OSCAR GOLD AND GLAMOUR

Another Wednesday has rolled around, and each week I wonder how it has caught up to me, yet again, making it feel as though time is simply flying by! Although I don’t really have much to report on the acting front this week, I am keeping super busy and really trying to make the most of each day! All this while I am looking forward to a few things, about which the outcome is unsure, something an actor is quite familiar with, as well.

Despite the acting front being rather uneventful for me, as of now, Hollywood is revving up for its big night of gold, The 81st Annual Academy Awards! This Sunday evening, A-list actors will gather inside the Kodak Theatre to acknowledge the excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. Those winning in each category will get to take Oscar, the industry’s highest honor, home with them as a memento of their work, after the ceremony and celebrations have ended.

I have watched the Academy Awards every year since I was a little girl, and my extraordinary parents always make it a special night by putting together some fun appetizers and Mexican layered dip to go along with champagne for the adults and sparkling cider for those underage. To this day, whenever I am back east, I still watch with them in that same style, but when I don’t have the pleasure of being in their company, I still watch, while thinking of them, and the great time we always have on that night when we are together.

This year, since I am in LA, I will be watching without them, but am lucky enough to get to watch with a wonderful group of people. I am attending a fun and fabulous Oscar party hosted by a good friend of mine, which is sure to be a gathering nothing short of classy, since he tends to think of every last elegant detail to make it simply perfect! In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he rolls out a radiant red carpet!

The Oscars are a fancy night. Therefore, I plan to dress up, something I tend to do on a daily basis. Plus any excuse to add a little sparkle is good enough for me and is something I jump at the chance to do! I am looking forward to being among some great friends and even meeting some new ones while we enjoy the festivities in between plenty of entertainment and lots of good laughs, I am sure!

I hope that wherever you find yourself, be it at home or from inside the Kodak Theatre, each of you will have fun watching, and that some, if not all, of your choices win! I am willing to bet there will be a few surprises too! Regardless, it is sure to be an evening of Oscar gold and glamour!

“There are a lot of great movies that have won the Academy Award, and a lot of great movies that haven’t. You just do the best you can.” – Clint Eastwood

‘ROCK OF AGES’…AND THE USUAL

I have been keeping quite busy doing a little bit of this, a little bit of that. Along with lots of good auditions and callbacks, meetings of producers, voice-overs, editing, and work with the talented team from ROCK OF AGES. It is currently off-Broadway, but set to “Rock Broadway” this March in New York City.

Despite the somewhat shaky ground on which the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) is currently standing and the slower than usual acting front for this time of year known as pilot season, when actors are ordinarily out there auditioning the most for all the new show as well as the shows lucky enough to come back for another season, I have been busier then usual. However, when the industry is slower or not at its peak, so to speak, I tend to go out more, which is something I have never understood. This trend continues for me and is fully welcomed.

I have talked in past blogs about my work with Telsey Casting of NYC, whenever they are out in LA. No matter what show I am working on with them, be it DIRTY DANCING, WICKED, IN THE HEIGHTS, or the most recent, ROCK OF AGES, I always have such a fun time and enjoy getting the opportunity to recharge my creative battery by being among so many talented and artistic people at one time. I always get to interact with imaginative minds and meet other actors doing what I do, simply putting themselves out there, taking the opportunity presented in the form of an audition, and doing the best they can before moving onto the next.

ROCK OF AGES takes you on “a musical trip with a story set to blazing hits from such iconic rockers as REO Speedwagon, STYX, Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Steve Perry, Whitesnake, Night Ranger, Quarterflash, Poison, Asia, Damn Yankees and more!” The show gave me the chance to meet and work with known actors in the industry, a few familiar faces, and even some teen idols and rock stars from the 70’s and 80’s who had hit songs on major record labels. I love talking to them, hearing about all they have done, and simply being in the presence of those who have been at this, truly pounding the pavement, for decades!

Ultimately, if entertaining is what you love to do, you have no choice but to stick with it, while keeping yourself grounded to the pavement you are pounding, because you will have your highs, as far as success goes, and, although they often level out, just as anything does, you can always reach them again at a later time. This business is completely unpredictable, and you never know when that one role, or show, that was meant for you, is going to surface and allow you to shine, be it for the first time, or the hundredth time!

Overall, things have been going well, and even though I am not booking at the end of my auditions and callbacks, I am finding myself being the only blonde in the small groups called back, which have consisted of a brunette, red head, and black haired actor. It often comes down to a “look.” That is what so much of this industry is often, but not always, about.

I, for whatever reason, have a somewhat strong sense that this is going to be a good year, in some form, and am looking forward to all that is ahead, while maintaining a positive attitude. I am planning to keep living the daily life of an actor through all the ups and downs of the roller coaster that it is. Basically, for the past couple weeks, that has consisted of ROCK OF AGES…and the usual.

“Beyond talent lie all the usual words: discipline, love, luck — but, most of all, endurance.” – James Arthur Baldwin