Can You Please Release Me?
Look, I don’t ever want to NOT get a job, but over the last 3 weeks I have been on hold for 3 different jobs, none of which I assume I got. I assume, because I was never “released” from them. For those of you who have never experienced this, it is both a blessing and a curse. When you are being considered strongly for a job (in my case two commercials and a principle role on a TV show) you are put on “hold,” meaning you have to hold those dates should the production decide to cast you.
Being on hold is great, and awful. It means you are not supposed to accept any work for the dates that you are on hold for or make any plans to go out-of-town or whatever. Generally, if you are NOT chosen, you will be “released” from consideration, allowing you to then accept other work, pick up a shift at your restaurant or go visit Spain, if that’s your thing.
Now being released is a bummer, especially cause when the call is coming in, you start dreaming more about the gig and getting excited, because it’s only a few words difference of “You got it!” to “You’ve been released.” But getting released is something that should be done, always. If you are NOT going to be cast, the least the production or casting director can do is LET YOU KNOW THAT! I can’t tell you how many times the “hold” dates have passed and I still hold out hope that I got it. I never do, but because no one has said “we don’t want you” I hold on to that hope of “maybe they still want me!”
The past few weeks have been even more trying. I just got married, my wife and I have debt we want to get rid of, plus we are moving in 5 months, plus a little thing called the holidays is sneaking up on us, not to mention her birthday. I am at that point lately, where I start thinking about what this money could do for us. Sidenote, never start spending that money till after that contract is signed, big mistakes to be made there.
But the point is, I never even got a courtesy call saying I wasn’t needed. The two commercials I was not as surprised at, but the TV show, is one you all know, that all NY actors want to be on before it goes bye bye, and after three days of them calling and constantly checking my schedule and changing the potential shoot dates and the fitting dates, they never even called to say “sorry, we went another direction.” In a business where we are used to getting rejected, it’d be nice if the times we definitely will be rejected, we can at least find out about it.
On Surviving Working Out-of-Town
As actors, one of the most exciting and sometimes most challenging parts of our work is how often we have to leave town for an extended period of time. I love going new places and becoming a part of the fabric of the community for a couple of months — Burlington, VT and Sag Harbor, NY are two places I’ve lived and worked temporarily that will always have a special place in my heart because of it.
But even though I’m extraordinarily grateful for the work and very much enjoy visiting new places, I do find it tough at times to be away from home. You see, I love my home. I love New York City, I love the cozy and beautiful apartment we’ve created, I love my sweet little Yorkie, and I love my husband most of all.
When I’m working out of town, I vacillate between feelings of pure joy for being a working actor and feelings of sadness and loneliness for being away from my home. I’ve often blamed a big chunk of it on being married (for wouldn’t it be much easier to leave home if your partner wasn’t there?), but upon talking about this with one of my older and wiser castmates last night, she noted that even if you aren’t married, you are always struggling to leave something behind, whether it be your close friends, your home base, or family issues. This, not surprisingly, was actually very comforting to me, to find out that everyone struggles with these feelings, because a lot of actors do a really good job of hiding it.
So, on my fourth stint of working away from home for an extended period of time, I find myself wondering what I can do to make it better. Sure, using facetime on my iphone helps me feel a lot more connected to my husband. When possible, I take my Yorkie with me on the road. And making sure that I get my morning dose of favorite coffee certainly helps, too. But can I be doing more?
What do you take with you when you’re working out-of-town that helps you feel at home? Do you have any strategies for coping with the occasional “away from home blues”? I am all ears!
Sunday Summary — November 11, 2012
We kicked off the week with The Passionate Performer’s #wardrobestories.
The Crazy Theatre Artist pondered how Sandy affected theatre.
The Political Theatre-Maker wrote an ode to her devastated NJ hometown.
The British Dancer shared how she’s making the most of the current show she’s in.
And The Growing Artist divulged how she stays energized during this crazy career.
When The Going Gets Tough…The Tough Reach For An Energy Drink
Sometimes, life can be a bit crazy. It’s not always easy to find time to get the proper amount of sleep or eat as healthy as you should. I have recently been experiencing this between working at my day job, working at my seasonal job as a haunt actor at night, and doing other projects – my schedule has been a bit chaotic. You have to take opportunities as they come, because eventually, it’s going to be slow again, and you will be wishing you were working on those projects!
