings, but seeing them be grateful for what we have accomplished was a different type of passion and it made me even more proud to be a member of the group.

After that was done, it was back to the party. I kept the Facebook Live running because we wanted to give people the opportunity to come over and say things to those watching in other parts of the country. A few people did come over to say thank you to those in other markets for working hard, but most of the time I was running it there was nobody there and I was just looking at the step and repeat.

Even though people weren’t coming over to talk on the video, I wasn’t by myself at the party. Friends were coming over to hang out and talk with me throughout the evening. And it actually worked out a bit better since where I was wasn’t as crowded as the area by the food where most people were hanging out. I liked having my own party area so I didn’t feel as overwhelmed or like I was in the middle of a crowd. I did go over and get some food (which was delicious!), but most of my time was over by the step and repeat.

And even though I always tell myself that I want to get a picture in front of the step and repeat, it usually is taken down before I remember or get a chance to do it. This time I wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass so I finally got a fun selfie in front of it.

Most people were taking advantage of the step and repeat being out of the way and available and were taking photos too. There were so many selfies taken and a lot of fun group photos. I thought about doing some group photos with my friends in front of the step and repeat, but because so many people were busy talking I didn’t want to interrupt them. And I loved watching everyone talk because there were lots of conversations about union related issues and lots of new people meeting each other and becoming friends. It was kind of fun being able to sit back and just enjoy the people watching.

But since everyone has a camera and was taking photos, I did get one group photo with my friends when the party was winding down. It’s not in front of the step and repeat, but at least I got one photo that proves I was there with other people!

I got everything from the Facebook Live cleaned up before the party was done so when cleanup was happening I asked if I could help in any other way. We had some amazing volunteers who were doing the cleanup and they didn’t need me. And that was ok since it was getting late and I had to work early the next morning. So I made my rounds of goodbyes to my friends and headed home.

Even with being over by the Facebook Live setup for most of the party, I never felt like I was alone or separate from everything going on. I loved having my own area to talk with my friends and to meet new people at the meeting. I know that next year is a big one for our union with elections happening again along with contract negotiations, so it’s going to be more important than ever to be as involved as I can with Union Working. And that’s exactly what I plan on doing!

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Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff

Tagged acting, friends, mixer, party, SAG-AFTRA, union, union working

Auditioning For Class (or When Rejection Is Really A Win)

Posted on November 13, 2018 | Comments Off

It has been a while since I’ve been in an acting class. And it’s been even longer since I’ve been in an ongoing regular acting class. I’ve struggled to find a new acting class that I wanted to be in for a long time. Part of it is financial and part of it is finding someone I connect with as much as my acting coach who passed away. But I know that I should be in class because it’s always a good thing to work on your skills. So I have looked into a few different classes to see if there are any that seem to be a good match for me.

A friend of mine told me about an acting class that she is in (I’m not saying the name just to keep things a bit discrete). It’s an ongoing class that meets once a week to work on scripts. You can bring in a script you need to prepare for an audition or work on random material in class. But what is so special about the class is that there is no teacher or coach. It is a group of 12 actors that work together supporting each other. Everyone is a teacher and a student at the same time.

When she told me about this class originally, it sounded really amazing to me. I love the idea of a collaborative class where everyone is an equal. And not only did the class sound great, it was one of the cheaper classes out there because they only had to pay for the rental of the space they used. They hold auditions to join the group once or twice a year, whenever one of the 12 members is leaving the class. Sometimes they have 1 space, sometimes they have more than one. But it’s always a very limited number of spaces open when they have auditions.

My friend told me about the auditions about a month ago so I could check my schedule, and the actual audition was last week. We were given a script to work on and present to the group. Then after we did our scene there was an interview portion where the current members of the group could ask me questions. It’s so important with a small collaborative group like this that everyone gets along, so I understood why they had to do an interview along with the audition.

