When my manager said she was going to keep me busy, she wasn't lying. I auditioned for the British television series yesterday* and now I have auditions for features films tomorrow morning and Thursday morning. I'm looking to get a little coaching from a casting director I worked with a while ago for the Thursday audition. I'm working for the rest of the day and then have plans this evening, but tomorrow's should be pretty easy anyway.

*The audition - I got there at 4:40 for my appointment at 5, and there were at least 7 other people there. For 3 short scenes I figured about 3-5 minutes for each person. Well, I didn't get seen until after 6:00. It's not that unheard of if they've been running behind all day, but some girls were in there for about 15 minutes. Toward the end they had us to only two of the three scenes, and since I was the last one in there I felt like they really wanted to get it over with so it was short and sweet. Though the girls there didn't look any older than me, only one or two looked like they could really pass for 14 years old. But that's just what I saw, there was a page of people before me that I never saw.*

So while I was waiting, my manager called and told me about the audition for Thursday. It's something she mentioned earlier so it was exciting to hear that they want to see me. I got the news about tomorrow's audition while at work today, and that one was a surprise. It's all very exciting, these are both projects I can see myself fitting into well. Ever since the Rock of Ages incident I'm a little weary of telling a lot of people about the projects I'm going out for, but I assure you I'll let you know the details once I book something! A casting director suggested I submit for the new Transformers movie, which would be awesome but I think I should leave that up to my manager. I could ask her about it, but as for actually submitting that would be better left in her arena.

Opening Weekend

We have survived! More than survived I'd say. Compared to tech week, our opening weekend was brilliant.

There were a few technical slip-ups throughout the weekend, but over all the audience responded well. Except for yesterday's matinee - but a party of 57 had cancelled, so the brunch crowd gave us what they could. We have video elements involved, and there was one show (I can't tell you which, they're all mixing together in my mind now) that it completely turned off right in the middle, so we had to get up and act it out ourselves. There's a lot of "playing within the play" anyway so I don't think anyone could tell. We're pros, and unless someone gets seriously hurt I think we can get over anything that could possibly throw us. Today we had two fantastic shows, just pure fun the whole time. I even got a little misty during the finales.

One perk of working with this theater is that we have free access to a beautiful fitness club, The Claremont Club. It has pools, a cardio area, weight area, tennis, basketball, steam rooms, salon, cafe... the list goes on. Me and some of my fellow cast mates took advantage of this today between shows, and we went in the spa to relax. Lemme tell you, it really worked. My muscles still feel nice and loose! I'm planning on getting a massage or two there at some point, and I think the whole cast is going to have a picknick there next Saturday.

I got home about 40 minutes ago, and I had to run straight upstairs because the finale of Lost is on and there's at least 30 people at my house. I'll be camping out here for at least another 15 minutes... I've come to terms that I'll hear some things about the episode when I do come downstairs, but I'll be ok. I just really didn't want to see only the end and then have to get caught up on the whole thing by a bunch of Lost nerds. I'll just have some wild boar and hear what I hear. What, wild boar you ask? Yes, in the spirit of Lost my boyfriend got some wild boar meat and cooked it up. I can't wait to try it.

I am glad that I have a few minutes to blog, I've been meaning to do it all weekend. The audition for the British show is tomorrow so I can go over those lines for a while and figure out what I can wear to suggest I'm a freshman in high school. Hah. Hey, those kids on 90210 are like, 26 right? Anything is possible in the magic world of the entertainment industry.

Plusses And Minuses, But Mainly Plusses

Today was the day I called the agent I met with. I had to leave the house to call her, so I decided to make use of being out and go to the gym. I've gotten back in the habit of keeping planner with me, and it is very helpful. I've got all of my rehearsals/performances written down in it, work hours, meetings, and details of any auditions. Anyway, I left her a message and got a call back while at the gym. Unfortunately they're not going to be able to represent me because of the people they already have in their client base, but it's no big deal. It only makes sense to be represented by a person or company that thinks they can get you work without putting you in competition with their existing clients.

