Tag Archives: acting

Making My Acting Bold (or Feeling Great From An Audition)

Posted on February 4, 2015 | 2 comments

I made my word of the year “bold” and I’m working on applying that to all aspects of my life. It’s easier said than done, but I’m trying.

This week, I had my second audition of the year.

My first audition of the year didn’t go so great. I was very nervous because the type of project that it was had changed without my agents being notified and it was unclear if the project was union or not (as a union member, I can only work on union projects). I thought about backing out because even though someone told me the project was union, there were many signs that it wasn’t. But I went in anyway and I’m guess that I didn’t book it since I haven’t heard back (I’m almost relieved I didn’t book it because if it ended up being non-union I would have had to turn it down).

So that first audition didn’t give me a great opportunity to be bold. But this second audition was totally different.

First of all, the audition was for a tv show that is very popular and well-known. I’ve actually auditioned for this show before, so it was a very good sign that I was brought in again. When you don’t necessarily book the role but you book the office, this is what it is like. They will continue to bring you in for parts that you are right for because the reason you didn’t get the job before wasn’t due to your acting skills.

The next thing that made this audition different was that there were lines (the first audition was for a print campaign so no lines). It was a small co-star part with only 2 lines, but I was determined to be bold with my choices without going over the top.

I always try to make a strong choice in my auditions, but I chicken out a lot. I’ve heard horror stories from casting directors about actors who go way over the top for 1 or 2 line parts and I never want to be one of those stories. So I tend to end up a little muted in my choice when I eventually get into the audition room (it’s also a little nerve-racking being in the audition room).

This time, I felt really good with the choice that I made. I thought it was funny without being too crazy or attention grabbing. And when I walked into the audition room, I did it exactly how I wanted to. I did get a redirect in the room to do a slightly different physical movement, but I was not told to change how I read the lines. So I think the casting director liked what I did.

While I would love to book this part, I really don’t care about that now. Because when I left the audition room, I felt amazing! I didn’t have any regrets about what I did and I’m not obsessing about how I could have done it better. I’m completely satisfied with my read in the room.

I’ve never been able to completely feel this way before. I always wish I had done something more/better/bigger/stronger. But right now, I know I did exactly what I wanted and hopefully what I did is exactly what the show wanted. And if not, that’s ok with me.

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Default ThumbnailAnother Day Another Audition (or This Is The Life I Love) Default ThumbnailSkype Audition (or Maybe I Should Have Worn Regular Pants) Default ThumbnailBack Into The Running Groove (or Feeling Really Great About My Workouts) Default ThumbnailWas I Bold? (or Recapping How I Did With My Word Of The Year) Default ThumbnailAudition Friends (or The Kindness Of My Competition) Default ThumbnailAudition Fairy (or The Tale Of Two Auditions)

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Posted in Acting, Celebrations, Fun Stuff, Work

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Inspiration On TV (or I Voted For Her)

Posted on January 27, 2015 | 1 comment

With this cleanse, it would be so easy to put my life on hold while I’m doing it. It would be so easy to turn down dinner invites and other social events. But I’m working really hard to not do that.

For the SAG Awards, I invited friends over. Only one friend, Robert, was able to come. But he and I had an awesome time! I love the SAG Awards. I mean, who wouldn’t love an award show that they get to vote for?

While watching the show, Robert and I shared who we had each voted for (sometimes we didn’t remember until they showed all the nominees for a category). A lot of people who I voted for won, which was awesome!

I think one of my favorite moments of the entire show was at the beginning. The first award was for female actor in a comedy series. And Uzo Aduba won for “Orange Is The New Black”. First of all, if you aren’t watching that show, go onto Netflix and watch the first 2 seasons! It’s incredible!

I voted for Uzo Aduba, and while I was happy that she won, that’s not what made it my favorite part. Right before she won, at the start of the show, they did the “I am an actor” introduction. She was one of the actors selected to participate in that segment. And she shared that she got her SAG-AFTRA card on “Orange Is The New Black”.

