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August started off with a bang, with the final two performances of Fifty Shades of Shrew. What an amazing project, what a fantastic group of women! Many thanks to everyone who came to see the show, and who continues to support live theatre.
I did quite a bit of pre-production work on the Marion and the Sheriff scene we are hoping to shoot in November, and accepted an offer to be a panelist at Geek Girl Con in Seattle in October.
I participated in the reading (and singing) of a new musical written by a couple of friends, and got reminded how much I miss singing!
I put on my editing hat and finally finished a small scene I shot in German last summer, as well as its English version, and posted both to my YouTube page.
I attended a Broads' Word company meeting where we chose our next play, which will go up in November. Keeping the momentum going!
I recorded a voice over audition, and updated the Vicarious Films website.
I did my part in supporting live theatre by attending two plays and a staged reading.
I started attending the Saturday morning sessions of Coronet Writers Lab, and went to We Make Movies and my whip meet-up's gatherings. I also organized two meetings of my Feminist Writers Group.
I attended the Women's Networking Panel at the Hollyshorts Film Festival, met with the founder of the Artemis Women in Action Film Festival, attended an open house at the Sam Christensen studio, and squeezed in a couple of birthday parties for friends.
So much for August!
I got out of town for the beginning of July to spend some time with the family in New England, and it was a much-needed chance to breathe. I wasn't able to completely forget about Fifty Shades of Shrew, however, as we had our Encore Award performances scheduled for the 1st weekend in August.
July marked the completion of the one-year cycle of For Fork's Sake, and we taped our season finale on July 29th. What an amazing journey this project has been! All 12 of the year's episodes are archived on the YouTube page, so the next time you have a free hour, give one a listen!
There was much planning this month, brainstorming meetings with directors and location scouts, feedback taken and given on scripts in progress. Despite busy summers, we also had a meeting of our Feminist Writers Group.
I finally got a chance to see Mad Max: Fury Road and loved every adrenaline-packed second of it. I caught a performance of ChicSpeare, the all-female improvised Shakespeare group, and heartily recommend it. And lastly, a friend invited me to a performance of Spamalot at the Hollywood Bowl, which was a ridiculously fun experience.
If you have never been to the Hollywood Fringe Festival, you must make it a priority next June! Such amazing theatre being done, and so much of it!
In addition to opening, running and closing Fifty Shades of Shrew, I saw as much of other's work as I could. My total number of plays was in the double digits, and I still saw less than 10% of what was on offer!
Amongst all the Fringe madness, I got a chance to volunteer for the Geena Davis Institute again, and attended a Reel Grrls fundraiser.
I also met with some women from the Women in the Industry Facebook group, went to the Etheria Film Night pre-party and mixer, and connected with the good folks at the Artemis Film Festival.
I also taped two more episodes of For Fork's Sake live, and did a radio interview about For Fork's Sake for KPFC's Feminist Magazine radio show, which is archived here.
I squeezed in a couple of meetings with the good folks at Coronet Writers Lab, and a couple of lunches with friends, and in an inspired moment, wrote the first draft of a horror short.
And if you missed Fifty Shades of Shrew, you have two more chances to see it, as we were the proud recipients of an Encore Producer's Award from the Lounge Theater. We will be staging our last two performances on the 1st and 2nd of August, and then I will finally put Petruchio to bed.
Fifty Shades of Shrew was in full swing this month, and it pretty much ate my entire creative life.
I did manage to squeeze in a taping of two more episodes of For Fork's Sake, and one meeting apiece of both my Feminist Writers Group and my whip Meetup group.
I even managed to see two plays and attend the screening of The Hunted movie, which were all terrific evenings, and have a couple of lunches with friends.
The rest of the month, however, was Hollywood Fringe Festival and Fifty Shades of Shrew in heavy rotation. Our first performance is June 5th, so check us out if you can!
Fifty Shades of Shrew rehearsals began in earnest, and that means only one thing: time to start learning my lines! And having production meetings, and getting started on publicity, etc, etc.
I also got down to WonderCon in Anaheim again this year, and saw some great panels. My inner geek was sated.
I had some great networking meetings, catching up with old friends and making new ones. Had some great forward motion on the BSG fanfilm idea, and also may be moving forward again on shooting Marion and the Sheriff, which would be great fun.
I continued working with the Feminist Writer's Group, and the good folks at Coronet Writers Lab. I even started work on adapting a scifi short story into a feature. I'm not confident it will ever go anywhere, but if nothing else, it's a good exercise and will stretch my imagination in new and different ways.
And just because one can never have enough Shakespeare, a good friend and I checked out Improvised Shakespeare when it was in town, and laughed until we hurt.
Not bad for the cruelest month.
It was a month of gatherings, both near and far. The "far" was the premiere screening of Dark Age, Season 2, which premiered in Chicago at Chi-Fi Con. I flew over for the premiere, and it was great to see everyone from cast and crew, and to hear how much everyone enjoyed the showing. And I got to see some snow!
While in Chicago I caught a couple of plays starring friends, including the Babes With Blades all-female Titus Andronicus. Brilliant and bloody!
I continued to book panelists for For Fork's Sake, and had some good forward motion on other Vicarious projects.
I led a couple more meetings of the Feminist Writers Group, had a small writers meeting for Women of Will, and had yet another meeting with the team behind Affair of Honor.
We had auditions to complete the cast of Fifty Shades of Shrew, and saw some amazing women. Can't wait to do all-female Shakespeare with 'em!
I continued working with the good folks at Coronet Writers Lab, and caught another whip Meetup.
Enjoyed a networking meeting with the LA Filmmakers from Chicago group, and also with the good folks at Seeking Our Story for a screening of Love and Basketball.
The newly christened Broads' Word Theatre company began work in earnest on our inaugural production at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, Fifty Shades of Shrew. Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew set in a BDSM dungeon. I can't wait!
The newly christened Feminist Writers Group also had our inaugural meeting.
I auditioned for the CW's Supergirl pilot, which was a treat!
I ran camera for a friend who is making a documentary on food allergies, and taped another episode of For Fork's Sake.
I continued working with the good folks at Coronet Writer's Lab and We Make Movies, and had some lovely networking lunches and dinners. Included in that was an amazing meeting with a writer/director with whom I may be doing a Battlestar Galactica fanfilm that she will write and direct. Finally the excuse I was looking for to go back and binge-watch the whole series!
A short month, but chock-a-block full!
The year got off to a merry start, as a bunch of January babies invited me to celebrate their birthdays with them!
In between the partying, I did manage to record another For Fork's Sake episode, and record the final ghost tracks for the John Sinclair horror radio dramas.
I also attended the Use Me Up screening at the California Women's Film Festival and the very lively Q&A afterward.
We selected a winner in the Predator/Prey short film competition! The winning short film, Mistranslated, is linked on the Vicarious Films website here.
I also helped friends shoot a teaser for their upcoming webseries Gentle Werewolf, which hopefully will shoot in the Spring.
I re-connected with my colleague with whom I shot Cast Out and re-started our stalled post-production process.
I started a new year with the good folks at Coronet Writers Lab and We Make Movies, and also connected with some amazing women at a Seeking Our Story mixer.
I also decided to try my hand at adapting a short story I fell in love with, and contacted the writer for permission. Who knows if anything will come of it, but why not give it a whirl?
Lastly, I had a Skype meeting with the writer for the Supernatural fanfilm, so we are on our way. Very excited!
Rehearsals led up to our two performances for the workshop production of Code 6 on Santa at North by South, and it was terrific fun working with a group of such talented people!
I also recorded two more ghost tracks for the John Sinclair radio dramas, which will be available on Spotify in the new year.
I got in one more whip Meetup, and one more Coronet Writers Lab meeting, before surrendering to the round of holiday parties.
Here's wishing everyone had a wonderful holiday season, and all best wishes for a successful and joyous New Year!
Hard to believe it's almost the end of the year!
We started rehearsals for the Christmas workshop production I am doing with North by South Theatre titled Code 6 on Santa. We have a terrific cast and a wonderful director, and I am very much looking forward to working with this company.
I got my chance to play Mother Nature in a USC short called Holidazed, and recorded another episode of For Fork's Sake.
I recorded another ghost track for the John Sinclair radio dramas – I'm having a wonderful time voicing a variety of vampires, zombies, banshees and other assorted creatures of the night.
I finished and uploaded to the web Things I Should Have Said at long last. A friend of mine who teaches sociology at the University level contacted me and we had an amazing phone conversation about using the short to create a curriculum module for her sociology class. We are moving forward with the idea, and she hopes to integrate it into her class syllabus for the fall. I was so honored to have prompted such a project and cannot wait to see the work her students make.
I also connected with a wonderful writer who will be writing the script for a Supernatural fanfilm idea I have had kicking around in my head for a while. I'm very much looking forward to developing this project with her.
With the fabulous Danielle Reierson, I visited Laurel Canyon Stages and took a look at their amazing spaceship sets and green screen studio. I highly recommend them for all your scifi shooting needs!
I also continued meeting with the women's theatre group, my short film group, I ran sound for a small shoot, and continued to work with the good folks at Coronet Lab.
I volunteered for another fabulous Geena Davis Institute salon, and had some forward motion on the Cut to the Chase project, which has been moving at the speed of molasses in winter.
I managed to collect some terrific reel footage from a project I shot over the summer, so I have one more reason to update my darn video page on this website!
Another full month as we head into the last quarter of 2014!
I got the chance again to substitute teach some stage combat classes at USC and had a terrific time doing it. I also went to two more Meetups for the whip enthusiast group in Burbank and got my overhead and my forward cracks back. Very satisfying!
I was cast in a short film for USC playing Mother Nature, which looks to be a great deal of fun.
We recorded another episode of For Fork's Sake, I shot a scene with Relentless Filmworks, and recorded some ADR for Ballpark Bullies, an anti-bullying PSA. I also recorded a ghost track (no pun intended!) for a horror radio drama series that will record in England.
I attended Use Me Up's screening at the Glendale International Film Festival, and volunteered for another wonderful event at The Geena Davis Institute.
I continued to work with the good folks at Coronet Writers Lab and We Make Movies, and also attended a public reading of a friend's reading group called Scriptwrites.
I had several wonderful brunches and lunches with female colleagues in the business, and had another meeting with the group of women theatre artists to talk more about possible projects.
I went to a couple of fun Halloween bashes, and in celebration of my birthday, I jumped out of a plane. I did have a man and a parachute strapped to my back, so we all made it back to the ground safely.
Do you ever have one of those months when everything comes out of the oven at once? Well, that was my September!
Working with the fabulous Samantha Simmonds Ronceros, we finally shot the A-roll for Things I Should Have Said, and later in the month, I created the fine cut. With luck and perseverance, it will be online on the Vicarious Films YouTube channel by the end of October.
The developmental reading of An Affair of Honor came up in the rotation at We Make Movies, and Valerie Alexander and I got to hear their feedback on the status of the piece.
I met with an amazing group of female theatre artists, and we tossed around ideas for staging an all-female show at next summer's Hollywood Fringe festival.
I met with a group of colleagues to plan shoots for several short films, 48-hour film festival style. Our first project is slated to shoot in November.
I met with the wonderful and talented Danielle Reierson to discuss shooting a sci-fi short on the Firefly set, which is still in place in North Hollywood. My inner geek is squeeing!
I auditioned for and was cast in a holiday show at North By South Theatre, and shot our third episode of For Fork's Sake.
I continued to work with the terrific folks at We Make Movies and Coronet Writers Lab.
I did some more editing, attended a taping of Celebrity Name Game with Craig Ferguson, and had a writing meeting with colleagues to move forward on Modern Day Cassandra.
I saw a screening of Kelly & Cal, a staged reading of "An Accident" at Pasadena Playhouse, and attended a screening of The Interview, joining the Q&A panel afterward.
I did some editing of a reel scene I shot before I left town, and had several networking dinners and lunches.
