I fly back to California tomorrow. I guess it's been a while. Yesterday I had an awesome few moments where I could not for the life of me remember what kind of car I have back home.
I guess this is the place where I'm going to sum up all that I've learned from my time in NYC and Florida. The first, most important thing, is that I really do love New York. It's an amazing place to live, even in the crazy hot summer. I think living in New York is most easily carried out solo, and certainly without kids. Watching families with strollers and/or multiple children try to get on and off of the buses and taxis was a nightmare- it really doesn't work well at all. Maybe if someone had enough money to have an apartment with lots of space and a personal car service, it could work to have small children there. The thing about that place, though, is that it is SO easy to be alone. You can do everything alone, and it makes me think that relationships are harder to maintain because people are much more "disposable" in the city; I bet when people hit a rough patch, they opt out of the relationship because there really isn't a pressing need to make it work. I noticed that people in NYC stay single a lot longer as well.
Auditioning in NYC is great for musicals and plays and horrible for film and television. (See previous entries). Casting directors prefer for you to have a theater/musical theater degree, and especially prefer an MFA.
Finding a place to practice singing is very difficult, even if you have a keyboard in your apartment, due to neighbors and noise issues. Practice rooms are $15 an hour and pretty much a necessity of life.
Groceries are more expensive, but there is still Trader Joe's. What you save in car payments you make up for in rent, utilities, and groceries.
I still haven't figured out the late-night subway system, but always made it home by guessing.
The best people in New York are not New Yorkers.
New York is not easily navigated by use of the internet, because of its density. People seem to use word-of-mouth a lot more than the web to learn about stuff.
I always wished that my necklines were about 3" higher and my hems at least 5" lower. What works- clothing wise- at the beach does not necessarily work in NYC. People are much more conservative on the east coast in the way that they dress.
After New York, I went to visit my family for a couple of days in Ft. Myers, FL, which was awesome. The beaches are really soft white sand, and the water is as still as a lake. After Ft. Myers, I drove to Orlando for 5 days. It's very nice to have a car in Orlando- it's the kind of place where you do not want to be stuck in resort-land. The shopping and such is a lot like the OC here (you know, chain restaurants galore and high end department stores) and the homes are a lot like the Inland Empire. I don't think I'd like to live here, it seems boring. BUT the people all look about twenty years younger than they actually are due to the high humidity. I have met at least three women who I'd guess were around 25 but actually were old enough to have GRANDchildren. The air is AMAZING for the skin. I went and bought a really good moisturizer last night. Going to get a humidifier for my room at night when I get back.
I'm sad this trip is over. I've met a lot of really cool people. New friends who happen to live in DC, NYC, and Orlando. I've been lucky to never have felt lonely or bored. I've lost 6 pounds. I've gained a year. I've started a business. I've shot a short film. I've seen a few Broadway shows. I've met agents and casting directors who were very encouraging. I've stayed out dancing and stayed in writing. I've somehow spent less money than I would have at home.
Now I'm going back home. But I have no home there. When I get home I will have to find a home. Maybe Burbank. Or back to the beach. Definitely not Temple City.
Thanks for coming along, it was fun to document all this for you.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Day Twenty-Four- Last Day
Well I spent most of my last day in NYC shooting and running errands. We were going to go new my new friend over at Jersey Boys, but they don't offer any discounts at all for that show, so we ended up getting seats for Promises,Promises with Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes (Jack from Will and Grace). Went to John's Pizzeria before the show because we get priority seating there. Kim's Aussie friend was supposed to meet us in Times Square for dinner, but she was really late. When we called her, she said "I'm in Little Italy, I thought we were going to get pizza." I guess we had some miscommunication in the course of subway-inteferenced-text messages. She made it up and we got into the theatre right before curtain.
Promises, Promises (a musical based on the awesome movie "The Apartment") has a FANTASTIC BOOK AND HORRIBLE MUSIC (with a couple of exceptions). I wished it were a straight play. or a movie (oh, wait-). Sean Hayes did really well with the comedy, of course, it was delightful, not so much with the singing. Kristin Chenoweth looks older than Elaine Stritch onstage and somebody needs to please feed her a sandwich. They tried to cast the other secretaries to look a little older (in the script, however, they refer to the secretaries as being early twenties) to offset this (which is good, it means there could still be chorus work for me someday as the stars keep aging). You know, maybe they should switch Bernadette (who looks way too young for Desiree Armfelt in Night Music) and Kristin in their respective shows. That could work maybe.
It's a little retarded to me that people go see shows just because there are celebrities in them, especially musicals, because I have found time and again that watching these shows is like attending the school play at the High School for celebrities. They give the leads to the biggest celebs (in school it would be the seniors) regardless of whether they can actually sing or act at all and regardless of whether they are even right for the show. And with the exception of that Constantine kid from American Idol, they all blow. For my money, I'd like to see people who are actually GOOD AT MUSICALS!
The highlight of the evening (I sound like a critic now) was at the beginning of act two (yes I made it past intermission through this one, mostly because of my company) when we were introduced to Katie Finneran as drunk Marge McDougall. OMG she has to be the funniest actress I've ever seen ever. Won the Tony for this little part, too. Man, the show's value owes a lot to this woman, she is BRILLIANT.
Promises, Promises (a musical based on the awesome movie "The Apartment") has a FANTASTIC BOOK AND HORRIBLE MUSIC (with a couple of exceptions). I wished it were a straight play. or a movie (oh, wait-). Sean Hayes did really well with the comedy, of course, it was delightful, not so much with the singing. Kristin Chenoweth looks older than Elaine Stritch onstage and somebody needs to please feed her a sandwich. They tried to cast the other secretaries to look a little older (in the script, however, they refer to the secretaries as being early twenties) to offset this (which is good, it means there could still be chorus work for me someday as the stars keep aging). You know, maybe they should switch Bernadette (who looks way too young for Desiree Armfelt in Night Music) and Kristin in their respective shows. That could work maybe.
