Monday, February 6, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Perfectly describes the actor...
Though we seem to be sleeping,
there is an inner wakefulness
that directs the dream,
and that will eventually startle us back
to the truth of who we are
- Rumi
there is an inner wakefulness
that directs the dream,
and that will eventually startle us back
to the truth of who we are
- Rumi
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
I've been absent for far too long!
Due to a bad breakup (don't worry, I'm using it for my ART), I've been AWOL, and I apologize. Here's a quote my Meisner instructor shared with our class recently to tide you over while I get my shit together:
Friend, hope for the truth while you are alive. Jump into experience while you are alive! Think...and think...while you are alive. What you call "salvation" belongs to the time before death. If you don't break your ropes while you're alive, do you think ghosts will do it after? The idea that the soul will join with the ecstatic just because the body is rotten - that is all fantasy. What is found now is found then. If you find nothing now, you will simply end up with an apartment in the City of Death. If you make love with the divine now, in the next life you will have the face of satisfied desire. So plunge into the truth, find out who the Teacher is, Believe in the Great Sound! Kabir says this: When the Guest is being searched for, it is the intensity of the longing for the Guest that does all the work. Look at me, and you will see a slave of that intensity.
Friend, hope for the truth while you are alive. Jump into experience while you are alive! Think...and think...while you are alive. What you call "salvation" belongs to the time before death. If you don't break your ropes while you're alive, do you think ghosts will do it after? The idea that the soul will join with the ecstatic just because the body is rotten - that is all fantasy. What is found now is found then. If you find nothing now, you will simply end up with an apartment in the City of Death. If you make love with the divine now, in the next life you will have the face of satisfied desire. So plunge into the truth, find out who the Teacher is, Believe in the Great Sound! Kabir says this: When the Guest is being searched for, it is the intensity of the longing for the Guest that does all the work. Look at me, and you will see a slave of that intensity.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Oh, Marilyn
No matter what anyone says about her, this was an actress who wanted to be good at her craft. And no one can fault her for that.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Jet City Improv Review
On Saturday, my friends and I traveled to The Ave in Seattle to see Wing It Productions' Jet City Improv. Jet City was born in 1992 by Mike Christensen and Andrew McMasters. They perform every week and even have family-friendly shows before midnight. They also send out improv teams for corporate events, bat mitzvahs, you name it, and they participate in community outreach programs, like the Northwest AIDS Foundation, Northwest Harvest, and the Kalakala Foundation. It's because they have branded themselves in this way, that they're so successful: high quality improv for different age groups; having a committed education program for newcomers, kids, and charity groups; and coming up with new ideas for shows, like Twisted Flicks, in which they take an old B-movie and dub the lines themselves. One of my fellow students in Jet City's Improv 101 class informed me that Twisted Flicks is almost always sold out.
I attended my first Jet City Improv show last Saturday at 10:30. Among the cast were Lauren Domino, Ian Schempp, Graham Downing, Laura Turner, Brandon Baker, and Kate Jaeger. While all were immensely talented, Schempp and Downing were the real standouts. Their chemistry was palpable and their comedy hilarious. The wonder of it was that it was all unscripted.
Jet City Improv
Fri & Sat 10:30
Most Sats at 8
$14/$10
Final Transmission
Thu/Fri at 8
$14/$10
Twisted Flicks
The last Thu/Fri/Sat of each month
$14/$10
Last Call
Sat at midnight:30
$10
Spooktacular
Oct 31 at 7 p.m.
$18
Jet City Improv's website
I attended my first Jet City Improv show last Saturday at 10:30. Among the cast were Lauren Domino, Ian Schempp, Graham Downing, Laura Turner, Brandon Baker, and Kate Jaeger. While all were immensely talented, Schempp and Downing were the real standouts. Their chemistry was palpable and their comedy hilarious. The wonder of it was that it was all unscripted.
Jet City Improv
Fri & Sat 10:30
Most Sats at 8
$14/$10
Final Transmission
Thu/Fri at 8
$14/$10
Twisted Flicks
The last Thu/Fri/Sat of each month
$14/$10
Last Call
Sat at midnight:30
$10
Spooktacular
Oct 31 at 7 p.m.
$18
Jet City Improv's website
Friday, October 7, 2011
Melissa McCarthy is 100% devoted to her characters
This is how we should all aspire to act. She never breaks.
...and she makes me rock a very large lady boner for her.
What I'm not going to do
This isn't supposed to be about me. Really - it's not. Well, ok, it is. But just so you know, here's a list of things that you will not see on this blog:
1. Me asking for monologue/audition/character advice. It's not that I don't need it - it's just not the intent behind writing a blog based on my experiences trying to "make it." And by "making it," I don't mean what you do on Sunday mornings to appease your significant other. No, I mean, I want to make money off of acting - which I do but not enough to where it's my sole income. I think that's a common goal artists have. And I'm not some all-knowing acting sensei. I will make plenty of mistakes, but my hope is that other actors can learn from them.
2. A solid opinion one way or another on an agent. Actors typically fall into two categories when it comes to opinions on whether or not you need an agent; it's either, "OMG, you cannot get any role without an agent! Why are you even thinking about moving out to L.A.? You know you won't get any work, right?" Or, "Fuck agents. I'm in it for the art. But I wouldn't say no if Sam Rockwell's agent called me, which could happen, as I was recently in an indie film that got submitted to some international film festivals. What's that? Did it make it to Sundance? Nah, it's, uh, too indie for Sundance."
