A lot of people will say that being an Actor is tough. The rejection, the uncertainty, the constant chasing for affection... do they like me?? Will I get chosen?? Blah....
In life we all have our paths to choose and when it comes to me and Acting, I can only say that I love it. I love the creativity, fun, and "uncertainty" of it all. I get to play. I get to be. I get to do. In my acting career I have been blessed with quite a few opportunities. Some may be judged as bigger or better than others, some less or more important. Each time I have been able to act, be, do, play I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I am always grateful to get to do my thing.
This time, however was one of the best so far.....
I had gotten hired for a Ford commercial and this commercial required I travel to Seattle, Washington. So not only did I get to experience the professional joy of being on a shoot, I got to experience the personal joy of travel. The entire experience was magical. I was so excited I barely slept the entire time I was out there! Seattle was beautiful and every person I got to work with was fun and cool. Some of the people I met I consider life long friends. Below, I have included a some pictures and if you would like to see the final product, please go to http://youtu.be/OCc58TfsYyk
Airport chillin'... waiting to board.
Yeah! It's go time. Alaska Airlines was great.
First views on way to hotel
My room! Modern decor, bright colors, and a fur throw! I'm home. ;)
Did I mention the views!! I loved looking out my hotel room window. This is view 1.
View 2 from hotel room window... I love that the cloud looks like a heart.
View 3. Every time I came in or out of the room i made sure to appreciate the views. <3
Stoked! Now time to head out to eat with the group.
So lovely
Fellow actor and now my friend Sha-hid.
The group shot :D
I had to take another solo.. ;)
Lovely views, can you believe by this time it's almost 10 at night?
I was marveling at the fact the sun hadn't gone down yet...
Dinner was so good! We had to have seafood. I tried the freshest oysters EVER!
Then before the sun, I had to report to set! Yummy catered breakfast and wardrobe. Yes please!
In the wardrobe trailer. I didn't keep the glasses for the shoot because my "boyfriend" wore glasses.
So much art. These trees had knitted sweaters! How cool!
Live music was a joy.
Art was everywhere. Loved it.
Yay it was my turn to shoot. Here's a live set shot.
Inside our car...
Then before you know it, it was time to leave. Bright and early our chariot awaited us and took us to the airport.
Peace from the plane!
Thanks for coming with me to Seattle, Washington. I hope you liked the lovely views. It was a real joy to experience this. I am looking forward to more of the same. If you are an Actor, shoot if you are a person, we can all look to the difficult things but I encourage you to look to the light. The best awaits us there no matter what industry we happen to work in. Cheers to the best life has to offer us.
Hello!! In my home office now, chewing ice and freezing cause the air is on. Giddy from life, love, and the way things turn out if you do what you gotta do and then let them happen. I have plenty of projects I will be announcing this week ( DJ & Actor related) in addition some opportunities that have me over the moon happy. Last two days were funky, then POW clarity. It all came to a head when I went on my errands for today...
First, went with my hubby to Central Casting. It is a place for those in Los Angeles to register for extra work on sets. Hubby acted some as a child but is re surging his career and starting from scratch. Finding myself there was surreal as it brought me back to the struggle of acting in the beginning. The process? Long and arduous. We didn't get seen today because the line was too long and I had an appointment at 1:00.
From there, we drove off to my appointment. A scheduled lunch with my agent. At which time, I was able to enjoy delicious healthy food, amazing uplifting conversation, outdoor dining on the patio in shaded warmth. I love my agent. Shoot, I love my agency. Before I was with them I had been signed three other times. I had even had a couple managers. Things didn't happen instantly, some hard decisions were made. Some sacrifices too. I shed some tears. There was even a time I contemplated quitting. Now I find myself doing lunch with my agent, driving around town with my husband, enjoying freedom, health, love, and the delicious blessings that I believe are bestowed on me from God.
I am a person just like you. Living the best life I can create for myself. Here's what I know works.
If there is anything you wish to do, do it.
In the middle of something you love but facing fear & uncertainty? Hang in there.
Getting the feeling you should make some life changes? Make it happen.
You have everything you need right now to usher in positivity and goodness. So, take action!
And then, for heaven's sake darlings, let's do lunch.
3 audition notices last night had me picking wardrobe, mapping out my locations, running lines, and getting to bed early. Today was amazing from the start. Here's how it went down...
