Work opportunities are flourishing! I got called in for a Swiffer commercial last Thursday and have a callback on Monday! Woo-hoo! What makes it a double “Woo-hoo” is that the first time this casting director called me in, I was out of town, so I couldn’t make the audition. Then, when I mentioned that my agent wasn’t calling me in, he said to tell him that he (the casting director) said I should be called in for anything I’m remotely right for because I would get callbacks. And he was right – I got one! I also dropped off a load of yoga resumes at a businessy area near where I live. I’ll follow up on those in a couple of days and see who wants to do lunchtime yoga at their office. AND I’m training in a week at a local bar. Now we’re talking “bar”, not club. Dive bar. Better yet, a dive karaoke bar. It feels like a real neighborhood family place. My friend, Laura, who just moved to LA from DC… she’s only the first of many… the rest will come. ;) Anyway, Laura and her fiancé arrived 2 weeks ago after a ridiculous , SERIOUSLY ridiculous moving saga, and Laura had no luck with the temp agencies, so she did a bartending course. Through that course, she found out about this opening in Culver City. I happened to have an audition near her place yesterday, she told me about this bar, and I called and got an interview today! They like us both. They’re training us both. And some day we will both work at the same time and have a blast and the whole place will burst open with love, great drinks and baby unicorns. You just wait. It will be super to be working with her and to have some extra money coming in because reproducing headshots, getting them touched up, doing casting director workshops, paying for acting class, joining unions, getting reels edited, having a website built, and keeping up your casting pages on Actor’s Access and LA Casting, not to mention joining all of those sites and Showfax, really adds up quickly. Then you add the work I had to get done on my car after driving cross country 3 times in 5 months PLUS the gas you go through driving all over a huge city… you get the picture. So, I gave myself 6 months to start, I’ve accomplished a lot in that time, and it’s time to add in a couple of jobs. I’m also sending my standardized patient resume into the local med schools and, since my resume rocks and I have great references from DC, I’m sure something will come of that.
In retrospect -
I got called back for Swiffer, but didn't book the job. The bar likes me, but hasn't called me in to train yet - they said they'd get back to me by Thursday. Thinking about doing the bar training Laura did just to get onto that hot line and submit for catering jobs. And still waiting for folks in DC to give me the last little bit of info to complete my resume. But I did get cast in a short film - no pay, but some good people. I've completed the last of the voice over work for a USC project and the director said that even his composer, who had to watch the footage over and over again while figuring out the music, told him I was really really good. And the General Hospital casting director cast me in a one day shoot next week. It's background work still, but she remembered me! And I dropped of 10 resumes at local businesses and 2 at Equinox gyms, and no one is looking for yoga instructors. But I have great people around me to encourage me and I'm not giving up!
xox Jewel
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Home is where the... not sure what home is...
It’s interesting how my relationship to place has changed since moving to LA. At first, I felt very divided between LA and DC. Recently, I had a trip home that felt like saying good-bye. Then I had a trip at the end of which, for the first time, I really wanted to get back to LA. Now, for the first time, I feel like I’m going back as a visitor… as a little bit of an outsider. My friends, of course, would say, “Oh, come on, Jewel, you’ll never be an outsider.” But it’s the internal experience that we know best. It’s how we feel inside that is the lens through which we see the world.
More and more I find myself not caring as much what other people might think. I wear sneakers with a skirt when I travel. I don’t drink as much. I don’t go to every birthday party I’m invited to. I choose to be practical when I travel. I drink when I feel like it. I go out when I feel like it. It’s quite freeing – I’ve heard this happens in your 30’s, so I guess I’m just a year early! But this is a tangent. What I really wanted to write about was home.
As a kid who grew up overseas – an expat kid, a 3rd nation kid, etc. – I’ve always had a bit of an outsider thing going on. Even though I was popular and had a lot of friends in school, I always felt a little apart. Do all of us who grew up overseas feel this way? Do all the kids in my family? Does every human?
There are so many transplants to LA that a frequent topic of conversation is where you’re from. This, inevitably for me, leads to my life story. What I find interesting is that while I was in DC, DC never felt like home. Now that I’m in LA, DC is actually becoming home. DC will be where I go back to for Thanksgiving, Christmas. Where I get to go see Dad and Mom. Where I know my way around the city and have favorite places I want to visit every time I’m there. Yet, I’m not from DC. I didn’t grow up there. I don’t identify as someone who grew up in DC because I didn’t. I’m still a kid who grew up in Saudi on a compound surrounded by empty lots with goats in them that is now surrounded by buildings. But, if we consider Saudi Arabia as home, I haven’t been home since 2000. And now, in my new home – Los Angeles – I feel very much at home after only a few months. More so than I ever did in DC. Am I just adaptable or have I found my essential place, my true home, the place where my dharma unfolds? Hopefully, LA is that, and not just the best of 2 US choices for actors. “Always look on the bright side of life” a la Monty Python.
To be continued....
More and more I find myself not caring as much what other people might think. I wear sneakers with a skirt when I travel. I don’t drink as much. I don’t go to every birthday party I’m invited to. I choose to be practical when I travel. I drink when I feel like it. I go out when I feel like it. It’s quite freeing – I’ve heard this happens in your 30’s, so I guess I’m just a year early! But this is a tangent. What I really wanted to write about was home.
As a kid who grew up overseas – an expat kid, a 3rd nation kid, etc. – I’ve always had a bit of an outsider thing going on. Even though I was popular and had a lot of friends in school, I always felt a little apart. Do all of us who grew up overseas feel this way? Do all the kids in my family? Does every human?