Lastly, I did a quick photoshoot with a colleague who wanted to practice taking headshots - some of the more fun shots will hopefully be showing up on the Gallery page soon!
Phew! What a month!
I spent the first week of August finishing up my scenes on the shoot of Dark Age, then flew back to LA to immediately rehearse and remount an encore performance of Four Tree Plays. Then I took a week to unpack, do laundry, and treat my bugbites every couple of hours until they finally stopped itching and the swelling went down. I must have had the tastiest flesh in Michigan, because everything seemed to want a piece of me!
In the second half of August, I shot an anti-bullying PSA with the talented Valerie Alexander and Samantha Simmonds Ronceros, auditioned for a webseries and a play, and shot the 2nd episode of For Fork's Sake.
I continued researching how to produce film in Chicago, chatting on line and on the phone with a couple of filmmakers in Chicago, and one who is "bi-postal" and moves between LA and Chicago. Fingers crossed that we can make at least one project happen in Chicago next summer!
I reconnected over dinners and lunches and coffees with several colleagues, and even took my houseguest to MoCA before he flew back to Germany. I also got a chance to reconnect with a classmate from graduate school, the wonderful David Fielding. He was in town for a Power Rangers Convention - he was and is the original Zordon, dontchaknow.
This month I got a chance to get out of LA and shoot Season Two of Dark Age in the Irish Hills area of Michigan. Other than getting eaten alive by every sort of man-eating insect in the entire state, I had a fantastic time, and can't wait to see the footage on line this winter.
Before I left LA, however, I continued to shoot the short film about bullying, and did a promo video for the launch of For Fork's Sake. I also managed to finally attend a Labyrinth of Jareth ball, which turned out to be quite extravagant fun.
After some travels in New England, I made my way to Chicago where I visited the Chicago Film Office and the Illinois Film Office, hopefully in preparation for doing some shooting there next summer. While in Chicago, I got together with Dani Bryant and we launched the year-long series For Fork's Sake, which was both fun and terrifying at the same time!
I caught a friend's opening night of Beckett short plays, and even squeezed in a trip to The Art Institute of Chicago to see the Magritte exhibit. After lunch with a couple more friends, I headed off for the wilds and bugs of Michigan.
June came in like a lion and left the same way!
I got the terrific news that I had been nominated for the Best Supporting Actress award at the FilmQuest film festival for my work in The Interview. It is an honor to be nominated!
We opened and ran and closed Four Tree Plays at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, and were nominated for a Fringe First Award for Best New Work, as well as being chosen for a Producer's Award which includes an encore performance sponsored by our venue, Schkapf.
I also had a chance to check out several of the other terrific shows that were presenting at the Fringe, although I missed lot more, as there were so many to see!
I shot the first few scenes of a terrific short film about bullying, and arranged and shot a short scene in German for my reel.
I also managed to keep working with the fabulous folks at Coronet Writers Lab, met with some colleagues about various projects, and volunteered for a terrific event with the Geena Davis Institute.
Lastly, I did some more editing on my projects and caught a terrific mixer with the WAM LA ladies.
I had the penultimate Hollywood experience this month: I got an audition for the role of a lifetime - the kind of role for which I moved out here in the first place. A fabulous female captain of a space ship, a cross between Captain Janeway and Malcolm Reynolds. I got called back, it was between me and another gal - aaaaaand I did not get it. So there ya go.
To ease the sting of my loss, we started rehearsals for Four Tree Plays, and had a hefty rehearsal schedule throughout the month.
I also took the chance to meet with friends and colleagues throughout the month, and continued planning future projects at many of those meetings.
I also caught an amazing performance of Taste at Sacred Fools, saw the amazing Janet Robin at the Hotel Cafe, and got out and have some fun at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire.
I did some more fight choreography on projects with the talented Edgar Landa, and finally got a chance to start editing some footage I shot last summer.
I started the month off by participating in two readings at EST LA's Winterfest series, and later on in the month got to be a part of the developmental read for a new feature film script.
We had our first couple of read-throughs for Four Tree Plays, which will go up at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in June.
I did some ADR for a student film, and continued working with my favorite script development group, Coronet Writers Lab.
I got a professional pass for WonderCon down in Anaheim and snuck away for two days to check out the fun and madness there, and got to sit in on some terrific panels.
I attended another festival screening of Use Me Up, and was thrilled to see most of the cast there.
I caught a couple of the short play blocks at LA Women's Theatre Project's InkFest, and sat down with a colleague to start discussing launching a short film competition through Vicarious Films.
Lastly, I attended a couple of birthday bashes for friends, one of which included an epic, massive light saber fight. Only in Hollywood!
Happy Women in History Month!
I started the month off with the Hollywood tradition of going to an Oscar Party, although I left my beaded ball gown at home.
I did more fighting this month, assisting Edgar Landa in refreshing and tweaking the fights for the touring production of Placas; The Most Dangerous Tattoo, as well as substitute teaching one more stage combat class at USC.
I shot a quick comedy scene which will be part of season 2 of Don't Ask Nancy, and had enormous fun working with some terrifically funny actors.
I participated in a developmental reading of a feature film script, and volunteered at Ensemble Studio Theater's Winterfest reading series.
I attended the festival debut of Use Me Up, the film I directed and co-produced two years ago. The post-production road is loooong, my friends – don't let anyone ever tell you differently! My two male leads, Delpaneaux Wills and Kenny Cooper were both there as well, and I was thrilled to catch up with them after the screening.
I continued to work with the good folks at Coronet Writers Lab and We Make Movies, and attended a reading at Samuel French for SWAN Day.
I auditioned for a couple of plays, and volunteered for an event with the fabulous Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.
Some networking lunches and dinners rounded out a terrific March.
The new year continued to yield quite a bit of fruit, as I was cast in and shot two more student films, one for USC and one for UCLA. I was also asked to be a cast member in a festival of short plays that will be staged for the Hollywood Fringe Festival in June.
I made some forward motion on The Eating Show and on a new idea for a comedy scene that is as of yet unnamed...
I went to two screenings of short films I had been in, and caught my friend Mouzam Makkar in her LA stage debut at East West Players.
I continued to work with the fine folks at Coronet Writers Lab and We Make Movies.
I got a chance to throw some punches around as I substitute taught a colleague's stage combat class at USC.
We had some forward motion on the post-production special effects for Cast Out, creating the mold for filling in the rest of the effects.
Lastly, I lunched and dinnered with friends, and even drove up to Ojai for another friend's house warming party. All in all, not bad for a short month!
Happy New Year! Here's hoping 2014 brings all of us much joy, love, and success!
I started the year off right with a hike of Runyon Canyon and lunch afterward with friend and former Babe With Blade Jen Albert. We discussed the business, and tossed around the idea of producing an all-female Shakespeare ourselves. I'm so eager to do Shakespeare again, that it just might be time.
My return to auditioning met with swift success, as I was cast in and shot a student film at NYFA, and I also was invited to participate in several small film projects with friends.
I organized an in-house reading of a potential play I'd like to co-produce, and attended a developmental reading of a feature script, as well as a launch party for a friend's web series.
I also had a terrific phone meeting with Dani Bryant about The Eating Project, and our current timeline is that we will be live streaming by mid-summer!
I continued my tradition of watching more movies in January than I do for the rest of year, in preparation to vote in the SAG Awards. Congratulations to the winners, and to the nominees, for some amazing work.
My co-conspirator Kathleen Cecchin and I also posted The Girl in 517 to Funny or Die, and were amazed at how Funny we are! Give it a watch and a vote of Funny, if you are so inclined.
I also started some continuing education, with one course in bookkeeping and another in conversational German. Perhaps by the end of the year, I will be able to post these updates in German!
As the year wound down, I worked with Kathleen Cecchin to finish up the editing and post our "The Girl in 517" vid on YouTube. We had such fun doing this, and there is so much material out there, we are already planning our next project in what is becoming our "Elevating the Internet" series of comedy shorts. Stay tuned for more send-ups of pop culture!
I shot a couple more scenes with the awesome folks at Relentless Filmworks, and accepted an invitation to audition for a short film. These two things prompted me to start the audition process moving again, and I turned my subscriptions to the casting sites in town back on. I am hoping to do a play before I jump back into the crazy world of acting in film, but I have reached a point in my grieving process where I feel ready again to start getting out there. It's been a long, hard year and I'm very much looking forward to the psychological beginning of starting a new one.
I continued working with the good folks at Coronet Writers Lab and We Make Movies, and I hosted a vision board workshop for my Power Group.
There was continued forward motion on both the film adaptation of Satisfaction and the Women of Will webseries. I saw a couple more award contender movies, and spent a lot of time with friends at holiday functions, reconnecting over good food and drink.
So the wheel turns, and we start another cycle. Happy New Year to all, and see you all in 2014.
Hard to believe the holiday season is already upon us! But here we all are, running around like crazy, trying to fit everything in before the end of the year!
The big accomplishment this month was a quick comedy short my friend and Power Buddy Kathleen Cecchin and I prepped, rehearsed and shot, which is here on YouTube. Please give it a watch and give it a thumbs up if you like it!
I also sat down with my DP and editor for Cast Out and hammered out the final tweaks for the final cut. I also chatted with the SFX team about the look of the FX, and now the project is in their hands.
I attended a screening of Split at El Cid, for which I choreographed and stunt coordinated a fight on screen, I saw a friend in a play at Son of Semele, and started movie watching for awards season.
I had a fabulous phone meeting with Dani Bryant to discuss a potential collaboration on a project, and a great sit-down meeting with my writer for Women of Will.
I went to a workshop event hosted by Ms. in the Biz, and led a seminar on goal-setting.
I continued working with the good folks at Coronet Writers Lab and We Make Movies, and attended birthday parties and holiday parties galore.
Hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving and a joyous Chanukah!
The highlight of this month was a fabulous trip to Seattle, where with my friend and fellow Babe With Blade Kathrynne Wolf we presented a panel at Geek Girl Con on "Workaday Women Warriors" – fabulous female heroes who managed to kick butt and take names without superpowers. The panel was very well received and the Con itself was terrific. I hope to be able to go again next year as a panelist.
While up in Seattle, I managed to connect with some old friends, some in the biz and some not. I saw Chadley Kelderman in a show at Seattle Children's Theatre, had coffee with Chandra Moore, and dinner with Peter Comley. I also was a bit of a tourist, seeing the amazing Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit and riding the Monorail, just to say I did it. I also saw the fish throwing in the Pike Place Market, and of course saw the original Starbucks. Although trying to get a decaf coffee in Seattle was, if possible, harder than getting one in LA. My life is soooo tough. ;)
I got to do a very quick shoot with the fabulous Sapna Gandhi and Anisa Alamia, and I do mean quick! They did a series of 12 second films called "Broad Strokes," which are in post-production now.
The writers and I had a terrific conference call about The Claim, and we hammered out all the new plot points, so we are finally ready to begin rewrites from Episode 1 onward!
I continued working with the fine folks at Coronet Writers Lab and We Make Movies, and did a developmental reading of Alan Collett's screenplay Adrift.
I got to the theatre twice, once to see Michael Childers in a production at North by South Theatre, and once to see the LAWSC's all-female Hamlet. I also saw a screening of Whit Spurgeon's The Interview at El Cid film night.
The rest of the month was rounded out with lunches, brunches and parties with friends. All in all, not a bad birthday month for me!
A Very Special Update!
A quick note in between months to let you all know that Vicarious Films, my production company, now has its own webpage! You can find us here at VicariousFilms.com
There you can see all the projects under development, and as they are finished, the links to their locations on the web. Check it out and enjoy!
Slowly getting back into the swing of things here in The Valley, in between unpacking and rearranging my entire apartment to make room for all the keepsakes and treasures I brought from amongst my Mom's things. I returned to regular meetings of the actor/writer group Coronet Writers Lab and film collective We Make Movies.
