Resolutions & Goals for 2017

As we've gotten settled into January and the new year, I took some time to figure out what I wanted for myself this year.  With the life-changing year of 2016, I am really excited to welcome 2017.  Out with the old and in with the new, and here's to a fresh new start with stronger relationships, more creativity, positivity, yummy food, and work!

Last year I took a Master Class at the Ruskin School, working with Chris Mulkie, Paul Sand, Billy DaMota, Paul Ruddy, Bruce Davisson, and more.  I learned so much over the weeks and certainly grew as an Actor.  These Actors & Coaches (including John Ruskin) pulled so much out of me and brought new ideas and intentions for me to work on.  I'm always striving to learn new techniques that make me stronger in my choices.  I started producing some of my Aftershows at Afterbuzz TV as well, and brought in a ton of guests to talk about 'Supernatural.'  This show continues to pick up steam and just got renewed for Season 13...woo!  We had a few Improv Shows and I've been actively involved in our weekly Improv classes.  CAC Studios had also re-opened 'Thenardier's Inn' and I got to do some Princess Shows on top of our adult shows.  I even stretched my range by working with some talented actors for 'One Night Stands,' which was a blast and challenge.  I can't wait to get involved with some new projects this year, film with my friends, creating our own work, and get myself out more often!

'No day but today!' ~ Rent (Photo by Angel Romero)

I grew in the kitchen too, thanks to Blue Apron.  The girls from Lubitsch gifted me a couple weeks at Christmas time, and I actually kept up with it because I love to cook.  It makes it so much easier when the ingredients and recipes are delivered right to your door and all you have to do is cook it up.  I'm looking forward to making some of these recipes on my own now!  I Hosted my first Dinner Party last week and can't wait to have another one.  Health and fitness-wise, I've been working really hard and thankfully can still enjoy my favorite foods but need to make sure to keep up with my work-outs because it's definitely harder to stay in shape in your 30's.  Water has been a huge part of the last year, as I've made sure to drink a minimum of eight glasses a day and I can truly say I've seen a difference in my skin (it looks clearer and brighter), I very rarely have a headache, hangovers are far less regular, and I don't crave sweets or sugary drinks like I used to.  I always have a bottle of water with me, wherever I go, so that makes it super easy to keep up with my water intake.

My circle of friends has grown and become tighter and I've gotten so much closer with my family as well.  Everyone has come together during some hard times and I couldn't be more grateful for my wonderful family and friends.  I also gained a new family member; Rutherford B Hayes, has come into my life, stolen my heart, and I love that little man more than words can express.  He has helped me get through some of the toughest times in the past year.  It's insane to realize how much he has impacted my life.  And it was an honor to become a God-Mother to my cousins little girl, Alina!  We got to see our whole Jacoby side of the family for Monica & Tyler's Wedding this past Summer in Newport Beach.  As we all make transitions into our lives without my Mom, I know that my relationships with those that are important will flourish.  Thank you to those incredible people.

The gals and I made a couple trips to Vegas in the past year, I went back to Wisconsin a few times, and was able to check out some new restaurants here in LA, have more Girl's Nights and Game Nights, and also saw some wonderful theater and shows.  I was inspired and even started writing my own sitcom and am very excited to make progress on that this year.  That is one of my driving forces right now to keep me in LA.  I don't know exactly where I want to go next but I know that I need to give my all in order to feel fulfilled in what I've done here in LA if I do want to move somewhere else.  But I've got at least one more year here in LA and know that it'll only bring more success because I've got dreams, and I'm going to make them happen!

I'm charging into 2017 with a passion and drive that won't be stopped!  Here we go...

Resolutions and Goals for 2016

This year has already been life-changing, difficult, and positive, all wrapped into one.  I'm hoping the drive that I started 2016 with to make progressions in my career continues, that my new philosophy on life takes exciting direction, that my family and I continue to grow closer together as we've already built stronger bonds of love, that I experiment in the Kitchen and make at least one new dish a month, and that I make my Mom proud in my decisions and choices.

Last year I wanted to do something every day that scared me; I like to think that I did that but I'm sure there were days that I felt fearful about something and let that fear take over.  It's natural and as long as I know that from fear comes growth, I just have to challenge myself and be daring.