I used the opportunity of being in Hollywood to make some copies of my passport to send in to my manager (I like the sound of that!) with my paperwork. It is now official, I've signed a 2 year contract, and unless absolutely nothing happens within 30 days, I've now arrived at the next step of the journey. She called me right before I got to work, letting me know the people from the project in England want me to come in for an audition on Monday. The role is supposed to be a freshman in high school so that's stretching it a little, but it's worth a try even if I have to tape down my chest and go in wearing pastels with no make up. The script looks like something I'd be comfortable with, so I'm pretty excited.

As for Godspell, we ran if from beginning to end for the first time yesterday, with few and minor interruptions. The set is almost complete, as well as the costumes, and the transitions are getting smoother and smoother. As a whole it's taken the cast a little longer to bond that I'm normally used to, but I can really feel it happening now and that will only add to what great stuff we're already doing on stage. Opening night tomorrow!!!!

REPRESENT

I spent almost all day on Sunday shopping for what I was going to wear to my meetings Monday and Tuesday. I probably could have put something together with what I already have in my closet, but I think the main point was to get my mind off over thinking what I would do and say and what I wold be asked, and just focus on one thing I could control: how I looked. I got an amazing navy and white dress that I decided to wear to the agent meeting. The best part about it? It's a size 3. Now, I'm not kidding myself into thinking this is the rule - I know I'm not normally a size 3, and probably haven't been since about middle school. But it was a nice boost of confidence, to have that at the back of my mind while I was waiting to see the agent.

Up at 7:30 again for an 11:30 meeting, and that gave me plenty of time go get ready and on the road. I had a few butterflies but nothing that a nice deep breath didn't dissipate. The office was nice, on the 8th floor of a building along the miracle mile. The meeting was relatively short and sweet. She brought me in, we chatted about my resume and experience, and brought in the other two commercial agents she worked with to meet me. One of them had even heard of my hometown! The thing about Gilroy is that you either know it's the garlic capital of the world, or you've never heard of it before. So I like to tell people where I grew up because they're always very proud of themselves for knowing that fact, or interested that there is actually a garlic capital anywhere. I was back in my car and feeling good in 15 minutes. the have a meeting today, so I'm going to give her a call in the morning to check back in.

Then yesterday I had a meeting with a manager yesterday morning at noon. Though I had plenty of time to get ready the day before, I still set my alarm for 8:00. I woke up around 7 all by myself and as much as I tried to get a little more rest, I couldn't get back to sleep. For this meeting I decided to go a little more casual, and felt more comfortable. A manager isn't just about booking jobs, but about building a career and a brand, so I wanted to present myself more like how I am every day. Just a little more professional. From the moment I met this manager I felt good about it. She's got a great energy, loves what she does, and seems like she really gets the job done. She was very straightforward about her own career and how she wants to expand, and it seemed to me like I could probably fit in. This meeting was a little over 20 minutes, but it was less about questions and more about talking a discussing what we were both looking for.

I got a call from her this morning just as I got to Evan's house (good thing I was out of my house, I get terrible service there) and she said that though I'm older than she thought but we're going to try it out, try to get me an agent and book me some things. If things start progressing, or I get callbacks, then we'll proceed. Sounds fair enough to me! She said she already pitched me for Mean Girls II which I'm really excited about. I was taught in school to have some things in mind that I could be in, and Mean Girls was one of the things on my list. So even if I just get an audition for that, it would be so cool. She also wants to submit me for a series that shoots in Liverpool. So just in case, if you know know anyone I can stay with for a week or two that lives around the area, gimme a holler. I wish I still stayed in touch with those kids from manchester....

