Struggling Actresses, have I got a deal for you.
My friend Glo once told me, "You should come with us to this Spa! $25 gets you unlimited use of their spas, their saunas, and all the amenities!" "Awesome!" I had responded. "But you have to be naked on the ladies only floor." "Uh...Okay! It's time to get rid of my body shame and get naked in Korea Town!"
And then the most relaxing, awesome, best night of my life happened.
Cause I saw a bunch of naked ladies. I even saw a bunch of their naked daughters. And I looked down at my own nakedness and thought, "My body is MY body, and it's nothing to be ashamed of!" I didn't walk from one spa to the next, oh no, I strutted.
I mean, yes, it was relaxing as all get out, and fun, and great, but seriously, seeing the naked female body in all its naked glory, you realize that whatever expectation you might have on yourself and berating yourself for not going to the gym every possible hour, for eating a cookie in class last night, all that doesn't matter. My body is my body and the "Hollywood Ideal" is unhealthy and unrealistic and I have never had problems finding someone to appreciate my body, thankyouverymuch.
So go for the hot, warm and cold tubs, go for the steamroom, go for the heated jade floor, go for the free internet and computer use, go for the rooftop terrace, go for all that, sure, but go for the other naked ladies (they have a men's only floor and co-ed floor too. If you are a couple and have a couple friends you regularly hang out with, do this!) go for finally being able to see your body as something that is healthy and great as opposed to something you continually stress out about.
Groupon is doing a little more than half off, so the $25 spa pass is only TWELVE BUCKS! Here's the link: The Link of AWESOME!
Go with a friend. Seriously. Best time ever.
And BOOBS!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
"Ethnics"
If you don't submit yourself on roles that say "Caucasian," please submit for this! It was out on today's AA breakdown:
[PERFORMERS ]
The showcase is focused on African American, Latino, Asian-American, Native American and Pacific Islander actors with extensive sketch comedy experience. Additionally, actors with disabilities or LGBT actors of any ethnicity can submit. Each audition will require a one-minute original comedy monologue. STRONG SKETCH COMEDY BACKGROUND A PLUS.
| 2012 CBS DIVERSITY SKETCH COMEDY SHOWCASE Non-Union Theatre
|  | ||
| SUBMIT ELECTRONICALLY NO CALLS | | ||
The showcase is focused on African American, Latino, Asian-American, Native American and Pacific Islander actors with extensive sketch comedy experience. Additionally, actors with disabilities or LGBT actors of any ethnicity can submit. Each audition will require a one-minute original comedy monologue. STRONG SKETCH COMEDY BACKGROUND A PLUS.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Losing or Winning: The Name Change Game
It took me a while to like my first name. I didn't know it was different and unusual until I was about 5 or 6. My curly hair started growing down instead of just out into an afro, and on my way to school, there was an older lady who would walk her miniature poodle the same time I left. She would stop me and compliment my hair and pet me because I had the human version haircut as her dog. "What's your name, sweetheart?" She'd coo. "Lira." I'd reply. "What was that?" "Lira." And as it always happened, she would scrunch up her face and say, "Lisa?" "Lira!" "Oh." She would say, looking like she smelled something awful, "That's a nice name." I'm young, but I'm not stupid. I can tell she's lying. She doesn't think it's a nice name. She thinks it's awful.
Then I'd finally get to school. There was me, three Jennifers, two Jessicas, an Amanda, a Kristy, Christine and Christina.
I wanted to be one of them. When they were asked their name, they never had to repeat it, never had to correct the pronunciation when called on the call sheet, and never had to explain how their kooky dad came up with it.
I've always loved my last name, however. It's easy to pronounce, easy to spell, and I've got a nice assonance with the L's and R's. And although it's all that, it's also unusual. We were the only Kellermans in our phone book.
And better yet, my last name has given me a permanent connection to my father whom I am extremely close to. I get to carry him around and as silly as it sounds, uphold a legacy of a really honorable man who is a good person who loves his family.
Cut to when I move to Hollywood and several friends have to change their names because theirs is already registered with Sag, or there's thirteen Christina Smiths on the Imdb. Many have a problem getting a website domain.
I don't!!
All of a sudden, my unusual name is a boon to my career.
Cut to a few months ago.
I was at DSW and bought a pair of shoes. I was asked if I wanted to join their rewards program and get coupons. Of course I do!
When they handed me the info sheet to fill out, I looked at the name part. I am getting married in October and thought I should go ahead and put my new married name up there. Then I forgot about it.
For my birthday month, they sent me a $5 off coupon, addressed to the name I'm going to legally take on October 2. I have it in front of me. It's different. It's shorter. I'm losing consonants and gaining vowels! Gaining syllables! Gaining a name I will constantly have to correct people on.
On Bridal blogs and forums, there is a lot of discussion about why women are choosing to change or not change their name. A lot of them have careers where their maiden name is established and they don't want to lose the place they worked so hard to get to. A lot of them have no connection to the last name they were given by a man who got up and left them as babies. A few had hard to pronounce and spell names and were only too happy to be a Smith, a Jones, a Jackson.
Being an actress, I can keep my maiden name as my stage name, no problem. So that's nice.
But changing my name permanently was something I wrestled with for a while. I really, really like my first and last name. It took me years to like it, and now that I'm given the opportunity to change it, I was hesitant; I like it now! A lot!
But you know what I have never liked? My middle name.
Faith is a strange word. Especially when a child is raised by parents of different ones. My mother's side is Jewish, my father's Presbyterian. I grew up understanding that people can have hugely different views on religion but still fall in love and raise a family together. So as a child, I believed that the one side who didn't believe Jesus was the messiah, was just as "correct" in their faith and views as the side that did believe Jesus was. They're both right. All religions are correct. They're different, but if you believe in something, great!