There are so many transplants to LA that a frequent topic of conversation is where you’re from. This, inevitably for me, leads to my life story. What I find interesting is that while I was in DC, DC never felt like home. Now that I’m in LA, DC is actually becoming home. DC will be where I go back to for Thanksgiving, Christmas. Where I get to go see Dad and Mom. Where I know my way around the city and have favorite places I want to visit every time I’m there. Yet, I’m not from DC. I didn’t grow up there. I don’t identify as someone who grew up in DC because I didn’t. I’m still a kid who grew up in Saudi on a compound surrounded by empty lots with goats in them that is now surrounded by buildings. But, if we consider Saudi Arabia as home, I haven’t been home since 2000. And now, in my new home – Los Angeles – I feel very much at home after only a few months. More so than I ever did in DC. Am I just adaptable or have I found my essential place, my true home, the place where my dharma unfolds? Hopefully, LA is that, and not just the best of 2 US choices for actors. “Always look on the bright side of life” a la Monty Python.
To be continued....
Working and learning...
This was really written 3 weeks ago... still working on that procrastination thing.
So, I graduated from yoga school June 28th and I’m up to teaching about 3 classes a week with great feedback every time. It’s certainly down from the 7 or so classes I was teaching in DC, but the numbers will rise, like the carbonation bubbles in a glass of soda water. I’ve gotten referrals from my friend Mellissa for two other yoga studios in Hollywood, and there’s a new studio that just opened on the West Side (closer to where I live) where I’ll be dropping off resumes when I get back from this trip to DC. I have realized that one of the main things I allow to hold me back is marketing. Instead of just making up a simple postcard to advertise my services as a yoga teacher and dropping them off at area businesses, I agonize over how I don’t have the skills to design anything and I let myself get distracted by other things so I can keep putting it off. Ridiculous! And, like all things thus far, repeated in my life over and over again. My acting teacher, for instance, has been talking a lot recently about how we each need to know how we get in our own way. Once we know, we can simply decide, albeit over and over again, not to do it again. Easier said than done, but a simple solution never the less. So, I should just make a damn postcard, print 20 off and hand deliver them. I should also start learning a monologue a week to put up in acting class – the more I do, the easier they will get, and the more confident I will be. So, I’m learning lots and now it’s time to put it all into practice. Just decide. Just do it. Decide. Now.
Despite proctastination and lack of confidence in some areas, I continue to get great opportunities! I filmed a PSA (public service announcement) recently for breast cancer with a group of USC students. Their team, along with 3 others, won grants to cover production costs of their version of a PSA for the Army of Women organization. The directors emailed us all this week with the good news that they’d sent the foundation a rough cut (first draft) of our PSA and the organization wrote back that it’s quality and vision were above and beyond what they’d imagined any of the teams would pull off. Hopefully we’ll win and our PSA will actually air! The next great thing that happened was that I got hired to do background work on the set of General Hospital. I met Gwen Hillier, the GH casting director as a result, and had a great 4 days of filming, hanging out with new people, and getting to see what it’s like to film on a multi-camera day time television set. That would have been fine as is, but I ended up getting bumped up from background to an Under-5 role which I can actually put on my resume. So, I’ve met my goal of having at least 2 tv credits my first year here. Now it’s time to surpass that! Under-5, by the way, is a role with a line that’s less than five words long. I got to say “Augh! Oh, my god!” while riding a ferris wheel into which a car crashed, pinning an evil lawyer to the carnival ride. Good times! From that shoot, I had an audition last night for a short film directed by a guy from Philly who moved to LA with his crew of filmmakers after winning a festival with one of their shorts. All networking, all good. The audition was improve and I got the director and the camerawoman to laugh a couple of times, so we’ll see what happens. As a casting director I met recently said, “Anything you do now for your career is an investment that will come back to you in 10 years.” I have to keep reminding myself that a career in acting is not a sprint. It’s not even a marathon. It’s a loooooooooooong distance run. You just have to keep going, trusting that you’re good enough, believing that there are enough water stops along the way to get you to the end which you know – you just have to know – you’ll find eventually. And, from yoga, abhyasa vairagya – work with consistent and dedicated effort toward your goal, but don’t be so focused on the goal that you miss the joy of the journey, or so set on the goal that you feel like a failure if you don’t make it in this life time. Don’t worry – you’ll have more chances! And, finally, a casting director I know invited me to join her A-List, a list of her favorite actors that she sends occasional emails to when certain opportunities come up, like a last minute casting need or a great agent or manager looking for new clients.
To sum up what the recent months have been about… I’m learning a whole lot about myself, both the good and the, well … let’s not call it the bad, but, rather, the fixable! In this process of learning so much about what I can fix, it’s sometimes hard to remember that there are a lot of parts of me that don’t need fixing. Lesson 1 – I’m in pretty good shape, just as I am, the good and the fixable included. As a result of all this self-inquiry and yoga and acting practice, I’m becoming more aware of, and more sensitive to, the fixable parts of myself. At the same time, as a result of the same work, I’m learning the tools I need to fix those parts of myself. Lesson 2 – My increasing sensitivity to and awareness of my fixable parts is equaled by my growing knowledge of how to fix those parts. And finally, as has happened over and over again the last few months, I’m feeling more and more settled in LA, opportunities continue to present themselves, and I get more and more great feedback from casting directors and other teachers and peers. Lesson 3 – I really am supposed to be here.
As we go forth, may we all have the journeys we need to be strengthened and to feel safe, to teach and to learn, to love and be loved.
