2012 Year in Review

I recently read one way to improve your spirits is to say out loud 5 positive facts about yourself - not opinions like I am nice or I am pretty, but actual facts such as I won best ugly sweater at the Christmas party, etc.  For my end of the year review I am going to state positive facts about me from the past year.

1. I GOT PAID TO BE AN ACTOR.  This year I started off with being cast as a costar in the pilot, Graceland, set to premiere next summer.  In the last month, I was cast in a supporting role in the new feature from James Franco's production company, Rabbit Bandini Productions, called Holy Land.  Plus, it was my first opportunity to act in front of a green screen.

With my "Okie Family" on the set of Holy Land

Over the summer, I had the opportunity to work with Eckhart Schmidt on his latest documentary about Los Angeles, reading passages from literature about the City of Angels.

2. I GOT TO ACT THIS YEAR - A LOT.  Besides the productions I was paid for, I had lots of opportunities to act and many were with my super talented friends - such as The Revolving Doors, Gibbon's Tail, and Nick Acosta.

I got to be in a Revolving Doors short,

in a Gibbon's Tail music video,

and in a Nick Acosta fan film!

Other than the films and plays I worked on, I had an amazing year of acting classes.  I had a master class with Ashley Judd and an intense 3 month class with James Franco, Val Lauren, and Jim Parrack.  We worked on plays I always wanted to but never had the guts to do like Clifford Odets.

3. I WAS AWARDED BEST SCREENPLAY AT THE PLAYHOUSE WEST FILM FESTIVAL.  Just completing the short film, All You Need, that I wrote and produced was a big achievement for me.

With my award and the director, Ricardo Ultreras.

All You Need was then accepted to the Oscar qualifying Los Angeles Shorts Festival.

With some of my cast at the LA Shorts Fest.

4. THE SHORT I DIRECTED FOR THE 72 HOUR FILM FEST WON BEST COMEDY.  This was my first attempt at directing and it was especially difficult since the film had to be conceived, filmed, and finished in that 72 Hour time allowance.  You can watch the whole film here, Little Bride Lie.

Discussing the scene with my DP and actors.

5. I GOT A HUG FROM NATHAN FILLION at Comic-con while I was dressed as The Doctor.  Not gonna lie - this might have been the highlight of my year.

Nathan Fillion is hugging me - this is pure awesomeness.

Also, my Effie Trinket cosplay was featured in Entertainment Weekly Comic-con issue.

That's me as Effie on the far left.

Bonus, I witnessed Chipper Jones' Walk-Off of the Year at Turner Field.  I'm sure going to miss seeing him in a Braves uniform.

At Turner Field with my Mom and a Craig Kimbrel bobblehead.

So, I had a pretty good year and I didn't even mention the trip up to Carmel, dinner at the Magic Castle, my nerdtastic birthday party, or all those wonderful nights spent watching TV and movies with my amazing friends.

Next week, I will take a look at the goals I set last year at this time - see where I succeeded and where I failed.  Probably won't be as cheery of a post.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year!

Learning to Accept Compliments

I am terrible at accepting compliments.  Mostly because I am never that happy with my work.  I tend to see all the flaws and no matter how perfect I want it to be, it's not.  Of course, I understand you can't expect perfection, but I hold myself to pretty high standards.

This weekend I had three short films that I wrote and produced in the Playhouse West Film Festival.   I had a hard time even standing in the theater while they showed.  Two were comedies and it's very nerve wracking waiting to hear if people laugh at the right times.  The third film is a drama called, All You Need.  I had no idea how people would respond and you can't take the temperature of the audience by seeing if they are laughing at the right times.  I kept walking in and out of the theater, biting my nails while it was showing.

Afterwards, I had so many people come up to me and say nice things about the movie.  It was wonderful, but of course I have no idea how to respond.  I wish I knew how to be one of those salesman type filmmakers that could have turned all those into great networking moments.  I should have come out with a stack of business cards and new contacts.  Instead I usually just stammered out an incoherent "thank you" and walked away.

At the end of the weekend, I was awarded the Jury Prize for Best Screenplay.  This was beyond unexpected.  I help run the festival, so I was busy backstage moving chairs when they announced my name.  I don't even remember what I said in the speech, although I'm sure I didn't say everything I wanted to say and probably looked like a bumbling idiot.

Here I am accepting my award.  Did I ever mention that I'm short?