I also took the time to reconnect with friends and colleagues in the business, as well as attending a film screening at New Filmmakers (for The Rwanda Blend), seeing a stand-up set hosted by the hilarious Andi Osho, and enjoying a mixer hosted by the NextGenFemmes.
I met with the fabulously talented Valerie Alexander to discuss the film adaptation of Tony Wolf's stage play Satisfaction and scouted a location for Marion and the Sheriff.
I did an on-line interview with Lucia Mauro, which is published on the web here.
I continued working on my filmmaker match-up project, and got active on the social networking site Stage 32, through which I have e-met some cool folks in the biz.
Lastly, I had the opportunity to give back a bit, as I had coffee with a new transplant to LA from Chicago, and listened to myself give much of the same advice I got from those who were generous enough to meet with me when I first came to LA, nearly five years ago. Life is a wheel that keeps turning!
I was still finishing up my family time for the first half of the month, but on the drive back across the country from New Hampshire, I stopped in and met with some colleagues from many years ago, including the delightful and talented Mark Alan Gordon, Aaron Levin, and I attended a fight class at Adam Crown's salle d'armes in Ithaca, NY. I also swung by Michigan to shoot the promo/teaser for season two of Dark Age. Current plans are for Season Two to shoot next summer.
I stopped in Chicago for a week, and in between catching up with friends and getting to shoot some pool with some of the amazing women in Babes With Blades, I shot some b-roll for Things I Should Have Said on the Chicago el, met with Lucia Mauro about signing on to her feature Anita: Mother of War, and met with Tony Wolf about the film adaptation of his play Satisfaction.
I also got the chance to see my first Babes With Blades play in almost five years. Bo Thomas and the Case of the Sky Pirates was a terrific steampunk romp with lots of tight fights and terrific acting by the cast of five actors. I was thrilled to see my old company putting up such great work.
And then the dog and I climbed back into the U-Haul, and continued on across the country. Driving a truck over the Rockies is not something I would recommend, but if you have a vehicle less prone to overheating (engine and brakes both!), the drive is truly spectacular. We live in a gorgeous country.
I spent the month of July off the grid at my Dad's house in northern New Hampshire, where I got no cell phone reception in the entire state! In keeping with Murphy's Law, while I was gone I of course was offered a reading, a stage role and a role in a comedy web series, all of which I had to turn down. If you want a job offer, leave town!
This was my last month in LA before heading out to New England for the summer, so in and amongst packing and making travel plans, I tried to squeeze in a few events.
I attended screenings of two of my projects, The Rwanda Blend and Chastity Bites, at Dances With Films, and did some pictures on the step-and-repeat. I also attended two screenings of short films by We Make Movies, in association with the Fringe Film Fest.
The living room reading of Barb Lhota's play The Vanished came together this month, and I got to hear the terrific script come to life with the help of many talented voices. Thanks to Reena Dutt for being my partner in crime on making it happen. Now we need to decide our next steps!
When my colleague John Rocco asked if I could stunt coordinate on his latest short film, I had to decline, but was able to hook him up with the incredibly talented and hard working Talia K. Dillingham instead. She, of course, rocked the house, and I can't wait to see the finished product.
I continued to work with the talented folks at We Make Movies and Coronet Writers Lab, and continued the forward motion on Vicarious Films projects Hunted: Women of Will, The Claim and Use Me Up.
I got to see a production of the play Republic County at Zombie Joe's Underground Theater, which I was thrilled to do, as the play had originally been created for the first Joining Sword & Pen competition held by the theatre company I founded in Chicago, Babes With Blades. Several of the plays that were submitted to that competition have received productions around the country, and it was terrific to be able to see one. Especially in the company of one of the original company members, Kerry McKenna!
I attended a fundraising event for the fabulous Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, an organization that is doing amazing work.
And sadly, I attended my last meeting of my Power Group at The Actor's Network, which has become a web-only organization. Many happy memories with that group of wonderful actors.
Lastly, I bought a digital camcorder (finally!) so that I could record some b-roll for Things I Should Have Said when I am swinging back through Chicago at the end of August. Then I packed for my cross-country drive, and headed out.
I got a chance to see a lot of folks in May that I hadn't seen in a while, going to birthdays and housewarmings and seeing movies together. It was wonderful to connect with friends, and so necessary to one's mental health!
I also attended a couple of great workshops – one at the RED Studios about the Red Camera line and post-production work flow, and one at Mischievous Studios about new media and content models for internet-based entertainment.
I worked quite a bit with the wonderful and talented Reena Dutt this month, both attending a screening of her short 3 Puffs of Gold, and planning a living room reading of Barbara Lhota's play The Vanished.
I also did some talking shop with the wonderful Amber Price and Andi Osho, and ran sound again for One Against Dumb.
I got the chance to volunteer again for the amazing Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, and was inspired to continue the struggle against the relentlessly sexist machine that is currently in place in Hollywood. Viva la Revolution!
Speaking of women Makers in Hollywood, I got a chance to lend my acting talents to the classrooms of the Directing Workshop for Women at AFI. It was terrific to have a chance to watch these novice filmmakers flex their muscles.
I continued to work with the talented folks at We Make Movies and Coronet Writers Lab, and continued the forward motion on Vicarious Films projects The Hunted: Women of Will, The Claim, and Use Me Up.
The major project of the month was the web pilot for Breaking Hollywood, which finished principal photography this month, after adding several shooting days to pick up additional scenes. The project, co-written by Andi Osho and Liam Alex Heffron, is now in post-production in Ireland, although a teaser should be coming soon! My scene was terrific fun to shoot, and from what I've seen of the dailies, it will be a very slick project.
I shot another scene with the fabulous folks at Relentless Filmworks, and auditioned for a web series on the invitation of a friend, although I still haven't returned to submitting myself for new acting projects. Still taking baby steps back into world.
There was forward motion on both The Claim webseries and Hunted: Women of Will this month, as well as continuing progress on Use Me Up postproduction.
I continued to work with the fine folks at We Make Movies, and helped celebrate the 16th successful year of Coronet Writers Lab.
I attended a private screening of the comedy slasher film for which I stunt coordinated, Chastity Bites. What a terrific film! Lotti Pharriss-Knowles, the Producer and writer, promises a public opening soon, and I can't wait!
I also saw Tribes with the fabulous Jeff Still at the Taper, and the fabulous Rae Dawn Hadinger singing her heart out in a comedy parody.
I had a very thought-provoking meeting with Blair Hickey and Brian Wold of Casting About, regarding an idea I have for a webpage that would help creative build teams. There would be an enormous amount of work involved to bring it to fruition, so I need to do more research before I commit to the process, but I certainly left the meeting energized…
To round out my month, I donated blood. Less than 3% of the population donates, so if you are an O negative like me (or even if you aren't) consider contacting your local Red Cross and donating a pint!
Normally, I would bemoan the swift passage of time, but I must admit I am glad the first quarter of this year is over, and I am moving further away from a very difficult time.
On the Production side, I am thrilled to announce that we have achieved picture lock for Use Me Up! Many thanks to our fabulous editor, Lindsay Seyffert for her many hours of hard work to get us here!
We also have a working draft of the Daughter of Marion scene, thanks to the talented Kathleen Cecchin. Next step for that project is to find a suitable location. Anyone have a garden that could pass for the grounds of a 14th Century nunnery in which they wouldn't mind us shooting a fight scene?
We also had a fabulously informative developmental reading of the first draft of The Claim webseries. Many thanks to the talented actresses and actors that donated their time so we could hear where the holes are and what we need to fix.
On the acting side, I did some ADR this month for The Hunted feature film, as well as more ADR for the Dark Age webseries.
I continued to work with the fine folks at Coronet Writers Lab and participated in a developmental reading for a feature written by a couple of very talented women who are members of We Make Movies.
I went to a couple of screenings, and saw my talented friend Brad David Reed in a production of Driving Miss Daisy at the Sierra Madre Playhouse. I had a couple lunches and dinners with colleagues in the industry, and I hosted a fantastic clothing swap for my female friends and acquaintances.
I attended the annual conference of Women, Action & the Media at Santa Monica College, which was amazing and inspiring. I also went to a terrific workshop at the Showbiz Café.
I ran production sound a couple of times for the sketch comedy group One Against Dumb and continue to learn more about that particular corner of filmmaking.
I signed on to co-produce a new web pilot in which I also will be acting, with the working title of Breaking Hollywood. It has a terrific writer and some amazing talent signed on, and despite an exhausting first day of shooting, I am looking forward to finishing production on it next month. Stay tuned for more details as the piece progresses.
And praise be to all that's holy, I finished my taxes.
I started to dip my toes back into the biz this month, after taking a bit of a break to handle family affairs and of course grieve for my mother's passing. I am discovering how profound the loss of a parent can be, and it humbles me.
Nonetheless, I started the month off with a staged reading of "Do Unto Others" by Tom Lazarus at Ensemble Studio Theatre, a rip-roaring piece about a very dysfunctional family.
I shot another scene for the terrific folks over at Relentless Filmworks, and started to return to both We Make Movies and Coronet Writers Lab meetings.
I got the post-production process restarted on both Use Me Up and Cast Out, as well as meeting with writers on a couple other shorts that are currently in pre-production. I started attending meetings for a new sketch comedy group "One Against Dumb" and will do some crew work for them in exchange for one-on-one instruction in sound equipment and production sound. The barter system is alive and well in Hollywood!
Lastly, I signed on to produce a web pilot with a colleague, and will act in it as well. Meetings began in earnest for the new project, which we hope will shoot in late March/early April.
Slowly, the machine creaks to a start again, and begins to pick up steam!
The new year began slowly for me, but I managed to fit in enough to keep me busy. I watched a seemingly endless collection of movies in preparation for voting in both the SAG Awards, and the Spirit Awards for independent film.
I also shot a short for AFI, and had a rehearsal for a reading that will be part of EST's Winterfest staged reading series.
I had a couple of networking lunches, and got to substitute teach a stage combat class down at USC. That was just about all I could handle in January!
I spent December finishing up both of my classes at LACC, and finishing the shooting of The Psych Sessions for Lesbian Cops. I also managed to squeeze in my first mixer with Women, Action & the Media, and met a fantastic group of women there.
Unfortunately, my holiday season was not a joyful one, as I ended the year nursing my Mother through what turned out to be the final days of her battle with cancer. She was the one from whom I got my love of the arts and my talent in it, and she will be sorely, sorely missed.
May 2013 bring a better year to us all.
Hard to believe the year is almost over! This month started a brief hiatus from the acting/producing biz as I welcomed an extended visit for my Mom, who is receiving cancer treatment at UCLA.
Still, classes continued at LACC, and found out that I got an "A" on both my first test and my first project. I couldn't help the glow of pride that my hard work is paying off!
I did manage to squeeze in another rehearsal and the first shooting day of Lesbian Cops "The Psych Sessions." I helped produce and briefly appeared on screen for a short comedic piece called fART that will hit the internet some time in the new year.
I also volunteered for a symposium held by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, which was an amazing experience, and I got to be among the first to hear the remarkable results of new research by the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism. Powerful stuff!
I did some ADR later in the month for the Dark Age webseries, as well as for fART.
I also managed to keep The Claim webseries moving forward. We are hoping to have a full first draft by the end of the calendar year.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Classes at LACC really started to heat up this month, and I shot my second project, a chase scene. Great fun working with Fred Ochs, Whit Spurgeon and Doris Martin! I also took a workshop at Film Independent to continue broadening my knowledge, and continued post-production on Use Me Up.
I continued to work with the good folks at Coronet Writers Lab, EST's Sunday Best and We Make Movies, and had a rehearsal for a series of web shorts that will be shot next month under the Lesbian Cops banner.
I made it to several screenings and many brunches and parties this month, including another women in the industry brunch that I hosted, my first mixer with the NextGenFemmes, and of course, my annual birthday billiards party at Fantasia.
