Fun With Self Portraits

Does anyone else thing that all these social networking sites have really fed into our narcissistic tendencies? Where/when else is it okay to talk all about yourself, go on about your opinions, what you think, what you're doing, where you're going, and not to mention making it perfectly acceptable to sit in your car for 30 minutes taking pictures of yourself?

Although I embrace my vanity to a certain extent, I refuse to think of this quest to take the perfect self-portrait as such. It's art! It's a document. A document of my new haircut. Half of which you can't see. A document of me at this time in my life. A document of...me. Ok. Let's call a spade a spade. It's vanity.

But it is a pretty cute picture, right?

Hair Cuts

So I got my hair cut today. I go to one of these little hole in the wall shops here in LA and I really have to say the my hairdresser always does an excellent job. Then again I'm pretty easy. I figure whatever may go wrong only has a matter of time before it grows out. Thank god I haven't haven't had a single disaster.

My hairdresser, Audrey, cracks me up. She for some reason seems to think I work at a restaurant. I don't. She's selective about what she calls me out on in regard to my hair. When I casually mention I'm thinking about coloring, she says no, I don't need to...besides it will only make my hair more dry. How did she know I've spent that last month and a half trying different shampoos and conditioners trying to achieve moisture nirvana? She compliments me when I do a good job on straightening my hair in the back, but tells me my curling iron is too hot. How does she know I push the heat setting to 11? But she never calls me out when I take the scissors to my own hair or when I reappear with subtle highlights. I know she notices. Is she toying with me? Does she figure I'll eventually disfigure my look so much that I'll learn to leave well enough alone? I just can't tell. She's keeping me guessing.

Win-Win

There are a few things that I'm not a big fan of in the acting game.

Monologues would have to be number one in my book. While I often find myself speaking out loud to no one at all, it's usually something along the lines of 'please do some laundry' or 'you forgot to take that damn library book back again' but never long speeches revealing my deep inner thoughts and conflicts. Monologues, in my opinion, are just unnatural.

Improv. It's not that I can't think on my feet, I'm fairly quick, really. It just something about improv that rubs me the wrong way. It's always a lot of fun when I've done it, but somehow I don't look forward to doing it. Maybe because it seems like everyone else is? Who knows? I've decided to get over my attitude toward improv and am now in an improv class. Maybe appreciation comes from really giving it another try? We'll see.

Cattle calls. Something about an open casting calls makes me itchy. So many people. So much time. And it usually involves standing in the heat. I haven't gone to many open calls, so my experience is limited at best. When I did go, I was driven by stories of actors who have been "discovered" at a casting call. The pessimist in me, however, says that my chances improve if the casting director saw my picture before hand and specifically asked for me rather than just showing up sight unseen. But thousands of people show up to casting calls and from those casting calls shows get cast, so it has to be benefiting someone, right?

Well a friend's experience this past week has really spoken to the optimist in me. On Monday, she had gone to an open casting call for the touring production of 'The Color Purple'. She texted me right after and said that she was invited to a callback on Wednesday. We texted back and forth then she said they called and asked her to come back the following day, Tuesday instead. The next day, she texts me to say that the second audition didn't go as well, she was expecting to read for a certain part and she got a bit tongue tied and was really upset with herself. I tried to be encouraging and let her know how proud I was that she went and that it would all work out. That this wasn't the end, it was just the beginning. Well, later that night, she was called back again...to read for the part she wanted. I told her to put it all out there, no regrets, no holding back. Well that's just what she did and I couldn't be more proud of her. Of course it would be awesome if she is casted the part and gets the opportunity to perform around the country. I would love for that to happen. But what is most awesome is that she went and did it. And what she came back with mentally is invaluable. The confidence to do what we do with no regrets. The ability to give something her best shot, full out and not hold back. The lesson that anything is possible, even at an open casting call, in the midday heat with every actress in LA trying to one up you. Now that's priceless.

The Rainbow Connection

I just returned to LA from a wonderful week away in Seattle. Our family reunion was last weekend and it was great being able to spend some time with cousins, aunts, uncles and friends that live so far away. Of course with a family like ours it never seems like enough time.

While in Seattle, we visited the EMP. What a cool museum. We jammed on some instruments, saw Jimi's busted up guitars and even saw the glove and jacket Michael Jackson wore on Motown 25 when he debuted the Moon Walk. But the coolest thing I got to do was to be a muppet! There was an interactive exhibit where visitors could experience what it's like to be a muppeteer. It was so freaking cool that I'm seriously considering a career path change. Ha ha...I wonder what the audition would be like. Two contrasting muppet monologues? I hate monologues. Maybe a muppet improv? I can barely do improv myself, much less with a muppet. Maybe I need to rethink this.