Growing up that way, also leads to a lack of faith. If they're both right, they could both be wrong. I'm fascinated by all the different beliefs in the world and how people celebrate a deity, what their customs and rituals are, what the history behind all of it is. I took a Philosophy of Religion class in school (and made a lifelong friend who is also going to be officiating our wedding) and got to read up on how the five major religions came out of nothing and gave people looking for meaning something to believe in. Which is great! But something I wasn't sure I wanted.
So, awesome. My middle name is now ironic. And on bills and paychecks, there it is in all it's capital F glory, looking like a giant F word in the middle of two other great names.
When I was wrestling with the idea of changing my last name, I kept asking my fiance what he wanted. "Whatever you want to do is what I want for you." Lovely and diplomatic but of absolutely NO HELP. I figured if I asked him every so often, his answer might change. It never did. It was always the same. Whatever I wanted to do was what he wanted.
UGH!
So finally, I said, "Tell me what you REALLY want, how you REALLY feel, because I'm asking you because I WANT TO KNOW."
He looked at me. "If we had children, I think it would be nice if we all had the same last name."
Whoa.
That would be nice, wouldn't it? My mother took my Dad's name. I only knew her as her married name. She always had that name, as long as I've known her!
And that was pretty much it for me. We are becoming a family unit.
I get to have best of both worlds: I'm keeping my first and maiden last name for all my business purposes, and get this: nixing my ironic middle name, and replacing it with my maiden last name.
I will be
Lira MaidenLastName HusbandsLastName
I am retaining my sense of self that I've worked hard at all my life, the names that I feel truly define me, and adding a new family name to define who I love and will have fun defining what that means as a family for the rest of our lives.
I respect every woman who decides to keep her birth name or not, because this isn't an easy thing to mull over. It takes time and careful consideration to decide what we want and think will be best for ourselves.
Some might say it's just a name, who cares, it's not your personality, as that will never change, but to me, my name is everything I am, and everything I will become.
And looking at my little DSW coupon with my new married name, getting used to the way it looks together, I like it. It represents my new life; the next 60 years I will be my new name.
I'm not losing myself. I'm winning a second family.
Then I'd finally get to school. There was me, three Jennifers, two Jessicas, an Amanda, a Kristy, Christine and Christina.
I wanted to be one of them. When they were asked their name, they never had to repeat it, never had to correct the pronunciation when called on the call sheet, and never had to explain how their kooky dad came up with it.
I've always loved my last name, however. It's easy to pronounce, easy to spell, and I've got a nice assonance with the L's and R's. And although it's all that, it's also unusual. We were the only Kellermans in our phone book.
And better yet, my last name has given me a permanent connection to my father whom I am extremely close to. I get to carry him around and as silly as it sounds, uphold a legacy of a really honorable man who is a good person who loves his family.
Cut to when I move to Hollywood and several friends have to change their names because theirs is already registered with Sag, or there's thirteen Christina Smiths on the Imdb. Many have a problem getting a website domain.
I don't!!
All of a sudden, my unusual name is a boon to my career.
Cut to a few months ago.
I was at DSW and bought a pair of shoes. I was asked if I wanted to join their rewards program and get coupons. Of course I do!
When they handed me the info sheet to fill out, I looked at the name part. I am getting married in October and thought I should go ahead and put my new married name up there. Then I forgot about it.
For my birthday month, they sent me a $5 off coupon, addressed to the name I'm going to legally take on October 2. I have it in front of me. It's different. It's shorter. I'm losing consonants and gaining vowels! Gaining syllables! Gaining a name I will constantly have to correct people on.
On Bridal blogs and forums, there is a lot of discussion about why women are choosing to change or not change their name. A lot of them have careers where their maiden name is established and they don't want to lose the place they worked so hard to get to. A lot of them have no connection to the last name they were given by a man who got up and left them as babies. A few had hard to pronounce and spell names and were only too happy to be a Smith, a Jones, a Jackson.
Being an actress, I can keep my maiden name as my stage name, no problem. So that's nice.
But changing my name permanently was something I wrestled with for a while. I really, really like my first and last name. It took me years to like it, and now that I'm given the opportunity to change it, I was hesitant; I like it now! A lot!
But you know what I have never liked? My middle name.
Faith is a strange word. Especially when a child is raised by parents of different ones. My mother's side is Jewish, my father's Presbyterian. I grew up understanding that people can have hugely different views on religion but still fall in love and raise a family together. So as a child, I believed that the one side who didn't believe Jesus was the messiah, was just as "correct" in their faith and views as the side that did believe Jesus was. They're both right. All religions are correct. They're different, but if you believe in something, great!
Growing up that way, also leads to a lack of faith. If they're both right, they could both be wrong. I'm fascinated by all the different beliefs in the world and how people celebrate a deity, what their customs and rituals are, what the history behind all of it is. I took a Philosophy of Religion class in school (and made a lifelong friend who is also going to be officiating our wedding) and got to read up on how the five major religions came out of nothing and gave people looking for meaning something to believe in. Which is great! But something I wasn't sure I wanted.
So, awesome. My middle name is now ironic. And on bills and paychecks, there it is in all it's capital F glory, looking like a giant F word in the middle of two other great names.
When I was wrestling with the idea of changing my last name, I kept asking my fiance what he wanted. "Whatever you want to do is what I want for you." Lovely and diplomatic but of absolutely NO HELP. I figured if I asked him every so often, his answer might change. It never did. It was always the same. Whatever I wanted to do was what he wanted.
UGH!
So finally, I said, "Tell me what you REALLY want, how you REALLY feel, because I'm asking you because I WANT TO KNOW."