So, since my speech was terrible.  Here is what I wished I said:

This award means so much to me.  I never considered myself a screenwriter.  I've been in LA for 7 years working as an actor, but never as much as I like.  I began writing because I wanted more opportunities to act.  I write the movies I want to see and the roles I want to play.  There are a few people who were a huge part of making "All You Need" happen.  First, Tony Savant and his writing class.  I started this script in his class and his guidance really helped craft many moments of this script.  My parents who are so supportive and really pushed me to make this film from the first time I sent them a draft of the script.  Of course, Ricardo who not only brought so much of my script to life as the director, but also helped me early on making it the best script we could create with all of his notes and edits.   Plus he has put up with me and all my craziness for 6 years, so he gets point for that too.  Lastly, my amazing cast and crew.  Sarah and Gabe worked so hard on each of their roles, going above and beyond rehearsing and getting to know Amaris.  They each brought so much more to the roles than what was on the page.  The Ultreras family for letting me use their home for 3 days and especially, Noemi, for letting me borrow her daughter.  Everyone else who came out to hold a boom, work as an extra, or slate for nothing more than free food and my gratitude: Kim, Marilyn, Alicia, Lacy, Karen, Kinga, Jacqueline, Elizabeth, Valerie, Shannon, Elena, Lance, Juan, Jessica, Brian, Kevin, Jenny, and if I'm forgetting anyone I am so sorry but seriously, I love each and every one of you so much.  

Thank you to everyone who came up and said nice things to me over the weekend.  It really meant the world to me.

How to Keep my Goals

Since the beginning of this year, I've been making an effort to focus on my career.  I started by created some professional goals to help me measure how I am doing.

As you know some of this work has already paid off.  I got to film a co-star role on a pilot for USA Network, I'll keep you updated if it airs.  I also completed three short films that have been accepted to the Playhouse West Film Festival.  Plus, I've been cast in a couple projects that are set to start filming in the next couple months.

But, one thing that helps me keep track of the goals I set is by telling you guys how I am doing with them.  So, here is how I did in the month of April (a couple weeks late.)

Goal: Attend class unless working an acting gig or sick.
Actual: I believe I missed a day or two when I was helping out at a casting office.

Goal: Work on scenes that from plays I can put up.
Actual:  Still working on "Vanities."

Goal: Read two plays a month.
Actual: I actually read a ton of plays to find a scene for a web series I am involved with.  So, I am probably good for the next few months.

Goal: Find a good on-camera class.
Actual: GOAL COMPLETED!
**UPDATE ON GOAL: Attend acting workout sessions that my friend, Tammy Taylor, is setting up with actor friends.**

Goal: Complete editing on my films for the Playhouse West Film Festival.
Actual: All three of my films were accepted to the festival.   Final touches happening on ALL YOU NEED, just waiting on final sound.
**UPDATE ON GOAL: I want to submit All You Need to 10 more major film festivals by the end of the year.**

Goal: Write and produce two more shorts this year.
Actual: I have two new shorts written and hope to start filming them after the film festival.

Goal: Help at the agency once a week.
Actual: It's been very slow, but I have been helping out when I can.

Goal: Find three new Casting offices to help out as a reader.
Actual: One new one and one old one.  I'd like to find two more new ones!

Monthly Goals Check-In

As you guys know, I am trying to keep up with the goals I made at the beginning of the year.  So, this is my monthly check-in to see how those goals are doing.

This month was very busy for my acting.  I got to be a Star for Day on a Pilot.   We finally got to do A Mixed Tape, a super fun play where I get to be a gorilla with Eric Edwards and Jonathan Lipnicki, again after a long hiatus.  I booked two more acting gigs that will be starting soon.  Can't wait til I get to share about those with you. 

Here's how my year is going so far:

GOAL: Attend every class unless sick or working an acting gig.
ACTUAL: The only class I missed this month was the day I shot my co-star on a USA pilot.

GOAL: Work on scenes in class that I actually put up.
ACTUAL: Still working on "Vanities."  We've set up a regular rehearsal schedule, but have had some set-backs because of vacations and each of us booking work (great for us, not great for the play.)

GOAL: Complete all three of my films for the Playhouse West Film Festival.
ACTUAL:  Two are complete and the third is a good rough cut with some sound editing left to do.  All have been submitted and I am hoping the final cut of the third will be done by April 20th so I nice version of it will be seen by the PWFF committee.

GOAL: Write and produce two more shorts this year.
ACTUAL:  Have not started work on this one yet.  I have a couple ideas, but need to start the work of writing them.