'You had the power all along, my Dear.' ~ Glinda

I also wanted to be more patient and polite with Customer Service Representatives and Bar Patrons.  I definitely feel like I kept true to that and I will certainly continue to maintain a positive outlook and try to be patient in moments of frustration.  In November I actually started a 'No Complaints' Challenge that was supposed to be seven days...it went on much longer and I was able to keep up with it.  I plan on starting that again since I was really happy doing it and it seemed to positively affect the people around me and inspire them to get involved :)  In addition to that, I also spent some time Volunteering for Habitat for Humanity and would like to find some opportunities to volunteer throughout LA!

For the past few years I've made sure to try new restaurants and Happy Hours all over at least once a month.  Dine LA makes that easy since there's so many restaurants throughout Los Angeles and many of them offer a three-course menu for a discounted price.  Plus, there's always a new Happy Hour spot popping up somewhere!  I also wanted to get out of town more often and was able to get back to Wisconsin in September, Palm Springs in July, Arizona in April, and Solvang a couple times as well.

I advanced my career at Afterbuzz TV now taking on Segment Producer for our 'Supernatural' Aftershow.  I took over the role of Madame Thenardier in August for the rest of the run of 'Thenardier's Inn - A Les Miserables Cabaret,' where I'd been playing a Lovely Lady since November of 2014, started doing Improv again with our Theater Company, CAC, and also did a few other projects throughout the year.  When you look back on the past year, it's interesting to see all the strides you've made in the right direction and know they are milestones now.

Cheers to another exciting year of adventure, career challenges, love and fun surrounded by positive influences!

Resolutions for 2015

As we're already a couple weeks into 2015, I figured it was time to settle into my resolutions for this year.  I'm really happy with how I kept up with my resolutions from last year and will bring a couple of those goals into this year as can be seen in my previous blog.  I'm excited to start 2015 with a fresh start and clear outlook!

So, on top of my old resolutions to continue, I've got two more to challenge myself.

1. Do something every day that scares me.

'Clear Eyes, Full Heart, Can't Lose'

I found this really neat book at Urban Outfitters that has 365 challenges that you can fill in throughout the year, or you can create your own.  Sometimes it's easy to follow, I'm at a restaurant I love and instead of ordering my old stand-by, I get something new that I wouldn't normally try.  In Minneapolis I went up to a guy in a bar (he looked just like the lead singer from Lady Antebellum) gathering courage and support from my best friend and her friend, and gave him my number on a bar coaster.  I ended up having a 10 minute conversation with him and his friends and he actually texted me later that night.  I clearly live in LA and he's from Wisconsin, so the likelihood that anything would ever happen is slim, but trust me, that scared the sh*t out of me!  But life is about taking chances and creating memories, and if you try new things that scare you, you may actually find out that you like it.

2. Be more patient and polite with Customer Service representatives and bar patrons.

It's super easy to get irritated with drunk people at the bar, or Time Warner Cable, when the cable bill goes up $50, etc.  Instead of getting frustrated and either walking away and ignoring these yahoo's at the bar, or venting my anger to the representative, I will choose to leave people better than before I spoke to them or met them.  Everyone has a bad day (me too) but as I always try to see the best in people, I need to find the best in me during those demanding moments, and give my patience instead.  I'm already looking forward to this one...there's always room to be a better person!  Always.

I really learned a lot in 2014 and feel like a stronger person because of it and I'm looking forward to everything that 2015 will bring with a new more positive outlook!  It's really refreshing to experience life when your mind and heart is clear and open <3

Last year's Resolutions completed!

I'm really proud that I was able to complete and work on my resolutions from 2014.  I'll definitely continue working on these in 2015 and add some new ones as well.

Goodbye 2014...you've taught me a lot...

Last year I really wanted to try new restaurants and happy hour's at least once a month and totally kept true to that.  It opened my eyes to new food and drinks as well as experiences.  From The Culver Hotel, Cafe Laurent, Gladstone's in Malibu, The Blind Barber, Mastro's in Beverly Hills, La Vecchia, Public School 310, Alibi Room, C&M Cafe, and BOA in Santa Monica, I dined, and I dined well, usually with wonderful company :)  I will definitely keep that resolution and say I want to do that at least twice a month this year.  With Dine LA starting next week, I'll get a couple new places in for sure, and since I was in Minnesota the first week this month I had a couple great dinner's with my best friend there as well.

