Paula's World

Hi Again!

2011-10-24T10:08:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone out there in internet world :-) It's been a while because my google/blogger account associated with the blog was a little messed up and I couldn't get on here anymore. After several attempts and emails, I finally figured it out!!!! yippee!!! Anyway, here I am...there you are...the world is happy again :-)
I am hard at work with our new show "Ready Time Pals" and will be letting you know about our web series launch pretty soon! I am also starting a new blog on that site that you might find fun! More details to come! So happy to be back...

What is a Producer?

2010-03-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

While producing my kid spec pilot (ala indie style), it has become apparent what being a producer REALLY is. I had flashes of these realizations before but now it has become VERY apparent. A producer is a babysitter, laundry doer, alcohol enabler, driver, hotel director (and owner)...yeah...a producer is pretty much EVERYTHING and ANYTHING that they need to be to get their "employees" to the finish line on time and with the best product it can be!

I have housed, fed, clothed, sang songs to and partied with my "employees" to get my product. I wake up saying, "What needs to get done today?", "Who needs to do it?" and "How can I get them to?" Sometimes things are pretty "normal"...and mostly things are NOT :-) I hate to let this secret out...but creative people are not always motivated by the normal "let's get up and go to the grind today" A great producer knows what motivates everyone on their team, and works to bring them to their greatness. It's not always easy, and it's certainly not always fun.

My kids pilot is certainly not the normal studio gig. I have 8 intern animators working from all over the country. They are awesome! The challenge is to get them motivated when I can't see them. I have my "hole" people...my tech gurus who come up for air once in a while...and the trick their is to catch them "up" when you need them... I can honestly say...after producing this I can produce ANYTHING!!!!!!!

Gotta run...have to go babysit and do some laundry (that isn't mine) ;-)

In a Mood

2010-02-25T13:59:00.001-08:00

Well...perhaps the law of attraction is working against me today (all week actually). I have never felt so stuck on a project in all my life. I'm not so good on relying on people and my current project has left me in a place where that is ALL I can do...I'm not really a tech person (although I have fixed my own crashed computer and will figure ANYTHING out if I have to) and I'm definitely not an expert with what I am producing right now...live action mixed with animation. Live action...I'm good to go. Animation...not so much. And while this has been a great learning experience for me...it always hasn't been a pleasant one...OK it's NEVER been a pleasant one yet!!!!
So while I scream silently inside about my MIA tech people (AKA the "hole" people...see earlier post) I take that crappy attitude with me where ever I go. Yesterday, I was so full of restless energy I had to run it off via my wii fit (it was raining outside...another un norm for LA yet apropos for my mood). Today I took my daughter to her ballet class and creative movement class and there was another Mom there with her daughter who decided to scream tantrum style ALL THRU BOTH CLASSES while the Mom just stood there and said..."Use your nice voice" Really? Like that is gonna work...please just yank the tot (who wasn't even 2, the minimum age to BE IN THE CLASS) out of the class and deal with this in the privacy of your own home where the rest of the kids (and parents) dont have to be disturbed for an hour. Honestly I can care less how you choose to discipline your child (although I may have an opinion about it :-) ) but I dont need to hear it for an hour when I am trying to take my daughter for some fun Mom/daughter time. I've been there and I can honestly say TAKE THE KID OUT OF THE SITUATION... whew...I feel so much better now that I vented :-) It just bugs me when parents are inconsiderate and selfish... (and thus teaching their kids to be)
What else am I doing today? Trying to figure out how to market my loop group better, just recorded a voice audition, made some vouchers for the PTA book exchange I'm in charge of next week at my sons' school, updated the PTA website (another thing I do in my "spare" time as PTA VP), try to get a meeting together with the "hole" people so we can start rendering this weekend, and set my goals for the year... OH...and change what I'm "attracting"...LOL
Later...I'll be going to Chuck E Cheese for my daughter's school fundraiser...fun times! Gotta love Chuck.

Reliability in LA

2010-02-23T13:36:00.000-08:00

Where have all the good guys gone?...or girls for that matter? After living in LA for many years and dealing with people in the biz you come to realize that the only person you can truly count on is yourself...and for some of the people out here, clearly they can't even count on THAT person...LOL...

I'm working on a spec pilot for a kids show...I've gotten really good feedback on it and I can honestly say it's a really cute project with a lot of promise...Promise that is, IF we can ever finish it. Believe me, if I could figure out animation and rendering I would have had this done months ago...unfortunately I decided to put my trust in people...other people...LESS THAN RELIABLE PEOPLE. And yes...these people, some of them, family friends even.