So her first major project was not only an awesome one, it’s an award-winning project for her (she also won for best cast ensemble for a comedy series).

That gives me so much hope. I know that her story is rare and there is usually a lot more career building before an award-winning performance, but it is possible to book something amazing without having to do a few co-star and guest star roles first.

Whenever I go in for a series regular role during pilot season, I hope more than anything that I will book it. I know a job like that can change my life and my career. But when I see who was cast in the part after pilot season is done, it’s usually someone with an established career. And yes, I am trying to get an established career, it just isn’t easy.

But it is possible for someone with so few credits as me to book one of these series regulars. If I am exactly who they want, the casting directors and producers won’t care what’s on my resume. I have to remind myself this if I get any pilot season auditions this year.

And on a silly note, I also have to share my second favorite part of the SAG Awards. I love getting to see my friend Woody’s name in the credits at the end as one of the producers of the show.

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We are coming up on the end of the awards season and with the Oscars coming up soon, I have to hurry up and think about what my costume will be for the party!

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Default ThumbnailWatching Musicals At Home (or Getting Antsy To Get Back To NYC) Default ThumbnailThe SAG Awards (or I Am An Actor) Default ThumbnailWatching Some Inspiration (or A Weekend Of Screenings) Default ThumbnailHappy Hour Inspiration (or Just Having Fun After Work) Default ThumbnailFake Inspiration (or I’m Not A Beginner) Default ThumbnailSAG Awards (or Watching After Knowing The Winners)

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An Evening Of Fabulous Women (or Getting More Involved At Women In Film)

Posted on January 20, 2015 | 2 comments

Last week, Women In Film had their annual membership summit. I had been to this summit once in the past, but the past 2 years it was held on an evening that I couldn’t attend. But this year, since I’m not working in the evenings anymore, I was able to make it.

Ms. In The Biz founder (and my friend), Helenna, just joined WIF so she and I went to the event together. The summit was being held at the Arclight movie theater in Hollywood and fortunately there are a bunch of great restaurants right there. We met up at Stella Barra which is right next to the theater. We had some dinner and got to catch up a little. The Ms. In The Biz book launch is coming up soon and we got to talk a little about that.

Soon, it was time to head over to the theater for the meeting. Check-in was little crazy, but soon enough we were at the theater where the meeting was held. And of course, we had to take a few pictures in front of the step and repeat.

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Because the check-in was a little slow, we were some of the very first people in the theater. So we got some pretty primo seats right up front and by the podium.

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The idea of the membership summit is kind of like an overview of everything that WIF has to offer. There have been many changes in the past few months so the person in charge of each of the different programs within the organization got up and spoke. They each shared what their program does and if they are looking for volunteers (and what they need volunteers to do).

It was a pretty short meeting because there was a little party afterward. As soon as the meeting was done, the different programs that were looking for volunteers had sign up sheets so we could get more involved in WIF. While so many of the programs seemed amazing, I signed up to help with the annual awards banquet auction and the film screening series.

I haven’t heard back from those programs on what they need me to do, but I’m super excited to be more involved in WIF. While I’ve been a member for several years, outside of the mentor program and various film screenings, I haven’t really taken advantage of my membership. I know that there is more to WIF than what I’ve been doing and hopefully volunteering for those programs will help me feel more comfortable with joining other groups and programs within the organization.

The party was held downstairs at the theater. As we walked in, we were handed hats with the new and updated WIF logo (it now includes TV, Digital and Media as part of the logo).

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There were food and drinks passed around. I didn’t get any photos of those because Helenna and I were busy meeting other WIF members. I also ran into one of my fellow mentees from my old mentoring circle. She didn’t apply for a new mentoring circle like I did so we won’t be in the new mentoring circle together again (I was kind of hoping we would be).

