Scheduling and previous commitments continue to be a bane of my existence. And I’m not getting better at adjusting my time or not being bummed that I can’t do it all and take advantage of every opportunity.

Examples:

1) Overbooked: I was hired for two days of mock trials, something I’ve been interested in doing for several years. Not only is my nephew’s birthday party one of the days, an agent called with an audition for an even better paying gig that would shoot on the other. So I had to say no to the agent and my nephew. Friends/classmates are in a show I want to see but it’s at 11PM the night before the mock trial, which starts at 8:30AM. Of course there were days that week with nothing specific on the calendar.

2) Over-YESsed: I can’t seem to say no when asked to judge writing contests, because I’ve appreciated and benefitted from feedback I’ve received over the years…but each entry takes a lot of time and mental energy. Some days, work for the board of directors I’m on requires immediate and significant attention. My sister asked me to help her with something. My writing group invited me to do a workshop. All things I want to do and enjoy doing.

But adding these activities to auditioning, rehearsals/learning lines, acting jobs, improv class, self-marketing and critiquing friends’ books means many workdays go way beyond 9-5. Which means less time to read the books on my overflowing ‘to be read’ shelf and less time for a social life: two of the reasons I quit my day job in the first place.

Worse, I wonder if I’m using all of these commitments to avoid dealing with more serious issues/projects. Like working diligently on a new book.

Lately I’ve been falling into the trap of believing I have no time. I say, “Oh, I have this, this, this and this I have to do today. And, hmm, I really need groceries. And look, I have a Dr. appointment. And I’d better buy this birthday gift.” Thus whittling away the day with things I do need to do, because I said I would. I need to get back to choosing how I use my time, vs. letting busy-busyness choose.

But what is the best use of my time? How do you decide the best use of yours?

….even when you’re sick. I’ve been stricken with the severe and long-lasting cold/cough that has been making the rounds. But not even the GU (gainfully unemployed) can collapse on their couches without some ramifications. I did engage in much collapsing from Good Friday through the Easter weekend, making my way through copious amounts of TheraFlu, tea and Puffs.

But I had an audition Monday from an agent for a train the trainer video that could not be missed. So whenever I could manage to lever myself off the couch, I laid down the 3 pages of copy on my ear prompter and practiced. An ear prompter, for the uninitiated, is a tape recorder with a news anchor-type earpiece attached. The script plays back in your ear, then you say it. This enables the actor to audition with large amounts of copy without having to memorize it. Try repeating whatever the radio announcer or news anchor says, and you’ll get the idea.

Thanks to the miracles of makeup, I managed to conceal my red nose and make my eyes look less puffy. I drove to the audition and even found a parking space. I must say, it went very well, and the auditioner said she was very pleased, but the client would choose who got the part. I was so happy to get back home and change out of my audition attire into my sweats. Then the phone rang. It was my agent. No way they could they have decided that fast. Maybe he had another audition for me.

Neither of the above.

My audition had been videotaped without sound. Could I go back right away and redo it?

I changed clothes. I drove all the way back. I did the audition again. Not sure it was quite as good…
And I didn’t get the part. Sigh.

Waiting is an inevitable part of the acting (and writing) worlds. You wait to find out if you’ve gotten a part you auditioned for. You wait for agents to send you on auditions. You wait for your paychecks. When you’re an extra, you wait to see if your scene made it into the final film. If not, you wait even longer to see if it shows up in the DVD’s deleted scenes.

In November, 2005, I won an online fan auction and travelled to Lithuania to be a featured extra in Highlander 5: The Source. I had to wait almost 2 years to see if my scene made it in.

In mid-September 2007, the movie finally came out as a SciFi Original. I watched with baited breath. Yes! About 10 minutes in, there is a shot of just me walking away from the new villain, The Guardian.

But what became of the rest of the shots we did, and the interviews I’d done for “the making of” featurette? I had to wait until the DVD just came out a couple of weeks ago. No interviews appeared, which is probably for the best…I was so excited to be there I have no idea what I said. About 52 and a half minutes into the special feature on the making of the movie, lo and behold! There are several shots of me and my three fellow homeless compatriots. And you can see the shot during the entrance of Zai, another character new to the Highlander universe.