It's a little retarded to me that people go see shows just because there are celebrities in them, especially musicals, because I have found time and again that watching these shows is like attending the school play at the High School for celebrities. They give the leads to the biggest celebs (in school it would be the seniors) regardless of whether they can actually sing or act at all and regardless of whether they are even right for the show. And with the exception of that Constantine kid from American Idol, they all blow. For my money, I'd like to see people who are actually GOOD AT MUSICALS!
The highlight of the evening (I sound like a critic now) was at the beginning of act two (yes I made it past intermission through this one, mostly because of my company) when we were introduced to Katie Finneran as drunk Marge McDougall. OMG she has to be the funniest actress I've ever seen ever. Won the Tony for this little part, too. Man, the show's value owes a lot to this woman, she is BRILLIANT.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Day Twenty-Three - Three shows in one day
Today I woke up early and trudged through the rain through the streets of Harlem carrying 26 pounds of stuff with me to ship home (airlines charge wayyy too much for baggage overages these days). I then had my first (and probably last) Dunkin' Donut. Eh, not the greatest thing. The best part about it was that the menu had the calorie count written next to it, so I knew exactly how fat I was getting.
I decided to hop onto a subway and go to Times Square to catch another taping of the Sirius XM "Live on Broadway" show, because I read that Tony Vincent (an awesome Christian musical theatre performer/rock star whom I have been OBSESSED with since he was in the Jesus Christ Superstar revival and video about ten years ago- Judas in the show, Simon in the video. I receive email updates from him every now and then, that's how legit my fan-dom is). http://www.ankegroener.de/anke1/Bilder/tony_vincent4.jpg He was on the show promoting "American Idiot" but my favorite part of the interview was when he went on a rant about how there need to be more shows with no intermissions, because the intermission kills the atmosphere and if people can sit through movies without an intermission, they can probably sit through shows. OMG - anyone who knows me well has heard the EXACT SAME RANT from me at least once a week for the past few years. It was awesome. You can hear Tony Vincent saying my words in the replays of this show all week.
Before the show started, though, I made friends with a musical theatre student from Chi-town, and I got him to volunteer to be on the Showtune Showdown. It was awesome to have someone to root for, although I was no help when we both blanked on the name "Nikki Blonsky." Oh well. After the show, I talked him into coming to the "A Little Night Music" matinee with me starring Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch. Um... maybe this shouldn't be spread, but there was a man whose job it was to shout Elaine Stritch's lines and lyrics to her from offstage when she forgot them. It happened at least five times. Painful. Peters looks like she's thirty years old from the mezzanine, it almost doesn't work for the character. The show was as good as "A Little Night Music" could be, the actors, especially the ensemble, were fantastic. A lot of really beautiful voices. It struck me as rather sad how ensembles are only comprised of understudies these days- every ensemble member in this show looked like the identical twin of one of the principals. there were moments where it was even confusing.
After the matinee, I ran home and picked up my "past dated" tickets to "Lend Me A Tenor" to use them at tonight's evening performance. Finally. I'm really glad I was able to finally make it to this show, I felt so awful about losing the opportunity last week.
Dinner at Community on the Upper West Side, worked on my lines for tomorrow's shoot a little, met my friend Kim who just flew in briefly at the Hotel Roosevelt and then left her there with her new Aussie friend from the airport shuttle. She's staying with me, I expect to hear her (and her luggage) come in around 4am.
Tomorrow is my last real day here, and I'm going to be in production all day. Eh, that's showbiz, kid. Just don't quit your day job.
I decided to hop onto a subway and go to Times Square to catch another taping of the Sirius XM "Live on Broadway" show, because I read that Tony Vincent (an awesome Christian musical theatre performer/rock star whom I have been OBSESSED with since he was in the Jesus Christ Superstar revival and video about ten years ago- Judas in the show, Simon in the video. I receive email updates from him every now and then, that's how legit my fan-dom is). http://www.ankegroener.de/anke1/Bilder/tony_vincent4.jpg He was on the show promoting "American Idiot" but my favorite part of the interview was when he went on a rant about how there need to be more shows with no intermissions, because the intermission kills the atmosphere and if people can sit through movies without an intermission, they can probably sit through shows. OMG - anyone who knows me well has heard the EXACT SAME RANT from me at least once a week for the past few years. It was awesome. You can hear Tony Vincent saying my words in the replays of this show all week.
Before the show started, though, I made friends with a musical theatre student from Chi-town, and I got him to volunteer to be on the Showtune Showdown. It was awesome to have someone to root for, although I was no help when we both blanked on the name "Nikki Blonsky." Oh well. After the show, I talked him into coming to the "A Little Night Music" matinee with me starring Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch. Um... maybe this shouldn't be spread, but there was a man whose job it was to shout Elaine Stritch's lines and lyrics to her from offstage when she forgot them. It happened at least five times. Painful. Peters looks like she's thirty years old from the mezzanine, it almost doesn't work for the character. The show was as good as "A Little Night Music" could be, the actors, especially the ensemble, were fantastic. A lot of really beautiful voices. It struck me as rather sad how ensembles are only comprised of understudies these days- every ensemble member in this show looked like the identical twin of one of the principals. there were moments where it was even confusing.
After the matinee, I ran home and picked up my "past dated" tickets to "Lend Me A Tenor" to use them at tonight's evening performance. Finally. I'm really glad I was able to finally make it to this show, I felt so awful about losing the opportunity last week.
Dinner at Community on the Upper West Side, worked on my lines for tomorrow's shoot a little, met my friend Kim who just flew in briefly at the Hotel Roosevelt and then left her there with her new Aussie friend from the airport shuttle. She's staying with me, I expect to hear her (and her luggage) come in around 4am.
Tomorrow is my last real day here, and I'm going to be in production all day. Eh, that's showbiz, kid. Just don't quit your day job.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Day Twenty Two
I know, I skipped day twenty one. That's because it was a big ol' day of me doing the things I do wherever I live - gym, shopping at Macy's (with my out-of-towner discount from the 1 1/2 floor), jogging. You'd be bored.
Today was also shaping up to be a boring day for you to read about, but it started off well at least. My NY friend who got a little crazy the other day called and apologized (see? there is hope) and it was a very compelling apology. I appreciated it.
