So far this year in 2008, I am getting paid more money for my Stunt skills and Fight Choreography than for my Acting.  What is up with this?

Now, I am not complaining because Stunts and FC'ing are my guilty little pleasure but how out of whack is this.  It was supposed to be a tool in the acting belt, not the buckle holding the belt in place. 

I guess in college when all my professors said - "wow, you really have the knack for that" I really should have listened more closely instead of saying, "really?  cool!  thanks!".....why are we so dim in college.  Isn't that when we are supposed to be the sharpest? 

Well, at 31, I guess it's a good sign that I am still (1) able to do this and (2) look good doing it.  But I really do hope at 41, this has flip-flopped itself to be what I had inteded it to be.


......of course, signing up for motorcylce lessons and stunt driving lessons PROBABLY is not helping the universe understand my hopes and dreams.  I just thought it would be fun!

Let it be known, you can succeed even when you fail.

Knowing that my Agent sucks, I've been chasing around work for long time now and I saw an Advil National spot come across the boards that needed a woman to "barrel through a mail cart, dodge workers and slide across a conference table for a donut."  GAME ON!  That is me, no doubt.

I drove over and did a dreaded "drop off" and then waited.  Waited a whole 20 hours for a phone call from my Agent going, "OMG - Advil wants to see you.  This is crazy awesome - how did that happen?  Do you know someone over there?"  Dude.  Sigh.  No I tell them, I self-submitted for the spot BECAUSE I'M PERFECT FOR IT AND HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT??? 

Anyway, I went in for the first round and.....Nailed IT!  I was the first female to do the stunts and I nailed them all on the first try.  And that's exactly what I wanted as now the Casting Director will think all day, "huh, why can't she do it?  that first girl nailed it."

And then waited.  And waited.  And crap - how can I not have a callback???  On the wednesday that the callback was to happen I was so upset.  I thought for sure I had it and I couldn't figure out what happened.  My phone rings at 3:30pm.  It's the Casting Office wondering where I am.  Ummmm, at work, what's going on.  I had a callback that my Agent NEVER TOLD ME ABOUT.  And the Nancy, God bless her, called my cell phone because she was convinced that I didn't know cause no one in my Agent's office called her to confirm me coming.  So, I tell her, "I'm on my way right now!"  And Nancy says to me, "Don't panic, drive carefully, we have plenty of time to get you in for them to see you."  What a wonderful woman.

I get there without problems and the second round was CRAZY.  Full on obstacle course with like 20 people there including the stunt coordinator and the cinematographer.  I do my stunts and while I didn't nail them as perfectly the first time, I did an excellent job and I remained calm, cool, and collected.

Three days later I get a call from the Casting Director and she says, you're in the final discussion round so I am putting you on hold for the spot but I am not sure exactly what's going on.  Just block out these two days please.

I did.  And I then jumped for joy.

Two days prior to the spot starting, the Casting Director calls me and says, "you didn't get the spot BUT, they want you there.  Can't explain but are you willing to be there as back-up."  Sure, of course, absolutely.  Connections are good so if anything, I'll make a couple.

I show up to set, camera ready and proceed to sit there and do nothing all morning.  Ummm, ok.  We break for lunch and finally, the stunt coordinator comes up to me and says, "sorry that you didn't get the spot.  you did the stunts amazingly well but they didn't like your look.  they wanted less "attractive stunt woman" and more "typical office worker" but it's good that you're here in case they decide they want more stunts in the spot....see where I am going with this?'  Absolutely!  And THANK YOU for saying that to me!  It made me feel awesome.  The woman who booked the spot btw is really cool - totally funny older woman office lady.  She just wasn't in great shape and so the stunts were not natural for her, hence her having a harder time with them but she is a great look for that commercial.

So, I got a small amount of cash to sit around and do nothing and have people tell me they totally would have hired me if they weren't trying for a non-attractive stunt woman look.  

I call that a success even if it is technically a failure.

....and yes, I had to pay my Agent %10 of that small check.  I would tell you how I feel about that but that's a WHOLE other post.

This show would have been a good career stepping point.  Bigger Theatre, Bigger League, Bigger Audience, Bigger Paycheck.  But alas, it was not meant to be.  ...no matter how hard I saw it in my mind.  

My audition was not crap.  I freely admit when I am crap but I came with my A-Game, made bold choices - hell, I sang Motley Crue's "Home Sweet Home" and new the material backwards and forwards.  So many factors go into the decision and when its bigger league, there are bigger factors.  Like Agents.  Yeah, really good agents can get a craptastic actor some pretty good gigs.  Don't believe me?  Go see a movie and tell me what you think.

