Wow...I am reflecting as to how long it has been since I wrote anything. I honestly don't need to reflect...it is clearly written on my blog, but it is great for asthetic appeal.
Geepers...I have NO idea where to begin because it's been SUCH a long time...I suppose the best thing to do is start where I remember leaving off.
Later that week after doing some research I discovered that I needed to equip myself in the artists' world. I needed to know what is going on and who's who. I needed to find the actors' lair, the coveted cove. That's when I unearthered our mecca-The Drama Book Store.
It's the bees' knees, where all the aristocratic artsy fellows go. You find all the reading materials that would make Bukowski, Robbins, Kafka Vonnegut, Orwell and perhaps even Hitler's heart go pitter patter. They have a myriad of plays, sides and zines all from A-Z.
As if one level wasn't enough, it double penetrates you with a lower level and an upper level. I mean this is the butter on every actor's bread. However, I'm no savvy pirate and I despise to spend my money unwisely so I decide to ask around what is the best thing for a new actor in the city to educate themselves with. I kindly take the suggestions, bask in the rustic scent of other hungry actors stinking with presumed talent and presumed determination to be successful.
I left that place swearing I'd make it a habit to go there weekly....I later came to my woo'ed senses that it was pretty much a Starbucks but for books rather than coffee. A great place to lounge, but rather overrated.
Anyway, I relentless searched through the zine I purchased for casting directors and agents that I will mail my headshot and resume to. Wow...that was a big mistake. Hours later, arthritic fingers and about $50 later, I realize now that perhaps I shouldn't have been that gung ho about the mail outs until I acclimated myself to the NYC scene. Oh well, you live and you learn. I did get two call backs though...which apparantly is a big deal.
We are now in the third week of my presence in NYC and I am thinking that I am such a smart actor because I spend all my day thinking about acting and researching about acting...and honestly I'd say I had the heart, but not the brains for the business. I was investing a lot of time searching on Craigslist for my "big break". Well, HELLO-of course that isn't going to happen, but I believe everything happens for a reason because I met a fellow on CL (what the New Yorkers call it) and we were going to do a scene together so we could build a reel, which is very important. He was telling me that I need to sort of get my head out of the clouds and get my hands dirty and to start searching sites that were of a reputable background. He helped me greatly because honestly he directed me on my very successful path right now and I want to thank him very much. He has no idea because we never spoke again after that, but oh well.
A couple of days later, chewing on the stinging information I received, I decide what the hell-it can't hurt me. I take his advice and go to this oh so posh place called Central Casting. They've been in the biz for almost 90 years, they get people work and yadda yadda. As Ron Burgandy said "I'm kind of a big deal". I have to say, I had my doubts when leaving, but all that changed two days later.
Two days later my phone rings asking if I was available to work for this new pilot television show called "The Beautiful Life". Are they kidding?! Am I available?! Sure as spit fire hell yeah I am available! I squealed with delight and glee because it was utterly surreal! I had to clench really hard not to tinkle myself. The agent I spoke with gave me a telephone number to call the night prior so I can get the low down meaning where to go, what time to show up, what to wear, who I will be portraying-which was a covet agent.
Not to my surprise the call time was for 6am. I meticulously prepare my attire the for next day, my alarm clock, scrub my face and do all the necessary pampering. I was too excited that I couldn't sleep at all and ended up peeling my sleep deprived overly amped up bod from my warm, comfortable, slumber taking bed at 4 am to start my day off right. I wanted everything perfect: shower, shave the leggies, style the hair, do makeup...I wanted everything to be perfect! I've seen groudy looking actors in television and I wanted to everything in my power to prevent that-I didn't want to become another statistic!
Well as everyone knows, I am Persian and am calculatively tardy for everything...even something as important as this. So rather than taking the metro I opted for a taxi to save time, which sucked because it was a costly penalty: $2.50 versus a $25 taxi fare...oh well, it was worth it to be on time. Or was it?
