Lydia's Journey BEYOND Hollywood

Sorry it's taken me so long to post. I have no great excuse. Just nothing really exciting to say. :( I'm getting ready to head out of town for the holidays. I thought I'd have my first choice agent already on board - and that didn't work out, obviously. Then, I've been waiting to hear back from agency #2, and they haven't made up their mind on me yet. Hmmm..... And so that leaves us with agency #3. I may have to try them on for size during pilot season to see how they work out. They weren't my fist choice - but they are decent and really want to work with me, so a hard working agent during pilot season is better than no agent - right? So I think that's what I will do. I leave for Texas on Tuesday and will return to the west coast on January 3rd, 2007. If I have anything to say during that time, I will post. But if not, see you in 2007, with a strong fresh start! :) HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

My beautiful Godson turns one today!! :) YAY!!!!

with Cher Ferreyra in Tropical America , a play I did back in 2002. Fun role! :) If I'm not the maid, I'm the gang banger, right??!! I had a pretty bad day yesterday. :( Ok, let me start by saying my meeting with House of Representatives yesterday went AWESOME! I was comfortable. I liked these women (Ginger and Pam), and we just chatted. It was nice. I felt like they meant business and I was excited about that. When I was leaving the office, they told me that had to discuss with each other to see if I'm in conflict with another actress they represent. They were afraid I was too close in age to her. This girl plays early to mid twenties and they were hoping I played well into my thirties. When they met me, I guess they could tell that I play around late twenties to early thirties. They wanted more like a 10 year gap between us - and there wasn't. So my day yesterday started off with a phone call from Ginger telling me they loved me - but UNFORTUNATELY, they couldn...

I met with The Beverly Hechy Agency today and I really liked them! I have one more meeting tomorrow with House of Representatives and then I will know exactly where I will end up. I'll keep you posted! :)

I'm not sure if I'm subbing yet tomorrow or not - but it's already pretty busy. If I am working - then I'll probably get off around 2:30pm. Then I have to head straight over to my meeting with Hervey/Grimes Talent Agency at 3:30pm. Then right after that, I head to Universal for my Desperate Housewives audition. I'm bummed that I'm going in for a tiny one line nurse role, after I told my management company I wanted to focus more on guest star roles. I guess they forgot about that conversation! Oh well.... My audition is at 6:15pm. Then I workout at 6:45pm - if I can make my class. I joined Krav Maga a couple of weeks ago, and surprisingly enough - I actually like it! It kicks my butt every workout - which is good. Very good. And I look forward to my classes - which I take about 5 - 7 classes a week - 5 days a week. Or at least I try to. So Tuesday will be very busy for me. And Wednesday will be exactly like that - minus the audition (unless I get anoth...

I play Maria the nanny in a small part on What About Brian , airing tomorrow night. And my part of Marta, Cameron Diaz housekeeper, in The Holiday was cut down so much I'm hardly even there! :( Oh well - it's a good movie anyway, so check it out! ;) Plus, I still get paid, so make this film a hit! :)

This week I had TWO auditions! One was a callback for a Wells Fargo c ommercial on Tuesday afternoon. It went well. It was a room full of people and I auditioned with a guy who had to do all the work. I just had to react off of him. I felt pretty good about it even though their reactions were pretty quiet. Then I had a straight to producers call for My Name is Earl . I was going in for a funny part of a masseuse named Tammy. Small but funny role. I felt like I did pretty great - but since it's Friday today and I haven't heard anything, I'm guessing I didn't get it. Oh well... Beverly Hecht Agency called to set up a meeting with me for next week. I'm meeting with them on Wednesday - the day before I meet with House of Representatives. Hopefully by this time next week I will have signed with a new agent - just in time for pilot season! :) This week has been pretty interesting. I received a "fan email" from someone in Germany requesting 2 autogra...

I am the victim of an editor. I've seen the cutting room floor up close many times ( The OC , Everwood ), but none have felt this cold as the cutting room floor of The Holiday . I went to a screening this evening of "my" movie - and I use the word "my" loosely considering I was barely visible! They cut out every single part where I would be recognizable. But I won't take it personally. All of my close up shots where gone. But I won't take that personally. I was reduced to a "background artist" in one scene and a blur who utters a barely audible line in another - and that's it. But again, I won't take that personally. At least I'll try not to. It's funny how I worked five times longer on this shoot than The Terminal - got paid 5 times more - and am seen five times LESS! But that's showbiz.....right? :( Oh well, my 300 postcards announcing the film's opening will be nice publicity that Columbia Pictures didn't...

