Birthdaze

I’ve been considering what the theme of the last couple of weeks has been. My impulse is to say sexual frustration but then I recall that my parents read this blog and that might be awkward. What about birthday anticipation? Yes, perhaps that’s more accurate. I believe birthdays are something to be celebrated; I mean, you either embrace it or you get hung up on numbers and time ticking ever onward (ever more speedily) and all the things you wish you’d done or wish you had, and soon enough you’re in a complete funk about the whole thing. Boo hoo! Well, how lovely that I now have some awesome friends in LA to help me celebrate, and I’ve still got awesome friends in Melbourne and Paris helping me celebrate long-distance – with the bonus of different time zones extending the warm fuzzies – congratulations from three continents!

Fabulous hamper from BB, Tiff and Lee - thanks ladies!

Work has been busy the last couple of weeks and I’ve got some acting projects on the boil. For a start, we’ve begun a class project at Sport of Acting, rehearsing some short plays (all written by the same author – not me) under the guidance of some director friends of Vinny’s. The plays are very well-written, delightful little numbers with some great characters so this is shaping up as a fun project. I’ve also approached a couple of directors (including Beaten Hearts’ Cindy) about helming a short film from one of my plays. On the weekend I met with a girl who cast me in a TV project at USC earlier this year. She has since graduated and is looking to take the next step in her career as a writer/director. We had a great chat and she took away some scripts to read. Hopefully, she’ll like one of them enough to come on board.

In other news I’ve invested in some personal training sessions, to ensure an extra hard workout once a week now that, as a working woman, I’m unable to get to the gym as often as I did when unemployed. The PT sessions (three so far) have been awesome butt-kicking workouts with the added bonus of a hot, flirty trainer (well, aren’t they all!). In fact, he went so far as to ask me out but then cancelled. Twice. I mean, really, what was all that about? Just as well he’s such a good trainer. So the flirting continues, safe in the knowledge it ain’t going anywhere. I’m still getting along to a step class once a week, which is fun. Although I do miss Nada and Sophie’s classes at Genesis, Prahran, which were faster and the choreography changed more frequently. We do the same thing every week at Bally, with the same music. Every now and then she’ll throw in a new sequence, but more often than not, she’ll resurrect an old sequence that we did ad nauseum two months ago. But I think this is what the other regulars like about the class; most of them are over 50 and have been regulars for 15 years. They like doing what they’ve always done, are comforted by the familiarity. Bless them.

Enjoyed some impromptu birthday business last night (the evening of the 17th in LA) when acting class was cancelled, suddenly freeing up the whole evening. A few classmates joined me at my local bar where we had a jolly time with laughs, beer, prosecco, calamari and profiteroles. More drinks planned for this weekend – oh dear, we Aussies do equate celebrating with drinking, don’t we?

L to R: Alex, Summer, CC

Flanked by James and Mark

Write On!

I’ve been writing! Sketches mostly. I know I’ve been irregular with the blogging, mea culpa.


The little sketch comedy show I was in finished up last week to an appreciative audience of two plus a homeless man who wandered in about halfway through to take a nap in between random muttering. Perhaps we were disturbing him. Or perhaps he had just shown up early for the AA meeting which took place after the show. Suzanne, dear friend that she is, came along to the final performance, laughed loudly and dragged me off to a bar afterwards where a friend of hers was having a party. There we got chatted up by a couple of middle-aged lawyers: Roy and Randy (“He’s the rest and I’m the relaxation”), I kid you not. They were nice enough fellows, but no thanks. Sometimes I wish I had it in me to be rude enough to say at a certain point “I have to talk to someone else now, bye!” They both gave me their card. I guess I know who to call if I ever need legal advice… especially with regards to real estate dealings… ace.

