Happy belated New Year

Okay...so I'm a slacker, half of the first month of the New Year is already over and I am sending out my New Year wishes to...whoever is actually reading this. Probably no one, so I don't really feel too terrible.

So since I am in SAG (I told you I was invited to join right?) they send us cool SAG unies (that's me making fun of being in the union) free DVDs of films that are still in the cinema or just recently left so we can watch them and then alas later vote for the SAG Awards. Nifty huh? I thought so. Thus far I got Up In The Air, Precious and Julie & Julia.

Upon watching Julie & Julia, I was rekindled with the ceremonious delight of blogging.

So to quickly catch you up with my life...I joined SAG. Surprise! Times have been slow here, or at least that's what I tell myself not to fall into depression about the phone not ringing as often as it used to. November came and went and right before I left, I started getting phone calls for auditions and working. I LOVE LOVE LOVE L-O-V-E LOVE working on set. I am the kind of person that enjoys the 16 hour days, I love watching the director talk with the principle actors, I love watching take after take after take after take and I even love the crankiness of the set because it's alive, it's magic, it's everything I want to be apart of. I especially love being featured because in my elementary mind I pray that a casting director, the director, producer or even perhaps just another actor spots me, thinks I am interesting and looks for my name in the credits which would hopefully push my career along the river...sigh...is it so awful to dream?

The last set I worked on was the Black Swan with Natalie Portman. I could have just died. She is one of my favourite actresses and there I am, standing next to her trying to be calm and collected because I know if I were in her shoes, I'd expect the same behaviour. I did-chill out and don't start to lecture. However, I must admit I felt privileged.

Then I went on my 3 weeks holiday back to Arizona which was FANTASTIC. It was so different this time. I think I really took for granted the cute and quaint demure of Arizona. I hung out with family, friends and best of all I got to hang out with my man. Hanging out with him is "like walking on sunshine" (you're awesome if you got that). We spent Thanksgiving together, Christmas and the New Years...how awesome is that? I have to admit, the second time I left Phoenix, it was 100x more difficult than the first. It was more difficult leaving him again (I'm a statistic, a value amongst those who are in this group-I'm in a long distance relationship).

Before I left though I knew I needed a game plan. I knew that I needed something fresh about myself...what was it that I could freshen up? My headshots and my resume. To do this I needed to research all the photographers because I'm OCD like that. I literally looked at 300+ photographers in the NYC area. Then I knew that I needed training under my belt that was from NYC. So I researched all the reputable schools here, interviewed some of them that were reasonable and made my choice. I make it sounds easy, but folks, it was straight up grueling. There were nights (yes, plural) where I felt overwhelmed and defeated. Sure, some of you out there are probably thinking, why put all that effort in? It would be easier to just pick one and be done with it, right? Wrong. I'm the type of person that needs to know everything so I know what I am NOT missing. I wanted the best bang for my buck, best quality for the best dollar. Yes, time is money and time is of the essence...but if I put the work in NOW, then I'd be saving time and essence in the long run. So hah!

I found an awesome photographer, Tara Leigh, and I will actually get my headshots taken next week, yay! I am in my second week of school as well. I chose to go to HB Studios because I want to focus on technique rather than scene study classes. I think I am pretty spot on with scene studies because of what comes from me naturally, but I wanted to harness and polish the finesse and the actual technique. Sort of be book smart rather than street smart for acting, ya dig?

So let's talk about today. Today I was in my Meisner technique class and sometimes I wonder if I am cut out for this. I can't put my finger on it...either I am heartless (which some of you will contest to), emotionless (silence you) or there are just a lot of fakers/attention grabbers out there. It probably is a combination of all three...but I seriously have never wanted to cry in class while meditating to a thought. Maybe I am not an actor...maybe I can't "get in the moment", but I just can't will myself to do it unless it's for a scene and appropriate for the scene. Well, last week we had one person cry over this meditating/concentrating method and today we had a whopping 3 people cry. The first crying incident occurred again during that meditating method where we think of memories. Today I didn't laugh, last week I did. Not out of spite, geez...just more out of shock I suppose. Then the second walked in distressed and looked like she was crying earlier and was sort of mopey the entire class period. Then the third, I have no idea where this came from...this I won't hold against her. I overhead the teacher asking something about her aunt...so maybe something awful happened and she was being a trooper by going to class. However, during a repetition exercise she was doing, she just started tearing up. Then the teacher sort of puppetted her around with other students and her crying levels would vary from balling and being inaudible to subtly sniffling and red eyed. I was amazed at her perseverance to say the least, but again baffled. I wanted to give her a hug, but she strikes me as the type of girl who would punch you in the face if someone tried to do that, which perplexed me even more because here she is, this tough honky girl balling on the stage.

Then we all huddled around while the teacher asked us how we felt about the exercise and yadda yadda. The entire time I was thinking how I can't wait to blog this experience because a) I was re-inspired to blog from the film b) I should continue up with blogging since I like it anyway and c) this is juicy stuff! As I am making a check list of things to say (which by the way never works out) the instructor goes off about how modern age people are so disconnected because of the internet and cell phones where we lose intimacy of being with another person. HAHAHAHAHA. Wow...if that isn't ironic enough.

So class ends, I hurry my cold butt to the subway, read the chapter for next week in our Meisner study book, stop at the liquor store for a bottle of red wine (date night tonight with the boy), get home, grab left over chicken salad that I made, drink my milk from it's carton, hopped into my p.j.s and long windedly sat down here to type this all out for you. Meanwhile I will long off, work on some Farsi, practice my English dialect and wait for my boy to come home so we can Skype to each other. Don't knock it until you've tried it...it's a miracle.

Cheers for now!