Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Growing up in sunny CA, you wouldn't think I'd be a fan of New York's snowy winters, but I love them!

It presents 2 calls to action: either to hibernate or to take on the season!

So far this year, I've done both. But lately, I've been feeling the need to be more active, and I'd like to get to the gym on a daily basis, so today I threw on my snow-gear and hiked through the winter wonderland with purpose.

I can't help but be charmed by the beauty of the snowflakes as they land on everything. I especially love when the snow covers the trees. It looks so magical!

Then there's the pleasure of going inside where it's warm and cozy, and watching the snowflakes drift past the window.

I grabbed an elliptical machine near a large window today and worked on some plays as I worked out, and it was neat to look out the window and see other people moving through the winter wilderness that is currently Manhattan.

"In the lane.... snow is glistening."

The Benefits of Manhattan

One of the things that's so cool about living in NY is how accessible everything is. I've been working on my nutrition with Monica McCarthy whose website Morning Do is such an uplifting tool, and this morning I'm starting with a delicious juice of beets, spinach, apple, carrots and parsley.

Never thought I'd go there, but I've noticed a need to get more veggies into my life, and juicing is such an easy way to do it. In Manhattan, many corner markets offer juicing options, and today's juice is brought to you by Equinox Gym, which has lots of delicious options.

Another thing I love is how art is everywhere here! When I walk to auditions at any of the studios in town, I get to walk by rows of gorgeous Broadway Theatres. Even going to the gym, I pass these charming Off Broadway theatres or I'm right by Lincoln Center. Talk about inspirational!

 

Lincoln Center has always been one of my favorite places. When I first moved here to go to AMDA, I'd sit near the fountain on my breaks, just drinking the whole city in.

I still visit about once a week, usually to go to the Library of the Performing Arts. Oftentimes, I'm just walking briskly by, but I still love it, and I get a kick out of any time a film uses the place - like some of the exterior shots used for Black Swan where Natalie Portman is walking to the door of the ballet. It's neat because this is my stomping ground. :)

Another favorite place to go is the Time Warner Center. I walk by it every day, and it always thrills me.

Right now they have this really neat art dsiplay of Salvador Dali's work called The Visions of a Genius. There's a giant (and I mean GIANT) statue of his famous melting clock:

(Katie Sokoler/Gothamist)

But my favorite is this little sculpture of a woman on a horse, surrounded by butterflies:

Triumphant and beautiful.

The pieces are on loan from Dali's private secretary and confidante, Enrique Sabatar y Bonany, and represent "examples of Dali's creative development at the height of his Surrealistic powers."

The display is available until April 30, 2011. Don't miss it!

Going with The Flow

When I was a kid, my family would go camping with my aunt, uncle and 3 cousins. They had a truck with a camper-shell, and we had a bubble-top van. I was probably around 11 or 12, and it was such an adventurous time of life.

I'm thinking of it today because I have this wonderful "go with the flow" kind of feeling, and it makes me think of the time we went inner tubing down the Colorado River.

We all had our own black rubber inner tubes, and we'd carry them on our shoulders, hiking up the shore of the river to find a good spot to jump in.

The water was kind of green and it moved with a speed you couldn't see right away. But once you got into it... zoom! You're off!

We'd all keep close to each other even though the tubes weren't tied together. There was something so lovely about sitting in the tube, cruising down the river with speed and grace, and that's how I feel today. Like I'm moving along with (and towards) something incredible.

I have an audition later today and I'd like to keep enjoying the ride, you know? Just let go and say, "Whee!!!" :)

An Evaluation

Almost every actor, while trying to "make it," aka succeed as a working actor, has to have some kind of support job. It can also be referred to as a "survival" job, but I prefer to call it a support job, because it is part of the support I need while nurturing my acting career. To survive is another thing.

I have been very fortunate to have long-term acting jobs that span from months to years, and I am also fortunate to have a support job that works around my true career.

Something I've noticed with the corporate world is that most companies have 6 month evaluations where employees are asked to look back at what they've accomplished and then look ahead to what they'd like to achieve. This can easily be applied to the acting profession as well.

In the past 6 months I've been fortunate to do acting work in almost every field: film, comedy, drama, musicals. I am also blessed to have an abundance of artists around me, people who understand the desire to create.

 My brother is a drummer and a great "explorer" of the arts. Besides music, he is passionate about films, paintings, poetry... almost any kind of art there is. He and I often talk about "the business of show" as well as the artistry of it. We share stories and life lessons, and I am always so thankful to hear his point of view.

