IN GOOD TIMES AND IN BAD…PRESS ON!

Miss me last week?

OK, so most of you probably didn’t even notice that I was sans blog last week. However, FIB was undergoing an overhaul, hence, no blog from moi. The FIB Site now has a sleeker, more Hollywood-ready look! And what a great look it has, thanks to its wonderful creators Richard and Amy and the fabulous FIB team!

That said, I must admit I was pleasantly surprised by the number of you who did send me messages asking where my new blog was, and telling me you missed getting to read it last week, which meant a lot. To you I say, “Thank You!”

I am officially back in LA after my thoroughly enjoyed time in NYC, which did in fact offer a new perspective. What better place to do so, than over coffee in The Village, on a beautiful, sunny, and warm afternoon. All with a very good friend and fellow actor, who offers a listening ear and insightful conversation whenever I need it. It’s a most perfect combination, whether he realizes it or not.

Acting is a part of my daily life, and, therefore, many of my friends are actors as well. Despite having loving, caring, and supportive family and friends around me, sometimes only an actor can understand fully, and relate directly to the ups and downs of what being an actor entails.

Which is why I personally think it is so important to have someone close to you, someone who can understand the acting aspect, but also let it stay backstage, so to speak, at times. Allowing life’s everyday ups and downs, through which we all go, over the years, to shine in the spotlight too. That combination makes for an all encompassing, solid, and, hopefully, open and honest friendship, like the one I am thankful to have.

When I began blogging for FIB, I promised to offer “a positive and refreshing outlook,” and I guarantee to continue doing so, as best I can, just as I try to do in my everyday life. However, I also believe in the importance of honesty, and want that to be expressed in my writing as well. This means including the not so great things too, while trying to see the best in each experience.

Although the highs can be really high, quite honestly, the lows can be very low also. Mix that with going through it all as you age in a youth driven industry, while those around you are entering the next, more adult phase of their lives, and it can sometimes be hard to find consistency and stability - two words that rarely get used when describing a career of an actor, but which are very important in one’s life.

To achieve consistency and stability sometimes requires concentrating on your wants and needs for a while, instead of those of others, which I tend to forget. This is something I was reminded to do this past week. Regardless, if it, acting in my case, is something you truly want for yourself, you must press on no matter what! Which is exactly what I am trying to do, as positively as possible.

Speaking of the positive, while back east, my audition for the role of Elizabeth in a half hour comedy pilot, went relatively well, I think. There are often a few things you would do differently, but, on the whole, I was happy. Plus, it would be so much fun to get to go back and film in Wilmington, NC, once again! That’s where it all started for me, 10 years ago.

However, whether playing the role of Elizabeth is part of the future or not, the audition is now in the past, and I have to start concentrating more on the present, allowing the future to simply unfold as it will, on all fronts. I just have to remember that one must always, in good times and in bad…press on!

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent…Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” - Calvin Coolidge

IT’S A WRAP…UP!

It is 11:32AM EST, and I am somewhere in Ohio cruising down highway 70 east, or as they say in LA, freeway, listening to the calming sound of the rain and “Ruby” by David Harrington, currently playing on my iTunes, set on shuffle.

We left Purdue at 6AM this morning, after celebrating my sister’s grad school graduation, dad’s Birthday and Mother’s Day all in the same weekend. Our destination, as we hum along, is just outside Washington, D.C. where my oldest sister Danielle, brother-in-law, and adorable nephews live. We will stay the night with them before heading to the NYC/NJ area, completing our fun road trip.

I can’t believe it has already been a week since I was traveling via plane from LA to NYC. So, seeing that I am now traveling in a car, it leaves travel by train to round out the planes, trains, and automobiles saying. I’ll work on that one…but if a subway counts, then I’ll check it off the list.

All in all, it has been an incredible week of travel with dressy and yummy dinners and celebration, despite mostly rainy, windy, and rather cold weather, which was anything but spring-like. In fact, we were waiting for snow to start falling! Nevertheless, I made sure to document, via pictures, the entire trip. Wherever I go, I like to have a camera to capture all the special, silly and even random moments!

Once I’m back in the tri-state area, I will be prepping for my ½ comedy pilot audition, making sure I am familiar with all 4 of the scenes I need to have ready for next week. Till then, I am looking forward to visiting some very close friends, along with a few from college, whom I have not seen since I lived in NYC, four years ago.

In last week’s blog I mentioned how the Big Apple seems to give me the inspiration I need, even during the times I didn’t know I needed it. Well, it has yet to disappoint, giving me exactly what I needed from the very moment my Jet Blue flight touched down on the runway at JFK. Honestly, I think part of my heart will always reside in New York City. It has since the day I moved from my mod, midtown Manhattan apartment, across the county, to my new temporary home, in the City Of Angels.

However, one must do what one must to make a career as a successful actor. It is part of the deal, so to speak, and as much as I would love to be living in NYC again, my time in LA is not done…yet. I need to stay and keep pushing forward in a town where there are, without question, more acting opportunities. That said, if I am lucky enough to book a job that brings me back east, I will gladly accept, with a peppy jump in my step!

