Setting Goals

I love Karen Kohlhaas' classes. I swear, that woman has such a gift for sharing adventures in acting and show business. It is amazing how much is to be learned!

I'm currently taking her Fearless Cold Reading and Audition Technique Class, and I have to tell you, the lessons learned are INVALUABLE!

A portion of last night's class focused on The Agent Interview and the many questions an agent might ask you, including, "Where do you see yourself in 1-3-5 years?"

Now, I've been on a few agent interviews, and only one manager asked this of me, but the thing that resonated with me about all this is the importance of goal-setting.

Karen shared this story about "a study conducted on students in the 1979 Harvard MBA program. In that year, the students were asked, 'Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?' Only three percent of the graduates had written goals and plans; 13 percent had goals, but they were not in writing; and a whopping 84 percent had no specific goals at all.

Ten years later, the members of the class were interviewed again, and the findings, while somewhat predictable, were nonetheless astonishing. The 13 percent of the class who had goals were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84 percent who had no goals at all. And what about the three percent who had clear, written goals? They were earning, on average, ten times as much as the other 97 percent put together."

So you can bet I'm reassessing and setting up my 1-3-5 year goals. Some advisers will even counsel to have daily, weekly and monthly goals, and it's all good.

I was telling a friend the other day that every audition I hit, every submission I send out, every class I attend, is investing in the bank of Laura, and it feels good to invest in myself and in making my dreams come true.

I hope you are too! :)

Embrace Your Assets

One of my best friends is in the midst of interviewing for a job, and he was talking last night about writing a thank-you note to a company who had called him back for a lengthy 2nd interview.

He said, "I'm thinking of saying, 'Even though I don't have the full skillset you're seeking, I can learn quickly and am very personable,'" which of course, he is. But it bothered me that he should point out his lacks, and I suggested he ditch that intro and play up his assets.

I know him as an actor, writer, director, and a corporate survivor. Any task he's been assigned - technically or otherwise - he completes with success and goes at it with 150% focus. He seriously learned a new computer program in one day! So I suggested instead of stating his negatives, he should highlight his assets.

And that reminded me to do the same.

I recently updated my resume with all of my improv experience. Why I left this off in the first place, I have no idea, except that I'd been given so much advice as far as what I "should" have on my resume, focusing on NY and regional theatre, film and TV, and so I didn't think including my improv experience would assist me in booking a job. Boy, was I wrong!

Last month I booked a giant comedy/improv gig because I had worked with a fellow who was producing it and who knew I could do comedy, but he also asked that I send him a resume that included my improv work. As I reconfigured my resume, I discovered that I had at least 12 improv characters under my belt!

My first paid acting gig out of school (my actual first paid gig was in "Annie") was with the PA Renaissance Faire. They had hired directors from LA - David Leong and Chris Villa - and wanted part of their Shakespearean improv troupe to be from LA as well. It was the only year they did this, and I was quickly hired.

I enjoyed the Faire and its seasonal shows so much that I stayed on for 4 years, creating a plethora of characters! I played everything from a scruffy young rogue (Polly Pickalittle) to historical court lady Penelope Devereaux, struck-by-lightning-gravedigger, Spanish innkeeper Freida Synne, and even Queen Elizabeth herself!


For the Fall show I played the Ghost of Virginia Poe (Edgar Allen Poe's wife), Mimi Leroux (wife of Phantom of the Opera writer, Gaston Leroux) and Mary Shelley, among others.

When I left the Faire and came to NY, I ended up working in some murder mystery events, playing everything from a wise-cracking assistant DA from Brooklyn to a German psychic.

So when my Kaboom co-star, John Di Domenico, asked about my improv experience, I realized I had a TON, and it was so great to unearth it! So I updated my resume and ended up booking a very nice gig because of it.

So like I was telling my job-interviewing friend, we have to realize all the great stuff we can bring to the table and lead with our assets! :)

Emmy nods

This Spring I studied the art of the TV audition (or TV Bootcamp) with the marvelous Ross Meyerson at One on One Productions, and it was an awesome class. Ross came from a background in theatre and I loved his take on the acting process and the TV audition. It was akin to what I'm learning with Karen Kohlhaas at The Atlantic Acting School, and I just love when things jive like that! It's like driving down a road with a bunch of green lights.