For readers who want to know more, my Set Visit Report is still on the Highlander Worldwide Web site.

Yes, this is true. I shot my first print ad yesterday!!! Out of 8 people cast from many who auditioned from various talent agencies, I was the only female. The ads will appear in some newpapers, magazines and the Internet.

The process was just like the shoots on America’s Next Top Model. Had my hair/makeup/wardrobe done. Stepped onto the light-strewn set, where the photographer, an ad agency representative and the guy who seemed to be the director (never got his title) and a guy who manned the computer (never got his title either) could see every shot appear on a huge computer monitor.

Just like the ANTM models, I was asked to keep “giving them something different” in terms of facial expression, attidude, and gestures. Even when you have a clear idea of what they’re looking for and they offer suggestions, doing this is over and over is harder than you might think. And you try “smiling with no teeth” while people are telling jokes.

Watching every ANTM cycle (they’re on #10 at the moment) definitely helped me get and succeed at this job. Thanks to Tyra I’ve learned how to make sure my eyes convey emotion instead of being flat and lifeless. Thanks to Tyra, when they said “smile with your eyes,” I knew exactly what they meant.

Everyone seemed happy, and said I was very photogenic. At one point the director showed me a closeup on the HUGE monitor and said something about how great my face was for closeups. Pretty much all I saw were the bags under my eyes and the wrinkles that have recently appeared above my top lip…but all that matters was that the client liked it. My eyes looked good, tho. Will be very interesting to see the final product!

Ruth

Last weekend I went to a workshop given by two of Chicago’s premier casting directors (CDs). They were willing to take questions about almost anything. So I asked about my look. I have a mass of very curly, frizzy, black hair that falls past my shoulders (longer than in my headshots) and is hard to tame no matter how many defrizzer gels, conditioners, shampoos etc. I try.

One of the CDs, Claire Simon, who casts many commercials, films and TV shows, said I needed a more sophisticated haircut so I didn’t fall through the casting cracks. She also didn’t like the color…too black. Or my bangs. The other CD agreed.

Some people might have thought: Screw you, I look fine the way I am. An actress who wants to get called in by Claire Simon thinks: What can I do to make myself more marketable in this business? How can I fit my type? Especially in commercials, and also in film & TV, everyone has a type. You don’t get to choose, you just are what you look like.

One man in the class commented that he wanted to be seen as more than a Chicago cop type. Which he actually was, looks, and sounds exactly like. The verdict: because of his look and Chicago accent, chances of him getting cast as a doctor or something along those lines were very slim. Another woman wanted to get sent out for more than “young mother.” Which, of course, she looks and sounds like.

Actors may be able to adapt somewhat, by being a lawyer one day or a doctor another. But we can’t choose to be “the person next door” if we are perceived by those who do the casting as “upscale attractive.” So we might as well be the best of our type we can be.

Fortunately I already had a hair appointment scheduled for yesterday. I brought in a couple of pictures and talked to my stylist. She hacked at least 4 inches off the back (I couldn’t look at the piles of hair on the floor), reshaped the front and my bangs are now off to the side, so I have sort of a slightly longer than Julie Christie at the Oscars look. I am pleased to report that I like it.

I shall send Claire a picture (before I invest in new headshots; my new cut is sort of similar to my current headshots and I have TONS of copies). We’ll see if my attempt at sophistication yields any results.

As to the color, I have a lot of gray…and though I’ve tried many brands, only black covers it. Even the darkest brown shades fade on the first day. My hair grows so fast that if I got highlights I’d have to take time and fork over more $ for new ones every three weeks. I talked to a colorist who suggested either internal highlights that would show off my curls but not be impacted as much by growout. And/or a two shade color correction requiring some bleaching to lighten my hair just enough it wouldn’t look blackest black. Lots of $$$$$ involved. I will think on these options.

What type are you?

There are times when we commit ourselves and our money, which seem like the right choices. Then events transpire to make us wonder if we’ve made the optimum use of our resources.

Case in point A: I paid $325 for a weekend audition intensive with two of Chicago’s premier casting directors, one from a major theatre company and one who does mostly TV/film. It seemed like a win/win: 1) my theatre and on camera monologue auditions (a previous bane of my acting existence, covered in an earlier post) had to improve under the tutelage of these experts and 2) the old networking adage ‘who you know’ can be a factor in casting…so maybe at least one of them would call me in for some auditions. Which could lead to 3) my acting agents seeing their interest and maybe sending me out more themselves.

