I’ve been auditioning for theater lately, and that makes me pretty nervous. It’s not that I don’t think I can act on stage, it’s just that theater is a whole different culture than film and I’ve never been in the club. It’s a little scary. At my last theater audition the director said, “I can tell you’re a film actress.” I take that as a compliment. I have a theater audition tonight and I’ve been searching my head for excuses why I shouldn’t go to it, but it all comes down to me being scared. How stupid. I’m going.

The last film audition I went to went really well (I think), and it turned out that the guys I auditioned for know the camera operator on Half Empty*, Matt Bergman (who I adore). They also hired Darlene Sellers (also of Half Empty*) to be their exotic dancer character, so I’m really hoping that I get the job. It’d be really fun to work with them. The script seems interesting, and I think it might be a really cool film!

I got he mermaid job that I was talking about in the last post. I met with the director, Peter Lewis, and the costume designer, Jennifer Hurlbert, this past weekend, and it seems like it’s going to be a really fun job. Even if it doesn’t turn out just the way he wants it to, I think it’s going to be a super fun adventure. We’ll be hiking 3 miles to some secluded falls, I’ll be getting into basically a body sock with a mono-fin on my feet, and I’ll be tossed into glacier run-off to be a mermaid for a prepubescent boy. (It’s a Peter Pan themed short film.) What could go wrong?

*Half Empty is now officially titled: Fantastic Confabulations! As stated in previous entries, we’re filming pick up scenes for Fantastic Confabulations on the weekends in July. It’s great to be back with the crew, I love everyone on that crew.

The General and I will be going to Idaho tomorrow through Friday, because, sadly, Laura’s beloved grandmother passed away and we’ll be attending the funeral. The silver lining to a very dark cloud is that (ironically for my metaphor) it will be very hot and sunny in Idaho while we’re there.

On the 30th I get to meet my Little Sister! Yay!

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I just got a call from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound and they think they’ve found a little sister for me. She sounds really fantastic and I can’t wait to meet her next week!

I have a few good auditions lined up, and I may be cast as a mermaid on a short film this summer! Swimming in a mermaid tail may or may not be challenging, but I plan on working swimming into my workout regimen so I feel like a strong swimmer when it’s go time. Oh! I also have representation with Copeland Williams Talent! I hope they can send a few great jobs my way. I mean, come on, I’m fantastic!

We’re shooting a few more weekends of pick-up shots for Half Empty starting this weekend, so it’ll be nice to get the gang back together. I hope we can bang it all out and get it ready so that Andrew can submit to festivals this year. I really can’t wait to see this movie when it’s done.

Even though it was foggy almost every day, it was still really beautiful.

We just got back from my family reunion in Oregon. We all had a good time. It was nice to see everyone together, and be able to hang out with all the nieces and nephews. It kind of blows me away how big they’re all getting. Laura and I shared a yurt with Amy, Reed & Ruby, and we had a nice time together. Love that kid. Laura was a trooper for coming, and I’m so glad she did. “Family” isn’t my family without her anymore.

My little (not so little anymore… turning 18 soon!) cousin Melanie just got her GED, and I’m so proud of her! She’s going into culinary school this fall, and I know she’s going to do a great job.

Laura and I are going to London and France in September and that’s been a carrot dangling in front of us, but I still hope to eek out as much as I can from this little summer of ours. Butch and I have been running through Seward Park a lot. Our garden is going bananas! We’re going to have squash out the yin yang at any moment, and our peas are producing a lot of delicious pods. The tomatoes are blossoming, so I hope they start producing soon, and we’ve got some bok choy and broccoli coming up too.

YEAH!

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The thing about this movie is that they’ll be attempting to shoot the whole thing, from start to finish, in the space of one day. That’s actually what made me respond to the casting call, just because I partially don’t believe it can be done, but if it can I’d like to be there to witness it. The audition was half terrifying and half wonderful. We did these improv games that I was totally unprepared for, but then I got to be a marriage counselor for two other actors and I pretty much rocked the shit out of that. Tony Straka, the director, told me that my therapist is what got me the role.

I’m pretty excited to have such a big part. My Fridays and Saturdays for the rest of May will be full of rehearsals, and we’re shooting the film on June 5th. The last week in May will also be when Half Empty (working title) shoots its very last week. I can’t believe we’re wrapping so soon. I’m really going to miss Half Empty.

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First of all, I now have two movies listed on my IMDB page. I’m on my way, y’all! Related to that, the movie Half Empty is starting to ramp up and we’re going to be rehearsing in January and then filming will begin in February. I’ve been asked to pull double-duty and work as a PA on the project as well, I’ve decided to do it. So I’ll be on set for most of the shooting days, even when I’m not in the scenes. I’ll be documenting the behind the scenes kind of shiz for the movie blog and stuff.