Another resolution from last year was to go out of town more often and try new things.  While I only made it home to Wisconsin once, I made the trip to Minnesota at the start of this year.  I had my first trip to Catalina Island for my Birthday and it was absolutely amazing; so beautiful it didn't even feel like LA.  My family and I made a trip to Carmel to visit my cousin and while hiking we were surrounded by breath-taking scenery.  I also made another trip to Phoenix (I seriously want to move there) and did some hiking in the mountains and got to go to fabulous wedding!  This year I got to spend a lot of time with children through Creating Arts as well as my cousin's kids and I really cherish those moments.  I also saw some incredible concerts and shows this past year, Sara Bareilles, 3 Doors Down, 'Ghost' at The Pantages, and more.  I look forward to more new adventures in 2015!

I've been working on advancing my career in new ways and took some more casting director workshops and also got more involved at Afterbuzz TV working on some new shows.  I also interviewed some great people including Misha Collins at Supernatural Con and made some amazing new friends!  I've done a ton of children's shows with Creating Arts Company including our new adult show, 'Thenardier's Inn - A Les Miserables Cabaret,' and have learned so much working with our awesome company.  I'd really like to start taking some acting classes this year and do more on-camera work and continue to build my reel.  The short film I did this past year was a blast and I also shot a couple commercials for a great company and innovative brand, as well as a music video about stealing a grill.  I will work even harder this year on doing what I love to do.

Hosting at Afterbuzz TV with our Panel for HBO's 'Hard Knocks'

I've been living in LA for nine years and it's been quite the crazy ride, so here's to another year of memories, fun, and insanity!  Happy 2015 everyone!

Princess Jasmine for Creating Arts!

On Halloween a few of our amazing Creating Arts Members got together for a quick rehearsal as we put together a Children's Outreach Show we were performing in just hours later at the UCLA Housing in West LA.  There were over 100 people who brought their kids to see our show and meet us before going out Trick or Treating!

With some Pirates...arrrrgh!

I was playing Princess Jasmine as it's been dream to play her since I joined the Company.  My friend from High School, Sean Sagal, used to always call me Jasmine from "Aladdin" because I reminded him of the Disney Princess.  He was one of the few boys I went to school with that was nice to me, never made fun of me, or made me feel bad about myself.  I didn't have a date for my Junior Prom so I went with a group of girls but he asked me to dance, and we danced to 'Wonderful Tonight.'  After coming back from College he said he was so impressed with how out-going I had become, but I had to joke with him that I was always like that, people just never gave me a chance to be me.  Sean survived from cancer after High School but unfortunately took his own life my Senior Year in College.  He was a wonderful person with such a bright and compassionate personality.  Getting to be Jasmine for this show literally made my heart soar and I gladly dedicated my performance to him and his memory.

The show itself was crazy; there were so many people and I think most of the kids were just overwhelmed by all the Princesses, Princes, and Pirates.  This was their first time seeing any sort of live theater and it felt so wonderful to bring our talents to their Halloween celebration.  We had a short script filled with plenty of songs and I even got to sing 'A Whole New World' with our Aladdin who was moon-lighting as Willa Wonka for the day ;)

Princesses Ariel, Elsa, Anna, and Jasmine for Creating Arts Company

It was a great way to start my Halloween, doing something fun and exciting for these families, not to mention our CAC Members got to make magic for these kids and that's just fulfilling in itself!  I'll definitely look forward to playing Princess Jasmine again in the future and just want to thank Shannon for giving me the opportunity to play one of my dream roles!

Forge Denim Campaign

Just over a week ago I shot a Denim Campaign for Forge Denim.  My friend, Mike, had told me about this project in early October, and I loved hearing that he was creating a brand that would empower women.  So on Sunday last week, a couple girlfriends, and I spent the afternoon chatting, eating, and drinking wine and champagne during our shoot!

