Happy Holidays!

I wish all of my readers peace and joy and happiness this holiday season! Check back for more blogs the first week of 2009!:)

Weekend Update

My Saturday was crazy busy, just the way I like it! In the late afternoon I went to a Holiday Choir Concert that four of my friends were singing in and it was a really nice presentation. Then I had dinner at one of their houses and snuck out during an intense Rock Band competition to attend a friend's screening. She is graduating from the American Film Institute and she was screening her Masters Thesis film. It turned out really well. I stayed for a little bit of the reception before hitting my next stop, which was a birthday party for one of the guys in my "group" of friends. It was at Residuals, the same place I spent my Halloween evening. They had a pirate band playing and all of our friends showed up. I had to decline two other offers for Holiday Parties to make my 3 appearances last night. December weekends are always filled with activities in LA:)

Click Clack Jack

I went to a screening last night of a movie my friend, Mike Muscat was in. I'm not 100% sure if it is a made for TV movie or if it is a television pilot but the project is called Click Clack Jack. It kind of reminded me of that old PBS show, Shining Time Station. Mike did a really good job as the narrator giving a the tour of the train museum to a field trip of elementary school students. The most interesting part of the movie was the fact that half of it took place in modern day and the other half took place in the past during the gold rush. The screening was a lot of fun and I can't wait until The River has a movie theater screening!

Jay Leno

I went to a live taping of Jay Leno this afternoon and it was so much fun! Will Smith was the guest and he was really funny. At the "commercial breaks" he got up on the stage and rapped to entertain the audience. It was a cool experience but since it is live, it is very similar to see it live and to watch it on TV. Jay Leno looks the same in real life as he does on TV and he has the same funny, cool personality.

Then I went with a friend of mine who works at Dreamworks to the Universal Studios lot because he had to do some paperwork. I got a private tour of the set of the TV show 'Life' and I saw where Hasbro has their production company. They have a life size Mr. Potato Head outside of their office holding up with Hasbro sign. It was a really productive day!

The River Screening

I just got invited to a cast and crew only screening of "The River!" It will be the first time I've seen the whole 101 minute movie. It is on Saturday at the director's home and it will be nice to get together with the people that I worked with who live in LA. Even though there are 7 people who were involved with the project in LA, I hardly ever see them because everyone, myself included, is so busy with their upcoming projects. When the movie is out on DVD, I will post where copies are available.

Update

I just got back to LA from being with my family for the holiday. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Right before I left I auditioned for a fast food chain commercial and I have my fingers crossed for callbacks this week.

Screen Actors Guild has put the 'to strike or not to strike' question to a membership vote (finally!) One way or the other, we are hoping to have the contract issue resolved sooner rather than later. There is not an official timeline yet as to when we will be voting and if there is a strike, not working, but as new happenings develop I will keep posting.

In between auditioning, I'm involved with several side projects and as soon as I sign contracts on one or more, I will post details!

Lunch

Yesterday I was at a restaurant in Santa Monica having lunch with the director of The River and Christian Bale was having lunch with his daughter two tables away. Zac, the director who I was having lunch with, said that now he only has 3 more Batmans to see. Ah Hollywood.

Day Off

Today was the first day in a long time that I did not have any auditions or meetings or both. My friend Billy and I drove to Malibu for lunch. We ate at a seafood restaurant on the ocean while we looked out at the beach. It was a very relaxing, stress free day off. Tomorrow it is right back to meetings.

The picture above is the of Billy watching the sunset over the ocean. I love that there is still 80 degree weather in California in November!

TGI Friday's

Yesterday I had an audition for a TGI Friday's commercial. Commercial auditions are so hard because they see hundreds of different people, all shapes and sizes and then ultimately randomly pick one. I really thought I would hear back from LG because the audition went really well and the casting director seemed to be pleased with me. The TGI Friday's audition was simple and the character that I auditioned for is in the 30 second spot for maybe 4 seconds. Fingers crossed:)

Other than auditions, things have been pretty slow in the industry because of the still impending SAG Strike. In the mean time, I've been having a lot of productive meetings about several projects that I'm in the middle of. I will post more about these projects when contracts are signed and they are more concrete.

Flat

My friend Ellen wrote a one woman show called Flat and last night was opening night of her 3 year long process. It is a funny show with a wonderful message and she has two "helpers" who assist in telling her stories. She deserves a lot of credit for putting her show together in the first place because it is said over and over that the best way to get work in Los Angeles is to make your own. The message of the show is "if you are clothed, fed, sheltered and loved, then love yourself and you will find happiness."

I highly recommend Flat. It is playing at The Cavern Club tonight and tomorrow at 8:00. Tickets are $15.

Great News!

I just found out that The River has been accepted into one of the first festivals our director submitted it to! I believe that our director has submitted it to 3 so far, but to already be accepted makes me even more anxious to see the finished movie!

Also, I had an audition yesterday for the new cell phone. Apparently the commercial is starring Brody Jenner from "The Hills" and if I book the spot I will play the "cute, quirky" store clerk. Fingers crossed!

Tale of Two Cities, The Musical

"A Tale of Two Cities, The Musical" on Broadway is fantastic! The story is based on the Charles Dickens classic about two men who strongly resemble each other who are in love with the same woman. The story takes place partly in France during revolutionary times and partly in London.
The novel was adapted for the stage by Jill Santoriello. She is one of two women who have written the book, music and lyrics for a show on Broadway, the one was in 1978. She did a tremendous job of bringing the story to life. While the story makes you laugh and cry, the music stays with you and you find yourself singing on the ride home.

The love story in "A Tale of Two Cities, The Musical" is fitting because the show’s producers have a real life love story. Ron Sharpe and Barbra Russell met and fell in love while playing Marius and Cosette respectively in Les Miserables on Broadway. They have done a superb job bringing this story to life on the stage.

The cast of this show really fits together well and every actor brings such life to their character. James Barbour in particular gives an exceptionally moving performance and he has a phenomenal voice.

Natalie Toro has an amazing voice and while her character sits onstage knitting, you can’t take your eyes off of her.

Warren Carlyle has done a fabulous job staging and choreographing this show on a multi-level set.

The backstage tour of the show features 30 miles of wiring, the elevator lift that is used during the show and the costumes with shoes that are specially form fitted to make walking and dancing easier for the actors. A featured stunt in this show is the execution of a 27-foot high fall at the beginning of the second act. It is in the Guinness Book of World Records for ‘high fall in a Broadway Musical.’

I highly recommend this show to mature audiences. Ticket information is available at http://talemusical.com. If you order group tickets, you will get a backstage tour and have the chance to meet the producers and some of the cast. School field trips are also available.

Halloween Continued

I spent most of Saturday catching up from my trip. It is the first day in almost 3 weeks that I did not have meetings or auditions. In the evening I went to my friend Josh Sussman's house to watch some episodes of "Wizards of Waverly Place" that he guest starred in since I don't get the Disney channel and he has TiVo.

Then I went to a Halloween party at a really cool house with a huge back pool area. There was a hutch for drinks, a big screen TV for playing Rock Band and the place was decorated with spider webs and strobe lights. The photo above is of several of my friends dressed as Guy Smiley (the Muppet game show host), Michael Phelps, me as a puppy and Indiana Jones respectively.

