Consumed with Kickstarter

For the last 2 weeks I've been consumed with promoting my Kickstarter campaign for Muted. I knew it would be hard but WOW! This truly is a 24 hour job that requires a lot of reminding people without annoying people (or at least trying not to). We're hoping to raise at least $15,000 (just shy of $7,000 to date) and as with all Kickstarter projects if we don't reach our goal then we get nothing at all. Please take a moment to watch our pitch video and if it resonates with you then please make a pledge. The minimum amount is $1 and believe me when I say we are THRILLED when we see those $1 pledges come in because they add up quickly.

We've been shown some Twitter love from a few women who have retweeted our campaign including actress/director Regina King, actress Megan Good, Black Girls Rock creator Beverly Bond, comedienne Sommore, singer T-Boz of TLC and my "shero" herself Shonda Rhimes! We've also recently been covered by Clutch magazine: http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2013/06/new-film-explores-the-muted-voices-of-missing-children-of-color-2/.

I have some other things to share with you, including a new blog feature that I'm excited about, but first I've gotta make it to the 30th and see this Kickstarter campaign through to the end.

Muted Kickstarter
Muted Facebook page

Moving right along

Producing
I'm back in the producer's seat again. Tara and I hired a wonderful talent by the name of Rachel Goldberg to  direct Muted and things have been pretty much nonstop since then. We've posted a breakdown and requested some of the actors to put themselves on tape. We're meeting with DP's (another word for cameramen mom/grandma). We're putting the final touches on our Kickstarter (fundraising) campaign and we're even planning a party to kick it off which should be a lot of fun.

Writing
I finished draft 3 of my screenplay. I'm happy with its progress but I know it's time to get a script consultant to read it. I have a few in mind but my funds are reserved for other more pressing needs right now so unless they're willing to barter their services for some baked goods, I have to wait.

Acting
I filmed a nice procedural scene with my classmate & friend Yvonne. It's still being edited but we were very happy with the rough cut. No audition updates, yet, but I'll keep submitting knowing that my roles are right around the corner.

Headshots
My agents want me to get new headshots and I'd love to but my funds are being saved for another car. As soon as we get a second car (which will hopefully be in the next 4 weeks), then I can start planning my shoot. I've already selected the photographer and my agents were very specific about the looks they want me to capture so I've just gotta book the shoot. In the meantime, my buddy Hugo shot these:

  

Pretty happy with them! Though I'm really giving someone the evil eye in that second one. :-)

Day Job
So already I'm sick of transcribing. It was fine when I was doing it as a supplemental thing but to do it every day for such a small amount of pay is ridiculously monotonous. If I were to go back to working at a production company then the pay would be a lot better but as an independent contractor working from home, it's low (and will be even lower once taxes are paid on them next year). So I'm back in the day job seeking hunt once again. I even thought about going back to waitressing but that makes my soul shudder at the very thought. I love people and I love food but working as a server can really make you hate both and I just don't wanna do that. I've been looking at Event Sales and Event Coordinator jobs lately and I just had an interview today that went really well. I have to do a second interview with the owners of the venue and I'm hoping to knock it out of the park as I'd be coordinating a lot of birthday parties, premiere parties, screenings, wrap parties, etc. - all events that I enjoy working on. So we'll see.

Day 308: Privates

Day 308: Privates with DaJuan at SKS. Since I can't afford to take class right now {mainly due to the expense of finishing DWP} I've decided to take half-hour privates with DaJuan twice a month. Now it's not the same as getting the full class experience, especially since I am a visual learner who can pick up on things when I see other people do it but at least it gets me back working on sides, breaking down scenes and practicing my craft. 

Day 286 - 287: Renewals, wardrobe and location

Day 286: Renewed my TAN membership. Picked up 2 wedding dresses for future DWP use that was donated by an actress who knew I needed one to complete shooting episode 6. Thanks Cheyanne!

Day 287: Visited USC's United University Church to make sure it would work for the location we need to finish episode 6. It looks great online but you only see bits and pieces of parts of the church rather than a full photo of what it looks like as a whole. So I'm glad it's going to work out as we're planning to shoot on Monday. 

Day 271: Lunch with Lisa

Day 271: Lunch with Lisa Nicole Bell. She's truly a force to be reckoned with {check out her upcoming speaking engagements to see what I mean} and I love it because she's the giving type who always asks what she can do to be of assistance to you. Moreover, it's always interesting meeting with her since her role in the industry is more behind the camera than in front so her perspective on things can be refreshing.

Day 263: Coffee & Cupcakes

Day 263: Met with Claire & Lex for coffee. We discussed DWP since Claire is directing eps 7 & 8 and Lex will be the DP and we'll also be shooting a scene for my reel in the next couple of weeks as well. Time flies when I'm with them and though we had a lot of laughs, we also got a lot done. Afterwards, since we were on Wilshire {aka agent-mecca}, I decided to pick up a dozen mini-cupcakes from Hansens {not the best flavor-wise but super cheap when you're in a pinch} and brought them over to my agents to thank them for all their hard work. They've been sending me out quite a bit and although the callbacks are nice, I really wanna book and show them that they made a good decision signing me. I was only there for maybe 15 minutes tops but I had a nice chat with both of them and then went on about my merry way.