The rest of the morning was to be spent in the condo waiting for a UPS shipment which required a signature. It was scheduled for the morning, I called and they said actually it could arrive anytime before 7pm. Trapped; my facebook friends have never seen so much of me. Around 6:30pm, I put on my gym clothes and got very excited that it was almost time to receive my package and leave the house. No such luck. 7:15, I called again. This was our actual conversation:
"Hi, I'm checking on my package, it was supposed to arrive today by seven pm. Tracking number ...."
"Yes, that package IS scheduled to arrive today. It left our office this morning."
"Well what time? I thought seven pm was the latest?"
(monotone) "Yes, ma'am, that package could arrive anytime before seven pm."
"Um... ... ... So what's the ACTUAL latest it could arrive?"
"Seven pm."
"I don't understand the answer. What is the latest time it could get here?"
"You don't have to worry, that package will be delivered today. And if it isn't, you can call our offices in the morning."
"Wait! Ma'am! It's seven FIFTEEN right now. I've been sitting here waiting all day!"
(still monotone) "Well it could arrive anytime before nine pm."
"Wait, what, I thought you said seven was the latest."
"Yes ma'am anytime before seven pm."
"But not really?"
"The latest it could arrive is nine pm."
ok. The gym closes at 10, and they make you leave the gym floor and go shower at 9:30. The night began to look as hopeless as the pursuit of getting information from a UPS operator. I made a backup plan to go to yoga on the upper west side at 9:45pm, just because it was available. UPS showed at 8:30ish and then I ran up the street and hopped on a subway to the gym.
Afterward, I went to the Monday night "Broadway Cast Party" over at Birdland. (http://www.castpartynyc.com/) It's one of those open mic nights where you never know what you're gonna get, because anyone can sign up to perform (they sign in at 9:30 for the 10 o'clock show) and it costs $10 to either sing or just watch. The promise of it all is that since Monday night is Broadway's "dark" night, there's a good chance that you'll get some B-way performers up on stage on their night off. I had no intention of performing (I'm actually starting to feel really rusty - I can't sing in the apartment and I won't pay for a practice room). But I got there and the first performer to sing was Sarah Rice, the original Joanna in Sweeney Todd. Awesome. Then some nobodies. At some point a little girl who is starring in Billy Elliot sang a song. Then, the most amazing thing - a teenage jazz violinist! I've never seen a jazz violinist. I've actually never seen a violinist this good at any style of music. YOU MUST listen to this kid- he's fifteen! I can't get enough of this. I found a recording of him from last year, when he was just a child :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8PZVSTCABg (skip about 30 seconds in) - I'm such a fan.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that all of this happened while I was sitting across from ELAINE PAIGE. I'm such a dork for the celebrities that make me happy. Like, meeting Christopher Seiber was my favorite thing, and could probably only be topped by Craig Bierko or Seth Rudetsky. OKOK I'm not that different from you. I'd also like to meet Hugh Jackman. There, we can have that in common now.
Also, I got to have my chicken meal from that famous halal truck. eh, it was alright. definitely better than most food I've had grilled on a street corner. (which is actually a lot, considering the number of USC tailgates I've been to)
I have to say, as easy as it has been over the past year to pack and find a new place to be, I find myself getting sadder and sadder when I have to leave. Leaving NYC just after finally getting settled in is tragic. Maybe one day I'll get to come back.
Today was also shaping up to be a boring day for you to read about, but it started off well at least. My NY friend who got a little crazy the other day called and apologized (see? there is hope) and it was a very compelling apology. I appreciated it.
The rest of the morning was to be spent in the condo waiting for a UPS shipment which required a signature. It was scheduled for the morning, I called and they said actually it could arrive anytime before 7pm. Trapped; my facebook friends have never seen so much of me. Around 6:30pm, I put on my gym clothes and got very excited that it was almost time to receive my package and leave the house. No such luck. 7:15, I called again. This was our actual conversation:
"Hi, I'm checking on my package, it was supposed to arrive today by seven pm. Tracking number ...."
"Yes, that package IS scheduled to arrive today. It left our office this morning."
"Well what time? I thought seven pm was the latest?"
(monotone) "Yes, ma'am, that package could arrive anytime before seven pm."
"Um... ... ... So what's the ACTUAL latest it could arrive?"
"Seven pm."
"I don't understand the answer. What is the latest time it could get here?"
"You don't have to worry, that package will be delivered today. And if it isn't, you can call our offices in the morning."
"Wait! Ma'am! It's seven FIFTEEN right now. I've been sitting here waiting all day!"
(still monotone) "Well it could arrive anytime before nine pm."
"Wait, what, I thought you said seven was the latest."
"Yes ma'am anytime before seven pm."
"But not really?"
"The latest it could arrive is nine pm."
ok. The gym closes at 10, and they make you leave the gym floor and go shower at 9:30. The night began to look as hopeless as the pursuit of getting information from a UPS operator. I made a backup plan to go to yoga on the upper west side at 9:45pm, just because it was available. UPS showed at 8:30ish and then I ran up the street and hopped on a subway to the gym.
Afterward, I went to the Monday night "Broadway Cast Party" over at Birdland. (http://www.castpartynyc.com/) It's one of those open mic nights where you never know what you're gonna get, because anyone can sign up to perform (they sign in at 9:30 for the 10 o'clock show) and it costs $10 to either sing or just watch. The promise of it all is that since Monday night is Broadway's "dark" night, there's a good chance that you'll get some B-way performers up on stage on their night off. I had no intention of performing (I'm actually starting to feel really rusty - I can't sing in the apartment and I won't pay for a practice room). But I got there and the first performer to sing was Sarah Rice, the original Joanna in Sweeney Todd. Awesome. Then some nobodies. At some point a little girl who is starring in Billy Elliot sang a song. Then, the most amazing thing - a teenage jazz violinist! I've never seen a jazz violinist. I've actually never seen a violinist this good at any style of music. YOU MUST listen to this kid- he's fifteen! I can't get enough of this. I found a recording of him from last year, when he was just a child :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8PZVSTCABg (skip about 30 seconds in) - I'm such a fan.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that all of this happened while I was sitting across from ELAINE PAIGE. I'm such a dork for the celebrities that make me happy. Like, meeting Christopher Seiber was my favorite thing, and could probably only be topped by Craig Bierko or Seth Rudetsky. OKOK I'm not that different from you. I'd also like to meet Hugh Jackman. There, we can have that in common now.