I don’t want to make excuses for myself, but I did not have my best audition. I was dealing with some nausea and cramps that evening. I’ve been lucky over the past 2 years because I haven’t really had any auditions on my bad days. But this time, I did have that. And because I wasn’t feeling myself, I was struggling with keeping the lines memorized. Again, I don’t want to make excuses for myself because I now know I need to work harder at being extra memorized to be prepared in case I have to audition on a bad day. But it still was unfortunate that I felt pretty bad after I finished my audition.

I felt much more confident during the interview. The questions were things that I was expecting like if I could commit to the time the class was held, if I was ok with how much the class cost, and what I would bring to a group like this. I tried to answer as openly and honestly as I could without rambling too much. I was very conscious about making my answers solid and quick so I didn’t seem unsure of my answers. I was actually much more prepared for the interview part and was expecting much harder questions, so when it was done I was almost shocked that it was over.

When I left, I told my friend I was sorry that my audition was bad. I knew it wasn’t great, but she let me know that it was good and that I did a great job. But she also let me know the next day that I didn’t get accepted into the group. It wasn’t a surprise to me (I would have been surprised if I did get into the group) and she gave me some notes about what the others thought. The main thing was that because I wasn’t as memorized as other people, I didn’t appear to be as prepared. It was actually good to hear that because I knew that was an issue. I was happy it wasn’t an issue I wasn’t already aware of.

Although I would have loved to have gotten into the class, I know that I can audition again the next time there is an opening. And I plan on doing just that and making sure I work even harder on my audition. I now know what to expect when I go into the room so I will be more prepared than I was last week. And hopefully I won’t have the audition on a bad day.

But even with being rejected from the class, I had the best time at this audition! Any time I get to act is an amazing day and brings me so much joy! This is how I know I’m on the right career path right now. Being rejected from an acting class is still better than my best day at my day job. And I have gotten good at rejection from auditions and other acting related experiences. It’s a part of this career and I am glad that I don’t let rejection affect me or make me question if I’m not supposed to do this.

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Posted in Acting

Tagged acting, audition, class

A Mini Photo Shoot (or Enjoying A Voter Freebie)

Posted on November 8, 2018 | Comments Off

I know that on Election Day there were quite a few freebie or discount offers for anyone who voted. Busses and trains in LA were free, ride share companies were offering free or discounted rides to polling places, and there were a couple of fast food or chain restaurants that offered things like free coffee or dessert if you were wearing your voter sticker. I usually don’t do any of the voter freebie offers since they aren’t things I need or want, but this year I did take advantage of one.

One of my headshot photographers, Adam Emperor Southard, posted on social media last month that he was offering free mini shoots for anyone who voted. These would be 10 minute shoots and done quickly and efficiently. This doesn’t mean they wouldn’t look as good as normal headshots do, but it would be done in studio with a single background and with a single look. It’s been a while since I’ve done headshots (right now I don’t have the money for new ones but I look like my current ones enough so it’s ok), so I immediately signed up for a mini shoot!

I was going through my clothes to pick out what I wanted to wear for my shoot. Even though I knew it was just a single look, I was hoping that maybe I could do 2 very similar looks if I made it quick. So I had a black tank top on and brought a sweater and scarf with me. I was hoping that maybe I could do photos in each, but I also knew that I might have to just pick one and that would be ok with me.

For regular headshot shoots, I have someone do my hair and makeup. I timed my hair being done so it was done the day before the shoot. I knew that would make it still look nice and not as frizzy as it can be when I do my hair. And for my makeup, I really just tried my best to do my makeup. I’m getting better about doing it and realizing that I have to almost look overdone when I look in a mirror to actually look good. I think that’s because I don’t wear makeup that often, but it’s still a tough thing to remember that I don’t look like I’m wearing too much to everyone else.

I went to the shoot right after I was done with work on Election Day. Traffic wasn’t as crazy as it could be so I got there much earlier than my appointment time. I figured it would be fine if I had to wait but maybe Adam would be ready to take my photo if there wasn’t someone right before me. He was just finishing a shoot when I arrived so it ended up being perfect timing! And I asked if I could do both looks since it was such a minor change and he said that I could!

