The Dreamer

I signed up to take a ten week film acting class a school that has opened its doors in Ferndale, a suburb of Detroit.
We are also going to be renting a house in that city and I am teaching a Burlesque class there. It is my favorite place to be in the metro Detroit area. You can find a concentration of things related to the arts and music. There are still independent coffee houses, organic and health food stores, record shops. There is also improv, comedy, and independent theaters. If I have to be Michigan, I definitely want to be in Ferndale. Being close to all these places is also important as Detroit is not a mass transit friendly city, and we all get around in our own cars. For anyone to build any type of career that requires transporting themselves. One needs to own a car, and keeping the fuel costs down in this current economic climate is very important.
Speaking of Economics… That has been on my mind alot lately in consideration of this new career adventure. I went to a small business seminar at the local library and found out that Michigan also offers classes in learning about business for free as a result of an economic development grant. Becoming a new actor requires an investment, and one to think of themself as a product to sell. I have been attempting to balance my skepticism, with knowing that doing anything and doing it right requires an investment in education (acting classes) and advertisement (headshots).  I just want to make sure I am employing reputable and qualified people to help me with this venture. So I could have got some great new headshots done professionally and gotten them printed, but I decided to take these acting classes first. I think I did the right thing. Even If I did mail my headshot to all the agencies in town, if I got a call I still might not have the tools to perform well at an audition, or do the job. I will continue to use the headshots I currently have, which are fine for now. I have a feeling that they are something you have to get done every 6 months or so anyway.
This week I will be preparing my new home, I have a Halloween burlesque show with the jazz and vaudeville group I perform with, and my first acting class to look forward to.

I was back on the set of the Renaissance festival movie for a while. I got there early enough to watch the set up. It was a cold rainy Michigan October morning and the crew was hard at work. Everyone looked like busy bees with their specialized tasks. It rained most of that day. It was just awfully muddy. The actors were in such elegant costumes walking though the mud.
I went to yet another acting seminar. This one was run by a casting director. We only skim the surface of acting methods in seminars, but I do learn something. I have to work on my memorization skills. The casting director said to practice my memory skills everyday.  So on set every day while I am waiting around for the next scene as a stand in. I memorize the lines from the sides. I really liked working on this movie, and I am going to miss the crew.
That is what I am finding working on new projects is like, when you start making friends and becoming comfortable, it is time to go.
   Last week I worked on a show for the big ten network as a production assistant. I spent most of the week at the University of Michigan. It is a show about the faculty, and the interesting things they are doing. I spent a lot of time running around picking things up, parking cars, driving people around.  The days go much quicker when working as a PA with plenty of things to do, but I do enjoy being a stand in on a film set because it helps me learn blocking, and gets me acclimated to the film set environment.
There is a dramatic arts school is starting in Ferndale, an artsy suburb of Detroit. It teaches acting for the camera in a 10 weeks long course. I am thinking of taking it. I think it is the best step to take if I really want to be serious about this, and get to the next level. I am on set, and that is great, but I would like to be on set speaking lines in front of the camera. Even if it is just a sentence like most of the parts the Michigan actors are getting.
I am going to look at a house to stay in tomorrow. My boyfriend and I were staying with his parents when we were planning on moving to Los Angeles. We have decided to make the best out of Michigan’s Film incentive program for another year, but we need space of our own. This will be an opportunity for me to build my skills for this new career and break in here where the cost of living is much lower, I have contacts, and already know people. I feel like I have already gotten in at the early point of something big here, and want to build on it. I want to experience other places and people, but I feel the most logical move is to stay here, and work with what I have in this much smaller market where I am already ahead.
but … the dark cold winter… It is on the way. I am going to make the best of it.