Lord what a week! I know we all are antsy right now. The grocery stores are finally restocking more, the stimulus checks are out in the U.S., some of us are unemployed others are waiting to have the last of their hours cut down. I know we could all use a distraction. I noticed some of my friends were making comedic skits in their apartment so I thought there was no time like to present to make one about being single during the quarantine. Feel free to check that out here. I also will upload it on the side panel of this page so you can click that for your viewing pleasure. My skit is under two minutes and if you enjoy it please share it with a friend.
Hang in there, friends. Be strong we are going to get through this! If you need someone to chat with feel free to contact me through the contact tab on my site and we can email back and forth.
Hello everyone! I hope you are doing okay. Happy belated Easter! He has risen! I hope you all were able to enjoy a virtual service and get out for a walk.
I know this has been incredibly strange for everyone. I will say I think the positive thing is we will all appreciate human contact so much more. Maybe when we go out to dinner with friends and family we will actually look everyone in the eye and appreciate the time we are with them. Instead of checking for that next email, text or social media like.
The one major positive I’ve seen from the acting standpoint is the playing field has opened up. Allow me to explain, in this industry we use 3 major casting sites that our agents submit our headshots and demos to casting agents on. Most of the time I am seen by a decent amount of casting agents, but there are some that work in NY, Chicago, New Orleans or even a few Los Angeles agents I have not had the opportunity to submit to. Why? Sometimes they do not have a part I fit or they already have actors that fit the same type. Which I completely understand since its often who you know. During the quarantine, we have all seen a major trend on Instagram and two of the three casting sites, where you can submit for virtual open calls with these agents. Many are letting you submit two contrasting pieces of your choosing; others have material for you to choose from and are letting you pick one piece.
This is huge! This has never happened in the age of online submissions and will give so many unknowns the chance to make a great first impression on a casting agent they never would have met. I know personally, I am beyond grateful for any chance to perform so this is such a beautiful gift in an otherwise disjointing time.
What does this mean? It means you are given the opportunity to perform in front of talent agents that cast for major network television, feature films and miniseries (a predetermined limited number of episodes). In the words of Lizzie McGuire, this is what dreams are made of. Are there any other unique opportunities you’ve found in your industry?
Hello beautiful people! I hope you all are being kind to yourself. I hope you are getting a lot of rest, eating okay, bonding with loved ones in person and virtually. I made a video on Youtube about Virgil’s exhibition titled “Freedom of Speech”. I went and toured this exhibition at the High back in February and thought I’d over a little virtual escape. Below is the link to my Youtube video about this.
There are also links to multiple museums around the globe you can virtually tour in the description box of my Youtube video. If you are an art nerd like I am this is a dream come true since you can see various pieces and artifacts from all over the globe.
Here you can find the link to The Met and the Musee d’Orsay in France.
Back in November I took a trip to Chicago and had the pleasure of viewing Where’d you go, Bernadette? on the plane. Synopsis an architectural genius loses her passion after sacrificing for her family. She puts aside her fears and pursues an adventure that terrifies her, but ultimately leads her to find herself. This movie is about 2 hours long I was only able to watch about an hour and 30 minutes of it and was left on a complete click cliffhanger. I was desperate to know does her family find her?
During this time at home, all I could think was this is the perfect time to search for this film. I’d tried before but it came out in 2019 so it hadn’t come out in 2 Amazon Netflix or Hulu just yet. Luckily I googled it and saw I could watch it via YouTube, Amazon or Hulu for 3.99 rental. Where’d you go Bernadette is about an architect who raises her daughter Bee while her husband works for Microsoft. Bernadette was one of the youngest most brilliant female architects in history. She is incredibly eccentric and doesn’t get along with their neighbors. Throughout the film, we see Bernadette in an incredibly anxious state about many aspects of her life but especially about being around people. She rants and raves throughout the film about various subjects to her virtual assistant and an old friend.
The reason I love this film is that it passes the Bechdel test. The Bechdel test states that two women have to be on screen without a man and not discuss a man. It is also very appropriate for these current trying times when everyone is in a state of panic and kind of renting ranting and raving about what should we do next? Who are we really? What is our true purpose?