I didn’t stay too late since I had work the next morning, but I did meet a ton of new people at the event (and a lot of non-actors which is awesome!). I’m so excited to see what I can do this year with WIF and what new opportunities will come my way because of that.

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Default ThumbnailWomen In Film (or Brunch and Ghostbusters) Default ThumbnailLess Networking More Socializing (or Another Evening With My Fellow Mentees) Default ThumbnailMentoring Circle (or Women Who Support Each Other) Default ThumbnailEnd Of The Mentoring Circle (or One Final Lunch) Default ThumbnailGetting Ready To Get Mentored Again (or A Evening With WIF) Default ThumbnailAnother Evening Of Mentees (or Advice and Socializing)

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What I Plan To Do This Year (or 2015 Goals)

Posted on January 1, 2015 | 5 comments

Now that I’ve reflected back on my 2014 goals and how well I accomplished them, I really thought hard about what I want my 2015 goals to be. I think I’ve got a good list going for this year and I’m excited to see how well I get them done over the next year.

My first goal is workout related. I want to get 175 workouts done in 2015. That’s pretty much 3-4 workouts every week of the year. I’m not allowing myself workout vacation time (even though my dad did suggest it). I’m sure a majority of the 175 workouts will be at Orangetheory. I have every intention of going at least 3 times a week (and trying to add in a 4th day every other week). But I’m also going to include any 5Ks that I chose to do this year as well as other fitness classes (SoulCycle and maybe trying yoga again). I will also consider including hiking, but I don’t think I’ll have a lot of hiking days except when I get to Tahoe in the summer.

My next goal is a food goal. I want to have home cooked dinners at least 4 times a week. Since I started bulk cooking, I’ve been eating something home cooked most weeknights. I usually prepare food for 4 nights and then on weekends I’m out. And many times on Tuesdays or Thursdays (when I don’t workout after my day job) I don’t necessarily eat dinner. I’ll have a big late breakfast (since my shift doesn’t start until 10am) and then have another bigger meal around 4 or 5pm. Both of those meals are home cooked, but I don’t know if it counts as dinner. So I’m saying home cooked dinners 4 nights a week. If I do more than that, all the better for me.

Next is a day job goal. I want to be down to 2 main day jobs (not counting babysitting or running the film festival). Right now, I have 1 main day job and 6 sporadic jobs. I don’t make enough each week (to the point that I’m still collecting unemployment to make up for the fact that I don’t make enough to not be eligible anymore) and this needs to end. I’m enjoying my box office from home job and if I made enough doing that job I’d be so happy. But I don’t think that will be a reality even with the raise we are supposed to get this year. And while I love being able to make some extra money babysitting, I don’t see that as something that will make enough to make up for what I’m lacking. So I need to find one more steady day job that has regular hours to help me make enough to pay all my bills comfortably. There is a chance to make the film festival another main day job, but there is no guarantee with that.

And I’ve made this a goal in the past, but I really want to get into an improv class this year. I think that now that I feel secure with my day job and have a steady schedule with it, I will be able to pick out a class time that will work for me. I’m working on saving up the money for the class right now.

Again, another repeat goal from last year, but I’d like to travel again this year. I have a trip to Napa planned in 2 months and I’m really looking forward to that. And there is a possibility of another New York trip in the fall this year. I don’t know if I’ll have any other trips (besides visiting my parents or grandparents) but 2 trips in one year sounds wonderful to me!

And my final goal which is a goal every year is to keep blogging. Not just on here, but on other sites as well. I freelance on two blogs and I’ve written a few guest posts on other sites. I had no idea when I started this blog how important and therapeutic writing would become for me. It’s an amazing journal of the past few years of my life and I love going back and reading some of my old posts to remind me how far I’ve come. And I can’t wait to track 2015 the same way.

So those are my main goals for 2015. And in a year, I’ll let you all know how I did with them.

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Posted in Acting, Celebrations, Fitness, Food, Fun Stuff, Health, Travel, Weight Loss, Work

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Podcasts and Twitter (or An Evening Out With Some Actors)

Posted on December 18, 2014 | 1 comment

Monday evening was a pretty fun evening for me. I had done my workout in the morning so I would be free for the festivities.