Picture

The Pizza Hut audition was quick and easy. I have a good feeling about it because it was at the same studio where I booked my T-Mobile commercial. Also, it is a really creative, cute spot.

After the audition I had a meeting and then after the meeting I got dressed for Halloween. I went to the NoHo Arts Center and saw their Halloween special. It was really good. The stories were very creative and the actors were all good. The set was a two-story castle and it looked AMAZING.

After the play I ended up going with a group of friends to a bar called Maeve's Residuals. It is aptly named because the owner's name is Maeve and she allows actors to post residual checks for under a dollar on a particular wall in the bar. When a TV show or movie runs and runs and runs or your part is small and you only make a percentage of a percent on DVD sales, often times residual checks are for 28 cents or less. Those are the checks that go on the wall.

The picture above is of me dressed as a puppy and my friend Vinnie Donadio dressed as Slash from Guns 'N Roses.

Pizza Hut

I have an audition today for a Pizza Hut commercial!  The best part is that they have asked everyone auditioning for the delivery person role to wear red, and that is my favorite color to wear to auditions anyway.  

This evening for Halloween I'm going to see a play at the NoHo Arts Center in North Hollywood and then to a party. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Broadway

The rest of my trip was fantastic! I had a few more meetings and I saw several more Broadway shows. I saw "A Tale of Two Cities The Musical," "Bowing-Bowing" and "August: Osage County". They were all very different, but very good. I have written a review of "A Tale of Two Cities The Musical" which will hopefully run in the Daily Record soon. When it does I will post a link.

I'm back in Los Angeles and I have had several productive meetings already. It is great to be busy and have some projects in the works in between auditions.

Rumor has it that "The River" will be screening in Malibu sometime in November and then it will be on DVD in 2009 for all to see.

Joey Reynolds Show

Check out the podcast of my first radio appearance! CLICK HERE and then scroll down to the October 23rd show :)

So far...

New York City is great this time of year! It is not too cold but it feels like the fall. Leaves are changing colors and Starbucks is serving Pumpkin Spice Lattes:) On the 18th my dad was in town so we went and watched the Ohio State game in Times Square at an OSU alumni bar. Then we went to dinner with my best friend from high school, his fiance, and my cousin. My friend Justin is a server at the restaurant we went to, so he waited on us which added an extra dimension to dinner:)

Sunday we drove to Connecticut for a meeting about a potential film project. The meeting went really well and the leaves and fall sights to see in Connecticut were Amazing. When we got back into the city, my dad went to the airport and I got a rush ticket to see Spamalot on Broadway. It was so funny!

I have more meetings this week and I will be on Joey Reynold's radio show on WOR710 on Wednesday. I will post the link to the web archive of the broadcast after it airs.

New York City!

I leave tomorrow after work to go to New York City for a week.  I have some business meetings set up and I will also be hitting some of my old favorite hang-outs.  I plan to see a Broadway show or two and visit friends while I'm in town.  It is always nice to leave Los Angeles for a little bit in the fall because out here there are no leaves changing colors and it is still 103 degrees in the middle of October!  

Safeway

I had an audition yesterday for Safeway.  It is for a holiday commercial, so I had to dress in winter attire.  That is one of the things that I love about acting.  It can be any time and any place on a moments notice.  I got the call at 2:30 that I had a 5:00 audition so I had to run home in the 80 degree California weather and grab a green sweater!  The audition was really simple and fun so we shall see!:) Fingers crossed!

400th Blog!

Last night I went to my friend Vinnie's house  for a Cold Case screening party because he was in the episode!  He is a voice over actor so he was the voice of the announcer during the college football game at the beginning of the episode.  About 14 people who all work in different facets of the business were over at his house so there were some really funny comments made about the cinematography, editing, acting and even the voice over work.  It is totally different watching TV with friends who work in the business as opposed to watching with friends who don't.

Social Saturday

Yesterday I went to watch my friends who work on Pushing Daisies play primetime softball. Unfortunately, they lost to CSI: NY. I ran into a friend of mine who used to work on The Riches during the game, so that was cool. He was playing second base for the CSI team. This is the second game I've attended this season, and I think I'm going to try to make it to more games. There are a few "regular fans" for Pushing Daisies so I'm becoming friends with them and the weather is always nice so it is a lot of fun. It is crazy to me that in California you can play outdoor sports year round because the coldest I've ever seen it get is around 30 degrees and that is usually in the evening when the sun goes down.

After softball, my friend Joe and I went to a BBQ that a friend of his from college threw. I didn't know the host or his couple of friends, but I ran into a lot of people that I'm friends with. It was really low key and a lot of fun. As it got late, everyone dispersed to a bar and I made my way to stop #3.

My friend Anthony was having a birthday party at his awesome 2 story apartment in Silverlake. I didn't know very many people there but the few I did know I hadn't seen in awhile so it was good to catch up. I played a few games of pool and watched some Guitar Hero.

Hamlet 2

Last night I went to see the movie Hamlet 2 and I thought it was really funny.  There were definitely parts in it that could be considered offensive but overall it was good.  I must not have done that well in the theaters because it never came to a theater that was very close to where I live and when I finally found it last night, it was at a cheap theater that has shows for 2 dollars during the day and 3 dollars in the evening.  One night a week they have a special, 2 tickets, 2 pop corns and 2 drinks for 10 bucks!  That is one thing that LA certainly has a lot of, little interesting theaters, drive ins, silent movies etc.   

Honda Commercial

Yesterday I auditioned for a Honda commercial.  The premise was really cool and the style of the commercial is similar to the T-Mobile commercial that I did last year.  They took us into the audition in a group of 5, and nobody else in my group was under 6'1" tall!  I am 5'2" tall and even though I know I'm short, I have never felt short before that moment.  Sometimes being "different" than most of what they see in a day works to your advantage because even though everyone who was at the audition was tall, I'm sure Honda is not trying to say "ONLY tall people drive Civics".  Anyway, I have my fingers crossed and despite the height factor, which is something that I can't change, I think the audition went well.  :)

The River

The River, the movie that I went to Arkansas to act in this summer is now up on IMDB.  It is still a new posting so there is only a partial cast listing right now but it has shown up on my page:)  Take a look!     http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2261202/

Sick:(

Last night my roommate's friend had people over to his apartment complex because he bought a 12 foot blow up movie screen and a projector. We watched Shrek the Third drive in style in the courtyard of their complex. It was really cool! Unfortunately, last night when we got home, I had an asthma attack and I've been sick ever since.

I wanted to go and try to get last minute tickets to the USC/OSU game but I ended up watching it from a Lay-Z-Boy chair in my apartment. My team didn't do that well, so I guess I didn't miss much. I rested most of the day and hopefully I will be better tomorrow.

Fantastic

It felt so great to be out auditioning yesterday!  My audition went really well.  The director of the promo was in the room and I think he really liked me.  There was one line and he said "that was a good read"  when I was done:)  Fingers crossed that I book it!

Audition!

