An actor's life for me!

Well, I have some great news! I have done my first commercial. I didn't even have to audition. I sent my headshot and resume to what is now my agency. They got me a job with the "client" making an ad for a credit union. And off I went! It was so cool!

I had to use a lot of imagination and precision in the filming. Working with film is so different from live theater. It's easier and harder at the same time. We can do many takes, so it's not as intimidating as when we get one chance in a stage performance. But we take many many takes until the director gets exactly what he wants. (I say he because the director of this particular shoot was male; it could have just as easily been a female director.) They have to deal with technical stuff right then and there, rather than having a week to iron it out as with theater.

So I guess the question that arises is: Which do I like better? Well, it's been awfully fun to do the commercial. I look forward to getting more work. It's more like immediate gratification; the shoot took an hour as opposed to a rehearsal period of six weeks. Of course, there is nothing like creating a character and watching her grow. But it's also fun to go in and do it quick and dirty. I guess doing film is thrilling. We'll see how I feel as time goes on and I get more work.

I've always said that I do this for fun, but that it would be great to get paid. Well, I got paid for this, and it wasn't chump change! The whole thing happened so fast, from sending off my resume and headshot to getting the job to doing the commercial and signing with the agency. I now understand that "ten years to be an overnight success". I don't know if I'm an overnight success, but I have put in a lot of work and gotten a lot of rejections. I talked about my feelings about this just recently. But this time not only did I not get rejected, I didn't even have to audition!

I would love to do several commercials a year. I have a few friends who have done commercials and I'll admit I'm jealous. Well, now I have joined their ranks. Hooray!

Switching gears...the Novi guy didn't work out. That's okay though, because there is a new guy now, from Roseville. We have emailed back and forth and talked on the phone. We're meeting for lunch at Traveler's Club this Friday. I have until Monday (week from today) off and then I go back to Gateway.

I have a really good feeling about this guy. He's intelligent, articulate, has a Master's degree and a good job, is physically active, and doesn't say "lol" every other sentence (which annoys me). Never married, no kids. Good relationship with parents. Interested in learning new things--he told me he'd like to take an acting class. And he's cute, which isn't the most important thing, but it helps.

So there's two good things. I also am now a card-carrying member of the Dramatists Guild of America. I get a monthly magazine and a publication listing both theaters accepting new plays (worldwide) and agents (mostly in NY and LA). Also included was a playwrights' bill of rights that interested me. I need to get on it and send Checking Out to LCP--haven't done that yet. I'll try to remember for tomorrow.

Okay, with all this activity, I almost forgot to talk about Christmas! I went home and put up the tree Christmas Eve. We went to Voyage of the Dawn Treader which was fantastic. They slipped in a little Christian message at the end that I had either skipped over or misunderstood when I read the book. Aslan tells Lucy that in our world (Earth) he is "known by another name" and that she should learn to love that one as she does him. So the Christian God comes into this wonderful pagan tale. Made me think--is religion crammed down our throats at every turn? I'm really changing my position regarding Christianity. I don't know if I'd even call myself a Christian any more. I'll continue to trace my journey through all this. I haven't been praying and don't feel the need to. I see love on the faces and in the season around me, and that is enough.

We feasted, opened presents, and watched our Christmas movies Christmas Day. Mom and Dad liked the presents I got them. Mom gave me a really cool calendar, and Dad gave me some pens I've been wanting. I also got a new wallet, which I really needed. Dad gave Mom the pirouettes again, and she said they were the only cookies she would let him get her and that she wasn't sharing them with the guys in the store.

That night I was talking to Walt on the phone when Mom brought Darby into my room. Darby is Anita's new puppy, and he is just a doll. I squealed and told Walt I'd have to call him back. We played with Darby on the bed and then went downstairs to where Anita was waiting with Darby's big brother, Bailey. I think I've talked about Bailey. He is my favorite dog of all time. I told him he was good to share us with Darby and that I still liked him best.

Sunday Dad and I watched Up--my gift to them last year. Then we took a walk and then Mom came home from the store. She fried up some fish and we watched the Grinch, which we hadn't gotten to the night before. I went to bed early so I could make it to Battle Creek by 10 AM. I'm doing another project on camera that will take the form of an online game. That's not paid, but it's good experience. We worked on that for three hours and I got back around 2:45.

So now I'm sitting in my rapidly chilling house, getting ready to turn up the heat and suck on the candy cane Anita got me. I'm enjoying my time off but I'll be ready to go back. Joe's having his NYE party again, and I've got a new dress. The holiday season continues to be fun!

Peace

Did all I said I would do in the last entry. My new flyer looks great. I found the Dramatists' Guild online and applied to be a member. And I also found a video on how to make a drum. So all my incarnations are fulfilled and happy!

Haven't been praying the past few nights. There was a time in my life when I felt I couldn't sleep until I prayed, but that hasn't been the case lately. I find it kind of hypocritical for me to pray now, actually. I don't want it to be just out of habit. God knows what is on my heart.

Good news on the dating front: I tweaked my profile and immediately got two responses. I then did some looking on my own and found a guy I like. We are emailing back and forth. He lives in Novi, the only drawback. Adam says it's about an hour from here. That's a tough trip to make in the winter.

