I'm alive.

Ok, ok, it's time already!

Don't worry, I'm not dead.

Work is crazy, I like sleeping, and I visit my boyfriend sometimes. Though, in truth, I've likely spent all my excess internet time recently doing Christmas shopping...so you can blame Amazon for my lengthy absence.

Well, and my laziness. Let's keep it real.

SINCE my last post of any significance, I've done SOME good stuff.

I had my Altarena audition for Spelling Bee. The director called me back for Logainne Schwartzandgrubinneire, which was surprising, but I didn't wind up getting cast. It was fun to audition for a musical, though. It's been a long time since I've done a straight play, but that doesn't mean that I enjoy musicals any less.

I also had an audition last week at The Retro Dome in San Jose for their production of Xanadu, which was a blast. I got there an HOUR late because of traffic, but they were still willing to see me, since they had planned for me, and it felt like it went well...until the sight-singing.

Ok. OK. I have always been bad at sight-reading, in any capacity. I don't mind a cold read. That doesn't hurt. But sight-reading music is my Achilles Heel. I APPEAR to be a fully competent performer, and then someone puts an unfamiliar piece of music in front of me, plunks out the melody once (badly), and says "Sing this.". I didn't BUTCHER it, but it wasn't pretty. However, I'm not kicking myself, because it's always good to get a nice, sharp reminder of WHY you do your research before an audition. This was MY fault.

Such is life.

In other news, I just (literally, five minutes ago) emailed Erik Stein to set my audition date for PCPA in stone. Hopefully, come January 18th, I'll be finished with it and it will be out of my hands.

I ALSO got an email on Friday, informing me that I have been granted an audition slot at the TBA Generals in February. I'll be auditioning for up to 100 Bay Area theatre companies, and I'll have 2 minutes to make them think I kick serious ass. No, I'm not nervous. Yes, I am a liar.

Now I have to print up 100 copies of my headshot and resume, and figure out a way to affix my audition pieces to them without rendering them unusable for the future, so that when 99 of them come back to me, I'll be able to send them to OTHER folks. Anyone got suggestions for where I can get large amounts of good-quality photos printed for cheap? I've been putting this off for awhile, 'cause I'mma need these anyway.

My adventures are dull. Gotta do more to be more!

Time goes by...so slowly

...unless you're trying to do five thousand things, and one of them is a [now sorely neglected] blog.

Don't worry, I'm not putting out for my personal journal either. No one is getting any action right now.

I'll be back. Really.

No, but for real.

Quickshare

I have been grotesquely underproductive for the last week, but I have a callback tomorrow and will do a REAL update after that madness.

First, a video. Welcome to my life:



Enjoy.

I know, I KNOW.

I'm slacking.

I just started this blog, and already, I've begun neglecting it.

I'm sorry, dear blog. Forgive me.

I could blame it on my schedule. This would be unfair, as I have plenty of time at least 2 evenings a week, before the mushy-gushy evening call with the BF.

I could blame it on a lack of activity to report, but this would also (thankfully) be inaccurate.

I may need to make this a daily occurance, just to get back in the habit of writing in a forum which, generally, encourages the use of more than 140 characters per post (DAMN YOU, TWITTER! LOOK WHAT YOU'VE MADE OF ME!!!)

Let's get the negatives out of the way first, so that all my positives seem more impressive:

I blew off TWO (count 'em) auditions in the past two weeks. Well, I should be fair. One of these auditions was for a short (3-5 minute) film that a student at Berkeley Digital Film Institute is directing, and after agreeing to audition for her, I realized that I simply will not have time to take on ANOTHER project until after the holidays, when I'll be working less overtime, will likely forgo the second job, and will suddenly have time (and desire!) to be more artistically involved in the community around me...so I sent her an email apologizing profusely and explaining my situation. For future reference, though, I probably ought not to wait until 3 hours before I'm supposed to meet with a director to send said email.