Last night I went to see a friend of mine in a production of John Patrick Shanley's 'Four Dogs and a Bone'.  It was AMAZING.  The director had triple cast the show, had all of the actors learn the entire role and then had the actors rotate in an out.  It was like tag team acting and it totally worked! 

Today I have an audition for an NBC promo!  I will post more details tomorrow!  

Prime-time Softball

Saturday night I went to a screening party for a web series that my friend is involved with.  They screened the first four episodes of a series called Hollywoodland that will be online sometime this fall.  The party was in an awesome 3 story apartment in the valley that had private roof access.  

Sunday afternoon I went and watched prime-time softball.  It is a Warner Brothers softball league where cast and crews from different television shows play against each other.  This week, my friends from Pushing Daisies played the cast and crew of Rules of Engagement.  Rules of Engagement won, but Pushing Daisies put up a good fight.  After the game several of us went swimming at my friend, Joe's, pool, ate some Taco Bell and then I went home.  It was a really fun weekend.  

Chewties

Last night I went to IO West Theater for the first time.  It is the Los Angeles companion to Chicago's Improv Olympic.  My friend Carrie, is in an improv group called Chewties and they were REALLY funny.  Tomorrow I'm going to the LA County Fair whilst I wait for auditions.  

Vegas!

I had a great weekend with my family in Las Vegas. When I first got to the strip, a friend of mine from New York City, who lives in Vegas now came to see me. We went and had coffee at Planet Hollywood Hotel until my parents got there. I went to lunch at Treasure Island with my family and then we walked around and shopped and played a few slots here and there.

On Sunday night my friend Jared from LA was in town with a few of his friends so four of us went to the Treasure Island club. The club scene in Las Vegas is very similar to the club scene in Los Angeles. There was a VIP section, REALLY loud music and the occasional celebrity.

Monday we went to check out more of the hotels and see the sites until I had to fly home. Now it is back to work. Hopefully auditions will pick up since the holiday weekend is over.

LAS VEGAS

I'm going to Las Vegas this weekend with my family! New blog on Tuesday:)

IMDB

Things have been pretty slow in LA lately for two reasons.  One reason is because there is still the potential for a theatrical SAG strike as we are currently working without a contract and the SAG commercial contract is expired in October.  The second reason is the holiday weekend that is coming up.  It seems that people have been on vacation for about a week already.  

I have updated my IMDB page photos, so you can check that out by CLICKING HERE.  If you click on the individual pictures, the whole thing opens up:)  Enjoy!

Support Weekend

Saturday night I went to a really nice dinner at McCormick and Schmick's with some friends.  Then on Sunday I went to a screening of an indie feature film that my friend Josh Sussman was in.  It was an interesting movie about an Amish man who moved to Hollywood to be a missionary and then got cast as Satan in a television show.   It was cute and silly and there were a lot of random celebrities who had cameos in the movie. 

Last night I went to support a band called Subvrosa that my friend Dayna Wade is the lead singer in.  She was my roommate in New York City and she now lives in LA.  It was fun to see her and catch up.  Her band is really good and she has an AMAZING voice.  It was a great weekend and I have my fingers crossed for some auditions this week!  

Pushing Daisies

Yesterday I spent most of the day on the Warner Brothers lot.  I watched several scenes of Pushing Daisies being filmed and I went on some delivery runs with my friends who work there.  The coolest thing was that in one of the more empty ally ways on the lot they had a carnival set up for the shooting of one of the WB shows.  It was kind of creepy because it was all set up, but nothing was going on.  It looked like a ghost carnival.  I almost was able to see the Central Perk set from Friends, but the girl who works in that building was gone for the day by the time I made it over there.  I ran into several people that I knew and I was able to get my headshots to several casting departments on the lot.  It was a fun and productive day:)

Party Crashers

Yesterday my friend and I went to a park that has a stroll garden to walk around and look at flowers and wildlife.  When we got there, it was closed for construction!  We noticed big signs and balloons at another area in the park and it looked like a big carnival/festival so we went to check it out.  When we got closer, we noticed everyone had wrist bands and we saw a family leaving.  We asked them what it was and how it was and it was apparently a corporation picnic.  They offered us their wrist bands so we took them and went over to the booths.  A lot of the activities were finishing up for the day but we made some tie-dyed crafts, little beaded bracelets and got free snow cones!  

Then I went to see Tropic Thunder, which was interesting.  It had some pretty funny moments but the group I went with was not too enthusiastic about it.  I'm in the final stages of headshot reproductions right now, so hopefully this week will start auditions/bookings!

PICTURES!

As promised, here are a few of my new headshots :)

Dancing

I went to a bar in the valley called Skinny's last night to swing dance.  There was a west coast swing dance lesson at 8:00 and then a lot of people showed around 10:00 to dance.  It was a lot of fun and the bar was really cool.  There was the general bar section, the dance floor and then a VIP area.  Skinny's also has a camera in the dance area and a monitor in the bar so people in the bar can watch the dancing on closed circuit TV!  It was a really fun evening.  

I am supposed to get my  headshots back today so pictures will be posted here tomorrow or the next day:)

New Headshots

I got my new headshots back and I am in the middle of the selection process. Once I have it narrowed down, I will post some of them here.

Yesterday after work I went to lunch with Sean Finn, a friend of mine from high school who now lives in LA. After lunch we went for a swim in the pool at the house he lives in. The water was pretty warm from the sun and it was a perfect swimming day. I felt like I was back in high school. It was a really fun afternoon!

Girl Talk

My friend, Tommy Phillips in New York, is the writer of a cool podcast show called "Girl Talk". The link below is to the first four episodes. CLICK HEREto check it out.

Screening

I went to a screening of a movie called Dakota Skye tonight. My friend, Jeff, was the editor and the movie was really good! I ran into two people I know while I was there, so that was pretty cool. Also, Andrew Keegan was there and so was the actor who played Pedro in Napleon Dynamite. It was at the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills and it was a really cool event.

EARTHQUAKE

I experienced my first earthquake today. I was in my agent's office and suddenly there was a loud noise and the whole building began shaking. Everyone panicked a little bit and ran to stand in the office doorways. When the shaking stopped after about 30 seconds, the building felt like it was swaying on a boat for about another 25 seconds. It was very scary and I was quite shaken up. Within 5 minutes it was on the news and the Internet that it was a 5.6 Earthquake!

When I got home to my apartment a few hours later, it looked like a scene from a bad horror movie. The books on the shelves were right to the edge and some had fallen off. All of the pictures in the apartment had fallen off the walls. My jewelry box was halfway across the room and the jewelry was strewn about the floor and a few potted plants were smashed to bits with dirt everywhere.

Fortunately, nobody seems to have been badly hurt and as far as I've heard, there was not much structural damage in the LA area.

Mt. Hollywood

Jody and Me below the Hollywood Sign
Maurice, Madison, Miles and Jody in front of the Batman Batcave.
The River goes Hollywood! Madison, our Art Director, Me aka Layla and Maurice aka Marcus at the top of Mt. Hollywood.
The Hollywood sign from the top of the hill from the backside.