Everyone is talking about Inception. I’m over it. What a heap of hyperbolic hoo-ha. Hey, I enjoyed it, it’s very entertaining, but it is NOT the greatest film ever made. Basically, it’s little more than a heist film with arresting visuals, but it seems to have a lot of people hoodwinked into thinking it’s deep and philosophical and complicated. It’s not really. As far as films that play with ideas of memory and dreams (and the manipulation of both), then Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind goes a lot further, has richer characters and ultimately a point to make about the importance of memories in shaping who we are and how we learn from our experiences. Come to think of it, so does Hitchcock’s Spellbound (which comes complete with Salvador Dali dream sequence). That being said, I applaud the making of a film that is not based on a TV show or video game and that does not rely on the star power of its actors for success. I’m glad it is doing so well and hope that the Hollywood power-brokers recognize the value of investing in original scripts.

Finally - a job

I've been put to work as the editorial assistant and office coordinator for the UCLA Law Review.  It's a temporary assignment, replacing someone who is on maternity leave and expects to be back at work in October.  It's also full-time, which is less than ideal as far as my acting pursuits go, but it doesn't completely stifle them and hey it's only a few months.  I'm being paid an insultingly low wage, but it's just enough to squeak by on.  I do not understand the wages in this country.  Minimum wage is something like $7 an hour, which nobody can live on, unless they're working 80 hour weeks.  Which I suppose some people do.  Money gripes aside, the job itself is quite enjoyable; it's detail-oriented, which is one of my fortes, the material is interesting and the location is great.  UCLA is a big beautiful campus in Westwood  (a VERY nice part of LA) with great old buildings, lots of gardens and shady nooks in which to sit.  It's also a short drive from home, up and over the Hollywood Hills; I can get there in 30 minutes, which in LA is fantastic.  I've now completed two weeks of work, the first of which was spent training with Ann, the woman I'm filling in for.  Given the nature of publishing, and my particular role in the production process, sometimes there's a lot of work to do, sometimes very little.  I had two really quiet days this week, which was great as it afforded me the time to poke around and get familiar with the job and best of all, the time to write.  I'm basically working unsupervised at the moment - although I have fairly consistent contact by email with some of the editors throughout the day - with an office to myself and the ability to play music to my heart's content.  The university is quiet at the moment because it's the summer break, but the students come back next month so I can expect more human interaction then.

The other item worth noting is the availability of good coffee on campus; basically, there is none.  The staff kitchen has a coffee machine (Starbucks brand) that grinds beans per serving at the touch of a button, but the coffee is too watery for my taste.  I've been making do - it's insipid, but not offensive - but I knew I had to kit myself out with a little french press so I could make my own brew (with Supreme Bean's heavenly Nocturne blend).  The quest for what Bodum calls its 3-cup french press (but really, it's one mug's worth) proved more challenging than anticipated.  I've come to the conclusion that the average American taste in coffee is quantity over quality; weak coffee and lots of it.  I went to four places that sell tea and coffee accoutrements, and none of them stocked the baby Bodum.  Going online, I found that some Target stores stocked them, but none that were nearby, so I ended up ordering one from Amazon.com of all places!  It arrived on Thursday afternoon, so on Friday I took it in to work and was one blissed-out little proofreader.

Comedy Ha Ha

So, I've been doing this little sketch comedy show on Friday nights.  It's called 'Lo-Carb Comedy' and the material is all based around health and fitness and alternative lifestyles; a rich vein from which to draw comedy blood.  This has been an interesting and in some ways challenging experience.  Anyone who is familiar with Baggage Productions knows the quality of script, sharpness of performance and attention to detail of our shows.  Our budgets have always been tiny, but that matters less when you are working with great scripts and wonderful, talented, dedicated people.  We put a lot of work in, typically devoting several months to writing, development and rehearsal. 