I’m not sure why, all of a sudden, but I’ve decided to audition for a short film shooting in January. My audition is tomorrow. The people behind the film have worked on some pretty great things, so if I get it I think it could be pretty cool.

In February I’m going to go on a cruise with Kim Ruehl. It’s called Cayamo and it’s this cruise that leaves Miami, heads down to Belize, stops in Mexico and makes its way back to Miami, but the big deal about the cruise is the lineup. It’s all a bout music on Cayamo, and the number of amazing artists on the cruise is just nutz. Because of what Kim does, we’re getting this incredible discount and I just couldn’t pass up the experience. I got my tickets to Miami tonight.

My sister Amy will be having her first baby in March, and I volunteered to go down and help her out. I’ll be in San Diego for two weeks right after I get back from the cruise. Her husband will be busy with work, and they will have just refinished their home, so things are going to be crazy. I’m hoping I can be a big help there.

The General is just awesome. She’s just amazing at what she does and I’m in awe of her work ethic and drive. It’s pretty cool to watch her grind away at her special side-projects.

The holidays are in full swing! I’m loving it! I’m gathering all the stocking stuffers and wrapping all the presents, and making hot buttered rum. Yes! I’m also looking forward to the annual Caroling with Carollani event held some day before Christmas. The looks on the people’s faces is heartwarming and priceless.

Adam and his girlfriend are coming up for a visit, and I’m hoping to entice him into staying with us for a night or two while he’s here. I’m quite excited about that.

I’ve been skiing twice this year already at Crystal Mountain, and both times were superb conditions. The extra long drive is totally worth it. There’s never any wait for the lifts, and the runs are so long and fun. I am, however, looking forward to when The Summit is all open and running, because it sure is close. I can’t wait until I’m not completely sore the day after skiing.

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There have definitely been up-sides, though. With beach access I’ve been doing some fishing, and I actually caught a fish yesterday! A rainbow trout–it was pretty small, but it’s big enough to eat so I’m going to cook it up tonight for dinner. Also, the dogs are really sweet and I’m definitely taking full advantage of On Demand Showtime and HBO.  I’m all caught up on all the new shows.

I’ve really fallen off when it comes to acting. With Half Empty being postponed I’ve sort of been impotent about seeking out new acting opportunities.  I was really hoping to be able to get my feet wet in a feature so that I could use it to get myself an agent who will be able to get me in the door with more lucrative opportunities.  I need to get back into the habit of auditioning. I should really start memorizing monologues so I don’t end up cramming right before auditions. Ugh, it’s so hard to stay focused!

After six months of going to the gym I earned 5 free 25 minute personal training sessions.  I’m hoping to be able to kick-start my whole fitness routine (again) and zero in on my goals with some help.  I was doing really well for a long time, but these past couple weeks have really knocked me off my game.  Starting tomorrow things are changing. Yup.

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Tomorrow morning I have my first rehearsal for Half Empty.  I’m pretty excited to get working on this movie.  Yay!

THIS is hilarious.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMsLg4jqlJw[/youtube]

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On the gay front, I went to see Adrian Ryan do a reading from his fabulous book titled, “Adrian Ryan’s Way Too Gay Gay Seattle Survival Guide 2009.” I’ve enjoyed Adrian Ryan’s columns and posts in The Stranger and Slog, and we’ve been myspace/facebook friends for a while now, but tonight was the first time I’ve met him in person.  He’s absolutely lovely. After hearing him talk and read from his book I can understand his writing so much more fully now.  He just has a particular tone, and I just think he’s hilarious.  I had to buy his book, of course, and I’ll be devouring it asap.  I’m sure I’ll enjoy it because I love Seattle, I love gays, and I love gossip.  If you love those things you should buy his book immediately. Just between you and me, and with no disrespect to my old beloved gays, I want Adrian Ryan to be my new gay!

Oh, and I saw a coyote today in Seward Park!  Yeah!!!

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All in all it was probably the most entertaining extra shoot I’ve ever been a part of, because we were essentially watching Timothy Hutton and Beth Riesgraf perform a magic show.  However, 11 hours of amateur magic gets a little tiresome for anybody I think.  Timothy Hutton was a bit of a ham and kept goofing off for the audience (aka extras), which made it more fun for us I think.

Gina Bellman was trying to hide her obvious pregnancy.  Of course, nobody will care about that news unless they’re die hard fans of the BBC’s Coupling or, um… Leverage.  So, there’s your non-news of the day.

I was able to get my time thing signed right away when we wrapped and was one of the first people out of there.  The drive back was pretty nice and uneventful; I played a couple of episodes of Skins on my iPhone to keep my brain awake and I was home in no time.