Today my friend Jody, Maurice, Madison, Madison's brother, Miles and I hiked up the hill where the Hollywood sign is. It is a 5 mile hike and it is so inspiring when you get to the top. You can see all of LA, Griffith Observatory and the infamous Hollywood Sign.

We also hiked up a short path to the "Bat Cave" where the Batmobile used to speed out of in the old Batman Movies. That is also the best front view of the sign so we took a bunch of pictures.

Warner Brothers Lot Tour

Maurice and me on the same ladder that Spiderman was on when he gave Mary Jane the famous upside down kiss.
The gazebo from the Gilmore Girls and the final episode of Seinfeld where the guy got mugged and the group stood by and watched.
Outside of the only stage on the lot that is named after a show. Stage 24, the Friends stage.
Maurice, Joe and Phil in front of a "courthouse". They are just sitting in the golf cart that Joe was touring us around in.

My friend Maurice, who is a fellow cast member from "The River" flew into town today from Texas. He is staying with me for a week. My friend Joe, who works at Warner Brothers, took us on a private tour of the lot. We saw where they film scenes in that take place in NYC, where they film part of ER and the sound stage where they filmed seasons 2-10 of Friends. It was a really fun tour but Maurice said that it made him a little bit disillusioned to see where they filmed shows he sees on television all shot in one place and not in the least bit real. Many of the production offices on the lot are built to look like houses or hotels so that they can be used as exteriors while people are inside working.

After the tour we took quick naps and then went to a birthday party that my friend Todd threw. The rumor in LA before every party is always about which famous person is friends with somebody and is going to attend. Burt Reynolds was supposed to come tonight, but he never made it. The party was still a lot of fun. Todd and several roommates rent a house so each room of the house has a different activity like Rockband or Karaoke and then there is always a BBQ in the backyard.

Audition

Monday after work I went ice skating for the first time in over a year. There is a neat little ice arena in Culver City and my friend Jody and I have been talking about going skating forever. They have open skating all afternoon, so we skated and then explored Culver City a little bit.

Yesterday after work I went to lunch with my friend Jan, who is on of the other actors from "The River." She is from Paragould, Arkansas, but is currently living and working as an actor in LA. We went to Unos, caught up on the last two weeks, and had some 'girl talk'

This morning I had an audition for the dancing Magic Carpet in Disney's Aladdin musical at Disneyland. It is a Broadway caliber show in their state of the art theater that is eventually supposed to end up on Broadway, and the contract pays REALLY well. The audition was a lot of fun. There were about 8 casting directors/choreographers in the room and they taught a group of about 30 of us a jazz combination. Then they divided us into groups and we performed the dance. The whole thing took about an hour and a half. I've seen the show and it would be a great part for me, although it is an 11 month commitment.

Tonight I'm going to see a friend of mine in a play at Theatre of Note and then Friday I'm getting new headshot photos taken! So far it has been a really busy but productive week.

1980s

Since I went to Las Vegas last weekend, this was my first weekend back in LA after shooting "The River" in Arkansas.  It was busy, but a lot of fun.

Friday night I went to see "Mama Mia!" and I really enjoyed it.  The play is better but the actors in the movie did a great job.  It is a fun movie and the it kept my interest.  

Saturday night I went to a 1980s theme party at my friend's apartment.  About 40 people came and we danced to 1980s music, had root beer floats, and played games like Simon Says.  It was a blast because everyone was in spandex with big hair and side pony tails.  

Sunday was pretty relaxing.  I went to the park and played Risk with some friends.  We went and saw "Hell Boy II" after the game and then 12 of us met up at Outback for our friend's birthday dinner.   

The Dark Knight

I went to a screening of "The Dark Knight" last night on the Warner Brothers lot.  It was REALLY good.  Heath Ledger did a fantastic job as the joker and he was very scary.  Christian Bale looks really distinguished and all of the acting in the movie was great.  There are cool fight scenes and you are on the edge of your seat for the entire 2.5 hours of the movie.  Screenings are fun but they are also hard because it is a movie I want to talk about with people but I can't yet because I don't want to spoil anything.  It is great and even if you are not particularly a Batman fan, which I'm not, I highly recommend it.

I also took a mini tour of the lot because I have a bunch of friends who work at WB.  I saw the 'Cold Case' production office and the 'Pushing Daisies' production office.  I also saw the 'Friends' sound stage where seasons 2-10 of 'Friends' was filmed.  It is the only sound stage on the lot that is named after a show.  

After the movie and the tour I went with a bunch of my friends to this cool little dive bar called Park.  They had 80s music and music videos playing and everyone just danced and hung out.

My Website

I spent the last few hours sitting with my web designer and learning how to update my website. New photos have been added!

CLICK HERE to check it out!

What Happens in Vegas. . .

Joe, Todd, Me, Ryan, James and Craig posing on the strip.
Waiting for the boys in the hallway.
This is Joe and Me in the room. Todd took it in the mirror.

I spent this weekend with a bunch of friends in Las Vegas. Everyone always says that you need a vacation from your vacation and it is so true! Going to Arkansas to shoot "The River" was my "summer vacation" and even though it was nice to get away for a little while, I was working the whole time. This Vegas trip was last minute and totally relaxing. A friend of mine had a free two night stay at the Flamingo hotel so we drove down at midnight on Friday night and spent all day Saturday and most of the day Sunday.

I went with three people and all of us had other friends in Vegas that we met up with at various times. We walked around the strip, looked around several of the hotels and spent an evening at the Luxor. We tried to get tickets to Spamalot because it was the last weekend that it was playing, but there were no tickets left.

There is a Sonic about 2 miles away from the strip that we went to for dinner on Saturday night. We were trying to find an ATM and we drove past the Sonic. Until I was in Arkansas I had never seen a Sonic and now it is my new favorite thing. Unfortunately there is not one anywhere near where I live.

On the car ride home we hit a lot of traffic. We tried to stop at Calico Ghost Town, but they were closed on Sunday evening. It took about 4 hours to get there with no traffic and about 7.5 hours to get home. On the ride home we played car games and hung out.

Fire

I had just fallen asleep last night when I woke up and heard the fire alarm. Usually I sleep through noise but since I was not in a deep sleep, I woke up startled. I got up to evacuate and then I realized that the noise was coming from the building next door.

I looked out the window, but I could not see any smoke.  A few minutes later three fire trucks came and firefighters were in and out of the building. It is hard to tell what happened and if there was a fire or not, but fortunately everyone seems to be okay.  The video below was taken out my window.

Birthday

Last night I went to a cool place in Glendale called Jax Bar and Grill.  My friend LaShelle had her birthday party there so we got a table for 15 and all hung out and had a really  nice dinner.  The place was cool and had a piano bar area with live music.  We all sang to her and got a great group photo, which is posted above.  After dinner we went to our other friends Jess and Courtney's house to play Rockband on Wii.  As much as I miss the friends that I made in Arkansas and I miss waking up and acting everyday, I am glad to be back.  I missed all of my LA friends.

So Busy

So I am ALMOST finished unpacking.  Every night this week after work I have been hanging out with friends who I haven't seen in 3 weeks.  Tonight I have a birthday party to go to and it looks like I'm going to Las Vegas this weekend!  

