KG: MVP

I shot my first SAG commercial* yesterday with Kevin Garnett. Ok, so I didn't get to meet him officially. Ok, ok, so I was just and extra who probably won't even be in the shot. But it was still kinda neat. He's tall, and skinny, and funny.

The shoot lasted from 1:30 until 9pm. We sat on the sidelines the entire time and were expected to be silent. That, of course, didn't happen and we were shushed every thirty seconds by various crew members. Which got annoying. We discussed the fact that what the two six year old children (the stars of the commercial) were making and the fact that it would probably put them through college for a year. We discussed the fact that Kevin Garnett is worth $29 million dollars a year. We talked a lot about money. Difficult not to in that environment. I think I was one of the few non-union people at the shoot. The people I sat next to on the set had made hundreds of commercials together. I felt young and inexperienced. But in a good way.

Unfortunately, they didn't feed us dinner, which I believe violates union rules. I left a message on my agent's voicemail asking about it and whether there was a penalty that would send us another $50 or not. We shall see.

*I am not union yet. I got to do this job under a waiver, of which non-union folks get three total. So now I'm down to two.

*eye roll*

So, due to some lack of communication on someone's part, I may not be working my first SAG job ever tomorrow. Gah. I spoke to my agents three times. I didn't get the message about needing some particular information until everyone had left the office because I was in dance class.

However, I intend to rectify this situation early tomorrow morning. I'm going to walk over there and say, "Can we do this today? How long does it take? Can I get it in before the call time? I think I can. Let's do this," and be all commando on the situation until I get my way.

(The one thing that occurred to me some minutes after I returned the call was that the information they needed was in their possession. I just wonder if they remembered that. Hm.)

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So I drove alllll the way out to Minnetrista today, thinking that my callback for the HGTV show was today. It was, in fact, not. It's next Wednesday. I knew that. I really did. I just had a brain fart and decided that it was today. Dur. I really need to sit down every morning and look at my schedule for the day so I don't keep doing things like that.

Here's a picture! Shiny.


Oh, and it's perfectly ok for you to click on that little "Post Comment" linky down there and tell me what you think. It won't bite. I promise.

Step One.

Hey, I got a callback for the HGTV show I auditioned for. Nifty. However, maybe not good. I might have to choose between HPC and HGTV and I just don't know if I'm ready to do that.

Shows are going well, barring some technical problems that I'd rather not discuss because they show a brief lack of intelligence on my part.

I auditioned for "Prelude to A Kiss" last night when I finally found the theatre. (Downtown St. Paul is a civil engineer's nightmare.) I have no idea if I'll get a callback, but I looked cute, and afterward treated myself to Sushi Tango, so that counts for something.

Nothing to do today, however, except relax. Which I shall try my hardest to achieve. :)

Pain.

This is going to be a long year.

Halfway through dance tonight my right knee and ankle started to ache. I don't know if this is because of the brace I wear during the show, and my body's compensating for not being able to move my left leg, or if the wear and tear is finally catching up with me. I haven't been taking my glucosamine (guilty eye shift toward the parents), so that might have something to do with it. Nonetheless, I think I'll need to buy a neoprene knee brace, or something.

It's Snack Time. I'm feeling sleepy.

I went to the orthodontist today for a consultation. I, unfortunately, have a mouth that is more screwed up than it seems; I'm not the ideal candidate for InvisAlign®. There for, they want to put ceramic braces on me, which are less visible, but still have that stupid steel line running across all the teeth. And in order to fix my bottom jaw, those braces would need to be on for 6-9 months. Not an extremely long time in the long run, however, my bread and butter comes from my smile, and I don't think I'd be very marketable as a 25 year old with braces. I could do just the top row of teeth for 12 weeks and get my one problem tooth straightened out, but still... I can't really perform with a mouthful of metal.

I'm not really worried about the cost, as it's a write-off no matter what. I just don't know whether I should spend the money and get the invisible braces and maybe not the results I want, or if I should fix my mouth completely and take a break from acting, which doesn't even sound plausible as it's the only job I have right now.

Why, oh why did I choose a profession that counts so heavily on looks? Meh.

Monday, Monday

My first three show day today, and I survived. I'm pooped, but I survived. Had some technical problems, like forgetting to turn the slide timer on for the first race, so my slides didn't advance, and forgetting to turn the slide timer off at the end, so the slides kept advancing past the picture of Coach Temple on into blackness for another five minutes. But other than that, it was cake.

I may be am moving again. I have a bunch of apartments viewings lined up, some one bedrooms, some efficiencies. I'm curious to see the one bedroom that's under $600, as that's hard to find in this area. It apparently has new carpet and a new kitchen floor, but it was built in 1908. The other places I'm looking at were built in the 70s. Neither is really a bad thing, but both have their drawbacks. Until I get into them, I suppose I won't know.

