Agency Meeting!

Last week was my first meeting with Commercial SAG Agents at a Commercial Agency in Hollywood!  I joined the Union a couple weeks ago and was finally able to set up a meeting with them that worked with both of our schedules.  It was a great time to be meeting with them since I had just filmed the Dorito's Spec Commercial on Monday and I already had footage from that so they were able to see what I look like on film and it was really current.  I also had new headshots to show them in addition to the photos from the Magazine Test Shoot so they could see a variety of looks.

I got to the meeting about 20 minutes early and as I took the elevator to the 5th floor of the Sunset Blvd building, two gentlemen walked up at the same time, asked where I was going and asked if I was an Actress.  One of the guys actually got off the elevator at the 5th floor with me and said there was an Agency on his floor as well, but that he was in Real Estate.  He asked if I had a card, and because I was going to my meeting I gave him an extra headshot, he thanked me, and it was a nice little confidence boost before my own meeting.

The office had Halloween decorations up and after waiting a couple minutes, N* called me into the office.  I met S* as well, as they were both Agents and worked together and took a seat by N*.  He looked over my resume and asked me a couple questions about where I was from, where I went to college, found out that he had friends in my college town, talked about how amazing the drive was from LaCrosse to Winona, then got started on Football games, the Packers & Vikings rivalry, and games in CaIifornia.  It was great to chat and feel comfortable in an interview setting where normally I would be nervous.  Then we talked about family, and my Hosting experience, what my ethnicity was, and if I had new headshots to show them.  I told them about the Dorito's Commercial and they said they had clients that got 2nd place last year, so that was cool.  They asked if I could send them my new headshots and any new photos I had along with the Dorito's footage.  

Next up, was cold-reading a Commercial monologue about Toothpaste.  I'm sure there were a bunch of different ways to do the reading but I decided I was going to tell them a secret, like I was talking to my best girlfriend and I found an amazing product that really worked.  I smiled, I felt confident, and I shared my reading with N* and S*.  When I was finished they said I did a great job and seemed impressed (yay)!  We chatted for a little bit longer and after giving me their contact information so I could send my additional photos and footage to them, I thanked them, and was out the door.  

The whole meeting took about 40 minutes and I was glad that it didn't feel like an interview, more like all of us getting to know each other, and getting a feel for each other.  Before I left N* said they would discuss if they could get work for me and wanted to make sure that I wouldn't get lost in the group, and I was happy to hear that because I want to stand out!  Basically, they wanted to make sure I wasn't one of 10 girls who all had dark hair with light-colored eyes and ethnic looking; hence, why I want to stand out and be different from all their other clients.

About 20 minutes later I got a call from the Sunset Blvd building, hoping it was a call from the Agency but it was actually from the guy on the elevator from the Real Estate Office.  I should have known something was iffy in his conversation about another Agency being on his floor but asking for my card anyway.  He actually offered me a position in his office, after asking if I had any Real Estate experience, to which I responded, no, I have a Bachelor's Degree in Theater and Mass Communication, but no experience at all.  I said I would think about it and realized the positive thing that came from meeting him was the confidence boost before meeting with the SAG Agents and that is beneficial to anyone!

So now it's a waiting game...I sent out my follow-up at the beginning of this week and just need to wait and see if I'll get lost in their Agency or stand out in the crowd :)

Magazine Test Shoot Photos :)

At the end of August I did a Test Shoot for a Car Magazine and I finally got some photos from the shoot.  The Editors aren't sure if they'll be used for the Magazine or not, or if I'll do another photo shoot if I do get chosen for the Magazine but it was exciting to see these new photos that are totally different than anything else I've ever shot and I wanted to share them with all of you!

All photos were shot by: Py at Wheels & Heels Magazine 

You can also find Py on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/wheelsandheelsmag?fref=ts

This photo reminds me of 'The Bachelorette' photos ;)

Twisted

Sassy Lyndsey

Smiling is so much easier for me than having to play sexy/sassy but Py was an incredible photographer and we had such a fun shoot!  I look forward to working with him again in the future :)

Dorito's Commercial is Live! Please Vote!