I started the month off on a great foot, by shooting "Cast Out," a short fantasy/horror scene that will need a lot of post-production FX. Look for that hitting the Vicarious Films Youtube channel some time next year.
I also spent five days fighting and having a blast on the set of The Hunted feature. An amazing experience that included me fighting a group of vampires while wearing an evening gown, and seeing up close and personal my first "burn" (stunt where someone is lit on fire). Everyone worked incredibly hard and I can't wait to see the results.
My first month of classes at LACC passed, and they are terrific! I am learning exactly what I had been wanting to learn. I even completed my first project, a camera exercise. Look Ma, I can pan!
I continued to work with the good folks at Coronet Writers Lab, EST's Sunday Best and We Make Movies. I also worked on two projects for the Producer's Guild 48 hour film challenge, one as crew and one as an actor, dashing between sets as the night progressed.
I attended the Lady Filmmaker's Fest, saw a terrific play by Jamie Pachino, and attended the first screening of Stephanie Keefer's short film Moving On.
I fit in several networking lunches and dinners, and hosted a meeting of a fabulous bunch of industry women.
Lastly, I was lucky enough to receive an invitation to the Fringe season opening party at the Bad Robot studios. The drinks were strong and the company was delightful!
I got to do some more fighting this month, with rehearsals for The Hunted movie, as well as helping out a friend with her choreography for 1HenryVI. Always fun to sling steel!
I shot another scene with the fabulous Relentless Filmworks, and participated in the 48 Hour Film Project – as a sound mixer/boom op! It was a great learning experience for me, and I'd like to do it again.
I continued to work with the good folks at Coronet Writers Lab, EST's Sunday Best and We Make Movies. In fact, I had a one-act stage play read at We Make Movies to get feedback on ideas on how to turn it into a screenplay, and the feedback was very positive. So another project gets added to the list!
And speaking of We Make Movies, I have officially joined their team as their diversity coordinator. I will be creating the position as I fill it, so there is no job description yet, but I am looking forward to expanding the range of voices heard in our developmental readings.
I attended a couple of plays, one by fellow We Make Movies member, Chad Kukahiko, and the other some free Shakespeare in Griffith Park.
I continued post-production for "Use Me Up," and found a terrific composer for the short. I also (finally!) submitted "The Hunted - Women of Will" to a couple of film festivals here in town. Hoping to do more of that, as my budget allows.
I had some developmental meetings for all these projects I am itching to produce, and am moving them along, slowly but surely. I also jumped into pre-production in earnest for "Cast Out," as we set a shooting date of September 1st for the scene.
I registered for and began two classes at LACC, both of which look to be exactly what I am missing in my knowledge of filmmaking. I am thrilled to be learning, and very highly recommend the City Colleges, both for quality and affordability!
Perhaps the most exciting development of the month is I got the paperwork filed for the first steps of forming my production company, Vicarious Productions. Once the internet resources/links for that are set up, I will share them here!
I flew back to LA from Chicago on the 3rd, and hit the ground running. I shot one short film and stunt coordinated another. I did a workshop reading of the next draft of Leslie Knauer's wonderful play, as well as working with EST at their Sunday Best workshop.
I went to a belated wrap party for "The Interview" and a fantastic scotch tasting at Dreamworks Studios.
I shot a quick video wishing Happy Birthday to the theatre company I started in 1997, Babes With Blades, which is now celebrating their 15th anniversary. I can't say how thrilled I am that they are still going strong!
I met several times with the editor for "Use Me Up," looking at the rough cut, and starting the long process of working towards picture lock. The footage looks terrific, and I'm very excited to watch it come together.
I also wrote a couple of short sci-fi scenes and sent them off to a director-cinematographer friend to see if he would be interested in shooting them with me. He was, and we began pre-production for a Supernatural-style scene we are calling "Cast Out." Location scouted, and most of the equipment has been secured.
I applied to the International Academy of Film and Television, as well as a full scholarship to the program through We Make Movies. I heard at the end of the month that I had been accepted to the program, but unfortunately did not win the scholarship, and so had to turn down the offer to attend. I am instead looking into classes at Los Angeles City College, which has an excellent reputation, and where I can take a class or two individually to get the learning for which I am yearning.
Lastly, I had a chance again to attend San Diego Comic-Con, and wow, was that fun! It was overcrowded and overwhelming as usual, although it seems to get worse each year. I went for the "minority" con experience this year, attending only panels that were on or about women, minorities and LBGTQ representations in comics and television/movies. I took a lot of notes and am hoping to write up a summary of my thoughts and findings. In all my copious free time, of course.;)
I spent the majority of June prepping for and then shooting a fabulous webseries called Dark Age in the wilds of Michigan. Despite the most intense heat wave in a century, and lots of shooting either outdoors or in a non air-conditioned barn (lots of water and Gatorade!), it was an enormous amount of fun. Got to work on an exceptional script, with a talented team. The full first season should hit the web in September – stay tuned for details!
Got some terrific news while I was there – I was offered the role of Margaret in The Hunted feature film! It's a sword-fighting, vampire hunting soccer Mom role. Should be an enormous amount of fun. It shoots in September, so stay tuned for details on that as well.
I managed to squeeze in a couple of workshop meetings withCoronet Writers Lab, saw a friend in an excellent production of "Woman In Mind," rehearsed for a workshop reading, and organized a highly successful clothing swap. Quite a month!
I started the merry month of May off by volunteering for a fundraising event for the The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. It was a great event, well attended and organized. I was glad to be able to contribute to this wonderful organization.
Shot a short film co-written and directed by Whit Spurgeon called "The Interview," where I got to chew some scenery. I also shot another scene for the ever-wonderful Relentless Filmworks, as well as doing ADR for "The Split."
It was a month of screenings – I attended the 2011 slate of offerings from AFI's Directing Workshop for Women, as well as two short films in which I appeared: "Helen," and "The Split." Finally, I went to a promotional screening for "Magic City" and got to chat with one of the stars, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who couldn't have been more wonderful and down to earth.
Although Coronet Writers Lab took the month off, I continued to work with We Make Movies, and took part in a workshop performance of a spec script by Dan Gorski at IO West.
I met with two possible editors for "Use Me Up" and hired one, and I couldn't have been happier to hand over to her the hard drive with all the footage. We are now officially in post-production!
I attended a birthday roast for John Knowles, the director of "Chastity Bites," as well as, sadly, the going-away party for Michael Coady, who is headed back to Canada (hopefully not permanently).
Lastly, I attended an open house at the International Academy of Film and Television, to find out more about their training programs. I have my eye on one of them…
What a month! The most exciting news is, of course, that we completed production for "Use Me Up," on which I served as Director and co-Producer. It was an enormous task, and the days spent on set were hectic and overwhelming, but I couldn't be prouder of my team and all we accomplished! Stay tuned for updates as we enter the post-production phase.
Much of the month was spent prepping for the shoot, with location meetings and production meetings and rehearsals with cast. Our fundraising campaign on Indiegogo finished about a week before we shot, and although we didn't reach our goal, we still raised enough to cover production costs. Phew!
I barely managed to squeeze in a few meetings with theCoronet Writers Lab, a few networking dinners with colleagues, and let's not forget – finishing and turning in my taxes!
However, once production was wrapped and I'd caught up on sleep, I treated myself to a trip to the Renaissance Faire.
Tamar Kummel and I continued our pre-production planning for "Use Me Up" until she flew back to NYC mid-month. I am looking forward to her return mid-April, shortly before we are scheduled to shoot!
I auditioned for a feature film for a role that sword fights, so I am keeping my fingers crossed for that!
I organized another meeting of the Budding Producers group, and had a story meeting with the new writer for Hunted: Women of Will, as well as attending a producer's luncheon with guest Kathryn Dean.
I continued working with the Coronet Writers Lab and We Make Movies folks, and did another private script reading for the talented Heather Gornall.
I saw some live theatre as well this month – The Seagull and a new play titled Hoodoo Love.
All that and several networking lunches rounded out my March.
A leap year, and I needed that extra day this month!
My producing partner and writer of the short film "Use Me Up" Tamar Kummel came back from NYC, and the two of us put our heads together in pre-production. Scouting locations, working on budgets, submitting SAG paperwork, and posting and planning auditions took a good chunk of this month. But we are both incredibly excited about shooting a film deliberately from the Female Gaze, and assembling an all-female crew to staff the project. More details about the project are on our Indiegogo page here, and if you are inclined, we'd appreciate if you "Liked" our Facebook page here!
And special thanks to Michael Merritt for his help in editing our promo video for the Indiegogo page!
I kept up my acting this month as well, shooting another short with the talented Blake Heiss called "The Split," and a student film at AFI called "Homestead."
I continued working with the Coronet Writers Lab and We Make Movies folks, and Ensemble Studio Theater's Sunday Best. I also did a private reading of a new script by Heather Gornall, a very talented writer.
I organized another meeting of the Budding Producer's group, and met with my Tribe gals, as well as meeting a potential new writer for theHunted: Women of Will series.
I attended Victoria Burrow's Star Paws Rescue fundraiser, a presentation of Cinematographers' work at Film Independent, and a web seminar by Peter Hyoguchi at the Actor's Comedy Studio.
Finally, I attended via Skype the table read for "Dark Age," the webseries I am shooting in the Chicago area in June. Not as satisfying as being there in person, but still pretty amazing what is possible through technology!
After setting my goals for 2012, with fervent hopes that we all survive beyond the end of the Mayan calendar, I dove right in.
I pitched in as atmosphere in We Make Movies' sponsored production of "Silent Night in Muncie," starring a member of my Actor's Network Power Group, Michael Coady, as well as featuring my colleague Whit Spurgeon. When worlds collide! I also was called in to do some pickup shooting on "Destiny White," now retitled "One Small Step."
I continued to work on script development with Coronet Writers Lab and We Make Movies, as well as volunteering my services for a private workshop reading of a new play by Leslie Knauer.
I did a lot of catching up after the holidays, meeting with friends and colleagues, and making plans together.
Found myself in the audience quite a bit this month as well, attending screenings of Stephanie Keefer's hilarious comedy, "A Girl, a Guy, a Space Helmet," Whit Spurgeon's "One Sunday Afternoon," and many of the films nominated for Film Independent's Spirit Awards in preparation for casting my votes!
So hard to believe 2011 is over! The year flew by, it seems. But looking back over the monthly entries on this page, I'm pretty satisfied I made the most of it!
This month I was on set more days than not, which was amazing. I shot an independent short, and then was called in for reshoots on both a student film from earlier in the year, and another short. Plus I was privileged to be a cast member of the final episode of the 52 Films 52 Weeks project.
I squeezed in a meeting with the wonderful folks at Coronet Lab, and a holiday party or two, but the rest of the month was consumed with prep work and shooting on "Chastity Bites." I auditioned and hired two fabulous stunt doubles for the heroine (Allison Scagliotti) and villainess (Louise Griffiths) for their climactic fight, then choreographed said fight, all before stepping on set. That final week of filming was hectic and wonderful, and what a fabulous team the writer/producer Lotti Pharriss Knowles and director John Knowles assembled! I can't wait until I can tell you that it is available for viewing!
What an amazing year. Best wishes to you all for happy holidays, and here's looking forward to a great 2012 for all of us!
Despite being a short month for me (I spent a week of it in Chicago for a wedding, and then there was Thanksgiving…), it was a game-changer for me.
I made the decision to postpone the shooting of "Use Me Up" from before Thanksgiving to late winter/early spring of next year. It came down to a choice between doing it quickly, or doing it well, and I am too much of a perfectionist with my work to ever be satisfied with doing something shoddy. My co-Producer Tamar Kummel and I chose instead to shoot a promo video that will go up on Indiegogo in early January, to fundraise for the short so that we can make it well. More to follow on the progress of that.
However, as soon as the space reserved for shooting "Use Me Up" opened up, something stepped in to fill it – I was offered the position of Stunt Coordinator for the horror feature "Chastity Bites." As a SAG feature, I was required to join the Guild myself in order to accept the position, which I decided to do. So the landscape of the rest of my year changed dramatically!
