Back for Visions

It’s good to be back. And no, I am not talking about the lovely getaway to Quebec City, but rather the throat/mouth infection that had me out of commission for the past week. Cancelled auditions, work and networking events were not so much fun, but sitting in bed doing nothing did give me a lot of time to think of all the things I really need to work on. Let’s just say I am very anxious to get back to the grind 🙂

Before my throat issues arose, I got to spend time at work with Montreal’s finest. Normally I am the wallflower who listens, maybe puts in a word or two before going back into my little eavesdropping bubble, but for once I joined in. We talked about TV shows, inspiring actors, the Oscars, struggles and limitations in acting. And although I am not happy that they have struggles, it made me feel like we were all in the same boat. And actors and TV shows are totally my forte 😉

Then, a few days later, I got to be an extra on Sex & Ethnicity, a webseries written and created by Michaela Di Cesare, the girl whose play I had the pleasure of seeing a few weeks ago. It is an ACTRA MIP (Member Initiated Project) which means the cast can only be members of ACTRA, and they don’t have the power to give you credits. Still, I had a really fun time being an extra, the food was yummy, the people were super nice and I got some spoilers for the rest of the season. I’ll let you guys know how you can watch it once it comes out, not because I think you’ll actually see me much, but because it looks like it will be an awesome webseries, and we should support our Montreal talent 🙂

I also finished another potential script for a short. It is really short, but I figure I shouldn’t be overly ambitious for my first attempt. I am still waiting for some other opinions, and then I might start working on getting it made! Unless of course I get so busy with auditions and roles that other people give me. So far I still have ample time to work on it, but things are getting busier. Last year I could have gone weeks being sick in bed without it making a difference for my career, but last week I was benched for less than a week and had to miss out on an audition, a Booze & Schmooze event and a super interesting day at McGill. I already have another audition this week, an auditioning workshop on Sunday, and through the magic of making friends, I quite possibly have a role in a really interesting short. Dale Carnegie would be proud (or at least my coaches)!

Speaking of the Dale Carnegie classes, we have been doing a lot of speeches lately, which doesn’t really scare me so much anymore, but yesterday we had to write a midway assessment, to see how we are doing. One of the questions was asking us to ask them for help. My first thought was that they couldn’t help me get an agent or join ACTRA or anything like that, but I decided to hold myself accountable. Instead of just winging it and writing a standard cover letter for agent submissions, I asked if I could write a draft and have them help me edit it so it emcompasses the Dale Carnegie principles. Not sure how much of an affect this will have on actually getting me an agent, but it definitely can’t hurt, and who knows, maybe it will all work out this time. We also have to write down a vision of us in 3 to 6 months, and mine wasn’t specific enough, so I have to envision myself at a moment in time in the future where at least some of my dreams have come true. I don’t want to overshoot and be disappointed, but at the same time, this is my vision, so why not go all the way?

“Sometimes I can hear my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I’m not living.”

-Jonathan Safran Foer