Lo-Carb Comedy is a different beast because this is a bunch of people I haven't worked with before and we threw it together in two weeks.  Nothing is slick in two weeks, but I suppose there is a sort of knockabout energy to the show which is appealing.  Given the very short lead time, I dug up some old Baggage sketches that fitted thematically, and Will (who is a comedian and the driving force behind the show) contributed some stand-up.  Two other young women - JJ and Julian - plus JJ's hubby, John (that's a lot of J's) round out the cast.  JJ and Will wrote some other sketch material and John does an on-target Christopher Walken impersonation.  The best thing about the show is that it has got me writing again.  After hearing about the range of insane extreme diets that Julian has personally sampled (and continues to seek out), I wrote a sketch about the topic.  Since the show has been up on its feet, I've been working on another sketch; the juices are flowing. 

We've performed the last three Friday nights at the Next Stage Theatre, a pokey little place in a strip mall in the heart of seedy Hollywood.  It's a busy venue, with multiple shows each running one night a week.  Lo-Carb Comedy is on right after The Vampire Chronicles; we're sharing a dressing room with an assortment of nubile young things in bustiers (some are vampires, some are victims).  The low hum of muted chit-chat in the dressing room is punctuated by blood-curdling screams on-stage and dramatic music. 

Outside in the parking lot one encounters hipsters heading to The Woods - a bar which, typical of LA, looks utterly nondescript (even daggy, being in a strip mall) on the outside but is actually pretty cool and jam-packed on the inside (you could be anywhere from New York to Berlin) - or families stopping in at Mashti Malone's for some ice-cream, or a homeless man selling a rabbit (as a pet or a meal, your choice).

Special guest stars

I'm a bad, baaaad blogger.  Sorry folks, been a bit blue over the last week or so; the jobhunt is getting me down.  Suffice to say, I'm still looking and have started approaching cafes, retailers and supermarkets.  A glimmer of hope on the horizon today: one of the recruitment agencies I have signed with is submitting me for a 4 month full-time contract job in an editorial/administrative role for a company that publishes legal journals.  I can handle the idea of full-time on a short term basis.  Four months is pushing the boundaries a little, but I would be making a decent wage and I can bite the bullet for four months.  So fingers crossed.  Otherwise, keep your fingers crossed for a cafe job; I've approached both Aroma and M Street (my two fave coffee joints) and had a positive response from both, they're just not hiring at the moment...

In the meanwhilst (Dad, please don't question the legitimacy of that word, it's an obscure Monty Python reference), I've been roped into doing a sketch comedy show - two performances only, unless our adoring public demands more more more.  It's been pulled together mighty fast  - over the course of little more than a week - so I dived into the Baggage archives for a few tried and tested beauties (hello Diandra, you sweet, daffy thing).  I've also written some new stuff.  It will be a bit of a scrambly, scratchy show; I'm looking on it as an opportunity to try out some sketch comedy in LA, an experiment, and hey, what else am I doing right now?

Last week we had a special guest teacher at Sport of Acting.  Tom McLoughlin is a film director with a list of credits as long as your arm.  Providing your arm is really REALLY long.  Oh, just IMDb him, go on click on his name, I've linked it.  He and Vinny go way back.  Anyway, so everyone in class got to work with him as if on set, on a moment from a scene of our choice (something we've been working on in class).  Tom has an acting background so he really understands the actor's process and knows how to get what he needs from us.  He worked quickly in figuring out a suitable set-up/camera angle and blocking for each scene, and then gave each of us quite a lot of time - maybe three takes - to capture the 'moment'.  He also had a few choice anecdotes about some of the megastars he has worked with, such as Kirk Douglas and Marlon Brando.  Seriously privileged to have worked - however briefly - with him.  On a side note, he also happened to be one of the people who came to see Beaten Hearts.