The cast of For Your Consideration . Funny movie - definately worth an Oscar! ;) Let's see....seems like a lot has happened in the past couple of days that I haven't posted about. Last night I audited Ivana Chubbuck's master class. It was pretty cool. I have to say I wasn't "blown away" like I expected to be - but that's good news. I thought I would feel inferior to those actors if they did super amazing scenes - but their scenes were "ok", and I felt like I was in their game. I wasn't "out of their level". So that's good. I met with Ivana after the class and she looked over my resume and told me she would put me in her Saturday morning Advanced class. I'm not sure how long I would have to stay at the advanced level before I get "moved up" to her master classes. Some people stay there for months and months and never go into the master class. And my friend Angel moved up within a couple of months. So it all depe...

Thanks to my friend Rick, I have my own poster! Thanks Rick! :)

So first - The Great News! I have tickets to the premiere of The Holiday ! My manager just got off the phone with Columbia Pictures and they said I have tickets for the premiere! Very cool! Now the Not So Great News.... The freakin' premiere is in New York City! WHAT???!!! Ugh! Just great! And I doubt that Columbia Pictures will fly me to NYC - so the question is, do I have it in my budget for an impromptu trip to NY for my first premiere - right before the holidays? ummm...no - not really. So, as much as I wanted to go to this - it's probably not worth it for me to fly to NY, considering how small my part will end up being! Maybe this just means that the NEXT one will be the one I'm supposed to go to! First no invite to the premiere for The Terminal, then The Holiday premiere in NYC! Oh well.... gotta just laugh when it's this painful! :) ha ha ha

The Holiday poster on a bus in Culver City! Nice! OPENS DECEMBER 8TH!! I had an audition today for Close to Home at Audino/Schiff Casting on the SONY lot. The role was a preschool teacher so they asked that we not dress sexy and to portray "sweet and honest". Got it. So I put my hair behing my ears, wore a nice pleated skirt and a sweater and looked very sweet and honest! ;) Hey, I HAVE been a preschool teacher before, so I know how to look sweet! hahaha My audition was at 12:30pm and I got there really early - 11:50am. They told me that they wouldn't start until 12:30pm, so I hung around and read my script over and over again. I was first, and I hate going first because you never know if they are willing to bring you back to producers, or wait and see what else they have in the room. Lucky for me, first time was a charm and I was asked to come back for producers at 3pm. I got there and saw one other girl from the preread and two other girls that I hadn't seen befor...

They moved the opening of the film up by 2 weeks! And I found that out by watching the trailer on tv! I've been letting everyone know the film was opening Dec 22nd and now that's it's been moved up - I have this sense of panic/nervousness. Mainly because I have no idea if I'll be invited to the premiere. Time to get moving and make that happen! :) Last night I saw a great film: The Pursuit of Happyness with Will Smith. He did a great job in this film. It was a very honest performance. And his 5 year old son co-starred in it with him, and did a pretty impressive job also!

I was off of work (subbing) on Monday and Tuesday, so I spent all of Monday dropping off packages at agencies and all of Tuesday dropping of pictures for new feature films. Trying to be productive! I guess it worked since I got a call yesterday from House of Representatives, requesting my demo reel! Nice! :) I hand delivered it yesterday afternoon. House of Rep has been on the top of my agency list ever since I moved here - so I was really excited that they showed interest. Now, I hope my reel was strong enough to get a meeting! Also, in other news....My website it being constructed as I write! I have been wanting a website for I don't know how long - seems like forever! And now, if you go to www.lydiablanco.com - you will enter into my little corner of the web world - other than this blog of course (which will have a link on my website!) Keep in mind that it's under construction right now, but should be up and running in full swing by the weekend - maybe even tomorrow! :) ...

So could it have gone any worse? Probably not. ok, let's stay positive....I'm SURE it could've gone worse. Somehow. Is that considered positive? Anyway, my audition didn't go so great. Obviously. I walked in prepared and in the zone. Trying to maintain my emotion and not get distracted by the idle chatter in the waiting room. I was ready. I walked in and the casting director wasn't so ready. She didn't even know what role I was reading for, nor was she prepared for the emotional scene I was about to do. She kept asking me questions that got me in my head and out of my zone. Little chit chat questions - which kinda irked me since I knew I was about to do an emotional scene. Then I asked her that since it called for a scream at the end of my scene, did she want me to do it? She answered with these words specifically "I can't imagine you NOT". So I took it to mean that of course, she wanted me to do the scream. So I did my emotional sce...