He looked at me. "If we had children, I think it would be nice if we all had the same last name."
Whoa.
That would be nice, wouldn't it? My mother took my Dad's name. I only knew her as her married name. She always had that name, as long as I've known her!
And that was pretty much it for me. We are becoming a family unit.
I get to have best of both worlds: I'm keeping my first and maiden last name for all my business purposes, and get this: nixing my ironic middle name, and replacing it with my maiden last name.
I will be
Lira MaidenLastName HusbandsLastName
I am retaining my sense of self that I've worked hard at all my life, the names that I feel truly define me, and adding a new family name to define who I love and will have fun defining what that means as a family for the rest of our lives.
I respect every woman who decides to keep her birth name or not, because this isn't an easy thing to mull over. It takes time and careful consideration to decide what we want and think will be best for ourselves.
Some might say it's just a name, who cares, it's not your personality, as that will never change, but to me, my name is everything I am, and everything I will become.
And looking at my little DSW coupon with my new married name, getting used to the way it looks together, I like it. It represents my new life; the next 60 years I will be my new name.
I'm not losing myself. I'm winning a second family.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
It's Hollywood meets Groupon!
Or at least, that's how I imagine they're trying to sell Actor Q (as in...'actor q-pon'?).
Basically, this website hasn't even technically launched yet. The deals they have look like beta tests.
BUT.
I went and joined anyways. A Groupon like site that advertises deals specifically with the Struggling Actress in mind? Call me a lemming, but heck, I'll sign up!
And you can too!
It looks like they're almost ready for a launch for NYC, Las Vegas, and San Fran, as well as a few smaller markets, so check it out.
Basically, this website hasn't even technically launched yet. The deals they have look like beta tests.
BUT.
I went and joined anyways. A Groupon like site that advertises deals specifically with the Struggling Actress in mind? Call me a lemming, but heck, I'll sign up!
And you can too!
It looks like they're almost ready for a launch for NYC, Las Vegas, and San Fran, as well as a few smaller markets, so check it out.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Dear Struggling Actress
I got an email from Aisha the other day:
It means: options.
Directors, producers, and advertising companies don't even know what they want until she walks in the door, acts her socks off, and is perfect for the role. "She's exactly what we're looking for!" they say, even though the breakdown they put out says the complete opposite.
For open ethnicity, I say submit away. Be the option they didn't even know they wanted. Because if they bring you in, if ANYONE brings you in to an audition, they really are hoping that YOU are the one who books the role.
You ask, "wouldn't an actor feel inferior in the audition room knowing full well that they are really not being considered...?" But you are being considered.
Maybe I am wearing a pair of beautiful rose colored glasses, but when I was casting a few projects, and we had open ethnicity, I brought in everyone from modelesque, to pretty, to character, to extreme character. It gave us a wider net, and all the reads were different based on who was reading.
Options.
And if you ever feel inferior in the audition room, remember - even in a room filled with other African American women, I guarantee you are the only one who looks like you. So every single time you are in a waiting room, be it filled with others your type, or where you're the other option, know that no matter what, there's only one Aisha who looks like you. Act well, show all your acting strengths, and they won't see a black woman reading her sides...
They'll see an Actress who's perfect for the role.
Break a leg at all your auditions!
xoxo
I saw a breakdown on Actors Access that said: "Early to mid 20's. The ethnicity is open. White or Hispanic is preferred." This REALLY bugged me almost more than the "Nudity Required" in student films. Almost. Anywho I am disturbed because I feel like if a director wants a specific type, he/she should just say that and stick to it. Why even have the ethnicity open then? It seems like an, "I prefer this type, but I'll settle for this type". It sounded like a good character to play, and I couldn't decide whether or not to submit for the role. In the end I submitted myself (I'm black by the way) but now I'm regretting it. I mean wouldn't an actor feel inferior in the audition room knowing full well that they are really not being considered unless by some stroke of bad luck they weren't able to find a White or Latina actress? Am I making a bigger deal out of this than necessary? Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this.This is an excellent question and I'm glad you asked. I'm sure you've actually had a similar experience already when you go to a commercial audition and the room is filled with everyone from the rainbow. In fact, I had an audition a few days ago where there were two women with short afros laughing with the session runner that the copy actually read "A mostly Caucasian woman..." What does that even mean!? And what did it mean to those giggling women who were coffee colored, the Asian actress, and the rest of us milky ones?
It means: options.
Directors, producers, and advertising companies don't even know what they want until she walks in the door, acts her socks off, and is perfect for the role. "She's exactly what we're looking for!" they say, even though the breakdown they put out says the complete opposite.
For open ethnicity, I say submit away. Be the option they didn't even know they wanted. Because if they bring you in, if ANYONE brings you in to an audition, they really are hoping that YOU are the one who books the role.
You ask, "wouldn't an actor feel inferior in the audition room knowing full well that they are really not being considered...?" But you are being considered.
Maybe I am wearing a pair of beautiful rose colored glasses, but when I was casting a few projects, and we had open ethnicity, I brought in everyone from modelesque, to pretty, to character, to extreme character. It gave us a wider net, and all the reads were different based on who was reading.
Options.
And if you ever feel inferior in the audition room, remember - even in a room filled with other African American women, I guarantee you are the only one who looks like you. So every single time you are in a waiting room, be it filled with others your type, or where you're the other option, know that no matter what, there's only one Aisha who looks like you. Act well, show all your acting strengths, and they won't see a black woman reading her sides...
They'll see an Actress who's perfect for the role.
Break a leg at all your auditions!
xoxo
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Post Carmeggedon
You know what is so great about Los Angeles?
The artists.
They're everywhere here. And they're inspiring.
