Thursday, June 24, 2010

Sharing the wealth

Had an audition today for a Tina Fey-type, for a web project that had a 'Weekend Update' sort of vibe. Was interesting. They wanted each actor to write three jokes, to use in the audition. I got a big laugh off of my last one, so that's a win. :)

While at work today, I got a call from one of my commercial reps, asking me about how I was Taft-Hartleyed. He remembered me mentioning that I'd done it myself and wanted to know how I did it. He said that it's been harder and harder to get non-union clients in on SAG jobs, so he wanted to know how I got my eligibility (I think to share, maybe?). Anyway, I confirmed that I'd done it through New Media, that it didn't cost anything (no fee), that you don't have to pay the actors, etc. I promised him an email when I got home, with more info. :)

So, I sent him a brief overvue of some details of how I did it, including my Actor's Voice POV article, and a brilliant post from Ben Whitehair's blog. I hope it helps answer his questions. :) Maybe I'll be able to help other clients with my info, who knows!

I love that he remembered that I'd done it, and that he reached out to ask about it. I really love that. :)

In other news, my reps picked out one headshot from the Broncolor shoot, which I've already uploaded to Actor's Access and LA Casting (it's the one with the glasses, below). My acting coach gave me some notes on the photos, too--he picked that shot as well, in addition to a few others. The selections are below. I'm still deciding...I, naturally, like other ones, too. Of course.





Wednesday, June 23, 2010

The Working Actor interview is LIVE!

My interview on The Working Actor is now LIVE!!!

http://www.theworkingactor.net/2010/06/23/danielle-cloutier-the-dog-house-dog-handler/

Please take a moment to check it out! Super cute photos of some of the dogs at work, and a video of me telling the story of my most awkward audition. :)

If you're interested in being interviewed by Mark, send him an email!! (Email address is on the site.) He's on a job in NYC for the summer, and is looking for NYC actors right now, but I am sure he'd love to have LA folks lined up for when he gets back!

Monday, June 21, 2010

The Working Actor teaser is up!

Remember how I did an interview with The Working Actor a little while back? Well, the teaser for the interview is now up on their site!

http://bit.ly/azt5Bk

It features some photos of our clients, as well as my commercials! :)

As soon as the interview itself goes live, I will post a link here!

Other small things:

~Designed and (finally) ordered new business cards. Waaaay overdue, as my old ones were...well, old. I like the design, I'm pretty happy with the photos that I chose (all from the Broncolor shoot), and I had fun working out what text to use. I wanted to use three photos that represented my possible types, but also my personality, and I think I managed to do that fairly well.
~registered the URL that matches my new Twitter name...now, just have to figure out what to do with it! :) I'd like to have it forward back to my actual website, but I have no idea how to do that...need to do some research.
~Excited for class this week...doing a scene from season 4 of Dexter! (Season 4 was a gift from an awesome lady--see below for more info)
~had a commercial audition for a non-union spot, being cast by the CD who booked me on my first ever commercial...first time I'd been in her office in a while, so it was cool to be back. She said I was "great" and seemed very confident in the product (a laundry detergent). Alas, no callback. Sometimes, I wonder if I'm just a little too young for some of the "Hero Mom" parts (mostly, the ones where the children are about 8 years old, or where there are multiple children...I even when on one where the eldest kid was 16, which was kinda wrong...that would have made me a VERY young mother!!). But, I still go in and do my best, because you never really know! :) Anyway, as usual, I sent a Thank You card to follow up!
~dropped off homemade cookies to my commercial rep, as well as cheap test prints of the Broncolor photos, to see if there are any they like. Hoping they like at least one or two--I 'd love to use at least one as a commercial headshot!! :)

Okay, so, now on to a shout out:

So, the truly awesome gal who brought me so much joy with the Dexter gift? Well, she has this AWESOME blog, full of funny, interesting tidbits, full on rants about political stuff, about insane products, etc...it's so much fun and so great! Check it out!

Angry Black Lady Chronicles

No, seriously, it's totally worth your time. And, if you're like me, you'll be on it every night.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Twitter

So, after much hemming and hawing, and some awesome help from Pamela Vanderway of Dialect 411, I settled on a new Twitter handle. I went from 'lady_elleinad', which was an old online nickname I had (my name spelled backward), to 'ReelSmartCookie'. The new handle came from a few things:

-I was once typed as having 'real girl energy' by Todd Sherry, from Patrick Rush Casting. It's among my favorite comments ever to be received at a workshop. My most frequent comment is that I'm very natural in what I do, so 'real' plays into that as well.
-The word play of Reel/Real. PS, I love me some word play.
-Reel to work in a reference to film/tv.
-Smart, for type. It's a strong suit of my characters and my writing.
-Cookie, because it is already a word commonly strung together with 'Smart'. And I like cookies.