I did the look with the sweater first and tried to not think too much about how I look. It was tough because I know that normally the makeup artist is checking to make sure my hair looks good and nothing else is off. I asked to see a preview of a photo and fixed my hair a bit (even though it can be fixed in retouching too) and tried to relax. While I was doing my photos someone else showed up for their shoot, and I let them go after I was done with the photos in my sweater and would do the photos in my scarf after they were done.

When I did my second half of the shoot, I tried to do a variety of faces and looks. But since it was so quick I know that I probably didn’t do as much as I would have loved to. And to finish off the shoot, I decided to do some fun pictures with my voter sticker (which I love that I get since I do a mail in ballot) and those ended up looking very fun when Adam showed me a quick preview of how they looked.

Adam just sent me the photos from the shoot and I will spend some time going over them and seeing which ones I like. With this free shoot he is also including a free retouch, but I can pay for more to be retouched if I want them to. So far, from what I have looked at, they look amazing! My hair isn’t quite what I thought it would look like because there was a weird piece out of place but my makeup is much better than I thought it would be! And of course, since Adam is an amazing photographer the photos are all incredible!

I love that Adam did this shoot as an incentive to get people to vote. I would have voted with or without this shoot, but it was fun to have something awesome as a bonus for voting in this midterm election. And it is a bonus that really is something I needed and will be very helpful with my acting career. This was really just an amazing gift that Adam offered us all and I am so grateful I was able to be a part of it.

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Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff

Tagged acting, election, free, headshots, photos, vote

Last Mentoring Group Brunch For The Year (or Switching Things Up For Next Year)

Posted on October 31, 2018 | Comments Off

It’s been over 3 years since I started meeting with my current mentoring group. Next year will be 4 years since the first meeting and I love that this group is still going strong! Even though not everyone can go to every meeting we have as a group, we all still support each other whenever we can. We email the group from time to time and know that we can turn to each other if we need advice or help. I’ve said this over and over again, but I am so lucky to have this group of women in my life!

This past weekend we had one of our catchup brunches. It ended up being a smaller group with just 3 of us being able to make it, but with everyone’s crazy schedule we knew that it was going to be tough to get a big group there. We try our best, but we also know that for everyone to be able to attend it would take a miracle. So we try to pick the date that works for the most of us and we do our brunch then. And usually someone can make it to the next brunch so we just get to double up on the update from them the next time.

With it just being 3 of us, we had a quick update time. I had a few things to share this time which was a nice change compared to feeling like I have nothing to share. There’s nothing major happening, but I did have a recent change in my representation. I still have the same agents that I had before, but instead of them being at the same agency they are now split at 2 agencies. This isn’t a huge thing, but it will be the first time I don’t have my agents working at the same agency so there are a few changes I need to be aware of. It’s mainly things like notifying each of them separately when I book out when I’m out of town or making sure the other knows when one gets me an audition. I really don’t think anything else will change, but I guess I’ll find out as time goes on.

The other 2 people at brunch had some fun updates including a new show that one has written and is working on presenting to different networks. She was telling us all about the show and it does sound amazing! I have a feeling other people will be interested in the idea and it has a good chance of being worked on as a pilot. We all know there are so many variables with what happens for a show to get on the air, but just getting it in the works is a huge deal and I really hope that it happens!

While we were at brunch, we were talking about how tough it has been lately for us to find dates that work for a bunch of us. And if we were trying to do every other month like we have been for the past few years, that would make our next brunch in December. I know that it will be impossible to find a date to meet in December because of the holidays and everyone having travel plans. So we knew that the brunch was going to be in January.

But one of the women at the brunch mentioned that since we’ve been struggling to find the time to meet up, maybe it was time to make a change in the attempted frequency of our meetings. Things naturally have just worked out this year to pretty much be a meeting once a quarter. We try for every other month and then it gets pushed back a month. So to do a meeting every 3 months isn’t going to be much of a change. We brought it up to the rest of the group who wasn’t at the meeting and it seems like everyone thinks this is a good idea.