We are doing our first ever full runthrough of Godspell tonight! It's a little frightening, but I think we're going to do just fine. Once we smooth out the transitions we'll have a pretty darn good show on our hands! All of these early mornings started to catch up with me yesterday. I was tired even as I was driving to rehearsal, and it was hard to keep my eyes open during notes at the end, but I got home safe and sound and slept as long as I could this morning.

Ahhhh. I'm making good on my promise to myself to get things done. I like this.

Forward.

I was up just after 7:30 this morning. I showered, got dressed and ready, and had breakfast before I headed out to the callback. Only thing is... I didn't get that email.

Yes that's right. I checked my email at least hourly yesterday, but nada. Maybe there was a reason I didn't tell everyone about the callback. I kept wondering if I accidentally attached an old resume, or if they misspelled my email address, or if perhaps the casting director changed her mind about me. I had a little pity party last night, but decided to sleep on it and see how I felt in the morning. When I woke up today I still wasn't sure if it would be wise or fruitful, but I made up my mind to go out to Hollywood where they held the initial audition and wait for people to start showing up.

When I got there at 9:30, the only cars that were there belonged to the asian tourists getting out of them. I waited for a few minutes before deciding to go home to grab my laptop, a book, and some sudoku. I got back and sent a message to a guy I met at the audition, a friend of a friend, and asked if a girl he was hanging out with, who also got a callback, had heard anything yet. Desperate, yes. Luckily he quickly sent a message back, saying he had only met the girl that day, but he did have an email address for one of the casting coordinators. I sent a quick email to them and waited. Until almost 2:30. And nothing.

Of course it's very frustrating, wondering what happened. Something obviously went wrong somewhere. But on top of that, I could have worked this morning. With rehearsals and meetings and auditions going on, that's happening less and less. And speaking of, my rehearsal for Godspell Started at 2. Luckily my director is very understanding and trusts that we have a strong show on the way, so he said just get there when I could. I'm glad I gave it a shot, because I know I'd probably be mad at myself if I didn't.

I got to rehearsal at about 3:30 and found out some good news: they want me to be dance captain! That's really exciting, it's something that's crossed my mind before. As I've said before, I don't consider myself a strong dancer, but I do learn things pretty quickly. So I'm going to give it my best shot. Plus, it'll look good on my resume!

I'm getting help to put together a reel this weekend. I'm so lucky to be surrounded by talented and helpful people. Yesterday I had a little chat with Ron, the director from RENT, about the meetings that are coming up for me. He was very helpful, telling me some things I had been hearing, and other things that were long forgotten to me. Over the past months he's become someone I look up to, and it was great to get some input from him. After I got off the phone with him I realized that I'm scared. This is when my career is really starting and I can see it happening. Yes it's scary, but also very exciting. Once I push through the new hard stuff I believe more and more good things will happen for me.

Where Is That Email?

Alright, finally a real post again. So where to begin?

I have a meeting set for 11:30 on Monday morning with the agent. Then there's also this manager thing. Now, this one also came about because of the student film I did last year - only this time it wasn't me who cast the line out, they actually found me! I got an email from the director, and it was a forwarded message from a woman (manager) saying the head of her company saw the film and recommended she get in touch with me. Sweeeet. So we've planned on meeting sometime on Tuesday. I called up my director from RENT to ask if he had any advice, and he told me that one of the most important things is to know exactly what I want. My only problem right now is that I think I want everything. Not in terms of fame and fortune, though that would be cool, but I want to do everything possible. I'd love to work in film, television, commercials, voiceovers, stage, I want to sing/dance/act/perform everywhere and everything. I think the first step is to focus on what I want to get out of working with an agent, and overall out of my career. I've got two and a half days to figure that out.