I'm really happy with the new handle. :) I was looking for something that helped create a brand for me, that played with my type/strong suits, that fit my acting AND my writing, etc. This also has a spark of my personality, which I love. I had originally wanted something with my actual name in it, but this won out over all variations of anything with my name (and, for the record, my actual name is one character too long for Twitter's limit). I've added a widget to this blog, as well as my website, and I have updated IMDb. I also registered the domain, too. I'm trying to figure out how to have it link straight to my actual website. Something to look into, for sure!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Broncolor Lighting Shoot Pics, plus some links

Hola!

So, first, a couple of links that I think are cool:

Dialect 411
A great blog, written by dialect consultant Pamela Vanderway, giving tips, advice and guidance to actors about the art of learning a dialect. Pamela approached me via Twitter (her handle is @Dialect411) and has been really amazing, giving and smart about all of the feedback she has given me about a myriad of things. I highly recommend subscribing to her blog and following her on Twitter!

J.J. Abrams 'Mystery Box'
This is a video of a talk that JJ Abrams gave in 2007, which I found really interesting and inspiring. It's about 20 minutes long, but totally worth it. I love him and want to work with him!!! (This link was sent to me by Jared Meyer, via Facebook, in response to a series of Tweets he saw on my Twitter feed--his Twitter handle is @jaredmeyer)

Next, I got a disc of pics from the Broncolor Lighting Test Shoot that I did at the end of May. I think I may have some viable headshot options. There are around 300 pics, so I am still sorting things and narrowing them down, but I like quite a few--even just for fun pics to use on promo materials. I'll post a smattering of the ones I like below...there are quite a few that I'm trying to choose between, as far as favorites, but some of them I just think are fun or cool (like the photo with Elgin, my co-model). There are more I like than even these!

I have an idea for a new short--possibly would qualify as more of a skit or sketch. Doing some research for it, jotting notes down, working through ideas, etc. I have no idea how I'd shoot it or produce it, but I'm not worrying about that too much yet--just focusing on the creating part right now. :)








Sunday, June 6, 2010

Improv scenes in films

This is a cool post on another blog, about famous scenes in films that were improvised by actors:

http://www.hollywoodactorprep.com/blog/2010/06/famous-film-scenes-were-actors-improvising/

Check it out!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Quick post about giving back

Taken from @DanielleCasting's Twitter feed:

Please join our clothes/food drive for "My Friends Place" to support homeless LA teens www.lemonlimeagency.com Click on info and giving back

From LemonLime Agency's site:


We will sponsor the drive @ Lemon Lime Offices (parking lot) on
Friday June 4, 2010, 11AM-3PM.


"My Friends Place is a local center that provides meals, medical assistance, guidance and clothes to homeless teens and youth in the Los Angeles area.

We visited the Center on Hollywood Blvd. and it's a very cool place for the homeless and less fortunate L.A. Kids to hang out, grab a meal, get medical attention, attend certain workshops like sewing, computer classes, resume writing etc. They also formed a fantastic "CIRQUE du SOLEIL" inspired group that teaches juggling and other tricks. While all this sounds very hip and cool, keep in mind once 5.30 pm comes around, they have to leave the premise and have to look for a place to spend the night... mostly on the streets, abandoned buildings or some even hook. My Friends Place is the place where they can escape the streets during the day and get the necessary help to get their life back on track and ultimately getting off the streets! We met the kids and they are incredible and thats why we want to contribute to keep this Organization going. They need all the help they can get and are very grateful for every little piece you are able to donate!

Below, please find a list with items they hope and wish for. They also appreciate Canned Foods, Clothes, Toiletry items (diapers), Office Material, DVDs.... Hey, these are Los Angeles kids, so they want to look hip and cool, so bring us all your hipster clothes!

We look forward to many generous Lemon Lime Faces pop up on Friday, even if it's just to drop a can of tuna fish! Every item counts and is very appreciated! Here is a little more info about www.myfriendsplace.org."


PLEASE VISIT THE WEBSITE TO SEE AN EXTENSIVE LIST OF NEEDED ITEMS!!!!!!!!!! (The info appears on the LemonLime site, below the segment that I quoted above, on the Giving Back page--which I also just linked through the last sentence). Lots of specific clothing needs, toiletry needs, etc. Tons of options, great ways to give back!

Thanks! And share it, if you're so inclined!
xoxo

ATTENTION NEW YORK ACTORS!

****ATTENTION NEW YORK CITY-BASED ACTORS****

Mark from The Working Actor is looking for New York actors to feature on his site! He will be in NY this summer and would love to meet NY actors who have cool day jobs, fun and interesting stories, cool projects going on or coming up, etc.

PLEASE contact Mark if you're up for being featured and pass this info along to any NY actors you might know, who would be interested. This is a free, fun way to get your name out there!!!!! His email is: mark [at] theworkingactor [dot] net.

Check back here to see my interview with Mark--I'll post a link when it's up! :)

Thanks everyone!!