Xxo Jewel
So, I graduated from yoga school June 28th and I’m up to teaching about 3 classes a week with great feedback every time. It’s certainly down from the 7 or so classes I was teaching in DC, but the numbers will rise, like the carbonation bubbles in a glass of soda water. I’ve gotten referrals from my friend Mellissa for two other yoga studios in Hollywood, and there’s a new studio that just opened on the West Side (closer to where I live) where I’ll be dropping off resumes when I get back from this trip to DC. I have realized that one of the main things I allow to hold me back is marketing. Instead of just making up a simple postcard to advertise my services as a yoga teacher and dropping them off at area businesses, I agonize over how I don’t have the skills to design anything and I let myself get distracted by other things so I can keep putting it off. Ridiculous! And, like all things thus far, repeated in my life over and over again. My acting teacher, for instance, has been talking a lot recently about how we each need to know how we get in our own way. Once we know, we can simply decide, albeit over and over again, not to do it again. Easier said than done, but a simple solution never the less. So, I should just make a damn postcard, print 20 off and hand deliver them. I should also start learning a monologue a week to put up in acting class – the more I do, the easier they will get, and the more confident I will be. So, I’m learning lots and now it’s time to put it all into practice. Just decide. Just do it. Decide. Now.
Despite proctastination and lack of confidence in some areas, I continue to get great opportunities! I filmed a PSA (public service announcement) recently for breast cancer with a group of USC students. Their team, along with 3 others, won grants to cover production costs of their version of a PSA for the Army of Women organization. The directors emailed us all this week with the good news that they’d sent the foundation a rough cut (first draft) of our PSA and the organization wrote back that it’s quality and vision were above and beyond what they’d imagined any of the teams would pull off. Hopefully we’ll win and our PSA will actually air! The next great thing that happened was that I got hired to do background work on the set of General Hospital. I met Gwen Hillier, the GH casting director as a result, and had a great 4 days of filming, hanging out with new people, and getting to see what it’s like to film on a multi-camera day time television set. That would have been fine as is, but I ended up getting bumped up from background to an Under-5 role which I can actually put on my resume. So, I’ve met my goal of having at least 2 tv credits my first year here. Now it’s time to surpass that! Under-5, by the way, is a role with a line that’s less than five words long. I got to say “Augh! Oh, my god!” while riding a ferris wheel into which a car crashed, pinning an evil lawyer to the carnival ride. Good times! From that shoot, I had an audition last night for a short film directed by a guy from Philly who moved to LA with his crew of filmmakers after winning a festival with one of their shorts. All networking, all good. The audition was improve and I got the director and the camerawoman to laugh a couple of times, so we’ll see what happens. As a casting director I met recently said, “Anything you do now for your career is an investment that will come back to you in 10 years.” I have to keep reminding myself that a career in acting is not a sprint. It’s not even a marathon. It’s a loooooooooooong distance run. You just have to keep going, trusting that you’re good enough, believing that there are enough water stops along the way to get you to the end which you know – you just have to know – you’ll find eventually. And, from yoga, abhyasa vairagya – work with consistent and dedicated effort toward your goal, but don’t be so focused on the goal that you miss the joy of the journey, or so set on the goal that you feel like a failure if you don’t make it in this life time. Don’t worry – you’ll have more chances! And, finally, a casting director I know invited me to join her A-List, a list of her favorite actors that she sends occasional emails to when certain opportunities come up, like a last minute casting need or a great agent or manager looking for new clients.
To sum up what the recent months have been about… I’m learning a whole lot about myself, both the good and the, well … let’s not call it the bad, but, rather, the fixable! In this process of learning so much about what I can fix, it’s sometimes hard to remember that there are a lot of parts of me that don’t need fixing. Lesson 1 – I’m in pretty good shape, just as I am, the good and the fixable included. As a result of all this self-inquiry and yoga and acting practice, I’m becoming more aware of, and more sensitive to, the fixable parts of myself. At the same time, as a result of the same work, I’m learning the tools I need to fix those parts of myself. Lesson 2 – My increasing sensitivity to and awareness of my fixable parts is equaled by my growing knowledge of how to fix those parts. And finally, as has happened over and over again the last few months, I’m feeling more and more settled in LA, opportunities continue to present themselves, and I get more and more great feedback from casting directors and other teachers and peers. Lesson 3 – I really am supposed to be here.
As we go forth, may we all have the journeys we need to be strengthened and to feel safe, to teach and to learn, to love and be loved.
Xxo Jewel
Saturday, April 25, 2009
So much for that...
You know, that whole thing about writing once a week? It just ain't happenin'! So, feel free to check in when you feel like it and see if anything new is up. Perhaps if I stop trying to schedule it in, I'll naturally find time to write... That's the new plan. Organically creating my blog. Allowing the stories to unfurl like the tiny leaves of a seedling. We shall see.
Since I last wrote, I have:
- Seen the Creative Artist’s Agency building, locally dubbed The Death Star for it’s architectural design.
- Caught up with my friend Ed at the NYU Writer’s showcase.
- Signed with AVO Talent for voice-over representation – they are great!
- Celebrated my friend Melissa’s new path and recent birthday
- Started teaching a small group yoga class.
- Met lots of CD’s at CD workshops.
- Introduced Mom and Dad to LA.
- PERFORMED in the 2009 Cricketfeet Showcase!
This has got to be short because I need to catch you up on what’s been going on so I can post on my most exciting news tomorrow.