When I went on Facebook this morning, there was the joyous news that Ross was nominated for an Emmy Award with Julie Tucker for Outstanding Casting of a Drama Series. Woo hoo!

Can't wait to see what happens next year when Nurse Jackie is in the running. I love that show! And it's yet another great gig that Ross was involved with as far as casting. Rock on!

It's funny. With most award nominations, a lot of folks focus on their favorite actor or actress, but there are so many people involved in the process of making a show happen, and it's wonderful to see everyone get some kudos.

Congratulations to all of the nominees!

Increasing the Percentage for Success

Last month, one of my favorite columnists, Bonnie Gillespie, wrote a post for the Actors Voice, entitled Just Get Better, which made total sense to me, because, as she so aptly put it, "This, my friends, is the Super Bowl of Acting. Even the pros ride the bench much of the time. You actually want the honor of some decent playing time with these folks? Get better. Train."

This summer I've enrolled in two kickass classes. One is with Karen Kohlhaas from The Atlantic Theatre School and the other is with Deloss Brown, former Juilliard professor who's currently teaching at NYU.

I start As You Like It with Deloss tonight, working on the comedy of Shakespeare. And Karen's class is called Fearless Cold Reading, and I started that on Tuesday night.

I had taken Karen' Monologue Workshop in the spring and loved it so much! Her instruction and the Atlantic technique gave me this wonderful sense of expansion, and I felt a great improvement in my auditions. I had to continue my studies, so I jumped at the chance to take her Fearless Cold Reading class.

Last year I was cast in 2 off Broadway shows based on cold-readings: Kaboom and Johnny on a Spot.


This kind of an audition is seeing the script for the first time and performing it "cold," which I intuitively do well, but wanted to increase my success rate. And that was one of the things Karen said in class. So much of this business is doing everything you can to raise your percentage of getting work. There's 95% unemployment amongst actors, so the 5% that are working are literally doing something that works pretty much every time.

Like Bonnie said, even star performers are sometimes "benched" or out of the game for whatever reason, but do you think they're sitting around, twiddling their thumbs? NO WAY. There's training to do for the body, mind, spirit, and the craft of acting! Taking classes, meeting people, going to auditions, practicing every day, these are the things we need to do to stay in the game.

I was telling my sweetheart, Rob, that what I've been learning from Karen and Deloss this year are tips that add to my entire package. Heck! Every teacher has helped me cultivate that which I am today, and I am so grateful for that.

It's like cooking! All of these teachers have given me wonderful spices to add to my main dish, and it's a delight to sense all of this taking shape. Simple things like coming into the audition room "Big and Slow," emanating positivity, finding the action/objective of any piece of material (monologue, scene, song), breathing, leading from and opening up my heart, which actually makes me stand taller, not rushing myself, taking in my scene partner and the people in the room, going for the action/objective of the character, supporting my voice, using my physical and vocal range, talking with the casting people like human beings and not trying to "get" anything from them, just enjoying the moment of being there to share in the experience, to BE in that moment, and then to leave the room with ease and grace.

It's amazing how all that can happen in a 2 minute audition. :) But it's been happening more and more lately, whether its a musical audition like the one I did for Pure Country earlier in the week, or the one I'm heading to today for Smudge with the Women's Project. It's all good, and I feel like I get better and better every time I put myself out there.

It's a blast!

A Roof with a View

Every summer, my honey, Rob and I get together with our NY buddies and celebrate the sunsets on our rooftop. We are fortunate to live in a beautiful building overlooking the Hudson River and so we always get a stunning view of the city, glowing amidst the setting sun.

But this year, with the 4th of July Fireworks taking place over the Hudson, we knew our rooftop would be jam-packed, so Carl and Michael (my birthday buds who went with me to Blithe Spirit) invited us to their place. They live very close to Times Square and are in an old 4-floor walk-up, so we didn't know if we'd really be able to see the fireworks, but I tell you, it was the best view! Truly perfect!!!

For one, it was incredible to be in the heart of Times Square, surrounded by the glorious glassy buildings, the moon shining down upon us. And all we had to do was face west to see the amazing array of fireworks. It was FANTASTIC!

The other cool thing was that you could see the neighboring rooftops were filled with people, all cheering the colorful displays. It was such a unified experience, and we were all thrilled to be a part of it.