Despite the feature, I did manage to continue some of my regular pursuits. I had the script of "Use Me Up" read at a meeting of We Make Movies and got some wonderful feedback.
I shot a scene for the ever-fabulous Relentless Filmworks, and auditioned for and was cast in an independent short, to be shot on a camera designed by the producer and director.
I auditioned for and was offered the role in a Chapman student film, but was unable to work around my hefty conflicts to do the project, so I had to turn it down. Very sad, as I love working with the Chapman folks!
I auditioned for an amazing organization called Comediva, and although I didn't get the role, I hope to get the chance to work with them in the future!
I managed to organize another meeting of the fabulous Hollywood Happy Hour Budding Producers group, and once again was impressed with the wealth of experience and knowledge folks shared to help each other achieve their goals.
I continued to work with the folks at Coronet Lab and EST's Sunday Best, and squeezed in not only a few networking events, but also took in a production of "The Artificial Jungle" at Buzzworks Theater.
While I was in Chicago, I got to support the Babes With Blades at their karaoke fundraiser, and met with the talented writer, Andrew Ludington, to talk about both "The Claim" and another web series he is developing.
Lastly, before the month was out I joined SAG, and began work on "Chastity Bites."
Heading into the final quarter of the year, and the beginning of holiday season!
I had the opportunity to shoot an indie short called "Here Today." Although it was two nights of overnight shooting, I still couldn't have asked for an easier shoot – the location was at Moore's Delicatessen a block from my house! That's a commute I can get behind!
I also shot my first industrial, playing an office worker with a dubious response to conflict with her boss. Great fun, and a great team made up of members of the Notice of Filming group.
I did some ADR for the Chapman film "Real American Heroes," and the cut of the scene looks hilarious. I can't wait to see this one on the big screen!
I participated in a table read for Jon Lewis' feature "2013," a fun and touching story about a young Latina of Mayan descent who is very disappointed when the world doesn't end on December 21st.
I got a chance to do some sword slinging, assisting Edgar Landa on creating a fight for USC's production of Dangerous Liaisons. Always fun to have a sword in my hand again.
I continued working with the development groups We Make Movies, Coronet Lab and EST's Sunday Best.
I interviewed and found a Cinematographer for "Use Me Up."
I did some networking lunches and dinners, attended a premiere of the AFI student film "Firelight," and finally had the opportunity to volunteer for an event sponsored by The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. I had a wonderful time, and got to meet the lovely Geena Davis herself.
I went to a viewing party of the documentary "Miss Representation" sponsored by the lovely and talented Tamar Kummel, and enjoyed the film just as much the second time. Last but not least, I spent a fabulous four days at the LA Femme Film Festival. I saw an array of amazing works, and got to meet a group of wonderful, talented, motivated women with whom I hope I have the chance to work some day! Next year, I hope to have an entry in the Festival myself!
I took a little over a week out of town this month to visit New England, and celebrate my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. Congratulations, Mom and Dad!
I did get in a little bit of time in front of the camera, assisting a colleague with creating some footage for his directing reel. I also had two auditions, one of which was conducted via Skype – a first for me - and I did some ADR for the PSA I shot last month.
I donated my time and talents to several developmental readings for colleagues this month, as well as attending my regular Coronet Lab writer's group sessions.
I attended the launch party for The Casting Office, a terrifically funny project by Relentless Filmworks, and did some more lunching and networking with writers, directors and fellow actors.
I attended a preview production of The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Diety, courtesy of the fight choreographer for the production, David Woolley. An excellent show, and highly recommended. See it if you can!
On the producing front, I met again with the writer for The Hunted - Women of Will, and we tossed around some very exciting ideas. I also did some final location scouting for Use Me Up, and then locked down our locations. I ran the first few draft episodes of The Claim by our science adviser to assure that we are staying in the realm of hard scifi. I also met with the writer of Black Agnes as she put the finishing touches on our now locked script!
Lastly, I organized another meeting of the HHH Budding Producers Group, and again was amazed what a small group of smart and ambitious people pooling their knowledge can accomplish. We rise to lift.
Good heavens, before you know it, it will be the holidays. This year is flying by!
This month I shot two short films and one PSA for marriage equality. Ladies and gentlemen, I can now say I was in a film with Erik Estrada. I'm not in the same scene as he, but we bookend the film, he and I. I have arrived!
I had two auditions, and continued to work with the Coronet Lab writer's group, Ensemble Studio Theatre's Sunday Best script development group, and We Make Movies' reading night.
I stepped out quite a bit this month, attending the ITVfest screening of The Best Friend and Awkward Embraces, two wonderful, woman-centered web series I highly recommend. I also took in Bellflower, executive produced by my power group fellow Byron Yee, and the stunning documentary Miss Representation. Run, don't walk to catch these movies wherever you can. I also caught the closing night performance of a Lacy Altwine's production of "Othello."
Then there were some marvelous networking parties and lunches, because it is L.A. after all. One of these was a terrific think tank of creative women, brought together to talk about what we all would like to see when we watch television. Thank you Lisa Lennox for making that happen!
On the producing end, I had a terrific meeting with the writer of The Hunted - Women of Will to brainstorm ideas for our first full season. I did some location scouting for Use Me Up, and pow-wowed with the writer of Black Agnes.
I also organized the second meeting of the Hollywood Happy Hour Budding Producer's Group, which was even more exciting and inspiring than the first.
Lastly, I finally connected with The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, and hopefully will have the opportunity to volunteer for them in the future! Very exciting!
Did a bit of battery recharging this month, and celebrated our country's independence courtesy of the wonderful Deb Lascelles and the equally wonderful Ken Metz.
Nonetheless, I kept the wheels turning with five auditions, one callback and two bookings.
I spent one day/evening on set, shooting with the lovely and talented Jean Lupien on her short film "Rock and Romance."
I continued to work with the Coronet Lab writer's group,Ensemble Studio Theatre's Sunday Best script development group, and We Make Movies' reading night, as well as squeezing in a rehearsal for "Back to Virtuality."
I also assembled a group of budding producers that I (virtually) met on the Hollywood Happy Hour Yahoo group and we had our first meeting to share information and assist each other in growing as producers. The Actor's Key donated a meeting room for us, and it was a terrific meeting, full of great information! We are meeting again in July somewhere in the West Hollywood area.
I also attended another Screenplay Lab mixer in Beverly Hills, and supported my colleague Fred Ochs in a live theatre production of "Echoes."
On the producing front, we made baby steps forward on all of my developing projects: we now have a final shooting script for "Use Me Up" and we have a final outline for the entire 14 episodes of "The Claim." Slowly but surely, we will make it happen!
I rounded out my "slow" month with a slew of wonderful lunches and brunches with colleagues!
Well, I'm officially a Producer now! The webisode for The Hunted's YouTube contest was rehearsed, shot, edited and posted in time for the contest deadline of June 17th. You can watch it on line here:
The Hunted - Women of Will
We had an amazing time shooting, and what a terrific group of people to work with! I couldn't have wished for a better first project – and as the cherry on top, we won third place in the contest! The episode was screened as part of the winning group at Combat Con in Las Vegas at the end of June.
I also wrapped up my Assistant Fight Choreographer gig at The Geffen when "Superior Donuts" opened. An amazing fight – Ned Mochel's design was truly innovative and brutal and fun by turns. It was an honor to have worked on the production.
I also had the honor of acting in Whit Spurgeon's first producing project, a short called "Babysitting." It should post on Funny or Die before too much longer. So thrilled to be a part of a group of talented people making their own work.
On that same theme, I helped fellow actor and friend Fred Ochs out with his first producing project, a script he wrote called "Scars," as both an actress and stunt coordinator. The scene I was in took place in the early 60's, so I got to do vintage wardrobe, hair and makeup. It's always fun to dress up!
I was cast in another short called "Back to Virtuality," which shoots in early August.
While I was in Chicago for a friend's wedding, I got a chance to sit down with Andrew Ludington, one of the writers on "The Claim," and he also told me about another web series he is writing with a colleague, and which they hope to shoot in Michigan. There was definitely a theme to June – taking advantage of new technologies to make our own work. More of that to come, I hope!
I continued to work with the "We Make Movies" group, and attended the first screening of the projects that has come out of the membership. Very impressive work.
I shot another scene with the talented folks at Relentless Filmworks, and continued to work with Coronet Lab on developing scripts.
Lastly, I managed to squeeze in some dinners with colleagues, and caught the closing night of "5th of July" to see Jen Albert's wonderful performance.
This month was all about fight stuff! After not having a chance to work on a stunt-fighting project for many moons, I was juggling three at a time in May.
First, I had the honor to be the Assistant Fight Choreographer for The Geffen's production of "Superior Donuts" by Tracy Letts. Ned Mochel, a colleague and friend from Chicago, enlisted me to assist him on choreographing the climactic fight for the play, and despite the long commute to The Geffen, sometimes twice in one day, it was a wonderful experience!
Second, I got a chance to cross swords with Edgar Landa, the stage combat instructor at USC, who was working out the choreography for a production of "Romeo and Juliet" at Shakespeare & Co. We hadn't had a chance to play before, and two solid days of rapier and dagger were so very good for my soul, I am so thankful he called me to join him.
Lastly, the script came together for our Hunted webisode, entitled "Women of Will," and so I spent several days working out the melee and spotlight fights for nine sword-slinging women. I couldn't have been happier!
Despite such all-consuming projects, I managed to squeeze in a few more things in May. I finally visited this region's Renaissance Fair, in search of weapons suppliers and leather workers. The selection isn't nearly as large as I had at the Bristol Renaissance Fair outside of Chicago, but I managed to bring home a few treasures nonetheless.
I continued to meet with the Coronet Lab group and Ensemble Studio Theatre's Sunday Best, as well as participating in two feature film table reads.
I went to a mixer with a new networking group called Screenplay Lab at a lovely place in Beverly Hills, and had some great conversation.
I shot a quick scene with the talented folks at Relentless Filmworks.
I got to be a theatre consumer, attending performances of "Just the Tip" at Theatre of Note, and "Chaos Theory" at Stillspeaking Theatre.
I rounded out the month by attending my first Q&A at "Breaking into Hollywood," a networking group of writers and filmmakers, the V.P. of Alternative Programming at the SyFy Channel.
During April, I worked on several shorts, both in front of and behind the camera. It is such a pleasure to continue educating myself about the craft of filmmaking!
I got to shoot a leading role in "Helen: A Great Old Broad" up at CSU Northridge, opposite the lovely and talented Helen Siff. I also was in one of the "52 Films in 52 Weeks" shoots, heading up into the Angeles National Forest to shoot "Gustavo the Great," which is already up on their website.
Behind the camera, I did Wardrobe and 2nd Assistant Camera duties for Notice of Filming's next project, "Driven." I am now a professional at clapping that slate.
I auditioned for the Young Playwright's Festival at The Blank Theatre again this year, and also auditioned for an independent short called "No Attachments." I was cast in the short, but right before shooting they had to put the project on hold, so I am looking forward to picking that up again the future.
I had a story meeting with our wonderful writer for our Hunted webisode, Robyn Heller, and we are on track for putting together an entry for the latest round of The Hunted's YouTube contest. Our entry will focus on an all-female theatre company who's rehearsal is interrupted by a vampire. It promises to be great fun.
I attended two wonderful workshops, a conference called "Women in Focus" down at Chapman University, and a Q&A sponsored by Reel Women about crowdfunding. Both informative and inspiring events.
I had a great lunch (very L.A., I know) with a fellow combat person, as well as re-connecting with some other colleagues in the industry over meals. I understand now why this is the model for meeting here in L.A. – with the city being so spread out, it is actually the best way to re-connect with people that you otherwise might not see for months on end. Breaking bread with someone is an old idea, and I have come around to see its merits.