It is strange waking up every morning and not having to be on set.  I really enjoyed having my make-up and hair done, dressing in what Layla, my character, had to wear and then hanging out with amazing people on set all day in between my scenes.  I miss the cast and crew, but there is going to be a premier in Arkansas in 6 months to a year that I think everyone is going to try to make it back for.  Editing starts officially on July 16th.  

As soon as the movie is out on DVD I will post where to find it.

Back in LA

This is Maurice, aka Marcus and me hanging out in cowboy hats we found in a box after we both got picture wrapped.  
This is Thomas, my fiance in the movie, and me filming our last scene together.
My makeup artist, Cassie and me.
Craig, aka Paul and "yelling" at Ryan and me as we were packing up to leave the theater location.

I can not believe the movie is done shooting!  The three weeks went by so quickly and now I'm back in LA.  The last night I was in Arkansas we had a wrap party at an old courthouse.  There was delicious catered food, karaoke and dancing.  Nothing is better than a bunch of actors doing karaoke.  After the wrap party there was an after party out by the pool at the house I stayed at and we had a pinata and played games all night.  Everyone left around 4:30 AM.  

Yesterday I went to lunch with Ryan, the Assistant Director and Cassie, my makeup artist.  We sat for two hours just talking about the movie and about life.  Then Maurice aka Marcus and I rode to the airport and that was the end!  It was sad to leave everyone but I am glad to be back in LA.  I spoke with my agent this morning and he said he has already started submitting me again.  Hopefully SAG will not go on strike and I will have lots of auditions and bookings in the next few weeks.

Picture Wrap

As shooting is wrapping up, some of the main characters are finishing all of their scenes. When you are shooting a movie and your character is not in anymore scenes, the director makes an announcement that you are "picture wrapped" and everyone on set cheers for you. I have four more scenes before my picture wrap but my friend/costar Maruice Mejia got picture wrapped yesterday and he was quite sad. At dinner last night he said that he felt like he should cross his arms, close his eyes and go into his coffin closet. He said it was as if the little light above his head was extinguished.

Last night our awesome assistant director, Ryan Copple, saved the day. We needed a body that hadn't been used in the movie yet for a background shot and he totally stepped up. There is a shot of my "fiance" and myself watching a "play" and since we are lucky enough to have Ryan, it won't look like we are in the theater by ourselves. It has now been dubbed the "Copple Cameo"

Furniture

Yesterday we spent the day shooting in the most comfortable location ever! We were in a furniture store filled with recliners, couches and mattresses. We got a lot done but in between set ups we all lounged. We also shot some behind the scenes footage for the DVD special features.

Today we had a day off so some of the cast and crew went to Jonesboro, a town about 20 miles from Paragould because there is a mall there. We hung out at the mall and a few actors picked up misc wardrobe pieces for the rest of the shoot.

We had a cast / crew BBQ tonight at the pool which was a lot of fun. We have 5 more days of shooting and then a wrap party! I can't believe it is almost over!

Spring River

A few days ago the cast and crew loaded into SUVs and drove about two hours from Paragould to a town called Hardy.  We stayed in hotels and shot several scenes at Spring River.  It was really beautiful there minus all of the ticks and snakes!  The guys from the cast/crew that had to be in the water said that it was freezing.  I just dipped my feet in.  

Yesterday we were back in Paragould and we shot my most intense scene.  I think it went well and the director said that he got some good footage.  After we tried to get a game night together but after a few games, everyone was tired and went to bed.  

I can't believe that we are over halfway done with the shoot!  I leave to go back to LA one week from Sunday.  Then it takes 6 months to a year to edit, before the movie comes out.

Blast from the Past

Click Here for a "blast from the past". Aaron Ginsberg posted an article on his blog that I wrote for the Daily Record about 24 hours in a 24 hour diner back when we were in high school.

Photos!

The River 2008 Slate!

Getting ready to shoot a scene with my "fiance" Michael. The actors name is Thomas and in front of him is our 2nd camera assistant, Lura and our script supervisor Ailena's Head

Maurice, Me, Craig and Jan. We play Marcus, Layla, Pastor David and Cindy in The River.

Brown Recluse

So our director has been bitten by a brown recluse spider!  Fortunately, it is on his shin, so he is already on medicine and he has managed not to get sick.  Today is our day off so we are hoping he is able to get some rest and heal.

Yesterday was a busy day filled with wardrobe changes because to get our background actors in and out as quickly as possible, we had to shoot all out of order.  We did the background shots of several scenes all in a row and then had to go back and shoot the main action and dialogue later in the day.  

I'm really excited about the movie because the footage that I've seen so far looks AMAZING!  I can not wait until it is all edited and put together.  Today we have the day off so I am going to try to make it to Walmart and get some of the pictures I've taken onto a disk so that I can start posting them.  I may have to just wait until I get back to LA in two weeks, but either way I have TONS of pictures.

Last night we were all pretty exhausted from the day but nobody was really tired.  My costar took some of us for rides around town on his motorcycle, so that was fun and exciting.  I have never really ridden on a motorcycle and it is pretty thrilling, even when you aren't going fast.  

Today we have off so I'm planning to help the assistant director get some work done on callsheets and set things up for next week and this evening the cast and crew talked about going to dinner or having a game night or hanging out by the pool or something.  This has been such an amazing experience so far!

Lobotomy

Last night during a fetching game of Catch Phrase, I pondered about the brilliance of my fellow cast and crew members. Several interesting clues came up. To get me to guess the number one, my lovely make-up artist said "The number that comes after two"! Seriously, what kind of clue is that?

Then Ryan, our Assistant Director proclaimed that he had no idea what "this word is". He started his clues with this "is either a person or a thing" and then the timer ran out. My brilliant make-up artist, Cassie, was like "let me see the word, I will help you". He goes "I have no idea what a Lo-Bo-Tomy is. To which Cassie replied it is a Lobotomy and then we explained what the word meant to our fantastic AD.

Today was a productive day on set. We shot a record 7 pages. I was in three scenes and they all went well. We got video village up and running today so it was easier to watch footage on the monitors. The last scene was a kickball game and the guys got all sweaty. It was a fun day, though, and I am in several scenes again tomorrow.

The River!

Yesterday was the first day of principal photography and it went really well. We got a lot of exteriors and establishing character shots. We were at a farmhouse all day and one of my co-stars saved me from a tick!

Today we started off the morning shooting in a hospital. Layla, my character, went to visit a "sick kid" and that actor had a rough day. He had to cry for like 3 hours straight. Maurice, aka 'Marcus' was running out of tears so he had to drink water to make more, or so he said-

Then there was a "company move" meaning that we switched locations. We ended up in a muddy swamp with an old backhoe. It rained for a little while, but luckily it added to the shots so we covered the camera and continued on.

The roughest part of this whole thing has been 4:30 AM call times. I love the cast and crew though, we are having so much fun. Cassie, the makeup girl is my new buddy! She takes such good care of pampering me!

So Fantastic

Yesterday was so much fun.  I had rehearsal at 10AM with the guy who I have the most scenes with.  It went really well.  His name is Josh and he is an actor from Chicago.  After rehearsal I had a wardrobe fitting and a make-up consultation.  After that the cast had a table read and we talked a little bit about the script.