Throughout the film we see Bernadette struggle to work on the house they bought. Since she is such a world-renowned architect you would expect that finishing the house she bought (that basically needs to be condemned) would have been an easy task for her, however, we discover there are more intricate reasons for her hesitation to work on the project. She also points out that she’s an artist and she has to be inspired by a lot of information – such as how many people are going to use this? Are they male or female? Can I see the space that they’re going to be living in? She someone who has to kinetically touch the space as well as visualize all the potential so she can come up with solutions to multiple problems that other people wouldn’t necessarily see.
I think in a time where everyone is feeling upside down due to the current pandemic, Where’d You Go Bernadette? reminds us that sometimes you have to get lost to find yourself. Bernadette set aside her fears of people and of travel all for the sake of not letting down her daughter. In her drive to go to Antarctica to be with her daughter and husband, her husband and daughter realize why she has been so riddled with anxiety and sorrow. As a result, they are more open to supporting Bernadette emotionally and supporting her to find her next project. When they find her she has already accepted an amazing architectural endeavor but vows she will turn it down if they want her to. This film reminds us it’s okay to take a break, then come back reenergized.
I hope you are taking walks, practicing social distancing and staying healthy. I know we’ve all been getting pretty antsy. Today I rounded up 5 Netflix shows you can binge-watch to pass the time.
The TLDR an African American woman becomes the first self-made millionaire. This is a four-part mini-series. This is inspired by Madam C.J. Walker a pioneer for the black haircare industry. This series talks about her overcoming sexism, marriages and the road to being a successful businesswoman.
The TLDR is a rich family that finds themselves broke and has to move to a small town they bought as a joke. The long version is this show is a comedy written by Dan and Eugene Levy, whose expressive eyebrows alone are reason enough to watch. His wife is an ex-soap star from the 80s. She over the top language and wardrobe confuse and fascinate the members of this small town. Their adult children Alexis and David move with them since the town is technically owned by David, whose is father bought it for him as a joke. Alexis is a socialite who has traveled her entire childhood and loves to share stories. David was a failed art gallery worker and fashionista.
The TLDR 5 teenage boys are tried for a crime they did not commit. This is based on the true story of 5 teenage boys who were tried as adults for the rape of a girl in Central Park. This show will make you angry, sad and completely change your viewpoint on how flawed our media and justice system still is. There are only four episodes, so it is a quick watch.
Just popping in to say this week has been hard. I know so many people have gotten the unfortunate we are letting you go phone call. Be sad, be angry but remember it’s not your fault. I repeat it is not your fault! This shit sucks. It sucks that doctors and nurses are running out of supplies, ventilators and having to decided who lives and dies. It sucks that we have to fight over food because some people had the resources to overbuy more than 3 months worth of food while the rest of us only got two weeks worth. We are in the middle of a global crisis. Companys are responding irrationally by letting go of people that have been on their jobs for over 5 years. It feels cruel and personal, but I promise you we will get through this. Economist are stating this is worse than the 2008 recession. One of the scariest times of my life when I wondered if my mom and I were going to have to live in our car. We got through that hard patch and we will all get through this one too. You are more than the number on your paycheck stub. Remember that your true value comes from your character. How you treat other people and move in the world.
Take this time to be thankful for your loved ones. Hug them tight, Zoom conference call them, and talk to them about your mental health! Reconfigure what you want to do with your life. Are you great at Public speaking? Can you edit a resume like no other? Well it’s time to think of how to make those skills marketable. Maybe make a Facebook page promoting that and look for other opportunities to make an online course for people in your niche market. I believe in you. Be kind to yourself friends and feel free to email me if you need someone to talk to just click here.
Hello everyone! How are you? Are you staying busy? Have you found a way to center yourself? I’ve organized so many things and gotten rid of a ton of old photos and footage from my dropbox and Google drive.
I thought I would share a post I’ve been meaning to put up since this past December. I had the pleasure of going to Art Basel and stayed at the Eurostars Langford in Miami.