I continued to work with the Coronet Lab development group on Monday nights, and squeezed in a casting director workshop with the kind and generous Amy Reece.
A quarter of the year gone already! How does that happen???
Well, time flies when you are having fun, so no wonder my year is whizzing by.
This month I shot "Baker's Dozen," a short for a compilation of horror shorts being produced by Bloody Disgusting Films. We don't have a release date yet for the DVD, but I will be sure to pass that along when I know. The production team was made up of some very talented folks at Titmouse, an animation house. I can't wait to see the final product, once they add their magic!
I also shot a small supporting role for Blake Heiss in his thesis film "Pawn" down at Chapman -- I had previously worked with him on the hilarious "Ghost Patrol."
Speaking of Chapman, I attended the screening of another thesis film in which I had a lead, "Riley" directed by Alec Constabile, a young man to watch!
I managed to squeeze in one audition, and volunteered for an evening at the Beverly Hills Film Festival for the second year in a row. They are good people.
In my adventures behind the camera, we finished the "Circles" shoot, and I sat in on the first editing meeting for the short. I attached a writer to our "Hunted" episode, had a terrific meeting with the creator of "The Claim" to hammer out story lines, and got the first draft of "Black Agnes" from the fantastic Jasmine Mohamed.
I also was invited to join the Notice of Filming ensemble, a group of actors/directors/jacks & jills of all trades who have come together to create five short films this calendar year. They have already shot their first short, and are in pre-production for the second. A smart and driven group of people with whom I am very much looking forward to working!
I attended my first event at the Paley Center: a panel about my favorite television show, Supernatural. It was a lively event, and the theater in which it is held is utterly gorgeous!
My two German Shepherds also got on camera for the first time, shooting a spec commercial. I can't wait to see the footage!
I finally got back to working with the Coronet Lab, after more than a month's absence, attended a play in support of local theatre, and began work with the amazingly accomplished Ned Mochel on the fights for the upcoming "Superior Donuts" at the Geffen.
Despite record rainfall (is the drought officially over yet?) and snowfall in Burbank for the 1st time in over 40 years (I'm beginning to believe those stories about the Mayan calendar), I managed to have a pretty productive month!
The big news is that I shot my first role in a pilot -- during pilot season and everything. I did a co-star role in the Showtime pilot "House of Lies" starring Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell. It was also my first AFTRA gig. Don't know if I'll make the final cut, but it was an honor to work on the project nonetheless!
I am also happy to have been cast in a short film called "Baker's Dozen," which will be part of a DVD release of short films by Bloody Disgusting Films. More to follow on that next month.
I worked with the very talented John Rocco down at Chapman University on his thesis film, "Just Say No," a zombie spoof of Reefer Madness. I coordinated the stunts and violence for his actors, as well as having my entrails eaten as part of the cast. I love a good zombie fest!
I also took part in a home-grown 48-hour film festival organized by the talented and energetic Sue Gisser. I had a lead role in one of the films and assisted with another. It was a crazy two days, but enormous fun, and a testament to the idea that if you want to make some movies, there is really nothing stopping you!
I got a chance to work with the wonderful writer Steven Serpas on his three-woman play "Andrea Lane." We did a public reading of it at the Edendale Grill as part of Mad Scene Theatre Company's reading series. There, I finally met in person fellow Chicagoan Jamie Pachino, a delightful woman and wonderful writer in her own right.
I attended another "We Make Movies" meeting, and continue to be impressed with the energy and spirit of this group. Check them out!
I increased my behind-the-camera know-how by working with director and producer Stephanie Keefer on her short film "Circles" as script supervisor. An amazing learning experience, and I thank her for the opportunity!
I also continued work on my own producing projects, the sci-fi thriller "The Claim," the woman warrior short "Black Agnes," and an episode of Bob Chapin's long-running web series "The Hunted." All of these are baby-stepping their way forward!
I rounded out the month by attending a performance of Town Street Theatre's short play festival to support my fellow thespian Whit Spurgeon, and attended a c.d. workshop with the wonderful Dean Fronk.
Happy New Year everyone! Here's wishing it brings us all good things in abundance!
I jumped right in to rehearsals for The Blank Theatre's Living Room Series. The staged reading was of "Pilgrimage" by Michael Richey, directed by the lovely and talented Sabrina Lloyd. We performed it on January 10th, with the playwright in attendance. By all accounts, it went very well, and I hope the play sees a full production soon!
On the film side, I did some pick-ups for the AFI film "Firelight," where I got to play my first dead body. A great technical challenge! I also did some ADR work for "Riley," a Chapman thesis film I shot in September.
I had one audition for an independent short, but kept my reading skills sharp by continuing to work with the Coronet Lab group, Ensemble Studio Theatre's Sunday Best, and doing a private developmental reading for the extremely talented Mark Glinski. I also checked out another development group called "We Make Movies," which is a group of actors and writers who do just that -- make their own work. They meet about once a month, and I will definitely be back next time, as the material they presented that night was very impressive!
While doing my goal setting for the new year, I decided 2011 will be my Year of Producing -- I want to spend some time this year learning what I need to know to be able to produce my own work, and put together projects about which I am passionate. To that end, I attended a short film case study at Film Independent, had a phone meeting with the brilliant Curtis Krick about kick-starting our neglected webseries, and held my first meeting of what I am currently calling "The Tribe," a group of fabulous women that are committed and passionate and with whom I know I want to work. I don't know yet what will come of it, but I feel mighty forces gathering!
Ah, the holidays! I managed to get out of town to visit family in Vermont for Christmas, and wound up having my stay extended an extra day courtesy of a blizzard that shut down the airports! Such is winter in New England!
I did manage to squeeze in some work around my holiday shopping: I shot two scenes with the folks at Relentless Filmworks, a short comedic film called "But I--" which was written by the talented Jon Lewis, and a student film called "Something Wicked."
I continued to be selective about my submissions, and so had four auditions, one of which was for an indie TV pilot.
I participated in another meeting of the Harvardwood script development group, and also did a private developmental reading for a colleague's webseries.
I attended a screening of a webseries I shot at USC, and also supported local theatre by attending a production of "War" at Theatre Banshee.
I hit a couple of holiday parties, one at my agency, Pacific West Artists, and another at The Actors Network.
Finally, we had our first read through of "Pilgrimage," another Blank Theater Living Room Series script I am reading, which will be going up January 10th.
I hope everyone's holidays were merry and bright!
The month of giving thanks! Well, I had four shooting days to be thankful for: 2 on a webseries, one on an independent short film, and one on an AFI student thesis film.
This month I was also thankful for four different groups of friends visiting town, so I got a chance to see some familiar faces that I haven't seen in far too long.
I also was gifted with playing a role in a staged reading as part of The Blank Theatre's Living Room Series. It went up on Monday night, November 15th after several rehearsals and a quick tech. The playwright Elaine Madsen was in the audience and was by all accounts delighted, and of course it was a chance to work with the wonderful director Barbara Bain again. (She directed me in the Young Playwright's Festival this summer).
I also performed in Ensemble Studio Theatre's reading of Tom Cook's wonderful play "Guests of the Sultan," on the afternoon of November 7th. In addition, I volunteered for several shifts of other readings, during the two-week stretch of the "fESTivity" performances.
I cut way back on submissions, as I needed to leave myself some time to prepare for the holidays, so I only had three auditions and one callback, all for indie projects.
I also made the drive down to Orange to do some ADR work on the Chapman student film I shot the month before, and shot a stand-alone scene for the terrific guys at Relentless Filmworks.
I continued to work with my Monday night development group Coronet Lab, E.S.T.'s Sunday Best, and also guested in one night with a Thursday night group of Harvard grad screenwriters. Met a screenwriter there who is a self-described geek and was writing a fantasy piece. I sure grabbed his card quickly, and will need to stay in touch with that kindred spirit!
Lastly, I was back on call for extra work this month, so I haunted the background of C.S.I., The Middle, and the new series Harry's Law.
My birthday month, and I got the gift of shooting another Chapman student film, as well as an independent short with a Biola film student.
The best birthday present I could have gotten, however, was the one I got within a few days of my birthday, which was my third and final voucher from background work to receive SAG eligibility. This means I am in a position now where I can join the Union at any time. I can also audition for Union work, which makes my agent very happy!
I spent several days at the L.A. Femme Film Festival as the guest of the wonderful Stephanie Keefer, who had a film screened in the Festival. It was a terrific opportunity to see some wonderful work by women filmmakers, and I met some great women there. I also got a chance to attend a panel of women writers of sci-fi/fantasy, and got to reconnect with the talented and vivacious Gillian Horvath, who is currently on the writing team for "Sanctuary," a series with several kick-ass female characters. The whole weekend energized me and gave me so much hope!
I continued to work with the Coronet Lab playwright workshop on Monday nights, as well as Ensemble Studio Theatre's Sunday Best group. In addition, I was asked to perform in a reading for EST's reading series "fESTivity," which will happen in November.
Speaking of being cast in things, I also got invited to join the cast of one of The Blank Theatre's Monday night series of staged readings, called The Living Room Series. The play will be "Dear Murderess" by Elaine Madsen. Performance night is November 15th!
I got to support friend Sabrina Lloyd by attending a performance of the first show she has directed here in Los Angeles, called "The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler." Great work Sabrina and cast!
I had another couple of great lunches with terrific women, which always makes me happy.
Lastly, I returned to background work this month, and in addition to working on "Castle," where I got that fabulous final union voucher, I also worked on "The Whole Truth," "Shameless," "The Cape," and the Christmas episode of "Raising Hope."
Wow, what a month! I had nine shooting days in September, and for one of those days, I actually shot two different projects, one in the morning and one at night! I shot an episode of a reenactment series called "I'm Alive" for Animal Planet, a spec commercial with the talented Jon Lewis, a Chapman thesis film, and had my picture wrap on an independent web series. Hopefully you'll be seeing clips of all of these projects on my website soon!
I got a chance to attend a screening of one of the films I had completed, entitled "Comic Book Boy," at a theatre on the Warner Brothers lot. It is still slightly surreal to see myself on the big screen, but I was very impressed with the finished product. Hopefully I'll get a copy of the DVD soon, so I can share some clips.
All of this shooting, and the attendant rehearsals that came before it, left little time for auditioning for new work, but I did manage to squeeze in three auditions nonetheless.
I also managed to keep up with my developmental workshops, both Coronet Lab and the Sunday Best group at Ensemble Studio Theatre. In addition, I lent my talents to a couple of private developmental readings, one for a feature film, and one for a television pilot.
I also met with quite a few people this month, some new, some returning favorites. I got a chance to re-connect with the funny and fabulous Carla Delaney and some of her friends, and had a terrific hours-long phone conversation with new accomplice Stephanie Keefer. Also met a terrific director Ilona Perry, with whom I know I will do great things one day. Slowly but surely, I am starting to find my tribe, and that's an amazing and heartening thing. I also was lucky enough to have dinner with producer extraordinaire Jimmy Williams and his lovely wife. Don't know if we'll do great things together in the future, but I'm hoping!
I attended a great seminar on producing your own webseries, and met there the terrific Reena Dutt and Jennifer Weaver, creators and stars of the webseries "The Real Girl's Guide to Everything Else." I highly recommend you google it and watch the first season. Fun and feminist, it's a great time and has been getting raves.
A casting director workshop with Eric Soliere and a little work on my reel rounded out the month!
The first week of August was the tech, dress, opening and closing week for "The Evolution of Love," the 10-minute play festival at Stillspeaking Theatre. Phew! It was an enormous amount of work all around, but it came together, as it always does, and turned out to be a delightful weekend. I had such an amazing time doing these shows! Hectic, yes. Thought I might throw up a couple of times, yes. But when all was said and done, a terrific experience!