After dinner, I rode with Madison, the wardrobe guy/art department to see the river and farmhouse locations.  Everything looks so great! 

In the evening, the cast and crew swam, played catch phrase and then walked to Sonic.  I had never been to a Sonic before so that was cool to experience.  We walked down hoping for ice cream shakes but they were out, so I ended up with cherry limeade.  Sonic is cool because you drive up or walk up to a board, place your order, slide your credit card and then they bring the food to you.  

This morning we had a production meeting and I found out that there are going to be two nights on an over-night location where we will be moving from the cool house we are staying in to a hotel.  Everyday this is more and more fun and we haven't even started shooting yet!  Call time tomorrow is 4:30 AM, so tonight is going to be an early night.

Arkansas

I made it to Arkansas.  So far my trip has been great.  The place I'm staying is fantastic!  It has a pool in the backyard and an elliptical exercise machine in the family room.  I've met several of the other cast members and we've had some rehearsals.  The crew members that I've met so far are really cool too.  They are working on getting some exterior shots and B Roll shots today.  Tomorrow we have more rehearsals, then we have Monday off and we shoot on Tuesday.  

Today's the Day!

I leave tonight to go to Arkansas for 3 weeks to shoot The River and I can't wait!  I fly to Dallas and then Little Rock tonight and arrive around 8AM.  I am being picked up from the airport and driven to where they are putting me up.  

I am really excited to meet the rest of the cast and crew.  It is going to be such a fun project and it sounds like Zac, the producer, has gotten a lot of good people involved.  I don't know what the internet access situation will be like but if I can blog, I will.  

Thank you for all of your support!

Dad!

Last night my Dad called me from a Padres game in San Diego.  He was there on business and he said that he didn't have a rental car or he would have come see me.  I was like "Dad, I have a car!" 

So one of my roommates and I abandoned the pizza we were about to make and we hopped in the car and drove down to see him.  It was about a 2 hour drive and we had both worked all day and had to work today so it was a very quick trip.  We ate dinner with my dad when we got down there, then we met some of his work team and then hung out in the hotel room for awhile.  He ran lines with me and then we went to bed.  

My roommate and I got up at six and drove back and I made it to work with about 6 minutes to spare!  It was such a nice treat to get to see family unexpectedly in the middle of the week.  

Wedding

Two of the people that I work with got married to each other in Palm Desert on Saturday. It was a really fun wedding because the whole office went. We spent the day at the hotel pool and then the wedding was in the evening. It was a beautiful ceremony and dinner was delicious.

Yesterday I came back early and had brunch with a friend I have not seen in forever. Then I spoke with the producer of "The River" to square away a few last minute things. I spent the afternoon picking up a few things for my trip and then I went to dinner with a friend of mine from "The Riches." We went out for Korean BBQ and it was so much fun. It was an all you can eat deal and you have choices of 10 different types of meat. They bring the meat to your table raw and then you cook it over a charcoal grill. It was absolutely delicious.

Today at work I will be training the girl who is filling in for me for the three weeks that I am shooting. I can't believe it is less than a week away! I am so excited!

Baseball Game

Last night a friend of mine had an extra ticket to the Dodgers vs Cubs game.  I went at the last minute and it was a really good game.  I've been a Cubs fan since I was a kid, living in Chicago, and we won last night!  There were surprisingly few Cubs fans, although since it was a Thursday night only about 43,000 people were in attendance.  

I leave to shoot The River one week from today!  I can't wait!  This weekend I will be at a wedding in Palm Desert on Saturday but Sunday I'm going to pick up the last few things that I need to take and start getting organized to go.

Blast From the Past

My friend Steve, from high school, is in Los Angeles with his family visiting so we went out to dinner last night.  It brought back so many memories!  We called some of our old friends and caught each other up on mutual friends that only one of us is in contact with.  It was so great to see a familiar face in LA.  I love it when people come out here to visit me:)

 

WOW!

Saturday I ended up hosting an impromptu games evening at my house.  It wasn't actually impromptu, just the 'having it at my house part' was.  A friend of mine had suggested on Tuesday that we get people together one last time before I go to Arkansas.  She was like "call and invite the usual crew and tell them my house at 6:30".  By Wednesday, we had 14 people all set and ready to play games Saturday evening.

About 4:30 on Saturday she called me to let me know that her dad came into town and she wasn't going to be able to host, could I call everyone (on two hours notice) and tell them it was cancelled!?  I ended up making all of the calls, but telling them to come to my house instead.  It worked out fine and everyone had a really good time, even with the last minute change.  We played 'Catch Phrase', 'Right, Left, Center', and 'Wits and Wagers'.  We also played a really cool game called 'Therapy.'  

Sunday I spent the day learning lines and going through all of my clothes to see what I want to take with me to Arkansas.  I spoke with the director a little bit and found out who a few of my cast mates will be!  One is from Texas, another is an actor from Chicago.  I can not wait to start shooting!  Two more weeks:)

Congratulations to my sister!  She was hired this morning as a third grade teacher!  It will be her first "real person" job as she put it:)    

LOST

CAUTION: THIS BLOG CONTAINS SPOILERS









So LOST is the one show I watch on a regular basis and I am just beside myself after this evenings episode. We, as a collective LOST audience, have spent the last 4 years watching these characters try to get off the island and now we are expected to watch the remaining 2 season as they try to get back to the island? WHAT!?!?! I guess it was a good cliff hanger because some loose ends were tied up and I am intrigued, but I hope the last two seasons are good.

THE END

Starbucks

I had an audition yesterday for a Starbucks Print ad.  Print auditions are really fun and really simple.  It is all about what you look like, so there is no pressure to "perform".  Plus, I enjoy having my picture taken and that is the whole audition.  They take a smiling "slate" picture with a number, then they take a profile picture and then they take one or two personality pictures.  When you book one, it is a few thousand dollars for a day of work!  It shoots before I leave for Arkansas so it is perfect timing.  I hope I booked it.  

Yesterday I also got the "official shooting script" for The River.  I had been learning my lines from the 5th draft and as I was reading the shooting script last night I only noticed several minor changes.  I am really looking forward to the trip and being on set shooting everyday for a few weeks:)

Holiday Weekend = Lots of Parties!

Saturday I threw a party for one of my roommates. His birthday was this past week, and we had about 18 people come to the party. We played football, whiffle ball and Frisbee in the park. Then we went back to our friend Clint's house for a BBQ. After the BBQ we had cake and played party games well into the night. It was a lot of fun and everyone participated. It was way more fun than gym class because while there were more guys than girls, we split the teams evenly so the guys actually let us play. Believe it or not, some of the girls were actually pretty good at football, myself included! I had a few QB sacks (touch football) and a Blitz. (I was the rusher).

Yesterday my roommates and I went from party to party to party. First there was a pool party at a hotel in Marina Del Rey. Then we went to a BBQ at our friend Todd's house and then there was a work party.