Confessions of a Chameleon

I recently had new headshots taken by the wonderful Ben Strothmann, whom I met after he took production photos of The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun for BroadwayWorld. He captured almost every moment of that musical so beautifully, so when I found out he also took headshots, I had to meet him.

Almost any actor will tell you how excruciating headshots can be. I know, it sounds bizarre, because as actors we want to be in front of the camera, especially for film and TV, but it's usually while we're in character. It's a strange and funny thing that many actors are actually quite shy. I've even read about how some A-list actors will adopt a sort of red carpet persona in order to deal with the pressure of walking the red carpet. Yet as true artists we want to get our art out there, and we are our art, so we have to get out there!

Our calling card - especially starting out - is our headshot. This picture functions as our business card, a visual introduction to casting directors, talent agents, and just about anyone in show business. So getting a headshot that captures your essence is key. That's why I like working with Ben. Taking photos with him is like having coffee talk with an old friend, full of laughter and fun, all while sharing dreams amidst clicks of the camera. He's a delight to work with!
I recently went from being a blonde to a redhead, hence the reason I'm feeling so chameleon-like. Why red? Why not? My family has the genetic code of graying early - I started getting silver hair when I was 16 - so I've tried just about every color out there. I went blue- black for a role, and that color stayed for quite a while. Boy was it hard to get out! Then I went blonde, and it was fun to play the roles that went with that like the mobster molls and ditzy dames.

But my friends and cohorts in the biz kept saying there was more to me than being a blonde, and that they missed the earthy sassiness that seemed to emanate from me when I sported a darker look. Amazingly, quite a few of them urged me to go red. So I have, and I like it immensely. I've also noticed a stronger receptivity to my look in auditions. Towards the end of being blonde, there almost felt like a disconnect, because I'd get such high praise for my talent, but there was also that feeling that something about my product wasn't quite meshing. But now with red, it seems like people are really looking at me, and they have that look in their eyes like they want to buy my brand, so that has been very encouraging.

So now I start rebranding, continuing to hit auditions, work out at the gym, take classes and work on my craft. We'll see what this new 'do does. :)

Feeling Bold

Think bold. Be bold. This has been my mantra today.

I had an awesome audition yesterday for the Judith Shakespeare Company, a very cool company in Manhattan that is known for non-traditional casting for women, specifically with Shakespeare's works. Women are often cast in the male roles, and vice versa. Their productions always sound amazing and I would love to work for them.

It's a wild thing, auditioning, and great courage is required. Almost every famous actor will say how glad they are NOT to have to audition any more, because it can be really nerve-wracking. But I'm getting to the point where I almost love that adrenaline rush that happens when I walk into the room.


Yesterday's audition was at the Abingdon Theatre, and I've always enjoyed that space, walking through the darkness of the wings (backstage area), moving onto the little stage in the round, stepping into the light, seeing the auditors and welcoming them to take the ride with me. It's an exciting feeling and I love that I'm learning more about the characters and the playwright's intentions, serving the play itself, every time I do a monologue or sing a song. It's a connection to the material that I've never felt before. I feel like I'm really getting to perform the roles I've chosen for my audition pieces, and that's a thrilling feeling.

It's taking 2 minutes and turning that into a mini theatrical experience and enjoying it, being in it, breathing it.

Art can happen at any moment, and those 2 minutes that we get to audition can be the beginning of something incredible.

Looking ahead

It's such an interesting time. There's a lot of change in the air. Can ya feel it? Just things shifting. And it's a good feeling. It makes me think of something my friend Tina and I talk about. We often compare our businesses to surfing. She's a small business owner of an herb magazine she created 7 years ago, and I'm the owner of my "company" as an actress, both of us wearing the hats of product development and marketing, among many others.

Anyway, we've often said how any kind of business is like surfing. You start on the beach, surveying the sea and then you throw yourself out there. Sometimes you catch an incredible wave, sometimes you wipe out, but you get back on your surfboard and try again, knowing the reward will be truly sweet.


Sometimes you get out there and ride between the swells, gauging when to move towards what might become a big wave.

I feel like that right now, that I'm not just sitting on my board between the swells, but that I'm maneuvering, moving towards something that could be incredibly cool.