I also managed to be a part of two different 48-hour Film Project teams, and so did what possibly no one else has ever done in the Project before -- I shot two 48-hour films in less than 24 hours! I missed the screening for the first project because of background work, a horror film in which I acted, but caught the screening of the second film, "Chick Flick" by GadZook films, in which I was a stunt double for one of the fighting women. In an enormous chicken suit. If I hadn't been recovering from intestinal flu at the time, I would have remembered more of it, but what I do remember was a blast!
I also finally got to shoot the short film that was postponed back in May because the set had unexpectedly been painted pink. It finally was back to an appropriate color, so we did a night shoot for the flashback scenes that open the film. The project is called "On the Shoulders of Giants" and shot up in Ojai.
I took a bit of a break auditioning, only doing three this month, and one call-back for an independent feature. I did get cast in one of the projects, which will be shooting six days in September.
I also did quite a bit of booster work this month -- fellow Chicagoan Ted Blegen is in a elimination style competition at IO West, so I attended three of his rounds to keep him on the island. I also attended Eric Kan's stand-up at The Icehouse over in Pasadena -- my second time seeing this funny man.
I continued to work with the Coronet Lab playwright workshop on Monday nights, and also helped out Amy Engelhardt (of The Bobs fame) with an internal reading of a new musical she and a friend are creating.
I returned to background work this month, after taking several months off to concentrate on other projects. I worked on The Mentalist, The Defenders, Sons of Anarchy, Parenthood, and Big Love.
I finished off my month with a casting director workshop with Dan Shaner of Shaner/Testa Casting.
July was mostly dedicated to rehearsing the play festival at Stillspeaking Theatre, which performs for the first weekend in August. The festival consists of ten 10-minute plays, and I was lucky enough to be cast in seven of the ten plays! I get to play a huge variety of characters, from Eve to Sir David Attenborough, do absurd comedy and drama and even a staged music video. It has been an amazing challenge, and wow, did I have a lot of lines to learn! But the cast is great to work with, and I have been having an amazing time just allowing myself to cut loose on stage again. Performances are August 6th -- 8th, if you can make it!
In between rehearsals for the play festival, I also found time to rehearse and shoot 3 out of 4 of my shooting days for the webseries "Nowhere to be Found." Great crew and a really intriguing use of multimedia and the web. I can't wait for you all to see it -- target date for it to start posting is October, so look for that info in the coming months.
I also managed to squeeze in seeing some theatre and film: I attended Leiris/Picasso at the Brimmer Street Theatre, saw "A Marine Story" at Outfest (Chicagoan Ned Mochel choreographed the violence), caught a restored print of the noir classic, "The Blue Dahlia" as part of the Noir summer film festival, attended a screening of several episodes of The Hunted (www.thehunted.tv) at the Action on Film Festival in Pasedena, and got to catch up a little with series creator, Bob Chapin. Lastly, I saw Absolute Theatre's inaugural production, "The Girl Who Would be King," a lovely play by Jan O'Connor.
I even squeezed in one audition and one call back for a short independent film!
I did some networking, attending an info session and mixer at Film Independent, and having lunch with a great gal who used to run her own all-female theatre company just like me. I sense we will be working together in the future!
I got back to Ensemble Studio Theatre's Sunday Best workshop series, continued to work with the Coronet Lab workshop group, and even spent an afternoon in colleague Jon Lewis' back yard with a group of actors, reading aloud from his many shorts and snippets of features, so that he could hear his projects aloud and decide what needs work and where. It was a lovely afternoon, surrounded by talented folks doing good work. I need more of those!
The month started out in full swing, with the final week of rehearsals, then tech, then performances for the Young Playwrights Festival with The Blank Theatre. The lines were still a bit shaky the first night, but because it was a cast of amazing professionals, I don't know if the audience knew the difference! Made a least one good friend out of the process, and got a chance to work on an amazing project with a fantastic theatre company. A win all around!
The biggest news of the month, however, is that I have SIGNED WITH MY FIRST AGENT! I am now represented across the board by Marjorie Sperling at Pacific West Artists. Her phone number is 818-755-8544. Yahoo!
I had three days of rehearsals and three days of shooting in June on a short for NY Film Academy, a new school for me, on a delightful script called "Comic Book Boy." I played the Mom (with superpowers) of a family of kids (with superpowers). The green screen work was great fun -- I got to levitate some plates at one point. Can't wait to see the footage in September!
The auditions didn't slow down at all this month, despite the fact that it is supposed to be Hollywood's summer holiday month: I had eight auditions and three call-backs, getting offers on five of those projects. I had to turn down one of the offers for conflicts, but am now looking forward to two more short films, a webseries and another play! Unfortunately, one of the auditions I didn't book was for the fabulous Asylum production company, on their production of "Mega Piranha vs. Gator Droid." At least I got to audition! That, in and of itself, is a win. One of these days, I'll be able to add them to my resume, and I am so looking forward to it!
I continued to work on Monday nights with the Coronet Lab, a workshop group for screenwriters, and volunteered a couple of afternoons for the L.A. Women's Theatre Festival, supporting their production running at the Stella Adler.
I met with an editor to put together my first demo reel -- look for that soon on my Video page!
I attended a screening of the amazing Alexandra Billing's short film, "Stealth," and had lunch with her and her lovely wife afterwards.
I also attended my first German language Stammtisch, a discussion social group that meets to practice their German language skills. I was dismayed that my German wasn't better, but it gave me a kick in the pants to get back to studying, so I can relearn the language and get fluent this time.
I did a c.d. workshop with Paul Weber, and closed my month with the first read-thru of the play festival at Stillspeaking Theatre, entitled "The Evolution of Love."
Things finally started to slow down this month, and I only shot one student film: "Familiar" for CalArts. I also did my first voice over narrative for an independent short called "Ascendance." I would have done another day of shooting for another short film, but it was postponed when the production team got to set and discovered that someone had painted their set bright pink. Seeing as the piece took place in a post-industrial, crumbling infrastructure, fascist world, it just wouldn't have worked on the bright pink set! Needless to say, shooting was postponed.
I went into rehearsal for the Young Playwrights Festival at The Blank, and got to work with the lovely and talented Meredith Scott Lynn, Tony Todd and Larry Poindexter, as well as our director, Barbara Bain (also lovely and talented).
I had six auditions and two call-backs for short films and student films, eventually getting cast in two of them.
I did two casting director workshops, one with Sara Isaacson and the other with Scott David, both fellow Chicago transplants.
I continued to attend "Naked Angels" Tuesdays @ 9, and EST's Sunday Best workshops, as well as volunteering my acting talents a couple of Monday nights with a private script development group.
I continued working with my friend Fred on a short that we are creating, tentatively titled "62."
I did some more volunteering for Ensemble Studio Theatre, this time working on their spring play festival, Plays du Jour.
I did an invited audition for an agent, and got a call that she would like to represent me, so I will be meeting with her in the near future to discuss representation. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Mixing business with pleasure, I took the opportunity while visiting Chicago for a friend's wedding to get new headshots taken by Chris Popio and Heather Stumpf. Look for new headshots on my Gallery page soon!
I shot a couple more projects this month: an interview for a documentary actors on performing Shakespeare called "Muse of Fire," and another student film for CSULB called "Connected by Webs." The latter gave me a chance to get rigged up to be "lynched" by an angry mob, and it was enormous fun. Set pictures are on my gallery page.
I did some ADR for my Chapman film "Hall of Fame" and later that month attended the screening of it at Chapman. I was enormously impressed by all the films screened that night - well done, Chapman students!
I auditioned for two student films (one of which I booked), and actually walked out of an audition for a feature film after having been kept waiting for six hours. I also auditioned for The Blank Theatre's Young Playwright's Festival and was cast! Can't tell you how excited I am to work with this wonderful theatre company on this wonderful program. My show performs the first weekend, June 3rd through June 6th. More info when I know more!
I attended my first Hollywood Happy Hour mixer, and met some great folks, one of which may be my connection to all-female Shakespeare here in L.A. Stay tuned!
I did some more volunteering for Ensemble Studio Theatre, this time working on their spring benefit, which by all accounts was a huge success! I also attended an information meeting on company membership. They are an amazing group of people, so I am sure I want to continue to be involved with them, I just need to find the right level. So more updates on that as well as things develop.
I attended casting director workshops with Amy Beth Reece, Traci Moskowitz and Erica Silverman, all wonderful and extremely vivacious women. I also attended an information session with script supervisor Susan Malerstein-Watkins, also a wonderful and knowledgeable lady.
I continued to attend "Naked Angels" Tuesdays @ 9, and EST's Sunday Best workshops.
I started work with a couple of friends on a short that we are creating, tentatively titled "62." My first step into creating my own work here in L.A. Only took me 16 months to take up that mantle!
Finally, I did background work on Parenthood, Luck (a new HBO series), and a couple of days on the movie Faster.
This month was mostly about getting my taxes done. 'Nuff said there.
I still managed to shoot two student films: "Texas Boys" with CalArts, and "Hunger" for Chapman University, and I did some ADR for "Still Human" which I shot back in November.
I also squeezed in six auditions, one of which I booked. However, when they lost the actor who was going to be playing my son, and went with their second choice of a young African-American man instead, they had to replace me as well. Such is life in Hollywood!
I did some volunteering this month, house managing a few times for Ensemble Studio Theatre's Winterfest readings and helping out at the Beverly Hills Short Film Festival.
I went to a casting director workshop with fellow Chicagoan Jennifre DuMont, and attended a Q&A with casting directors Paul Weber and Richard Pagano at the SAG Conservatory.
I attended my first "Tuesdays @ 9" with the Naked Angels LA, and took in a performance of "Old Glory," penned by fellow Chicagoan Brett Neveu.
My parents were in town for a week, and I got to take them to a screening of one of my student films, as well as bringing them to the Spring Spectacular at the Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College at the invitation of one of my friends, who is a student there.
Went to a couple of parties, and took my Mom to see the Renoir exhibit at LACMA. Gorgeous!
Finally, I did some background work on "Parenthood" and the pilot for the new television series "The Cape."
Another busy month! I shot two more student films: "Broken Bones" at LACC and "Feast Fit for a Prince" at the Art Institute of California at Santa Monica. I also shot some pick-ups for the Chapman University film "Hall of Fame."
I had seven auditions and one call back, and booked five of them, one of which I had to turn down because it conflicted with a job I had already accepted. Not bad at all!
I had some rehearsals for these projects, and I also did some more fight choreography, this time for a student film at CSULB. We shot it this month as well, and I am looking forward to seeing the footage soon.
I participated in "Headshots for Haiti," a fundraiser for the disaster victims in Haiti where local photographers donated their time and talent to shoot one look for actors. Since I need new headshots, I took advantage of it. Unfortunately, I didn't wind up with anything I can use, but it was money to a good cause. I'll post some of the best ones to my Gallery page so you can see what I mean.
I went to several birthday parties for my Aquarian and Pisces friends, as well as going out to support colleague Eric Kan at the Comedy Store. I also got to see the Reduced Shakespeare Company's "Complete Works of Shakespeare: Abridged" which I highly recommend.
I continued to work as a reader for Ensemble Studio Theatre at their Sunday Best sessions.
I attended a casting director workshop with Linsay Jameyson, and finally got to a workout with my friends from the Los Angeles Fight Academy.
Did background work for "Make It Or Break It," "24," "Bones," four days in a row on "The Office," and got to work with my sweet pup Sheba on "Desperate Housewives." I also did another day of background on the movie "Jonah Hex" and got my second SAG voucher. Only one more to go!
Happy New Year everyone! Hope 2010 brings health, happiness and all manner of blessings to all of you.
The new year started off with a bang, and I hit the ground running. I filmed the California State University at Long Beach student film, "Appetite," and a spec promo spot for the amazing writer Arabella Field's project "90 Days to Greatness." I wish I could tell you more about it, but the project is still in development, so I cannot reveal the details just yet! Still, a great experience, and I wish her much luck with its progress!