Also, I got to have my chicken meal from that famous halal truck. eh, it was alright. definitely better than most food I've had grilled on a street corner. (which is actually a lot, considering the number of USC tailgates I've been to)
I have to say, as easy as it has been over the past year to pack and find a new place to be, I find myself getting sadder and sadder when I have to leave. Leaving NYC just after finally getting settled in is tragic. Maybe one day I'll get to come back.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Day Twenty- Business
Took a production meeting in the East Village with my director about the scene we're shooting on Tuesday. On the way back, I got a call from Bernie, a friend of all my friends in Temple City, inviting me to his birthday bash in Union Square. Definitely like home; we went and got a private room for karaoke in a bar called One Karaoke (which is great! Happy hour prices are $4 per person, per hour). Sang a bunch of duets with Bernie, every musical theatre duet for a girl and a tenor that you could think of. Met a lot of awesome people, including his friend from work (Manhattan School of Music) and some med. school friends (my first doctor friends!) who were awesome. One girl, Lily, had just performed 2 C-sections and a regular delivery before meeting us in the bar (and I thought I was tired from figuring out the bus!). Stayed out singing till 3am (bars close at 4).
Was planning to go kayaking on the Hudson River today but I'm too tired and there's a lot to do (read: gym and beauty routine) before shooting on Tuesday.
While in New York, I've been helping my actor friend with his online submissions a lot and it made me think about how when I get back home I'm going to have to hire someone to do it for me every day because it is a full time job to submit for auditions. Even with an agent; but especially without one. I'm was going to hire an assistant for just myself, but I've decided that it would be worthwhile to offer this service to other actors as well (since nothing like it currently exists) and run the business myself (after all, USC Film School has been waiting for some alumni "success" from me for a few years now). On Tuesday, I'll be launching www.nowsubmitting.com, a professional service for busy LA and NY actors who don't have the time and/or discipline to submit themselves every day. I hope it will be useful to actors in giving them one less chance to miss out on casting opportunities due to their survival jobs, busy lives, laziness, etc. I think by collaborating on this, it will save all of us a lot of time and money.
Was planning to go kayaking on the Hudson River today but I'm too tired and there's a lot to do (read: gym and beauty routine) before shooting on Tuesday.
While in New York, I've been helping my actor friend with his online submissions a lot and it made me think about how when I get back home I'm going to have to hire someone to do it for me every day because it is a full time job to submit for auditions. Even with an agent; but especially without one. I'm was going to hire an assistant for just myself, but I've decided that it would be worthwhile to offer this service to other actors as well (since nothing like it currently exists) and run the business myself (after all, USC Film School has been waiting for some alumni "success" from me for a few years now). On Tuesday, I'll be launching www.nowsubmitting.com, a professional service for busy LA and NY actors who don't have the time and/or discipline to submit themselves every day. I hope it will be useful to actors in giving them one less chance to miss out on casting opportunities due to their survival jobs, busy lives, laziness, etc. I think by collaborating on this, it will save all of us a lot of time and money.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Day Nineteen- You told me so.
I almost didn't write this, because I get really defensive when Californians tell me how awful New Yorkers are. It bugs me, especially when they've only been here for a few days at a time, and especially when they are busy acting like lost tourists during their entire stays here- it seems perfectly understandable to me that the people who are trying to get stuff done would get annoyed at all those OTHER people fumbling around in their way.
So, so far, almost everyone I've hung out with in NYC has been a transplant; in fact, most of my friends that I've spent time with here are Californians. Even the new friends. So I've had the best of both worlds: the city of New York, and the people from California.
I think the biggest difference between NY and CA is that Californians have a generally gracious attitude about things and people, and we go out of our way to act polite and friendly, especially with strangers. We smile a lot and talk a lot and put a positive spin on every story so that we can remain grateful for all the good there is around us. It's a lot of work to be so cheerful, I'll admit, and one of my favorite things about wandering these streets of NYC alone is that I can actually experience my emotions and not spend all that time smiling over them every time I encounter a new person. (Even still, I end up smiling way more than most of the people here. But that's just me.)
Tonight, my only real New York friend (raised in the Bronx, no less) completely went bi-polar on me. We were at a networking event/48-hour film fest. screening; i could tell he didn't really like it, but it was his idea to go and we were kind of stuck there. Anyway, the point was to meet people, so after the screening I walked over to one of the guys who worked really hard to put the event together, thinking that would be a good place to start. My friend joined us. I went out of my way to introduce the two of them and say nice things about him, and then he basically said to the guy, "I can't get over what crap this whole thing is."
Whoa. Nobody really knew what to say. I mean the guy wasn't outwardly offended, but he did defend the program by explaining that the point was to collaborate and have fun, and that the filmmakers only had 48 hours, which is no time at all really. My friend responds by saying "I keep hearing these excuses from everybody! There's no excuse for making bad movies!"
Awkward. At this point I was really embarrassed, since I was the one who introduced them. I turned to him and said with a forced smile,"But they were doing it to have fun and get to know each other and work together!"
That pissed him off. He literally stormed out of the room and out of the building. I've never seen anything like it. I didn't follow him out, but I did leave a message just to make sure he was ok. I'm sure that only pissed him off more, but whatever.
Anyway, I was starving so I went to the Halal stand on 6th Ave. and 53rd Street, which has the LONGEST "street-meat" line in town, and has had this crazy line every time I've come to New York.
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/xEnNFXtMLDF5kZDxfaCJgA?select=ySvn34Z-w85FCDUixMt9Lw
Stood in the line FOREVER, then went to reach for cash and remembered I took it out of my bag before going to the film thing. Ugh. Went home. On the wrong train. Went to Queens (briefly)! Then went home.
So, so far, almost everyone I've hung out with in NYC has been a transplant; in fact, most of my friends that I've spent time with here are Californians. Even the new friends. So I've had the best of both worlds: the city of New York, and the people from California.
