Neat Bleep: http://www.whatthebleep.com/herald15/filmmakers.shtml

Yes, I'm a "what the Bleep" fan. LOVE that movie and what it does for the consciousness and creative and subconsciousness!

Anyway, the recent article from "The Bleeping Herald" asked the question, "Can we be the change we want to see (in the world) without doing anything?" It's a big being/nothingness vs. doing kind of thing, and that trips me out because that has been on my mind this week.

And my answer is that we ARE the answer. Whether we are meditating, "being," existing, we DO, ACT, THINK and MOVE. We be and we do and we cannot help but be/do both. :)

I believe we are here to help each other, to be with each other, to interact with each other and progress together. Perhaps it's just the thought of the day, but I can't help but think of the people who have inspired me and who hopefully I have inspired as well to live and love and be as fully alive and aware as we all can be. :)

"Theater humanizes; all art humanizes. It takes us away from the merely logical and rational... and can reach people in a different and deeper place than reading a news article or listening to a speech: there is an emotional aspect that for some people can be more long-lasting and motivating. " - Cindy and Craig Corrie

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1008-21.htm

I had the privilege of being able to audition today for "My Name is Rachel Corrie," a one woman show about a young American woman who went to Palestine to protest for peace and was horrifically killed by a bulldozer. If this doesn't put things into perspective, nothing will:

http://www.criticalconcern.com/rachelcorrie.html

I hope everyone will read her emails, hear her voice. I did and realized that in researching this woman and her history for a play, I became INFORMED. I learned about the horrors going on in this world and a quest for peace that ended in tragedy. But the quest goes on... My world was broadened because of "finding" Rachel Corrie, and I am grateful for that.

"Many people want their voices to be heard, and I think we need to use some of our privilege as internationals to get those voices heard directly in the US, rather than through the filter of well-meaning internationals such as myself. I am just beginning to learn, from what I expect to be a very intense tutelage, about the ability of people to organize against all odds, and to resist against all odds." - Rachel Corrie

I can't believe I never saw the power of theatre to TEACH and educate the masses. It's an awesome discovery and it solidifies my desire to do quality work in my art.

And also... to find a way to send light and love into the darkest of places. There must be hope. Always.

Laura

Last week was a whirlwind! I had the pleasure of performing my own one woman musical, "Love in 35 Minutes" on Monday night at The Aurora and on Friday night at Stage Left Studio (www.stageleftstudio.com). It all came about because I was supposed to do a group showcase, but everyone backed out right at the halfway point. And I thought, "I have invested all of this time and money and effort into this. I'm not going to give up!" So I didn't! I went through about 20 probable songs, cut it down to 10 and then wrote a show around those 10 songs. It was pretty easy, considering almost every song dealt with the pursuit of love, the celebration of love, the loss of love, and the resolution of love. It all fell into place.

I had some great helpers along the way. My graphic designer boyfriend created the postcard. :)
Carl Einbeck, one of my very best friends, who is also a brilliant writer and actor, always wanted to try his hand at directing, so he came on board and did a fabulous job at directing the show. Chas Elliott, voice coach and opera aficionado, took on the role of music director and pianist and played beautifully.

Both nights and both venues were packed with full houses, and the audiences seemed to enjoy the show. Lots of laughs and joyous comments.

I had so much love and support and encouragement just getting to where I needed to be, and once I performed the piece, I received tons of fabulous feedback, mostly with people asking, "When are you going to do it again?"

It felt great!

I wanted to dedicate this post to my friends. I just feel so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life.

My friend, Tina, recently brought her daughter to the city to enjoy the wilds of Manhattan. She detailed a lot of it in her blog, and you HAVE to see her recent blog on the wildflowers in PA: http://theessentialherbal.blogspot.com/

My childhood friend, Lisa, recently had a snow day with her family in Idyllwild, CA, and boy, did they get a lot of snow!
She took her nephew sledding with her brother-in-law, daughter, and husband, Robert (below), who's a real doll.
Her daughter Savvy recently graduated to green belt in karate and we're all very proud of her.
There is so much love in my life.
And the big news of the week was the birth of my nephew: John Drobnock III. Isn't he a cutey? I thank the Universe for bringing so much love and joy into my life. Such treasures! :)

Well, it's been a fun week in the big Apple. We got hit by a major blizzard on Sunday. It was a total whiteout from my apartment window on the 19th floor! the next day the city was white white white, and I had fun taking some pics:

I also started a new acting for musical theatre workshop with VP Boyle called The Musical Theatre Forum: http://www.maxtheatrix.com/mtfinfo.html
It is a PHENOMENAL workshop and the people in the class are incredibly talented! I'm learning a bunch and feel like I'm ready for lift-off! :)

My homework for the class was to investigate famous comediennes and to incorporate the technical aspects of comedy into my songs (apparently, I'm pretty funny without even trying - who knew?), so I started a list of all my favorites: Madeline Kahn, Kristin Chenoweth, Mo Gaffney, Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French, Bette Midler and Betty Grable. A friend reminded me of Rosalind Russel in Auntie Mame so I'll be watching that film for the hundredth time! :)

A comedienne I'm really interested in seeing is an actress from the 50s - Judy Holliday: http://www.wtv-zone.com/lumina/judy/main.html
She only did a few films, was reknowned for her stage work and her brilliant comedy on stage and screen. I'm hoping to get a hold of "Born yesterday," the film, to see her in action. Can't wait! I'm completely inspired! :)

Happy New Year! 2006 is already off and running it seems. After some hectic holidays, my new year has begun by wrapping up the lead in a short film and by getting called in for Grizabella in CATS as well as "Sin" in a new musical of "Paradise Lost." Too much fun.

The film was such an interesting experience. I've done background and stand-in work for The Sopranos and Sex and the City, so I knew how long a shoot could go: 12-14 hours a day usually amounts to a 1-3 minute scene. So to play the lead in this upcoming short film meant putting in some long hours, but it should well be worth it.



Hair and makeup alone took a few hours for me, because they took me from my usual self (on the left) to the Bride of Frankenstein (on the right). My character was a bit kooky and the director had a specific look in mind for me. It took some getting used to, but I ended up feeling like Madeline Kahn, which was great fun.



So Mel Brooks, if you're looking for the next Madeline Kahn for your musical version of "Young Frankenstein," I'm your girl! :)

Learning a heck of a lot. Just finally getting to the point where I can enjoy auditions instead of taking them so seriously. And I know that the more I do that, the more likely it is that I'll get the gig. My last show was that way, and it was a pleasure and a surprise how easy it could be. But it is definitely a head-shift. Just getting out of my own way and playing, doing what I love to do and enjoying it. And I know I'm "building steam." Casting people are taking their time with me in auditions and asking me for more songs when I've finished my inital "offer." Rye Mullis even directed me on a song from The Scarlet Pimpernell the other day because he knew the show so well and wanted to help me capture the intimacy of the moment. I belted the heck out of the song but also found the vulnerability of it, and when I finished, he seemed pleased.

I know I am blessed with a high belt, and I'm beginning to appreciate that. It's funny how we don't always appreciate what we have. For the longest time, I always wanted to sing soprano, and now that I can, it's like, Oh, yeah. That's lovely, but the belt is something so incredibly special. I really am grateful to be able to do it.

And I look forward to rockin more songs... :)

Well, I made it to the final round of callbacks last night, but I was amazed at how many people were there. For one thing, it seemed more like a cattle-call than final callbacks, and for another, the majority of actresses there for Rita were all much older than me and much tougher looking. They were all very similar while I stood out. And while I thought that was kind of cool, I don't know if that was what the director was looking for, considering.

Eh, diversity is good!

And I've learned from this experience that you can't go backwards, you can only move forward, and I know there are bigger and better things waiting for me, that will fit me to a T and vice versa.

The cool thing with that is that I've had so many of my friends and fellow artists behind me. They know I'm good, they know I can belt out a tune and fill a theatre like no other. I am unique, and I love that!

After much encouragement from my fabulous friend Tina at The Essential Herbal, a booming business-woman in her own right, I have decided to take the leap into blog-land! Whee! :)

I'm getting ready to go into an audition for the musical, "Lucky Stiff" at the West End Theatre, and I'm so psyched because I've done this role before. Rita LaPorta! "The Door." And what a door she is, wrecking all sorts of havoc in the name of love and greed. Gotta love her! And I do!

People have given me wonderful praise for my portrayal of Rita (see the reviews section of my website: http://www.geocities.com/lauradaniel1/reviews.html), but the most important praise and encouragement has come from my friends. Friends who knew I was an actress but didn't know I could sing. And SING I DO!!!! But it's their love and support and encouragement that help keep me in the game, and I know I can do it! Watch me fly!