So, how do you keep yourself going during the chaos? The Practical Artist wrote an awesome post called “Know Your Fuel“. You should definitely check it out. She touched on this subject, showing what she uses to keep herself fueled during projects. I, personally go for a different fuel. I have been really enjoying the new Starbucks Refreshers™.
Disclaimer: I am not being paid to endorse this product. I am only writing about my personal experience. I am not a nutrition expert.
My favorite flavor is the Orange Melon. I really like these because they give me energy without making me jittery. I also don’t crash after drinking these like I would with some energy drinks. I feel better about drinking these than I would other energy drinks, because the caffeine is naturally derived from green coffee beans. They taste really good too! They taste like a fizzy fruit soda. Plus, another great thing about the Refreshers is the nutrition information. There are only 60 calories per can! Plus, the Orange Melon Refresher contains 100% Vitamin C, 10% Vitamin A, and lots of other goodies. I like to load up on Vitamin C when I am running around a lot, because it prevents you from getting sick. Some actors I know like to take vitamin tablets. I do this sometimes when I don’t feel I am getting enough in my diet, but I try to avoid it. The only downside to Refreshers are the price. They are around $2.95 each, if you purchase them from Starbucks. They are convenient to find, considering there is a Starbucks on almost every corner – however, you are paying for the convenience. I usually only purchase a few cans for those days when I need an emergency pick-me-up. I wouldn’t recommend drinking these all the time, due to the fact that it is still an energy drink, and the price is rather high. I have tried to find a snack of some sort to go with my Refresher, but I am still experimenting. It’s hard to find a snack that fills you up, but doesn’t weigh you down.
If you have the time, there are some other things you can do to rejuvenate yourself. Yoga, a long shower, a 20 minute power nap, etc. I would love to hear how you get energy, and I hope this was helpful!
Making The Most of Scrooge
I am currently trading my La Duca’s for a pair of granny boots, a bonnet and various hoop skirts in the role of Mrs. Cratchit (and Ensemble) in ‘Scrooge The Musical’ at The Fireside Theatre, WI. On paper, it is the perfect show for me.
1. The characters are British
2. Charles Dickens (author of ‘A Christmas Carol’ which the show is based on) lived in Rochester, Kent, the small town where I grew up in England.
3. There are a couple of big production dance numbers where I can heel click and box step happily away, reliving my pantomime days.
However, it is proving to be more of a learning curve than I originally thought.
Firstly, I may be British but my dialect is not naturally the same as dwellers of Camden Town in 1843. Fortunately, my parents and grandparents grew up in South London and I was fully aware of a cockney accent. The problem here, was that a Midwest American audience wouldn’t understand the true British cockney accent that I grew up knowing. I actually had to slightly Americanize and de-cockney-fy (I just made that word up) my accent.
Secondly, despite the fact that I speak like a soprano, I am a standard, broadway, unclassical, alto singer. So much so, that I would happily sing all the men’s parts in a show if I could. However, in pursuit of bettering myself, I am attempting to not concede to going down the octave in the unison parts. I definitely won’t be a soprano by the time the show closes but I’m at least dusting the cobwebs off my head voice!
Thirdly, dancing in period costume on a small stage in the round is rather more difficult than in rehearsal clothes. The act of breathing becomes an art when your waist is constricted by a pair of tights, an elasticated mic belt, a leotard, a layered petticoat and a full-length hoop skirt.
Fourthly, I feel like I see my dresser more than my cast during the show. I am in an eternal state of quick change, including 5 wigs and a mask. The biggest challenge being the couple of seconds I have to prepare for the death of Tiny Tim after rushing off from the joyous company number ‘Thank you very much’. There…will…be…tears!
Lastly, someone once said that you should never work with animals or children. It is true that their unpredictability means that the show is never the same twice. You may not enjoy the experience of an improvised comedy sketch going on in the middle of your serious scene. However, I have been blown away by the talent of these children as young as 8. Sometimes you find inspiration in the unlikeliest of places.
So, in true ‘Scrooge’ fashion, I am tackling the ‘Bah Humbugs’ with a plan to better myself. I am grateful for the opportunity to stretch my boundaries and perform outside my dance-heavy/ pop/ broadway style musical comfort zone. Although I have learned that I never want to be poor or have 5 kids in real life!
The only thing left to say is, ‘God Bless Us, Every One!’
Ode to 105
Exit 105.
I grew up on the central Jersey coast amidst the millennium in flux, to the soundtracks of Ace of Base, Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys and the Macarena in the calm before the storm of September 11th, 2001.
We live here.