Today for the actual "work holiday" our friends from Costa Mesa are on their way to our house for lunch and games! This evening I have to work on my lines some more. I leave for Arkansas to shoot "The River" in 18 days! The producer e-mailed me my flight information this morning and I am sooo excited.

The top picture is of Jared and Ryan playing football and the picture below is my team fielding during whiffle ball.

Audition

When I was young, my family used to listen to audio books when we went on long car trips.  I always told my parents that I thought it would be cool to be the voice of an audio book.  Yesterday I had an audition for one!  I auditioned for Lorraine in the audio recording of "Pigman."  Fingers crossed because that is something I would LOVE to do and I know I would be great at!

Pinkberry

Pinkberry is to Frozen Yogurt as Starbucks is to Coffee.  It is the newest trend in Los Angeles and that is where my friend Joe and I spent last evening.  We used to hang out at least once a week, but with ever changing work schedules, we hadn't seen each other in forever.  So to catch up, we went to Pinkberry for some healthy frozen yogurt and sat for over an hour chatting.

Here's the Pinkberry deal.  It is frozen yogurt that is low cal, low sugar, and topped with  your choice of fruit.  The three frozen yogurt flavors are original, green tea, and coffee and the toppings range from blueberries, to strawberries, coconut to pineapple, along with various others.  

As we sat, in addition to catching up, we discussed how trendy we felt because it seems that with Pinkberry only in LA and NYC right now, it is a trend that will probably spread.  It was a nice little quiet evening as we both prepare for the parties of the holiday weekend to come!

More Parites

Saturday night I went to a party that was thrown by my friend from junior high school!  It is so interesting that now due to the Internet you are able to reconnect with people you have not seen in years!  It was a fun party and I met a lot of cool people.

Sunday was pretty relaxing and I got some errands done.  In the evening I spent some time learning lines for the feature film I'm going to Arkansas to shoot in June.  I spoke with the director for about 45 minutes on the phone finalizing details.  I'm really looking forward to it!

Friday night

Last night I went to a "Pretension Prevention" party. It was at an apartment and it was actually really fun. The theme was to avoid "Los Angeles Pretension" and while it was not as pretentious as some parties, there seems to always be at least a little bit of pretension in LA. They had two poster boards on the wall where people could write what pretension means to them and it was funny to see what everyone wrote. Also, the food was an array of chips, brownies and shrimp cocktail! It was a cool theme and I met some really nice people.

Movie!

I just found out that I booked the female lead in an independent feature film!  It is called "The River" and I will be flown to Arkansas for three weeks at the end of June/beginning of July  to shoot!  The script is great and it is opening in a movie theater in Arkansas before being distributed on DVD!    I'm so excited:) :) :)

This is further proof that good work leads to more work, because the guy who wrote the film and offered me the role is someone who I worked with on the set of "Love's Unending Legacy!"  I'm really looking forward to this opportunity.  Gotta go learn my lines!:)

ALSO, my website is up and running.  CLICK HERE to check it out!

Graduation Photos

As promised, here are a few photos from my sister's graduation!

These are both photos of my sister and me right after she graduated.  I am so proud of her! Congratulations again, Laura!

Harold and Kumar

Last night I went to see the new Harold and Kumar movie.  I went to the same high school as one of the writers and I really enjoyed the first one.  The new one is pretty funny too and I especially liked the part where they shot Neil Patrick Harris three times with a double barrel shotgun.  (I know, I'm still trying to figure out how that is possible too)

The funny things is that movies have become really unrealistic for me.  I worked with 

Rob Corddry for a few days on his short-lived television show, "The Winner", and I know what a nice, kind hearted, funny, cool person he is.  To see him be so rotten and stupid was hard for me to believe. Also, Beverly D'Angelowas on a flight that I took from Ohio to Los Angeles not too long ago. We didn't chat or anything because she was in first class, which I was not, but it is still funny to see people that I have met and/or worked with in feature films!  

On another note, yesterday afternoon I went to lunch with a literary agent and as we were leaving the restaurant, we ran into Kareem Abduel-Jabbbar!He used to be represented by the agent I was out with so he stopped to talk with us! He seemed nice and he is SOOOOO tall.

Check back tomorrow for graduation pictures and I'm hoping my website will be up and running by tomorrow too!

Graduation

My sister's graduation was a lot of fun. Friday when we got to the hotel, we my met up with both sets of my grandparents and my sister came over from campus. She opened her graduation presents and we had cake that my mom made. The cake was beautiful. It was decorated to look like a book that said congratulations. After my sister's "party," she and I went back to the house that she was staying at, packed some things up and hung out.

Saturday morning we went to the ceremony for her major and that was short and sweet. There was a reception and photo time after. Then there was the big graduation in the stadium that lasted for 2.5 hours. There were speeches, awards, and they called everyone's name. I was so proud when they called her name and she walked across the stage wearing her honors cords!

When it was all over, we took a bunch of photos and then went to lunch. After lunch we played some games at the hotel and then she went to celebrate with her friends. My grandmas, my mom and I went shopping for a little while and then went back to the hotel.

It was cool to be with my mom on Mother's Day this year! I saw both of my grandmas this morning and then spent the day with my parents. We were out shopping and the tornado sirens started going off. When we made it from the store to the car, we turned on AM radio which said it was a warning because there was a rapidly approaching storm with "swirling" clouds. It fortunately passed by us with nothing more than high winds and heavy rainfall. This evening my mom and I watched old tapes from when my sister and I were little and in the morning I fly back to California.

It was a whirl wind weekend and I know when I get home tomorrow, after I unpack, I am going to have to rest up for work on Tuesday. When I have photos uploaded, I will post them!

Don't forget to watch my friend Justin tomorrow night on "How I Met Your Mother". He has one line where he notices the character 'Lily' walk by in a hot dress.

I Made It!

Today my entire day was spent traveling. I got up this morning and my first flight took off at 8AM. That flight took me to a connecting flight, and made it to my parents around 8PM. When I fly back to the east coast, losing 3 hours is my least favorite part.

The rides were pretty easy. I slept for most of the first flight, talked to my seat buddies a little bit and read some. On the second flight I learned a new game. The two guys sitting next to me taught me how to play a really fun math oriented card game. Each player has little pegs and moves around the board as they earn points based on the cards they are dealt. It has a lot to do with the luck of the cards, but there is definitely strategy with the order that the cards are played.

Once I landed, my parents and grandparents met me at the airport. We visited for a little bit and then I came home to my parent's house. We watched some really funny old videos from when my sister and I were little, my dad and I watched 'Lost' and by that time, it was bedtime!

Tomorrow I will be spending my sister's last day on campus with her and then she graduates on Saturday! I my not have Internet access until Sunday, so I will post about the trip then!

Graduation

I'm going to my sister's graduation! I am really looking forward to the break for a few days and it will be nice to see my family. My extended family (grandparents on both sides) will be there too:) So far this week I have been crazy busy juggling working and getting ready. Few more days...!

Aquarium

I spent the day today at the Long Beach aquarium and it was AMAZING! I touched sea stars, sea cucumbers, sharks and sting rays in various touch tanks, watched two videos about the Abyss and looked at all of the exhibits. My favorite ocean creatures are sea turtles, the octopus, and sea horses. My favorite animals are dolphins, but for some reason the Aquarium of the Pacific only has a bird exhibit, sea otters and sharks but no dolphins.