I have classes planned for the summer and auditions on the horizon. My friend from Hell's Belles, Deb Radloff, and I are going to revisit our idea for a cabaret with my Singing Nun musical director, Robby Stamper.

So good stuff is in the works! :)

Dedication

As I watched the Tony's last night, something that rang out for me about the whole thing was dedication to one's art and to one's family. Nearly every winner thanked his or her family and friends for their love and support.

Marcia Gay Harden thanked her mom for helping her lug suitcases up several flights of stairs when she first moved to New York.

The 3 boys who won for alternately playing the title role in Billy Elliot (David Alvarez, Kiril Kulish and Trent Kowalik) thanked their families and teachers and the entire cast and crew, including my Kaboom director, BT McNicholl, who's resident director for the Billy's. I was so jazzed that they gave a shout-out to this great man and fabulous director whom I've also had the pleasure to work with.

Gregory Jbara, who won Best Featured Actor in Billy Elliot, brought his wife onstage with him, which was so very cool!Geoffrey Rush, whom I saw last week in the incredible show Exit the King, thanked "Manhattan audiences for proving that French existential absurdist tragicomedy rocks."

It truly was an incredible play, and I'm so glad I got to see it before it closes. Likewise with 33 Variations, which was also up for some Tony's, and which I hoped would get some recognition because it truly was an exceptional production.

I still can't stop thinking about either play, and I'm so glad I was able to see these productions with friends.

That's something I've really been doing this year more than any other: seeing Broadway and Off Broadway shows. Part of it's because I did 2 Off Broadway shows last year and it really hit me what an incredible community this is, that we all must support each other and encourage growth through art.

I've also been taking a lot of classes this year, and it just hit me, I live in New York City and I have the ease to see all of this amazing theatre, to learn from master crafstmen like Geoffrey Rush and Jane Fonda. So I'm doing it!

Seeing Angela Lansbury in Blithe Spirit was also like taking a master class, because the entire cast, the entire production oozed the style of the period, and it was so cool how the whole production was designed.

Likewise, Exit the King. I'm sure people will be grabbing up tickets like crazy, and I love that! Exit the King is such a comic "think" piece. Boy, did it make me think!

And I love that theatre can do that! It can teach, it can amuse, it can move you, it can make you go, "What was that?" It can make you look at life and the people in it and just make you marvel at it all.

I'm glad to be a part of it.

Congratulations to all the Tony winners and nominees. You rock!

A Glimpse of Greatness

My sweetheart and I tend to stay in the city over Memorial Day Weekend. We've always enjoyed the quiet feeling that pervades the city when everyone rushes out to go to the beach. And it's been such a beautiful weekend! So we've spent a great deal of it, strolling about.

This morning, on our way to the gym, we passed the Eugene O'Neill Theatre where 33 Variations had played, and I was sad to see the show had closed. Apparently, it was a limited run, and boy, am I glad I got to see it last weekend before it closed!

Seeing that closing notice posted on the theatre doors reminded me what a fleeting treasure theatrical performances are. With film, we're able to view and review something a million times until we're spent on it. But with theatre, it's often a one-shot deal, and yet there is something so visceral about live theatre, so tangible. It is such a connected experience between the performers and the audience, and that experience is often kept alive in our memories.

I'm still amazed by folks I've met who've seen a show I've done and give such generous accounts of their experience. A casting director I met recently saw The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun that I did a few years ago, and an actress I met at Actors Equity saw me in Johnny On A Spot, which I did last Fall, and both ladies were full of very kind compliments.


I love how people are moved by theatre! And sure, I remember my first big theatrical experience. It was Beatlemania. My parents took me to see it in LA when I was a kid, and I was absolutely mesmerized. I cried and cried when it was over. And interestingly enough, with 33 Variations, that too had me sobbing at the end. It was such a wonderful production!

Jane Fonda played a musicologist, searching for clues as to why Beethoven (played with great ferocity by Zach Grenier) wrote 33 Variations on a simple waltz by Anton Diabelli (played by the delightful Don Amendolia). Some of these variations are considered to be Beethoven's last pieces of work, and the playwright/director Moises Kaufman wove together this story of a woman coming to terms with her illness of Lou Gehrig's disease while also juggling a distant relationship with her daughter (the tenacious Samantha Manthis), who unexpectedly find's love with her mother's nurse (Colin Hanks' Broadway debut, and boy was he wonderful). Intertwined with this modern tale is a fictional account of Beethoven's last years, coming to terms with his deafness and the new discoveries it gave him as a composer. "And, even though they're separated by 200 years, these two people share an obsession that might, even just for a moment, make time stand still."