My Horoscope for today: Think big and go after what you want. A surge of 'me first!' energy gives you the boldness to ask for what you really want. Your loved ones may be astonished at your chutzpah, but they'll also be very impressed by the results. Nice! :)

Ok, so I have an audition for a co-star role tomorrow. It's a new show for NBC and my part is a nice co-star role in two scenes. I know I said I didn't want to do anymore co-star parts - but I checked out the sides and this role was pretty juicy. My character is getting car-jacked with a gun pointed out her and she's terrified. So I get to stretch my acting muscles a bit with this part. I think my character is in tears for the entire 2 scenes, trembling and completely freaked out. Nice. I especially like the action sequence at the end of the second scene where they stop my car by ramming a patrol car into it and having to pull me out of it to save me. Sounds like fun! :)

So for the first time EVER in my career, I passed on an audition. Can you believe it? Last week, my manager called with this small 2 line role for a sitcom. The part was described as a "Rosie Perez Puetro Rican type" and the lines were all in Spanish. I checked out the scene and thought that this would be the perfect time to pass. It was a co-star audition, and since I am focusing more on larger guest star roles and hopefully, eventually, series regular roles, I didn't think that I NEEDED to jump at this opportunity. Plus, I figured I wasn't a shoe in for the Rosie Perez type and I'm sure that there will be others auditioning that better fit that description, and who spoke better Spanish than I. So I passed on the audition. I felt good about that, and nervous too. Especially since I had never been in for this office before...I didn't want to hurt my chances with them. But I'm trying to stay positive and think of it as steering their vision of me as a co-st...

On the set of Notes From the Underbelly . 1st pic: Me, Lorena, and Joanna, 2nd pic: 'In action' as Maria the hostess! 3rd pic: my call sheet, 4th pic: a fake pregnant Lorena taking a smoking break, 5th pic: Me and the director Lev :) I shot Notes From the Underbelly on Thursday and had a great time. Everyone was so nice. I recognized a few people on the crew! There was this lighting guy I worked with on The Terminal a couple of years back and a stand in named Sonni who I took Scott Sedita's comedy intensive class with. I worked a very long day - which means lots of overtime! YAY!!! I'm very happy about that! I talked a lot with the background...there were lots for this scene! And I walked away from the set ready to totally change my career! I'm ready to take it to the next level. I was wondering why I had been so frustrated lately and it's because I feel stuck in the co-star world. I remember when I first moved to town, I felt 'stuck...

I got a phone call this morning at 10am from my manager saying I have a last minute audition for a guest star, possible recurring, role on Corey in the House . And it was straight to producers at 1pm! I was in the middle of teaching a fifth grade class and I was so stressed out - because that's exactly the kind of role I want - GUEST STAR RECURRING!!!!!! (That's just under my top choice of "series regular"!) ;) So I had no choice. I HAD to make that audition....so I told the offfice I wasn't feeling well (I know, I know - I feel so bad about that!) and I rushed over to my manager's office to pick up my sides and rushed over to the audition. I was told they were going from 1pm until 1:30pm - and I got there at 1:30pm. I thought I missed it - but luckily they were still there, waiting for anyone who may arrive late (like me!). The audition went well, that's GREAT considering I only had the script from the drive from my manager's office to the aud...

Well, somehow it all worked out. I was able to leave school early and they had someone cover my class. I felt pretty guilty about it though. (Maybe it's the Catholic in me!) I just felt bad - selfish actually - about leaving the kids who I was supposed to be teaching that day so I can be at a table read - which I don't get paid for. By the way, I never knew that: we get "invited" to the table reads...it's not mandatory. Even though if we don't make it to the read, we could get fired and replaced. But if they make it "mandatory" - then they'd have to pay us. Hmmm...showing up or losing your job sounds pretty mandatory to me! I walk into the room with a long table set out with name cards of everyone in the cast and the role they are playing. The director, producers and writers are also at our table with name cards - and the executives are sitting around the table like an audience. Talk about pressure! The ABC executives, the casting people who hire...