Day 237: Reading & Renewals

Day 237: Continued reading Save The Cat 2 and renewed my LA Casting subscription. I've always had it so that my agents could submit me and my reel was hosted for $5 per month but I'm now paying $15 again (yikes!) to submit myself as well. Hopefully this will bring me some more auditions.

Dos Años

July 17th marked my 2 year anniversary here in LA. In some ways it feels like I've been here much longer and in other ways I still feel very green. In the last 24 months, here's what I've learned...

*Warning- I haven't written a blog post outside of my daily activity entries in awhile so this is a long one.*

Training
Man if you have the money, do this from the outset! I wish I could've afforded to be in the class that I'm in a long time ago because it's making such a difference. To be able to hone the skills that you have as well as learn new ones on a consistent basis is necessary. Every other professional stays sharp in their skills by doing whatever it is they do on a daily basis. Lawyers, Doctors, Athletes, Musicians, they all work/practice/perform as much as they can to be at the top of their game. Yet Actors, especially those of us just starting out, don't usually get that opportunity to be working for the majority of the year so when you're not working you NEED to be in class if you want to compete with the girl or guy who will be auditioning for the same role as you. Don't fall into the trap of thinking your talent is so great that you can't use some polishing. Please. If you're not working {whether on film, TV or stage}, get in class.

Day Jobs
Of course, if you have no money you can't afford to be in class or to pay for other necessary actor expenses so getting a day job is vital. While I tried my hand at serving, it wasn't for me. I really like people and I want it to stay that way. If, however, you can overlook the incompetence that ignorant, uneducated, drunk, or just plain rude people exhibit from time to time while in a restaurant or bar, then by all means get yourself a serving or bartending job and make it work for you. There's a reason this is the most popular actor gig- it's flexible! There's also catering, temp work, substitute teaching, extra work {though this should be done sparingly if you really want to keep your days free for auditions}, babysitting, tutoring, security guard positions and production work if you can get on the night shift.

I work as a Night Logger/Transcriber for a production company because I happen to type pretty fast and accurately. It started off as a very unstable, on and off gig transcribing one show and has lead to a consistent job transcribing all the shows they produce so that now I only have a few weeks off throughout the year. It's not my dream day job by any stretch of the imagination. It's somewhat tedious. It keeps me away from my family at night when I'd rather be tucking the boys in and spending time with Stephen but it's a means to an end. It helps pay for acting expenses. Hell with the cost of living out here, it helps pay for household expenses! It keeps my days free for auditions. It has weekends off so I can get some family time. I can make-up any days I need to miss for a shoot. And best of all, I have autonomy. No one's looking over my shoulder micro-managing me which I CAN'T STAND! Even my supervisor is an actor, so he gets it. You gotta use the skill set you have to find the job or jobs that will allow you to do what you need to do to make this work.

Auditions
I've certainly learned what is worth my time and what isn't. When I'm notified that I have an audition I read the sides or the whole script if available, to see if it's something that I want to INVEST my time in. If so, full speed ahead. If not, I thank the CD for the opportunity and respectfully decline. This isn't foolproof. Sometimes the sides aren't available until you get there and you realize you wouldn't want to do the part even if they paid you. But other times, the audition experience is exhilarating and it's why we come out here- to have an opportunity to play these roles. At my stage in the game I'm mostly auditioning for student films, short films and ultra low-budget indie films, not to mention commercials. Of course TV is where I wanna be but getting in those audition rooms without representation, while not impossible, is no small feat.

Representation
Speaking of rep, I'm still on the hunt for a good manager and theatrical agent. I knew this would take some time so I'm not concerned at this point but I do know how important and truly helpful having good representation can be. I mean let's face it, there are PLENTY of TV casting offices that I can mail or drop-off my headshot to tons of times and they're still gonna call in the girl who was submitted by her agent or manager. That's just the way it goes. Certainly there are exceptions to the rule but who wants to rely on those odds? Not me. If I wanna play in that sandbox, I gotta get some theatrical rep on my team.

Support
While I have a lot of colleagues that are talented/nice/sweet/whatever, my actual circle of friends has gotten smaller and tighter. People who I thought were friends turned out to be colleagues only and those who I thought I'd never have a deep connection with because of our differences have turned out to be some of the people I love the most {Tara & Lex for instance}. Having friends I can call back in Houston is wonderful {and I wouldn't trade them for the world} but you really do need a tribe out here to survive. You need people who understand the daily grind that you've chosen to put yourself through because they're doing the same. They understand the anxiety and self-doubt you feel from time to time yet they also get that there's nothing else in the world you'd rather do. Their support is invaluable, especially if you're not getting it at home.