But I digress. My opinion on agents is that they're nice to have around, but not always 100% necessary. Can you move to L.A. without an agent and still get acting work? Of course you can. It just may be harder. But listen, you can do whatever the fuck you want! Move to L.A. without an agent! You are free to make your own decisions based on what's best for your career - I give you permission. And what's important is that you're following your dream no matter what anyone says. Those kind of balls (or lady balls) lead to success.
The point is, you must think of yourself as a small business owner, and you are what you're selling. You have to be willing to do the leg work, because even if your agent thinks the sun shines out of your ass, you're your own #1 fan. Sorry to bitch-slap you with some Chicken Soup for the Artist's Soul, but it's true. If you don't believe that you're good enough, then why should anyone else?
3. Me telling you if I think you have what it takes to be an actor. Anyone has what it takes to be an actor. In its basest form, you're reading and memorizing lines of text. If you're willing to work hard and practice like you would any other discipline, then you have what it takes to be an actor. If you want to get rich and famous for those purposes alone, then you're reading the wrong blog. I'd like to direct you here instead: http://kimkardashian.celebuzz.com/blog/.
I'm not saying it wouldn't be nice to be rich and famous; it sure as hell would, and let's admit it, we all want it. But my opinion is that if you claim to love something, but you wouldn't do it for free, then you don't really love it. Acting is the only thing that makes me feel that way, so I hold it to be sacred. If you want to use it for tabloid covers, then no, you're not an actor - you're a reality star. Have fun on Dancing with the Stars.
4. Polite language. You may have already noticed, but this is your official disclaimer: As a wonderful writing professor once said to be, "I have a thing about cursing. I love it." Maybe it's my Jewish/Quaker/Methodist background, but there's a thrill in dropping a few enthusiastic goddamns every once in a while. However, I do expect people to be respectful in the comments section. I don't plan on attacking anyone and neither should you. Respectfully disagreeing and healthy debate is, however, strongly encouraged.
5. Spam. I plan on reviewing acting websites, call boards, other blogs, etc. But I will not post get-rich-quick-by-becoming-a-movie-star-and-signing-up-for-a-$2,000-bullshit-acting-class schemes. I will recommend classes in the Seattle/L.A./Atlanta/Savannah/Twin Cities areas that I've taken/heard about from credible sources, but it will not be spam.
I'm starting and hopefully ending with these 5 rules.
"That's what makes acting so attractive. You get to break all your own rules."
- Gerardine Clark
1. Me asking for monologue/audition/character advice. It's not that I don't need it - it's just not the intent behind writing a blog based on my experiences trying to "make it." And by "making it," I don't mean what you do on Sunday mornings to appease your significant other. No, I mean, I want to make money off of acting - which I do but not enough to where it's my sole income. I think that's a common goal artists have. And I'm not some all-knowing acting sensei. I will make plenty of mistakes, but my hope is that other actors can learn from them.
2. A solid opinion one way or another on an agent. Actors typically fall into two categories when it comes to opinions on whether or not you need an agent; it's either, "OMG, you cannot get any role without an agent! Why are you even thinking about moving out to L.A.? You know you won't get any work, right?" Or, "Fuck agents. I'm in it for the art. But I wouldn't say no if Sam Rockwell's agent called me, which could happen, as I was recently in an indie film that got submitted to some international film festivals. What's that? Did it make it to Sundance? Nah, it's, uh, too indie for Sundance."
But I digress. My opinion on agents is that they're nice to have around, but not always 100% necessary. Can you move to L.A. without an agent and still get acting work? Of course you can. It just may be harder. But listen, you can do whatever the fuck you want! Move to L.A. without an agent! You are free to make your own decisions based on what's best for your career - I give you permission. And what's important is that you're following your dream no matter what anyone says. Those kind of balls (or lady balls) lead to success.
The point is, you must think of yourself as a small business owner, and you are what you're selling. You have to be willing to do the leg work, because even if your agent thinks the sun shines out of your ass, you're your own #1 fan. Sorry to bitch-slap you with some Chicken Soup for the Artist's Soul, but it's true. If you don't believe that you're good enough, then why should anyone else?
3. Me telling you if I think you have what it takes to be an actor. Anyone has what it takes to be an actor. In its basest form, you're reading and memorizing lines of text. If you're willing to work hard and practice like you would any other discipline, then you have what it takes to be an actor. If you want to get rich and famous for those purposes alone, then you're reading the wrong blog. I'd like to direct you here instead: http://kimkardashian.celebuzz.com/blog/.
I'm not saying it wouldn't be nice to be rich and famous; it sure as hell would, and let's admit it, we all want it. But my opinion is that if you claim to love something, but you wouldn't do it for free, then you don't really love it. Acting is the only thing that makes me feel that way, so I hold it to be sacred. If you want to use it for tabloid covers, then no, you're not an actor - you're a reality star. Have fun on Dancing with the Stars.
4. Polite language. You may have already noticed, but this is your official disclaimer: As a wonderful writing professor once said to be, "I have a thing about cursing. I love it." Maybe it's my Jewish/Quaker/Methodist background, but there's a thrill in dropping a few enthusiastic goddamns every once in a while. However, I do expect people to be respectful in the comments section. I don't plan on attacking anyone and neither should you. Respectfully disagreeing and healthy debate is, however, strongly encouraged.
5. Spam. I plan on reviewing acting websites, call boards, other blogs, etc. But I will not post get-rich-quick-by-becoming-a-movie-star-and-signing-up-for-a-$2,000-bullshit-acting-class schemes. I will recommend classes in the Seattle/L.A./Atlanta/Savannah/Twin Cities areas that I've taken/heard about from credible sources, but it will not be spam.
I'm starting and hopefully ending with these 5 rules.
"That's what makes acting so attractive. You get to break all your own rules."
- Gerardine Clark
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