Sariah, Courtney, myself, and Samantha
at the shoot for Forge Denim

Mike said we'd need a few girls so I asked Courtney who hosted with me from Afterbuzz, along with Sariah and Samantha from my "Sleeping Beauty" cast if they'd be interested in doing the shoot.  Not to mention, having a blonde, redhead, and two brunette's, we were covering all of our bases.  While Mike and Jimi filled me in on the concept, I started in the kitchen 'prepping for the party' and then made my way out to the backyard where we were throwing our impromptu Wine & Cheese Party.  We were all talking and having so much fun that I barely noticed Jimi taking pictures and filming our party.  It was an absolute blast!

The whole shoot lasted about two hours and after we were full from all the food and champagne we did some final group shots, including photos of all the ladies in the aprons and then we called it a day.  A few of us went over to Playa Provisions to grab a celebratory drink for a great shoot later that afternoon.

I just saw the photos and promo video we shot on Forge Denim's Facebook.  I'm really thankful to Mike for bringing me in to work with him on this awesome project and I'm so proud of the concept behind it all.  You can also find Forge Denim on Tumblr and see our video :)

Have a great week!

Maleficent & Co.

One of my favorite parts of working with Creating Arts is getting to do the Meet & Greet after the show is over.  We always take our bows and then go outside to take pictures with the kids, sign autographs, and just chat with the families (in character of course).  It's so heart-warming and I love talking with the kids and hearing what's on their minds.

Stages of emotion in meeting the kids, so excited to take
pictures and hear their stories, and then they hug you
and I just melt.  Best feeling in the world!

Since "Maleficent" came out in theaters it's really shed a new light on my fairy character, thankfully.  The little girls have told me they loved MY movie, and that I'm one of their favorite characters.  Some are even dressing up like me for Halloween!  Yet again, even better than all of that, seeing the children overcome their fears.  Like this one little girl, who came up and got into my arms, we shared a little moment, and after setting her down another little one had come over to say hi and I asked if she wanted a hug.  She gave me one of those scared half/barely-touching hug and the first little girl heard me ask the other one that, and flung her arms around my neck so tightly, all I could do in that moment, was appreciate the love.  I was so overcome with emotion and started to tear up right there!  Even the little boys get excited to meet the villain, and I love playing along with them.  I learned how to 'hi-five' this weekend and what 'Halloween' actually was.  I mean, did Halloween even exist in the 14th century?  It does now, because they're be a bunch of little mini-me's, meaning Maleficent's running around in a week or so.  Plus, it's great to see them protective of their sisters and try to coax them into meeting everyone.  All of them are so adorable I can barely handle it :)

Our 'Sleeping Beauty' Cast and some fans!

This past weekend, we signed so many autographs, you do start to feel like a 'mini celebrity.'  In these kids eyes, we are famous, and I can remember thinking the same thing about the actors when I saw shows as a child.  I loved hearing a little girl talk to me about the show and then ask if I could come to her house.  I laughed and said, that could probably be arranged.  We have to remember that the pictures we take with these kids will be forever remembered by them and in digital format.  They may look back on them when they take their own children to see theater.  How cool is that?!

Maleficent in 'Sleeping Beauty'

We've got three more weekends of "Sleeping Beauty" and so much more fun to be had!  Come and check out the show, and see my amazing wings that always bring gasps from the audience...pictures can't even do them justice :D

*Tickets can be found on www.creatingarts.org or for a discounted price on www.goldstar.com*

'Skipping Ahead' is Now On-Line!

We filmed our Short Film 'Skipping Ahead' at the end of July before McCracken had moved back to North Carolina.  Neil put together an edit within a week (because he's awesome) and after a few tweaks (and moments of my perfectionism, who says you can't look at 20 different fonts and not like any of them...oops, that's me) we got to the final video!

There's even a little out-take at the end of the video!

I love that I got to play so many different characters throughout filming.  I had so many emotions and the script really gave me a chance to play all these levels and show some range.  I really loved the finished product and hopefully you enjoyed the short film that we all worked so hard on :)

To check out the original post for 'Skipping Ahead' head on over here: http://lyndseywegner.blogspot.com/2014/07/skipping-ahead-short-film-shoot.html

'Skipping Ahead' Short Film Shoot

Earlier in June, Neil and I had gone to see Sean McCracken, in a 10 Minute Play Festival.  We saw about seven different 10 Minute Plays and we were immediately captured by the play that McCracken and another girl performed.  So when Sean came to Neil telling him he wanted to film the play/scene, Neil was in.  When Sean's scene partner fell-through, I jumped into the role with open arms!

