It wasn't just me

Oh man, I had two commercial auditions today. They were spread out nicely so that I could go from work, do one, go back to work for a bit, then go to the other, then go back to work to finish off my work day. Little did I realize that the first would take much (much!) longer than anyone had anticipated. It was for a cereal company, and casting was trying to match the little kids/babies as close to the actor moms as possible. With quite a number of asian moms, and what seemed to be a shortage of asian children, I waited about 45 minutes to finally get a girl who was "close" to me in looks. She wasn't asian, but we did look like we fit. Once we were paired, we still had about a 1/2 hour wait until we were up. "Great!" I thought... this will give us some time to get to know each other. But this girl was just not up to being social. By the end of our half hour wait I did manage to get some good high-fives out of her, and a couple of good smiles and giggles, but that was about it.

We went into the audition room and did our slates. Then the casting director asked the little girl what cereal she wanted to eat and got a blank stare back as a response. She asked her again and got... nothing. So I knelt down and tried to bring some fun to it by saying she got to pick whichever one she wanted! Still nothing. Then the casting director asked her point blank, "Do you want to do this? Do you want to be here?" The answer was a pretty clear, "No." So the casting director simply said, "OK, that's fine. You're done!" and whisked her out of the room. Now I have to say, I felt somewhat dejected, yet relieved at the same time. It wasn't just me that was getting no response from the little girl. Whew!

As fast as the girl was whisked out, a replacement little boy was whisked in. A cute, dirty-blond little boy, probably about 4 years old. The change in the room was remarkable. We had energy, we did our scene, then the casting director noted how great we were together. OK, not the blond-boy-with-the-asian-mom thing, but she commented on how nicely we worked together and how nice the scene was. Ahh, redemption. Plus, this casting director is known for her tendency to be realllly nit-picky with her actors.

So I was finally finished my first audition. I could have easily stayed in the area, as my second audition was quickly approaching and was just down the street. However, my change of clothes was back at the office, since I had planned on going back to get some work done, then changing there. So I rushed back to the office, ate a quarter of my sandwich that my husband had lovingly prepared for me, changed, then headed back out.

My second audition was at 2nd Avenue Studios, and for anyone who auditions there regularly, you know how crazy it is to find parking. I circled around some, then finally found a parking spot, changed my shoes, and headed in. I wasn't late (I got in just in time for my call time), but I normally like to arrive about 10 mins early to get settled, see what's going on, etc. Anyway, the mood was totally different from my earlier audition - only a few of us, very calm, serene...

Anyway, I did my fun little scene and was out of there in no time. Headed back to work, ate the rest of my sandwich, and completed my last hour and a half for the day. What a fun way to start the long weekend! And I'm so glad it wasn't just me who got no reaction from that little girl.

MAMM '08!

This marks year 3 for my involvement with the Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon (MAMM)! This year was another fun-filled scramble, although we did get a longer period to make our movies (17 days!). We had a big undertaking, though... I'm part of team Always Further, led by Patrick Collins, and for our movie this year our creative team decided to make the movie, "Peaches", which is based on a little dog! It wasn't enough to make a movie on a tight time constraint... nope... we had to centre ours on an adventure of a dog

Our creative team was incredible, as was the cast and crew. Not to mention how cute the star of our movie is! Kudos to the adorable little Teddy, who plays Peaches. :) Filming was fun - I only had a day and a half, plus a little time in the sound studio, so this round was much more relaxed for me. I can't decide what was more fun - using the amazing sound studio for voiceover work, or filming my small scene where I got to smack the heck out of a boy. Hee hee!

I can't wait to see the finished product. Patrick handed it in yesterday! Yay! I also can't wait to see what the other 14 teams came up with. We'll get to see them all at the Screening/Awards Gala at Tinseltown on Sept 6th. I always enjoy this contest! This year we had a slightly different team, but it was great to work with old friends and meet and work with new folks. Oh, and that includes the dog. Thanks to Rick for showing me how to hold him. ;) Hold the dog! Not Rick.