A community defined by:
our ten-foot high sea wall (built to withstand the worst mother Nature could throw as us… or so we thought…)
summer beach clubs
taylor ham, egg and cheese sandwiches
fresh catch of the day
and the lingering smell of salt and sun tan lotion that never quite comes out of towels and bathing suits…
Summers meant swim meets, friendly rivals between beach clubs – Trade Winds, Driftwood, Water’s Edge, Navesink Country Club (Oh, how we envied their heated pool…). We collected sea shells and stones, painted them with blue nail polish and attempted to sell them, along with various lanyard creations to passerbys. This was our “business” and at age ten and eleven we took it seriously. At the end of the week, when our sales had amounted to five dollars or so, we’d take our earnings to the shore gift shops and buy things – salt water taffy, ice cream sandwiches, plastic earrings.
“Halloween in July” and “Christmas in July”. Lobster cookouts. Fourth of July Fireworks on the beach meant that around 9pm you could look up anywhere north or south and see the fireworks of the surrounding shore towns, from Sea Bright to Belmar. Movies on the beach. Adult swims forced us to sit at the side of the pool, green with envy and hot with sweat. We arrived at 9 am. The grill would be running by 10 am and turned off at 9 pm. We would leave the beach at 10 pm. Go home, go to sleep, wake up and repeat.
There was mischief …
chased out of the hot tub daily by “hot” 18-year-old lifeguard meant that “hot” 18-year old lifeguard knew I existed
told 100 times not to run near the pool
water balloon attack on cranky sleeping sunbathers
and don’t let anyone try to convince you those super soaker fights in the locker catacombs weren’t real danger
Bruce Springsteen sighting in Sea Bright.
Bon Jovi sighting in Red Bank.
Fact: Everyone on the Jersey Shore has some personal connection to Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi.
Fall ushered in by the mass exodus of Bennies on Labor Day Weekend, shortened beach hours, changing of the leaves and the Columbus Day Girl Scout trip to the pumpkin patch for haunted hayrides, never actually scary… a high school boy in a Freddy Krueger mask pretending to chase after our wagon with a plastic chain saw.
We live here.
The beaches and ocean return back to life-size, no longer a magnet for tri-state thrill seekers and vacationers.
Halloween.
Driving to Bruce Springsteen’s house to see if he was at the door giving out candy (which he usually was). What is he wearing? Who is he with? What candy does he have?
Snow in the winter.
Lots of it.
Christmas Eve.
Kids piled in the back of the gray station wagon to see the lights at Bruce Springsteen’s house. What color are they? Is anyone home? Who got the best view of his driveway?
Lost my first tooth.
Learned to read and write.
Got my first period.
Had my first kiss.
Learned to drive.
Experienced my first true heartbreak at the loss of my pet cat.
Directed my first play.
Experienced my first rejection from the local community theater.
Debuted in a featured role at that community theater the following year.
Right before I left for college Trade Winds was demolished to build luxury summer condominiums for Bennies. The ushering in of the first bulldozer and demolition of the beloved beach club marked the end of this chapter of my life. Three months later I replaced the Jersey Shore with the new address of my college in lower Manhattan. I was 18.
2009.
MTV’s “Jersey Shore” debuts to big ratings and cheap laughs at the expense of the beachfront community. The mindless knock off shows are quick to follow, “Jerseylicious”, “Real Housewives of Jersey”… I imagine there are others but I don’t care enough to find out. I’m not surprised when I read in Entertainment Weekly that not one cast member actually grew up on the Jersey Shore. Television about hardworking people in a struggling economy isn’t glamorous or exploitative enough for today’s industry standards.
I feel for people who only know the Jersey Shore though MTV, similar to how I feel for people who only know the Middle East through Fox News.
We live here.
Working class. Fishermen. Teachers. Artists. Nurses. Fire fighters. Police officers. Military. Blue collar.
These weren’t just our “summer houses” or our “beach houses”.
This was home.
These were the homes of the people who drive the local economy, the ones who made it possible for others to have “summer houses” and “beach houses” on our shore.
Sandy.
Is this the “when everything changed” mark for the generation born in the mid 90’s? Will Sandy mark consciousness of a world outside the microcosm of sand, surf and sun for folks like 9/11 did for my generation?