You know what else is so great abut Los Angeles?
The work crews who were so thorough but quick in getting the 405 reopened almost 12 hours before they had originally anticpated!
Watch this. It's 405 in 4:05. It reminds me of the stop motion Rudolph cartoons that are on every winter. It's gorgeous.
The artists.
They're everywhere here. And they're inspiring.
You know what else is so great abut Los Angeles?
The work crews who were so thorough but quick in getting the 405 reopened almost 12 hours before they had originally anticpated!
Watch this. It's 405 in 4:05. It reminds me of the stop motion Rudolph cartoons that are on every winter. It's gorgeous.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Nope
I wish I had good news to share with you. I don't.
I didn't receive a call from my agent yesterday about booking the gig that would have been super awesome. It was down to me and one other girl, so I thought, well, they'll put us BOTH on avail, but maybe they skipped that part and booked the other girl directly. This, oddly enough, is a huge relief, because I don't know if my nervous stomach could have handled another few days of "You ALMOST got it! Hang tight!"
So!
As I'm trying to remind myself, getting to the top two is just another indication that I'm doing something right at these commercial calls. That trusting my instincts is a great thing, and that I'm really growing as a Struggling Actress.
My life isn't going to change right now, but you know what? Life right now is pretty good.
It really is.
I didn't receive a call from my agent yesterday about booking the gig that would have been super awesome. It was down to me and one other girl, so I thought, well, they'll put us BOTH on avail, but maybe they skipped that part and booked the other girl directly. This, oddly enough, is a huge relief, because I don't know if my nervous stomach could have handled another few days of "You ALMOST got it! Hang tight!"
So!
As I'm trying to remind myself, getting to the top two is just another indication that I'm doing something right at these commercial calls. That trusting my instincts is a great thing, and that I'm really growing as a Struggling Actress.
My life isn't going to change right now, but you know what? Life right now is pretty good.
It really is.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Analyzing This
When I wrote about my brain not having a dominant sphere (are you left brained or right brained?) I never actually said what it's called. When both your brain hemispheres are balanced, you have an Integrated Hemisphere Dominance. Sounds dirty, huh?
So basically, I'm decent at the arts and writing and things, and I'm decent at logic and analyzing things. I'm a Jack of all Brains!
How does that work in my acting life?
Well, when I have an audition for something I want, I am pretty good at analyzing the shit out of it, detailing every phrase, every direction, every technical acting form, in somewhat, sometimes, exhausting detail.
BUT. Doing this also helps me let it go.
Now, some commercial auditions I go to, I do it, I think, okay, yeah, and let it go. I'll get callbacks, I might book, no biggie.
But when I have a commercial audition for something I Really, Really, Freakin Want, I will go over every detail (sometimes four, five pages in my journal).
Let me talk to you about the Commercial Campaign that is So Right For Me It's Ridiculous. Maybe, if I share what happened with you guys, I can begin to let it go, piece by piece, until I'm proud of what I did cause I was so Lira I was Liralicious.
I had an audition notification the previous Friday for a National Brand spokeswoman. There was copy attached and I laughed out loud. It was funny! Most of the times, copy isn't really all that funny and the actress has to make it so (I mean, Flo in those Progressive ads, I don't know she does it. I think those commercial scripts are so awful, but somehow she makes it work. Good on her.) but this commercial copy was just so....Lira.
And I'm a Lira!
The more I thought about the lines as I was memorizing them, the more I had an idea in my head about who this character/spokeseperson was. I knew who she was, and she was someone the directors and producers might not know they wanted until I showed up with her. She was bubbly and fun, and even though her lines might seem a little sarcastic, I could still make her sweet and endearing.
For the first audition, I went in, did my thing, and knew I was going to get a callback because even if they didn't like the character I created, I still had very good on camera technicals. I was cheated out, used my environment, and they could always bring me back in to redirect me.
I got the callback.
Went to it. Still in my fun character. I loved her! It was Lira to the nth degree! I was just playing a funner, girlier version of myself.
When I was on deck, I was able to hear the audition of the girl before me. She did the copy, was redirected, and as I listened to her read the copy and still sound like she was reading the copy, I knew I didn't have to worry about her. (Being an elevated character of myself, I was still analyzing and critiquing everything!) The girl exits, and it's my turn.
I do the copy as my character, and am then redirected to make her a little less Liralicious, and to slow it down and make it more conversational. My character was very ad-word friendly, punching up the product details with just the right amount of "sell." If they wanted less of that, to have me more like I was having a conversation with my best friend, I can do that. I did.
"Would you like to do some improv?"
It is illegal to ask an actor to improv at a Sag commercial audition. Yes, it puts the actor on the spot, asking them to improvise dialogue/scenes about a product they could potentially know nothing about, making for a very unfair audition, but the real reason why it's illegal is because anything the actor comes up with while improvising could be used in the commercial and the actor, who might not end up being cast in it, now has their INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY being used in the commercial and isn't being compensated for it. They now wrote part of the commercial and it's really hard to prove that they came up with it because the audition tapes might "somehow" be destroyed. There's no legal leg to stand on. So Sag prohibits this.
This spokesperson will be featured in print, internet, television, and possible In Store Promotions (ooh! How fun would That be!?). Who ever books this spokesperson spot would be required to be in character at these In Store Promotions. So they have to know how to improvise in character and be product savvy all at the same time. And be funny, and be likable.
Liralicious!
This is a non-union gig, so it is okay for them to ask me if I'd like to improvise. And of course I say Sure! with all the enthusiasm I can muster. But I'm thinking, Improvise? About the character and product, with very little knowledge about it? Are you sure you don't want me to step outside so I can Google this stuff and get some knowledge or funny trivia bits or Oh My God Please I Suck At Improv When I Don't Know What It Is You Want Me to Say Cause I Get In My Head About Whether Or Not This Is What You Wanted!!