LA continues to be full of good people, and I’ve been fortunate to be part of two great groups – my teacher training group with Yoga Works and my cast and crew of the 2009 Cricketfeet Showcase. These folks make me feel welcomed and connected here in LA – I am so very grateful! I’ve run into some particularly lovely folks who I hope will become better friends – they’re the kind of person always ready to give an honest answer, a sly joke, or a hug. I am surrounded by them! Lucky me!!
I’m especially lucky that my housemate, Birdy, rocks my world even though we barely see each other. When we do get to hang out, it’s great conversation. We had a full house this past week between my parents and Theo with good times all around and the house abuzz with talk.
I’ve added Lemon Thyme, Spearmint, Regular Thyme and Oregano to my front porch plants. Theo and I ran out of thyme (ha, ha) to build the plant boxes I wanted for the backyard, so I’m on my own for that. Anyone have a drill I can borrow? On the garden list are cherry tomatoes, summer squash, garlic, sweet potatoes, cilantro, basil, and eggplant. The citrus bounty has been added to by Birdy’s friends’ heavily laden grapefruit tree. The peach tree in the back yard is covered in green, but ripening, baby peaches! Tiny peachlets, soon you will be ripe and juiceful.
Clarified that this point of my career is the investment part of starting a business – must put out before getting back. Point was proven in voting results at Cricketfeet Showcase. More on that tomorrow. Really!
Xox Jewel
Since I last wrote, I have:
- Seen the Creative Artist’s Agency building, locally dubbed The Death Star for it’s architectural design.
- Caught up with my friend Ed at the NYU Writer’s showcase.
- Signed with AVO Talent for voice-over representation – they are great!
- Celebrated my friend Melissa’s new path and recent birthday
- Started teaching a small group yoga class.
- Met lots of CD’s at CD workshops.
- Introduced Mom and Dad to LA.
- PERFORMED in the 2009 Cricketfeet Showcase!
This has got to be short because I need to catch you up on what’s been going on so I can post on my most exciting news tomorrow.
LA continues to be full of good people, and I’ve been fortunate to be part of two great groups – my teacher training group with Yoga Works and my cast and crew of the 2009 Cricketfeet Showcase. These folks make me feel welcomed and connected here in LA – I am so very grateful! I’ve run into some particularly lovely folks who I hope will become better friends – they’re the kind of person always ready to give an honest answer, a sly joke, or a hug. I am surrounded by them! Lucky me!!
I’m especially lucky that my housemate, Birdy, rocks my world even though we barely see each other. When we do get to hang out, it’s great conversation. We had a full house this past week between my parents and Theo with good times all around and the house abuzz with talk.
I’ve added Lemon Thyme, Spearmint, Regular Thyme and Oregano to my front porch plants. Theo and I ran out of thyme (ha, ha) to build the plant boxes I wanted for the backyard, so I’m on my own for that. Anyone have a drill I can borrow? On the garden list are cherry tomatoes, summer squash, garlic, sweet potatoes, cilantro, basil, and eggplant. The citrus bounty has been added to by Birdy’s friends’ heavily laden grapefruit tree. The peach tree in the back yard is covered in green, but ripening, baby peaches! Tiny peachlets, soon you will be ripe and juiceful.
Clarified that this point of my career is the investment part of starting a business – must put out before getting back. Point was proven in voting results at Cricketfeet Showcase. More on that tomorrow. Really!
Xox Jewel
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
The Industry-al Complex
Blog Entry 4
Wow… writing a blog is not as quick and simple as it seems. Like everything I have ever found challenging, it takes consistent effort. In yoga, abhyasa means practice, but not just practice. It's practice in the way of a concentrated and conistent effort without a break. Getting up and doing it every...single...day. So, the hardest part of my yoga practice is simply getting onto the mat and sticking with it. It's why the most frustrating part of rehearsing is just getting the damn lines down. And it's why some friendships and some relationships fall apart. But that’s also why it’s possible to have joy every day in your life. It’s why it’s possible to feel loved and loved every day of your life. And that’s why over a lifetime, yoga does make a difference… but only if you make a true effort to do it every day. Let that be a lesson to myself in blogging consistenly… at least once a week, though probably not every day.
Part of the reason I don’t blog every day is that I don’t think that much is happening. Then my boyfriend points out everything that IS happening and I realize there’s more going on and plenty to be proud of. Then I remember that I’m a Greenberg-Ogorzaly and there are always ways to DO MORE - BETTER! Thankfully, Theo is not a Greenberg-Ogorzaly and can see through the fog of overachieving “I’m only as good as the number of things I’m doing” mania. And, thankfully, he’s not a Greenberg-Ogorzaly or he’d be my relative instead of my boyfriend and that’s just too many bad Arkansas jokes to live through.
So, what have I been doing? Manifesting like crazy, that’s for sure. I had a wonderful 2 months in the pretty little house in Santa Monica where I felt safe and cared for by Theo’s visits and by my lovely landlord/neighbors who will someday be my red carpet dates. Now, I’ve found a fantastic place to live for 6+ months which I love in Culver City, walking distance to: Sony Studios, Culver Studios, Trader Joe’s, a yoga studio where I’m going to start working a few times a week, the farmer’s market, the bike trail AND a fantastic coffee shop. Please, can I stay here forever? I live with a great housemate, Birdy, who’s a 3rd grade teacher and her cat, Quincy, who I’ve nicknamed Q and who welcomed me to my new home by sleeping on my knee my first night. There’s good light, a great living room, a breeze that comes all the way though the house when the back and the front door are open, and a peach tree in the backyard and an orange tree next door. Best of all, I feel like I can finally put down some roots (albeit shallow ones - still working on manifesting a job for Theo) after being a nomad since September. It feels soooooo good to be moved in.