We had a couple rehearsals to put together an idea of what we wanted to do for filming, and tightened the script so it would run smoothly.  We discussed costume changes, locations, and any other details that needed to be worked out.  Sean had found a great park to film in, Lacy Park in San Marino/Pasadena, Neil had the camera, we had nine scenes to do, with nine different costume changes, and the script was ready for us to rock.

When we got to the park on that Friday afternoon it was kid central (as any park is going to be) so we finally found a bench that was further away from the play area, that was shaded by a nice big tree, and we prepped everything for our first shot about an hour after arriving.  Little did we realize why Production blocks off a whole street when they're filming something because the people walking into the shot, or talking loudly, the kids running by and playing in the trees were all stuff that would have been avoided.  Unfortunately, we can't stop the planes and helicopters from flying overhead or the wind that rustles the trees for minutes on end.  So we'd have to stop and start but I think we all handled it really well and certainly made us all far more patient that day!

First day of shooting...'Maybe we should skip ahead some more!'

A few hours into the shoot, Neil's camera died, but we were able to work around that by having him charge the battery at an electrical wall while McCracken and I changed wardrobe and rehearsed the next scene.  The only other thing that could stop us was that the light changed after being there for five hours.  It was the end of day one and we had done six of the scenes and we had saved all the emotional stuff for our last day of filming.

From happy to angry in seconds...oops ;)

We shot the last three scenes earlier in the morning a few days later and this was where all of our emotions were coming into play.  We had a huge fight scene, a very sad scene, and the opening scene.  I had to get emotional and teary-eyed which actually came fairly easy for a bunch of the takes but by the end of the day, I was all dried up.  Thank goodness we were done after two hours because I had nothing else to give!

Neil did a great job directing us and giving us ideas to play with and change around.  Not only was he the director but he also was editing the entire video and had hours of footage to go through for this 10 minute short.  It was fun to work with McCracken and joke around on-set.  I was able to play all these different characters and felt like Kate Hudson from How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days.  There was a lot of Method Acting going on for me, which means I pull from personal emotions and memories to live currently in that moment; especially on our second day of shooting.  We also used the Meisner Technique which allows quick responses spontaneously with what you're saying in that present moment.

Now we're just waiting on the final finished product and I'll be really excited to share that with everyone :) 

Casting Workshops in July: Part 1.

This past month I've been kept busy with Acting stuff and that makes me so happy.  As an Actor you go through spurts, or really slow times in your career, and sometimes when it rains it pours.  I love those moments and that's how I've felt this month.

I had three weeks of Casting Workshops that I took this month at Act Now.  My first was with Erica Silverman (Bream) who most recently was working on Revolution and has also cast for Criminal Minds, Workaholics, House of Lies, and Law & Order.  This workshop was an all day intensive with her and the class had received our scenes on Friday for our Sunday workshop.  Mine was from Revolution and I was nervous and excited to perform in class.  After meeting her and answering some questions about the casting process, what she's looking for in a headshot, and on a resume, we got started with One-Liners and then had a Mock Producer Session for each group that was performing.  Basically, there were a couple of us assigned to decide who the role would go to after they had performed the one line they were given.  It was interesting to see each actor make a completely different choice than the other and what was more difficult was deciding who would get the role.  The few of us that were deciding made choices based on certain parts of their performance while other times it was easier and one actor stood out or just fit the role perfectly.  

Erica looks for a headshot that looks like you
(makes sense) and is natural!

Next up, we did Jargon Roles where each of us got cast as a Doctor, Paramedic, Lawyer, or in my case, Pharmacist.  This was also a great opportunity to practice this type of role, even if in typical casting, I might be a little too young-looking to play this type of role.  I had a lot of fun doing these Mock Producer Sessions and thought it was a great addition to the Workshop experience.  Although, it would have been really beneficial to find out why we didn't get cast over someone else so we could improve on something, if that was the case.  

Our last part of the afternoon was performing our assigned scenes, which we did on camera, and then Erica gave each of us a re-direct and we got to perform again.  I really like when we get assigned a scene because then you see what a Casting Director sees when they look at you, and the types of roles you could play.  I played my scene like a typical reporter:  Excited, asking questions, being a little bit of a know it all, but at the end of the day, searching for answers.  She re-directed me saying I was over my job, burnt out, and it was definitely more work than it was fun.  I loved the differences in playing each side, made strong choices for both, and was happy with my re-direct!

