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Published: October 27th 2009
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Photo 1
I brushed my hair for class! It'll be quite the journey we are taking. . .
Wow. So. . . I'm in Los Angeles. I am settled (mostly) into my delightful room at my spectacular and generous friends'- Queenie and Ace- home. I am sharing the space with Lola the cat, and occasionally Wolfy the dog. Both are good roomies. Lola is prone to leaping upon my arm whenever it offends her during the night, but we are beginning to come to an understanding that this is not, under any circumstance, acceptable. Also, next door, and out the window, is a man who sits at his computer all day and night in his boxers. Sort of like the ugly naked guy, but with a few more clothes. Let us hope it stays that way.
Queenie and I ate on Sunday night at a great Vegan place (the name escapes me, but I'm sure we'll return), and say 'New York, I love You.' Interesting, some great, some not. Fun to see a movie, though.
I am living in Brentwood, which is just west and a bit south of Beverly Hills. I'm fancy that way. Each day, around 8:50 AM, I walk to my car, and
Photo 2
Margie's students, who came to talk to us. drive down Wilshire to Santa Monica to La Cienega, park, and walk into
Margie Haber Studios .
While I was nervous about such a long trip, such a financial commitment, and such anticipation of the class, when I walked into the studio Monday afternoon for orientation, I felt at home. I realized that even though I didn't have a schedule, or any idea of what we'd really be tackling for four weeks, I was going to be a better actor when I left, and that I'd be getting to practice and learn and play and grow for a month. I feel very grateful to be here.
The first day= Orientation. We met Margie and Zak (our teacher for this week) and introduced ourselves. We got calendars, and resources for staying in LA. Then we met five of Margie's students (one from Stone Mountain, GA. . . weird.) and listened to them talk about where they are in their careers. After that was a guided Q and A (because no one could come up with any questions). They were very nice, honest, and positive. It was nice to hear that even in this tough economic climate, people who work hard are
Photo 3
About to drive home after a long day. working.
Day two was fab. We did a laughing circle and a crying circle (explanation upon request, but only in person) and then we told stories. It was great to see that when you really talk about someone you love and have a past with, it's clear and FASCINATING on camera. "The camera is an x-ray", and it sees everything, especially when you're lying. So when we worked on our next slice of life, we worked on being specific with our relationships to the other people in the conversation. Great slice of life from 'Without a Trace'.
Day three: faux callback. We were sent home with homework the previous night- to build upon the specificity of relationships we had created. Odd morning note: I had decided that 'Hannah' in the script was my best friend and that we would jump on the bed listening to "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". I heard is this morning on the radio and it brought tears to my eyes. Imagination is such a powerful tool. Why do we actors forget to use it so often?? After we watched our tape and talked about it, we did a 'frozen read'. Essentially, a cold
Photo 4
The terrible GPS that came with my car upgrade. We call it 'AlwaysLost'. read but with ZERO prep time-not even a glance at the script. BRILLIANT. I LOVED THIS. I just got to play and connect with the other person in the scene. Frozen reads teach us that the other person is your safety net, not the page, and to trust in the relationship between you for guidance about where to go next. It made me feel so excited about the next time someone says- ok, now can you read this? No problem!
Day four: an informative meeting with Judy Shekoni about visas/relocating to Los Angeles. She runs a company that helps people relocate and get visas or green cards
. She had interesting thoughts on when to make a move,what you need, etc. Then we met with Vince Cirricione, a manager (Halle Berry's, in fact). He had great insight into what makes a manager/client relationship work. Many of his clients have been with him for more than 20 years. I guess I'd not imagined that length of commitment to a manager, but if it works, then why change? We had loads of questions for him- how to get/have a meeting, what makes a good headshot, reels, resumes, etc. On all Photo 5
Beverly Hills. . . of our minds, of course was one question: "Represent us?" Well, who knows?
Day five: Back with Zak. More work on specifics, creating the work and then leaving it along when you're in the room. Practice will really make (close to) perfect!
Day six: Our last day this week, and our last day with Zak. He's been an exceptional guide through this first part of our journey. After another 'callback', we got a new 'slice of life' to work on, taped, watched, and then we brought back any of the scenes we had previously worked on for a final pass. It was a great way to check in with what our week had been, and what we needed to work on.
After class, Queenie and I took a great vinyasa yoga class, and ate ate Real Food Daily in Santa Monica. Love that place. Yummy gluten free pizza with soy and cashew cheese. Queenie got the El Bandito Rojo. Yummm. Then we got a vegan 'mounds bar', and had a mojito at Katie's (Q's sister) place of work. I managed to drink about 1/3. Pretty good for me.
SUNDAY: Wow. I was so sore from yoga!
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Oh, Wolfy! But it was a good sore. Nice to feel like I hadn't been sitting in a chair for a while. We had a nice day. Lazy. Slept in, watched some 'Heroes', then Queenie and I went to Leaf for some yummy Raw-chos and Raw Pad Thai.
Then we went to see 'Meeting of the Minds' at the Theatre . It was so interesting. The cast as follows:
* Gary Cole (Entourage) as Steve Allen
* Ron Perlman (Hellboy) as Martin Luther
* Ray Abruzzo (The Sopranos) as Voltaire
* Harold Gould (Golden Girls) as Plato
* Sharon Lawrence (NYPD Blue) as Florence Nightingale
It was a totally quirky, interesting round table.
Stay tuned for round two, some time next week!
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