Woke up showered, dressed, headed out to eat:
Once done, loaded up my car and drove to my first location. Ran lines the whole way there. Parking spot was found right in front. YES. First audition had me pregnant. Complete with strap on belly. I also had a set and props. Awesome. I felt good and had fun. *Preparation is everything... ;)
Back to car for clothes, off to change at facility bathroom. Headed out to next location. Arrival? On time. Parking spot opened up right before me. YES. On way to studio, 3 beautiful white butterflies encircled my path. Is this really happening?? It did. Thank you God. I seriously reached out to one inviting it to land on my hand. A little Disney sure but hey I'm a "seize the day" type so why not try right? There was a slight wait but no shortage of entertainment. A phony cricket had me and many others fooled. I almost screamed. Thank goodness I didn't. There were child actors dressed up as ladybugs and bees, a casting director that wasn't having the best day somehow making it all seem so comical. What a wonderful life indeed. I got to play. I had fun. I interacted. So fulfilling..
Audition #3 was also on the west side. One of my loveliest friends lives in the area and she had been on my mind. I got to visit her and spend some time. A cherished few hours and delicious Thai lunch later, I was off to what I thought as my 3rd and final audition.
Enter the casting office and there's an explosion of sound. Like a hen house. Just a bunch of ladies, a lot of New Yorkers, and a little chaos. It was awesome. While waiting I greeted some of the casting directors I know there and got invited to audition for another project. YES!!! Amazing. I ran back to my car (where I *have some spare clothes for surprise auditions) and changed my top to read for this new project. I then was up to go in for what was originally my 3rd opportunity. I left soaring with the clouds. Happy, grateful, excited. I love what I do. I had never had 4 auditions in a day before and to have so many other amazing things happen, I was and still am on top of the world. So much so, I just sang all the way home.
The items in this blog that have asterisks are tips to fellow actors.
To those that appreciate the photographs, have iPhones, and wish to create their own or "follow" me and all my pics, go to Instagram for fun, fun, fun!! I'm teemareedotcom :)
Perspective is everything and while I get to be a lot because I'm an Actor, what I choose to be most is happy. Won't you join me??
Stevie Wonder "Master Blaster" plays via my white iHome and I type this out to you from my home office excited and soaring really because it's impossible to be sad or upset if you are counting your blessings. Today my agent let me know my check is ready. One of many I look forward to receiving. This one though, is from an Orbit commercial shoot.
Everything about this experience has been awesome. The audition, the callback, being put on avail and getting booked. Then there's the fun of the fitting and finally off to the set! Every person on this shoot was friendly, professional, and fun. I met a fellow actor named Ari who was so cool. I don't have a picture with him, but here are some pictures of the rest:
Oh, we're feeling fancy now! :P
"My" trailer..
With the loveliest makeup artist. Love learning about new techniques!
Delicious food. Ceviche, salad, prime rib, halibut, brown rice, and veggies! For desert I chose a hot chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream. YUM...
Last but certainly not least, the star of the spot, the Orbit girl. Her name is Faris and she is SO sweet.
Cheers to money in the bank for all of us. Thanks for reading. xo
Hello friends, thank you for reading. I'm posting every day here now as I'm part of a life changing journey regarding 29 Gifts in 29 Days. This however, is not one of those blogs it is simply a moment in time, in my day, on my journey and experience as an Actor.
Today I felt happy and excited. I have been auditioning a lot lately and that's always good because that means I'm working. I always try to stay grateful and grounded in that. Today, I got to go to a callback which is one step closer to the booking. It means you've made it past the first ranks and now everyone wants to check you out. YAY! My husband and I went to breakfast and then in order to make it on time he drove me to my audition. Since it was in Santa Monica, this was the best thing for us to do as traffic on the 405 freeway in the morning can be quite intense.
Anyway, if and when hubby drives me he always asks as soon as I get out, "How'd it go?!" Sometimes I feel great. Sometimes I feel alright. Sometimes I don't feel anything. Today I felt alright with how it went but there was no confetti raining down on me or anything. No magic, no trumpets. I just did my best and moved on. However, in being honest and telling him this it turned into immediate disappointment from him and comments as though I should write it off. This upset me because unless you get thrown out you should never write anything off. Many times these decisions are made based on factors I have no control over. None of us do as Actors. His reaction bummed me out because it made me feel I had to defend myself and most times we as actors are already going through a number in our minds, we certainly don't need the additional weight from family, spouses, or friends. It also made me think of money which can be a touchy subject because most artists in general are not earning a steady income. Ugh. Bring on the funk... Believe me, I know in the "real world" these are all legitimate things to think about and my hubby has never intentionally made me feel like I need to earn but that doesn't matter because I feel that way and so it brought up a slew of emotions. I wonder how many other actors feel this.. I then when into a tailspin just thinking about how I needed more actor friends that I could sound off with, talk to, and share with because really unless you're in this game it's impossible to understand why someone would take on this world. There's so much involved in pursuing this. Finances, rejection, uncertainty, vulnerability. It takes a lot to stay strong, positive, and grounded. To keep coming back another day and counting your victories when really all most people care about is did you book? And then it's what did you book? Have I heard of it? Is it major?