I was really happy to meet Erica and spend the day learning about different roles that come up in nearly every Television show and get to perform them in front of such an encouraging CD.  Not only did I have a fun day at this Workshop but I felt like I learned a lot too!

Casting Workshops in July: Part 2.

After my Intensive with Erica I was very excited about my next Workshop which was two weeks with two different Casting Director's from the same Casting Office.  The CD's I had targeted this month were for Drama and I felt it was good for me to change it up and try something different.

The first week was with Marlo Tiede who is currently casting Grimm.  She has also cast Necessary Roughness, Ghost Whisperer, the new Beverly Hills 90210, and Castle.  After doing an initial Q&A she talked about the Casting process for Grimm.  She looks for mostly guys because it is a more men-heavy show and also character actors since most of the roles transition from human to animal throughout the episode.  She paired us with a scene partner and assigned us scenes that we were able to rehearse for about 10 minutes.  I liked my scene but my scene partner proved a little bit difficult because I couldn't connect with her and felt like we were on opposite pages.  The scene was from Grimm and there was some major crazy terminology but my scene partner was trying to memorize and changing the lines every time she did them so I couldn't be off script because she wasn't consistent.  She was playing the mother role and I was the younger daughter-in-law role and as soon as we performed and were finished the CD had said there was no connection or chemistry with us.  I couldn't have agreed with her more!  She also said we weren't listening and made the wrong choices; I needed to play my side more sympathetic and understanding while she needed to come off more over-bearing and bitchy.  I made my adjustments but my partner read almost exactly the same way she read the first time so I just listened and responded as best I could.  I felt defeated when we were finished.  I knew I did the best I could and made the changes she had asked for (which she did notice) but I couldn't help but feel frustrated with the whole situation.  

The face and smile of Determination!

 Last week Monday was my workshop with Kendra Castleberry who currently casts Castle but has also cast for Wildfire, October Road, Life on Mars, and The O.C.  She was very direct and said she was looking for someone who could bring it on the first read or audition.  She treated the Workshop like an audition and we had one opportunity to impress her.  Kendra had sent out scenes to the class a week earlier so I had chosen one from Ghost Whisperer that gave me the opportunity to play a bunch of emotions.  I'm glad I had my scene memorized since she had mentioned it was important to come to auditions prepared and since we were given a week to do so, the class really had no excuse.  We all performed only once but she did give feedback to each of us and mine was that I gave it too much, the scene was more subtle, and didn't need all the emotion.  That surprised me since I had rehearsed the scene with Kristina and Neil, and both had thought the scene was emotionally full and gave me the ability to portray so many emotions.  We could have been completely wrong but I would rather hear I gave too much rather than not enough, because it's that much harder to bring it than to tone it down.  Once again, I felt a little disappointed but proud in my decision to play the role the way I thought it was written and didn't waiver.  I made a choice and even if it was wrong, I stuck to it.

You can't create chemistry, nor can you make someone listen to you (in real life or acting), or even be exactly what the casting director is looking for because you just don't know.  But you can be open to the process, positive and understanding in receiving feedback, and hard-working and determined with the material.  Every Workshop is a lesson and practice for an audition, day on set, or real-life experience and you just need to make strong choices and be optimistic in your life.  If you gave your all just know the only thing you need to be is the best version of yourself :)

My NEW Website!

I just launched my new website!  It's important for anyone in the entertainment industry to have their headshots, resume, and reel available for other industry people including Agents, Casting Directors, Producers, etc.  This way, instead of sending multiple attachments, I can include my headshot and resume in an e-mail, and then send the recipient to my website.  It's simple, fast, and shows everything in a concise manner!

One of my favorite headshots...find it on my website!

Aside from it taking quite some time to format my resume and make sure everything was just right, I'm really happy with how it turned out.  I'll continue to update it along the way with new projects, photos, and credits.  If anyone has any feedback, it's greatly appreciated :)

Check out my website here: Lyndsey Wegner's Website

Thanks for all your support and following me along on this adventurous journey!