I watched the divers feed the fish in the main tank and also in the tropical fish rooms. I learned so much about marine life. Marine life has always really interested me and I ALWAYS go to the aquarium when given the opportunity. This aquarium has a program where you can dial a number and a code on your cell phone and it gives you an audio tour with loads of information.

The coolest thing there was an exhibits about baby sharks. Some sharks lay eggs and you can actually cut the otter layer of the egg off and see inside without hurting the baby shark! Shark eggs are rectangular and they are about three inches long. The baby sharks inside start off transparent and eventually get their color. They just swim around in the egg developing. They are about an inch and a half long. I had never seen anything like it and it was really cool.

Voice Over Audition

I had my first LA voice over audition yesterday and it was so much fun!  It was a partner read for National City.  I read with a guy who was amazing!  We went to a recording studio and laid down two takes of three different 30 second spots.

In the spot we would play a husband and wife and the husband keeps getting into shenanigans and the wife is trying to be patient.  I'm hoping to book my first LA voice over just like I booked my first LA commercial! 

How I Met Your Mother!

My friend, Justin, booked a one line co-star role on May 12th's episode of "How I Met Your Mother!"  He auditioned for it on Tuesday, got the news that he booked it yesterday, and he is shooting today.  He has one line and we are all so proud of him!  It is funny because at work yesterday everyone was giving him messages for the cast; oh tell Allyson this or tell Neil Patrick Harris that.  It is the next episode of the show that Britney Spears will be on, so everyone is interested to hear if he meets her!  

Unions

One of my friends is running for a seat on the local board of the actor's union, so he had to give a speech at the general membership meeting last night.  He asked me to come for moral support, and the meeting was really interesting.  With all of the negotiations that are going on right now between the different unions and with the expiration of contracts, it was interesting to hear everyone's platforms.  I also found it interesting to see what seems to be important to the candidates and what the candidates think is important to the general members.

Keep your fingers crossed that there is not another strike that is detrimental to the entertainment industry! 

New York City!

Last night I got a phone call from my friend, Orlando.  He and I were really close when I was living in New York City as we went to the same acting conservatory and he lived a few blocks from me.  He called and said that he was in Burbank visiting, deciding if he is going to move to Los Angeles.  

We met up and I took him several places to show him around a little bit.  We rode the trolley that bisects 'The Grove', one of the cool outdoor LA malls.  We also went to the TinHorn bar, met up with my friend, Joe, and played pool.  After pool, we went to a place called 'Michael's' for Karaoke.  It was a whirlwind evening, as all of these activities took place after a 9 hour day at work!  

It was really fun to see him after almost two years.  We looked back over the "good old days" remembered the trouble we used to get into when we were 18. :)  Also, we called another friend who lives in New York that we both used to hang out with and we took a little trip down memory lane on speaker phone.  

It was a really great night!  Now I'm hoping for a week filled with auditions and hopefully a print booking for Similac! 

Child Actor Evening

Yesterday I went to a bridal shower in the afternoon and then a dinner party in the evening. 

The Bridal shower was for one of the girls that I worked with and it was really fun to hang out with everyone from work outside of the office again! 

The dinner part was child actor central!  

Jeannie Russell from the TV show Dennis the Menace and the movie The Birds was there. Also, Ariana Richards from Jurassic Park came and the guy who hosted, my friend Chris Allport, was one of the main voices on an animated show in the 90s with Tim Curry!  I myself was on a Saturday morning CBS show called KidsNews Network when I was 9, so we sat and told insider stories about filming.  In addition to the actors, Chris's roommate, Erica and their friend Greg came as did Chris's parents, grandparents and sister.

After dinner, Chris played the piano and everyone sang.  Then we hung out in his recording studio, which is in the "guest house" in the back yard of his main house, and watched videos from when he and Ariana used to sing duets in acting class!  It was such a fun evening and everyone really got along.  Dinner started at 6 and everyone was there until after midnight!  

Beach Day

Friday I had an audition for a print job for Similac. It was a really fun audition because they just took some of pictures of me. I had to smile, not smile, stand to the side, and give a certain look. I should find out soon if I got it because the photo shoot is on Thursday. Keep your fingers crossed for me because I would love to do more print work!

Yesterday I spent the day down in Hermosa Beach with a bunch of people. We played Frisbee, volleyball and sunbathed. It was about 85 degrees and the water was 60. I dipped my feet in, but didn't go swimming. In the evening we went to Island Burger for dinner and then came back to my apartment and played cards.

Awesome!

It has been a great week so far.  I had an audition for a 50s diner roller skating girl in a commercial and I have my fingers crossed that I will have an audition tomorrow for a Broadway play!  

I'm super busy these days but I have a lot of irons in the fire.  I'm ready for them all to pan out!:)

Weekend

Friday night I went to a double birthday party at a place called "LIFE".  It was so much fun! Everyone from work and a bunch of my friends went.  We danced the night away, there was a little outdoor patio with heaters and there was a lot of socialization.  It was cool to see everyone from work in a non-work setting! 

Saturday I took it easy and I got a lot of work done.  I am working on getting an agent for my children's book series so that I can start having those published.  

Sunday I went to Santa Monica Pier and the beach with a bunch of friends.  It was totally an impromptu trip and it was so much fun.  At the beach they have a set up of all sorts of gymnastic equipment, rings, ropes, parallel bars, balance beams etc.  We played and swung on the swings.  We tossed around a football and Frisbee and had a great day. 

Mask

Last night I went to the Pasadena Playhouse and saw a great musical called "MASK".  The cast was amazing and it was such a touching story.  It had a little something for everyone and the four people from work who saw it, loved it.  

The guy who built the sets is a friend of mine who I did theater with in New York City and one of the actors in the show is represented by the same agency that I am.  

We are all hoping the show finds its way to Broadway because it would probably do really well.  

Blast From the Past

Last night I hung out with a friend of mine from junior high school who is now living in Los Angeles!  I had not seen or talked to him since I moved from Chicago years ago and it was really fun to reminisce.  

We went to a place in Hollywood called the Bourgeois Pig.  It is a coffee/tea place that is very eclectic and reminded of coffee shops in SoHo, New York.  There was one room that was decorated like a forest.  All around the couches and chairs there were trees and tea lights and stars made of white twinkling lights.  

It was a lot of fun to reunite with an old friend and also to hit another Hollywood hotspot!

Wig Party

Last night I went to a party at a place called Red Rock. It was a "wigging out" birthday party, and the rule was, everyone had to wear a wig. My friend Tammie, who invited me to the party didn't even recognize me at first! I went up to her and she introduced herself to me! I was like "are you serious?" and she goes "Oh my goodness! I didn't even recognize you!"

It was really fun dressing up on an evening other than Halloween! The first picture is Tammie, Jared, Me and Daniel and the second one is of me and my awesome wig!

Today it was 94 degrees here and I really wanted to go with some friends to the beach but instead I worked on redoing my website. I am hoping it will be up and running no later than the first week of May.