New Traditions <3
First of all, thank you so much to everyone who liked our video for the contest. It doesn’t close until October 31st, so if we can keep sharing and getting people to vote, that would be amazing!
Last Friday I made it to stunt class 🙂 I still spend my week kind of terrified and dreading it, but then when I get there, it really isn’t that bad. I learn cool things and have a lot of fun. We did kicks and jumps and falls. I really like how this session, we are going slow and the teachers take the time to make sure we get it. I spent the class with a group of girls who are relatively as good as me at the stunts, so we all gave each other tips and encouragement…I can’t wait until I master it all and get to put it into practice.
On Saturday, I went through what I had hoped to accomplish, what is stopping me from reaching my goals, and made a game plan to hopefully overcome them all. Some things are out of my control, but others I just need to work harder on 🙂
Sunday I did the Mental Health walk with my cousin. It was kind of pretty cold, but I enjoyed doing something for a good cause, and spending time with my cousin. Hopefully we can do it again in a warmer setting.
On Monday, Carolyne and I started a new tradition. We decided we should find something to do every time one of us books a part. It was complicated, because one of us booking a part doesn’t mean the other one did (so nothing too extravagant) and we also wanted to be able to talk and hang out for a while. Carolyne came up with coffees at Starbucks, which maybe doesn’t seem all that exciting, but her reasoning is. You see, I plan on eventually ending up in California, Carolyne is aiming for London, and Starbucks is something that they have everywhere, a place we can go wherever we end up.
I recently had this revelation, as far as creating your own work is concerned. People often say that if you have no budget and it’s your first attempt, you should do a horror movie. I always planned on publishing a book, then turning it into a movie through someone established, with funding and so on. But, the other night, it clicked that I actually have a horror story started that I could turn into a screenplay and shoot next Summer without needing an extravagant budget. It kept me up all night and occupied a lot of our time at Starbucks, other than celebrating Carolyne’s speaking part in a french short. Super proud of her and can’t wait to see what else we have coming for us 🙂
Yesterday I spent the day as a Standardized Patient. I won’t go on about this every time, but I really enjoy stepping into these characters. Yes, I have to remember their medical history and the answers to a bunch of random questions, but it is an amazing acting exercise, where I have to decide how to answer, when to reveal and how to conceal. I also find myself doing a lot of physical things, like when a question is hard to answer, I play with my hands or the lint on my shirt…I also need to get my thyroid checked out because while I was answering ‘no’ for the patient I was playing, the answers for me were actually ‘yes’.
In class last night, I had a lot of fun doing the scene with Carolyne, but I also think I need more time before the scene starts to really get into the right headspace for the crying. I used to cry whenever I saw someone I loved crying. I used to be able to make myself cry. But over time, somehow, I don’t. I have bouts where I start crying and can’t stop, so most of the time, when something happens and I would normally cry, I don’t, because I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop. I have taken to comforting the people I love who cry instead of crying with them. Suzanna told me to work on it this week, to work those muscles and see if I can do it, but I think it is more an emotional block in my personal life than an acting problem. But then again, in LA and according to Tom, acting class is often pretty similar to therapy.
I have been submitting myself a lot this week, and today will be working on my audition for Saturday, on a self-tape I have to get in by Monday, and on that screenplay I hope to finish in the next few months.
“Clear eyes, full hearts; can’t lose.”
-Friday Night Lights