Hey Everyone!

Hymnson, Adrian, and I need your votes for our Dorito's Crash The Superbowl Commercial!  Please rate our video 5 STARS and help us win the Superbowl Commercial Contest :)  I posted the link, which will take you directly to our Video on Facebook.

Rate our Dorito's Commercial 5 Stars Please :)

Two thumbs up and 5 Stars :)

Enjoy the laughs and have a fabulous Halloween weekend!

Lots of Love,

Lyndsey

A Top 5 Karaoke Night!

Last night at Karaoke was by far one of my favorite nights I've ever had!  Even though it's been a slow start on Wednesday's, usually getting everything together at 9:30 or 10 pm, everyone in the bar had a blast and stayed until close!

We got started last night at 9:30 pm with a few people already signed up and then just a few more trickled in and it stayed like that all night long!  So the whole rotation was maybe 5 or 6 people and everyone was able to sing their little heart's out for a supportive crowd!  Some of the regulars were in along with a few of my friends, Jamie, Khad and Marty, so the night was bound to be a good time!

After I opened the night a few of the regulars sang and Marty got everyone singing along with him for Violent Femme's' 'Blister in the Sun,' and Jamie making her way in right after he had finished his song.  It was a night of Duets, Theme's, and Super-Sets, as Jamie and I did a little tribute to Mandy Moore.  She started off with 'Only Hope' which was beautiful, while I danced around to pop song, 'Candy,' which was actually a lot of fun and one of my new songs for the night.  Khad's first song of the night was 'Interstate Love Song' while Marcus' was 'Plush', both of them giving Stone Temple Pilots a little run for their money.  There were a bunch of Disney Songs, starting with Khad and Marty singing a little, 'Hakuna Matata,' then Jamie singing 'Part of Your World,' Khad did the crowd favorite from 'Mulan' making a man out of you, and Marty and Jamie did 'A Whole New World' from Aladdin.  Art sang a bunch of Sam Cooke songs that I love listening to while I'm Bartending at Irish Times and got to hear him sing for the first time here at Karaoke.  Next up it was a Super-Set of Roxette songs, while Jamie did 'Listen To Your Heart' and I did 'It Must Have Been Love.'  Since Marty was on a roll with the Violent Femme's I suggested 'Ring of Fire' because those are good ol' Wisconsin Dive Bar songs that when they come on the Juke Box everyone gets into a circle, starts dancing and singing along, it certainly reminded me of home and my St. Cloud boys and playing 7-14-21 after keeping Stats for the Baseball Team.  I miss being Stats Girl!!  

Jamie and I are continuing to do work on 'Take Me Or Leave Me' and one of these days it's going to be perfect!  While Marty and Khad did a Double Entendre performance complete with some harmonies of the Backstreet Boys, 'I Want it That Way.'  Another group performance came about during Khad's love song, 'I Would Do Anything For Love' by Meatloaf with a little help from Marcus and I.  Marcus showed off another side of him singing The Eurythmics while Marty changed it up and sang some Jason Mraz!  Marty was an impressive singer last night, trying new songs and performing the best I've ever seen of him!  It was a night of new songs for all of us with Jamie closing out the night with 'My Immortal' by Evanescence and me closing with 'Hungry Eyes' by Eric Carmen.  I think we could all picture the scene with Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey dancing in-between Cynthia Rhodes from 'Dirty Dancing.'  Classic movie and Patrick Swayze will always be remembered in everyone's hearts!