GOAL: Continue to work at the Agency every week.
ACTUAL: I've been going to the agency at least once a week, sometimes more.  What was really great during Pilot Season is that they asked me to take notes on the pilot meetings they had every week.  It really helped me to see what was happening with all the Pilots.  I also helped keep up our database on who was getting cast in what.  This helps keep things in perspective when you wonder why you aren't going out, but then see people like Sigourney Weaver and Allison Janey are the ones getting cast.

GOAL: Find three casting offices to help out as a reader.
ACTUAL: Still only helping out at two offices, but am going in whenever they need me.

GOAL: Read two plays.
ACTUAL: I was lax on this one and didn't manage to find time to read one.  We were working on Nursery Rhymes in class, so I focused on those a lot (this exercise is much tougher than it sounds.)  I'm also halfway through book three of The Song of Fire and Ice, and those books are long and very dense so it's difficult to find time to read anything else.

GOAL: Blog every Monday.
ACTUAL: Doing good with this one and blogging over at Getting Crafty and Cultured in Los Angeles as well.

For next month, I am hoping to turn all this positive momentum into more opportunities!

When Should You Start Working?

The short answer to this question is: yesterday.

I often hear people say things like I'm just not ready yet to start auditioning, or writing, or producing, or whatever it is they want to do.  Their main excuse is that they aren't as good as they want to be.  They are so focused on being perfect that they are scared to get off the starting block.

In the arts, perfection is not the goal.  Not being perfect is not the same thing as failure.  Failure is never trying. 

This time of year is when the Playhouse West Film Festival submissions start coming in.  (The final deadline is April 21st.)  And every year I see friends of mine scrambling to finish (and sometimes start) projects that they really meant to be working on all year.  Deadlines are good; deadlines force you to act and I am really proud of all my friends who are working on projects.  But, if this is your passion; if this is what you really want to be doing with your life then you need to learn to do it without the deadline. 

Don't let your perception of not being perfect stop you from starting.  At the film festival every year the most common advice is to just go out and do it.  So, stop judging yourself.  Get out there and try. 

What I Learned in a Year

It's officially been a year since I started writing this blog.  The reason I began was to share some of my experience and pitfalls with my actor friends out there.  I explained Why You Should Listen to Me, which is pretty much that you probably shouldn't since anyone who claims to know anything in Hollywood is probably wrong.

I have to say I've learned a lot just from writing this blog.  Reminded me that I need to enjoy the journey, not to worry about my competition, and how to face rejection.  I got to share with you guys my success at making a movie in 72 hours, what inspired me at the Playhouse West Film Festival, and how I survived the Los Angeles Actorfest. 

Of course, I'm always learning more and am often reminded that I don't know everything.  Just this last week, I had one of those auditions that was not perfect and I forgot some of my own advice, by not owning my audition and losing my confidence.  But with every failure comes a chance to do it better the next time.  You know, what doesn't kill you ...


As the last blog in February it's time to see how my Career goals are going:

Goal: Attend class unless working an acting gig or sick
Actual: I didn't miss a single class this month :)

Goal: Work on scenes from plays I can put up.
Actual: Working on "Vanities" with a couple ladies from my class.

Goal: Read two plays a month.
Actual: I read "To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday" and "Five Women Wearing the Same Dress"

Goal: Find and attend a good on-camera class to supplement my acting classes.
Actual: Finishing up that commercial class with Chris Game.  I am thinking about starting to get a group of actors together to work on camera once a week.

Goal: Complete editing on both my films before the PWFF early bird deadline.
Actual: Not looking so good, but they will be finished!!!

Goal: Write and produce two more shorts this year.
Actual: Let's finish these other two first.

Goal: Continue to help at the agency once a week.
Actual: I've gone to the agency once a week and have been working on a Pilot Season project to help them be super organized.

Goal: Find three casting offices that I can help out at as a reader.
Actual: This month I continued helping out at the TV office and got to help them on their new Pilot.

Goal: Blog every Monday.
Actual: Blogged every week.  Plus you can check out my other blog: Being Crafty and Cultured in Los Angeles. 

What you can do in a Weekend

As you know from my last blog, What I Learned at the 72 Hour Film Festival, I made a movie last weekend for the Playhouse West 72 Hour Film Festival.  Over this past weekend, they screened all the films.

Our film, Grow A Pair, may not have won any awards, but I am extremely proud of what we made and I got lots of wonderful comments from the people who saw the films.  Plus, I am pretty sure we would have won Best Black Eye Created by a Non-Makeup Artist and Best Use of a Muddy Waters Song had those been a categories.

