Signs

I love the universal language of signs. From danger red to cautionary yellow to greenlight go! With so much going on in our lives, it's good to pay attention to the signs.

This week one of my favorite column writers, LA casting director Bonnie Gillespie, addressed the importance of being a smart artist with the new business model of self-publishing. I find this especially well timed because one of my dear friends, Tina Sams from The Essential Herbal, is about to self-publish a gorgeous book detailing the first 5 years of her self-published herbal magazine, and it looks awesome!

Adding to this realm, I've been taking classes in html and Dreamweaver so I can take over the maintenance and promotion of my website (created by my guy Rob at whatsyoursigndesign.biz who is focusing his efforts on being the visual planner for Godiva chocolates - yum!), and I absolutely LOVE the creative expression that accompanies this! Digging into the code, troubleshooting, playing with text and images and linking it all together... it's a blast!

Even further, I'm taking a film class via One on One Productions with casting director Ellen Parks, and I must say what everyone says: Whenever you can, take classes! By seeing what others go through in a class environment and experiencing it yourself, you cannot help but grow!

Lastly, twice this week it's come to my attention how important it is to do your research! Whether its for a class or an audition (and especially once I've booked a gig), I've always been a big research nut when it comes to figuring out the "world" within the script. From the playwright's style to the influences of the time period and how the characters relate to each other (and especially digging deep to see what your character wants and how they go about trying to achieve that), it never ceases to amaze me how much more can be discovered! The more tools you have in your toolbox the better!

So keep your head up, your eyes open and enjoy the ride! :)