Case in point B: A new author friend is coming to town for a book signing two blocks from my condo. She invited me to dinner before with 5 of her friends. I made the reservations and was looking forward to the evening.

The scheduling sprites saw that I was happy with my decisions.

So the only auditions for another director’s festival I’d been looking forward to auditioning for fell on the first workshop day. Auditions for an improv program I was thinking about taking were also that weekend. I got called to be an extra in a movie starring Freddy Rodruiguez, Debra Messing and John Leguizamo. My brother said he was available that Sunday to help me complete a sizable family chore we’ve been putting off.

Auditions for another popular director’s festival fell the evening of the booksigning. I managed to sign up for the last time slot, 9:25 pm. So I will have to leave the signing early, go home and get my car, drive 20 or so minutes and find parking. Not the end of the world, obviously, but still a stressful hassle when I could have simply enjoyed a single event, the booksigning.

Of course I wish I could have conveniently fit in all of these things, and can’t help wondering why at least one couldn’t have been on a day when my calendar is bare.

Maybe I should just be happy with what I have, and assume that more fun opportunities will come my way. Does everything happen for a reason? Only time will tell…

Let’s say you’ve asked your husband to take out the garbage, or your kid to clean up his room. Or you’ve asked your boss for information you need to take a project to the next step. Or something has happened at a community organization that offends or upsets you, and you speak up.

How do you ensure that your choice of words clearly conveys your message without annoying the other person? And how do you know you’re not asking too much? If you don’t get the results you want, how soon is it appropriate to restate your request?

When do requests for action cross the line of communicating your needs and wants in any relationship to become nagging? When do you become a pushover instead of a person who stands up for herself?

Of course the answers are subjective and depend on the situation at hand and people involved. Which means we are all actors and authors. Every day of our lives, we take on different roles depending on who else is in the room. We are often afraid to epxress how we really feel, because we don’t want to offend. We often bite back things we want to say, and instead write scripts that will mollify our bossess or spouses. On the other hand, sometimes when caught up in the moment, we say things we don’t really mean in tones and volume levels we may later regret.

Or like the contestants on American Idol who can’t believe it when Simon says they can’t sing, we get defensive. And we take objective issues and make them personal. Yet we deserve to express ourselves and make our thoughts and needs known.

Keys to success include the wording and timing. So consider the old adage: think before you speak. Try to look at both sides. And especially, think about that e-mail before you hit ‘send.’

My first VO job this year…to lip sync dialogue from a short movie clip, but with some different client-oriented words.

This is not as easy as it sounds, like those one credit colleges classes for which you wound up doing tons of work. Recording at home means I need to be an audio engineer, a career I’ve never aspired to, even when I worked at radio stations. But I’ve had to dive in to the vast pool of hardware, software and technical terms. Plus I get easily frustrated when I can’t get things to work on my computer, because resolving the problem requires too much trial and error.

The client wanted me to upload an AIFF file. I have heard of this, but usually send MP3s, which anyone not living under a rock is familiar with these days. My VO software, however, does not list AIFF as an option.

Fortunately a VO friend told me I needed conversion software. A quick Internet search revealed that I could use Quicktime PRO, which I already have. That was the easy part.

Now I know I have to convert a WAV file to an AIFF file, which the client wanted but I couldn’t send directly because my software won’t export in WAV. It will, however, export in Ogg Vorbis. Seriously. Whatever that is.

But then a gremlin crawled into my PC and did this: 1) if I tried to play the movie clip and my recording software at the same time so I could hear the actress’s inflection and pace and then say the lines right after or with her, either the clip or my voice played back at super high speed like Alvin and the Chipmunks (remember them?). 2) Then,for some reason , every voice, including Mr. AOL’s “You’ve got mail,” started to play super low and super slow, like a record (remember those?) on the lowest speed.

Finally I figured out a system and sent the file to the client…who approved. Whew.

Next project: figuring out how to use FTP so if needed I can upload large files. And try to stay ahead of the technical curve. Ha.