Today I wanted to share with you all the final product, so that you can see that it truly is possible to create a quality short film that tells a complete story in less than 72 hours.  Here it is:

Congratulations to everyone who made participated in this festival.  It's a cliche', but everyone who made a film is truly a winner.

One last thing, I want to give credit to the fabulous cast and crew of "Grow A Pair":
Directed by Marilyn Porayko
Written by Michelle Coyle, Christina Maria Davis, Somya von Eames
Cinematography by Nick Weidner
Edited by Brian Finifter
Cast:
Alex Aquino
Michelle Coyle
Christina Maria Davis
Nat Dixon
Somya von Eames
AJ Eloy
Jamie Israel
Jermaine Johnson
Elyte Salna

Thanks, y'all!!!

What I learned during the 72 Hour Film Festival.

This weekend I worked with a group to put together a movie for the Playhouse West 72 Hour Film Festival.  We were given a synopsis on Friday and had the weekend to write, direct, and edit the movie.  Here is what we made: Grow a Pair.

Here are some of the lessons I learned:

1. You can make a film for less than $100.
2. Don't Piss Off Your Editor: Make sure you always, always, always slate and that you can see the whole slate in the shot.
3. Even if you think you will never in a million years use the sound from a shot, just go ahead and record sound anyways.
4. Syncing sound sucks.  If you have $150 to spare get PluralEyes.  Trust me.
5. If you can use the ambient light, do it.  You can't imagine how much time you save not setting up lights.
6. High heel platform shoes and wood floors make for major sound issues.
7. Zyrtec is a necessity if you have cats on set.  Allergies can sneak up on cast members.
8. Office roller chairs make terrible dollies.
9. If your movie needs to have a maximum running time of 5 minutes 10 seconds, better to err on the side of a shorter than 5 page script.
10. Generally, a crew of five is all you need unless you are filming a car chase or building implosion.  More people than that can get in the way.
11. Don't be too precious with your script.  Film is a collaboration and be open to everyone, you never know where great ideas will come from.
12. The next time you think you don't have the time to make a film, remember you just did one in a weekend.

I am so very proud of the little film we put together.  A shout out to everyone who came out to play with us this weekend.  Great job, everyone!

What Do You Do for Fun?

Today I want to talk about something very inspiring I saw over the weekend.  Jim Nieb put together a super fun "Coffeeshop" show at Playhouse West.  This show was an opportunity for actors from my acting school to show off some of their other talents.  These actors showed off great skills like tap dancing, singing, comedy and some of the bravest souls even got up for their first try at stand up.

It got me thinking, what do you have other than acting?  If this is your career, do you have any hobbies?

Between classes, interning, writing, rehearsing scenes and plays it's really difficult to find time to do anything else.  In my last blog I asked if you were doing enough for your career and I told you it's important to find the right balance and to not beat yourself up if you are not currently working at an acting job.  I also mentioned the importance of having a personal life. 

Watching these performers, I was amazed by the super talented ones who clearly had been doing this for years, but I was most moved by the ones who were trying something new.  It's inspiring to see actors reaching past their comfort zone and get up on stage to tell some jokes or read a poem they've written.

So, what are your hobbies?  What makes you feel good or uncomfortable or just plain happy?  Make sure you give yourself time to do that!

Are You Doing Enough?

Last weekend at the Playhouse West Film Festival, Scott Caan did a Q&A about his career.  One thing he said really struck me: he always feels like he should be doing more for his acting and for his career.  Here is a guy who is a regular on two television shows, writes and directs his own films, and is starting his own production company and he doesn't feel like he is doing enough.

If this guy doesn't feel like he is doing enough, how can any actor feel like they are doing enough?  Well, maybe James Franco does, but I assume he has Hermione's Time-Turner in order to do everything.

At the acting school I attend, I've seen some newbie-super-gung-ho actors come through who want to do everything right away.  They'll audit every class they can and want to constantly rehearse.  It is commendable, but what often happens with these actors is that they burn out quickly and end up leaving LA.

The trick is finding the right balance.  Of course you should work on your acting and your career, but there are more ways to do that than just going to class.  For me, I help out at my agency once a week, read at casting offices, go to class, write, and produce my own stuff.  But, don't forget that there is more to life than just your career, so don't beat yourself up when you are tending to your personal life as well.

As actors we chose a career that is more like a vocation or calling.  We don't have office hours, so our work is constantly with us.  When we aren't in the middle of working on something it is easy to feel bad about ourselves.  The hard thing is that this chosen career tends to have more downtime than working time. 