The cast of the new show Notes From the Underbelly . I'll let you know when my episode airs! :)

Ok, so let's start off with the news of the day...I booked Notes From the Underbelly !! YAY!!!!! I'm playing this bitch of a hostess on a power trip. Fun! :) I believe it's a single camera 1/2 hour comedy (Like Curb ) for ABC. I went into my producer's ession today and was excited to see some familiar faces. I saw Tina D'Marco who played my mother in Real Women Have Curves last year in Santa Barbara. She was up for my same role. I also saw Lorena Mena , who was up for the role of a very pregnant waitress (which I just found out she booked!! YAY Lorena!!! I finally get to work with her again!!!) I went in and did my thing, and felt pretty good about it. Doesn't hurt to feel good when the producers are laughing after your scene - especially if it's a comedy! ;) I left and headed home to change for my last minute audition at 5pm. It was for a Cingular Wireless national commercial. The only information I got was that they were looking for averag...

Had another print audition today. I had to dress as if going to the beach, in shorts and a t-shirt, even though the weather in LA was cloudy and kinda cool... Right after my audition I headed over to SONY studios for my ADR appointment for The Holiday . I had to loop my voice to a scene I'm in. They played it back for me and I look like a big blur...They assured me I'm more visible in other scenes. I hope they're right! :) I stopped by Debra Zane's office afterwards to drop off one of my new headshots, but they weren't there. I'll have to try back again soon. Then I headed home to change for my last minute audition for Notes From the Underbelly at Tracy Lilienfield's office. I haven't seen Tracy in quite a while. She cast me in Good Morning Miami a while back (4 years to be exact - wow) It was nice to be in front of her again. She called me in for a pre read for the role of Maria, a "comically dry" hostess. I thought it went pret...

So, It's no secret that I go out theatrically WAY more than I do commercially - which is part of the reason why I got my new headshots done! :) But I haven't even put them on LA Casting yet and I had two print "auditions" this week and one for Monday. Print is an interesting thing since there is no union jurisdiction over it and the pay can range from $600 for your pic to $3500! And sometimes for stock print - you never know where your image will end up! I'm slowly sending out postcards announcing my booking for What About Brian - trying to make it stretch as far as I can, because you never know when that next job is coming! I LOVE that I am still "working" on The Holiday , almost a year after I booked it! :) I go in on Monday for looping - so that should be fun! :) Maybe then I can ask the director about my chances for an invite to the premiere!

1st pic: On set with Amander Detmer, Allison Anders, and Rosanna Arquette. 2nd pic: My "cast chair". I can't wait until the day where I have my name actually printed on one of these as a series regular! :) I had a great time shooting What About Brian , and hopefully will be back for future episodes as Maria, the nanny!

I love days where I get to work as an actor. Those are probably the best days EVER! My call time wasn't until 3pm - so I had time to hit the gym. Thank God! After all the food I ate on set - I'm happy I at least hit the gym! Starting a new acting job is a lot like being the new kid in school. Everyone there already knows each other. I'm always a bit shy when coming to the set. I try and get a feel for the people, the vibe of the show, to see just how much of my outgoing personality to bring out. :) I stayed pretty quiet for most of the day - but I figured if I stayed this quiet until I wrapped, I wouldn't make much of an impression, nor would I be able to nab a great photo for my blog! Soooooo..... I was sitting next to Allison Anders , as I overheard her talking on her cell phone about wanting to write and direct another movie. When she hung up, I half-heartedly joked around about making "Mi Vida Loca - The sequel", which grew into a conversation about the ma...

YAY!!! Finally! I have been waiting for this all year! I booked What About Brian - and the best part is - it may be recurring! I shoot this Friday, and I play the nanny Maria. My manager Laura told me that the casting director thought she saw my character's name in the following episode - so I may be recurring - but she will let us know. YAY!!!!!!! I'm so happy! I haven't booked anything all year except for the industrial in August! This has definately been a really slow year for me, with my first theatrical booking coming in September. When you don't work for a while, you start to get nervous and think "Will I ever work again? Was my last job really my LAST job???" But it's good to think like that though. Keeps me on my toes. It keeps me hungry and working hard to make sure that WASN'T my last job. It's funny how this career happens in cycles. One minute you may be the hottest actor in town, booking audition after audition and it seems...

My agent Greg Meyer and a group of lovely girls - myself included! ;) November 2005 I got the call today saying I was pinned (once again) for the tv show What About Brian . Oh, don't get me wrong - pinned is a lot better than someone else booking it - but still - this is the second time I have been pinned for this show - and I just want a booking!!!! The pinned dates start tomorrow and go on until October 3rd. I guess they will decide whether or not to keep my character in or write her out. OR, maybe just cast someone else. I have no idea what the true meaning of "pinning" means still.... So this week I had an appointment to meet with my agent Dave Kensler over at ACME to help choose from my headshots. I found out that during a meeting Monday morning, Dave and Michael were both "let go". Something about "not making the numbers" booking wise. That was pretty confusing for me. Michael hadn't been there 6 months, and Lance had just left earlier this...