Boy, I'm ready for bed. Spinach salad and then sleep. Mmm...sleeeeeep....

I'm tired.

I opened my New Character for One Woman Show today. Boy, does my body hurt. (I think some of the soreness may have to do with dance class last night, but still.) Sprinting in place twice will really do a number on your knees. It went pretty well; a vast improvement over yesterday's rehearsal anyway. I only had one major technical snafu, and the timing on the strobe was perfect. I'm glad I've opened now, as I was getting really tired of rehearsal (and feeling like I couldn't get anything right or remember my lines). All is well now.

For those of you who live in New Jersey, you may get to see me on television. I shot a commercial for the New Jersey State Lottery on Tuesday. I have no idea when it's coming out, but watch for a rather strange commercial that talks about Tetris®.

Other than that, I only have one audition coming up, but it's a biggie. I don't know if I'll be able to take it because of my schedule, so I'm going into it with the notion that I'm there to be seen, not to commit to anything. We'll see what happens.

On other note, I think my newest plant, Triffid, is dying. I moved it closer in front of the window, but it's still turning yellow. Not sure what to do about it. I don't want Triffid to die! Even though it's named after an alien space plant that tried to destroy the world, I still want it around.

Another show tomorrow, and then the three-show days commence. *wince*

Lessons Learned

1. If you work for yourself and your livelihood depends on your ability to communicate, always have your phone nearby. I missed a very important call and, for the next 20 hours, thought that that mishap had cost me my job.

2. Nothing in the film world is ever set in stone. I got cut from the short film I was working on. The production and creative team didn't get the shots they needed on the weekends I was available, and had to cut my character because I couldn't commit to the times they'd set out this weekend. Too bad for them, too bad for me, but more too bad for them.

3. Don't kick yourself around if you mess up by not being on top of your game. Rehearsal today was freaking hard. I couldn't seem to get past the technical difficulties and almost threw a fit because I couldn't get my leg brace on. Shake it off, shake it off, shake it off.

4. Never discount the power of being a nice person or being easy to work with. I truly think that my reputation preceeded me in the case of my upcoming job, and therefore saved me from losing the booking, despite my earlier mishap (see: above).

5. Everything goes up and down all the time. Roll with it.

Not much to see here.

I auditioned for a Big Name Department Store Industrial today, and will definitely not be getting that job. Not because I suck. I was very good, actually. But I have a show in the middle of the longest shooting day and the director said that would most definitely not work. *sigh*

Nevertheless I got a callback from my Monday audition anyway, so that's some good news. I think it's news that deserves a tasty coffee drink before my dance class.

On the agenda for the evening:

• memorize a few more pages of Children's Show


• bike downtown


• attend dance class missed for the past two weeks


• wash and style hair


• sleeeeeeep

No pictures.

Unfortunately, due to some kind of technical snafu, my comp card photos did not burn onto the CD. So I have nothing to show you all. Not yet, at least. Hopefully some time next week I can nab a few samples to post, even if they have to email them to me. Heyyy...I should ask if they can email them. Then again, that might take way too long. Too bad the person I regularly deal with at My Modeling Agency is leaving for Egypt on Monday. For three weeks or something ridiculous like that. I wish we could trade places.

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I'm taking a break from going over my HPC blocking to mess around on the internet. Well, I originally got online to check the weather (43º!!) and got sucked into other distractions. The rewriting blocking business is dry and boring, and while I am well aware that I should have done this last week or, oh, the week before right after I got back from rehearsals in Chicago, procrastination is my nature.

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I dropped out of the class I was taking, citing financial shortfall. Which isn't untrue. However, if I adored the class and couldn't wait to get back to it, I'd find a way to pay for it. As it stands, I did not adore the class, so I decided to keep my $120.

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Speaking of financial shortfall, I might have to get a part-time job. *gag* I hate saying that. I hate admitting it, but I have a $500 gap in my budget between expenses and income, and it needs to be filled somehow. The only problem with this scenario is that my schedule can be highly erratic, and most employers don't like that. Most employers don't like to see gaps in employment, either, which I have in large number.

Maybe my lesson in all of this is to become more persistent when pursuing acting employment opportunities. If I don't have a safety net (the part-time job), I'll be more willing to take the risks necessary to keep my life moving along the current track (income derived completely from acting-related endeavors). This was my goal when I first started this crazy business, and I've reached it much sooner than I thought I would. If I curtail my spending (eating out, buying unnecessary clothing, walk or bike instead of driving), I might just be able to hang on until that next big commercial or theatre job comes along. In fact, that's my plan. Coffee shop jobs and the like will always be there. I love the life I have right now, and I don't want it to end any time soon.