First, there was a gathering for fans of the podcast that I work for. Also, some of us on the team of the podcast attended. It was a casual get-together at Chipotle. I got there a bit early and met up with the community manager and one of the hosts of the podcast.

It was a nice catch-up for us and I’m always happy to go out and get some Chipotle. Soon, some of our listeners showed up to hang out with us and meet the team in person.

I love getting to meet new people who are as motivated as I am to work in the entertainment industry. There are so many people out there who aren’t working hard for themselves and are waiting for their agents and managers to do everything for them. I’m not like that and it’s so great to find others like me.

After dinner at Chipotle, we walked a few blocks down the street to where the LA Actors Tweetup was happening. On the way, we passed a step and repeat for some event that Netflix was doing. There wasn’t anyone there, so we took the opportunity to take a photo or two.

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We got to the Tweetup just as it was starting. I hadn’t been to a Tweetup in a while. They are either on nights that I have other things to do or I’ve been out-of-town. But since we were doing the podcast hangout before the Tweetup, I made sure to clear my schedule.

I got to see some friends who I hadn’t seen in a while and meet a bunch of cool new people. But around 9pm, I was exhausted. I had gotten up at 6am and I didn’t know it at the time but I was getting sick (as soon as I got home that evening my nose was completely stuffed up). So I made my rounds of goodbyes, which always takes forever, and headed back home.

It’s always so great to meet people who support the same things that you do or support the projects that you are a part of. I really should make more of an effort to attend more Tweetups and similar events. For a while, I didn’t want to change up my workout schedule because I was scared that it would be a sign that I would stop going. But now I’m feeling more comfortable shifting my workouts as long as I’m still getting my 3-4 workouts in during the week.

Again, this is all a great sign that I’m transforming into a better person.

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“Into The Woods” (or Christmas Came Early For Me This Year)

Posted on December 4, 2014 | Comments Off on “Into The Woods” (or Christmas Came Early For Me This Year)

On Monday evening, I got an email from Women In Film letting me know that people who are a part of the mentoring circles have been invited to an advanced screening of “Into The Woods”.

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“Into The Woods” is one of my favorite musicals. I saw it for the first time at a small production in Santa Barbara and have owned a DVD of the musical for a long time (and watch it pretty frequently).

When I first heard that the musical was being turned into a film, I was pretty nervous. Historically, the movies haven’t been my favorites and they seem to miss a lot of what I feel makes the musicals special. But even though I was scared I would hate the movie, it was one that I had been looking forward to seeing. And since it was opening on Christmas, my plan was to see it that morning.

But when I got the invitation to see it this week, I jumped at the chance. I emailed my RSVP quickly and hoped that I would get it. And wouldn’t you know it, I did!

The screening was held at CAA. If you aren’t in the entertainment industry, you might not know about CAA. They are the biggest agency in town representing the biggest and most famous actors out there. Pretty much, they are the top of the top of the agency game.

The invitation said that there was valet parking provided (since there really isn’t any street parking near CAA), and since it was raining I tried to get there early. But even with being there on the very early side, the line to valet park was a little crazy.

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Once I got out of my car, there was almost no line to check in. I grabbed a program and followed a CAA employee to the front desk to have my parking validated. Then she led me and 2 other ladies into the screening room.

She told us that we could sit anywhere that it said reserved, and I chose to stick with the 2 ladies who walked in with me. The 3 of us found seats pretty much in the exact center of the room.

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The screening room was amazing and very nice! I had previously seen the screening room at UTA (another agency) when I had one of my mentoring meetings. But this might have been a little nicer.

I started to talk with the ladies I sat next to and found out that one of them is a member of the Academy (as in the Academy Awards). This screening was an Academy screening so the members could view the film and decide if they would like to nominate it for any Oscars!