Ok, here are the ones my manager, Laura, picked out for Breakdown Services and for 8x10's. I'm pretty happy with them. The last picture is what I may use as a business card - but I'm not sure. So I found this GREAT place today. It's called The Photoshop and it's this little place in Sherman Oaks. I have been getting my pictures reproduced at Reproductions ever since I started in this town, and this is the first time I'm trying someone new. The prices were pretty amazing for actual PHOTOS, so I had to try it out. I approve my layout on Friday and then I will order my pictures. They should be ready by Monday! YAY!!! :) Today I did a couple of drops at casting offices today, and it resulted in an audition for tomorrow! I'm going in for a nanny named Maria on the show What About Brian , tomorrow at 11:10am. It's a small co-star role, but considering how slow it's been for me, and how I haven't booked much this year, I'm not complaining...

I received my copy of the new Curb Your Enthusiasm book. I forgot that it was even coming out! I remember talking to someone over the phone, an interview about the experience of working on Curb . The book is a breakdown of every episode for the first 5 seasons and I'm featured in it! There is a pic and quote from me! :) The quote doesn't sound like what I said EXACTLY - but nonetheless, it's still pretty cool. I also got called to a last minute audition for According to Jim . It was 2:30 pm and my manager called and asked me to RUN over to CBS Radford because they were looking to cast someone for that night's show. If I got the part, I would have to stay and shoot for the taping that night. How very awesome! I LOVED working on the sitcom Good Morning Miami and I've been waiting for the opportunity to work on another one! I got there and took a look at the sides. It was a one line role and they were looking for a Latina in her 30's who was pretty and a little ...

One of my very first headshots when I moved to LA. This one is a good 5 1/2 years old! Yikes! Time sure does fly! ok - I need your help! I just got access to my new headshots and I'm trying to decide which are the best ones for me. My "money shots"! So, please click on the link to the ones I added as "favorites" - and vote for YOUR favorite one. Thanks SO much for your input!!! :) http://66.113.76.110/ARU/gjbb/lbg50/fave1158021935028_01.html

Season 5 now on DVD! My episode was "The Christ Nail". Check it out! I have a great idea! I just found out that Curb Your Enthusiasm will be back for another season! Season SIX! YAY!!!!! Now, I think we should all flood Larry David with letters saying we would love MARIA , his housekeeper, back in the new season! With so many requests, he'd have to give in, right? heehee Now let's get started. The closest thing I have is the casting office of Alison Jones: Sunset Gower Studios, 1438 N. Gower St., Mailbox 3, Los Angeles CA 90028 Thanks!

I Love Paul Smith! I had such a good time at my photo shoot today! And my make up artist - Gabriel - was so much fun! I don't remember feeling so relaxed at a headshot photo shoot session before! Money well spent! ALOT of money well spent! I'm sure the pictures will be worth it! I can't wait to see them! I should get them tomorrow or Monday. YAY!!!! :) I had a workshop with Michael at Greenstein/Daniel casting office. I had fun! I hadn't been to a workshop in quite some time and tonight I got to do a sitcom scene from Joey . I felt my energy was good - I may have been a little too over the top. I was playing the role of Joey's agent in the scene - so it was hard NOT to play her "out there". Michael was nice and he seemed to like me. I have another workshop this Saturday. Feels good to be "in the mix" again. Felt like I was on vacation for too long!

It feels so good to be able to walk into a room and do exactly what you prepared to do! There have been many times that I have walked out of an audition room thinking "What the hell was that? I didn't rehearse it that way!" - and at those times, I'm assuming my nerves got the best of me. Well, today I walked out of that room feeling very proud of myself. I was relaxed and confident and very prepared. Probably the most prepared I have ever been for an audition! And it didn't hurt that the people in the room already knew who I was. They (the writers/producers) started chatting about a "little" show on my resume called EVERWOOD - which they wrote for. (The creator of Everwood and Jack and Bobby , Greg Berlanti, is a producer for this ABC pilot.) They also asked me if I would be on any more epsiodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Then we chatted about how the show WILL be on for another season and how I should start bugging Larry (David) to bring me bac...