What is Art Basel? Art Basel is basically a huge art show that originated in Switzerland and is now in Miami Beach and Hong Kong. Artist and galleries from all over the globe bring their piece to be shown and sold at this huge art festival. The first two days are not open to the public. As the years have gone by it has become a huge tourist destination for New York and LA gallery girls, socialites, DJs, celebrities and more. There are tons of brand parties and occasionally fashion events. Overall it’s a fun time to celebrate great art and get inspired for the new year. I always see this as a time to get recharged from the chaos of the year and see what some of my favorite artists have been up too.
I have never stayed at the Eurostars Langford hotel before and thought it would be easier to be close to Miami Beach, but not stay in that strip of hotels. The Langford was even more beautiful in person and they gave up vouchers for drinks at their rooftop bar. This hotel was a bank back in 1925 and still has some of the beautiful art deco touches. It was renovated in 2016 and officially opened as the Lanford Hotel.
The breakfast area at the Langford
Right now Art Basel is providing a free virtual tour you just need to make an account here. Did any of these pieces spark your interest or inspire you to create something?
Hello beautiful people! I hope you all are staying safe and healthy, that you’ve managed to get the necessary supplies you and your family needs for the next 2 weeks.
Try to practice social distancing. Stay home! You can reach out to your friends through the Internet. As an extrovert, I know how hard it can be to sit in one place without a bunch of people to interact with, but this is the perfect time to call your grandparents and chat on the phone ask them things like what their childhood was like? Often we don’t take the time to stop and think about how life might have been different for our grandparents when they were growing up versus now. This is a great time and a beautiful reminder to try to get to know our older loved ones even better than we currently do.
Text your friends and schedule a call! Seriously, when is the last time you caught up on the phone with a friend. A decade ago I l knew so many of my friends and my ex-boyfriends’ numbers by heart. (Full disclosure, I still know my 5th grade best friend Daniela’s house phone, so if anything ever happens I can call them and my mom). Nowadays I don’t even know anyone’s area code.
Clean out your closet. We all know the spring cleaning usually starts now anyway and what a better time to do it than when you’re stuck in your house. Make a game out of it, FaceTime a friend and put on a fashion show in your closet. Try on different things and showing them like the famous scene in the Sex and the City movie. Then you can make a pile of giveaways for a date when it’s safer to go out or even offered to give some of the pieces to your friend when we’ve all been lifted from the band.
Clean your apartment. We all know as life gets chaotic, we get busy and we don’t take the time to dust off the shelves or wipe down our bathroom counters as often as we need to. Now is the time especially if you’re someone who has a lot of skincare and makeup products. Good news now you have the time to do all that because what else are you going to do. Put on some YouTube videos and get to cleaning before you know it 2 hours will go by and your house will look speaking span which feels amazing.
Donate any excessive products you have. If you find you have an excessive amount of cleaning products or medical supplies please, please look to donate to your local old folks home or homeless shelter it’s incredibly frustrating to see so many people hoarding products to these days like it’s the end of the world. This is not a zombie apocalypse and we all need to be more supportive and respectful to each other be the bigger person give what you can.
Read a book. There are tons of E-books and most libraries have an online link to a variety of books, and magazines you can read. You’ve already paid for the library with your taxes so take advantage of this. You should be able to log in with a simple library card if you already have one. Did you know that last year 24% of American adults did not read a book? We need to do better America.
Join Facebook groups. There’s literally a Facebook group for everything you like cosplay put cosplay into Facebook and I’m sure you’ll find one you like. Enjoy Game of Thrones? There’s a group to discuss that. There is even a group of people who like knit. You may make a new friend from another part of the country or discover people that live in the same area as you that you could eventually hang out with once this is over win-win!
Watch TV. Enjoy watching scripted and reality shows. There are so many entertaining shows out there and now is the perfect time to Binge watch a show. Might I suggest something fabulous from Amazon like Fleabag or Schitt’s Creek and Insatiable on Netflix? I also hear Killing Eve and Billions are pretty brilliant.
Keep calm and carry on. This is temporary and we will all get through this if we’re just patient and take this time to set back think about the more important things in life like the ones we love who we want to be and trying to make our world a better place.
After spending a lovely afternoon at the High Museum of Art I began to think of how art influences film and our daily lives. There are so many scenes in various tv shows and films that directors have mimicked from famous works of art. Django Unchained has done this, Frida, so have many others. If you are interested you can see more on YouTube here.