Indeed it did! There was a moment where Jane Fonda's character, Katherine, is having x-rays and you can see the pain this woman is going through, yet she leans back, and there is Beethoven, her solace and her inspiration to keep going.


The characters come together in the final scene, meeting in Katherine's mind, and it was such incredible work! The acting, the writing, the directing, the scenic and lighting design and the music (beautifully played by pianist Diane Walsh)! The cast was rounded out by the fabulous Susan Kellermann, whom I loved in Queen Latifah's film, Last Holiday, and Erik Steele as Beethoven's right hand man, Anton Schnidler.

The whole production reminded why I love theatre so much and why I want to do work like this, to work with incredible artists who tell stories of such depth and beauty. It was first-rate, and I'm glad I caught it because it was gone. It will definitely live in my memory forever.

The Drive

I've been thinking about this since last week when I saw Speed Racer. It really was a fun movie, and at the heart of it, a movie about family and what brings people together.

I never was a Speed Racer fan. It was before my time, and even when I'd hear older boys talking about it, I just didn't get it, but the Wachowski Brothers' film really got me. The graphics were breathtaking and the actors weren't eclipsed by it, which can happen in some graphic-heavy films. The whole film was an effective, united effort, and everyone and everything in it was quite wonderful!

Some of the writing was really beautiful too. Susan Sarandon's speech as the mother, saying that watching her son race was like watching a master artist paint made me think of watching my little brother play the drum-set for the first time. He was 16, but had been playing since he was 12 while I was away at college and art school, and I was astounded watching him. It was just like watching a master painter at work.

And Racer X, the mysterious mentor figure in the film, gives great encouragement to Speed Racer, asking him what drives him. "We drive because we have to," he says. And it made me think of my friend, Tina, who started her own herbal magazine 7 years ago, and who I always encouraged to write, just as she encouraged me to act.

Whenever we had rough days, we'd always ask each other, "Well, what else would you do?" And we both agreed and still agree we HAVE to do our art, because it satisfies us like nothing else can.

So when I got off the elevator yesterday, going to an audition, and the maintenance man in my building said, "I wish I was like you....When you get old, you lose The Drive..." I looked at him, he who seemed so young for his 50 years of age, and I said, "Hang in there, man. No matter what, you gotta grab each moment."

And he said, "That you do!"

Cool Connections and Callbacks

You know, I didn't want to get up this morning. I was in class late last night, working on Shakespeare with Deloss Brown, which of course was invigorating and got all my senses a-whirling, so I didn't go to sleep til about midnight. Thus, when the alarm went off this morning to get me up early for audition sign-ups for the New York Stage and Film 2009 Season, I was a little groggy. But it's my biz, and I love the line-up of plays and musicals for the season, so I had to go.

The great speech from Henry V kept me going:

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more..."

It's that never give up attitude, ya know?

And I'm SO glad I went!

Robert Marra, the director who brought me in for final call-backs for the Off Broadway revival of Snoopy, was there as an unexpected guest of the general manager. It was great to see him, and he was all waves and smiles, very encouraging, and it was a joy to get to show him my work outside of Snoopy, mainly rocking the house with a sexy pop rock song. It was a BLAST!

Then when I got back to my computer, there was an email from a lovely casting director whom I met a few years ago at callbacks for Wine Lovers, The Musical. I decided to submit for a new project she's working on for The Midtown International Theatre Festival, and lo and behold she called me in! I'm so excited about this opportunity! And it just amazes me to think that I almost didn't send my info out to her. Well, I've certainly learned to release my limitations and make a commitment to myself.

Again, a Shakespeare play I'm working on is brought to mind:

"Our doubts are traitors,
And make us lose the good we oft might win
By fearing to attempt. Go to..."
- Measure for Measure

So no matter what, show up, do your mailings, and invest in yourself and your craft. Ya gotta keep on trying!

And keep your fingers crossed! ;)

In honor of my Mama

My beautiful friend, Tina, recently wrote this lovely post about her mother, and of course, it made me think of mine.