I got back into the swing of fight choreography here in L.A., designing and teaching the fights and violence for the Lyric Theater's production of "The Merry Wives of Windsor." That was the first Shakespeare play I ever performed, and it was a lovely walk down memory lane to hear the text again!
I had two auditions and one call-back for student films, both of which I booked. Yay!
I did some rehearsing for my many film projects, as well as the fight rehearsals for Merry Wives. And I was lucky enough to finally attend a Viewpoints class, taught by the amazing and inspiring Alexandra Billings for Steppenwolf West. It reminded me enormously of the work I was lucky enough to do in London with Theatre Complicite many years ago. Also checked out a class at the Richard Seyd Acting Studios, and did a workshop with legendary casting director Fern Champion.
I went to a couple of screenings, one for "Anvil: The Story of Anvil," after which was a Q&A with the two leads of the movie (and the band), as well as the director and the producer. Rent this movie on DVD -- it's amazing. I also was a guest at a screening of the movie "Avatar," after which there was a Q&A with James Cameron and Zoe Saldana. They also screened an eight minute short about the 'performance capture' process, where we got to see some of the "making of" behind the scenes footage -- it was pretty amazing stuff.
I continued to work as a reader for Sunday Best at Ensemble Studio Theatre.
I finally got to see a performance of "Naked and Shameless," a friend's band that I had originally seen in their hometown of Chicago years ago. Check them out on YouTube folks. It's rock-a-billy punk performance art.
I went to two birthday parties, one poker party and attended a staged play reading.
I worked background for the new series "Parenthood," "Flash Forward," "Lie to Me," "The Middle," and the movie "Jonah Hex."
All in all, a great start to the New Year!
The month of holiday parties! I managed to keep it to just three: One for The Actor's Network, one for my friend's agency and one for the Screen Actor's Guild, where I got to chat again with the wonderful young man who was Paul Bettany's stand-in for "Priest." I had met him when I was doing background work for the movie, and we had helped keep each other sane and awake at 3am.
I also logged some more hours on set, shooting the Chapman student film "Hall of Fame" and the Brooks Institute student film "The Letter."
Had four auditions despite the holiday lull, three for student films (one of which I booked) and one for a Melissa Etheridge music video, which I must admitted, I was very disappointed when that call didn't come. M.E. rocks.
I did my first ADR work for "Tears Asunder," and apparently I am a natural!
I also accompanied my friend Whit to a Tony Fitzpatrick gallery opening down in Culver City. This Chicago artist is an old friend of his, and his work is amazing. See it in person if you can -- the reproductions I have seen don't do it justice.
Lastly, I managed to squeeze in one rehearsal for my film work, and background gigs on "Scrubs," "Rex is Not Your Lawyer," an infomercial, and "Heroes."
Happy Holidays, everyone, and best wishes for a fruitful and kick-ass New Year!
Was on set more than not this month, it seemed! Spent four days on set with the Loyola Marymount student film "Tears Asunder," directed by Edi Ibok. Spent a day on sent with the Art Institute of California student film "Still Human," directed by Julie Takatuwa. And spent a day on set filming the LACC student film "Schizophrenic Nightmare," directed by Karen Agnes.
In between rehearsals and shooting for the above films, I couldn't submit for many auditions because of conflicts, but did manage to squeeze in auditions for three student films and one webseries.
Attended the premiere screening of "Saving Rent," the webseries for which I shot an episode, which stars the wonderful Ashley Palmer, now of "Paranormal Activity" fame. Go Ashley!
Attended a staged reading of a work under consideration by EST, a performance of "An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein" starring my friend Mike, and a performance of "Antigone" at The Lyric Theater.
Did background work on "Bones," or rather my car did. :)
Continued to work as a reader for EST at Sunday Best.
Attended Actorfest downtown, and got some great information, but am now on everyone's email list. Oy.
Got to walk the red carpet (metaphorically) at The Valley Film Festival with my friend Whit, whose film "Desertion" was screening.
Auditioned for, was cast in, and shot "Weird Tales 3," directed by Ted Faye, produced by Gold Creek Productions. I played Juliet Brier, a member of the ill-fated group of 49ers who tried to take a short cut through Death Valley on the way to California in 1849-50.
Saw some more live theatre: "Matthew Modine Saves the Alpacas" at the Geffen, "Block 9" at the Lillian Theater, "Secrets of a Soccer Mom" at Stillspeaking Theatre, "The Gogol Project" with Rogue Theatre Ensemble, a fundraising performance of multimedia short pieces organized by a friend, and a reading of Arthur M. Jolly's "The Gulag Mouse" presented by Women in Theatre. This last one is the play that won the current round of Babes With Blades' international playwriting competition, Joining Sword and Pen. Go Arthur!
Continued to work out with the Sword Fights Inc. folks.
Had a birthday. Not going to say which one. :)
Auditions were thick on the ground this month! Attended two open-call auditions for commercial agents, and had one sit-down meeting with another commercial agent. Had seven student film and one feature film auditions, two of which called me back, another of which put me on avail, and three of which cast me. Of course, two of the shorts which cast me conflicted with one another, which was such a shame because they were both amazing projects! But I had to turn one down due to conflicts. The feature film audition (and call-back) interestingly turned out to be a scam to sell the auditionees classes. First time running into that in L.A., and now I am wiser.
Attended a Q&A with Larraine Newman at the SAG Conservatory.
Joined The Casting Network, an organization that offers casting workshops with C.D.s around town.
Started up again as a reader for EST at their Sunday Best workshops - the first one after their summer hiatus.
Worked background on "United States of Tara," "Cold Case," "Community," and "The Mentalist."
Attended the Showbiz Expo downtown, which turned out to be more for producers and behind the scenes folks than actors. Now I know. :)
Squeezed in a screening of Whit's student film at USC, and a rehearsal for "Still Human," one of the student films in which I was cast.
Auditioned for, was cast in, and shot an episode of "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant." Sunny Boling did the casting, Mike Mathis Productions produces the show. My episode is called "The Wedding Gift."
Had a busy month of background gigs! Worked on "Priest,", "Heroes," "How I Met Your Mother," "Flash Forward," and "The Office."
Attended the opening of "August: Osage County" at the Ahmandson Theater. Got to see some old Chicago friends in the cast!
Auditioned for four student films - one offered me a different part than the one for which I read, but the shooting schedule was different, and I couldn't take it because of those omnipresent conflicts.
Did some intern work for an A-list commercial casting director, and got to read for a national Sears commercial because of it.
Auditioned for, and was cast in, the feature film "Pelt," a horror film based on true events.
Did first day of shooting (outdoor scenes) for OMEGA: Advent Destiny.
Did background work for "You Again," "Valentine's Day," "Community," and "The Middle," as well as my costume fitting for "Priest."
Hosted a networking brunch for "Chicago Artists in Los Angeles," a networking group started by Erick Esteban and Carmen Aiello.
Auditioned for four student films, two of which cast me.
Rehearsed for the feature film, "OMEGA: Advent Destiny" down in Riverside, and got to see some more the surroundings of L.A. in the process.
Explored the Angela's Crest Highway, and drove to the top of Mount Wilson. Gorgeous views. It's so nice to be around mountains again!
Did background work on "Heroes," "Hawthorne," "Glee," "CSI," and a commercial for Margaritaville.
Continued to work out with Sword Fights Inc.
Auditioned for a play at Whitefire Theater and was offered the role, but was unable to accept because of (you guessed it!) schedule conflicts. Also did a general audition at the Santa Monica Playhouse.
Attended a live theatre adaptation of Gene Rodenberry's short stories, and got to meet the legendary man in person. The experience of a lifetime!
Got invited to two auditions for commercial agents.
Auditioned for one student film, and for a vacuum cleaner infomercial. For real.
Attended ComiCon in San Diego - wow! What an overwhelming four days!
Continued to work out with Sword Fights Inc - great bunch of guys and gals!
Did background work on "Hawthorne," "Hung," "Get Him to the Greek," and "Sons of Anarchy." Continued to learn about the way film and television sets work, their vocabulary and their rhythm.
Continued to be a reader for EST at their Sunday Best workshops - the last one before their summer hiatus.
Attended three live theatre performances: a friend's production of "Marat/Sade," the Open Fist/EST co-production of "Love Water," and The Blank Theatre's Young Playwright's Festival.
Auditioned for three more student films, and two feature films, and was cast in one of the features, "OMEGA: Advent Destiny." A fantasy epic, about which I couldn't be more thrilled!
Filmed my first webisode, the 11th episode of "Saving Rent," produced in association with ABC-TV.
Auditioned for, was called back for, and was offered a role in the Knightbridge Theatre production of "As You Like It." Again, those conflicts reared their ugly heads (this time a trip out of town for five days) and I was unable to take the part. :(
Went back to Chicago to attend a friend's wedding and reconnect with my Chicago peeps!
Auditioned for "12th Night" at the Southern California Lyric Theater. Got called back, but again couldn't be cast because of conflicts. This was becoming a theme - after only four months of living in L.A., it seems I had more work than I could handle!
Continued to be a reader for Sunday Best with EST, and the Salon Series with Lisa.
Began working out with Sword Fights Inc., a combat/stunt group here in L.A., in order to keep my skills with stage combat sharp and at the ready!
Auditioned for, and was called back for a student film at NY Film Academy, but had to tell the director I was uncomfortable with certain aspects of the script, so removed myself from the casting pool.
Did background work on "Raising the Bar," "Sons of Anarchy," and "20Q."
Closed "And the Winner Is."
Signed up for a call-in service for background work, and had my second background gig on "Hawthorne."
Volunteered for the wonderful Ensemble Studio Theatre at their spring benefit.
Continued to be a reader for EST at their Sunday Best workshops.
Joined The Actor's Network, a fantastic organization helping actors learn the business side of acting in L.A.
Auditioned for "Love Water," a co-production of EST and Open Fist theatre companies.
Auditioned and was cast in "Sexpot," a feature film produced by The Asylum, but was unable to work out the scheduling, so I had to decline the role.
Opened "And the Winner Is" at Stillspeaking Theatre.
Started on-camera classes with the wonderful coach, Glenn F. Haines.
Auditioned for another theatre project at Company of Angels, but couldn't do it because it conflicted with the play in which I was already cast.
Started rehearsals for "And the Winner Is."
Shot my first student film, "Super Chief" with director Parker Howell of Chapman University.
Saw some L.A. theatre - "Taming of the Shrew" produced by Circus Theatricals, the Winterfest staged readings produced by Ensemble Studio Theatre, and "The Jazz Age," produced by The Blank Theatre.
Auditioned for Allison Jones for "Parks and Recreation," as well as for another Chapman student film.
Was offered a role in another student film, but was unable to accept because of schedule conflicts.
Went to a party thrown by my dear friends to welcome me to L.A. :)
Joined Central Casting in search of background work.
Became a part of the playwright's arm of Ensemble Studio Theatre here in L.A., and attended their workshop series, Sunday Best, for the first time as a reader.
Joined my friend Lisa's Salon series of play readings with a group of Chicago actors who have relocated to L.A.
Did my first background work on Without A Trace.
Saw the fabulous Steve Carlson in concert at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood.
Had my first L.A. auditions! Two auditions for live theatre projects, both of which cast me, but I could only choose one ("And the Winner Is" at Stillspeaking Theatre in San Marino) because the runs conflicted with one another. Three student film auditions, one of which cast me!
Attended an Oscar party.
Did background work for a friend's viral video and through it, reconnected with some friends from my Pittsburgh days.
Arrived in L.A. and moved into my new home!
Joined the local YMCA.
Attended a live taping of the Bonnie Hunt Show.
Attended a live performance of "Fight Club for One" by fellow Chicagoan Erick Esteban, and went to my first Hollywood after party.
After 17 days of sleeping on an air mattress, my furniture and all my worldly goods were delivered. I spent the rest of the month getting settled, buying furniture and accessories on Craig's List, and starting to catch up with old Chicago friends who had moved to L.A. before me.