I think the biggest difference between NY and CA is that Californians have a generally gracious attitude about things and people, and we go out of our way to act polite and friendly, especially with strangers. We smile a lot and talk a lot and put a positive spin on every story so that we can remain grateful for all the good there is around us. It's a lot of work to be so cheerful, I'll admit, and one of my favorite things about wandering these streets of NYC alone is that I can actually experience my emotions and not spend all that time smiling over them every time I encounter a new person. (Even still, I end up smiling way more than most of the people here. But that's just me.)
Tonight, my only real New York friend (raised in the Bronx, no less) completely went bi-polar on me. We were at a networking event/48-hour film fest. screening; i could tell he didn't really like it, but it was his idea to go and we were kind of stuck there. Anyway, the point was to meet people, so after the screening I walked over to one of the guys who worked really hard to put the event together, thinking that would be a good place to start. My friend joined us. I went out of my way to introduce the two of them and say nice things about him, and then he basically said to the guy, "I can't get over what crap this whole thing is."
Whoa. Nobody really knew what to say. I mean the guy wasn't outwardly offended, but he did defend the program by explaining that the point was to collaborate and have fun, and that the filmmakers only had 48 hours, which is no time at all really. My friend responds by saying "I keep hearing these excuses from everybody! There's no excuse for making bad movies!"
Awkward. At this point I was really embarrassed, since I was the one who introduced them. I turned to him and said with a forced smile,"But they were doing it to have fun and get to know each other and work together!"
That pissed him off. He literally stormed out of the room and out of the building. I've never seen anything like it. I didn't follow him out, but I did leave a message just to make sure he was ok. I'm sure that only pissed him off more, but whatever.
Anyway, I was starving so I went to the Halal stand on 6th Ave. and 53rd Street, which has the LONGEST "street-meat" line in town, and has had this crazy line every time I've come to New York.
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/xEnNFXtMLDF5kZDxfaCJgA?select=ySvn34Z-w85FCDUixMt9Lw
Stood in the line FOREVER, then went to reach for cash and remembered I took it out of my bag before going to the film thing. Ugh. Went home. On the wrong train. Went to Queens (briefly)! Then went home.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Day Eighteen- A Day Late
Didn't blog yesterday because I came home too tired after a cardio dance class and a day of running errands. Spent a few hours with my computer illiterate friend, helping him get up to speed on some of the casting websites. You really can't be an actor without computer proficiency. Either that, or own a Mac.
More errands this afternoon, carried out with the anxiety of not knowing what would happen to the package that was being delivered to my apartment today, since we have no doorman and it's a secure building, and I wouldn't be there to buzz the delivery guy in. My idea is that a package gets dropped off someplace outside, and then someone from the neighborhood comes and rattles it around like a present under the tree, and if it doesn't sound expensive, leaves it for you to find when you get home. Anyway, when I got home, it was actually right outside my door, no idea how it got there.
Went to the gym and ran into my gym buddy, Antonio, a buff Puerto Rican guy who works as a professional bodyguard. Before this job, he was a personal trainer, and before that, a stripper in Miami. He's sort of the straight version of Hank Azaria in the Birdcage. I can barely understand him through the accent, but he's a real character so I work hard to figure out what he's saying.
That reminds me, I need to see La Cage Aux Folles.
More errands this afternoon, carried out with the anxiety of not knowing what would happen to the package that was being delivered to my apartment today, since we have no doorman and it's a secure building, and I wouldn't be there to buzz the delivery guy in. My idea is that a package gets dropped off someplace outside, and then someone from the neighborhood comes and rattles it around like a present under the tree, and if it doesn't sound expensive, leaves it for you to find when you get home. Anyway, when I got home, it was actually right outside my door, no idea how it got there.
Went to the gym and ran into my gym buddy, Antonio, a buff Puerto Rican guy who works as a professional bodyguard. Before this job, he was a personal trainer, and before that, a stripper in Miami. He's sort of the straight version of Hank Azaria in the Birdcage. I can barely understand him through the accent, but he's a real character so I work hard to figure out what he's saying.
That reminds me, I need to see La Cage Aux Folles.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Day Seventeen- 'cause Everything is RENT
I had a long conversation with my actor friend out here about housing options for poor actors. He got into Section 8 housing, which means he has a kick-ass apartment that he pays 1/3 of his total monthly income for, no matter what his monthly income is. I looked it up, they stopped taking new Section 8 applications due to lack of Fed. funding. Lame.
My other friend BP lives in a studio in Brooklyn that only costs $695/month for actors, run by The Actor's Fund. They have openings, but your tax return has to show annual income of $23-32k. I made too much last year, so no-go. In California, you can only get Actor's Fund housing if you are an actor who is HIV positive, so it's nice to know that here they are a little more open to you just being an actor and not having to be literally dying to be considered for assistance.
Not that I'm planning to move permanently; just that I'd like to have a place here, too, so that I can keep auditioning. And also, I actually like NYC.
Shooting a scene next Tuesday, hopefully it'll turn out good enough for my (outdated) reel. I'm a junior attorney in a firm assigned to a Catholic Parish. We'll see...
I found out that my brother is in the ICU in California, and NOBODY is in town- my parents are in Arkansas and I'm way the heck out here. His roomate caught me on fb to let me know. They thought he was having a heart attack, but after lots of testing it turns out that he had a virus that spread to his heart. I'd be really freaked out right now, but the same thing happened to my friend Luis last year and he was able to have full recovery, so it makes me feel a little better. But terrifying, really.
It's after midnight and if I'm going to get anything done during my last 9 days here, I'm going to have to start falling asleep before 6am. Not my fault, totally, I found out that the supplement I'm taking has a MEGAdose of caffeine in it. It's basically NoDoze with some vitamins thrown in. But they listed the caffeine as herbal blend and I didn't know what that meant. "Guarana" means caffeine.
My other friend BP lives in a studio in Brooklyn that only costs $695/month for actors, run by The Actor's Fund. They have openings, but your tax return has to show annual income of $23-32k. I made too much last year, so no-go. In California, you can only get Actor's Fund housing if you are an actor who is HIV positive, so it's nice to know that here they are a little more open to you just being an actor and not having to be literally dying to be considered for assistance.