I got to see my Mama at the beginning of the month when I went to CA to see my little bro perform with Hippie Cream. And the cherry on the cake was that mom decided to come to the show too!

The gig was at an old hippie commune in LA. It was actually an old USC frat house that had a history of being a hippie commune in 1969, and Hippie Cream was invited to play at their 40th anniversary/reunion. So there we were - my Mom, me, my brother and the band, surrounded by hippies, old and new.

The old-timers were a really groovy group, I must say. Lots of silver hair and an absolute effervescence in spirit! And the newer group of hippies were more like goth kids mixed with hipster punk. It was such an interesting group and made me think how we are all unified in our search to express ourselves.

My Mom was 17 in '69 so she was more of a woman in the disco era, but she fit right in at the Hippie Cream gig and got along great with everyone.

I was so proud of her for coming along. It was a late gig and she didn't get home til 2 AM, but boy, was it cool that she was there to see her son drum! And I loved getting to hang out with her in this very groovy kind of way.

She actually is probably one of the reasons Sean and I are so artistic. She and Dad would play the Beatles endlessly - even into the 80s - so Sean and I grew up with some very cool music in our ears.

She also was the first one to encourage me to "live out loud" and she was so supportive with all the things I wanted to do as a child: ballet, gymnastics, acting and singing.

She volunteered to be a seamstress for my school plays, creating costumes and such, and I'll never forget going thrift store shopping with her at the age of 10, finding this gorgeous old prom dress that she turned into Cinderella's ball gown for my 5th grade play. I was Cinderella, and you can bet I felt so incredibly special, knowing my Mom was my very own fairy godmother, having created this beautiful dress for me.

We've always been friends as well as mother and daughter, and it was incredibly hard on both of us when I left CA to come to NY. Heck! It still is hard! But I feel like she's with me every day, sharing the highs and lows of my acting career and daily life.

She's come to NY a few times, and she especially came to see me as The Singing Nun. I tell ya, she just beamed with pride, and she was talking to everyone after the show, briefly becoming a mini Mama Rose. :) But it all came from a good place.

And it still does. It all comes from love.

Shopping and The Tonys

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I just got back from 2 auditions (The Glass Menagerie and Seattle Rep), and they both felt really good, so that is also cause for celebration! Ole!

Every time I audition, I learn so much - about myself, the character, the process. It's definitely fascinating! And I've entered a neat realm where it feels like the directors and casting directors are really looking at me. It's like they're trying to figure out where I'd fit, how they'd cast me, and this reminds me of my recent shopping spree with my Mom last week.

Mom and I hit everything from thrift stores to major brand stores, and we had a blast doing it. We'd load up on clothes and shoes that caught our eyes, and then we'd go try them on.

Now, this makes me think of the first phase of auditions, except that we, the actors, are the clothes, and the casting people are seeing if they want to try us on. Bonnie Gillespie likened this to a wine bar, but more along the lines of what kind of advice to "drink in," which is a really cool reminder that we're all in the same boat here, meaning it's not "us vs. them" or vice versa. Every aspect of show business is a group effort - even one person shows!

And this takes me to The Tonys.

Who knows how many tryouts there were for the shows that have been nominated? Or any of the shows on Broadway! I can imagine the lengthy process it's taken some of these folks to get to where they are.

The gang from Title of Show were part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival, just like I was with The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun, and we actually all intermingled at the NYMF Awards. They performed and I was a recipient, and now Hunter Bell is up for the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical. Very cool!

I actually know two other people who are nominated or associated with nominated shows this year, and I guess that shouldn't surprise me because the same thing happened last year! I'd either worked with or been in classes with people in last year's Tony Awards too!

This year, Billy Elliot, the musical about the little British boy who is sent to boxing class but just wants to dance, has swept the nominations, earning 15 nods!BT McNicholl, my director for last summer's comedy KABOOM at Cherry Lane, is the Resident Director for Billy Elliot, and he was actually working on Billy at the same time as KABOOM, which had to be an intense stretch, but what a fun ride!

BT was always the epitome of professionalism and high energy, and I would work with him again in a heartbeat.

My other Tony-nom-blast-from-the-past is Christopher Sieber, who is nominated for his hilarious turn as Lord Farquaad in Shrek The Musical. I went to AMDA with Chris, and though we were in different sessions, I do remember him from when our groups would intermingle. He was very funny, charismatic and talented even then!