He recently asked me what I want to focus on moving forward. I have a tendency to want to do it all. But he offered me this life lesson of something he gleaned from an old jazz musician: "Specialize." And Collaborate.

I still want to do it all, but I am trying to narrow my focus, to follow my gut impulses, and this leads me to the desire to nurture some very personal projects which includes writing and producing a short film and working on a possible web series with some friends. When I think about these projects, I get very excited about them, and I believe that is something very special unto itself. It's the fire that keeps the furnace burning, ya know?

So.... my next step is to create a schedule of sorts, so I can be focused on these projects and nurture them into being. To take time to write every day and also keep my acting tools sharp, because it is indeed audition season. There's a lot to do, but I'm excited to do it! Just got to keep things in perspective and keep disciplined and focused while enjoying the ride.

 Off to the next adventure! :)

Seeking Peace

Honoring those who were killed in the Arizona shooting on Saturday, and sending good wishes to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords who is fighting for her life.

"...It’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.” - President Barack Obama

(with thanks to my friend, Tina, for the Peace sign)

Black Swan

I saw Black Swan today, and it was a fascinating film. Director Darren Aronofsky doesn't shy away from the brutal discipline required for ballet, and I love his use of Swan Lake for this "play within a play." Natalie Portman's character, Nina, has to go from being a precise perfectionist, people-pleasing dancer to an artist who can abandon precision for that true perfect state of transcendent freedom. She has a total meltdown, trying to bring out the Black Swan within herself, and it's thrilling to watch.

It's also an interesting notion: What do we have to destroy or bring out in ourselves to achieve a higher art?

Obviously, you don't have to go mad to achieve great art. The director and actors in Black Swan aren't mad. In fact, they're brilliant. And I think that's the thing we're all trying to achieve as artists: To take our technical lessons, the work we've done, and then let it go, let it flow.

As actors, we're often told to "let go," and "get out of your own way," to transcend technique to allow the real art to flow.

I know when I've been onstage and have been so utterly in the moment, flowing with the playwright's words, or the music of a song, something magical happens, and there's this connection of artists, artistry and audience. Everything is flowing and alive, and it's magical!

So I came out of this movie, thinking, How can we build ourselves up instead of tearing ourselves down? What is beautiful? And what makes you feel beautiful?

I'd be interested to know.

Make a Happy List

Before the old year retired and the New Year began, I was already hearing this message from several good friends:

Make a list.

Make a list of short-term goals, make a list of long-term goals. And this was my favorite suggestion: Make a Happy List.

What we focus on each day impacts our life experience. There are always options. So what choices do you want to make to make your world a better place?

I especially like this piece from Wayne Dyer: "...set up day-to-day goals for yourself, and then resolve to begin living with present moment awareness for the rest of your life."

Readings, Recordings, and Reel - Oh my!

At the end of each year, I send out a Year in Review or Progress Report postcard to agents and casting directors, and this year has had the recurring theme of working on new and old projects with talented people from my past.

I was involved in some pretty big recordings, which was just thrilling. A delightful director whom I worked with eons ago hired me to do a voice over for an OnStar promo. He paid me a very high compliment by saying I sounded like a video game voice. Very cool! :)

The fantastic composer Andy Monroe, who wrote the music for this year's Off Broadway hit, The Kid, asked me to record a demo from his new musical Sally Peaches, and we also recorded a song from The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun, which we had worked on at NYMF a few years ago.

 And Larry Moore, who orchestrated "Nun," hired me to sing for the upcoming CD series, "Unrecorded Victor Herbert Gems," which gave me the opportunity to work with some amazingly talented Broadway and opera stars. Simply mind-blowing!

We recorded in the concert hall at The Academy of Arts and Letters, and it was just thrilling the way the sound bounced off the walls!

I was also involved in some readings of new musicals. This summer, I reprised the roles of Judy Garland and Janis Joplin for the industry reading of Hell's Belles at HA! Comedy Club. I had played these characters (and about 10 others) in a production at the West End Theatre 2 years ago, and it was a blast to revisit the show with the same cast no less!

The producers and writer of Hell's Belles asked me to take part in another reading of a new musical, How To Marry A Divorced Man, based on the novel by Leslie Fram. The music was written by Clare Cooper, who had worked on Memphis and Toxic Avenger, and her style was just delicious! Great pop sensibility and one of the nicest people you'll ever meet!

