Tuesday night with Vinny we had a special on-camera class specifically playing with those oft-featured moments in film and TV where a character wakes up - at home, in a hospital, on the beach, in an alley - perhaps slowly, perhaps suddenly, and must take in and adjust to their circumstances. Another common scenario is a character receiving a phone call that forces them to stop what they are doing and decide to take action - perhaps its great news, perhaps terrible. Little or no dialogue, this exercise was about creating that inner monologue or narration that can help the actor through a series of discoveries leading to action, without rushing through it. That was the key; everyone rushed their first take. Our minds work so fast that we jump from one thing to the next before it registers to the camera (or the audience) and time seems to slow down in silence, which also prompts us to rush things because 10 seconds can feel like a minute. Very interesting class.
On Wednesday, I was supposed to drive 3 hours to San Diego for a commercial audition; it's a hell of a long way to go for maybe 5 minutes with a casting director, but I was prepared to make a day of it. However, a reprieve came in the form of two other auditions I got for the same afternoon in Los Angeles. Can't do all of them, so sacrificed San Diego. Felt fabulous to find myself juggling all those auditions in one day! Being a woman of a certain age means I'm squarely in the range of "young mom", unavoidable I'm afraid. I went shopping for a couple of items to add to my audition wardrobe. Ross is a big clearance store where fashion (and various homewares) goes to die; there are racks of clothing, including some designer stuff, hugely marked down. You need to know what you're looking for or you could be overwhelmed. I came away with a pair of knee-length, powder blue shorts - Greg Norman's women's label no less - which originally retailed for $60 but I snaffled for a mere $9. Yes sirree! I also picked up a navy blue polo short and a cute orange t-shirt for about $6 each, and some new pillows for about $8 each (my neck is already thanking me for the investment, I've been sleeping on some really cheapo awful pillows). All up a very satisfying expedition.
Wednesday evening I had dinner with friends at their not-quite-fully-renovated-but-looking-pretty-slick home in Hawthorne, which is anywhere between a 35 minute or hour and 35 minute drive south of the valley, depending on traffic on the dear old 405 freeway. 'Twas a very convivial evening, bordering on riotous when we started in on vampire fiction. Thanks Amber and Jamie. They introduced me to School House Rock, a series of short, animated songs designed to teach kids about everything from grammar to basic systems of government. Here's a link to the oh-so-catchy "Conjunction Junction (what's your function?)" -
SchoolHouseRock-ConjunctionJunction
On Thursday I hung out with Regi. We went to see Tina Fey and Steve Carell in Date Night, a very funny comedy (seemingly a rare thing these days) about a nice married couple from Jersey having a night out in Manhatttan and getting into all manner of unlikely (but very entertaining) scrapes. Being a beautiful, warm day we decided to go to the Getty for lunch. We knew the view would be far superior to the cafeteria food - correct - but it was worth it. The Getty is spectacularly located up on a hill with 360 degree views of the eccentric urban sprawl that is the City of Angels. And there's some quite good art there too.
Today is Friday and I have applied for a part-time admin job and filmed an audition for another commercial. Had to do this at home using the webcam (not ideal, but useful in a pinch) as the commercial will be shot in Washington state (north of California and the home of Seattle - not to be confused with Washington city, home of US politics) and presumably the casting house is located there too. If I get the gig, my travel and accommodation will be paid for on top of the fee for the commercial. Fingers crossed, would be lovely to earn some money AND get to see a part of the States I haven't yet ventured to.
Hideous photo of me, by the way. You see what I do for you in the spirit of sharing?
ReplyDeleteNo way, that photo is good! I was wondering about the shorts - 'powder blue' clothing does have connotations of middle aged dress, but these are good if you are going to be a 'soccer mom'!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a great week, full of all the things you are there to do. I went to the Getty Museum when I was in LA 8 years ago and loved it. The view of the city is pretty spectacular, and I loved the views of the surrounding gardens from the tops of the building(s), and took quite a few photos.
Good luck with the audition!
Alex