englandsword

Some sharp words from a friend of mine at the Tweetup last night convinced me to finally update my blog! I'm sorry I've been away. I've missed you. I've been so incredibly busy. The biggest reason is that I got a new job! I'm producing a movie that's in pre-production. That's about all I can say right now but I will say that it's very exciting and also a lot of work. Yayayayy for work! I mentioned in my last post that my sister was born, but I didn't have any pictures. Here she is in her newborn glory: She's actually kinda cute, huh? There's baby brother on his 2nd birthday, my stepmom, and new baby sister. I'm still doing lots of improv. I graduated 301. Here's my class before our graduation show: I'm on the top left. We were supposedly posing like a winning baseball team with our teacher posing as our giant trophy, but it looks more like we took him hostage. I'm starting 401 in a week! Can't wait! I'm also on four in...

Here's a quick rundown of what I've been doing. To sum it all up -- acting and improv and some socializing, too. I do have some news -- I booked a movie! It's a low-budget comedy, and I have a fun, snarky role. Yaaayyyy =) Wednesday: Skype with Mom, practice a scene with an actor friend, The Actors Network, Room 101 (indie improv show) Thursday: Workshop, improv show Friday: Table read for my new movie (yay!!!), standup open mic, a free dramatic improv show at the studio where I used to take acting classes, audition prep Saturday: Two auditions, improv class, then a I went to a friend's show in Hollywood and afterwards my car would not start . Dead battery, couldn't even jump it, had to call roadside assistance through my USAA insurance. That one sucked. Sunday: Taped a friend's audition, Hollywood Shorts Filmmaker Happy Hour, went to another friend's standup show (and I got onstage when they needed a volunteer for one segment!), then a Michael Jackson tribu...

On Monday I spent three hours making fruit salad and veggie salad while listening to podcasts! Someone asked me recently what my favorite podcasts are, and I have a very hard time choosing because I love so many. Some of my favorites are WTF w/ Marc Maron, Comedy Bang Bang, KCRW's The Business and The Treatment, Nerdist, The Pod F. Tompkast, Inside Acting, Doug Loves Movies, the UCBLA and NY podcasts, and The Dork Forest. I recently discovered The Anytime Show with Dominic Dierkes (who I have seen perform improv at UCB and is incredible), Film Courage, Making It with Riki Lindhome, Sound on Sight, The Tobolowsky Files, and Talking TV with Ryan and Ryan. Podcasts keep me company, entertain me, and inform me while driving, chopping, and other detestable daily activities. My salad-making frenzy paid off handsomely. I made this big fruit salad: Blueberries, strawberries, grapes, pineapple. And salad salad: Raw corn, raw zucchini, red onion, red pepper, steamed broccoli, fresh basil. I ...

My audition and improv show both went great on Sunday. I meant to write a recap that night but my internet wouldn't work. I also meant to take pictures and I totally forgot. =( I loved my improv show. It wasn't perfect, of course, but it was fun and I was happy with my work and I think I used what I learned over the last couple weeks. I can't wait for 201 to start on the 20th! I also thought it was pretty cool that I had my show and then the next show on the same stage featured Tim Meadows (of SNL, The Ladies Man, etc). Today I enjoyed a nice long workout and a good foam rolling session. I cleaned my apartment a little and Skyped with my mom then headed back to UCB tonight to see a few shows! Sunday exercise: Weights/strength: upper back, chest Exercise: Weights/strength: inner/outer thighs, triceps, deltoids 20 minutes dance 35 minutes bike Today's food: 1. Spinach and lima beans with BBQ sauce (I took a picture of this but it looked terrible so I'm not sharing it...

I had improv class again today from 9-2, and then immediately afterward I went to an actor friend's house so we could record some self-taped auditions. His apartment has a huge deck and a great view so I took a picture that doesn't really do it justice. There's a trend in casting that's becoming more and more popular for casting directors to request actors to record their own auditions and send them in. I know one of the reasons is to save time but that did not happen today. It took us almost four hours! We had to practice, set up lighting, wait for the buzz saw next door to stop whirring... But eventually I think we both got some good audition tapes done. Yippee. After our auditions, I went home and stuffed my face while catching up on e-mails and self-submitting on casting sites, then went right back out to catch a couple shows at UCB. My improv show is coming up on Sunday and I want to be as prepared as possible, so I want to see as many shows as I can! My diet for t...

I started my intensive at UCB (Upright Citizens Brigade)! I'll be taking improv classes there from 11-2, Tuesday through Friday for the next two weeks. My first two days have been really fun and enjoyable. I like my teacher and I'm impressed with the program and how they're easing us into it, with each lesson building on the previous one, expanding our skills instead of just throwing us into a situation and having us fail until we get it. I've been waking up and doing my strength exercises in the morning and coming home and doing my cardio after class. So far that's been working well! Last night I went to a friend's house to watch the season finale of Glee. They sent me home with some guacamole, hummus, and the last of a bag of pita chips, so I ate some of those today. I don't really think they're healthy but as a rare indulgence they are super tasty! Then when I got home my internet wasn't working, which is why I didn't post last night. Stupid T...