I also reteamed with the wonderful Richard Binder, who played my husband Sigmund Freud a few years ago in the reading of the musical Vienna. We got to duke it out in a reading of an operatic scene for La Ribalta. Our fisticuffs ended with him sweeping me off my feet and taking me offstage in a very torrid manner. It was incredibly fun and a break away from my usual musical comedy.

Last but not least, I filmed a scene for the independent feature film, Marty's Magnificent Day-Glo Dreamathon, a wild rock musical created by Hippie Cream and directed by Daniel Maggio. I played the lead character's mother in a flashback, and had some juicy scenes which I hope make the final cut. If anything, I should be able to showcase the work in my reel.

So this year has been very fulfilling artistically and financially too. It is so important for an artist to get paid for her work!

I've been very fortunate to work with amazingly talented and good-hearted people, to share in the creative process and nurture each other along the way. This includes family and friends, teachers and classmates, casts and crews. We're all on this ride together! :)

Thanks to everyone who helped make this world bright and beautiful. I look forward to celebrating each day with you!

Happy New Year!

Christmas Stories

Yesterday, I was chatting with one of my best friends about the hecticness of the holidays, and we both began reminiscing about how magical the holidays are when you're a kid. Everything seems spectacular, and your hopes and expectations are beyond the moon.

I would ask Santa every year for a pony, because I loved horses and I was sure I could keep one in the back yard!

My parents tried to accommodate these wild wishes and would get me all sorts of horse figurines, so my dresser was filled with prancing ponies. They were never ones to squash my dreams.

So now that I'm a big kid, turning my dreams into realities, I was interested to hear my friend say, "We all dream of a Currier and Ives Christmas, but it usually ends up like (the chaos) of A Christmas Story."

This made me laugh and think of all my Christmas stories... Many wonderful years of waking up early to see what Santa had placed under the tree... Or the year I found out I'd be performing in my first professional gig as an orphan in "Annie"... Playing with my high school band at The Aloha Bowl, walking on Waikiki beach with my best friends and carrying my bassoon... Performing on Christmas Eve as the Ghost of Christmas Past and Fred's wife in various versions of "A Christmas Carol," and singing and acting in "A Charles Dickens Christmas" with my sweetheart, Rob.

Last year was my very favorite Christmas, because I married my sweetheart, and my family flew out from CA to join us for our winter wedding. It was just perfect. We were surrounded by friends and family, and there was so much love! That was the greatest gift of all.

I hope your holidays are very merry and that you're full of happy memories and hope for the future. Merry Christmas!

No Limits

Last night, I completed Josh Pais' Committed Impulse class, and I really loved it because it made me stretch.

That's been the theme for me this year - good growth - and I love it because it informs all of my paid acting work.

It's funny how we can get stuck in a niche, ya know? And there's nothing like a good class - in any subject - to shake things up.

This past year I've been fortunate to study with teachers who are professional actors / directors and casting directors whose scope includes everything from Broadway to Hollywood. And again, they've all encouraged me to stretch by casting me in roles that I never thought I would play.

Like La Marquise de Merteuil in "Les Liaisons Dangereuses."

Or Mrs. Cheveley in Oscar Wilde's "An Ideal Husband."

Last night I played Christina in Adam Rapp's "Red Light Winter," and I never thought I would be "right" for that character, but it turns out... I was!

The work that's evolved in classes, doing these delicious scenes and exploring these marvelous characters, has opened me up in such an unexpected way.

And that's the thing that blows me away. There are no limits but the ones we place on ourselves.

No limits!!!

Winter Wonderland

I have always loved time of year. The city is extra bright with colorful displays in the windows.

The sidewalks are "dressed in holiday style."

Even the fountains are extra jolly....

"With mistletoe and holly..."

".... and other things ending in 'olly." 

(with thanks to Terry Pratchett's "Hogfather" for that line)

My husband and I always make it to the Rockefeller Center Tree, which is about a 20 minute walk from our apartment.

Another favorite place is Lincoln Center, which is always so beautiful and magical.

May your holidays be very merry and may your New Year be especially bright!

The Divine Sister

I recently saw this delightful play Off Broadway, and I just had to sing its praises.

The Divine Sister is written by Charles Busch, who also stars as the Mother Superior.

I first became acquainted with Busch's work via the film Psycho Beach Party, and I was instantly hooked by his humor and great style.

