Balancing Act

Two messages this week:

and

Being an actor, I have to do both, and it's fascinating to navigate the difference.

No matter how big or how small, being truthful is the key.

I had to self-tape an audition for a film this week, and it was fun to play this big character from Brooklyn, discovering what made her feel small. The scene was very well written and allowed me to play with these variances.

As my friends say...

 

Laundry and the Art of Improv

I've always loved Christopher Guest's films - A Mighty Wind is my favorite! He and his writing partner, the great Eugene Levy, supposedly write backgrounds for each of the characters and notecards for each specific scene, outlining the plot, and then leave it up to the actors to improvise the dialogue.

"When I meet actors, I talk with them and get a sense... of someone who can listen and has some kind of a spark." Christopher Guest to Charlie Rose 

The improv in his films, "as opposed to what you see in a club," is based on "more real-time behavior," and that's what I love: the heart beneath the humor. 

A few years ago, I got to improvise a short film called, "Laundry," and it was a blast. We filmed late at night in an East Village laundromat. My character, Annie, was the proprietor, and the film was completely improvised.  The director , Jules Suo, was clear on the characters and types of scenes she wanted. We the actors took it from there!

Below is a small taste of this short film, which is also on IMDB.

Playing a Despicable Character

I recently received a lovely review for playing the spoiled little rich girl, Sophie Teale, in the international recording of Jerome Kern's Roberta:

"Laura Daniel rates a bouquet for her purring, creamy-toned, absolutely despicable Sophie."

On Amazon, one reviewer wrote, "Laura Daniel deserves a special award for bitchiest bitch this side of the Bitchississippi." 

As I grow as an actor, I seem to keep playing "naughty girls." In fact, Larry Moore had seen me Off Broadway as the tempestuous Barbara Webster, in the revival of Charles MacArthur's "Johnny On a Spot," and knew he wanted me to play Sophie even then.

In Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty's musical, Lucky Stiff, I've played Rita twice, and it's always interesting to wrap my head around the woman who shot her lover for cheating on her:

In the new series, Trending, I play Madeline Lich, a naughty CEO who tries to clean up her image:

Rosalie Tenseth, the director and star of Trending, recently shared an article about the marvelous  Margot Martindale, and it really resonated with me. In the interview with The Vulture, she says, "If I were a man, would you call me evil? No. These are smart characters." They are good at what they do.

And for my cadre of "bad girls," I know these women feel justified in their actions and do not consider themselves evil. They are simply driven by what they want.

To quote Jessica Rabbit, "I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way." 

And as most actors will tell you, it's more fun to play the villain anyway! ;)