Not that I'm planning to move permanently; just that I'd like to have a place here, too, so that I can keep auditioning. And also, I actually like NYC.
Shooting a scene next Tuesday, hopefully it'll turn out good enough for my (outdated) reel. I'm a junior attorney in a firm assigned to a Catholic Parish. We'll see...
I found out that my brother is in the ICU in California, and NOBODY is in town- my parents are in Arkansas and I'm way the heck out here. His roomate caught me on fb to let me know. They thought he was having a heart attack, but after lots of testing it turns out that he had a virus that spread to his heart. I'd be really freaked out right now, but the same thing happened to my friend Luis last year and he was able to have full recovery, so it makes me feel a little better. But terrifying, really.
It's after midnight and if I'm going to get anything done during my last 9 days here, I'm going to have to start falling asleep before 6am. Not my fault, totally, I found out that the supplement I'm taking has a MEGAdose of caffeine in it. It's basically NoDoze with some vitamins thrown in. But they listed the caffeine as herbal blend and I didn't know what that meant. "Guarana" means caffeine.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Day Sixteen- I really blew it
Today started off ok- didn't really sleep last night, no idea why. Went to the gym anyway. Came home and cooked because Luis was driving up from Philly to see the Broadway play with me.
OK. I'm going to admit right now that maybe I'm a little too comfortable here in my "figure things out as I go" place. I got a text on Saturday while Luis and I were driving in DC that read "2 tix for Tuesday night, bring your ID." My friend had told me way ahead of time that she was going to try to get me tickets for Lend Me a Tenor. Getting that text meant that she was able to do it, I was sooo excited.
So Luis came up around 6:30 and we ate and then we headed to midtown around 7:15. I knew we were cutting it close, but I remembered where the theatre was- I had seen it across the street during intermission of Rock of Ages on 47th Street. So I didn't bother looking it up, I've been in midtown a million times so far. 7:45pm, we get off the subway and hustle up from 42nd Street. We get to 47th, and an entirely different show is playing across from Rock of Ages. Crap. I didn't see it during the intermission of Rock of Ages, I saw it during the intermission of Next to Normal, which is on 45th. 7:55pm, and I'm feeling slightly worried that they won't hold these seats for us. So we sped over to 45th street and found the theatre, which was EXTREMELY quiet for 1 minute before curtain...These are really good audience members, I thought, not a one of them pushing the deadline...But, whatever, WE MADE IT!
I thought.
So there's this thing I haven't encountered yet, which is the Tuesday night EARLY show. It's at 7pm instead of the usual 8. At every theatre. All the time. Everyone, apparently, knows this. Except dumb me, who didn't bother to look it up because I knew where Broadway was. We were an hour late, and it's a complicated show, so we opted not to walk in halfway through. The guy in the box office said we could use the seats another night, thank goodness, so I kept them and I have to call at 11am on another day.
then, to add insult to injury, I made the mistake of opening the envelope. The seats were in row ZERO. (That's one row closer than ROW 1) They were amazing. I felt like such an ass. My friend worked hard to call in a favor for me. My other friend drove and paid tolls and tolls to get up here on the hottest day of the year. I haven't felt such regret for making a bad choice in a very long time.
Luckily, Luis has more friends in town than I do, and we ended up meeting up with one of his actor friends after his Broadway show, and then another with her boyfriend (whom I've seen on tour several times) later. Small world. The funny thing is that both guys had been doing their respective shows for years and were clearly ready for another opportunity. Both had had big auditions today, and both were worried about the results. Which I get. But it's crazy to me that it's such a struggle, even for them, to get the next job that they actually want. I can't even come close to imagining being bored of the Broadway show I'm in. But the credits are nice, and they certainly do help them get the next job over someone else, so it's not as bad as they think (imagine being, say, ME. I did a show at Cerritos College!)
It's 4am. Again. I must need sleep sometime. I think this trip is becoming "vacation" and not so much "work." Trap?
OK. I'm going to admit right now that maybe I'm a little too comfortable here in my "figure things out as I go" place. I got a text on Saturday while Luis and I were driving in DC that read "2 tix for Tuesday night, bring your ID." My friend had told me way ahead of time that she was going to try to get me tickets for Lend Me a Tenor. Getting that text meant that she was able to do it, I was sooo excited.
So Luis came up around 6:30 and we ate and then we headed to midtown around 7:15. I knew we were cutting it close, but I remembered where the theatre was- I had seen it across the street during intermission of Rock of Ages on 47th Street. So I didn't bother looking it up, I've been in midtown a million times so far. 7:45pm, we get off the subway and hustle up from 42nd Street. We get to 47th, and an entirely different show is playing across from Rock of Ages. Crap. I didn't see it during the intermission of Rock of Ages, I saw it during the intermission of Next to Normal, which is on 45th. 7:55pm, and I'm feeling slightly worried that they won't hold these seats for us. So we sped over to 45th street and found the theatre, which was EXTREMELY quiet for 1 minute before curtain...These are really good audience members, I thought, not a one of them pushing the deadline...But, whatever, WE MADE IT!
I thought.
So there's this thing I haven't encountered yet, which is the Tuesday night EARLY show. It's at 7pm instead of the usual 8. At every theatre. All the time. Everyone, apparently, knows this. Except dumb me, who didn't bother to look it up because I knew where Broadway was. We were an hour late, and it's a complicated show, so we opted not to walk in halfway through. The guy in the box office said we could use the seats another night, thank goodness, so I kept them and I have to call at 11am on another day.
then, to add insult to injury, I made the mistake of opening the envelope. The seats were in row ZERO. (That's one row closer than ROW 1) They were amazing. I felt like such an ass. My friend worked hard to call in a favor for me. My other friend drove and paid tolls and tolls to get up here on the hottest day of the year. I haven't felt such regret for making a bad choice in a very long time.
