Friday, January 26, 2007

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr...

Okay, just a couple of weeks ago we had unseasonably warm weather for January: one day temps were even in the 70s. It was hard to enjoy because everyone just looked and felt confused and uncomfortable all day -- isn't it January???

Now, however, things have normalized. And by normalized I mean it is now the coldest day in NY in 10 years. I woke up this morning and the local news channel showed 9 degrees as the temperature.

Fahrenheit.

Anything warmer than this will feel balmy in comparison, and I'm very much looking forward to it.

Stay warm!

Monday, January 22, 2007

Star Trek

I've had two auditions since coming home three months ago. The first was right after Thanksgiving. It was for the understudy in an off-Broadway, one-woman show; the writing was smart, funny, challenging, juicy. It also happened to be the kind of character I can really relate well to.

I went to the audition and had a great time: didn't have any regrets about what I "should" have done in that audition room; just had a lot of fun with it. I didn't get the part, but one of the casting directors told me later that I did a really great job. All in all it was a damn positive experience.

My second audition was tonight; about 30 minutes ago, in fact.
I had missed the first audition because of my mom's health scare, and the people were gracious enough to reschedule it during call-backs.

The project was a set of shows showcasing the writing of a group of graduate playwrights.
During the audition, the actors were given sides (pages/scenes from the script that they want you to read from) and we were paired up to do the scenes together in the audition room.

The sides I was given were written by one of the playwrights whom I actually know. I really like her work, so was glad to be working with her familiar style (remember that word "style". We'll come back to it later).

The other actress and I had a scene which, I'm assuming, takes place in a restaurant or at a party, where Woman #1 sees a guy she used to date, flips out, and Woman #2 tries to placate her.

We did the scene one time, then were asked to flip the roles around so that we each got to read each part once (since we were both women playing Women, and the people there didn't give us any direction about which Woman we were each supposed to play).

Afterwards, the moderator (playwright? director? producer?) who was one of 5 poker-faced auditionees watching us, told us he was going to "ask us to try the scenes in a couple of different styles. They may not seem to fit with the dialogue, but we just want to see what your range is."
At first I thought we were supposed to come up with our own styles, completely off-the-cuff.
I breathed a bit easier when he consulted his binder for his notes.

I started wondering if one style would be something like film noir, or better yet, spaghetti western! Something I could sink my teeth into!

The first was a professor-student relationship in the professor's office. Awkward, yes, considering the dialogue didn't give much room for a scholarly interpretation. But we gave it a whirl and hoped for the best.
When we were done, we were told that the next style would be...

Star Trek.


I waited for the punchline, only to see that they were completely serious. In a very un-funny way.

I was forced to do the scene, which gave absolutely no room for any type of outer-galactic fun, as a very lame William Shatner. Complete with futuristic wooshing doors.

Is this acting, you ask?

Not on this planet. And I left feeling like an asshole whose time was completely wasted. Not only that, but the ridiculous part of me felt bad for LETTING THEM DOWN by not doing a better Start Trek.

Welcome to the life of an actor.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Story of New Zealand

Oooh!!! And if anyone's heard me go on and on about Feijoa vodka, this is the company that is responsible: 42 Below Vodka.
Not only is their vodka AMAZING (and hard to come by, even in NYC)...but they have some sweet commercials.

Those with a working knowledge of kiwi culture will probably appreciate it most:






p.s. drink Feijoa vodka and apple juice. You won't regret it.

NZ-sick

I'm feeling a bit nostalgic for NZ and Wellington (I've been home for 3 months already!!!) so I'm going to post some vids that remind me so much of the NZ vibe:

Salmonella Dub, Love Your Ways

One of my first obsessions with kiwi music. I was introduced to their sound when I visited NZ the first time by my Kiwi Experience bus driver Q. It was the perfect soundtrack to driving around the beautiful and remote East Cape.






Fat Freddy's Drop, Wandering Eye
Got into them when I moved to Wellington. They apparently put on an amazing show.





Will post more when the inspiration hits me. Don't forget to check out the togs ad below!

Togs togs togs

Heeee! One of my favorite ads from NZ...


Update: Mom

She's out of the hospital and feeling a lot better. They still don't know what's wrong with her small intestine, but at least she's not anemic nor in pain. Thanks for all your kind words!!!

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Mom

My mom is back in the hospital for the same reason that brought her there in September. They don't know what is causing it, but hopefully will figure it out at some point soon. Please send your good vibes.
C.