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table read
I think I heave serious commitment issues. Like when I commit to something, then regret it and wish I didn’t have to do it, then stress over it and stress over it and stress over it until I get there and have an amazing time and am SO HAPPY I did it. Until the next commitment… vicious cycle, press repeat.
I had known about “table read” for a while. It was a Sunday evening-ish and about an hour and a half away, I knew I would be home late and I didn’t know what it would be like and I was stressing I was going to suck or blow or just whatever word is “in” right now for being a total lame duck.
I arrived on-time and parked right next to one of the other girls in the cast so at least the intimidation of walking into a room of people staring at me was reduced. It was still a bit intimidating walking in there, not knowing what the process was going to be like. Is the producer strict? Is she mean is she snippy??? I was nervous.
First we did a photoshoot for the promotional material. So, you know when you don’t shave and you have to lay your hairy legs all in the laps and over top three other strange women? Oh, you don’t know what that’s like? Ok, well it is embarrassing. In my defense, I wore long capris and didn’t plan on snuggeling, but whatever – we’re all friends now! How about that moment the photographer asks you to take off your shoes and put your feet up on the coffee table and you remember you have the feet of an eighty-nine year old women which are currently died black from the gardening mulch? Yes, that also happened. At least I don’t have anything to be nervous about anymore. I might as well farted at dinner.
I gotta be honest though, having a photoshoot with a bunch of girls in the park on the water ain’t half bad. Actually it was very enjoyable.
The table read was also so fun and such a great learning experience. So cheesy, I know. But I googled table reads for like three days trying to figure out exactly what I was going to have to do. Now I am totally prepped for when I land that co-star role.
How hollywood does this picture look? Damn, should have gotten a mineral water. All famous people drink that weird mineral water that comes in that I Dream of Jeannie shaped green bottle. Must remember that for next time.
Well, here’s the cast. It’s almost like I have friends. Can’t wait to post more once we start filming!!! Two weeks count down… #nervouspooping
one of those days
If this doesn’t sum up my day I don’t know what will…
Forgetting to place coffee cup under drip. Awesome.
Immediate response required for a major network casting – I respond with awesome headshot. They want a selfie. Stuck in traffic bad hair day selfie. Greeeeat.
At least it’s Friday and the girls and I are equipped for a lazy snowed in weekend complete with pickle chips, ice cream and crab legs. Yikes. Typing that just made me realize I sound pregnant.
take 3, talent that is
After the YMCA commercial I went a little cray and started submitting O to all these prestigious talent agencies. And by prestigious I mean legit. God knows I have been duped by enough acting/modeling hotel, pay money to get a gig, stupid – stupid scams in one lifetime. So I did some digging around the web and decided I would submit to 5 agencies. I got an email back from two saying they were full of O’s look/age/ whatever, but I actually got a phone call from one who was interested.
While I’m all shitting my pants over it, C is so logical and realistic about it. We agree to schedule the appointment and go see what the deal is. SO we plan a little family NY day trip – awesome!
Actually it was a disaster. Tickets were so expensive because I waited till last second to buy them, we left in like the middle of the night because I thought we could just sleep on the way up there, ugh no. O was too excited and the train was a fiery hot shuttle though hell. I swear it was nine million degrees in this thing, I stripped down to almost my birthday suit. It was bad.
We got there and it was worse. I don’t plan things, lesson learned. It was sub zero temperatures – truthfully I don’t even know what that means but it was freaking cold regardless, too cold for O. So we found a McDonald’s – finally figured out seating was upstairs… har har, where else would it be? Then got a game plan. We booked a hotel room so we had a place to hang in between appointments. Once we got the game plan things started to calm down.
We jumped in a taxi, how NYish, and took O to FAO to check it out. Then we went to my set and I filmed a little job, go me! I met up with C and O back at the hotel and we walked over to O’s audition. 
I was skeptical of this place because it advertises as a “boutique agency.” I don’t really know what that means but I did a little bit of stalker activity online and touched base with complete strangers on Linkedin who are represented by them and they gave great reviews. Plus, a woman I used to work with has a friend who goes to her church who had to quit her job because her daughter excelled in modeling and they take the bus to NY all the time for auditions. True story. She fwd me the text from her church friend ironically Take 3 was listed in her top 3 recommendations. So I was getting super excited.
O had to memorize a small Skippy Peanut butter commercial and freaking nailed it. PLUS, since all we have been talking about is Skippy in our house for like the last week O actually started eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!!! Um, HELLO BONUS!
So anyway O like nails her audition and is just her absolute adorable perfect self as always, ( except for the times she’s having earth shattering emotional breakdowns but we all have those)
We all rolled out, hoping to hear from Take 3 in a week or so.
meant to B
Liiiiiiike, Oh Em Geeee – You just booked another gig?!
Why, Yes. Yes I did. I can’t believe I just booked another gig. This is 2, in such a short period of time. OH Thank You Acting Gods – shining down you little rays of opportunity, just enough hope to keep me trucking along in a business that makes absolutely no logical sense whatsoever.
At any rate, I can’t share the deets of the job but it’s seriously right up my alley. AND it is in NY, how fancy! Best part is it is the exact same day that O just got an appointment with talent agency in NY also! What great luck, stuff like this never works out for me.
This was even a self tape I shot in our brand spanking new home-studio.
It’s a work in progress but now that C is on board it will be so professional and awesome. I’m an artist, I don’t do measurements and critical/strategical thinking mumbo-jumbo. I CREATE. Just kidding. I just get so frustrated so fast when the stupid lights get hot and I have them facing the wrong way and couldn’t get the tripods to stay up right, and I actually blew the breaker a couple times. Ugh. Nightmare city.