Here Michael Ian Black on SadSadConversation talks about the panic he feels when he is not working on something (around the 50 second mark):

Oscar winner, Michael Caine says he would always say yes to any role offered to him because he never knew if it would be the last role he was offered.  That's why he agreed to do Jaws: The Revenge.  He wanted to work and was afraid that could be his last chance.

Is the lesson here that no matter how many Oscars you've won, how many shows you've been a regular on, or how long you've been in the business you'll always feel that you aren't doing enough? 

No, it's more about acceptance. 

If you know you are doing as much as you can: if you are going to class, rehearsing, writing, reading, actively making new contacts, then accept yourself and don't beat yourself up every time you are without an acting job.

Some Film Festival Inspiration

I spent a very inspiring weekend at the Playhouse West Film Festival.  Three days of films, mostly shorts and every film involved Playhouse West students.  I have worked at this festival for the past 6 years and I am particularly proud of this year's film selections.  We had so many well made films with tight writing and good acting. 

I am a little disappointed in myself for not having a film in the festival this year.  I helped out on a few projects as a PA and such, but nothing more.

So, I want to take this opportunity to make a promise to myself and to all of you that I WILL HAVE A FILM IN THE FESTIVAL NEXT YEAR!!!

Congratulations to all the filmmakers who got off their tush this year and produced such wonderful work.  Throughout the festival, the advice most of the filmmakers give is to just go out there and do it.  That's exactly what I plan on doing as soon as I take a nap since working the festival is not just very inspiring but also extremely exhausting.

Who the heck booked Pilots this year?

Now that the upfronts are pretty much over and we know which pilots got picked up and which ones didn't, there are those of us actors who didn't even get to go out for pilots much less book one.  So, of the pilots that got produced who did get those jobs? 

James J. Jones owner of The Premier Talent Group did the math for those of us not good with numbers:

“2011 PILOT SEASON stratification by the numbers
Of the 529 Series Regular Roles (assuming that named
doing recurring roles):

112 or 21.2% Went to NAMED ACTORS
262 or 49.5% -­ Went to KNOWN ACTORS
374 or 70.7% -­ Went to NAMED AND KNOWN ACTORS

*Of the additional 27.3% of the bookings, almost all of them had significant credits
as series recurring actors or series regulars in shows that did not last long. Only 7
bookings (2.0%) would be considered truly developmental received series regular
roles, and many of these went to the under 18 category.

In short,

21.2% of series roles went to bonafide star names (ie Ethan Hawke and Christina Ricci).
49.5% of series regulars went to former series regulars of major shows.
27.3% of series regular roles went to heavy working actors with numerous.
series recurring roles and/or series regular roles of shows that did not last.
2.0% of series regular roles went to true developmental actors."

I spent a number of days helping out at my agent's office during "pilot season" and can tell you that no matter how much he pitched it was hard to even get an audition for any talent who did not already have significant credits.  One of my agents was pitching me for a co-star role and they told her it had gone to an offer.

On top of all the roles going to offers many of the Pilots were filmed outside of LA.

"As of April 18th, Variety was reporting that confirmed Pilot Shoots will occur in:

United States
48 Los Angeles
11 New York (Unt. Susannah Grant, Over & Under, Unt. Redlich/Belluchi, Prime
Suspects, Smash, Weekend at Bellevue, Georgetown, Persons of Interest,
Ringer, Rookies and Pan Am)
4 Florida (Bad Mom, Magic City, The Finder, Angels)
4 Illinois (Cooper and Stone;; Boss, Playboy)
2 Georgia (Hail Mary, Partners)
2 New Mexico (Reconstruction, Longmire)
2 North Carolina (Revenge;; Hart of Dixie)
1 Oregon (Grimm)
1 Louisiana (Wild Card)
1 Texas (Good Christian Bitches)
1 Pennsylvania (Locke and Key)

Outside of the United States
5 Vancouver, Canada (17th Precinct, Secret Circle, Alcatraz, Heavenly and Once
Upon a Time)
2 Toronto, Canada (Awakening, Poe)
1 Prague/Rome/Vienna (Missing)
1 Puerto Rico (The River)
1 Montreal, Canada (Identity)"*

That tells me it is time to either marry a Canadian so I can legally work up there or make some magic happen with the local hire casting offices outside of LA. 

Now you can either take all this information and chose to be discouraged, but I don't think that is the right response.  I think it is even more evidence that you can't rely on other people to give you opportunities to do your art.  Create your own films!

Need some inspiration? See what your colleagues are creating by joining us at the Playhouse West Film Festival to be educated and inspired.


*See the complete 2011 PILOT REPORT from The Premier Talent Group