They give me a scene idea to improv and I stuck in two things I knew about that particular type of thing they're selling and finished.
Being the overanalytical girl I am, there's really only one word to describe how I felt I did at that part: meh.
BUT, the fact of the matter is I was Liralicious as the character, I was Lira in the room, and I had come in there from the get go with a character I knew they didn't know they wanted until I showed her to them. I made a bold choice. And in the acting world, isn't it drilled into our heads how far you can go if you at least make one freakin bold choice?
Before I had my callback, as I was signing in, I asked the session runner if he knew when they would be picking their actress because the shoot day was listed as "TBD: August or January 2012" Usually, the production dates are set in stone; the crews are all loaded up and hired, and the locations are locked in. It's usually no later than a week or two after the auditions.
"They'll be picking tonight!" he said. Really? "Yeah, they only called back 20 people."
I LIKE DEM ODDS!
I went home, analyzed, journaled five pages like a crazyhead and kept reminding myself these very important things:
I did the best I could with what I was given, and I was incredibly proud of what I did. I gave them an OPTION they didn't know they had until I walked into that audition. I am an Option! And if I'm not what they wanted, at least I stretched myself as an actress and felt confident about the work I did.
Knowing the creative team was probably picking their girl that night and getting it approved by the product company that morning, I knew that if I was chosen, I could expect a phone call by 12noon at the latest.
Folks.
No call came.
And I was bummed out about it because I loved what I did, and at about 3pm I was finally able to start being at peace with it. By rationalizing! I figured I must have been one of their top 5 choices because I was different, I had great technicals, and I was able to make them laugh in the room using the copy they've heard hundreds of times already. That's a feat to be proud of.
3:30 and my agency calls. "Are you available to audition again for a second callback?"
Second callbacks are rare. Extremely, extremely rare. It's Friday afternoon, a time when most Struggling Actresses are counting down the hour and a half they have before they have to put on their work shoes and apron and head into work for an 8 hour shift.
I was not scheduled to work a shift that night. I was available. YES, I can go to a second callback!
I jet over there for my 5:30 slot, and oddly enough, thanks to Carmageddon, I got to Culver City from the valley in like, 20 minutes!
I'm led in straight from the building entrance where one of the producers happened to be and he led me straight into the room. I expected there to be at least four other girls. Right now, there's just me. And I'm able to glean from someone else on the phone that they only have one other girl coming in.
50/50.
My bold choice worked! They DID want what I gave them, and I was the only one giving them that!
I said I had a question and went on that when I had come in for the audition, I had a specific character in mind and did they want more of that today or less?
"We absolutely loved what you did, and that's why you're here now. We just wanted to see if you could do it a few other ways and see your range."
I was given new copy for two other spots they're doing and unfortunately, they printed out the story boards so that they type was extremely small. Like this:
There were no boards with the copy written in big print next to the camera so that I could have my head up the whole time. I would have to hold the small copy in my hand and read the small type as I auditioned. What's this? DAUNTING!
I asked for a few minutes to go work on these outside the room. When I step out, I see the other girl arriving. I nod and smile to her. She is given sides as well. After about five minutes, I am asked if I'm ready.
This is where I probably should have asked for five more minutes. Just to get the lines down. Even though they said they weren't looking for me to be word perfect, and they didn't expect it, I still wish I could go back in time and ask for just a little more time.
But I go in.
I do it. Am redirected. Am redirected again. Am redirected again. Go to the next commercial spot. Am redirected, redirected again, redirected once more.
"Okay, now we'd like you to improvise again."
But this time, weirdly enough, I was excited about that. Really excited. They interviewed me about the product and the character. Yes, I knew very little about the product, but I knew a lot about my character; she was charming, bubbly, and someone you would want to buy this product from. I didn't have to sell the product here, per se, because I was selling myself. Do these people want to work with me for a few months? Did I show any type of diva behavior? Could I maintain the integrity of the character/spokesperson and be someone people watching tv would want to buy products from? Could I represent this company in the best light for at least a year? Maybe more?
I improvised well. I made them laugh. I was, dare I say it, charming and winsome and knowledgeable and someone you would want to be friends with. I was exactly who they needed me to be.
I am now done with the audition and they ask me a few questions. I had my hair pinned back in a fake bun like thing for all three auditions and they asked if they could see what it looked like down. Then they recorded me with my hair down so they could see how I looked on camera. Because I had straightened by bangs (cause straight hair is always so much more sophisticated than curly, am I right? sigh.) I pointed them out and said if the curly was too much, my hair can always be straightened.
They asked me if I was opposed to dying my hair. "Not at all! I mean, I know I have to say you need to talk to my agent, so please, talk to my agent, but I have no problem with that at all!" Wouldn't that be fun? I wonder what color.... Could you imagine me as a blond!? FUN!
They then thanked me. And by thanking me, I mean they each got up and shook my hand, thanking me for coming back in on such short notice.
I thanked them and exited the room.
As I grab my things and wish the other girl good luck, she says, "You killed it in there!" "They're really so nice!" I replied, and then I whispered to her, EVEN THOUGH WE WERE THE ONLY TWO PEOPLE IN THAT ENTIRE CASTING FACILITY'S LOBBY, "hey, I hope I don't freak you out, but we have really good odds; I think we're the only ones called back for this!" "Really? That's so awesome!" "I know! Top two feels pretty dope, huh?" We say a few more words and then they call her in and I wish her luck again.
50/50.
Are you tired of reading this? Cause I'm not done.