I believe a majority of the audience was Academy members and I felt very lucky and honored to be invited to such a cool event.

Jane Lynch (from “Glee”) was one of the people responsible for the screening, so prior to the movie starting she said a few words about how much she was looking forward to the movie.

Then, it was time for the movie to start.

For those of you who know the musical, you will not be disappointed. It stays very true to the original material and in some cases, I think the format of it being in a movie actually improves it. I was smiling pretty much the entire time that I was watching it. The performances were incredible and I think that the costumes and makeup were impeccable. I would be shocked if this didn’t get a ton of nominations for various awards.

The highlight of the movie for me was the song “Agony”. I think this is the funniest I’ve ever seen it done. And Chris Pine did a great job singing (I didn’t realize he was a singer).

Overall, this was so much fun to watch and I highly recommend it for everyone! I can’t wait until it comes out (or I get a screener for it) so I can watch it over and over again!

After the screening, there was a reception upstairs. I followed my seat mates (and new friends) to check out the reception (I wasn’t planning on staying, but how many times will I get this chance?).

The reception was held on the top floor of the building, and I just couldn’t get over how beautiful the building was!

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I didn’t eat or drink anything at the reception (the lines were long), but I got to chat with some very nice people and even had the chance to thank Jane Lynch for putting on this event. She was very gracious and when I was saying goodbye I said my usual thing I say to industry people (pretty much along the lines of “I’m sure we will see each other again in the future”) and she said something that rally made my day. She said that she was sure that we would see each other again because our careers are following the same path. That meant so much to me.

I left the reception on cloud 9 after that!

Sometimes, I really have to stop and pinch myself because I never could have imagined that this would be my life. I have so many amazing opportunities and I really do see my career taking steps forward. If I couldn’t imagine this a few years ago, I can’t wait to see what my life will have in store for me in the next few years!

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Getting Ready To Get Mentored Again (or A Evening With WIF)

Posted on November 20, 2014 | 2 comments

When I did the WIF Mentoring Circle the first time, I was so excited to have a bunch of meetings with other motivated women for a year. At first it seemed great, but after the first meeting, pretty much only 2 other mentees came to meetings. And while the agreement was to have 6 meetings within a 12 month period, my group only had 4 meetings in 18 months.

It wasn’t a total loss. The other 2 mentees who came to the meetings were awesome and I learned a lot from them. I wasn’t supposed to be allowed to apply for another mentoring circle until my group completed all 6 meetings, but since it was announced that that would not be happening, I applied for the Winter circles.

In my application, I said how I could see how amazing the mentoring circles could be, and sadly that wasn’t my experience with my group. I was so excited that I was accepted again, and there was a mixer this week to meet some of the other women who would be in the program this time.

The event was a pretty casual evening. There were food and drinks (I ate before I went so I can’t tell you if the food was awesome but I’m assuming it was) and most of the evening was unstructured so we could just chat with some other woman at the event.

I was at a table that happened to be full of non-actors (a rarity and a nice treat!). We were all chatting and I don’t quite remember how the conversation got started, but I started chatting with the woman sitting next to me about the podcast Serial (which we are both obsessed with!). It turns out this woman (who I didn’t ask permission to name on my blog so I won’t right now) got a fellowship for WIF through UCLA where she is in the screenwriting program. That’s pretty awesome!

After about an hour at the event, the women who run the mentoring circles spoke and explained that we will know who our mentors and fellow mentees are by the end of the year. They haven’t put the groups together yet, so if there are people who we want to have in our circles we can request them (but no guarantees).

After the speech, I got up and spoke to the woman in charge. I just wanted to thank her again for accepting me into the program for the second time. And I wanted to make sure that I would have different mentors this year. I loved my mentors, but I think part of doing this experience again is to meet more people and expand my networking circles. She said that they would do their best not to put me with the same mentors again, and if for some reason it wasn’t like that, I can let them know.