On the acting side of things, I finally put up a monologue in my acting class – the first time is always the hardest – and got some good, concrete feedback that prompted me to connect to the piece in a different way which means I connected to part of myself in a different way which means I’m already becoming a more versatile actor first time out. And now I won’t be nervous next time… which is… tomorrow! Ok, make that not AS nervous. Nerves are just something you have to act your way through until you outgrow them. Then there are my reels – 2 of them, commercial and theatrical – which will be finished by March 17 so they can go into my kits for the showcase (more on that soon). I got referred to a commercial agent through a casting director I met recently, though nothing’s happened there… yet. I met a commercial agent at a party and then met one of her client’s the next day, so there’s a double whammy Universe hook-up going on there. And, last but super definitely not least, I got into the Cricketfeet Showcase!
Now, Cricketfeet is something I’ve wanted to do since I first visited LA and my friend Anna was in rehearsals for it. For those of you who don’t know, a showcase is an evening or two of scenes put on by a group of actors seeking representation or exposure. The audience is invitation only as the point is to get as many quality industry folks there as possible – agents, managers, casting directors. So, come mid-April, I’ll be performing a comedic 2 person scene and a comedic 5 person scene in front of 40-60 industry folks, two night in a row. It’s run by Bonnie Gillespie, an actor turned very successful writer and casting director, and directed by Chil Kong, a director out of the Boston theatre scene who’s now in LA. Bonnie teaches 5 marketing workshops while we prepare for the big night so that our press kit, marketing know how, and understanding of how we will fit best in this industry will be as strong as possible. We’ll be at the Colony Theatre in Burbank where the evening will proceed like this. First, we’ll perform our outrageously funny and heartwarmingly sweet scenes. Then, we’ll go backstage and lose some of the stage make-up while the audience changes pants because they wet themselves laughing we were SO FUNNY. Then, we’ll wine and dine with the audience and schmoozola our pants off to find agents we connect with and casting directors (CDs) who want to hire us. Then, we maintain relationships with the CDs we met and make the tough decision of who we sign with for theatrical and commercial representation. Then, we have people fighting for us to get into bigger auditions while we continue to find work ourselves, and in a few years, when we outgrow our agent, we do this all again! Sounds like fun, no? There are 45 actors and I am thrilled to be part of the cast this year. It’s a big opportunity, especially for one as new to town as I am. Talk about getting to make a splash! Obviously, there will be more on that soon. More details on http://www.cricketfeetshowcase.com/. If you know any agents or CD’s in LA, let me know and I’ll add them to the guest list.
So, that’s the lowdown on the acting front. I’ll talk about yoga next time. ;)
Xox Jewel
Wow… writing a blog is not as quick and simple as it seems. Like everything I have ever found challenging, it takes consistent effort. In yoga, abhyasa means practice, but not just practice. It's practice in the way of a concentrated and conistent effort without a break. Getting up and doing it every...single...day. So, the hardest part of my yoga practice is simply getting onto the mat and sticking with it. It's why the most frustrating part of rehearsing is just getting the damn lines down. And it's why some friendships and some relationships fall apart. But that’s also why it’s possible to have joy every day in your life. It’s why it’s possible to feel loved and loved every day of your life. And that’s why over a lifetime, yoga does make a difference… but only if you make a true effort to do it every day. Let that be a lesson to myself in blogging consistenly… at least once a week, though probably not every day.
Part of the reason I don’t blog every day is that I don’t think that much is happening. Then my boyfriend points out everything that IS happening and I realize there’s more going on and plenty to be proud of. Then I remember that I’m a Greenberg-Ogorzaly and there are always ways to DO MORE - BETTER! Thankfully, Theo is not a Greenberg-Ogorzaly and can see through the fog of overachieving “I’m only as good as the number of things I’m doing” mania. And, thankfully, he’s not a Greenberg-Ogorzaly or he’d be my relative instead of my boyfriend and that’s just too many bad Arkansas jokes to live through.
So, what have I been doing? Manifesting like crazy, that’s for sure. I had a wonderful 2 months in the pretty little house in Santa Monica where I felt safe and cared for by Theo’s visits and by my lovely landlord/neighbors who will someday be my red carpet dates. Now, I’ve found a fantastic place to live for 6+ months which I love in Culver City, walking distance to: Sony Studios, Culver Studios, Trader Joe’s, a yoga studio where I’m going to start working a few times a week, the farmer’s market, the bike trail AND a fantastic coffee shop. Please, can I stay here forever? I live with a great housemate, Birdy, who’s a 3rd grade teacher and her cat, Quincy, who I’ve nicknamed Q and who welcomed me to my new home by sleeping on my knee my first night. There’s good light, a great living room, a breeze that comes all the way though the house when the back and the front door are open, and a peach tree in the backyard and an orange tree next door. Best of all, I feel like I can finally put down some roots (albeit shallow ones - still working on manifesting a job for Theo) after being a nomad since September. It feels soooooo good to be moved in.
On the acting side of things, I finally put up a monologue in my acting class – the first time is always the hardest – and got some good, concrete feedback that prompted me to connect to the piece in a different way which means I connected to part of myself in a different way which means I’m already becoming a more versatile actor first time out. And now I won’t be nervous next time… which is… tomorrow! Ok, make that not AS nervous. Nerves are just something you have to act your way through until you outgrow them. Then there are my reels – 2 of them, commercial and theatrical – which will be finished by March 17 so they can go into my kits for the showcase (more on that soon). I got referred to a commercial agent through a casting director I met recently, though nothing’s happened there… yet. I met a commercial agent at a party and then met one of her client’s the next day, so there’s a double whammy Universe hook-up going on there. And, last but super definitely not least, I got into the Cricketfeet Showcase!