I'm ready for Christmas. The presents are bought, the Christmas cards have been sent out. I'm lucky in that I don't have much to do. One of the pluses of not being married with kids, I guess.

So that's what's up with me. Everything is chugging along nicely. Good to be in a good place.

Hanging up now...

Multiple personalities

WHERE ARE THE SALT TRUCKS???

We had a snowstorm Saturday night. It left us with quite a bit of snow and very icy roads. I thought the roads would be taken care of by today, but they're still awful. I have seen several snowplows but no salt anywhere. Even the highway was bad. I drove to Oak Park at about 30 mph the whole way.

I called ahead today to make sure Interval was going forward. The desk person said it was, so I drove all the way out there on crappy roads. When I got there, I found out that the class had been cancelled after all. So it was a total waste of my time. I went to Sushi Blue and ran into Ann and Adam. So the three of us ate lunch together. At least that was a bright spot.

Then I went to Parkwood and did weights. It was a good workout. Tomorrow I'm doing a Zumba class at Oak Park. It is the time for "Fitness Buffet". This means there are a whole lot of new classes being offered for the next two weeks. I'm doing some new things, which I will report on as I take the classes.

I'm also re-reading American Psycho. It continues to be a fascinating book. The narrative is so strong. Bateman jumps from talking about what people are wearing to his violent fantasies in one sentence. Ellis lets us in on his sickness before writing even one murder scene. For instance, there's a scene at the dry cleaners where he yells at the owners over the blood that won't come out of his sheets. Then he wonders how to firebomb the place.

Not sure why I love these novels about serial killers. Both the Hannibal series and American Psycho grab my attention in a profound way. I have no desire to follow the lives of real serial killers; Manson and Bundy and their ilk are real-life monsters, and that's scary. But the fictional monsters are cool! Maybe as a fellow writer I appreciate an author's ability to get inside the head of someone that twisted.

Lansing Civic Players is accepting plays for their 2011 season, speaking of writers. I am going to submit Checking Out. They said comedies will be considered first so I have that advantage. I think they'd like it--lots of characters and meaty subject matter. Mom also recommended I look into joining something called the Dramatists' Guild. I guess it's a good resource for playwrights that a writer told her about.

I think I'm done with religion for now. I didn't go to Fellowship for Today Sunday, even though I could have. I just didn't feel the need. I'm still praying, not sure why. Maybe out of habit? Maybe people go to church for the same reason, out of habit. I don't want my link to God to be like a habit. I want it to stem from love. This Christmas will be very interesting with my new perspective. It's always been about family for me, but it will be less about the religious aspects of the season. I'm not involved with OCC's cantata and I won't be going to the Candlelight Service. I'm actually going home Christmas Eve day and staying till the 27th.

The job is going great. The boys were a little rowdy last week. We are working on "PSAs" about bullying, and last week we scouted locations. We went out to the soccer field and I had some trouble keeping them together. Two of the boys were fighting (not physically, but close) and so I had to deal with that. We talked it out when we got back in the classroom.

I'm going to ask Jen what she thinks of us doing a drum circle. I've done it in other groups and it can work really well. I could see the boys really enjoying it. It's somewhat physical, and it gives them an arena where it's OK to be loud. The hardest thing for us would be getting enough drums together and making sure they didn't get damaged. Maybe we could make something that would make a similar noise. That might work.

So, I've got some thinking to do. I'm going to go on the web and look up the Dramatists' Guild. I also want to work on a flyer to put up to get more students. And I want to look into making drums or something. I've got my work cut out for me this week. Feeding my three identities--love it!!

Didn't get the student film. I knew I wasn't right for it. The next thing I try out for will be Vincent in Brixton, directed by Mary Job. I really want to work with her; everything she does is amazing. I've tried out for her once, and of course I didn't get in. Everyone wants to work with her.

Saw Burlesque today and it was great. It inspired me to be more feminine and glamorous. I've been living in heels this weekend, first at a concert last night, then today, and tomorrow again for a premiere. My heels I wore today are very like a pair the lead wears in the movie. I'm feeling so good about my body that I want to show it off to its best advantage. I'm not a twentysomething size 2, but I think I look pretty damn good for forty. And I plan to keep looking good.

My first week at Gateway went great. I really enjoy working with these kids. They have so much sadness and instability in their lives, but we provide an island of support and hope. I can't go into individual stories here because it's all confidential. But they are great kids. We are working on a "peace tree" (rather than a Christmas tree). Jen (the teacher I'm working with) is making a tree out of copper wire and we are making ornaments to put on it. The ornaments are glass balls that we drew on with sharpies. Jen comes up with some great ideas! I hope something will strike me (maybe in my sleep!) that we can do.

Went to both Interval and Strength and Stretch this week. Hoping to do this every week. Today I'm going to Parkwood to burn on the Arc Trainer. I'm struck by the difference between scales: the MAC scale says I have stayed about steady the past few weeks, whereas the Parkwood scale shows a loss of two pounds. The Oak Park shows the lowest weight. I'm going by the MAC scale because we weigh at a consistent time and earliest, right after breakfast. But I like to see the numbers go down at Parkwood. The weight is higher, though--around 153.

So now I'm going to get some dinner and go to Parkwood. Hanging up now...