When I arrived, there was a line and people were still strolling on in..which floored me, but I won't go there. So jovially I wait until wardrobe sees me and naturally they decide to change my attire. Now, I was THRILLED because I was sort of hoping for that, I wanted to be dressed in costume...until I saw their picking. Now I normally don't complain but this outfit looked like the 80s Cha Cha dress when she was livin' in Cuba. It was God awful; ghastly of a dress. Unbeknownst to me, regrettably (and yet fortuitously) they saw my reaction and the look on my face and decided to change it. Normally, alternate options tend to be better...well, it was a TAD bit better, but still quite a horrific dress.
I have NO idea what wardrobe was thinking. The dress was terrible and it only reconfirmed that wealthy people have no fashion sense what so ever. The dress was a designer dress that I'm sure cost about $1000, but that doesn't mean squat. I won't mention who the designer was because normally I enjoy the apparel designed on runway...and I mean no disrespect, but I have no idea what they were thinking.
Picture it: The dress was a minidress...a mix between screaming fuscia and hot pink in colour, that had a sweetheart breastline and it barely covered my rather prominent rump, which made me uncomfortable the entire day. I had difficultly sitting and carried around my cardigan to place around my waist like I was back in the Blossom era. I'm not finished with how terribly the dress was. The bodice was saturated with same coloured sequins and beads and sewn to the breast line was a high collared, long sleeved lace....all the same grotesquely pretty in pink (not) colour. I was a mix between a Quaker bride that met a Vegas hooker.
For some strange reason wardrobe loved it and that was my outfit, blech! Anyways, we were fed a delicious breakfast-hurried and scurried around just to end up waiting around. There's an old saying in the biz that I forgot about until it struck me in the face like a sack of bricks that day "Hurry up and wait" and oh boy did we do a lot of that.
While time tick tocked itself away, I decided to mingle with the other talent. I met some pretty wild characters. You see, actors are just like everybody else and they all have their cliques or for a better word stereotypes: the geeks, the weirdos, the arrogant, the old farts, the newbies, the jocks, the friendly, the unfriendly and then somewhere amongst all that are the seemingly normal ones.
I decided to mingle with every crowd to learn what each of them had to say. Let me tell you, I had a crash course on how to succeed as an actor in NYC 101 that day. It was intense and it was insane. I floated from one group to another like STDs in a brothel house and came out a changed girl. For the better of course; the naivete belt lost a notch.
So finally noon strolls itself around and I am finally able to set my high heeled toe on the set. It was amazing...the ambiance was spot on for a upscale bar lounge. So the television show is about models and for this episode Calvin Klein launched a new clothing line so they are throwing a huge party for everyone. I was playing a covet agent, an agent to the models. Everything in the room was fitting; the lighting, the mood, the modern contemporary furniture and the music (which unfortunately was on repeat the entire time).
The cast was a fairly unknown ensemble: Elle Macpherson, Mischa Barton, Sara Paxton. Ben Hollingsworth, Corbin Bleu, Nico Tortorella and Ashley Madekwe. Of course all the guys will know Elle because you all had a pre-pubescent boner for her in your middle school gym's locker room and well people know Mischa from the O.C. All in all the cast is green and you could tell...we were only doing that one scene and it ended up being a 14 hour day. I didn't mind because a)I was featured b) it's a dream to be on set and c) was making overtime because of the union. However, it was interesting to see how the main actors acted...already so prissy, some were non-stop on their phones, others threw temper tantrums blaming the background actors for their mistakes. Most of them didn't have their homework done and were frantically trying to fudge through the script.
Oh well...that only will make me look better someday when it's be as the main actress and I got my shit down!
All in all...it was a fantastic, amazing, breathtaking, eye-opening experience. I loved it. However, I will come to realize that this would be the worst set I'd ever work on, but let's not get ahead of ourselves...those anecdotes are for another time :)