Now, Cricketfeet is something I’ve wanted to do since I first visited LA and my friend Anna was in rehearsals for it. For those of you who don’t know, a showcase is an evening or two of scenes put on by a group of actors seeking representation or exposure. The audience is invitation only as the point is to get as many quality industry folks there as possible – agents, managers, casting directors. So, come mid-April, I’ll be performing a comedic 2 person scene and a comedic 5 person scene in front of 40-60 industry folks, two night in a row. It’s run by Bonnie Gillespie, an actor turned very successful writer and casting director, and directed by Chil Kong, a director out of the Boston theatre scene who’s now in LA. Bonnie teaches 5 marketing workshops while we prepare for the big night so that our press kit, marketing know how, and understanding of how we will fit best in this industry will be as strong as possible. We’ll be at the Colony Theatre in Burbank where the evening will proceed like this. First, we’ll perform our outrageously funny and heartwarmingly sweet scenes. Then, we’ll go backstage and lose some of the stage make-up while the audience changes pants because they wet themselves laughing we were SO FUNNY. Then, we’ll wine and dine with the audience and schmoozola our pants off to find agents we connect with and casting directors (CDs) who want to hire us. Then, we maintain relationships with the CDs we met and make the tough decision of who we sign with for theatrical and commercial representation. Then, we have people fighting for us to get into bigger auditions while we continue to find work ourselves, and in a few years, when we outgrow our agent, we do this all again! Sounds like fun, no? There are 45 actors and I am thrilled to be part of the cast this year. It’s a big opportunity, especially for one as new to town as I am. Talk about getting to make a splash! Obviously, there will be more on that soon. More details on http://www.cricketfeetshowcase.com/. If you know any agents or CD’s in LA, let me know and I’ll add them to the guest list.
So, that’s the lowdown on the acting front. I’ll talk about yoga next time. ;)
Xox Jewel
Monday, January 26, 2009
Journey 'Cross America
We finally made it! Theo and I left Chevy Chase, MD on Jan 3 and, after stops in Nashville, Baton Rouge, Austin, and Tucson, after friends and family, after Cajun, BBQ, Tex-Mex and New-Mex, and about 3,400 miles on the road, we made it into Santa Monica, CA yesterday, Jan. 5. With Theo’s help, unpacking the car and moving in took almost no time at all. Then it was right off to my first meeting with my yoga mentor, Annie Carpenter, where I finally got to meet the rest of my apprentice group. Everyone seems great and it was a treat to find out that I have quite enough teaching experience to get by. Our group ranges from early 20’s to late 50’s with people who have just finished their first teacher training and don’t have much teaching experience to folks who have taught for 1-3 years. After my 12 months of teaching in DC, my wonderful experiences with all my students, and all the great questions they asked while I taught, I’m ready to get back into school, find new teaching jobs and finally find the answers to all those questions. Once I got back, we were treated to dinner – homemade burgers, fries and a great salad – by my landlord, Kathleen, the aunt of my friend Jen in DC. We had dinner with Kathleen, her daughter Cheyenne, Kathleen’s college friend Carolyn and their other renter, Annalise, who happens to be from Tacoma, WA where I went to college. Then it was off to bed by 10pm b/c were exhausted! Up at 6 this morning for me after a full 8 hours.
So, that was last night once we arrived, “What about the actual journey?” you’re wondering. Well… it was great fun and happily uneventful outside of seeing my friend Nikki in Nashville and my family along the way. No flat tires, no food poisoning from roadside meals, no accidents (and only one near one), no roadkill casualties larger than insects and NO TICKETS! Instead, we had interesting conversation, funny conversation and dreamy conversation, silly car games, music and made-up songs, books on ipod, the entire 2nd book of Harry Potter and ¼ of the third, and 4 chapters of Hemingway’s “As the Bell Tolls” read aloud. We liked the Hemingway so much we’re going to keep reading it aloud until Theo flies back to DC on Sunday. Then I’ll have to get my own copy and just read to myself. As for the remaining ¾ of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Theo will have to download that bad boy and listen to it on the plane.
Driving from MD to TN was misty and partially stormy. We saw buffalo, cows, and horses. We made it into Nashville around 10 or 11 pm and stayed up to chat with Nikki before we all crashed. She had just arrived from Rhode Island via DC (driving as well) a few hours before us, so we were all pretty tired. We grabbed breakfast at Panera Bread after having yerba mate at Nikki’s and were back on the road.
TN to Baton Rouge was also misty here and there. Unfortunately, by the time we got close to Baton Rouge, it was already nightfall, so we didn’t get to see the landscape and flora until we left in the morning. Baton Rouge was definitely one of the highlights of this trip for me. I’d never been down there and it’s a city with a long history in my family. My maternal grandmother, Jewel (nee Claitor) Ogorzaly, who I’m obviously named after, grew up in Baton Rouge, went to LSU and moved to New Orleans after graduation with her 3 best friends, Bennett, Chi Chi and Wink. You can imagine the family stories! Her mother, Mabel, and father, Otto, (my great-grandparents) started Claitor’s bookstore in Baton Rouge. The bookstore has grown from a general local bookstore into a publishing company and out-of-print collection specializing in hard to find law books. After dinner with my 2nd cousin Dan, his wife Sharmaine, their 2 kids, Sam and James, and DiBelle, a family friend, we hit the hay, bellies full of Sharmaine’s homemade turkey gumbo. In the morning we chatted with Sharmaine and Dan before he left for work. Then Sharmaine snapped a couple photos of me in the bayou in my great-granddad’s old rowboat (family tradition) and then headed over to the bookstore! We got to see my great-uncles Bob (Dan’s dad) and Jim as well as Dan’s brothers (more of my 2nd cousins) Rob and John. Dan’s other brother, Jim, was already back in Iowa after New Year’s in Louisiana. We had poboy’s at the restaurant next door to the bookstore and then got back on the highway after learning one thing to never forget – gumbo ain’t gumbo unless it’s got roux. If you’ve never heard of roux, look it up in Joy of Cooking or, if you’re lucky enough to have it, a copy of River Road Recipes.