I think it will be nice to have some of the pressure off to try to plan these every other month. Also it will give me more time to have more of an update each time we meet up. I know I don’t have to have a big update every time, but I do like to have something to contribute to the conversation. And it’s a great opportunity to get advice but I can’t get that advice unless I ask for it or have a specific question. So having a bit more time to have things happen in my life will be a good thing for me.

It’s crazy to think that by the time we have our next brunch we will have been meeting for 4 years! That’s such a long time to keep this going but we are all so lucky that we’ve been able to keep it up. I know it’s only possible because everyone else is as motivated as I am about continuing these meetings. And I’m glad that we are just as motivated as we were before as well as being flexible to change things up as we see need to be adjusted.

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Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff

Tagged acting, brunch, friends, mentoring, Women in Film

Union Working Support (or Celebrities And Middle Class Actors Unite)

Posted on October 25, 2018 | Comments Off

This week was another Union Working meeting and as always it was so informative and inspiring. Even if there aren’t action steps for me to take when I leave a meeting, I always leave wanting to do more and finding out more ways for me to help and be involved. I felt for a while that running the live stream of our meetings wasn’t enough to help, but now I realize that it is an important job and really appreciated by members who are in LA and cannot attend as well as members who live in other cities.

This meeting didn’t have as much of an agenda as some in the past have had, but we still had lots of things to go over.

There was a brief discussion about the W&W meetings that have been happening. I really have wanted to attend one, but the way my schedule works it’s not easy. And when I thought I could attend the last part of a meeting, something comes up that prevents me from going. I still have a few more chances to go, but there is a possibility that I won’t be able to make it to one and that’s a bit upsetting to me. I really planned on going because it is so important to be there. But I also know there will be more opportunities in the future when maybe my schedule isn’t as packed.

One of the big things we discussed at the meeting was our social media presence. We have got some great things up on our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube pages and we want everyone to subscribe to them if they are interested in supporting unions or knowing more about unions. Union Working isn’t just about the actor union, we support all unions. And if you’ve checked out any of our social media, you may have seen a lot of pictures like these.

And that’s because we have been reaching out to celebrities to see who wants to join Union Working in supporting our union, making our union stronger, and supporting all other unions. So many famous people have wanted to help us which is amazing. We know that there is strength in numbers, but there is added strength in having known people joining the cause. And I’m so grateful that so many people who have such busy schedules have taken time out to help us.

And we are continuing to look for celebrities who want to help us. Most of them remember what it was like to be a struggling actor or a middle class actor. And sadly, with so many projects becoming non-union, the idea of being a middle class actor is going away. People used to be able to support themselves by doing a few commercials a year. Now, that’s not happening. There is still a middle class of actors who support themselves but are not famous or known, but those numbers are getting smaller and smaller.

We need the help of those who can help us and I’m so happy that we have gotten some incredible people to join us in our fight for all union members! There are more videos about this on the Union Working YouTube page and more amazing videos are coming soon. I can’t wait until everyone can see what has been in the works and what we want the world to see.

One of the last things that was discussed was having more Union Working groups around the country. While LA is one of the biggest areas for actors, there are actors all over and some of the cities that used to be considered minor markets are now very busy with work. We know that we have the support of people outside of LA, we just want them to be able to keep building those communities of support like we have here. And one of the things we do for those other cities is the live stream that I run. I loved watching the comments on the live stream come in from people who don’t live in LA. And they can ask questions at our meetings as well since I can see those questions as they are posted and ask them on their behalf.

We will have one more Union Working meeting in November for this year and as soon as that information is finalized I’ll be sharing it on my social media so those who want to join us can do so. Then we’ll have the holidays off before getting back to our regular meetings in the new year. I’ve already done so much with this group in 2018, and I can’t wait to see what I’m able to accomplish next year when I’m sure I’ll get even more involved.

