Gearing up

The last week or so has been a period of gearing up, if you will.

Last week in class, I worked on a scene than I wrote, which my partner and I intend to shoot as a short. It went well. I was most definitely not in the comedy mood while at class, but I managed to push through it and do the scene well. And my partner, Ryan, is very funny, so he's able to give me a lot to work off of, especially since the scene casts me in a bit of the straight man role. I need to fix some of the writing, but I think we'll be able to shoot it and do a lot with it that will be fun. I emailed him yesterday to see when he thinks we could do it. I'll keep on him about it. :)

I also spoke, via email, with my friend Brian, who I went to high school with, and who lives in LA (he's a writer), to see if he'd be up for helping me film a short dramatic scene with another friend from class. He expressed interest, so I hope we can get it done. Again, I have to rework some of the writing (again, a scene I wrote), but I think we'll be able to get what we need from it.

I have a workshop this weekend with Danielle Eskinazi, who is a great commercial CD in LA. I just got my scene, which is from Friends, and which was assigned to me (along with my partner). The scene is a good fit for me--I'm impressed. Sometimes, when scenes are assigned at workshops, I end up with something that is a little off. It helped that they asked us what celebrities we are like and what types we play, instead of going just off of headshots. Anyway, I'm looking forward to it.

I've also signed up for two more cd workshops, one for a tv associate and one for a head cd for film. I still have yet to settle on my scenes for those. I also inquired about a commercial callback workshop that came highly recommended--it took me a while to get someone to call me back, but they finally called today. I'm on the fence about it, mostly because of the financial cost of it. But, since it's been very slow the past two months as far as auditions go, I'd like to start strong this fall, and maybe this will help.

I have to run off to approve some headshots at the printers, and probably order more stuff, before I'm off to class tonight, where I'll be doing a 30 Rock scene. I was scheduled to do a Sons of Anarchy scene, but it got pushed to next week, because my original partner will be absent tonight for a chemistry read. So, since an old friend and classmate is dropping by class to say hi (having just moved back to LA from Kansas), I asked her to do a quick comedy scene with me. Should be fun. I wasn't ready for the SOA scene anyway--it's an intense scene, and a new type of character for me, so another week to prep will be good.

Favorites

I've got a link to the 'favorites' of my new headshots, which were tough to choose. I narrowed things down over time, asked for advice from friends, etc. The results are here:

http://sessions.argentum.com/ARU/kich/dco23/fave1282964998544_01.html

There are four pages, with 46 pictures. If you've got a favorite pic, let me know. I think I know what I'm going to get printed, but it helps for me to know what stands out to folks.

In other news, so desperately in love with Mad Men again this season. It's so amazing. I didn't know how the show could get any better, but it did. Also, powered my way through the first two seasons of Sons of Anarchy, which I'm enjoying. Charlie Hunnam is mouthwatering. And talented, which is lovely.

Doing a scene in class this week that is one I wrote. Testing it out, in hopes of filming it as a short sketch for Funny-or-Die. Still thinking about the short film idea that I've had, as well as the new pilot idea. And working on a mock commercial with a friend. He sent me some rough drafts, have to read through them.

Might bake some muffins for my commercial rep tonight. Mulling it over. Still waiting to hear if they like any of the headshots from the new session (god, I hope so!), but owe them a visit anyway. :)

Dynamic Imagery Studios

Actors, the time is great to get yourself into a wonderful acting class. TV shows have ramped up production, so why not get into a class where you can stretch, grow, stay sharp, et cetera?

I have been with my long-time acting coach, Adam Wilhite, for over 5 years (probably closer to 6 at this point). I would not be the actor that I am--nor the writer, nor even the PERSON that I am--without him. His guidance, love and support over the years has truly transformed me. I have been lucky enough to learn from him and to have many breakthroughs in my acting (and life) with his support...and to have seen so many other actors have breakthroughs as well. Adam's technique is brilliant and leads to powerful performances. We work each class, doing new scenes every week, as well as improv to start each evening. Adam can read people very well, and he'll figure out how best to coach you and what you need to grow very quickly--his coaching is individualized in that sense, even though we all learn the same technique. He's very special, and I am so lucky to have found him.

If you're looking for a great new class, please come check out Adam's classes. Audits are free, and he's very open about communicating with new studio members, giving information, etc. I'm happy to answer questions as well.

Here is the website for the studio, which will give you more information: Dynamic Imagery Studios

Hope to see you audit soon! :)

New headshots!!!