This is all my moms gear, we just ordered all our video lighting off Amazon so hopefully it will be here soon. I just did another self-tape and O actually did a self tape too! I will post this up. Well I will post hers up.
YMCA spot
here it is! My Girl!
waverly
We took Wave to her first audition. It ended up not being her thing but that’s ok. She used to be so outgoing but recently she is going through this shyness phase. Maybe we will try again in a few months if something comes up but for now she’s not interested in the lime light, at least the public one.
that’s a wrap
Just wrapped the two days of Oakley’s first commercial. It’s going to be so cool! She’s already turned diva, asking why there were no pocket warmers in her coat pockets while we walked across the mall parking lot. Seriously!
She walked in and immediately won everyone’s hearts. Her happy, bubbly personality is infectious.
She has the guys helping her climb the rock wall the minute we walked in the door.
She was SO EXCITED to see wardrobe.
Lots of hurry up and wait between sets. We brought lots of entertainment for Oakley to do while waiting around; preschool workbooks, coloring books, my little ponies and we stopped at Walgreen’s and got one of those crazy cute stuffed animals with the ultra huge eyeballs. That pink owl is still a favorite in our house right now.
Super cute cowgirl boots we both loved as soon as we saw them! She sings “These boots are made for walkin’…” everytime she wears them now. I saw the same boots at Target and had to buy them for Oakley to add to her personal wardrobe collection.
Miss Cuteness in her Pool Attire!!!
These cupcake pajama’s were Oakley’s favorite.
Here’s a family photo with Oakley’s Fake Dad.
And some much needed R&R after a busy 2 days! She was a rockstar!!!! Look for her YMCA commercial starting New Year’s Day.
call backs – oh snap
We were sitting on the couch talking and doing nothing Sunday evening when I randomly checked my phone’s email and saw that the casting director had emailed me.
oh. snap. O got a call back.
Wow. I couldn’t believe it.
They wanted to see O back for second round auditions the following day on site. C and I told O and she was stoked. I am not sure if she knew what I was even talking about but she was excited because C and I were excited.
I went to work and left early to go pick up O & C. We arrived onsite and hung out in the waiting room with all the other families and their little boys. Hmmm. We were the only family with a little girl.
The producer introduced herself and brought the sign in sheet around and basically was wondering what we were doing there, even though she was so so so nice I’m pretty sure she probably thought we were not supposed to be there. She took a few families back and even paired O up with a nice fake mom and dad that could pass as her parents. We went back to the audition room and I stood outside and watched them do all their scenes. They were in a glass room so it was so cool to see them all performing.
O was so adorable, of course. I even tried to sneak a couple pictures but to be honest I was scared I would get in trouble!
One of the men in the room came out and asked if I was O’s mother. They asked me to run a few scenes to see if O would have more natural reactions with me. It was a pleasure for me so we did our thing and went back to the waiting area.
They asked me a lot of questions about o when I was in there and my gut was telling me they really liked her – but as a mom i was afraid I was reading into it too much.
Then they asked to see O in the pool scene. I updated C on O’s performance and said we were supposed to go get in the pool for another portion of the audition. C noted that many of the other kids had left and there were only a few that stayed for the pool scene. I was a little more excited.
Right before the pool the CD asked to see O with another fake dad, so she went back in and ran a few more scenes. I wanted to be excited but I kept telling myself not to read too much into it. They even asked me to run a few more scenes! I wasn’t even here to audition!!!
Then like that the day was over. Back to reality. We left and went and picked up baby W from Grandmom’s house.
timing
Isn’t it so weird how things work out sometimes.
I was in an allllll day killer work meeting Thursday December 5. I checked my email during my lunch break and saw a same day casting call request for kids age 5-6 (with a note that said small is better). I had submitted O’s picture a couple times before and she had actually been pinned for a Health Insurance commercial but she was eventually released and didn’t shoot it.
Even though I knew I wouldn’t be able to submit O for this casting because I was in the meeting I didn’t delete the email. And she was also too young, being almost 4 – but the casting did state “small” so….
Low and behold the meeting ending early – by 4 pm so I shot the casting agency over O’s picture. She immediately responded “bring her in by 6pm“. Wow. Okay! I ran to the kitchen and grabbed some snacks for the girls and shot over to their school to pick them up. I told O we were going to her first audition and she was super excited.
When we got there the room was full of kids.
We got paired up with a lady that could pass as O’s mom and the CD came out to call O for her turn. He looked at her and said she was too young and requested the mom bring her son in. I was floored!
Luckily I spoke up and mentioned we had been requested to come in and that I was actually O’s mom. They CD was super cool about it and said O could watch this mom and her son go through the motions and he would give O a chance.
At this point I was thinking ugh i just wasted so much gas driving out here, but I wanted to see how O would react taking instructions from the CD anyway to see if it would be worth pursing this any further.
The mom and er son left and I peeked through the door crack and watched the CD work with O. He had her run through a couple scenes and then opened the door and asked me to come inside. I had W with me since I couldn’t get in touch with C so I was a little panicked W might flip her lid at any point. Lucky I had an emergency lollipop and she sat peacefully on the couch in the audition room (ugh, miracle!).
The CD said O was great a taking directions and super adorable so he was going to go with it. COOL!
He asked me to do a couple scenes with her and then we were done. It ended up being so fun and an experience. She did so great. I was super proud.