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Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff

Tagged acting, support, union, union working

Self-Tape Saturday (or Turning A Video Shoot Into A Photo Shoot)

Posted on October 17, 2018 | Comments Off

I’ve written about self-taping auditions in the past. While I love going into an office for an audition and getting to work with a casting director or assistant directly, self-tape auditions are becoming more and more common. And they are even more common with auditioning for the smaller parts. Because they are more common, I’ve slowly been upgrading my self-tape set-up at home. I now have a tripod that I can use my iPad with (it’s not my best camera, but it’s close to the best one) and I have a backdrop that I can use on a wall in my house so that it looks more professional. So when I have an audition that calls for a self-tape, I feel pretty comfortable that I can do it.

The only thing I need to find is someone to help me tape the audition. It’s not too hard since most of my actors friends are willing to help out (because I would do the same for them), but I still usually have to ask around to find someone who is available when I am to be my reader. So when I found out about a self-tape audition I needed to do this weekend, I immediately started to text my friends to see who was free. And my birthday twin, Joanna, was not only free but she also had a self-tape audition that needed to be done!

She mentioned that she had a self-tape set-up at her house, so I was happy to go over there to work on our auditions. I had my tripod and iPad with me to use as a camera and I wasn’t totally sure what her set-up would be. I knew it would be fine, but I was so impressed when I walked into her house!

It was so professional looking! She not only had the backdrop and tripod, but she also had lights and a microphone! I knew this was going to be one of my best self-tape auditions as far as looks go. And I was really excited to get to spend an evening working on auditions with a friend.

Joanna was going to use her phone to record her auditions (it was just easiest for us each to record on our own devices) and since that was already set up she went first. We rehearsed her scene a few times so she was comfortable and I was familiar with the lines that I would be reading for her and then we started recording. We did a bunch of takes because I wanted Joanna to feel completely certain that she got the best take that she could do. And I was having fun being her reader and getting to have a little bit of silly acting before doing my audition.

Then we switched things up and it was my turn to do my audition. My audition had some unique rules about how they wanted everything to be done so even though my scene was significantly shorter than Joanna’s my audition was taking longer. But she had the same patience for me that I did for her and we did a bunch of takes until I felt like I had the audition that I wanted to submit.

After we were done doing our videos, we decided to take some silly photos. We both were going to post about spending our night self-taping auditions and we might as well have pictures to go along with it! We were doing pretty normal photos until Joanna discovered how cool it looks to have the iPad screen covering my face so you see my face on the screen.

And of course after she took that photo of me I made her get in front of the iPad so I could do the same for her. We were just having fun and being so silly after working on auditions and it made the night so much more fun. I love getting to hang out with a friend and getting to do any form of acting, but turning this into a photo shoot was an added bonus that made my night.

I started to edit my audition to cut out my best take the next day. Since my scenes were so short I told Joanna just to keep the camera running between takes. We had to pause sometimes because her neighbors slammed a door or there was a plane above us so the noise was distracting, but that’s just how things go. When we were pausing for noise she and I usually were talking about random things. And while watching my videos to find my best takes I was laughing at all the crazy faces I made while talking to Joanna just as me.

I don’t love to watch myself on camera, but the more often I do it the easier it gets. I found my best takes and got everything edited the way the casting director instructed us to do. I did have some problems submitting my audition on the website we needed to do it through, but fortunately my agent was able to do the submission for me so I didn’t miss the deadline. I did get things straightened out with the submission site the day after the deadline so hopefully I won’t have this problem again. But I was just grateful my agent could do it for me and wasn’t upset that I ran into trouble.

I’m so glad that things worked out so well for Joanna to help me with my audition. And I was so inspired by how awesome her self-tape set-up was as well! I’m now looking into some things that I can hopefully get in the future to make my self-tape set-up at my house as close to what she has. I know that when casting directors ask for self-tape auditions they don’t expect them to be super professional, but they shouldn’t look like they are completely amateur either. I want to find the perfect balance and I think adding a few more things to what I have will take things much closer to looking like they were done at a casting office.