The other audition, however, I just didn't go to. UNPROFESSIONAL.

Now, all the good things I've done for myself over the last couple weeks:

I auditioned for Twelfth Night at African-American Shakespeare Company (I didn't get in. I can see it all over your face: you're SHOCKED.)
I updated my Theatre resume.
I updated my Actor profile on Theatre Bay Area's website.
I started playing with some light editing on my headshot proofs.
I contacted a friend, who is a professional photographer, about doing a shoot with him in the near future.
I went to my dance classes.
I started taking weekly voice lessons with Matt Liebowitz again.
I scheduled an audition for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Altarena in Alameda. It's community theatre, but they may be willing to consider me for roles that I would NEVER be looked at for at semipro/professional theatres. You know, like the "lead".
I saw Peter Pan at PCPA Theaterfest, and subsequently had lengthy chats with a couple former teachers/Resident Artists...and tentatively scheduled my audition for their summer season/the 2011-2012 Acting Internship.

While I was in Santa Maria to see Peter Pan (and, you know, visit my beau), I met up with my 2nd year dance instructor for beers. He is a Resident Artist (Actor/Choreographer/Director) with the company, and will be directing/choreographing this summer's production of Hairspray, which I'm hoping to be cast in. After all the catching up and tech-week-exhaustion commisseration, we finally got down to business. Aside from talking about my audition for Summer Company, he also recommended that I apply for the Acting Internship. I hadn't really considered this an option before, for whatever reason, but now that he's said that, it seems like a great idea. He is a graduate of PCPA, and did the internship as well, and he thinks that, based on where I am right now in my career, it could benefit me in a lot of ways.

Since talking with him about it, I've started to see all the reasons it really makes sense. I've filled out my application and started working on my cover letter. I've also been in touch with the Conservatory Director/Associate Artistic Director and the Casting Director, and they are both in full support of the idea, and are encouraging me to send in my application, and audition, as soon as possible.

DIRECTION! GOALS! MOVEMENT!

It's all very exciting, no?

Here I go

I'm holding myself accountable.

It's happening.

This is real life.

I graduated from theatre school at the end of May. (That's the acting program at the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts (PCPA) to you). After two years of full-time dedication to growth, learning, self-exploration, and all things theatre, I decided to give myself a little breather.

I NEEDED to give myself a little breather.

I have officially taken five months for (almost) nothing but family, friends, my boyfriend, and some good, old fashioned money-making. In this time, I've been keeping plenty busy. I'm working two jobs (13 hours a week at Starbucks, and 40+ hours a week at a computer components company in the Silicon Valley), spending as much time as possible with my family, and trying to maintain a standard of bi-weekly visits with my boyfriend, Zach, who still lives in Santa Maria, where I went to school.

I've been supplementing my withdrawals from theatre by taking tap, jazz, and hip-hop classes at my old studio, and I've gone on a couple auditions for companies I've worked with in the past, but as any self-respecting performance-addicted adrenaline junkie will tell you, this type of fix is nothing but methadone...

It's time for the real thing.

The whole reason I came back home to the Bay Area after finishing school was because I knew I could live with one of my parents or friends for cheap, and could finally pay off my minor debt and actually SAVE some money.

The plan all along, you see, has been to wind up...elsewhere. I LOVE the Bay Area, and I LOVE being near my family and friends, but, for all their 350+ theatre companies, it's near impossible to actually WORK in the theatre without a day job to supplement income. And that's not my goal. I want to support myself with this. It is my CAREER, not my Professional Hobby. Other considerations, are being made, but I'm going to cross that bridge when I'm READY to come to it.

In the meantime, in order to get myself back on track, I've decided to start blogging. I want a way to hold myself accountable for spending an hour a day doing something to advance my career.

So here I am. Here we are. Here it is. At least once a week, I will post an account of the things I have done, by day, to keep myself moving along the right path.

Whew child.