I had new headshots taken yesterday, by my longtime photog Felicity Murphy. It was SUCH a blast. Her fantastic makeup artist Michelle Diaz did a great job, especially with my 'Mad Men' inspired look. :)

We shot over 600 pics, and Felicity narrowed it down to 465. I've uploaded quite a few to Facebook, but I'll put a small selection on here. We did a lot of looks, and I think I got some great shots to a) showcase the new hair and b) update a lot of older looks I had, from previous sessions. We also got some looks I'd been wanting to get, too!










Felicity Murphy Photography: www.headshotsthatbook.com
Michelle Diaz Make Up: www.michellemakemeup.com

Angeleno Short Film Fest (and other stuff)

This coming Sunday, August 29th, from 12pm to 8pm, the Angeleno Short Film Festival will be happening at Cinespace in Hollywood. The winning films in each category will be screened, and guests will be able to participate in industry and guest panels, attend the awards ceremony, and network with other industry folks. There's a KILLER raffle, too!

I was asked to serve as a judge by my co-star from the Big Lots! commercial, in part because I act, write and (from time to time) produce, and because of my Actor's Voice - POV article. I've been enjoying the process of watching the films, as it's giving me a chance to learn what works, what doesn't work, etc. It's been nice to see the films that are well done, too. :)

So, actors, writers, producers, directors...if you're in Hollywood and want to come out to the festival, here's the website with the full details:

www.angelenofest.com

Day pass tickets are $10 (which gives you access to everything AND $5 to the bar); Award Ceremony only tix are $5, as are the Raffle tix. I personally have tickets I can sell you, if you see me in person this week. Otherwise, you can purchase them from the website!

I hope to see some folks come out and support the fest!!! :)
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Actors, there's a great Emmy Roundtable interview in the August 23 & 30 issue of Newsweek. Pick up a copy if you can (article is not available online yet). Christina Hendricks, Bryan Cranston, Eric Stonestreet, Connie Britton, Matthew Fox and Chris Colfer are featured.

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Last week, I submitted myself online for a webisode that is being cast by a cd that I've had some positive interactions with...I know how many submissions she got for her last project, which was larger in scope (she Tweeted that she got around 15,000 for that one!), so I was just doing it to do it. Knowing something like that helps put in perspective that it really is about submitting yourself, then letting go. I always am grateful to get auditions, period. Anyway, I received a message, asking for a taped audition a day or two later.

Believe it or not, I had never had to tape myself before!! So, I opted to approach things in the most professional manner I knew--I hired my acting coach for a private session and to have him film my audition! I felt like it was an important step forward for me, as an actress, to commit to the action of "putting my best foot forward". I worked hard on breaking down the script, finding the nuances and dynamics in the character to ground her in reality, while giving her enough crazy details to push her out there in terms of comedy. Since improv was encouraged in the audition, I came up with a bunch of details, things to riff on, etc. It made for a really fun coaching and taping session!

We will see if anything comes of the work as far as being called in for the meetings/callbacks. I sent my video link in (they requested we put the videos online, i.e. on youtube), and got a confirmation that it was received...so, we'll see!

Regardless, what I am trying to take away from the experience is that I made the choice to commit to doing it the best I could do it. And that's important, because I think it so often happens that a lot of us don't always give it our best, or limit ourselves in some way. In the end, it's entirely possible that I don't have the right look they want, or I went broader and they wanted dry, you really never know. All I can do is what is mine to do, and I did it. That's something to be proud of. :)

Actors Helping Actors!

Today, I received the following (fantastic) email:

Danielle,

Thank you SO much for the article you wrote for Bonnie back in May. Because of you, I just got taft-hartleyed.

I did a SAG webisode recently in which I only had one line, and the line was off-screen. The producer thought that because the role was so small, I couldn't be taft-hartleyed. But, because I had read your article, which taught me about the SAG New Media contract, I figured it was worth following up with SAG to make sure. Turns out, I *can* be taft-hartleyed off the project! So, thank you, thank you, thank you! I was also able to help a fellow actress on set, who was in the exact same situation as me but had no idea one could be taft-hartleyed through the New Media contract.

Also, just thanks in general for being so generous with sharing info with your fellow actors.

Sincerely,
(I've withheld the name of the writer for privacy concerns)

That's awesome. I love it. I love hearing about this kind of success! The main reason I wrote the Actor's Voice POV article was to help other actors become SAG-Eligible!

This really made my day! Thank you to the actor who took the time to email me! :) (And, thank you to the other actors who have contacted me as well, via Facebook and otherwise--I appreciate it!)

Oops, was on vacation!

Hiiiiiiiiiii...

