Unscripted - A Blog for Actors - Backstage

Free(lance) Life: Part One

Oh man.  I don't even know where to start.  Let me just say that the whirlwind that has windswept my life for the past few weeks is wonderful.  My hair might be a little more tangled than usual, but I feel exhilarated, as if I have just stepped off a roller coaster.  Actually, I am at that point where the car has just crept over the edge and has started to pummel towards the ground at what seems like deadly speed.  My impulse is always to lean back in my seat, as if the car might slow down to a slightly less terrifying pace,  but then there is always a moment where I realize that the thought is completely ridiculous and that the car is only going to go faster as the ride continues.  So I give in and lean forward, thrilling in the speed and laughing as I get turned upside down and all around, my direction completely out of my control.

Since I quit my job, I have experienced much of that same mixture of fear and excitement, not sure what is going to happen but with an assuredness in the back of my mind that somehow everything will be okay.  The ride will end.  I will be in one piece.  And I will probably want to do it all over again.  It is all far too much to explain in one blog post, so I'll do my best to split it all up in some way that makes sense.

What You Should Have Done Years Ago...Part II

Okay, continuing with the list of things you should have done years ago, here are the last five:

6 - Travel. Travel, see the world, more than you think you can and if you can't afford it, make it a priority somehow to supplement.

You already know what your home looks like.

Go to Indonesia and live like a king for 1/5 the price of your monthly rent.

And lack of money is no excuse. The things you own, you found a way to affrod them.

My girlfriend C (whom I greatly admire) always makes an effort to afford herself international travel once a year. She and her life are the better for it. It can be done!

Traveling and getting a sense of the world adds to your own sense of power as an individual in your life; making you stronger at home. Don't worry about not being in town and missing out on a job.

Haven't I taught you anything? One of the most quizzical ways to get a job is to book a plane ticket out of town! So book that ticket already and get out of the country!

Driving

When I was but a wee wisp of a girl, I remember reading a section of the California Driver's Handbook  regarding stops. If the car ahead of you has stopped for seemingly no reason, do not angrily swerve to go around him. There could be a pedestrian you cannot see. Stopped cars are usually stopped for good reasons.

Yesterday, we were stopped at a left turn signal. About .25 seconds after the light turned green, the woman in the Lexus behind us honked her horn. Sadly, it seemed she did not remember reading her California Driver's Handbook, or she would have fondly recalled that the use of one's horn should be saved for nothing short of emergencies. Alas.

There was a car in the middle of the intersection who needed to finish turning. Had we gone forward with our green light, we would have hit him. There was nowhere for us to go until he completed his turn.

So we waited a good three seconds for him to finish and go.

Normally, I give LA drivers the benefit of the doubt because, hey, it's just driving. And when you spend as much time in your car as I do going back and forth, logging in ten hours a week on average, if you get angry at other drivers, you just end up being miserable. I find it funny more oftan than not.

Although I still thought this Lexus Lady's behavior funny, instead of ignoring it, I turned around in my passanger seat and shouted,

Playing Dress-Up, Audition Style

  
Question: When auditioning for a commercial or film project that is set in a certain time period (say, the 60's) or is a very specific character type... how much do you usually "go for it" in the wardrobe and styling department?

I find myself going back and forth on this quite a bit. For instance, if I'm auditioning for a commercial I tend to edge more on the side of costume than subtlety.

If I'm reading for a film project, however, I tend to dress like myself with just some hint of the character "type." Let's say I'm reading for a high school girl with a anti-society chip on her shoulder... I'm more likely to up the black eyeliner and leather jacket look than I am to go full-on goth.

I'm just never completely sure how far to take it, you don't want to walk in looking like you're next stop is a Halloween parade...right?

What You Should Have Done Years Ago...Part I

You know that list of things you realize you should have done years ago but hadn't yet?

And by the time you realize it, it's too late, or the drive is lost, or you just don't care anymore, or you've already become a parent and your life isn't yours anymore, or you no longer have the money, or the time, or you (fill in the blank)...?

Well, I'm going to give a lot of you a head start with this blog. And granted you won't get it until you are ready to get it.

But these are the things you should be doing now, before you make a list of them.