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Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff

Tagged acting, audition, friends, self-tape

Finding Felicity (or Being A Total Fangirl)

Posted on October 3, 2018 | Comments Off

I watch a lot of tv now. It’s basically my job to know what is on tv. I am trying to not watch everything for the entire season, so I’m starting to get pickier about which shows I choose to follow. But when I was growing up, I didn’t have unlimited tv time so I was very selective. I had a couple of favorite shows, and one of those favorites was “Felicity”.

I’m not exactly sure how I knew about “Felicity” when the show premiered, but I started watching right from the beginning and was pretty obsessed with it from the very first episode. My obsession was so strong that when I heard about a contest to find the biggest fan of the show, my best friend (who was equally obsessed) and I had to make a tape so we could enter.

We were so upset when we didn’t win the contest, but that didn’t stop how much we loved the show. It was only 4 seasons long, but I still think of it as one of my favorites of all time. I’ve rewatched the series a few times and it still holds up and I always enjoy it each time I watch it.

So when my friend Teresa posted an idea about doing a podcast about the show, I immediately told her I had to be a part of it! Teresa never watched “Felicity” so she is doing a podcast about watching it for the first time and she is having guest co-hosts each episode who watched the show when it was on. I was so excited that she invited me to be a part of it and this week I recorded my first episode of Finding Felicity with her!

I’m not a huge fan of hearing my voice because I always think it sounds weird, so I was a bit nervous about doing a podcast. But as soon as we started recorded, I couldn’t shut up because of how much I love the show! I actually was talking too much (sorry Teresa!) and I know they are going to have to edit a lot of what I was saying down so the episode isn’t too long. But I couldn’t help myself! I have so much to say about this show and how much I love it!

This episode of Finding Felicity is about the second episode of the first season, so I had to try to remember what happened in the first two episodes and what happened after so I wouldn’t spoil anything. I did rewatch the first two episodes again just to be extra familiar with those episodes specifically. I think I didn’t really reveal too much that happens in future episodes and when I did refer to things coming up (like characters that haven’t been introduced), I was pretty vague. I was proud of myself for not spoiling things for Teresa because I really want her to experience watching the show with as few spoilers as possible for a show that is 20 years old.

I had the best time recording the episode with Teresa. We had some fun stories to share that weren’t necessarily about the show (those may or may not get cut) and I loved being able to do some personal reflection as we talked. Teresa asked me about my thoughts on the show when I watched it 20 years ago and what my thoughts are watching it now. It did give me a lot to think about and I liked having a new way to think about how my life has changed.

My episode will be available to listen to on Friday, and each Friday there will be another new episode. There will be a rotating cast of guest co-hosts and I will be coming back on for another episode toward the end of the first season. But I know I will be listening to every episode because it is such a fun podcast idea! I love when someone else is becoming a fan of something I am such a huge fan of. And I also love when I have another way to share my fandom for a show that is one that I have honestly loved for decades!

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Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff

Tagged friends, fun, podcast, TV

A NextGen Mixer (or Just Having Fun With My Friends)

Posted on September 27, 2018 | Comments Off

So many of the union events I go to are a bit more serious. They are informative sessions about an issue concerning the union or are related to the elections. But sometimes I get to go to a fun union event which I love! Even though I want to be involved in the union and want to understand the issues we are passionate about, I also just like having fun with my friends and meeting other members. Fortunately, there are events like that from time to time.

A lot of the events that the NextGen Performers committee does are those fun ones. One of the main goals of that committee is to get younger members of the union involved and excited about what is going on. And having a mixer with free food and drinks is a great way to get people to come to an event! And while they are there, you can educate them about things that may be affecting them as union members. And for non-union members who attend those events can learn more about the benefits of union membership and what the differences can be between union and non-union work.