I got to my car, and felt a zen calm. I did the best I could. I was the best me I could be. I had an idea of what this campaign needed from me and gave it to them.
Then I thought about the other girl.
She had fifteen minutes with the copy. I had five. She is going to be memorized. She is going to have better on-camera technicals because of it. If they go back to the tapes, she will seem more put together and polished and I will seem a bit greener.
BUT
Like I keep saying, I gave them something they didn't even know they wanted. And they couldn't decide between the straight version that this other girl brought to the table, or the charactery one I had cooked up. And they brought me in to make sure I could do it without the character if they needed me to.
I did the best me I could do.
And now business wise, here's what I imagine is going to happen on Monday.
I will get the call from my agent that I am on avail. But the other girl will also get the same call from her agent. There's only TWO of us!
I just hope with all my heart that I'll know within a very short time frame whether I will book or be released.
And I also hope that now, with possibly one of the longest blog posts ever (and thanks for reading if you've made it here!), I can begin to let this go.
I had an idea for this character, I made my bold choice, I was the best Lira I could be and I'm proud of my work. Those are all things I should be very happy about.
Be Zen, Lira, be Zen. You did great.
So basically, I'm decent at the arts and writing and things, and I'm decent at logic and analyzing things. I'm a Jack of all Brains!
How does that work in my acting life?
Well, when I have an audition for something I want, I am pretty good at analyzing the shit out of it, detailing every phrase, every direction, every technical acting form, in somewhat, sometimes, exhausting detail.
BUT. Doing this also helps me let it go.
Now, some commercial auditions I go to, I do it, I think, okay, yeah, and let it go. I'll get callbacks, I might book, no biggie.
But when I have a commercial audition for something I Really, Really, Freakin Want, I will go over every detail (sometimes four, five pages in my journal).
Let me talk to you about the Commercial Campaign that is So Right For Me It's Ridiculous. Maybe, if I share what happened with you guys, I can begin to let it go, piece by piece, until I'm proud of what I did cause I was so Lira I was Liralicious.
I had an audition notification the previous Friday for a National Brand spokeswoman. There was copy attached and I laughed out loud. It was funny! Most of the times, copy isn't really all that funny and the actress has to make it so (I mean, Flo in those Progressive ads, I don't know she does it. I think those commercial scripts are so awful, but somehow she makes it work. Good on her.) but this commercial copy was just so....Lira.
And I'm a Lira!
The more I thought about the lines as I was memorizing them, the more I had an idea in my head about who this character/spokeseperson was. I knew who she was, and she was someone the directors and producers might not know they wanted until I showed up with her. She was bubbly and fun, and even though her lines might seem a little sarcastic, I could still make her sweet and endearing.
For the first audition, I went in, did my thing, and knew I was going to get a callback because even if they didn't like the character I created, I still had very good on camera technicals. I was cheated out, used my environment, and they could always bring me back in to redirect me.
I got the callback.
Went to it. Still in my fun character. I loved her! It was Lira to the nth degree! I was just playing a funner, girlier version of myself.
When I was on deck, I was able to hear the audition of the girl before me. She did the copy, was redirected, and as I listened to her read the copy and still sound like she was reading the copy, I knew I didn't have to worry about her. (Being an elevated character of myself, I was still analyzing and critiquing everything!) The girl exits, and it's my turn.
I do the copy as my character, and am then redirected to make her a little less Liralicious, and to slow it down and make it more conversational. My character was very ad-word friendly, punching up the product details with just the right amount of "sell." If they wanted less of that, to have me more like I was having a conversation with my best friend, I can do that. I did.
"Would you like to do some improv?"
It is illegal to ask an actor to improv at a Sag commercial audition. Yes, it puts the actor on the spot, asking them to improvise dialogue/scenes about a product they could potentially know nothing about, making for a very unfair audition, but the real reason why it's illegal is because anything the actor comes up with while improvising could be used in the commercial and the actor, who might not end up being cast in it, now has their INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY being used in the commercial and isn't being compensated for it. They now wrote part of the commercial and it's really hard to prove that they came up with it because the audition tapes might "somehow" be destroyed. There's no legal leg to stand on. So Sag prohibits this.
This spokesperson will be featured in print, internet, television, and possible In Store Promotions (ooh! How fun would That be!?). Who ever books this spokesperson spot would be required to be in character at these In Store Promotions. So they have to know how to improvise in character and be product savvy all at the same time. And be funny, and be likable.
Liralicious!
This is a non-union gig, so it is okay for them to ask me if I'd like to improvise. And of course I say Sure! with all the enthusiasm I can muster. But I'm thinking, Improvise? About the character and product, with very little knowledge about it? Are you sure you don't want me to step outside so I can Google this stuff and get some knowledge or funny trivia bits or Oh My God Please I Suck At Improv When I Don't Know What It Is You Want Me to Say Cause I Get In My Head About Whether Or Not This Is What You Wanted!!
They give me a scene idea to improv and I stuck in two things I knew about that particular type of thing they're selling and finished.
Being the overanalytical girl I am, there's really only one word to describe how I felt I did at that part: meh.
BUT, the fact of the matter is I was Liralicious as the character, I was Lira in the room, and I had come in there from the get go with a character I knew they didn't know they wanted until I showed her to them. I made a bold choice. And in the acting world, isn't it drilled into our heads how far you can go if you at least make one freakin bold choice?
Before I had my callback, as I was signing in, I asked the session runner if he knew when they would be picking their actress because the shoot day was listed as "TBD: August or January 2012" Usually, the production dates are set in stone; the crews are all loaded up and hired, and the locations are locked in. It's usually no later than a week or two after the auditions.
"They'll be picking tonight!" he said. Really? "Yeah, they only called back 20 people."