(If you are a late 80s baby, print this out and put it on your frig. You lucky basterds.)

Live Action Hero

So, here’s the thing. Every actor has a dream role. Mine happens to be a Bond girl.

It started at the age of 7 when I saw my first James Bond movie and decided that I needed to be James Bond. He was everything I ever wanted to be: intelligent, elegant, not to be trifled with and he drove really cool cars. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I realized I would never be cast as James Bond, so the dream of a Bond girl, and really any action hero, was born.

What the FOX?

 

Good ol, Sunday morning. I was excited to watch some Sunday Afternoon Football!! Whew!  I turn on the TV to watch my pre-game info. Good for me that this year I'm not in a fantasy league. I can watch games and not worry about my points at the same time. I turn from pre-game laughing at some commentary and turn to see the robotic football players of my favorite football network. As I click on the right channel, I see the wrong screen.

A white screen with some words and a lady speaking about a lawsuit between my cable provider and Fox has taken the place of my football Sunday. I scream "THERE'S NO MORE FOX ON THIS CABLE!!" Why not take away the horrible view of Fox News instead? So I can watch political hypocrisy but I cant watch the NFL???? Who does that?

What about the television shows, ratings, promotions, commercials, actors, writers, directors, the sound man, the clapperboard dude? How does this protest effect their jobs? This is NEW YORK CITY! This is the city of entertainment! Shows are blasted on the side of buildings, buses, trains, and papers. The cable network, in its own dispute with FOX, took away everything on those channels in the height of fall prime time television. This isn't about anything but money for the networks. What about the jobs of everyone else? When does it become less about money? I don't care whose side is wrong, I want my Television to reflect my bill.

-- Rashod

Hello All You Happy People

My name is Joel. I am an actor. I’ve been acting since a little before my second grade teacher back in Seattle decided that my class should put on a production of William Shakespeare’s, The Tempest. They gave me the part of Antonio, a fake moustache, and a plastic sword with a fake red jewel on the hilt. I was hooked.

Skipping most of my lifetime, just about a month ago, after doing some international traveling, I landed in New York City. I had a sublet in East Harlem with an air mattress and a card table, a backpack with some clothes, and a list of friends and friends-of-friends to get in touch with.

I’m still new in town. But I’ve started making inroads.

One Week Away

Well, I'm back in LA LA land after a week at home on the east coast. The DC area is beautiful this time of year--the leaves have started changing and the farmer's markets are selling hot apple cider.

It is always nice to be home, but I find that I have a hard time adjusting to being away from LA now that I've lived here for a bit.

First of all, the time difference really throws me.

I Want To Be A Political Wife

3 weeks ago I shot a music video for the musical, sketch-comedy group I'm in called Political Subversities. Today our music video is done and on the interweb, as one would say.

It was like Christmas morning. I was anxious upon seeing the video on Youtube. Would people like it? Would people watch it? Did we look good?

All I have to say is - WATCH THIS. It turned out better than I could've ever imagined, and political wives never looked better.

 

 

-- Dominique

What I like about LA

What's great about los angeles:

    Sunshine: Obviously! Side benefit of the great weather is that I've noticed I snap out of my moodiness quicker. Also, I'm going biking on the beach this weekend. Then perhaps swimming in it. In October.

    Ann Hu!: Fellow backstage blogger Ann Hu has been gracious and awesome enough to hang out with me and show me around town. I knew cooking all those birthday burgers would payoff.

    People are Nice: Well, Nic-er. I've had to drop my cold New York persona of not making eye contact and not saying hi, because everyone says hi here. And when retail workers say Hi! in LA, they expect you to say it back.
   

The Golf Metaphor

It’s always a good idea to try something new. Even the most basic things can yield powerful lessons.

A couple of weeks ago I went to the driving range. Though I’ve never really played, I’ve planned and attended several charity golf tournaments and figured I’d at least be half way decent. Famous last words.

I only had two clubs. A 5 iron and a 7 iron. They looked like putters. "When can I use the big one?" I asked my friend. He laughed and told me I had to start small. But I didn’t want to start small. Give me the advanced stuff!

Tha-tha-tha- That Dat Won't Kill Me...