ok So I get a call from my manager yesterday letting me know that my agent ACME came through and delivered my much wanted series regular audition for a pilot! In the 5 plus years I have been in this town, I have been through many pilot seasons and have auditioned for co-star, guest star, and even recurring roles on pilots - but never a series regular. Ever! This Wednesday I will audition for the casting office of UDK for a new pilot and I read the script - and I LOVE it. I'm so excited about this mainly because the role is SO perfect for me. I was thinking that if I get sent to producers - even that would be a HUGE success for me - but then I noticed that this audition is straight to producers! Yikes! I'm trying not to feel even more nervous about that! No pressure at all! The pilot is Eli Stone and the role is Patti, an assistant who definately speaks her mind. I'm trying to remain calm but it's pretty exciting to know you have a shot at something you KNOW you can ...

Print audition today at The Casting Studios on S. La Brea. I had to dress in business casual and they just took a picture of me. In and out in a couple of minutes. Nice. I'm off tomorrow and I'm going to try and make a decision on a photographer by the end of the day. Ugh....

ok, so I was shopping in Target yesterday and this man rolled his cart over to me, with his son sitting in the seat, and asked me if I was on Curb Your Enthusiasm ! I couldn't help smiling this very wide grin and I tell him that yes, that was me. He told me I was very likeable in that episode and it was one of his favorites to date. That was really cool! But the best part was he told me I looked much younger in person! :-) YES! haha I felt like a mini-celebrity for a split second! And what a perfect day for it to happen on - Emmy day! Speaking of Emmys, I was excited to see that Robert Weide, the director who I worked with on Curb was nominated - and Marc Buckland, who I worked with on Medical Investigation, won for My Name is Earl. It was VERY COOL to see people I had met and worked with on that stage accepting an EMMY! Maybe someday.... ;-) I have a callback tomorrow for that Chase bank commercial! And I have narrowed down my choices for a photographer, but I'm still not 100...

I had an audition this week for a commercial! Can you believe it?? I don't remember the last time I went out on a commercial audition! It was for Chase Bank, and for the "Hispanic market" - meaning it will air on Latin channels like Univision, Galavision, etc... It was fun! I played a woman who was very happy that she got her new chase credit card so she can purchase a washing machine. So she goes around town giving away all her quarters. It went well.... I'm desperately trying to find a new photographer! I need new color headshots like yesterday - and I'm pretty particular in what I'm looking for. I don't like very busy backgrounds - but I don't like the photo to look flat. I like a clear shot that says something...and I've seen many different photographer websites, but nothing really speaks to me. So if anyone has a recommendation, I'm open to all suggestions! Please help!!!! Other than that, not much else is happening. Kinda slow, and it...

ok, so yesterday I made it to both my auditions. That's a good way to start my day! :-) On my way to my first audition I stopped by ACME to drop off more headshots. That's always good news to get that they need more pics - means they are actually using them! Submit away please! :) I saw one of my agents Greg Meyer . He's such a character! He always reminds me of Jeremy Piven of Entourage ! And I mean that with nothing but LOVE! He was just asking me if I made it to my Cold Case audition yesterday and I told him that I had my manager reschedule it for that day. So I headed off to my audition for Stand Off at 20th Century Fox. It always amazes me what some actors feel they need to do to get the upper hand in an audition. The part I was going for was a hospice worker. Not a doctor or nurse - just a hospice worker. So I wore my light tourquoise button down blouse and black slacks. Something simple to SUGGEST the character but not in costume. Well, there were more than...

So I got a last minute call to audition for Cold Case today at Shaner/Testa Casting in Burbank and I was temping in UPLAND - so there was no way I could make it there on time. What sucks is, this was a really good recurring role! But somehow my wonderful manager Laura at Central Artists got me an appointment for tomorrow at 3:30pm! YAY! I didn't miss out on this one! Thank God! And right before I left the office today, I got another call about an audition for tomorrow as well. It's for the show Stand Off at Stordahl/Terry Casting at 12:30pm and the part seems like a pretty meaty co-star role. :-) Looks like I will be running to Century 20th Fox in Culver City, then onto Warner Bros in Burbank. Busy day on the road tomorrow!