But there are silver linings:

I recently saw - along with a lot of other friends - this play and it is not polished.  And ends on a whimper, not on a bang.  Part of me is very relieved that I was not cast.  My friends kept saying I dodged a bullet.  And I did.   ....But another part of me still wanted to be cast and shine and kickass even in a not great play just because it was a "big(ger) time."    So sad, isn't it......oh c'mon, I'm only an actress!

tc
sm

December, I heart you.  The insanity of you is always so much fun!

You bring traveling and parties and friends and food and booze together in an awesome way.  I wish you would bring my family together in an awesome way but hey, I understand you're not a miracle worker.  But, you do make me travel more which you know I love!

And here we go:
Dallas!  Going to see my college BFF to see her new home, her new man, her new town, and her new accent.  "Howdy Lady!"

Plays, more plays, free movies, free plays, movies, DVD's, oh my goodness, I'm so entertained that I am freaking out with glee.  One of the most awesome-est thing about Los Angeles is the ability to get free entertainment.  Because I'm SAG, I get free movie screeners in the mail and free movie screenings on a nightly basis and most of the time with Q&A's after.  Because I do a ton of theatre, I get free tickets left and right....though some is crap but still, free is free and I support my fellow artists trying!  Christmas time always has the best DVD's coming out....ahem, cough, Pirates and Harry Potter, cough cough.  Really, December is a great month for entertainment.

Parties.  Need I say more.  They're everywhere.  I feel though for people with B-Day's as its never fun to hear, "I can't come to your birthday party because my mandatory company holiday party is the same night."

And then the Christmas holiday actually arrives.  This year I will be spending it in Madison, Wisconsin visiting great friends, then I'll scoot down a bit to Burlington, Wisconsin to see the Dad and Uncles and Aunt.  And then I'll motor down to Chicago to see some cousins and some other friends before I head over to Helsinki, Finland to see my older sis and my mom who will have been there for a month.   After Christmas, I'll be heading back here to LA for New Years.  Whew!

And then January hits and I'll start my hybernation.  Now, technically you don't need to hybernate in LA as it never really gets colder than 50 degrees but as they say, you can take the girl out of chicago but you can't take chicago out of the girl.  We hybernate from January 1 to April 1.  Period.

So, lets' make sure I have everything I need.  Party shoes?  check.  Party wear?  check.  Plane tickets?  check.  Awesome-I-love-the-holidays-attitude? CHECK!

If you have never seen a Punch and Judy show, really you are missing out. 

"Punch and Judy" is now a term used en mass to discribe a puppet show where there is love, humor, and a lot of violence.  They are without a doubt the funniest thing you will ever see.  And you forget how much you like them until its been a long time and then one comes along and reminds you how funny, funny can get.

Truly though, the puppeteer needs to be a master.  If its bad, its horrible.  The secret to it is not in the puppeteering, but in the voices.  They need to be distinct from each other and in opposition to which, when there is one puppeteer, can be very challenging just keeping everything straight.  Now, it can be done with more than one person but its crazy good when its one person and they clearly ROCK.

Now what brings this up???  Well, sadly, I saw a play this past weekend where the Punch and Judy show (to help hide the set changes) was more entertaining than the show.  Note to show: NEVER get upstaged by Puppets.  That's just....not good.  So I have really mixed emotions because on one hand, I really loved the Punch and Judy show, on the other, I want to tell the show that they need to get rid of it because its so good, its killing their work.  Can such enjoyment and such torture actually  co-exist?  I guess, yes.  

Punch and Judy: 1
Play: 0

Here's hoping next time they step their game up or that woman who kicked ass at her Punch and Judy is sick, or booked, or quit.

Dear Sweet Candycanes, my boss can talk.  Holy Crap.  It's ridiculous.  Then it's funny.  And then it's annoying.  And then its borederline homicidal.  Seven minutes today to tell me to email the excel sheet I created for commission breakdowns to another company member.  SEVEN MINUTES.  Dude, you don't need to explain to me what the excel sheet is.....I know what it is, I created it.  Just tell me to email it.  Just tell me to email it.   JUST TELL ME TO EMAIL IT.  SHUT UP AND JUST FRIGGIN TELL ME TO EMAIL IT.  

There are days that I wish I just said yes to porn.  But no no no, I had to have integrity as an actress.