There's also an awesome documentary about him called The Lady in Question. I caught pieces of it on TV and it's so inspirational. Any kid with a dream about working in the theatre would benefit from it. I know I did! :)

My friend, Wayne Henry, from Johnny On A Spot, saw The Divine Sister with me, and we, along with the entire audience, were in stitches! It's a fun story, complete with music and special affects... What's a miracle without special effects? ;)

The cast and crew are stellar, and the direction is handled with great ease by Carl Andress.

It reminded me of the musical I did a few years ago, The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun. I played Sister Smile with the wonderful Tracey Gilbert as my companion, Annie.

Seeing Busch's Divine Sister was like watching a bunch of talented friends get together to just put on a show - Off Broadway no less! I was reminded of how fun theatre can be, and that we really can make our dreams can come true.

The miracle is you!

The Onion

If you don't know about The Onion, it's a satirical newspaper that's been in circulation since its creation in 1988. My friends, Carl and Michael, first alerted me to it sometime around 2002-3, and then I had the good fortune to be called in for one of their videos in 2007. I didn't book the lead, but they asked me to do some featured background work, and I got to do a lot of improv, which was fun.

That's also where I first met Babs Winn, the fabulous gal who runs the Kickin' Boogie Band.

Babs and I have run into each other over the years at auditions, and this Fall we performed together in the staged reading of the new musical, How To Marry A Divorced Man. She is a multi-talented lady and just delightful!

But back to The Onion! I've been called in for different roles over the years, and today I was called in again! I don't want to spill the beans about this piece they're working on, but it was incredibly fun to read the sides, and I left feeling high as a kite. There's just something about comedy that'll do that for you, ya know?

The thing I love is that I've been able to see their New York office grow over the years. It's got such a great vibe. And it's a delight to be called in to read for whatever new episodes they're working on.

They're making the leap to TV, and I wish them all the best. Go Onion! ;)

Still so thankful

I feel so much love and so many blessings in my life today, and I just had to say... Thanks! :)

Thankful

This year, Gratitude has been such a front and center state of mind, and I am so very thankful for the people in my life who make the world so beautiful.

My husband wakes me up every day with laughter and love. It is truly the best way to start the day. I don't know what I'd do without him. He shares my highs and lows every day, and I am so thankful for him!

I'm also incredibly blessed in my friends and family. My brother, Sean, is one of my very best friends. He's a drummer in CA, and gets the business aspect of show business as well as the artistry, and helps me keep both in balance. I've always said that watching him play the drums is like watching a great painter paint.

Then I have my "soul siblings": Carl, Michael, Lisa, Lani, Ataman, Jayne, Maryanne, and Tina, whom I chat with almost every day. Tina keeps me plugging away when I have my challenging days and reminds me to celebrate each step of the journey.

I feel so fortunate to have performed with and formed friendships with artists like Tracey Gilbert, Omri Schein, Deb Radloff, Billy Hicks, Michelle Liu, Wayne Henry, John Haggerty, Martin Sola, Gina Milo, Billy Konsoer, Prescott Seymour, Richard Binder, Monica McCarthy and so many other incredible casts and crews.

Thanks to the terrifically talented people who hired me to sing their music this year like Andy Monroe, Clare Cooper and Larry Moore. My musical world is so much richer because of you!

I'm thankful for my teachers - Josh Pais, Alaine Alldaffer, Karen Kohlhaas, Chas Elliot, VP Boyle, Carl Danielsen, Seth Weinstein, Marcia Cloyd, Winnie Hammond and coaches from my distant past - whose lessons continue to inform my work as an actress and singer.

I am thankful to my parents were my first teachers and made it so I could pursue all my artistic studies as a kid.

They are still so supportive with my acting and have made a few trips out to NY to see my shows. I love that!

I am thankful to have worked with amazing directors like BT McNicholl, Jonathon Robinson, Kurt Stamm, Michael Schiralli, Dan Wackerman, Daniel Maggio, Brian Swasey, Dennis Anderson, to name a few... musical directors like Jeffrey Campos, Robby Stamper, Matthew Ward... writers like Michael Small, Blair Fell, Bryan D. Leys; and producers like George DeMarco and David Gerard and Eileen and Sharon of Tweiss Productions.

Thanks to Facebook for connecting me to people from grade school to high school and the casts and crews I've worked with throughout the years. I am thankful for you all.

And thanks to everyone who's inspired me and encouraged me to shine my light and keep on making my dreams come true. Much love and many blessings to you all!
Laura