After that, I decided to head home so I could get some work done before having to work the next morning.

Overall, it was a super successful kick off to the next mentoring circle. I’m so excited to see who’s in my group and who my new mentors will be. I can’t wait to find out what everyone’s specialty is and what jobs my mentors have. But I’ll have to wait a bit to find that out.

 

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General Meeting (or Hanging Out With A Casting Director For Free)

Posted on October 9, 2014 | 2 comments

This week, I had a general meeting with a casting director.

For those of you who aren’t actors, a general meeting is when a casting director takes some time to meet with you even though they might not be casting something in particular then. They get to know you a little and sometimes you read a scene from an old script.

While this sounds like a great concept and it used to happen more often, sadly this is a rarity for actors to find these days. More often you will have to pay to meet a casting director.

Paying to meet a casting director is technically illegal, but they still happen. They are called workshops and companies promote them by saying that this particular casting director is coming in because they have to cast a certain role.

And to meet them, you have to pay a fee (and in turn the casting director who attends gets paid to be there).

I’ve always found this to be a bit sketchy. If the casting director’s job is to find talent to fill a role, why do we have to pay to be considered? And being at a workshop is not an audition for a particular role. It’s more like an audition to get an audition.

For non-acting jobs, it would be like paying to apply for a job posting that you found. Not paying a monthly (or yearly) fee for a site and you can apply to all the jobs you want. But paying $20-80 (that’s typically what it costs for each workshop) for each resume you send out.

That’s why I find it a little ridiculous. If you disagree with me, I first ask you to check out these two webpages. And if you still disagree with me, that is your opinion and I’m not going to stop anyone from spending their money how they want to spend it. I just want to speak out for anyone who is on the fence if they should be spending their money on workshops.

Those two webpages have information from Billy DaMota. He is the biggest anti-workshop advocate in my opinion and he is always happy to tell actors about free workshops around town (sadly there are very few). He seems to be looking out for actors as much as he can.

And Billy DaMota was the casting director who did the general with me this week. He took me out to lunch (he paid but because I was going to workout right after I only had a juice) and we had a nice chat. We discussed my background and a recent audition that I did for a project that he cast. We also discussed the podcast I work for (he was a guest on it in the past) and some guests that he has in mind for us.

While I didn’t audition for him for any parts, to me this industry is about building real relationships with people. I know that if Billy sees that my agents have submitted me for a part that he agrees I’m right for, he will bring me in. He wants to see me succeed as an actor.

And while I have plenty of friends who do workshops and have said that that is the reason that they booked a particular role, for me that is not a priority for spending my money. I need to focus on paying down my debt (it’s still not as low as I’d like it to be but it’s moving in the right direction) and getting into another acting class. And while there are many casting directors who claim that they will not bring you in unless you are well-known or attend one of their workshops (I’ve had 3 casting directors tell me this in the past year), I have actually gone into all of their offices without ever having to spend a cent. While technically I have not booked anything, attending a workshop doesn’t guarantee a booking either.

Basically what I want you all to know after reading this post today is if you are an actor, you don’t have to spend money to meet casting directors if you don’t want to. And if you need any advice from a casting director, I highly recommend contacting Billy DaMota and asking him. He’s more than happy to answer questions.

At least reasonable questions. Don’t ask him if he can cast you in something. 😉

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Happy Hour and Happiness (or I’m On Another Blog Now)

Posted on September 26, 2014 | 4 comments

After working my at-home job yesterday, I headed over to the valley to meet my friend Rayshell for Happy Hour. I hadn’t seen Rayshell since my birthday party and we both had a lot of catching up to do.

It was a super fun happy hour. We were able to get drinks and food for $5 each. And of course, I had a Dirty Shirley.

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Sometimes the stress of working and trying to find more work makes me forget to go out and have fun with my friends. And this was the perfect chance to have a relaxing Happy Hour with an awesome friend.