Ok, being "pinned" is an interesting term. I mean, it can be good because it means I didn't NOT book the job - but it could be bad because it's not an official BOOKING - I'm just "pinned". Hmmmm....Let's see - I guess I can be the positive person, and not the negative Nelly, and see that the glass is half full. I didn't lose the part to someone else just yet. I'm "pinned". So I guess that means they like me (not sure if they like ONLY me), and they want to make sure of my availability and their scheduling before they call me for an official booking. Right? right. I think. Or, maybe it means that they can't decide between me and someone else - so they "pin" us both and make a final decision later. I don't know - but I'm going to go with the first one - and hope for the best. I need a booking. I haven't really booked anything all year! The Holiday I booked in December technically, and shot it fro...

My audition for What About Brian went well. I showed up perfectly on time - which is a relief because traffic was so bad! I saw one other hispanic actress there, a friend of mine named Lorena Mena , and one Asian actress and then there were about 7 or 8 African American actresses. The description just said 'any ethnicity', so we'll see which way they decide to go. I found out it was a straight to producers audition when I signed in - but I got into the room and it was just the casting director and the camera - so I guess they're casting from the tape. I need to take new headshots very soon - and maybe after I do that - things will start to pick up for me - at least commercially - and I'll start to go out on auditions more. And that could lead to more bookings. And that could lead to less work temping/subbing. Nice!

Audition tomorrow for What About Brian at Mandy Sherman Casting. It's the role of a bank teller. And I've played that before - so maybe that will give me the edge I need! :-) haha I'll be sure to post about it tomorrow - that's IF I make it there on time. Fingers crossed!

Back from my Texas vacation! Top pic: My neice Jessica and myself at the Kelly Clarkson Concert in Dallas; pic 2: Me and my friend Melanie in Austin; 3rd pic: Me on the beach in Corpus Christi; 4th pic: my gorgeous godson Aaron, who is always laughing and smiling :-) Well, it's good to be back. Actually, it's always better to come home from a vacation when you have a JOB waiting for you! :-) I started shooting the industrial for AchieveGlobal this week. We had rehearsal on Monday for a couple of hours. I worked all day yesterday and about one hour today - and I'm wrapped! Not bad when you consider they are paying me for the whole week! nice! :-) Everybody was SO nice on the shoot. And the good thing is they actually call people back to use again in future projects! It could be 10 years later, and they'd call one of their former actors. that's good news! I played a very professional procurement officer named Helen. It was tough being serious an...

Well, I'm on vacation until Sunday August the 6th. I've already missed an audition for the new show Dexter that UDK is casting for - but I feel pretty good that they will call me back when I'm in town. I just got the call that my postcards are ready to be picked up from Reproductions so I will do that when I get back. I plan to do a mailing about the industrial I booked - just to get my name and face in front of these people who haven't called me in yet this season. My script for the industrial will be Fed-Ex'd to me tomorrow and I know I have the first rehearsal Monday, the day after I get back. I'm looking forward to it. It's been pretty slow for me this year - with this industrial being the only thing after The Holiday that I booked! Not sure if taking a vacation in late July was a good idea since I will be missing auditions, but I'm still going to try and relax and enjoy my time with my family while I'm here - and get ready to hit the groun...

ok - I can't even begin to tell you the stress I've been having - just today! UGH! ok, let me backtrack and tell you about the audition I had on Friday! It was a straight to producer's call for The Office . The role was a very nice role, a possible recurring character named Hannah who is the new mom in the office and is pumping her breat milk at work! Very funny scene - I thought I did well....not sure if I was "earth mom" enough at the audition. I didn't get that note before I dressed for the audition - or else I could've earthed mom'd it up! ;-) I love going in for Allison Jones...she is very sweet - and I really like her - especially since she's cast me in Curb Your Enthusiasm AND The Office already (voice over only)! So today I was getting ready for my Smith audition at John levey's office and I get a call that I have a last minute audition for Cold Case at the office of Shaner/Testa Casting. I was still at work so I begin to str...

Damn! And I REALLY wanted this play! I just got an email from the writer thanking me for my time and appreciation. She complimented me by saying I was an excellent actress - but they decided to go with someone else, due to age. oh well....Onwards and Upwards! I have an audition on Monday for the new show " Smith ". John Levey is casting and I have been trying to meet him for 5 years now! (He casts ER ). YAY!!!! I go straight to producers Monday, so wish me broken legs!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! I can't even tell you how grateful I am to have been blessed with my parents! Today is my mother's birthday and I wish I could come up with words to express how much I appreciate this woman! She has done more for me than anyone would expect or hope for! I have never met anyone so giving and full of love! I love you mom! Ok, so sometimes I have to stop and wonder if this is all a test from God. So, Sunday afternoon I was temping at the apartment community in downtown LA., and my cell phone was stolen! Now, I'm not just talking any old cell phone. This is the phone I convinced myself to buy. The $400 cell phone that I wanted to "treat" myself with after the filming of The Holiday . I figured I should have a nice gift to show for as a present to myself for booking this film. I don't normally buy expensive gadgets like this. (Now I know why!) My phone was 2 months old and I was getting used to it still, and pretty addicted if the t...