I LIKE DEM ODDS!
I went home, analyzed, journaled five pages like a crazyhead and kept reminding myself these very important things:
I did the best I could with what I was given, and I was incredibly proud of what I did. I gave them an OPTION they didn't know they had until I walked into that audition. I am an Option! And if I'm not what they wanted, at least I stretched myself as an actress and felt confident about the work I did.
Knowing the creative team was probably picking their girl that night and getting it approved by the product company that morning, I knew that if I was chosen, I could expect a phone call by 12noon at the latest.
Folks.
No call came.
And I was bummed out about it because I loved what I did, and at about 3pm I was finally able to start being at peace with it. By rationalizing! I figured I must have been one of their top 5 choices because I was different, I had great technicals, and I was able to make them laugh in the room using the copy they've heard hundreds of times already. That's a feat to be proud of.
3:30 and my agency calls. "Are you available to audition again for a second callback?"
Second callbacks are rare. Extremely, extremely rare. It's Friday afternoon, a time when most Struggling Actresses are counting down the hour and a half they have before they have to put on their work shoes and apron and head into work for an 8 hour shift.
I was not scheduled to work a shift that night. I was available. YES, I can go to a second callback!
I jet over there for my 5:30 slot, and oddly enough, thanks to Carmageddon, I got to Culver City from the valley in like, 20 minutes!
I'm led in straight from the building entrance where one of the producers happened to be and he led me straight into the room. I expected there to be at least four other girls. Right now, there's just me. And I'm able to glean from someone else on the phone that they only have one other girl coming in.
50/50.
My bold choice worked! They DID want what I gave them, and I was the only one giving them that!
I said I had a question and went on that when I had come in for the audition, I had a specific character in mind and did they want more of that today or less?
"We absolutely loved what you did, and that's why you're here now. We just wanted to see if you could do it a few other ways and see your range."
I was given new copy for two other spots they're doing and unfortunately, they printed out the story boards so that they type was extremely small. Like this:
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| via Now, obviously this isn't the copy, cause I could be sued, but also, this is in |
There were no boards with the copy written in big print next to the camera so that I could have my head up the whole time. I would have to hold the small copy in my hand and read the small type as I auditioned. What's this? DAUNTING!
I asked for a few minutes to go work on these outside the room. When I step out, I see the other girl arriving. I nod and smile to her. She is given sides as well. After about five minutes, I am asked if I'm ready.
This is where I probably should have asked for five more minutes. Just to get the lines down. Even though they said they weren't looking for me to be word perfect, and they didn't expect it, I still wish I could go back in time and ask for just a little more time.
But I go in.
I do it. Am redirected. Am redirected again. Am redirected again. Go to the next commercial spot. Am redirected, redirected again, redirected once more.
"Okay, now we'd like you to improvise again."
But this time, weirdly enough, I was excited about that. Really excited. They interviewed me about the product and the character. Yes, I knew very little about the product, but I knew a lot about my character; she was charming, bubbly, and someone you would want to buy this product from. I didn't have to sell the product here, per se, because I was selling myself. Do these people want to work with me for a few months? Did I show any type of diva behavior? Could I maintain the integrity of the character/spokesperson and be someone people watching tv would want to buy products from? Could I represent this company in the best light for at least a year? Maybe more?
I improvised well. I made them laugh. I was, dare I say it, charming and winsome and knowledgeable and someone you would want to be friends with. I was exactly who they needed me to be.
I am now done with the audition and they ask me a few questions. I had my hair pinned back in a fake bun like thing for all three auditions and they asked if they could see what it looked like down. Then they recorded me with my hair down so they could see how I looked on camera. Because I had straightened by bangs (cause straight hair is always so much more sophisticated than curly, am I right? sigh.) I pointed them out and said if the curly was too much, my hair can always be straightened.
They asked me if I was opposed to dying my hair. "Not at all! I mean, I know I have to say you need to talk to my agent, so please, talk to my agent, but I have no problem with that at all!" Wouldn't that be fun? I wonder what color.... Could you imagine me as a blond!? FUN!
They then thanked me. And by thanking me, I mean they each got up and shook my hand, thanking me for coming back in on such short notice.
I thanked them and exited the room.
As I grab my things and wish the other girl good luck, she says, "You killed it in there!" "They're really so nice!" I replied, and then I whispered to her, EVEN THOUGH WE WERE THE ONLY TWO PEOPLE IN THAT ENTIRE CASTING FACILITY'S LOBBY, "hey, I hope I don't freak you out, but we have really good odds; I think we're the only ones called back for this!" "Really? That's so awesome!" "I know! Top two feels pretty dope, huh?" We say a few more words and then they call her in and I wish her luck again.
50/50.
Are you tired of reading this? Cause I'm not done.
I got to my car, and felt a zen calm. I did the best I could. I was the best me I could be. I had an idea of what this campaign needed from me and gave it to them.
Then I thought about the other girl.
She had fifteen minutes with the copy. I had five. She is going to be memorized. She is going to have better on-camera technicals because of it. If they go back to the tapes, she will seem more put together and polished and I will seem a bit greener.
BUT
Like I keep saying, I gave them something they didn't even know they wanted. And they couldn't decide between the straight version that this other girl brought to the table, or the charactery one I had cooked up. And they brought me in to make sure I could do it without the character if they needed me to.
I did the best me I could do.
And now business wise, here's what I imagine is going to happen on Monday.
I will get the call from my agent that I am on avail. But the other girl will also get the same call from her agent. There's only TWO of us!
I just hope with all my heart that I'll know within a very short time frame whether I will book or be released.
And I also hope that now, with possibly one of the longest blog posts ever (and thanks for reading if you've made it here!), I can begin to let this go.