Which leads me to the toughest one...

The homefront
My husband loves me. He loves my drive. He loves my ambition. He loves my steadfast determination to pursue something I want until I get it.

What he doesn't love is LA.

He doesn't love that his salary is the same or very close to what he'd make in the south, yet the cost of living is 2 to 3 times more. He doesn't love that $150,000 can buy us a nice house with space and a yard for our boys somewhere in TX while out here it can barely get you a decent condo. He doesn't love that he has to spend a fortune to fly out to visit his parents while he can just take a road trip if we lived closer. He doesn't love that I have very few Christian friends out here who can encourage me in my walk with Christ, while all my friends back in Houston believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and try to share his love with others. Most importantly, he doesn't love that he's been helping me pursue my dream for the last 2 years while neglecting his. In case you're wondering, he wants to be a Pastor.

All of these things I can understand, especially the last one. There's no way I could've come out here and do what I've done without him being by my side and I want nothing more than for him to feel the utter joy that I feel from pursuing what I love most. I just want him to feel it HERE. Because to ask me to leave LA, the one place I physically NEED to be if I'm going to pursue TV & film work when we just got here only 2 years ago... I can't do it. I just, can't.

So there's that.

A lot has happened in 2 years. Some good, some not so good but it's all a part of my "adventure" I guess. And I share it because I know some of you are going through the same things too so this blog is my way of saying you're not alone. Or maybe it's my way of reaching out and hoping that I'm not alone. Either way, hopefully I'll have more exciting stuff to share by Year 3.

Day 162: Monday Mailings

Day 162: Monday Mailings

• Mailed 5 managers and 11 theatrical agents. {FYI- Postage for envelopes with your headshot & resume have gone up from $1.05 to $1.08, so be sure to add that extra 3 cents to each one if you're using stamps to mail from home.} 
• Mailed my info to ABC's Diversity Showcase
• Emailed 26 managers using mailchimp so I could see who actually opened it, how many times and which links they clicked.
• Emailed the Kaiser Educational Theatre Program my info. They offer a well paid day job where you act for students- not bad.

Day 155 - 161: A week's worth of stuff

Forgive the abbreviated posts. My body has been experiencing murphy's law over the last week so I'm going to keep this short and sweet and then go back to getting some rest.

Day 155: Mitrice Documentary Meeting. Came up with some deadlines for what we need to have done in order to get a rough cut of a trailer by mid-July.

Day 156: Set up an account with Basecamp, a project management website that is a WONDERFUL tool producers can use to both organize and collaborate with key crew more efficiently.

Day 157: Studied Sides for the comedy scene I have to put up in class on Saturday. Not really feeling it because comedy isn't my strong point but I'm definitely looking forward to LEARNING because this is certainly an area where I can grow.

Day 158: Power Group. This monthly meeting alone makes the membership to TAN more than worth it. I got some great ideas for CD drop-offs that I plan to implement sometime over the summer. I also got a referral to a regional agent on my target list. Score!

Day 159: Emailed my website along with a quick blurb on who I'm training with and what I'm working on to a colleague of mine who offered to pass it along to his manager. He has a pretty good amount of co-star credits and has read for guest star roles as well so he's told me she's a good starter manager in his opinion. He  forwarded it to her and within a few hours he emailed me back to tell me she wanted me to give her a call. I did and I now have a meeting with her scheduled for next Friday.

Day 160: Audition Bootcamp Part 2 - Today we worked on a comedy scene and wow did I learn a lot of technical crap. Reversals, turns, builds, triplets, mirrors, patterns, we worked on ALL of that and though it was a bit mind-boggling at first, the ish works! Using these techniques made every single person have funny moments throughout the piece, including myself. It was incredibly freeing for me to discover that even if you're not inherently funny you can still kill a comedic audition with the right technique.

Day 161: Bought 100 envelopes from Office Depot for $9.99 since I was fresh out and want to do a mailing tomorrow.

Day 143: Audition

Day 143: Audition for America's Most Wanted. I was brought in by Billy DaMota, a HUGE supporter of actors and ran into quite a few familiar faces in the lobby. I must admit I was pretty self-conscious for this one because I had to have an emergency root canal done by a specialist a few hours before. I wanted to reschedule the dentist appointment but I was getting on a plane to go out of town for 4 days so that wasn't an option. I also couldn't reschedule the audition because they were bringing people in in pairs and they weren't accepting tape so it was now or never. I made the best of it but I'm so glad they didn't put us on tape because part of my mouth was still quite numb. When it was over, however, Billy said I did an awesome job and told me to kiss the baby for him. All in all I'm glad I went but I hope to never be in that position again so I'm taking care of all of my dental needs over the next 2 months... all $2800 worth of them, ugh.