Overall, we all worked the crowd, sang along and danced our Frito Pie and Avocado Toast off during the great songs and stylings of an awesome Karaoke night with great people!  Next week is Halloween Karaoke with a Rockstar or Music suggested Theme that should be a lot of fun and very exciting :)

Dorito's Spec Commercial Shoot

I wrote a blog a few months ago about a Casting Workshop that I went to and was extremely disappointed with the Casting Director.  At that Workshop I was initially set-up with a Scene Partner and when we corresponded over e-mail, we both said we would rather just do a monologue or have a reader, and both of us were cool with our decision.  Fast forward about 6 months and Hymnson and I finally worked on a project together!  After trying to set something up for a couple months he needed an Actress for his Dorito's Spec Commercial and I was free and interested in working on the project with him.

The shoot was at a home in Sylmar and it was just Hymnson and I, and his DP (Director of Photography) friend, Adrian.  We got started just after 10 am and rehearsed and went through some ideas for the shoot.  Then we got to shooting after looking through the story boards and we were able to watch the Footage after shooting each section.  That was awesome because if we needed to fix anything or didn't like the way it was shot we were able to re-shoot it.

Screen Shot from the Dorito's Commercial

We had a lot of fun coming up with interesting ideas for each shot.  The whole Commercial could be 30 seconds long and it's for the Dorito's Crash the Superbowl Contest and they've been doing this for the past couple of years.  After running through the opening part we did the insert shots and close-ups of each part.  Then we did the second half of the commercial which involved finally getting to eat some Dorito's and covering Hymnson in chips!  I think the closing was catchy and cute and I'll be very excited to see the final product.

The whole shoot took less than 4 hours and we had a blast working together!  I know we all have so many more ideas and it's great to get to work with such creative people who really want to take control of their careers and I love surrounding myself with motivated people who make me feel excited about my own career!  Thanks guys :)

A Karaoke Celebration!

It's Official...I am now a part of SAG-AFTRA...a big step in an Actresses career is joining the Union and I have finally taken it!  I was SAG Eligible for the past year because of the Web Series I was Taft Hartley'd on last October and have booked a bunch of Non-Union work in the past year so I was happy to be working and doing work throughout the year but I was up for a change and new opportunities.  I'm so excited for a new chapter in my career and look forward to more success, hard-work, and exciting challenges!

Last night at Karaoke was a mini-celebration as Jamie came out to celebrate with me, along with Sean, and Amy was pouring plenty of shots for us throughout the night!  It was actually a slower Karaoke night with just a few of the regular singers, and the 3 of us, with some other people filtering in and out throughout the night.  But I actually like when it's slower and I have friends in because it gives them more opportunities to sing.

We got started around 10 pm and it was a Broadway Musical kind of night with Jamie singing 'Till There Was You' from The Music Man, Art doing 'Send in the Clowns', Judy doing 'Superstar' and Art singing some other Show Tunes that were new songs for him.  Sean pulled off a great version of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' with Jamie and I singing a little back-up and me being able to do a little Air Piano.  Then it was a night of duets with Marcus asking me to take the lead on 'California Dreamin' by the Mama's & The Papa's, which was also a new song for me.  That was a fun challenge for the night but I still wanted to sing another new song that was my choice as well.  Marcus and Jamie sang 'Cruisin' which is one of my favorite duets to sing with my Duet Partner, Mr. Michael Weiss!  It's been a long time since we sang it so hopefully we'll be able to sing it soon.  Jamie and I did a little Jewel super-set in between BMW Shots and also did our rendition of 'Take Me or Leave Me' which went much smoother than last week and we were both really happy that it went well and we had fun singing it!  My other new song of the night was 'All I Wanna Do is Make Love to You' by Heart which is on my favorite Album of theirs.  I only wish I could find a Karaoke version of 'I Want Your World to Turn.'  At any rate, after singing Heart, it's hard to do anything else that's high but Jamie challenged me to close with En Vogue's 'Don't Let Go.'  I do love singing that song and Jamie promised me she would sing 'Holding Out For a Hero' if I sang it.  She did a great job on the song and both Sean and I dusted off our dancing shoes for some 80's style dancing going on!  Sean did a great job on 'Walking in Memphis' and Marcus had fun with singing some Neil Diamond.  Before I closed out the night Jamie sang DHT's cover version of 'Listen To Your Heart' and we'll have to do a little Roxette super-set next week :)

Karaoke Celebrations

Overall, I think we all had a lot of fun as a small group of Karaoke singers that got to sing a bunch throughout the night, celebrate and take shots as well as dancing our butts off and playing a little Air Guitar and Air Piano.  I look forward to more Karaoke nights like last night!