I believe he stayed on for a second year at AMDA, but I was offered the role of Rita in a regional production of Educating Rita, so I missed my second year for that role, but boy, it was worth it.

It's thrilling when someone you've worked with gets kudos for their work. And it's always encouraging to see one of your classmates making their dreams come true.

I know that every time I put myself out there, I'm making it happen too.

Congratulations to all of the nominees! :)

Back to Work

There's a really cool phrase in reference to art, and I don't know how long it's been around, but I really dig it. It's called "The Work," and it's usually in reference to good work, though in truth, I believe any commitment to one's craft is a good thing, and so the work that results from the effort one puts into one's craft must have benefit.

And it's is really cool when you hear someone say they liked your work. That happened today at my audition for Alan Ayckbourn's comedy, How the Other Half Loves, to be produced in CT. The artistic director was very generous with praise about my work, and I LOVE the work! :) Whether its performing a piece for an audition, class, or a show, I'm learning and growing, and I love it!

I actually just got back from vacation in CA last week, where I got to see my family and share the artistic ride with my little brother. He's a drummer for the band Hippie Cream, and they're a really groovy group of guys who make music that bounces around between lots of genres. Sean likes to say they're like The Muppets on acid, guest-starring Paul Simon.

They played for a hippie commune's 40th Anniversary at USC and man, that was wild! They made me think of early Oingo Boingo mixed with Johnny Cash and the Monkees. They also got comparisons to Frank Zappa, but truly Hippie Cream has their own sound, and they are FUN!

And you know, that's what I think good artists bring to their work: fun! I mean, you don't dedicate your life to something if you don't get any joy out of it! There can be frustrations and challenges, sure, but it's part of the ride, and it's all how you look at it.

Whether it's acting, music, painting, film, sculpture, writing, I don't know any artist who goes into their work without passion. And like a garden, one must tend to it daily.

So when I got back from vacation, I got back to work. Heck! Even while I was on vacation, I was working, reading scripts, finishing up postcards, and brainstorming ideas for shorts on YouTube. Talking with my brother always gets my artistic fire burning brightly. And inspiration abounds!

So now I'm back in New York, and I'm back to work! :)

The Bard's Birthday

Today is considered to be William Shakespeare's birthday. Ironically, it's also the same day he died.

Though the exact date of his birth is not known, scholars believe it is either today - "the date celebrated in England since 1222 as the feast day of dragon-slaying St George" - though there is also evidence that it might have been yesterday, April 22nd, since his grand-daughter, Elizabeth Hall, married on April 22nd, 1626 "in honour of her famous relation." And apparently, records show he was baptised April 26th. In any case, I feel the dear Bard should be celebrated every day!

Film.com pays a lovely tribute to films that have done the bard justice. I'm currently enjoying Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing. Truly, Shakespeare's words are best heard, best seen, in my humble opinion, to be fully experienced.

I'm in the midst of Shakespearean studies with former Juilliard professor, Deloss Brown, who also teaches at NYU, and I must say, it is such a joy! We're working on King Lear, which blows me away because I recently worked with Alvin Epstein on the staged reading of Sin with F. Murray Abraham, and here I come to find that both Mr. Abraham and Mr. Epstein played Lear! So fascinating! How the web of life entwines!

And so, today and everyday, I hope you find your inner bard, to work, to play, to explore life and love, to hear, to see, to learn, to grow. Enjoy it all!

"There was a star danced, and under that was I born."
- William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, 2.1

Great Works

Coming off of last week, I feel blissfully inspired. It was my birthday and I treated myself to a lot of theatre.

Actually I started this theatre-treat even earlier than last week, seeing Irena's Vow on April 1st. It's an incredibly moving play based on the true story of Irena Gut Opdyke, a Polish Catholic girl who was forced into servitude by the Germans in WWII. She had endured all sorts of horrors by the Russians before this capture, but somehow her tenacious spirit and fierce faith got her through this hellish time. And strangely enough, her position as servant (she was housekeeper to an SS officer) afforded her the ability to save 13 Jews by hiding them in the German's own villa! It's an amazing story, and I wouldn't be surprised if it soon becomes a film.