I had an idea for this character, I made my bold choice, I was the best Lira I could be and I'm proud of my work. Those are all things I should be very happy about.
Be Zen, Lira, be Zen. You did great.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Dear Struggling Actress
Danai is freakin gorgeous. Ethnically ambiguous, she looks like a young Lisa Bonet, and her skin is so creamy, if you saw her, you'd feel like it would be your duty to ask her what her skin care regimen is so you can tell everyone you know and do the world a great community service.
Dania wants to act. She asked me if I wouldn't mind going over a few pictures to type her and to see if I thought she could make it as an actress:
Dania wants to act. She asked me if I wouldn't mind going over a few pictures to type her and to see if I thought she could make it as an actress:
I'll be in LA from mid-August through mid-December (after that I'll be back in Cambridge, MA for my studies) and will, unfortunately, not have a car. I don't mind spending hours waiting for poor public transportation, however, if it's what I have to do. Also, I think I might be able to use USC's Zipcar to get around if it's more of a time-pressure situation...I'm a Molecular and Cellular Biology concentrator on the pre-medical track at the moment (random, I know), but have done several plays in high school. Sadly, no professional plays.
I'm German-South African-Zimbabwean-American and was raised 100% bilingually (German and English). I'm pretty athletic, flexible (maybe useful if playing a gymnast or a clown?), a fast learner, and can play piano and cello (but, admittedly, not very well). I think that's it as far as performing arts talents go...I want to act because I want to make people happy, I love dressing up in a whole different persona and being someone different in some other life (it's what draws me to writing, too), and because acting is one of the things that makes me happiest. I really like to explore the different emotions and think acting provides a unique insight into the human condition.
Do you (honestly, I can take it) think I have a chance?
Thanks,Danai
Do I honestly think you have what it takes to be an actress? Absolutely!
Do I honestly think you have a chance to be an actress for the five months you'll be in town while also studying? Not at all.
Danai, I think you have a very interesting life path ahead of you, but first, let me give you some reality, and then I'll give you a direction you might not ever have thought about, where you can still act, still cure cancer, and still make people happy.
The Reality:
You will be in LA for five months. In School. And you're not studying pretend, you're studying science. So you can't fully concentrate on your studies if you're also trying to live the life of an actress.
You will need headshots. Professional ones. That sets you back at least $400. Then you need to print one so you can submit yourself to agencies. Although you only have high school plays on your resume, that's actually ok. You look twelve. You could probably find an agent who would represent you. Except for the fact that you're only here for five months. Not one agent in their right mind would sign you because it takes at least five months to get started. As soon as you might have some momentum, you'd have to go back to school in MA.
But let's say you did it. You got headshots, you submitted to agents, one picked you up. A few weeks later, you get an audition! Crap! It's during a very important test. Or between two classes. And you don't have a car. If you're going to be an actress in LA, you absolutely need a car. Los Angeles has the absolute worst public transportation system in the country, and it's very limited with where you can go. So you call your agent, saying you can't make the audition. Now your agent has to tell casting why you can't make it, and now this agent looks bad to casting. Because of you.
Well, let's say you got the headshots, submitted to agents and no one picked you up. No one called you in for a meeting. You are agentless. You can still join Actors Access and submit yourself on projects. But you are green. You are too theatrical. And when the director says, can you please slate, you have to ask what that means. You don't have the training that your competition does. You are competing against other girls who have been acting since they were 6 months old. You are up against a lot of very good, very grounded, and very directable other actresses. The liklihood of you booking anything is very slim. But, What if you DO book something? And they need you for 10 hours a day for 6 days straight. What about your classes? What about your schedule? Are you available? No. You're not. They're not going to work with someone who is still in class. They'll hire the 23 year old who still looks 17, and came to LA to be an actress and has extensive training and credits.
BUT so what!
You are going to be studying at USC! One of the top 3 film schools in the nation. All you really have to do, is go to the film school and inquire about student films. Forget the headshots, forget the agents, forget all that, because you have a direct link to a ton of student films that need actors. You can find auditions that way. You might book something. And they'll work with your schedule because they have classes too.
Five months go by, you go back to MA to finish your degree.
Five months is not enough to be an actress in Los Angeles. It takes you two years just to figure out that what you thought was the absolute right way to do things, was the absolute wrong way. It takes you two years to get situated. It takes two years to find that bread and butter job that makes you enough money to keep taking acting classes and works with your schedule to allow you to jet off to auditions.
Have fun while you're here, audition for USC student films, and make the most of the weather, the friends you're going to make here, and your time in LA in the fall and winter when it's still in the low 70s.
And now, for some Direction:
I think you have a purpose with why you love writing and acting and science. Just because you like to act and write doesn't mean that you have to live in LA to be an actress.
If you want to act, you don't have to live in LA!
But the thing that is so wonderful about you and what you're studying Danai, is that I think there's a reason you enjoy it all.
What if you are a doctor at a Children's Hospital? What if you are curing autism and develop a program to help sick and terminally ill children help express themselves? You like making people happy? Maybe you are a doctor who wears a red nose and does a cartwheel if your patient doesn't cry when you give them a shot.
I don't know what direction you're going to take, but I hope, I hope with all my heart, that the above paragraph inspires you. You are going to do great things, and make people happy, and do everything you love, but you're also going to heal people. You're a creative/healer. A Creative Healer!
There's a whole world of opportunities ahead of you that you don't even know exist yet, but you'll find them, and you'll create some of your own.
I know without a doubt that you will find a way to fulfill your soul. You write, you act, you heal. Listen to the universe, and use your gifts for good. What you have, is a superpower.
Use it for the greater good. <3
xoxo
Lira
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