I mentioned that I went to the premiere party for the Diary of a Wedding Planner webseries on Tuesday. I just saw some of the professional photos, so I figured I'd do an outfit post for Fashion Friday! I wore my red Target dress that I wrote about last week and added a black studded belt, black headband, black tights, and my Franco Sarto boots. And I uploaded a couple more of our photo booth pics. We went a little photo booth crazy. What can I say? We actors are obsessed with ourselves. Today's food/exercise: Exercise: 45 minutes bike 40 minute walk/jog - I jogged to Whole Foods and walked back Weights/strength: biceps, triceps, abs stretching Food Diary: Breakfast: Cracklin' Oat Bran with almond milk Lunch: Corn chowder; 5 or 6 pieces of dehydrated tofu Dinner: Homemade soup with split peas, celery, and carrots Snack: Pumpkin smoothie Aaaaand lastly, I have a design question for all y'all. Design is related to fashion, right? So I got the proof for my book, but now I...

Hey, I managed to copy the lost post off my Google Reader! Here it is... BIG NEWS TODAY! First of all, I am now officially a SAG member! (That's the Screen Actors Guild.) That's my friend and I outside of the SAG building - we both went and signed up today. I paid a lot of money for the privilege but I worked hard to get here and I'm super excited. And second of all, look what I got!! Yep, that's my book! The proof copy came in the mail today. I'll take better pictures in the light later but I was just so excited! A lot of work went into this book and now it's finally real. =) Even with all the excitement today, I managed to keep up my healthy habits. This morning before going to SAG I worked out and watched Gossip Girl (guilty pleasure!). Exercise: 60 minutes bike Weights/strength: inner/outer thighs Stretching Food Diary: Breakfast: Lentils with broccoli, coffee with almond milk Lunch/snacks: 1.5 servings edamame, 1.5 servings TJ's beefless strips...

I am exhausted! I have been so busy, but it's all good. BTW - I do have a Fashion Friday post, but I need some time to take better pictures. So it'll be another Fashion Friday on Saturday. Yesterday I woke up at 7 so I could sneak in some weightlifting before reporting to set at 9AM. I worked as a PA (Production Assistant) all day -- I was out of the house from 8 AM to 11:30 PM. I had an amazing day, it was so fun. All the actors were Australians playing Americans, which was fun to listen to. Their accents were great! After the shoot we went out to dinner and several of us ended up belting out Part of Your World, accompanied by a live piano in the middle of the restaurant. What can I say, actors love attention. Yesterday's food and exercise: Exercise: Weights/strength: deltoids, upper back, traps, obliques Food Diary: Breakfast: Coffee Lunch: Pineapple and cantaloupe from the fruit tray, a few cashews Snack: 1 serving edamame, 1 serving TJ's beefless strips Dinner: 1 bo...

I have a new post up on Chic Vegan ! We all know how much I love Nature Mart and the Santa Monica Co-Op, and now everyone else does, too. I wrote an article all about LA's best indie grocery stores and co-ops. Check it out ! I also have a fun new video to watch! I narrated this funny short video all in French. It's very silly! Les Profils Francais from Sean Cruser on Vimeo . I spent my whole day just hanging out with my family. No baby pictures yet, but I'm on it. I did get a good workout this morning, though! Exercise: 40 minutes elliptical Strength/weights: quads, triceps, abs (ab lounge!), obliques, chest stretching Food Diary: Breakfast: Cereal - Cracklin' Oat Bran, Multi-Grain Cheerios, and Special K with almond milk and blueberries Lunch: Broccoli with Amy's Lentil Vegetable soup Dinner: Amy's Bistro Burger, more broccoli and soup Snack: Orange

This morning I had a workshop with a couple of Disney casting directors. It was fascinating because I performed a scene for both of them at the same time, and then they filled out separate evaluation forms. They saw the exact same performance, and they both work for the same channel, but they didn't necessarily have the same opinion. They rated me on a scale from needs improvement, satisfactory, good, very good, to excellent on multiple qualities like choices, listening, energy level, headshot accuracy, etc. Both were very nice and thought I did well, and I didn't get anything lower than a "good," but the girl gave me a few "good's" where the guy gave me "excellent's." If that makes sense. For example, she thought my headshot was just good, and he thought it was excellent. She thought my focus was good, he thought it was excellent. Stuff like that. I really appreciate both of their feedback and had a lot of fun, and I don't just want to...

So glad we have some other Disney theme park fans in da house! After my two Disney days I had to change course and get back into acting mode for a short film I had a role in on Saturday. I played an 18-year-old alcoholic in AA, talking back to a cop. I love that talking back is my professional specialty. Here's a random on-set picture of our "AA" meeting: I wore a lot of makeup to fit my character. I brought some fresh fruit to eat for my long day on set, as well as a new raw snack I "invented." All it consists of is frozen vegetables that I dehydrated overnight at 105 degrees. I plan on trying many variations of this snack, but the first time I kept it simple. I used a bag of corn and a bag of mixed veggies - corn, carrots, peas, and green beans. Very chewy, but I didn't mind that. I'm going to play around with this idea some more, definitely. It was a nice easy way to get some snacky veggies in and not resort to the chips and pretzels that are de rige...

I had a busy weekend! On Friday I Skyped with my mom for three hours (yes, really), went to acting class, saw an improv show with a friend, and then busted out the big jewelry for a night of really insane dancing. Before I left my apartment I took a photo with terrible terrible lighting -- I was in a hurry and just took a really quick picture. So I had fun in iPhoto, used every filter possible, and turned it into this: I had multiple dance-offs and got insanely sweaty (and took off my long-sleeve shirt in the bathroom). I even had multiple people come up to me and tell me how much they liked my dancing. And even though I pretend it's because I have mad skills, I wasn't break-dancing or anything. Just being ridiculously confident (while completely sober BTW). Yes, this is a good reason why I'll be single forever and I sometimes embarrass the people around me, but at least it was fun. On Saturday I helped a friend of mine cast a short film she wrote and is directing. Wow, wha...