The Call-Back

I'm finally into the swing of things at Bar Lubitsch and getting more comfortable with the bar, computers, and patrons.  I had my highest ring since I started there on Saturday, plus I was working Service Well so it was even higher because of that!  I was really happy with myself aside from the fact that I broke a glass into the well at the busiest time of the night and another Bartender and I were talking earlier about how long it's been since we did that.  Murphy's Law, I guess.  Anyway, it's been a while since I've worked in a bar on a Friday or Saturday night and even though we can't drink at Bar Lubitsch, getting to sleep after a busy Bartending shift has proved very difficult week after week.  This week was a little better because I was getting into bed around 4 am and falling asleep almost right away versus my 5 am bed-time.  My late night weekend habits have been proving very difficult for Sundays and getting up early to watch Football and being exhausted all day Sunday and then sleeping for 10 hours on Sunday nights to catch up for getting just a few hours of sleep a night on Friday and Saturday.

This Sunday I had no time to rest and couldn't be exhausted because I had a Call-Back for the Short Film I Auditioned for 2 weeks ago.  Luckily, I had Neil to help me rehearse for my 1-line scene.  I had to play a Drunk Newlywed which actually is far more difficult than you think because you need to be believably drunk without literally being drunk.  What do you do when you drink?  You sway, you slur, your gestures may be bigger and you're clumsy.  So we rehearsed my foot work, we rehearsed how I would say the line, and what my reaction to the other person would be, and how I would exit.  Then I took a shot, yes, one shot, to calm my nerves and take the edge off the Audition.

There were a couple other people waiting, one for the same part as me, and another for the main character.  Both girls who were reading for the Newlywed were dressed in white dresses with brown belts and brown boots.  I asked the one if that's what she had worn to the Audition and how lucky that she was reading for the Newlywed now!  She said no, she didn't know that you were supposed to wear the same thing from your Audition to your Call-Back, and perhaps in this case, it might not have been necessary but she did learn something at the Audition which can hopefully help her in the future.  Then we waited...

About a half hour later I was called into the Audition Room.  There was another guy that was going to play my Better Half and I was reading to camera (which as a Drunk Newlywed really didn't matter) but I was ready and prepared to do the scene.  Us Newlyweds walked out of the room, shook it out, and then stumbled into the room, tried to steady myself as we got further to our marks but relied on him to hold me up, focused on the camera for a few seconds made a realization and said, 'Iceman,' as I pointed, then realized I had a ring on my finger, 'I'm an honest woman,' with a little surprise and excitement, fist pumped, and flirtatiously said 'Iceman' as I stumbled out of frame.  The Director liked my first read, saying he really liked my instincts but that I should take the humor out of it, say the lines as if speaking them might make me throw up right there because I was that blacked-out drunk.  So my Better Half and I walked back outside, took a breath and tripped back into the room.  This time I nearly forgot what I was going to say which actually worked to my advantage as I slurred my words and barely made it across the room in our 'drunken stupor.'  It was definitely different than my first take, so I was glad I took the direction and gave them something different to see.  Then they told me they'd be filming in November, asked if I was available, and thanked me.

The whole Call-Back lasted about 4 or 5 minutes and then it was over.  I was definitely glad I had an idea before I even came into the room because I would have felt really on the spot and nervous to just perform without any inclination on what to do and would have probably been over the top and way too in my head about what I needed to do versus coming up with something organic as they had given me direction and some tips before we even started the Call-Back.  They're casting this week so it would be great to book a job for the month of November...fingers crossed!