Luckily, Luis has more friends in town than I do, and we ended up meeting up with one of his actor friends after his Broadway show, and then another with her boyfriend (whom I've seen on tour several times) later. Small world. The funny thing is that both guys had been doing their respective shows for years and were clearly ready for another opportunity. Both had had big auditions today, and both were worried about the results. Which I get. But it's crazy to me that it's such a struggle, even for them, to get the next job that they actually want. I can't even come close to imagining being bored of the Broadway show I'm in. But the credits are nice, and they certainly do help them get the next job over someone else, so it's not as bad as they think (imagine being, say, ME. I did a show at Cerritos College!)
It's 4am. Again. I must need sleep sometime. I think this trip is becoming "vacation" and not so much "work." Trap?
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Day Fifteen - Gym sHopping
Today I used my second "free trial" gym membership. Tomorrow I start a five-day pass, then I have another 3-day somewhere else, and finally a one-day at Crunch. I'm a gym hopper. And it doesn't cost anything!
I found a camera store, B&H Photo, to buy accessories for my camcorder. Awesome store- not just because everyone was knowledgeable- but also because every employee was wearing a yamaka!
The fifth of July is a holiday; no auditions, crummy weekend metro service. I walked to Westide Market NYC, which is by far the cheapest place I have found here for groceries besides Trader Joe's. They have a TON of produce.
Tomorrow I will be seeing "Lend Me a Tenor" with Tony Shalhoub, Anthony LaPaglia, and the cute guy from "The Hangover," who is the boyfriend of one of the Olsen twins (whom my friend from work is good friends with) and who was able to score me free tickets. Can't wait!
I found a camera store, B&H Photo, to buy accessories for my camcorder. Awesome store- not just because everyone was knowledgeable- but also because every employee was wearing a yamaka!
The fifth of July is a holiday; no auditions, crummy weekend metro service. I walked to Westide Market NYC, which is by far the cheapest place I have found here for groceries besides Trader Joe's. They have a TON of produce.
Tomorrow I will be seeing "Lend Me a Tenor" with Tony Shalhoub, Anthony LaPaglia, and the cute guy from "The Hangover," who is the boyfriend of one of the Olsen twins (whom my friend from work is good friends with) and who was able to score me free tickets. Can't wait!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Days Eleven-Fourteen- AMERICA
Took the NJ Transit to Hamilton, where Luis picked me up and drove me to DC. Played tourist in DC for the day and saw Luis perform in an improv show in Arlington, VA. He was great! They loved him. His friend out there, Liz, is maybe the coolest girl I have ever met. Like this awesome balance of boldly funny, warm and attentive, and extremely genuine. I've never met anyone like her (at least not female). She let us stay at her place in Arlington, which saved us tons of money. We went to union Station and took a "movie locations" tour in Washington DC (or as Duke calls it, "a trip to the White House and Capitol Building." Which it wasn't; it was actually a lot of fun and went a lot of places and lasted over three hours.) My favorite stop was Georgetown, where I've never been before. What a GREAT place! I love it there, it's the cutest, most charming little place. The tour guide was an actor in DC and he filled time by asking everyone where we were from. When he got to us, Luis said "We're both from Los Angeles." The guide replied, "Oh, what brought you all the way out here?" Luis paused, ever-so-briefly, and responded, "AMERICA." awesome.
I went to Redeemer Pres. for a second time yesterday, hoping to finally catch Tim Keller's sermon. I got there and they handed me a program and Tim Keller was not in it. Apparently, he's decided to take the rest of the summer off. Last night's pastor had a particular talent for putting people to sleep, including the guy sitting next to me. And it was a section of the Bible that is really really awesome (John 14:16-26). Very disappointing. I guess I can go back to listening to Keller's podcasts from redeemer.com.
Last night I watched fireworks over the Hudson River with some people from my building on the roof. About halfway through, I got bored and came inside and watched them on NBC with the rest of the country.
Today is a holiday, day off to gym and see a voice coach. Nine days left of NYC, then eight days in Ft. Myers, FL and Orlando. Thank God for this trip. I'm loving it.
I went to Redeemer Pres. for a second time yesterday, hoping to finally catch Tim Keller's sermon. I got there and they handed me a program and Tim Keller was not in it. Apparently, he's decided to take the rest of the summer off. Last night's pastor had a particular talent for putting people to sleep, including the guy sitting next to me. And it was a section of the Bible that is really really awesome (John 14:16-26). Very disappointing. I guess I can go back to listening to Keller's podcasts from redeemer.com.
Last night I watched fireworks over the Hudson River with some people from my building on the roof. About halfway through, I got bored and came inside and watched them on NBC with the rest of the country.
Today is a holiday, day off to gym and see a voice coach. Nine days left of NYC, then eight days in Ft. Myers, FL and Orlando. Thank God for this trip. I'm loving it.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Day Ten - Matinee Day and The Bottom Line
What a great day. Woke up NOT sweating for the first time since I got here; there was actually nice weather all day long!
Slept in. Took the subway to the Equity office to sign up to audition for a play at Manhattan Theatre Club. Couldn't get an appointment till mid afternoon, so I went back home and (hooray) went up to the roofdeck of my building and spent some time tanning (today was the first day it wasn't too hot to be outside on purpose). Phone rang after a few minutes, my good friend BP from Brooklyn scored free tickets to the matinee of "Rock of Ages." Ran in, grabbed my stuff, rode the subway BACK to the Equity office to reschedule my appointment to the end of the day, then walked to the theatre and met my friend.
OMG "Rock of Ages" is a GREAT show. I don't say that about too many shows. I've never had so much fun on a Wednesday afternoon. Seriously, go see it if you're in town. And that Constantine guy from American Idol (which I don't watch) was a terrific actor and singer. He did a surprisingly good job. The show is fun and soo funny.
So I left a Broadway show and walked two blocks to audition for a Broadway show (awesome). I performed my monologue, which has been getting GREAT response repeatedly. Unlike my chorus auditions....