Another highlight of the last couple weeks was seeing Billy the Mime.  Billy (not his real name - it's actually Steven Banks, and among other things he is the head writer on Spongebob Squarepants) is another old mate of Vinny's and he is a superb, inspired and ruthlessly cynical artist.  Amongst his ambitious, brilliant, hilarious and frequently dark set were such gems as: "The African American Experience" in which he mimed key phases and historical moments from slavery to Rosa Parks to Rodney King to Mike Tyson to Obama; "David Carradine's Last Night"; "Dinner with Jeffrey Dahmer"; and "The Priest and the Altar Boy."  If you ever get the chance to see him play, GO!  He trained with Marcel Marceau, he performs in traditional garb (white face paint etc) but there is nothing old-fashioned or daggy about this mime.  As Vinny puts it, yeah you might see him mime going downstairs - but he's going down there to kill someone.

Luv a duck

Summer has arrived in LA and so have the ducks.  Yes, ducks in our swimming pool.  Don't you have some? 

Ducks fly in, neighbours emerge from their caves/apartments, BBQs are fired up and gin & tonics mixed with a slice of fresh lime and a sprig of mint.  Delightful.  Oh, and the sport of the season is basketball - apparently the Lakers are playing off for a shot at the golden hoop... or something... and of course the World Cup is playing.

And my activities?  Well, I've got two more phone interviews lined up for corporate copy editing type jobs I applied for - yay, I really need something to click into place by the end of the month - and I've started a new blog.  Not to replace this one, which will continue to document my activities and occasional rants, but an outlet for the imperfect wisdom I'm accumulating about life in LA.  It's called 'An Aussie Guide to Surviving LA' and I'm aiming to post every two days (three articles up so far); there's a link to the left, check it out, email it to your friends, make me a cyber-phenomenon.

Aside from bloggery and job applications, what did this li'l Aussie get up to this week?  Well, last weekend I participated in a 4 and a half hour meditation workshop.  It was held at my yoga studio, was led by a woman called Sally Kempton who is regarded as something of a guru, and altogether came highly recommended.  I haven't really done meditation before so I thought I'd poke my nose in and inhale.  So to speak.  Hmm, seemed like a good metaphor at the time and now I'm not so sure.  But I digress.  It was quite interesting; Sally spoke about her experiences, her teachers, her philosophy, and led us through several group meditations.  She spoke about the power of collective consciousness, when a group of people are focused on the same thing, thinking the same way; and I thought that's what happens at live performances - be they music, comedy or theatre - at least when they're good, it's exhilarating.  As for the meditations, I had trouble staying focused on her voice and the imagery she was creating; when my mind didn't wander, I felt sleepy, not more conscious of my consciousness. 

Out of my mind and into my body, on Wednesday I scored a personal training session at the gym - gratis - involving a very large truck tyre.  Close to a metre in diameter, this was a solid chunk of rubber which Mike (my PT) made me flip over and over.  Simple and very effective full body workout; I had to squat deeply, grab the bottom edge of the tyre, lift it up (using legs, keeping back straight) and push it over - SLAM!  Repeat.  Buttocks, quadriceps, abdominals, biceps all engaged.  This activity was mixed up with lots of other deep squats and ab crunches.  My legs felt like enormous sandbags by the end of the session, and I was still feeling them two days later.  It felt great though, I certainly don't push myself that hard working out on my own. 

You beauty, mate

June!  Where the hell did you come from?  Caught up with some Melburnians over the last week.  Bridge, it was so good to see you.  She was in San Diego for 5 days for work, so I drove down on Wednesday afternoon.  Theoretically, one can drive from LA to San Diego in a little over 2 hours; that would be if nobody else is on the road and you can do the speed limit the whole way.  Ha!  After two hours driving in bumper to bumper traffic I was not even halfway there and slowly going insane.  When you're on a freeway with 6 lanes in each direction and the traffic is so heavy you never get above 20 miles per hour - and that only in spurts - you know you're living in a big city with a LOT of cars.  Thankfully, shortly after the 2 hour mark, the traffic thinned out (and perhaps the freeway got a little wider, too) and I was able to hit the 65mph speed limit the rest of the way.  All up, the trip took 3.5 hours.  I felt very bleary by the time I reached the cute little hotel in Del Mar where Bridge was staying.  Still, nothing like seeing a dear friend for the first time in 8 months to perk up one's spirits.  We set off for the evening to the Hotel Del Coronado, a really beautiful old hotel on an island just a short trip across a bridge from downtown San Diego.  We were so hungry by the time we got there that we just headed straight for the wine bar and didn't stop to take any photos along the way.  In fact, I left my camera back in Del Mar anyway.  A small regret; it would have been nice to get some happy snaps of us with that magnificent hotel in the background.  For those of you unfamiliar with the place, it was where the classic film Some Like It Hot was shot.  Here's a link to the website so you can appreciate its gloriousness:

Hotel Del Coronado

I vow to return and stay a few nights!  Of course, I'll have to be rich in order to do that.  Or dating someone rich, that could work.  Maybe I should take up pole dancing, apparently those girls make hundreds per night.  One can but dream.  But back to Wednesday night.  The bar - called Eno (as in oenophile, presumably) - had a special deal on food; everything 50% off.  The food choice wasn't broad but it was very appealing; cheese platters, marinated olives, charcuterie platter, chocolate.  Sounds like a balanced meal to me!  We ordered one of each plus a flight of champagne and another of pinot noir to share.  Each flight contained 3 x half-glasses of wine from different regions.  The bubbles were all very good, but I can't recall where they were from; wait, maybe I can.  One from France, one from Germany (I think), one from California.  The pinot's had one outstanding winner, while the other two were pleasant but forgettable.  The standout was Thorne, from the Santa Rita hills outside of Santa Barbara.  I don't recall which vintage.  For the oenophiles out there, here's a link to the company website:

http://thornewine.com/wine.html

At the bar we got chatting with a woman, who, hearing our accents, naturally couldn't resist talking to us.  Such is the power and charm of the Australian accent.  Well, she was lovely - and also indulging in the Thorne Pinot Noir - and we found ourselves having quite an in-depth discussion about relationships, career goals and the pressure on women (much of which we put on ourselves) to retain the appearance of youth (as in equalling beauty in this youth-obsessed culture), pressure many begin to feel acutely as we approach our forties.  Our American companion was in her mid-40s so this is something she is experiencing and has observed amongst her friends, and indeed I too have friends broaching the big four-oh and considering a touch of botox in the forehead.  No!!! I cry.  It's a slippery slope; where does it end?  There are so many freaky looking women walking around with frozen faces who seem to have lost all sense of normalcy.  Actors, especially, I think should resist botox and extreme cosmetic surgery; yes, they are under the microscope and blown up on huge screens in HD magnifying their every imperfection - I understand the pressure - but by freezing their faces, through which, frankly, 90% of a screen performance is expressed, they are diminishing their most important tool.  Cate Blanchett once described wrinkles thus: they are the songlines of your body.  Botox is a short term, illusory solution to an inevitable change.  You can't hide your age forever, and there comes a point when you simply look weird - if not absurd - trying to do so.  All hail ageing beauties (and phenomenal actresses, to boot) such as Helen Mirren and Meryl Streep!

The next Melburnian in town was Kelly, another green card recipient, who stopped in LA for a few days en route to Chicago where she's going to study improv with Second City.  She and her boyfriend had been doing the touristy things in LA, and getting around mostly by cab - an expensive way to travel.  It was my pleasure to pick them up from their Hollywood motel and take them to the good old reliable Cat and Fiddle, where we sat in the lovely courtyard surrounded by trees and Spanish-style buildings, relaxed with a beer and chicken pot-pie, and talked comedy, LA and the biz.

On the job front, I have started reading scripts for an agency - unpaid but interesting and a lovely way to spend a couple of hours in a cafe, 'working' - and was interviewed this morning for an assistant job I applied for with a small, up and coming production company which specialises in documentaries.  Cross fingers for that one I'd love to do it!

Well, there you have it, enough bloggery for now methinks.   See you in a few days!