New Headshots
Shooting new headshots on February 15th with Lev Gorn. Very excited!
MFA Audition – Acapella Song
“Liz, wanna go to karaoke?” “Sure. Why don’t we throw in a dental checkup and eat mayo straight out the jar? Sounds like a great time.” I love singing. I hate singing in front of other people. It scares me. And it looks like I’m going to have to. A few of the programs I’m auditioning for (too tired to list which) require 16 bars of a song, unaccompanied. Any ideas?
More Actor Gold
Reading the blogs of Andrea Bordeaux and Brittany Pooler. Found them on (where else) Brandi Ford’s blog. I love these ladies. Like Brandi, they’re motivated, sweet, and insightful. Even better, they’re NYC-based actresses, and their experiences are a lot closer to mine. Meter running out? CAZT? Where to park on the Universal lot? I’ll have to worry about these things… one day. Until then…
Be Prepared
Brought my laptop to an open call for The Drilling Company’s production of “Dog Park” at Ripley Grier Studios. Good thing I did; they ended up posting the sides. Where other people were trying to take pictures with their phones/iPads, and others were out of luck, I typed up the sides, and am going over them with another actor as we speak. With me luck a broken leg!
Healthcare in the “Forever Recession”
If you haven’t done so already, I would suggest checking out Seth Godin’s article “The Forever Recession.” He presents an observation about unemployment in the US economy–not in the normal, cyclical sense, but in the context of a permanent structural shift away from top-down, factory-based employment.
If I was Seth Godin, and cared less about telling a story to accompany my point of view, the article would read like this:
If it can be systemized, it will be. If the pressured middleman can find a cheaper source, she will. If the unaffiliated consumer can save a nickel by clicking over here or over there, then that’s what’s going to happen. …When everyone has a laptop and connection to the world, then everyone owns a factory…. …we have the ability to come together virtually, to earn attention, to connect labor and resources, to deliver value….The future is about gigs and assets and art and an ever-shifting series of partnerships and projects.
For the full text of the article, see here (http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/09/the-forever-recession.html). I agree with this, but not as revolutionary truth; I believe it to be the statement equivalent to “water is also known as hydrogen dioxide.” Which, to some people, apparently is news.
“But Elizabeth,” you may be wondering, “if this is obvious fact which you believe it to be, why didn’t you write this article yourself?” Two reasons.
1.) The truth of your statements is the size of your following. As my following is small, my truths are, at best, irrelevant.
2.) I’m an actress. While it may be interesting to do so, making prophetic statements concerning marketing and the economy won’t pay my bills. It won’t get me an agent. It won’t land me film roles or SAG commercials. It isn’t my brand. And as Matt Kepnes of NomadicMatt.com writes, your brand is everything.
I relate to people through the characters I play. I find a common ground through experience. I entertain. I write. I ask questions.
Here’s the point in the article where I propose a question I don’t have any hope of answering*: what does “the forever revolution” mean for healthcare? What will our system of “employer-based” healthcare look like when we live in a world of “gigs and assets and art?” What will pay our medical bills? The government won’t. Neither will happiness, nor smiles. What can we do about it?
*Short of move to France, eat baguettes, and laugh at my friends in the US while enjoying the [supposed] superiority of national healthcare. Is it actually superior? I don’t know. But it doesn’t sound so bad.
Body Language – Julius Fast
On my way to an audition the other day, I had some spare time. So, naturally, I found myself at The Strand. For the uninitiated, The Strand a bookstore in New York City. Or, more accurately, THE bookstore in New York City. While it advertises “14 miles of books” and offers old, hard-to-find books along with Times bestsellers, the best part of The Strand is before you even walk in the door. I speak of the $1 book racks.
I know what you’re all thinking; “one dollar books? What trash. I can download shitty book PDFs at home, for free thankyouverymuch.” While, yes, there are an obscene amount of shitty fiction, hiding in the garbage are some absolutely great reads.
Searching for books at The Strand is not unlike panning for gold. It was amidst stacks of uncorrected publishers proofs, old cookbooks, and copies Auction House Quarterly – 1974 that I hit the jackpot: Body Language, by Julius Fast. An great read for an actress, or for anyone.
———————
Draft, written mid-September 2011
The point of the post? “Body Language” is a great book, and body language itself–the dynamics of a group, the politics of a look, territorial and humans, to speak without saying a word–is incredibly fascinating.
Alone In A Million
It’s strange to have spent a few months away from the city. You come back expecting life to pick up where you left of, expecting that it’s still sometime in late June (newsflash, it’s not). But I’m please with how I’ve spent my time. In addition to filming “Over Easy,” performing in “Something Outrageous,” and filming “April Grace,” I was able to spend a week in Hilton Head, South Carolina with Steve and his family. A week away from work and responsibility–a week of seafood, beach, and boyfriend–was exactly what I needed.
I’ve also spent a lot of time writing. While I’ve worked on my short film, and I’ve worked on “Knowledge of the Infinite Dark,” most of what I’ve written has been poetry. Did I set out to write poems? Not exactly. They’re a byproduct of vacation, time outside the city, and time to myself; they just happened. I guess some experiences are best expressed in verse…
After motivating 4 weeks on set with the go-getting cast and crew of Zandrak Productions’ “April Grace,” I’ve collected them in a book, entitled “Alone In A Million.” In a few short days, I’ll begin raising money to get it published. If Mark Twain is any authority on literary advice, then “all we need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure.” Wish me luck!
Samurai Sword Fighting Class
My gym offers Samurai Sword Fighting! I took my first class today; definitely worth waking up for on Tuesday mornings. Kyaaaaaaaa!
Booked – April Grace
Over Easy = Wrapped.
Me = Back in New York.
Role of “April” in “April Grace = Booked.
Over the past month I’ve been writing, spending time with friends, shooting a short with my ridiculously talented DP friend Josh Batista, and getting excited for my upcoming vacation: 1 week in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
Above: “Tillman” family photo. I play April (center), the 17-year-old, misunderstood middle child of the Tillman family. I can’t stand my family’s constant bullshit and feel most comfortable communicating through technology.
Above: A teaser from “Over Easy.”
Filming Over Easy
I head upstate tomorrow to shoot “Over Easy.” Aside from a day or two back home in Queens or at my parents’ house, I’ll be out of the city until June 1st. Here’s a few photos from set:
- More like late March than early February. Gym & class.
- Getting rid of an old Windows computer? I'll take it off your hands. Trying to learn more about them. #recycle #old #windows #computer
- RT @joshbatistaDP: Seriously. If you still use a fax machine. Fuck you
- @AndyWEllis Don't ask me, as A.) I'm partial to Samoas, and B.) Girl Scout cookies sold in MA are gross. Made by different baker.
- Someone bought my book... http://t.co/0bnYh5zI Thanks Mom (@maggiemcintire)!