Driving out of Baton Rouge it was pretty misty. Theo, after 2 previous foiled attempts to see the Mississippi River, is just going to have to come back for Jazz Fest because Ol’ Miss was covered by fog. We loved seeing the Spanish Moss hanging from all the trees and the highways crossing over the swamps. Though we kept our eyes peeled for gators, we didn’t see any this trip. We had some sprinkles of rain as we headed to Austin, saw longhorns once we got into TX, got lost (of course) in the Austin hills, and finally made it to my Uncle Bob’s and Aunt Molly’s house. We got a tour of the house as it’s different every time – Bob’s an architect and Molly’s a botanist/writer/artist so it’s always fun to see what’s new and different at their place. Bob arrived with Tex-Mex from Chewy’s and my cousin William who had just come back to town after snowboarding in Colorado. The UT game was on so we chatted and watched the game and finally saw the UT Tower turn red from the living room window once they won and the game was over. Then it was off to bed and, in the morning, after oatmeal and chicory coffee (wait, didn’t we leave Louisiana?), we got back on the road. We stopped for BBQ at Cranky Franky’s in Fredericksburg, TX and still a zillion light years to drive before… finally… making it to the other side of the state. Boy, how we cheered when we finally hit New Mexico.
New Mexico remains one of my favorite states to drive through. Maybe it’s a desert thing and that connects me to my childhood, but the huge skies and the way the light turns violet against the falling night and the sand and the rocks in the distance… You can’t beat it. It is just so achingly beautiful to watch the texture of the light change, the colors alter and deepen, the start come out. I texted my friend Kat, from college, about where to get good New Mexican food in her hometown of Las Cruces. She texted back from NY, NY and said to head to Si Senor so we did. We had waaaaaaaay too much good food and lots of good green chili queso and green chili salsa and then got back on the road. We’d decided to drive as far as we could so that we could miss rush hour in CA and get there with plenty of daylight to use as we unpacked the car. I took a nap after dinner, we switched driving shifts after getting into Arizona and made it all the way to Tuscon. Then we realized it was only another 2 hours to Pheonix so we just kept going. We finally stopped after driving and found a Comfort Inn off of I-10. In the morning, we got right back on the road for our remaining 6 hours of roadtrip.
The I-40, which I took driving out the first time, and the I-10, which Theo and I took this time, become one highway in CA heading into Los Angeles. It was fun to me that Theo got to see exactly what I saw heading into LA my very first trip. What was new about this time is that there was actually snow in the mountains! It was full sun, breezy and warm where we were and up above, right at the tops of the hills was snow. We pulled over for lunch at the Wheel Inn which sounds ridiculous but has fantastic sandwiches. If you’re headed into LA on the 10, you’re feeling a little hungry and you see the brontosaurs coming up on your right, take that exit and head to the dino. The Wheel Inn is only about 100 ft from his back leg. As we approached, it was a smoggy day in LA town. The air looked hazy and there was a thick brown smudge along the horizon. Theo caught one last catnap while I maneuvered the LA highways and we finally made it to my new place in Santa Monica at 2:30 in the afternoon!
Carolyn, Kathleen’s friend who’s visiting form NY, gave us a tour of the house and then we started moving things in. I have one bedroom in a two bedroom fix it upper. Carolyn’s in the other room, Kathleen and Cheyenne live in the house behind the one I’m in and Annalise lives in the casita which is Los Angeles slang for “converted garage”. Theo took a walk around the neighborhood while I did the little unpacking and we’re headed off to explore now! He’s going to show me what he found and then we’re going to see if we can find a beginning and intermediate yoga class at the same studio around the same time. I have unlimited free yoga for the next 6 months so the next time you see me, I’ll be even more yoga buff. Then we’re thinking about going to the Getty Museum or taking a hike up in Malibu. More soon!
So, that was last night once we arrived, “What about the actual journey?” you’re wondering. Well… it was great fun and happily uneventful outside of seeing my friend Nikki in Nashville and my family along the way. No flat tires, no food poisoning from roadside meals, no accidents (and only one near one), no roadkill casualties larger than insects and NO TICKETS! Instead, we had interesting conversation, funny conversation and dreamy conversation, silly car games, music and made-up songs, books on ipod, the entire 2nd book of Harry Potter and ¼ of the third, and 4 chapters of Hemingway’s “As the Bell Tolls” read aloud. We liked the Hemingway so much we’re going to keep reading it aloud until Theo flies back to DC on Sunday. Then I’ll have to get my own copy and just read to myself. As for the remaining ¾ of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Theo will have to download that bad boy and listen to it on the plane.
Driving from MD to TN was misty and partially stormy. We saw buffalo, cows, and horses. We made it into Nashville around 10 or 11 pm and stayed up to chat with Nikki before we all crashed. She had just arrived from Rhode Island via DC (driving as well) a few hours before us, so we were all pretty tired. We grabbed breakfast at Panera Bread after having yerba mate at Nikki’s and were back on the road.