In other news... I'd been looking forward to the Rock of Ages national tour audition since it was first posted. I love all (well, most) kinds of musical theatre, but now that I know I can sing rock well, it's what I gravitate to. I arrived at the audition location around 9:30 in the morning and was almost #90 in line. My friend Tim, who was in the second RENT with me, got there just before I did so it was nice to be able to hang out with him while we waited. They started seeing people a little after 10, but so many of us showed up to audition that there just wasn't going to be enough time to see everyone. Tim and I were going to be the next people brought in to sing, when the casting director came out and told everyone she had to start typing. That's when they take a look at you (or your headshot) and decide whether you have the right look or not. Luckily my headshot stood out to her, so an hour later I walked in the room to sing. As soon as I opened my mouth I heard echo everywhere. It startled me a little, but I don't think it threw me off. I got through about 5 seconds of "Lights" by Journey when she stopped me. She asked how my dance is, and I said it's ok. She then told me she wanted to call me back for Saturday, and to look for an email with the info.

Great! Fantastic! I'm so excited! Though I haven't gotten the email yet. If I don't get it, I plan on just showing up at 10 and hoping they're doing the callbacks at the same place the audition was. I'm probably stressing out more than I should... still, my brain just won't stop. I think I would be so great for this show, and if I don't get it because of someone misspelling or overlooking my email address, I'll be very upset.

I've also got Godspell opening on the 21st, which means this coming week will be tech week. It's a little intimidating. The show, the way it's structured, is so strange to me. It's a big challenge and I like that, but it's still tough not to have a real story line through the whole play. What's nice is I'll probably be wearing my own clothes. It's been a while since I've worked with a costumer that's really impressed me, so if I look like a fool now it's my own fault! Hah. It's very exciting, we're going to put up a great show.

Hm. Breathe.

Hi and Bye

It's funny - when I actually really want to post something, I'm often too busy to get around to it. But the busyness is what I want to write about in the first place!

So quickly...
-Godspell tech next week
-new headshots printed out
-putting together an acting reel
-callback for Rock Of Ages national tour
-meeting with and agent on Monday
-meeting with a manager on Tuesday

All this on top of trying to work and balance a social life is.... great. Maybe it would be stressful if this is how life was all the time, but little bursts of all this craziness makes me feel good. Especially when so many exciting things are involved!

I will post again soon, I promise.

On Saturday I was, again, feeling better about this whole turning-down-the-job situation. I was about to head to the gym when I got a voicemail (not a call, because my service sicks at my house) from someone asking if I was available to come in for an Xbox audition later that very day. I called back to get the info, changed and out together a headshot and resume. Luckily I had one more resume left, yes just one. I also had to run to the store to get more staples, but I arrived totally prepared. Well as prepared as one can be when getting the call mere hours before the audition, and not seeing the sides until I got there.

It was simple enough. Just one short page of dialogue with two other people, pretending we were doing a video blog about movies. There was a little bit of improv allowed with the lines, so i took advantage of that. We went through it three times and that was that. The casting director/producer/whoever it was behind the camera was laughing a lot and I left feeling very happy. The callbacks were held this Tuesday and Wednesday, and though I didn't get called back I still felt really great about what I did. It was a nice change to do a non-theatre audition for the first time in a while. I sent out my stuff to the agent I mentioned last time, and I was told to give her a call in a few days to follow up. Hopefully something good will come from this so I can audition more.

I found out that the girl they chose to play the role I was offered was someone I knew from school, and I even saw her at the audition. It's good to know that as much flack as it gets from some students, AMDA still cranks out some talented people that work work work. I'm excited to hear from her how it all goes.

Rehearsals for Godspell have been going well. The nature of the show combined with the personalities of the cast has caused a lot of giggle fits, and the process it just fun. It is a challenge to take a show that is structured in such a presentational way and try to bring it down to real life. We did a bunch of choreography yesterday. Hector is our choreographer, who now is a dance teacher at AMDA. He wasn't there when I was going to school, but I can already tell he knows his way around dancing. A friend of mine is in a production of A Chorus Line that he's choreographing, which seems a little more suited to his style. But his skills combined with David's ideas for the show seem to be coming together nicely so far.