Even in high school, we had to look through art books to find a painting to reference for inspiration for our Shakespeare unit and Chekov. I absolutely loved it. So many of my fellow actors wined and asked what’s the point. I pointed out that we get inspiration from everywhere so why not art. The paintings we used showed us how the character would dress, stand, their status and give us an idea of how this person would move throughout the world. I would often sit on a bench in the gallery building on Dreyfoos’s campus in high school just gaze at the work my classmates did. Some in charcoal, oil paint others in watercolor. I was always amazed at the amount of time and patience it must take to make a painting look like a photo.
Art is also used in marketing which has influenced how we shop since the dawn of time. Mad Men is all about an ad agency that copywrote for women’s makeup, household products, and other things. Now it’s used as the mock-up for commercials or editorial shots to get us to buy the latest trend, health gimmick or travel destination. Just think about Andy Warhol and the Campbells soup cans. They didn’t know whether to sue him for copyright infringement or thank him for advertising their brand.
Is there a specific film scene or art piece that has influenced you? I know in the age of Instagram ads people are more likely to buy a fast fashion item then see a piece of art in person, but Instagram ads are full of influential material whether it’s a luxurious vacation or the latest handbag. These are our modern art forms.
Dressing for yourself. It’s been so long since I’ve chosen an outfit purely for myself. Everyday when I wake up for work I choose something that is conservative, muted in tone, non-lacy, non-offensive, and with minimal detail. After choosing a generic white, grey, or black crew neck sweater and throwing on a black or cream blazer with basic black slacks; I was told to make sure my pants are not too fitted. As someone who has lost over 25 pounds about four months back, it can be discouraging to have someone trying to police your body. I get that miniskirts are not appropriate for the corporate world, but I still don’t see how wearing pants that FIT your body instead of being two sizes too big is considered inappropriate. Do corporate men not go outside? Do they avoid the beach, malls and restaurants so they are not “distracted” by the female figure?
Stop, and tell me what you think of this outfit. Is there an outfit you have that makes you feel invincible?
Come on now, it’s 2020 if we cannot hold people accountable for their actions about whether or not it is appropriate to comment on someone’s body or resist their urges then we have even bigger issues than the upcoming Presidential election. It reminded me of one of the many articles circulating about girls getting sent home for dress code because their shorts weren’t finger-tip length. I remember my frustration in high school as teachers (usually women) commented on my attire because I was taller than my friends (myself 5’5, them 5’1 and 4’11). My fingertips were closer to an inch above the knee theirs were barely halfway down their leg. I remember feeling angry for being singled out because I had boobs and a butt while my classmates were not as developed. On one occasion my 40 plus year-old health teacher who was wearing a low-cut V-neck and matching mini tennis skirt told me I needed to go to the principal’s office for dress code. I told her sure, we can go together since your skirt isn’t fingertip length either. Her face turned beet red and as she vehemently read me the riot act, I pointed out that the dress code is incredibly sexist and she is a role model to our class. By being a role model she too should be held to the same clothing standards since we are all in the same place of business.
Over the knee boots similar here, similar Maje bag here, and black off the shoulder top here
My point is, clothing brings me joy. I don’t know about you, but I dress for my mood. Somedays that means boots because I’m ready to strut proudly and confidently into an audition, other days boho dresses because I’m feeling mellow and want to sit outside and read. When I’m sad and we are talking sobbing depression, I still wear the over-sized grey hoodie I keep in the back of my closet from an ex-boyfriend. It’s the one sad piece of clothing I’ve allowed into my apartment. In a weird way I feel comforted when I wear it because it gives the feeling of being wrapped in a hug.
Who knew an elevator could be a great opportunity for a photo op.
Everything else in my closet is colorful, lacy, fringe, beaded, and one light pink sequin miniskirt (I can’t let go of) all of which reflect my creative personality. When you dress for yourself you feel empowered and ready to face the world head-on. When you have to dress with everyone else in mind you start your day feeling like you have to apologize for the beautiful features God blessed you with. It’s a way of suppressing your confidence so you don’t “draw too much attention” or “intimidate anyone”. I just want to reach a point where we can teach everyone to be more confident in their self and respect other people instead of policing them.