TN to Baton Rouge was also misty here and there. Unfortunately, by the time we got close to Baton Rouge, it was already nightfall, so we didn’t get to see the landscape and flora until we left in the morning. Baton Rouge was definitely one of the highlights of this trip for me. I’d never been down there and it’s a city with a long history in my family. My maternal grandmother, Jewel (nee Claitor) Ogorzaly, who I’m obviously named after, grew up in Baton Rouge, went to LSU and moved to New Orleans after graduation with her 3 best friends, Bennett, Chi Chi and Wink. You can imagine the family stories! Her mother, Mabel, and father, Otto, (my great-grandparents) started Claitor’s bookstore in Baton Rouge. The bookstore has grown from a general local bookstore into a publishing company and out-of-print collection specializing in hard to find law books. After dinner with my 2nd cousin Dan, his wife Sharmaine, their 2 kids, Sam and James, and DiBelle, a family friend, we hit the hay, bellies full of Sharmaine’s homemade turkey gumbo. In the morning we chatted with Sharmaine and Dan before he left for work. Then Sharmaine snapped a couple photos of me in the bayou in my great-granddad’s old rowboat (family tradition) and then headed over to the bookstore! We got to see my great-uncles Bob (Dan’s dad) and Jim as well as Dan’s brothers (more of my 2nd cousins) Rob and John. Dan’s other brother, Jim, was already back in Iowa after New Year’s in Louisiana. We had poboy’s at the restaurant next door to the bookstore and then got back on the highway after learning one thing to never forget – gumbo ain’t gumbo unless it’s got roux. If you’ve never heard of roux, look it up in Joy of Cooking or, if you’re lucky enough to have it, a copy of River Road Recipes.
Driving out of Baton Rouge it was pretty misty. Theo, after 2 previous foiled attempts to see the Mississippi River, is just going to have to come back for Jazz Fest because Ol’ Miss was covered by fog. We loved seeing the Spanish Moss hanging from all the trees and the highways crossing over the swamps. Though we kept our eyes peeled for gators, we didn’t see any this trip. We had some sprinkles of rain as we headed to Austin, saw longhorns once we got into TX, got lost (of course) in the Austin hills, and finally made it to my Uncle Bob’s and Aunt Molly’s house. We got a tour of the house as it’s different every time – Bob’s an architect and Molly’s a botanist/writer/artist so it’s always fun to see what’s new and different at their place. Bob arrived with Tex-Mex from Chewy’s and my cousin William who had just come back to town after snowboarding in Colorado. The UT game was on so we chatted and watched the game and finally saw the UT Tower turn red from the living room window once they won and the game was over. Then it was off to bed and, in the morning, after oatmeal and chicory coffee (wait, didn’t we leave Louisiana?), we got back on the road. We stopped for BBQ at Cranky Franky’s in Fredericksburg, TX and still a zillion light years to drive before… finally… making it to the other side of the state. Boy, how we cheered when we finally hit New Mexico.
New Mexico remains one of my favorite states to drive through. Maybe it’s a desert thing and that connects me to my childhood, but the huge skies and the way the light turns violet against the falling night and the sand and the rocks in the distance… You can’t beat it. It is just so achingly beautiful to watch the texture of the light change, the colors alter and deepen, the start come out. I texted my friend Kat, from college, about where to get good New Mexican food in her hometown of Las Cruces. She texted back from NY, NY and said to head to Si Senor so we did. We had waaaaaaaay too much good food and lots of good green chili queso and green chili salsa and then got back on the road. We’d decided to drive as far as we could so that we could miss rush hour in CA and get there with plenty of daylight to use as we unpacked the car. I took a nap after dinner, we switched driving shifts after getting into Arizona and made it all the way to Tuscon. Then we realized it was only another 2 hours to Pheonix so we just kept going. We finally stopped after driving and found a Comfort Inn off of I-10. In the morning, we got right back on the road for our remaining 6 hours of roadtrip.
The I-40, which I took driving out the first time, and the I-10, which Theo and I took this time, become one highway in CA heading into Los Angeles. It was fun to me that Theo got to see exactly what I saw heading into LA my very first trip. What was new about this time is that there was actually snow in the mountains! It was full sun, breezy and warm where we were and up above, right at the tops of the hills was snow. We pulled over for lunch at the Wheel Inn which sounds ridiculous but has fantastic sandwiches. If you’re headed into LA on the 10, you’re feeling a little hungry and you see the brontosaurs coming up on your right, take that exit and head to the dino. The Wheel Inn is only about 100 ft from his back leg. As we approached, it was a smoggy day in LA town. The air looked hazy and there was a thick brown smudge along the horizon. Theo caught one last catnap while I maneuvered the LA highways and we finally made it to my new place in Santa Monica at 2:30 in the afternoon!
Carolyn, Kathleen’s friend who’s visiting form NY, gave us a tour of the house and then we started moving things in. I have one bedroom in a two bedroom fix it upper. Carolyn’s in the other room, Kathleen and Cheyenne live in the house behind the one I’m in and Annalise lives in the casita which is Los Angeles slang for “converted garage”. Theo took a walk around the neighborhood while I did the little unpacking and we’re headed off to explore now! He’s going to show me what he found and then we’re going to see if we can find a beginning and intermediate yoga class at the same studio around the same time. I have unlimited free yoga for the next 6 months so the next time you see me, I’ll be even more yoga buff. Then we’re thinking about going to the Getty Museum or taking a hike up in Malibu. More soon!
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