....will only make me stronger.

 

 

--Jasmine Anne Osborne

 

Special thanks to special people that got me a red nose, taught me hat flips, and people related to (U)NCSA in general.  And Kanye West.

Labor of Love

It's such an interesting thing to have a spark in your mind turn into an idea that turns into a concept that turns into a story that turns into a script. The progression is fascinating, exciting, sometimes painful yet ultimately rewarding... kind of like having a baby. And as a mother of 2, I find that comparison to be quite fitting as I truly feel like my webseries has definitely been a labor of love. 

That said, here is the pilot episode of {my baby} Diary of a Wedding Planner...

 

 

-- Brandi Ford

To SAG or Not To SAG

This is a post where I will really need some feedback. There was a HUGE casting a little over a week ago here in NYC. This was THE casting to be at because you were able to audition in front of a group of the biggest and best casting directors for the major prime time shows currently airing. I was ready. I had my head shot fresh off of the camera, my resume was up to date, a monologue that I have worked on and felt that i could blow anybody in front of me out of the water. But there was one thing that I did not have...a SAG card.

Chemistry 'Low'-Down

I had a most unusual encounter the other day at a callback for a commercial. This one is worth blogging about.

I was fully prepared. I had been rehearsing the scenario in my mind, outloud in my car, while walking down the street, since the initial audition a week ago.

I knew I was going to get that callback. You know how sometimes, you just know?

Well, I get there, and they are running behind schedule. No problem.

I'm in my zen place. I like my outfit, the hair is done nicely and the make-up too. I look just about as P&G as I can get for an Asian.

And I don't mind the waiting. I'm okay with waiting. I have made peace with waiting; it's called focusing on the other areas in my life.

I see some familiar faces as I look around the room.

I see some familiar faces that I am proud to be in the same room with (Gosh! She was so good in that film with Robert Duvall) and then I see a not so familiar, but pleasantly handsome face, sitting on the bench next to me, looking as if he is eyeing me peripherally.

Flying High

I was in an audition the other day.  It was a callback (yay!) and I was reading opposite another girl for the role of Wendy in Peter Pan at Alabama Shakespeare.  I sang a song, I acted in a scene with this other super awesome actress, and I answered a few questions about myself.   Everyone in the room was nice and relaxed, but before I left, one woman had just one more important question for me, "How are you with flying?....I mean, are you scared or anything?"

My ears perked and I answered back quickly, "I can fly!  I mean, I'll fly!  I'm not afraid!!  Does Wendy get to fly??"

Outliers

Every once in a while you attend an audition where one person just doesn’t seem to fit the breakdown. It might be a blonde in a sea of brunettes or a 30 year old woman among a group of college students.

Yesterday I had a commercial audition with the words "blonde", "stylish" and "model" smattered throughout the notice. There was even a link with what they wanted: a blonde haired, blued eyed, soap star. I thought it was a little weird that they wanted to see me, but I trust my agent and gladly accepted.

So They Know You...

A few weeks ago I met with another theatrical agency here in Los Angeles.

One of the agents from my former Killer Agency moved onto what I will now call my New Killer Agency.

My manager, GoldiRocks, set up the meeting.

    "Look at it as an audition, as a chance for you to show them who you are and what you can do even though you're not peforming. So they know you...."

I'm Not Adding That Credit To My Resume

I was on television last night. My episode of "The Lost Tapes," aired. It's not on my IMDB because the whole point of the show is to make the audience think that these tapes were "discovered" like the Blair Witch Project, and that the people in the show are real people. I could add my name, but just like all the other cable channel shows I've done (Untold Stories of the ER, What Should You Do? etc) I don't mind that I'm not listed.

I don't want people to think that's all I can do.

Neither does my team.

My manager said something wonderful to me this morning, in regards to me admitting that sometimes I don't know if I'm ready to turn down every audition unless it's a lead or series regular.He said that he has represented a ton of stars, (He used to work for one of the big three back when he was an agent) and that he knows them when he sees them. 

"I'm representing you because I know I can make money off you."

And I don't think more beautiful words have ever been spoken about me and my career.

 

-- Lira Kellerman