We were catching up on my new job and Rayshell’s current job when my phone alerted me that someone @replied me on twitter. I glanced at my phone and saw that casting director Marci Liroff had included me in a tweet.

A little backstory.

Last month, Marci sent me an email asking about my tips and tricks for preparing for the fall tv season. I was more than happy to share my advice as well and send her the links to all the posts that I’ve written about the subject.

Marci thanked me and told me that she was working on an article for Backstage on the topic and asked what she could share of my advice. I told her that she could share everything that she wanted to. I feel like sharing my knowledge won’t hurt my career, so why not?

The article hadn’t gone up by the time the fall tv season started, so I thought maybe she changed her mind on the article. But at Happy Hour yesterday, that tweet was Marci sharing that the article had gone live and that it included advice (or as she put it “golden nuggets”) from me!

Of course, as soon as I saw that, I had to look at the article on my phone (Rayshell wanted to see it to).

And it’s awesome.

A lot of my advice in the article is stuff that I’ve shared on here before. But by having it in Backstage, the advice is reaching much bigger audience than I get here.

I was so excited to be a part of this article and honored and a little surprised that I was the only actor who Marci used for advice. I really feel like this means that I am doing the right things when it comes to research. And all this research will eventually lead to a great acting job for me.

I just have to be patient and be grateful that my advice is respected in this industry.

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Default ThumbnailA Happy Hour Celebration (or Looking Forward To Another Wedding) Default ThumbnailOverdue Happy Hour (or Trying A Neighborhood Restaurant) Default ThumbnailHappy Hour Inspiration (or Just Having Fun After Work) Default ThumbnailLast Happy Hour Of 2015 (or A Speedy Catch Up) Default ThumbnailA Quick Happy Hour (or Making Myself Be Social) Default ThumbnailHappy Hour Birthday Dinner (or Just Having A Nice Catch Up Chat)

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End Of The Mentoring Circle (or One Final Lunch)

Posted on June 30, 2014 | Comments Off on End Of The Mentoring Circle (or One Final Lunch)

My WIF Mentoring Circle has pretty much come to an end. My group had a lunch meeting this past week and the mentors announced that this would most likely be our last gathering. We might have one more in the fall, but we have been told that we can apply for new mentoring circles when applications are being accepted again.

I had gone into the mentoring circle experience with really high hopes. Since Women In Film could no longer match mentees with their own mentors, they hoped that these circles would create a little community where all the mentees could help and support each other.

The first meeting of my mentor circle had about 10 mentees (plus our 2 mentors). But after that first meeting, there was only one other mentee who attended all the meetings. There was another mentee who attended all but this last one, but she is based in NYC and is about 7 months pregnant and unable to travel now. But she still joined us by phone to join in on the conversation.

Pretty much everyone else who attended that first meeting never came back for another meeting. It was a little disappointing. I was totally looking forward to getting to know the other women and to see how we could all help each other reach our goals. I believe that over the other meetings, there were 2 women who each showed up for one meeting. But 5 women never came back at all.

I didn’t get to know those 5 women really at all. But the 2 women who were there at pretty much every meeting I did get to know. And I keep in touch with them both outside of the meetings. I share my successes with them and they share theirs with me. If my entire group (or even half of my group) were filled with women like these 2, I would have zero complaints about the mentoring circle.

But I am going to apply for another one. I’ve talked to a few people who were in other mentoring circles and they did not have as high of an absence rate as my group did. Also, their groups did meet 6 times within 12 months (which is what the application for the groups said we would do). My group met 3 times within the year plus this 4th time after the one year mark had passed.

I don’t want to say that my group was a dud. That’s not it at all. I did meet amazing women and I’m so grateful that both of my mentors have said that I can always come to them for advice. I just wish that I had gotten to know other women who are in the same spot in their career as I am. I wish that I had more chances to get to know the women in my group.

I think I can apply for a new group in the fall or near the end of the year. As soon as I can turn in an application, I will. And hopefully my next mentoring circle will be everything that I am hoping for.

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