Had a great audition

I just got back from a great audition. It’s my first one since I’ve been back at it with lines. And a lot of lines at that! The audition was for a union instructional/industrial video, and there were 4 scenes we had to prepare. I was nervous, but went in confidence. The cool thing was that the director and reader both really liked my choices and presentation. They were very positive after each reading. For one of the scenes, the director did give some instruction and then we redid it, with his approving comments afterwards. But the best was the last scene! After we had done it, both the reader and the director really liked it and they seemed surprised that they liked it so much. Then the director said, “I have no notes for you. And this is the scene that I always have notes for the actors on. Great job - you did it exactly how I thought of it, with the same beats and everything.”

I’m super happy with how I did, and with the immediate positive feedback that was given. I hope to get a callback (and ultimately book the job), but I take comfort in knowing that if I don’t get there, it’s not because of my acting.

And boy did it feel good to audition real scenes.

I'm back!

OK, it has been a long time since I've uploaded my blog. First thing, I did make the final cut for the Curves commercial and it's been airing since the end of 2007. Yay! I'm really happy with how the commercial turned out, too.

Second, I've had to take a break from acting/performing due to a car accident at the end of November. My car was totaled, and I sustained whiplash. The worst part was that my husband was away on business at the time, so I was totally alone at the time. Well, I shouldn't say alone - my friends and family stepped up and were wonderfully supportive. I went to physio and was worked on by a great therapist. I still tend to get a sore neck and back (especially at my day job when I do desk work, and sometimes when I'm singing), but I now have my range of movement back so I can do normal day-to-day activities. When I had my last physio appointment, I asked if I could work out again (who thought I would actually miss it, but I do!), and my therapist warned me that I shouldn't really work out yet, but if I was really intent on doing so that I should work out with a professional to make sure I wouldn't put any unnecessary strain on my neck. I was working out about 5 days/week, so who has the bucks to hire someone for each work out? Needless to say, I have gone with her advice on waiting.

Singing has gotten easier as time has passed, so I'm really happy about that! At first, and for awhile (and even still sometimes now), it was really hard to even hold my head up properly for singing, and my neck and back would kill! But this is something that is continuing to improve so I'm just giving it time.

And now, after a disheartening 6 months, I feel good enough to go back to acting! Yay! I have to still be careful, so I won't be doing any stage work but I will go back to auditioning for the screen, so long as the roles don't require major physical movements. No glorious hair-swinging, head-tossing commercials for me at this time. But I can't wait to get back at it!

The good that came from this - I was forced to get a new car (which I love!). And I was pretty lucky to not have any more serious injuries. And now, I'm going to start back at my acting!

That's about it from here - I'm very excited to start back on my journey of acting/performing. I've missed it!

Not going to seen in the Curves commercial.

Drat! After 2 days of shooting for the Curves commercial, it looks like I didn't make it to the final edit. :( My agent received 3 different variations of the commercial, and I'm not in any of them. I'm pretty bummed, but at the same time, this definitely makes me feel like I'm a regular actor as these things happen all the time. I suppose one of the big reasons I'm bummed is because of the money (not in the final edit = no buyout $). I know it's not about the money - that we act because we love to act - but when you book something and see a dollar figure on the contract, well, that gets pretty exciting. Plus, it sure would come in handy at this time of year for Christmas shopping.

Not to worry, I'm OK. I still got paid for my 2 days of shooting, where one of those days I was working out, so that's a plus. And I got to meet the founder of Curves. And we got some cool surprise loot from her. So now, I'm just looking forward to my next booking and making the final cut (whenever that may be). ;)

Excited about this commercial

I booked a commercial last week! It was unexpected, and I was super nervous, but as filming approaches, I'm getting more and more excited. It started 2 weeks ago with a call from my agent that I had an audition for a "women's fitness club". I got the information and the casting director was one that I hadn't seen in years. That in itself was pretty cool, because he used to call me in quite often in the past. The audition required me to use sign language. I do know basic sign language (and I even booked a job in the past based on it), but by no means am I fluent, and there were no sides provided before the audition, so I was feeling quite nervous about going in without being able to prepare anything (to research word signs I didn't know, etc). But I went in, sucked it up, and signed away.