I'm here to tell you that every single audition is a triumph. Every callback a victory. Every booking, success. If you are an Actor that just got head shots, an agent, or union eligibility/membership. You are winning!! Every one of these things is a major feat in this industry. I am so blessed to have known all of these experiences and when I get down I just thank God for that and keep moving.
Today that involved me coming to my home office to work on other items and coming across this. As soon as I saw I felt smacked into place and kind of like an ass. Simply because there is so much going on, so much that could be worse. It also showed me strength in the most unlikely place. A little girl put in a position to fight for her life:
I'm not here to diminish our struggle as actors. These things are real and tough. I'm simply here to say that this helped me put my life and issues in perspective today. May we all keep things in perspective. Actors or not. And if you are a fellow thespian, please do reach out because I wasn't kidding when I said I'd love to befriend more of you. This can be a bumpy ride, why not go it together?
Rainy day in L.A. Things move slower when this happens, this is an actual truth not myth. Had an audition today. Good stuff. I was looking forward to it. Got up got ready got out. Arrived, signed in, and waited.... after an hour's time elapsed, I finally left to find my "lucky charm"
Bunko. : /
Well see how lucky my charm really is.. when I confirm booking the spot! LOL Right now, I'm happy to be inside typing away from my home office, listening to the rain outside my window. Believe me also when I say that Saturday and Sunday's arrivals are welcome ones.
This will be the second parking ticket I've gotten while out on audition. I mention this for any other business artists that are interested in true finacial calculations. These unexpected expenses do add up. Factor in the cost of agency fees, training, marketing materials, memberships, etc. It is important to watch your bottom line. It also does reflect a truth. This path is far from a get rich quick, "Cribs" style MTV extravaganza. There's a reason why sage advisors recommend strongly coming into this only if you really love it.
Another day in the life right?? :) All we can do is our best. As for this parking ticket myth, let's see.. I'll keep you posted. ;)
Heyo!! LOL If you know where that comes from and comment it, you will get a prize. For now though, I can't help but chuckle... Heyo!! LOL Here we go.
I had asked a few friends via facebook whether or not I should blog actor tales and after a resounding yes, here we are, my first one. As an Actor, there are many stages of victory and or defeat. Like anything else, your outlook will determine a lot of your success and or failure or at least that is what my experience has taught me... Then again, one could argue that even our experiences are dictated to ourselves by ourselves via the subconscious. So what about acting? Well....
I tend to take the glass half full approach and am currently experiencing what I categorize as wins.
1. My Commercial / Print Agency is absolute genius for me. I feel so at home with them and they work so well for me. I do alot of auditioning with them and am glad to have such a perfect fit.
2. My Management has been awesome. I've gotten a few audition calls from them recently which has been a cool bonus.
3. Auditions have been a blast! Whether improv, voice over, script memorization, reactions, or just a "look", I been having such a good time. :D I also feel like I'm getting to know some of these casting directors and some of my fellow actors.
Tomorrow I have 3 auditions to look forward to. Today I had 2. The other day was the first time I'd had auditions scheduled I didn't really want to go to. After going and then hearing a Casting Director complaining, I shrugged it off and figured I had just had an off day. Low and behold, I got a call back and hold from that audition!
What I have been taking from these experiences is a real "seize the day" approach to life. Not only when I'm in the room auditioning and scheduling auditions throughout my day but also when I am not auditioning or "off". It's been really great. Hence all the nature & uplifting blogs below.. :)
Anyway, this is a snapshot into my life as an Actor, cheers to success for us all and joy along the way.
Relaxed, happiness, dazed, dreamlike, focused, excited, nervous. I can't help but think about my guys too. I miss them so much and keep seeing things that remind me of them. :*(
The transfer in Vegas was awesome. I sat down at my favorite slot machine and won $250.00 on one pull!! I got up with almost 300 in winnings off of $20!! Yeah HOO that's what I'm talkin' about!
Having never been to Washington, I'm super excited to see what it's like. I hope I'll be warm enough with my Cali layers. Trying to build a warm AND coordinated outfit was a challenge. I don't even own anything waterproof! :O I should be landing in a little bit and just look at what I've seen outside of my window.. Don't the clouds look frozen?
Even the side of the plane feels cool! LOL
Once I landed, I was met by the nicest people and whisked away to get something to eat then off to wardrobe, makeup, and set to shoot!
After, I was taken to The Davenport Hotel which turned out to be a real treat!! Turns out the Davenport is a landmark and the place responsible for putting Spokane on the map! They had great service and lovely rooms. What do you think?
Spokane itself is really lovely..
& just like that it's time to head back home!
Yay Washington!! I can't wait to go back.. Cheers to more travel adventures in acting! :D