GOD ALWAYS ANSWERS PRAYER by Dr. Robert Schuller When the idea is not right, God says "No". No, when the idea is not best. No, when the idea is absolutely wrong. No, when though it may help, it could create problems for someone else. When the time is not right, God says "Slow". What a catastrophe it would be if God answered every prayer at the snap of your fingers. Do you know what would happen? God would become your servant, not your master. Suddenly, God would be working for you, instead of you working for God. Remember: God's delays are not God's denials. God's timing is perfect. Patience is what we need in prayer. When you are not right, God says, "Grow". The selfish person has to grow in unselfishness. The cautious person must grow courage. The timid person must grow in sensitivity. The critical person my grow in tolerance. The negative person must grow in positive attitudes. The pleasure-seeking person must grow in compassion for suffe...

So this is FACT that drops do work! I decided to drop my picture off at Bialy/Thomas Casting, just to let them know I'm available to reprise my role of Wife #3 on The Unit ! ;-) They ended up calling me in straight to producers for their new show Jericho ! I went in to read for the role of Julia, a radio operator, who works for the mayor. This could sound like a recurring role possibly! My audition was Friday at 5:30pm! The audition went great! The producers seemed like fun guys and they were pretty chit chatty with me. They kept saying I did a good job. I believe I was the last one they saw for that role that day - which is good. I like to be fresh in their heads when they need to make a decision! I hope I book it - I just hope it doesn't conflict with my flight back home to Texas! But then again....work is work! I had an audition yesterday for an off broadway play! The role is one of the leads and I REALLY want to do this part! Rehearsals would begin the end of August and o...

It's been a full month since my last audition - and finally I had one yesterday! YAY!!! Talk about it being S-L-O-W. But hopefully everything will start to pick up. Looks like most shows are back on from their hiatus. So yesterday I was called in to producers for Hanna Montana . It was so great to see Howard Meltzer again - I at least know I'm on his radar! I was auditioning for Parent #1/#2. Looks like it was a Halloween episode and I play an angry parent since my kids got so spooked at a haunted house. The cool thing is, I know that this show LOVES when you play the scene with high energy and they have said that you can never be TOO big. Carol even made the comment "Remember everyone - this isn't The Shield!" So I went in and totally had fun with it and the producer was just laughing the whole way through. Now, that could mean he really liked me - OR it could mean that he laughs at EVERYONE. Hopefully he just really liked ME! We'll see. I'm ...

I went to 'Conversations with Burt Reynolds' at SAG last night. He is very entertaining to watch! His delivery is so funny - and he's a great storyteller! I can't believe he's been a working actor for 50 years! His good friend Dom DeLouise was there as well for moral support. they are both a riot! Well, I had somewhat of a crisis today. It's been slow in every area of my life it seems. NO auditions since almost everything is on hiatus, and not a lot of subbing work since many schools are on summer break. I just set out a bunch of flyers to year round schools so I can get some work this summer. Just as the calls started to roll in to 'book' me for next week, I ran into computer problems with LAUSD when they tried to enter in my employee number. As it turns out, I renewed my credential for the fall - but I missed the deadline to renew for the summer! Apparently there are two separate processes which makes no sense to me. So that means I'm no...

Finally! I got the call that I booked that industrial that I got through my Austin agent. I shoot the week that I get back from Texas. It's very cool how it all worked out that way! I'm very happy! This summer has been pretty slow - and I was hoping to book another film - but I'll take this with a smile! :-) You know, sometimes I need to be reminded of how lucky I am. I don't think people outside of this industry fully understand just how competitive it is out here! I need to remember that when I'm so hard on myself for not booking everything that I go out for. I was just discussing this with a fellow actor the other day. I was saying to him how difficult it is when family members or friends back home ask me when the "next movie will be" or when will I "get my own show". As if it's that simple. It's funny because I remember when I first moved to LA and I started doing background work, my parents were so excited just to see my el...