A week after that I got a call from my agent that I got a callback. Yay! Again, there was nothing to prep, so I just had to go down to the studio and see what was in store. Once in the audition room, Blair (the CD) said to just do what I had done at the original callback, which was to "teach some sort of fitness using sign language". I started out and very quickly the producer (I assume he was the producer) said to Blair, "What is she doing?" to which Blair replied, "She's teaching a fitness class." It was all very humourous (thank goodness) and lighthearted so I didn't feel like I was being attacked or anything. Then the producer guy asked if I could just tell a story or something, and to pretend I was speaking/signing to children. So off I went with that, and they seemed to like it. After I was done and leaving, we spoke a little more and shared a little laugh. Even Blair got in on it and we were cracking up as he walked with me out the door.

Then about 10 minutes after that Blair called to say that production wanted to know if I could tell a story using sign language. I didn't get the message until about 45 mins after that, because I was off to a different audition right away. I called back and spoke with his assistant and told her I know pretty basic signs, but that if I was given something to work on, then I could look up any word signs I didn't know.

A day after the callback I was on the shortlist, and the day after that, I got the good news! They still didn't provide any sides, so I decided to learn a story over the weekend (I got cast on a Friday), just in case. Today was wardrobe, and while I was showing off various outfits to the production people, they asked if I could sign them a story. Thank goodness I did some research and learning over the weekend, so I confidently said, "Why, yes I can!" One of them asked, "Can you tell us the story of the 3 bears?" Which was perfect, because that was the story I had chosen to learn! I went through a little of it, and they all loved it and commented on how it was perfect for the role, as I will be playing the role of a schoolteacher, signing a story to children. Man, I am SO glad I took the initiative.

So now I'm not worried about what they'll want me to do, and am now just super excited about filming, which will be on Thursday and Friday. Oh, the commercial is for Curves (a women's fitness club) and will start airing Dec 31st, 2007. :)

Yesterday Turned Crazy

Yesterday started out as a normal day, but turned into a very busy one indeed! It started just before 8:30am - I was just on my way into work and I got a call from my agency. That in itself is weird - so early! Anyway, it was news of an audition. A big one. For one of the leads in a feature film. And if that weren't enough, it will be filming in Prague at the end of this month. How very cool! Unfortunately my passport has expired (just a couple months ago!), so should I get this gig, I will have to do a speedy request to get a new passport (as Canadian passports aren't renewable at this point).

I get to work, start checking the Gov't of Canada website about passport stuff, and it looks like starting Aug 15th, they will be doing renewals of passports. So that's cool - not so much paperwork to submit (but still a big wait time). I check my email and get the info for the audition, only the sides aren't there. Is something wrong with my email? I contact my agency and they resend the email right away and it works this time. 4 pages of script. I figure I can do some work in the 45 minutes I have after work before I go out to my singing rehearsal, then come back to it when I get home at afterwards.

Then my boss calls and says my husband (we work together) needs to go on a trip. We both roll our eyes, and I schedule his flights, making sure he's back in time for our plans for the next evening (it's a big event that's been planned for awhile). The bad news is that it meant he would have to leave yesterday afternoon, and won't be back until tonight. But if there are no flight delays, he will be able to make it to the big event!

Then at about 2:15pm, my agent calls with a new audition - for 4:00pm same day! I don't have my materials with me, but she says she'll fax them over to the casting director. This now means I have to leave work early. (Luckily I have that flexibility in my job.) I feel like a loser in the audition waiting room as I don't have my headshot and resume, but heave a little sigh of relief when I see the casting director with my faxed materials - especially when no big deal is made and she thanks me for coming in on such short notice. The session starts late, and I don't leave until 4:40pm. I have to head home to pick up my music for my rehearsal, then head back out to Vancouver. Rush hour makes the drive home quite a bit longer than normal and I don't get home until about 5:30pm. A quick change, a quick vocal warm-up, a quick grab of my music and audition sides, and I'm back out the door. No time to peruse my sides.

Luckily I always leave a little bit early to get places, so I arrive about 10 minutes early for my rehearsal. I stay in the car for those 10 minutes and figure out some things for my next day's audition. Then I head inside for 2 hours of singing. We finish and I head back home - arriving sometime around 10pm. I gather some laundry together so I have something appropriate to wear for to my audition, get a late dinner together, and finally sit down to really go over my sides. Can't stay up too late, though, because I start work at 8:30am again the next morning (as always!), and have to look camera ready.

And that is how what started as a regular day turned a little crazy. Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it. But I must wake myself up - I am at work now, and my audition is at the end of the day. Crossing my fingers that all goes well. :)