It was heavy stuff, but I was amazed at the humor that would creep in throughout the play, especially in the character of Irena herself, brilliantly played by Tovah Feldshuh. But it makes sense to me: humor can help us get through anything.

Irena's Vow is an incredible play and almost everyone in the audience was in tears at the end. As a special treat, Irena's actual daughter came onstage after the show and answered some questions from the audience about her mother. Amazing stuff!

My next show was Blithe Spirit, which I saw on my birthday with my friends, Michael and Carl. We'd been excited about this show since we'd first read it was coming to Broadway, and so we decided to catch the matinee on my birthday. The boys took me to brunch, then we walked down Shubert Alley (even saw Jeremy Irons on his way to his show, Impressionism) and had a little Wicked fun along the way.

We had amazing seats for Blithe Spirit and the crowd went wild when the legendary Angela Lansbury took the stage! She was brilliant! I loved her as child when I first saw Bedknobs and Broomsticks on the Disney channel, and later saw clips of her Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd and Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance (how I wish I'd been alive to see her MAME)!

It was really miraculous to watch her work with the wonderful Blithe Spirit cast. To be 83 and still doing high kicks onstage... that's the life for me! :)

Then on Thursday I saw August Osage County with my friend Wayne Henry from Johnny On a Spot. Holy Toledo! What an amazing play! It raged like a rollercoaster from hell, and had me on the edge of my seat. I loved the dark humor, not knowing what was going to happen next!

The cast was phenomenal - it was my first time seeing Estelle Parsons onstage and she was simply magnetic! I had heard much of this "monster of a mother" character, but she made her Violet so human, so multi-faceted! In fact, each member of the cast was like a multi-faceted gem! They all brought these characters to life with great ease.

The set and lighting design, the direction, costumes, the writing... it was all truly a masterpiece.

And something interesting about 2 of these 3 of these plays was that 2 of the leading ladies - Tovah Feldshuh and Estelle Parsons - were tiny! And that inspired the heck out of me because I'm a tiny but mighty leading lady as well. Yet another reminder not to limit myself ever!

My Brother and Hippie Cream's "Life"

"I play for a living...Success is tied to a feeling of magic, which I can protect."

- M. Night Shyamalan

When I was 5, I asked my parents for a little brother or sister. You see, all of my friends in the neighborhood had little brothers or sisters to play with, and I desperately wanted a playmate. Well, my folks didn't fulfill this request for another 5 years. Being an Aries, and having a nephew who is also an Aries, I can understand this. We're firecrackers, for sure! But my folks were also young and trying to get it together, so I can understand them taking some time.

On May 26th shortly after midnight they finally brought into the world this amazing little fellow named Sean, and I couldn't wait to meet him!

I always tell my brother, "I was waiting for you to arrive," and boy, has he!

He's currently the drummer for a wildly eccentric band called Hippie Cream, and last week they filmed their first music video for a song from their latest album "On the Moon" in our hometown of Hemet, no less!

The song is "Life is Long" and the director is a young man named Daniel Philip Maggio. Dan, like myself, really loves Hippie Cream and their groovy tunes. He also seems to dig using his surroundings, and I'm a big fan of that. It's one of the reasons I love M. Night Shyamalan whose films tend to hover around Philadelphia, PA and its woodsy 'burbs.

Dan, Sean, and Wesley, who sings and plays fiddle, tie, and cowbell for the band, roamed about Hemet, filming the video. They had specific places in mind, and it's a treat to see the orange groves in there. That's one of my favorite things about the deserts of CA - the orange groves - and they're disappearing at an alarming rate! It's great to see them captured on film, and I hope they get preserved in other ways too!


The thing I dig about this video - and there are so many things I dig about it, but I love how it kicks my butt to get my own work online. Sound bites I've figured out and have no trouble with, but my career is an especially visual medium, and I need to get some of the short films I've done online.
"Sincerely Yours" would be a sweet treat, and I just got footage from the Hitchcock-inspired thriller, "Everyday" which is going to be shown this Friday night at 7:30 at the TISCH New Visions & Voices Intermediate Film Festival.

I also have decent clips of my work as Judy Garland in the musical Hell's Belles so I need to get crackin!

If you live in So. Cal and want to catch Hippie Cream, they're playing tonight at The Airliner at 9 PM.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nElYG5PLqIU