OK I better just say it. I have no interest in the chorus. I'm not being a snob. I'm just not the stereotypical cookie-cutter chorus girl, and the amount of work that it would take for me to act like one is just not worth it to me, because I honestly don't enjoy the work. I like to actually ACT (you know, with real emotions) and sing with my regular healthy voice. I've done enough fake-smiling and giggling and belting in my life. It's not my favorite. So today was my first day of deliberately avoiding all Chorus Calls, no matter how big the show. Just so you don't think I'm completely nuts, the last chorus call I attended I had to sit next to a girl who was telling the story of how she's missed the last round of auditions because she had to have surgery to scrape the nodes (aka vocal damage from broadway belting) off of her vocal cords. Her story was met with the whole group of girls nearby comparing their own stories of surgery for nodes and nodules. Lame. When I quit dancing as a chorus girl, it was because I was so scared of how many careers were ended by one little injury. I've (so far) never heard of anyone who acted too hard and suffered a career-ending consequence.
Anyway, I left the play audition and hurried downtown for a workshop with a film casting director. I got to "cold-read" a very long movie scene with a partner. When we were done, the casting director told the group that my performance was "absolutely perfect" and that they should be paying attention. I was really thankful and flattered. My picture is going "in her files," which means that she'll call me to audition whenever a project that needs my type comes along. (Hope she likes videotaped auditions from California)...
Watching some of the other actors in the workshop was painful. Not many actors GET film acting here in New York. They do this weird over-the-top stage acting and think they did a great job.
So now here's the bottom line: I've come all the way across the country to discover, time and again, that the most marketable (and enjoyable) thing that I do the best is...Hollywood acting. Thank you folks, I'll be here all week.
I will say that it is going to be hard leaving my small pond of New York film and television and returning to the over-populated Hollywood scene. I'm spoiled by how excited they get here to see any talent at all.
After the workshop and the awesome compliments from the casting director, I decided to take advantage of the cool weather and walk the 75 blocks home. Ended up in front of the Lincoln Center Theatre where my friend's son is in "South Pacific." Decided to watch it. His understudy was on instead. But the new Nellie Forbush was Laura Osnes, the girl that won the TV Show a couple of years ago called "You're the One That I Want." I loved her voice in Grease, so that was exciting. South Pacific is a LONGGGGG show (read: boringgggg). I got yelled at by an usher who was mad at me for texting during the intermission music before the entr'acte lights dimmed. I was in the back row, and no one was near me to be bothered. ugh. I think the ushers at Lincoln Center take themselves more seriously than other Broadway ushers; it's like the thing with SAG extras and AFTRA extras.
(nice call-back, huh?)
Bed soon, tomorrow is a day off I think, then Friday and Saturday in DC to see my friend Luis perform with Comedy Sportz and to play tourist. Fun.
Slept in. Took the subway to the Equity office to sign up to audition for a play at Manhattan Theatre Club. Couldn't get an appointment till mid afternoon, so I went back home and (hooray) went up to the roofdeck of my building and spent some time tanning (today was the first day it wasn't too hot to be outside on purpose). Phone rang after a few minutes, my good friend BP from Brooklyn scored free tickets to the matinee of "Rock of Ages." Ran in, grabbed my stuff, rode the subway BACK to the Equity office to reschedule my appointment to the end of the day, then walked to the theatre and met my friend.
OMG "Rock of Ages" is a GREAT show. I don't say that about too many shows. I've never had so much fun on a Wednesday afternoon. Seriously, go see it if you're in town. And that Constantine guy from American Idol (which I don't watch) was a terrific actor and singer. He did a surprisingly good job. The show is fun and soo funny.
So I left a Broadway show and walked two blocks to audition for a Broadway show (awesome). I performed my monologue, which has been getting GREAT response repeatedly. Unlike my chorus auditions....
OK I better just say it. I have no interest in the chorus. I'm not being a snob. I'm just not the stereotypical cookie-cutter chorus girl, and the amount of work that it would take for me to act like one is just not worth it to me, because I honestly don't enjoy the work. I like to actually ACT (you know, with real emotions) and sing with my regular healthy voice. I've done enough fake-smiling and giggling and belting in my life. It's not my favorite. So today was my first day of deliberately avoiding all Chorus Calls, no matter how big the show. Just so you don't think I'm completely nuts, the last chorus call I attended I had to sit next to a girl who was telling the story of how she's missed the last round of auditions because she had to have surgery to scrape the nodes (aka vocal damage from broadway belting) off of her vocal cords. Her story was met with the whole group of girls nearby comparing their own stories of surgery for nodes and nodules. Lame. When I quit dancing as a chorus girl, it was because I was so scared of how many careers were ended by one little injury. I've (so far) never heard of anyone who acted too hard and suffered a career-ending consequence.
Anyway, I left the play audition and hurried downtown for a workshop with a film casting director. I got to "cold-read" a very long movie scene with a partner. When we were done, the casting director told the group that my performance was "absolutely perfect" and that they should be paying attention. I was really thankful and flattered. My picture is going "in her files," which means that she'll call me to audition whenever a project that needs my type comes along. (Hope she likes videotaped auditions from California)...
Watching some of the other actors in the workshop was painful. Not many actors GET film acting here in New York. They do this weird over-the-top stage acting and think they did a great job.
So now here's the bottom line: I've come all the way across the country to discover, time and again, that the most marketable (and enjoyable) thing that I do the best is...Hollywood acting. Thank you folks, I'll be here all week.
I will say that it is going to be hard leaving my small pond of New York film and television and returning to the over-populated Hollywood scene. I'm spoiled by how excited they get here to see any talent at all.
After the workshop and the awesome compliments from the casting director, I decided to take advantage of the cool weather and walk the 75 blocks home. Ended up in front of the Lincoln Center Theatre where my friend's son is in "South Pacific." Decided to watch it. His understudy was on instead. But the new Nellie Forbush was Laura Osnes, the girl that won the TV Show a couple of years ago called "You're the One That I Want." I loved her voice in Grease, so that was exciting. South Pacific is a LONGGGGG show (read: boringgggg). I got yelled at by an usher who was mad at me for texting during the intermission music before the entr'acte lights dimmed. I was in the back row, and no one was near me to be bothered. ugh. I think the ushers at Lincoln Center take themselves more seriously than other Broadway ushers; it's like the thing with SAG extras and AFTRA extras.
(nice call-back, huh?)
Bed soon, tomorrow is a day off I think, then Friday and Saturday in DC to see my friend Luis perform with Comedy Sportz and to play tourist. Fun.
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