Lydia's Journey BEYOND Hollywood

ok, I have to blame myself partially for this - since I was so damn SURE I would book this! I got a call from my manager this afternoon saying they called from Cold Case and cancelled my callback because they went ahead and booked someone else. WHAT???? That's freakin' impossible!!! Didn't they know I was the only one who could do this role? Hel-lo??!! Damn! I feel pretty sick to my stomach right about now! And mainly because I have never felt so sure about a role before. But I guess that's where over-confidence meets jinxing yourself! :( I'm so very curious to know who they ended up casting. But to stay positive and refrain from crawling into bed for the rest of the day, I have to say that it's their loss and this just means bigger and better things for myself on the horizon. I'm a big believer in "everything happens for a reason" - and if this happened so I can get my once-lost confidence, then it served it's purpose. And a much ...

The Cold Case Cast Thanks for all those who sent good vibes my way today! I have to say that this audition simply went - AWESOME!!!! I went in for the guest star lead on Cold Case and I was totally feeling in character as the tough, bully, "homegirl"/gangbanger "Vita Suarez" and I looked the part too! I added black lipliner around my lips, penciled in my eyebrows darker and layered on the clothes. It's funny how wardrobe can really put you in the mindset of the character. I was totally feeling it and while the girl in front of me was inside the audition room, this lady comes in with her cute baby and sits right next to me! So there I am, smiling at the cute baby and saying hi, and feeling warm and kind - when I should be feeling mean and bitchy! Damn cute kid! haha j/k So quickly I tried to ignore the red headed 1 yr old and get back into my mindset, and then the door opens and my name is called. I walk in and prepare to do my scenes. The first one went so wel...

Well, I worked on this audition as much as I could with my friend Angel , and I have to say, it really helped me a lot. (Thanks Angel!) I haven't done an emotional scene like this in a very long time. I got there to the casting office and I saw a few familiar faces that I usually go up against. And I recognized some of the talent, which made me feel good because I knew what their strengths and weaknesses were, and that made me more aware of my own. :) In a good way, of course. I was waiting for an hour and 15 minutes before I was called in, which contributed to the nervous feel for the scene! I went all out my first run and she really liked it. She game me an adjustment to pull back on the emotion just a bit and to play a certain part more cold. And I did exactly that and she seemed pretty happy at the fact that I took her direction well. We did the second scene and that went extremely well also. She then took my picture and turned it over to my resume side and said, ...

Finally, after just one audition this whole month - I now have my SECOND one! It's for a guest star role on a new pilot. The show looks like a "dramedy" and the part is a good one. For some reason, I just feel rusty. Like I haven't acted in YEARS! Weird huh? My last job, aside from shooting Paradise Drive last weekend, was Notes from the Underbelly and that was in November I think. So it doesn't sound like too long ago - yet I feel like I forgot how to do this. Crazy. Maybe it's just nerves. I'm getting together with my friend Angel tonight to work on it. So hopefully I'll be able to go in there tomorrow with a new found confidence. Send good vibes my way around 11am. I'll need them. The good news is the audition is with FMW casting - the same office who cast me in The Shield. So at least I know they like me enough... ;)

I shot episode 15 of Paradise Drive on Saturday. I was having some trouble during the rehearsal process for this episode because I haven't done one since maybe episode 6, and I came back to this one and my character had been changed. Significantly. They decided that during my time away from the show, my character went to make up school to become a make up artist for TV and film. So instead of being goth - I tranformed into more of a funky, artistic "Silver Lake" eclectic character. We also had a director come in for the first time and steer us. At first he had a few good ideas, and then it rubbed me the wrong way to have him direct me in a totally different direction than what my character was! See, my character on the show is this dark goth girl who has bitten off the head of a bat, she worked in a morgue putting make up on dead people. She wasn't exactly Miss Sunshine. But yet, he wanted me to play her all smiley and happy and flirty. He saw me walk into t...

The Terminal premieres on network tv tonight on ABC at 8pm pacific time. Check it out! :)

So I went in and read for that pilot today. It went awesome! I saw Felicia Fasano (the casting director) while I was in the waiting room with the other actors. She said, "Is that Lydia? I didn't see you sneak in!". She was very friendly - but she waited until I walked into the audition room, away from the other actors, to give me a big, warm bear hug! She is so very sweet - I just love her! So I did my scene the first time the way I had practiced it and she redirected me and added some stuff that sounded a little vague and complicated - but somehow I pulled it off. Her assistant even said she was impressed! Felicia said I nailed it and it was done perfectly! But we'll see. It's not a booking until it's a booking, right?!~ ;) I had a really good rehearsal tonight for Paradise Drive. We had a guest director for this episode. It was good to have someone see it through fresh eyes. It ended up 100 times better! :) I rehearse all next week and then...

I spent some time during the holidays with my neice and godson in Texas! I miss my Aaron so much!!!! :) I'm such a bad blogger! It's January 10th, and I haven't updated. :( Sorry to all my "faithful readers". I promise to be better from here on out! Well, I got back in LA last Wednesday and kinda adjusted for a few days. Then, I got sick. So my whole weekend consisted of me on my couch, watching movies, and blowing my nose. I was being productive though. I got my postcards ready! I am mailing them this week and dropping some of them off. They basically sum up my 2006 news: Booking The Holiday (now in thetaers), What About Brian and Notes From the Underbelly as well as the short film Ensenada and the industrial for Achieve Global. I also included that I got new headshots and a new agent: Hervey/Grimes Talent. I took on a first grade class last Thursday for the next 5 or 6 weeks. So I have a subbing job everyday - that's good. Steady income coming in. The...

Well, today is the first day of 2007! I'm very eager to get back to Los Angeles. I've been in Texas for 2 weeks already and I fly back on Wednesday. :) I had a nice vacation with family and friends and I'm ready to get back to work! I'm very optimistic about this new year. I just have a really good feeling about 2007. I'm not saying I will book a regular on a new pilot which becomes an instant hit (though that would be nice - and it could be possible!), but I just feel like great things will happen this year! What I love about New Year's Day is that feeling of a new start! Last year was last year and there's nothing but forward moving now. I'm excited to see what new experiences are in store for me this new year. I plan to do a little traveling this year, a cruise in May, maybe go somewhere for my birthday at the end of May, and if I can swing it, a trip to Italy. But we'll see how everything goes! I'd also like to start saving more an...