Until then, and once I return from my trip, I need to plant my heels, as firmly as possible, on the ground in LA, waiting it out with positive persistence, and seeing where things fall, somewhat like prepping for sudden earthquakes in CA, I suppose. You don’t know when or where your career may take off, or the ground below you may move, but you should always be as prepared as possible. Then, if things get shaken up a bit, in a good or bad way, you will be ready, and can make the most of the situation.

Either way, the above wraps up the past week and sums up the weeks ahead. However, before I go for this week, I want to say “Thank You” to all of you who stay tuned each and every week following my little journey as an actor, through the exciting and not so exciting times. I am lucky to have this opportunity, and as I document each step, be it big or small, through my blogs, I hope you continue to enjoy my unpredictable adventure.

“Success is not a place at which one arrives, but rather the spirit with which one undertakes and continues the journey.” – Alex Noble

“30 THOUSAND FEET ABOVE NEW YORK…”

The title of this week’s blog is a lyric from a song entitled “Lay Down” by the kind and talented singer/songwriter, Nikki Shannon (www.myspace.com/nikkishannon). The song and it’s lyrics have always been a favorite of mine, for personal reasons, but also seemed fitting, since as I write this I am about “30 thousand ft. above New York” on my Jet Blue flight from Burbank to JFK.

I am seated next to an inspiring woman named Erda, who is flying to NYC to meet up with her daughter, from Austin, TX, for an 8-day mother/daughter trip. I mention her because even though she’s had some wearing hardships, her view on life is so open and optimistic, and I found myself relating to her, yet learning.

At nearly 80, she is full of youth, life, and beauty inside and out. She mentioned how lucky she was to have been seated next to me, because she had always wanted to be an actor. However, she grew up right before The Great Depression, during a time when that profession came mostly with disapproval. She had never had the opportunity I have been given and is “truly happy and glad to see how things have evolved for me.”

In fact, she too believes that all of life, no matter what you chose to do, is about “baby steps” because “life is a slow progression.” She expressed the importance of travel and doing what you love by saying, “life is about living what you are dealt, no matter what that is, good or bad, making the most of what you have, and doing the best you can, while helping others along the way.” Needless to say, this was an enlightening in-flight conversation with someone who touched me; whom I will never forget.

That said, I should touch down in my beloved NYC shortly, where I will be happily greeted by my extraordinary dad, aka Papa John, and my oh so chic and marvelous mother. We will then head to downtown Manhattan to the meatpacking district for a fun dinner together at Pastis, one of my all time favorite restaurants.

I am going back to NYC because my younger sister Devon, of whom I spoke in an earlier blog regarding her spring break in LA, is graduating with her Master’s Degree from Purdue University. Now, you may be asking why are you in NYC when Purdue is in Indiana?

Well, that is because I decided to fly home and then drive with my parents and older sister, Danielle, to West Lafayette together, the home of Purdue University, where both my sisters, father and grandfather graduated. My mother and I are what we like to call “Honorary Purduians,” since we are there often, love it so, but graduated elsewhere. Shout out to my alma mater, UNCG, in Greensboro, NC, and my mother’s, College of St. Catherine, in St. Paul, MN.

While back east, I will not only get to see my whole family, including my oh so fun uncles and adorable nephews, along with some of my closest friends, but I also will be auditioning for a half-hour comedic, speculative television pilot entitled “One of the Girls”, filming in Wilmington, NC. Where I got my TV start ten years ago. They are looking to re-cast one of the lead roles Elizabeth, a “very funny, yet extremely poignant at times” character on the show, and have asked me to read for the role.

Ironic that Liesl means Elizabeth in German, so perhaps it was meant for me. Either way, it is a fun role and gives me a chance to be a bit bolder, direct and stereotypically blonde than I am in real life, which is what acting is all about. I plan to bring her to life as best I can and simply have fun above all. Then we’ll see what happens, if anything.

It should be a fun-filled couple of weeks. After some interesting and super busy times in LA, it will bring a nice break for me, while also being somewhat productive, which is always a good thing. So, the next time I am “30 thousand ft. above New York,” I will be on my Jet Blue return flight; maybe even meeting another fascinating person and writing my next FIB blog!

“Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” - Seneca

THE ACTOR

 

Liesl Ehardt is an actor living in LA who spends notable time in NYC and wears a smile daily. Her acting adventures have taken her from the Stage to TV, Film and into Blogging, where she looks forward to sharing her thoughts, while remaining positive, and hopefully offering a refreshing outlook.

 

She holds a BFA in Acting degree and is a member of both SAG and AFTRA. Hopefully you will follow her on her adventure as she continues to take “baby steps” towards becoming a successful actor with possible hosting/personality spots along the way. Ultimately, she hopes to open and be an active part of her own Children’s Charity Foundation.

 

www.LieslEhardt.com