“I feel so sad for you,” my mother laments from her cot at the Red Cross/FEMA shelter where she’s been living at for the past week, “Your short life has been marked by disasters and wars…”
I have vivid memories of life before September 11th 2001. What about the generation born right after 9/11 who truly only know disaster? Are they better off because they have nothing to compare life to? Maybe. And is it too soon to shudder at a not so distant future where the cast of Jersey Shore is peddling commemorative Hurricane Sandy t-shirts made by cheap Chinese labor on the newly renovated Seaside Boardwalk? I don’t mean to sound insensitive but I lived and worked near ground zero for nearly a decade and have learned a thing or two about how tragedy is dehumanized, packaged and sold and it scares me – ask a New Yorker who was there on 9/11 what it feels like to be stopped on the corner of Church and Fulton and asked to buy a commemorative wine bottle, stamp collection, coloring book or teddy bear.
Terrorism and war existed long before 9/11 and there were natural disasters long before Sandy. Now there is instant kinship with the people of Port au Prince, Sumatra and New Orleans. We are not alone in our pain, our grief, our helplessness and suffering.
I cried when I saw the first photos come out of Sea Bright on Tuesday morning, wood and cement strewed upon sand like Ulysses shipwreck – debilitated, devastated, destroyed. There are no words.
Post-Apocalyptic.
I imagine a scene from The Day After Tomorrow, only I don’t have to because a few days ago, The Day After Tomorrow was today and after yesterday who really knows what tomorrow will bring.
The end of the world came in with the tide. And in the end the Jersey Shore didn’t need any help from Hollywood, no special effects, no computer generated cinematography and finally, no MTV unscripted reality drama. Mother Nature created her own noteworthy performance.
but… We live here.
Seaside Heights
Jenkinson’s Aquarium
Donovan’s Reef
Driftwood Beach Club
Atlantic City
Sea Bright
Pier Village
The water has receded and took with it our homes, businesses and livelihood. Now all that’s left is a blank canvas to start rebuilding.
Only memories here now.
Memories that will be packed up, restored and revived
at Exit 105.
1992 – Trade Winds Beach Club, “Halloween in July”
1992 – Trade Winds Beach Club, pool mischief
Theatre and Sandy
So hurricane Sandy was not a friend to the theatre. Because I’m crazy in the matters of my theatrical work (which probably isn’t shocking by my name), I had a show at NYU that I was dramaturg for up before the storm hit, and after that first weekend of performances, I went into tech for that amazing production of “Waiting for Lefty” I’ve mentioned before, and that run was supposed to during the 2nd and last weekend of the run of the show at NYU. Hurricane Sandy knocked out a few of those plans.
As a start, NYU sadly went completely down from Sandy. Almost all of downtown Manhattan did for that matter. Even NYU medical center, one of the biggest hospitals in NYC and where my sister was born quite some time ago, both the generator and the back-up generator went down. NYU is completely shut down until at least Monday the 5th. Therefore the show is done only halfway through the run (and we can’t make new dates since there’s other events to take place in that same theatre).
So as if that wasn’t bad enough, tech for Lefty has been completely altered and cut short since it was supposed to be while the hurricane was in effect. So what was supposed to be our first performance in front of people ended up being our quickie tech time. The good news is that since that show is uptown Manhattan, it’s still going to run as normal from here on out, but since there was only about 1/3 of the tech time we originally planned, it’s a bit more rushed.
To add one more thing to my theatre list, a staged reading I was supposed to start working on (also connected to NYU), rehearsals are now only going to be 2-3 days at most instead of the 10 days we had originally planned.
Most people already know how Sandy affected NYC and the tri-state area, we don’t hear as often how Sandy affected theatre. Hopefully we will be able to have extra performances at some point of my shows so we can almost get back the time we lost from Sandy.
#wardrobestories
The last few weeks have been very crazy for me. I was able to get involved on the Costume Design and Wardrobe team for the filming of Season 2 of a locally filmed web series. I am currently sitting on set during the tail end of dinner break on our last day of shooting until after Hurricane Sandy passes by. I have had long days. Seen the sun go down and come up again on the same set. Made a lot of friends. Gained a lot of professional contacts.
It has been a rewarding experience working on a project as a crew member for a change. Though I have experience building sets and costumes, I usually find myself acting on stage. This web series shoot has opened my eyes to how important it is to be kind to your tech staff. I have worked with a range of actors over the last two weeks ranging from lovely and talented to very ungrateful, rude and unappreciative people. I always try to have a pleasant disposition toward tech staff, but I can honestly say I have snapped in a stressful moment at one time or another.
From now on, I promise to always, at the very least, say thank you to any tech, crew, or management personnel I work with from this day forward! I hope you will all do the same, too!
The Green Room 