There was a mixer this week and because my mind was on other things I completely forgot about RSVPing for it. I went online the night before and the registration was showing closed. I didn’t know if that meant that they were filled or that it was too close to the date to sign up, so I texted a friend who is on the committee to see what was happening. He was able to add me to the list so I could attend and I was so grateful for him doing that (it wasn’t even what I was asking about, he just went ahead and did it)!

The mixer was at Lure in Hollywood. I had never been to the venue before, but it was pretty close to the Pantages so I knew that parking might be a bit tough to find. I skipped searching for street parking because there was a lot of traffic and road construction and just went to a parking garage. It wasn’t the cheapest option, but it was convenient and right across the street from the venue. And since I didn’t want to be out too late, I wanted to get to the mixer as close to when it started as possible.

As soon as I checked in and walked inside, I started looking for people I knew. It’s always a bit nerve-racking when I’m at a big event and don’t see a familiar face so I usually look for a friend as soon as I arrive. Fortunately, I saw some friends and union staff members right inside the door. I went over to say hello to them and then started seeing more people I knew. And then some of my friends were heading inside from the entryway where the step and repeat was into the ballroom and I followed them.

I wish I had taken photos of the venue because it was really amazing! The ballroom was nice and open with lots of seating all over. There was some food being served, but the line for food was a bit long and I wasn’t too hungry. So while my friends went to get food, I was scanning the crowd to see who else I knew. I saw my friend who got me on the list for the mixer so I went over to say thank you to him. And he was chatting with some other friends of mine so I started to catch up with them.

The rest of the evening was pretty much me moving around and finding more friends I knew. I walked with some friends to the step and repeat and saw more people I knew. I didn’t really care about taking nice photos so I went over to my friends. Then they were going to head up to the stage to talk for a bit about the event and the groups that organized it, so I found a couch area off to the side where I could watch.

When my friend Ben (who was my date to the Convention Gala last year) was speaking, I took a photo to share on social media. It was only after I took the photo that I realized that the video on the screen behind him had a clip of him at the exact moment that I got the photo. So it was double Bens!

After the speeches, the mixer was back to being a social event and I went to find my friends again. And while I was chatting with them I noticed a friend who I hadn’t seen in quite a while walking past us. It was also his birthday that night so I wanted to tell him happy birthday! And he was telling me all about the amazing things that were happening in his life after he had a bit of a rough patch. And because he is also single, our conversation turned to some ridiculousness we both have had with online dating and dating in LA in general.

The mixer was only 2 hours long so while I was catching up with my friend the event ended (and they turned the lights on so it was clear they were hoping we’d all be leaving quickly). But before I left I wanted to grab a quick photo with the signs they always have at the NextGen Performer events. The step and repeat was already down, so I just got a photo in front of the bar. My hair looks a bit weird because there was a piece in front of my face, but I wasn’t really thinking about how I was looking when taking the photo.

I’m so grateful my friend was able to get me on the list for this mixer and that I went. I love having opportunities to see friends and this was a great one! I didn’t get to meet that many new people because I was focused on catching up with all the people I saw that I knew, but that’s ok. I know there will be another event soon where I can focus more on getting to know more union members.

Comments Off on A NextGen Mixer (or Just Having Fun With My Friends)

Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff

Tagged acting, friends, mixer, party, SAG-AFTRA, union

Category Archives: Acting

Just A Simple Dinner Out (or A Union Working Hangout)

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A SAG-AFTRA Party (or Finally Getting Photos With My Friends)

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The First Holiday Party Of The Season (or A Meeting And A Mixer)

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Auditioning For Class (or When Rejection Is Really A Win)

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A Mini Photo Shoot (or Enjoying A Voter Freebie)

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Last Mentoring Group Brunch For The Year (or Switching Things Up For Next Year)

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Union Working Support (or Celebrities And Middle Class Actors Unite)

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Self-Tape Saturday (or Turning A Video Shoot Into A Photo Shoot)

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Finding Felicity (or Being A Total Fangirl)

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A NextGen Mixer (or Just Having Fun With My Friends)

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