Brandi Carlile

On Saturday we did some packing at The General’s house and then we got ourselves ready and went downtown for Brandi Carlile‘s “secret” show at the Triple Door.  We ordered Wild Ginger‘s amazing food–several apetizers, a salad, and an entree, and of course several amazing drinks (I’m partial to the lychee cooler).

Brandi was in rare form, and the show was fantastic.  I also really liked the slightly less country, slightly more hipster look she was sporting with her checkered Vans and skinny jeans.  I can never hear her play and not fall in love with her music every single time.  She’s an absolute musical gem.

On Sunday we tried to rally as soon as we could to continue packing and finish painting.  The General officially moved into The Estate today, and we wanted the spare room to be completely done by the time we filled it with all new stuff.

I had to break away from the painting for an hour or so to go audition for the play, Little Women.  Little Women has always had a sweet nostalgic spot in my heart.  I devoured the book when I was a teenager and I watched the film over and over and over.  It would be a treat for me to be in a production of a story I love so much.

I had a great monologue, but I wasn’t as prepared as I should have been for it.  Nonetheless, she stopped and directed me a couple times during the audition and then she stopped me and asked me to come back for a workshop/callback.  She’s interested in me for the character Jo, which happens to be the lead, so that’s pretty cool.  I’m pretty sure I was the only person who auditioned that was over the age of 20, so maybe she’s counting on my emotional maturity to come through in the performance.  Heh.  Anyway, I’m pretty excited.  The callback is tomorrow.

While I was in Portland I got a call from Andrew Finnigan, the director of Half Empty.  He was telling me about a new project he has in the works that’s being shot kind of parallel to Half Empty, and it’s called The Next Nine.  He offered me a part in it without having to audition or anything, I’m pretty excited about it!  I’ll be playing a bit of a home wrecker as the other woman, but it’s more about the man’s emotional journey during his wife’s pregnancy.  It sounds like a pretty cool project and I’m stoked.

It’s going to be a great summer!

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Thank you for your amazing auditions on Sunday, May 31st. We auditioned many great actors and actresses for the roles of MAN, WIFE, and FATHER…..great work everyone!

The good news for us is we don’t have to make any selections on who we are going to be using because we are going to be using everyone. That’s right, if you auditioned and signed the release form you will be in a film that has a chance to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival. The movie that we are making is a “Making of “Doritos in the Cannes” “…… We enjoyed working with you all and think we auditioned some very talented actors/actresses.   We apologize for the deception, but we found that the best way to give the short an authentic feel…was to not tell you guys until after the audition.

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. We will obviously be giving everyone several professional DVDs of the final film for your reels.   We think that the end result will be something everybody can be happy with.  We are going to emphasize that the 3 guys running the auditions were idiots and all of you were unbelievable in humoring their strange acting requests. It is going to be a mockumentary comedy…and all of you will be able to add a high-quality comedy short to your reels. We have no problem with you saying you were in on it the whole time.

We can’t wait to see you in future productions. We are going to be shooting a lot of shorts this summer…so we are going to be keeping everyone’s information.  Again congratulations and thank you so much! Please keep in touch.

Sincerely,
Stephan and Zak

Here’s my problem with this… WTF?!  Okay, so you wanted it to seem “authentic?”  That’s what actors do, you don’t have to trick them into stupid situations.  It’s disrespectful to actors to pull a stunt like this.  Other than that, I don’t really care.  If it wins the contest and my face is on a Cannes film screen then that’s awesome, but if these film makers don’t ever learn how to trust and value actors they won’t go far. 

Sidebar: they liked my rap and asked me where the lyrics were from.

“I wrote them.”

“Oh. We like it.”

“Cool.”

The crummy part is that I’d love to play a part in a real mockumentary, those are some of my favorite movies.  Maybe some day.

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On Sunday I went to an audition for a short meant for a Doritos competition.  That was rough. I was asked to play both the woman and then the man (I was better as the man, all things considered) in the scene with another actress.  Then we were asked to do a few improv exercises with accents and other things.  Then they let one actress go and brought in another one for me to audition with.  Then they had me rap for them.  It was probably the most uncomfortable and stressful audition I’ve ever been in.  I couldn’t have been more relieved when they finally excused me.

On Saturday night I went to GEMS, a sneaker shop in Pioneer Square, for the CC 2010 film premiere party.  I met a few really great people at the party and after it was closed down I went along with Michael Mouncer and a couple of  his buddies.  The plan was to pick up some VIP tickets to USC from some guy who had a connection.  Simple enough, right?  Wrong.

I found myself on some epic journey, the likes of “Superbad” minus all of the hilarity and crazy characters.  From Pioneer Square to Downtown to Ballard to Belltown, and when it became clear that we were not getting the tickets someone gave me $10 for a cab back to my car.  I was home around two or so.

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