And of course if your HAIR looks good then it must be good...

The episode of In Plain Sight that I booked (see Gurney wrangling post...) aired last night as the cliffhanger finale to the season... it was so amazing to see what they did with it. Check it out if you can... that's me in scrubs on the left of the gurney...they used the sequence twice. Once as a wide shot, with sound, and once again later in a memory sequence as a close-up MOS. Looks really cool and I have nice coverage in both. And my hair... well say no more...

All's well that ends well...

We close Passenger on the Ship of Fools tonight. Its been an amazing and humbling experience.

The good news is I have fallen in love with acting again.

Our great friends Kelly and Michael were here last evening and we talked about the play in detail. I portray Katherine Anne Porter between the ages of 40 and 65 or so as well as several other characters that factored in her short stories and in her life, including her grandmother and her father. Many of the changes happen quickly and on stage, though the transition to Hemingway... yes, that Hemingway... does get the benefit of an element of surprise as I enter from off stage. Kelly asked about how the transitions happen. This is where I realized that the fire in the belly was back... its in the physical leads that the characters come alive. Each one has a specific physicality that once established, informs the words and makes it feel natural.

For example, the Condessa (a drug addicted faded beauty) is all torsion through her torso. So a twist to the spine and a specific defensive, victim hand gesture triggers her next beat. The Father is dissolute, his spine is slack and the gesture one of need for a cigarette, the boyfriend David is all loose limbed, prep school and country club confidence. He is a smooth mover with grace and agility. Hemingway, takes two steps at a time, is barrel chested and maybe has a prostate kind of thing going on... Katherine Anne herself is light in stature, bird - like by description though incredibly strong on the inside. She has survived things that most would have never been able to brook. Her world is one of fabrication and yet she is completely present. She fidgets with her pearls in an almost constant state of reassurance.

It is so fun to find these physicalities and let them trigger the needs of the character propeling them into the next beat and causing the words to happen.

This is the joy I am experiencing, the territory that I was only able to tap in a surface way before. I am really looking forward to the next show The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer to deepen the work. This time with one character - Kitty Oppenheimer.

The whole process feels as if I have been in a blender. I've been tumbled free of blocks and a carapace that has built up over time. It is humbling and thrilling at the same time...

Okay a vow is a vow...

Hello and oh my god... June 17 was so long ago. I remember somewhere in the distant past a vow to blog at least once a week... so I renew my pledge and get on with it...

Rehearsals were nothing short of illuminating. I am not the same person I was the last time I did a show. What's different? I am married, 50 years old, a business owner, a producer with a track record. All these things taken separately are enough to cause a lot of change in a person's way of showing up in the world. Combined and thrown into an old art form, all hell breaks loose.

I learned so much about myself and am happy to report that I am really glad to be acting again. There were moments, many of them, when the rehearsal schedule was going awry in an un-airconditioned theater, without the benefit of AEA union pay (my first show having left the union), that I thought I would really rather have spent the summer in the mountains relaxing.

Now that we are open I am so glad to be digging in... I play Katherine Anne Porter between the ages of 40 & 60 when she is in the belly of life so to speak. I also play several other characters from her life and the fictionalized versions of them that she used in her extraordinary short stories.

If you are in ABQ, do come out to see us... here's a link to a mention on the albuqueruqeARTS blog Impromptu

More later... for sure.

Time Flies When You Go Underground

Wow. Its been over a month since I posted anything. There is so much to report. I have been on many auditions. Crash is now casting its second season. Went in for a fantastic role that was a recurring. It went to a wonderful actress from LA that I've seen in a lot of things. It was nice to be in the ring for a minute there.

Started rehearsals for Passenger on the Ship of Fools this week. Amazing script based on a moment in the life of Katherine Anne Porter, known as the female equivalent of Hemingway. It is set at the turning point of her life when she was finishing her only novel Ship of Fools.

I have to say, I took a moment outside the theater door when I arrived for the first rehearsal. Its at the Vortex Theater here in Albuquerque. I stood there, looking at the shadow box marquee with the show poster for the current production in it... savoring the feeling that I was walking in to a sacred space. A theater, with dressing rooms, a lobby and concession stand, a green room, a backstage area... wow. The smell, as the front door opened, was like an special incense made for that world; the world of imagination, creation, interpretation, and story. I think its probably what heaven smells like.

Also booked my first movie. Its a short film for the 48 Hour Film Project. Pretty darn excited about that!

Good to feel back in the saddle. I have not been posting because things got sort of nutty. My dear aging JuJu dog has an inoperable tumor that is causing her kidneys to fail. She seems outwardly good, but we are on borrowed time with her now. Our radio world continues to gallop apace. There are new shows in the archive to listen to, which are really fun. Hope you'll take time to visit Art of the Song Creativity Radio.

I don't have to choose, do I?

I've been in the midst of many things lately. It seems that there is always a lot to do, but the most fortunate thing is that I love all of it. Last week was fund drive week at Art of the Song Creativity Radio, which featured a Live event, a grant application and our annual letter to fans who support our mission of encouraging creative expression.

Art of the Song Live from the Filling Station in Albuquerque was too fun. Brad Stoddard and Tony Della Flora (Duke City Shoot Out) put together a team to shoot the event for ABQ's new cable access channel 26 Encantada TV. A four camera shoot is not easy with a lot of lead time and a budget. What they pulled off in three weeks, with no budget was amazing. Can't wait to share it with you when the edit is finished.

What does this have to do with acting? I went to a SAG Converstations program last fall with the cast of Breaking Bad. One thing that was repeated there and I've heard elsewhere a million times, is that if there is something you would rather do than act, then do THAT. It made me wonder... because I love doing my radio show, and I love acting. I think that, while I might never be Terry Gross or Laura Linney, I can live an incredibly fulfilling life being me doing both careers. As a Gemini, choices are stressful things. Both is usually the answer. Except when it comes to dessert...oh yes, and husbands.

Gurney rangling & wild rides

What a trip... I shot the episode of In Plain Sight on Monday. It was really fun... I am a perfectionist and always feel that I could/should have done better. The experience of working at high speed navigating a gurney around two corners and through two sets of double doors while talking in a doctor like fashion was the most valuable exercise. Nothing can prepare one for that except experience. Which I now have! The cast and crew were great. It will air in a couple of weeks, so I'll let you know!

The biggest lesson learned was again about concentration and focus. When that is in place, all the bits and pieces can fall where they may. My performance will have a level of professionalism that is sustainable and leads to more work.

Now here's the greatest challenge... overcoming the mental stuff that wants me to believe that I don't really want to do this "acting thing." It's the voice that made me quit two or three times before. It's the voice of low self esteem that has in the past succeeded in getting me distracted. The distraction manifests as the sudden overwhelming need to start another career, or eat cookies and drink caffeinated beverages. Which would in turn create anxiety and prove to me that I am not cut out for this business. I am grateful to have a really amazing support group that I can express the fears of inadequacy to and move on. Quitting is not an option this time.

I did succumb to a part of a fruit tart and some real ice tea and what a surprise, I was total mess at the end of the night. Another lesson learned. That's small potatoes compared to where we could have gone, yes?

Looking forward... audition today for a movie. Teaching a lot of workshops and getting great creativity coaching clients on board...and its Spring. So beautiful.

and Breathing Out

Just got the call... I am booked to play the doctor on In Plain Sight, shooting this Friday...

and breathing in ...

and breathing out...

and smiling...

a lot...