The last month and a half have been crazy for me--I was on vacation, then had to travel some more for family related stuff, etc, etc. I haven't had much time to update anything as a result--just been too busy!

Some tidbits, though:

~had my general meeting with Mark Measures from Abrams Artists (head of commercial), which I won via a contest on Twitter. It was a really interesting, educational experience. I went in without an agenda. I really just wanted to meet Mark and see what he was like. I didn't have any questions for him, at least, not any pre-planned ones or difficult ones. He was an interesting guy, very much what you might expect from an agent at a high powered agency. I don't know if he was thrown off by my lack of questions (he did comment on it), but I found his insights and advice to be smart and worthwhile. He gave me a tip about my resume, spoke with me about type, etc. He made two comments that I thought were worth thinking about the most, in relation to me specifically: 1) consider changing my hair, because it's so 'shampoo commercial' that it could be keeping me from being cast in the more traditional 'young wife/mom' sort of roles and 2) the people who work the most in commercials are the ones who blend in--if you can remember an actor from a commercial, chances are that they will not keep working. He did tell me--prefacing it with "don't take this the wrong way"--that I had a face that could make a million dollars in commercials--it's very All American. I didn't take that the wrong way at all! Could I have taken it as, "you blend in" and whatever negative connotations go along with that? Sure. But why would I choose to do that to myself? Doesn't get me anywhere. And, come on, he just told me I could WORK IN COMMERCIALS AND MAKE A MILLION DOLLARS. Seriously, the better choice is obvious here. :)

~had a callback and audition the same day that I returned from my second trip--I kept getting calls from my commercial agents, readjusting my schedule, trying to work out if I could make it to both. I did. :) It was kinda crazy--running from LAX, to my house to shower, then to the audition (in the valley), then to the callback, and then to work (no, for real). It was a long day! But I loved it. :)

~been redecorating my living room, which I know is not acting related, but it is making me really happy. :)

~considered Mark's comment about how this business is all about a haircut (this was related to his suggestion that I consider finding another way to do my hair that made it "less"--I really do have a ton of great hair, and I feel like a jackass saying that, but I do. It's probably my most-commented-upon feature--when I bother to do it nicely)...I spoke with my rep and decided to go about cutting it a lot shorter. My hair was very long, especially for commercials. So...I chopped it a couple of days ago. It's now just above my shoulders, which means it'll grow out to match my last round of commercial headshots well (my hair is just below my shoulders in those). I love it. I was so scared to cut it, because I've had such long hair for about 2 years now, and I was so attached to it...but I really love the cut. I have an amazing stylist, who takes into account bone structure--both face AND scalp, which determines how your hair lies and keeps style--and I love what she's done. I'm excited to see if this opens up anything as far as bookings go!

~along with the new haircut, I am looking to do some new headshots in a couple of weeks. My commercial shots should all be okay for right now--yes, my hair is a couple inches longer in it, but I think it'll be okay. My theatrical ones, however...no go. All of the ones I use are photos where I have my very long hair. So...new headshots!

~I did get some commercial headshots printed--my main shot that my agents use--just to have them, because I don't really have any commercial ones printed up. I also have some matching post cards that are waiting to be approved at the printer--going to do that today, I think. :)

~I'm also signed up for two workshops--one at the end of the month, with a cd associate that I've seen before (about 4 months ago). I did really well in that workshop, so I'm hoping to do well in this one and start the ball rolling on a good relationship with her. The other is a workshop with a commercial casting director, with whom I've become friendly on Twitter, and it is in September.

~now, on to class--I had an amazing class last week. I'd been in a bit of an acting funk lately, not feeling like I was totally into what I was doing, etc. But, despite having a hard time wrapping my head around my scene initially, I ended up locking into the scene about an hour before class and getting some power imagery done during our meditation time at the start of class. And my scene was awesome. It was one of those scenes that you can scarely remember what you've done because it was almost out of body. It was from "An Education" (I was playing a character who has one scene--a powerful scene--near the end of the film, with the lead character...trying to keep it spoiler free!). When we were finished and turned to receive coaching/feedback from our teacher, he and other members of the class were like, "Yeah, that's it." Which is, to say, that was a one take scene. It was amazing the first time through. No need to do it again. But we did it again anyway. :) Just to see what we could do, to play with it, etc. I changed my prior moment from a gentle, happier one, to a darker, more annoyed one, and it changed my reactions to the scene--my voice had more of an edge and I had a moment at the start of empathizing with the other character, before the edge took over. It was interesting. At any rate, I was so happy to have had that moment in class, because I needed it. Funny how that works, right? :)

So...I think that's it for now? I might have another post later, or soon...we'll see!