Just lose yourself...

The other day when Carolyn and I had gone to Wabi Sabi to have a light dinner, she had just gotten done with Acting Class.  It's down the street from my apartment on Sawtelle, and the Coach is also a working actor.  She said she really loved the class and that it's really challenging and nerve-wracking, but that they work at least twice in class, and you really get something out of it.  I've missed going to classes and would like to go to something close, and there's no requirement as to when you need to go, you can come and go as you please, which is awesome because of my random schedule. 

I found the Coach on-line, and he has a blog as well.  As I started to read his blog, I felt really in-tune with what he was saying.  You can't memorize the words and just use your memorization as your tool, you have to feel it, you have to listen, you have to react!  If a Casting Director wants something different than you've done, and you could book the role based on your ability to listen to the advice and change something, if you can't do that, because you have it memorized a specific way, you've just lost the job, and a chance to even be called back in again, because you can't listen to directions.  What also really resonated with me, was that when you get somewhere, and you perform, that all the work you do gets lost when you're in the moment.  I usually don't remember what I've done after an audition, just how I felt about it, because I lose myself and become that character, that part, that scene, and do everything based on my instinct.  I might audit his class this next Tuesday, and I'll let ya know what I think :)

On Wednesday night I had Karaoke at Gabe's and right away when I got there, a group of people came in, this one woman brings in her students, and they like to sing Karaoke.  They're used to the Korean Karaoke, where they rent a small room and all sing but it's not public, so this gives them a chance to perform in front of a bar filled with people.  Needless to say, we were busy all night long until around midnight when everyone filtered out.  I was actually happy about that because I knew I wanted to get home early so I could get some sleep for my Stand In job that was on Thursday.  I sang a couple songs I hadn't sang in a while, 'Treat Me Right' and 'Cowboy Casanova' along with my new song for the night, 'Lesson in Leaving.'  I listened to a bunch of Jo Dee Messina back in College, because a couple of the cheerleaders and I listened to her CD on a Road Trip to Duluth, MN for a Football game.  I really like the song, but need to work on my breath control for it, because there's so many long phrases in it.  Carolyn, Matt, and Travis also came in, and she closed the night for everyone with 'Tears in Heaven' for her Grandmother.  She did a fantastic job!

It was my Friday for Karaoke this week as well, and for some reason, the past couple of weeks, no matter how hard I try, I can not make it to work early!  I either make it right on time, or a couple minutes late...and even if there's no one there to sing and we have to wait anyway, I've got to get my act together and get there early one of these weeks! *Sorry, just a little pep talk to myself.*  Since it was Friday, I figured it would get a little busy, and we had a steady night all night, big crowd, lots of people, everyone really receptive of the song choices, so it was a great night!  Khad and Sean came in and sang a few songs as well, including some Backstreet Boys, because it's been too long since a Double Entendre Performance.  I also did some songs I hadn't done in a while, 'Separate Ways' by Journey and The Toadies 'Possum Kingdom,' thank you Ian and Guitar Hero for helping me discover that song, so fantastic!  And 'Separate Ways' has been one of my favorite songs of all time for a long time, and it's one of those I'm comfortable with and can just let go when I'm singing it!  My new song of the night was Nancy Sinatra's 'These Boots Are Made for Walking' and I loved doing the song.  It was super fun and some people even started a slow clap and were dancing :)  Everyone had a really fun night, including myself, and it's nights like those that make Hosting Karaoke worthwhile!

The Gals with Double Entendre

A Green Weekend!

Little did I know that St. Patrick's Day was being celebrated early at Gabe's on Friday Night!  I totally forgot to wear green, and while it wasn't St. Patrick's Day till Saturday, I still had to worry about getting pinched after midnight without some sort of green on me.  Mike saved the day by cutting down some green garland for me, and I made a little bracelet!  Whew...that was a close one!

It was a very busy night with lots of new people coming in for Karaoke.  I didn't realize how excited people got for St. Patrick's Day, so many people were drinking and getting tipsy, and I thought they would save it for Saturday, but was really surprised!  That's hardcore :)  Because the night was so busy, I only sang a couple of times, but was able to do Heart's 'What About Love' and thought it would be my new song of the night, until realizing half-way through that it sounded familiar and I think I sang it at Lucky Strike years ago!  I ended up closing the night with 'Crazy' by Britney Spears, never sang it before, although I did Choreograph a Cheerleading Routine to the song in High School!  Blast from the past, but very fun!  Overall, it was a really great night, everyone was very generous, and seemed to be having a good time, with all the alcohol that was flowing!

Since it was a busy night, I didn't get home until later, and I had my Casting Workshop the next day so I wanted to get as much sleep as possible.  Five hours later I was getting ready for the Workshop to the pouring rain outside!  That made me even more nervous, because I wanted to make sure I could be on time and prepared.  I talked to Neil once I got to the theater, and we went through my scene over the phone, and he gave me some advice and support before the Workshop.  There were about 20 people there and we got started promptly at 10:30 am.  The Casting Director started with a Q&A which was interesting, and I learned a little information, and then we got started on our scenes.  When it was my turn, I handed in my headshot to the CD and then performed my scene with a Reader.  The Reader was better than I had expected, so that made it so much easier to perform the scene, be organic, and really listen to what he was saying, so I could react.  I felt really confident and proud of my work, and took my seat after a thank you.  When everyone had finished, someone asked the CD for his feedback, to which he responded that not everyone committed or understood their scene, and that people need to speak more clearly.  There was no individualized feedback, and no positivity at all.  I was told we would be able to perform our scenes twice, thus making it a Workshop so I could work.  It was so disappointing after working at my scene all week long.  I came completely prepared, and most of the students in the class didn't even have their scenes memorized.  I know I'll take another Workshop, but I'm really going to research to make sure that I'm benefiting from taking it.  This is my career and unless something is going to help me grow, it's not worthwhile.  The good thing from all this was the rehearsing I did with Neil earlier in the week, the scene really grew with our practice, and I'm so glad I was as prepared as I was, so I could take it wherever it needed to go with what the Reader was going to give me.  So kudos to Neil for helping me rock my performance!

*Side Note.  I did call the Company that booked the Workshop, and the owner said he was completely frustrated and disappointed with the CD as well, and that they would never have him back again.  He told me that's now how they run their workshops and even offered me a 50% discount on my next workshop.  The owner used a few choice words which made me laugh, but I was glad to find out the other students were disappointed as well, and it wasn't just me.  Onto the next one...

After my Workshop I was on my way to Irish Times to Bartend for St. Patrick's Day!  It was almost a 15 hour shift at the end of the day, so I was prepared with a change of clothes and had a bite to eat before I got there.  The bar was full when I got there, and they had just started charging a Cover Charge.  They had traditional Irish Food (I later got the Beef Stew and some Fish), and even had Corned Beef & Cabbage.  There was an Irish Band that played all day long, and a new Irish Band that started later at night as well.  I only drank a couple of beers throughout the night, and never any hard alcohol.  So proud I'm keeping up with my Lent agreement!  It was a steady stream of people through the whole shift, and with 6 of us Bartending, we were never slammed, just moving all day long.  It's so nice to be in a Bar environment that's actually positive.  Everyone's helpful, and there's teamwork.  We can all joke around and have fun, and if someone's being rude, we stand our ground, and protect our fellow Bartenders.  Such a change from my last Bartending job which was what I believe Hell is like.  We made great money and all had a great time, but I was exhausted by the time I got home, so excited for my bed, and getting some sleep after a long and crazy day!