Let me back up...I had written a script for a kids show and was contemplating using puppets a la Seseme Street or animation with live action ala Blues Clues (in 3D not 2D though). A family friend said..."hey! my company can do that for you...we've been looking to break into 1/2 hour and this would be a great opportunity for us" I thought..."terriffic". Little did I know this would start the journey that would lead to me wanting to pull out all my hair, become an alcoholic and become an eskimo in some remote village where I would never be heard from again!

Pathalogical Liar. That pretty much sums it up. Not only did they breach their contract and do NOTHING that they said they would do...but they wasted a good year of my life. A very good year I might add indeed... Since then, we "fired them" (I say this loosly as they could care less and think they actually deserve the money I paid them) and hired another tech person that my other producer new from college... Now I wont say that he is not doing work because I THINK he is :-) But trying to communicate is very difficult. It's like these technical people come up for air once a month or something and then go back into their little hole for a while...I dont work well with the "hole" people...

Now let's talk about the amazing animators that I have working on this. They are interns and have been producing a lot of GREAT stuff...until now where they are dropping like flies. Now on the one hand I can't blame them. A few have been working on this for a good while, others not so much but hey Free is Free...Everyone has to pay their bills. The downside is that we are almost done and if they all quit...well, they did all of their work for nothing. Not done is Not done... But you can't get blood from a stone and unfortunately until I can recoup my loss from the pathalogical liars I really dont have the cash to pay everyone to stay. I do know that I will do my best to hire any of these wonderful people once the show gets sold...although if they already know about realiablity in LA they may not believe me...(I however am NOT LA...although only my track record will speak for itself soon enough I hope)Let's hope they see me for me and know the difference from me and THE OTHERS ;-) (wish I did before now)

So...moral of the story? I'm still working on it, but I can tell you that I will NEVER trust anyone without a VERY long track record with me again!!!!!!

My Kids Call Me Mommy 1

2010-02-22T11:59:00.001-08:00

One of the things I'll be highlighting this year is a little entry called "My kids call me Mommy" It'll attempt to show how I can possibly juggle my career with raising a family (and juggling their career's...LOL)

On a typical day, I drop my 2 kids off to school by 8:15am (Cassidy 3 and Dylan 7) and start my day. My day consists of running errands/household chores (today I am doing laundry, grocery shopping, paying bills & setting up appointments -dr/hair cuts) trying to fit in some exercise (today I will take my dog for a nice long walk/jog), producing my kids spec pilot (today I check in with my 8 animators to see how they are doing, my tech guy to get rendering started-who has been MIA for 2 weeks, my old tech folks-who I need to sue for not finishing what I paid them for, but am still holding out hope they will come thru for SOMETHING-to ask for rendering help, and call my editor/2 D animation guy to see if he is back in town-he is not; he'll be back Wed).

Side note: Producing, I find, is mostly babysitting and using creative thinking to motivate people in the best way that works for them (everyone is very different in what motivates them so you HAVE to discover what motivates EVERYONE on your team as an individual) Thus, it really is no different than raising kids...LOL.

This is a typical day and so far none of us have any auditions to go to (I have a voice audition to record later, that I will do in my own office here at home and send the mp3 to my voice agent). Of course...that could change at a moments notice ;-) For now though, I have until 2:30 when I pick up my son (3pm I pick up my daughter) to get my work done so I can help with homework, cook dinner, and get some family time in. Throughout all this I check my email CONSTANTLY for work, auditions, kid show questions, etc. There is also acting submissions, my music, searching for a new theatrical agent and loop group communications that continue to go on daily... Joey is working on a film today (doing looping) so I am on my own with the day...

This is my typical day...a good way for entry 1 to begin and end...

Welcome to 2010

2010-02-22T11:56:00.000-08:00

Hi all my blog friends :-) WOW...has it really been a year? I am ready to turn a new leaf and blog my little heart away so...watch out! Seriously ;-)

I definately have a lot to say this year...from Mommy Advice to carreer news, here is the place you can find it all...

Here's to a great 2010

HAPPY 2009

2009-01-06T10:39:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

I'm looking forward to an awesome new year! Between producing my kids show (shooting the live action in Feb) and working on songs for my CD, my career is at a "happy place" :-) I'd love to start going out on more commercial auditions (only had a handful last year...which in my opinion is pretty pathetic!) and get someone on my team who can help me more Theatrically (and perhaps help guide the kids show too). So...I'm sending that out into the Universe. We've also been working pretty steadily with our loop group The 3 Beeps and I'm hoping the cocktail Meet & Greet we hosted in Dec will continue our push for more shows and films...gotta "trust the beeps".

Dylan still has another week off of school and my Mom is here visiting for another week. She leaves Sunday and Dylan starts school Monday. That transition will probably take a week to get back into the groove...especially without "built in" child care to get work done... but I'm very excited about the new year none-the-less.

I wanted to write here just because it had been so long...but I need to run. Have a guitar lesson today and need to get my kid's to their agent at some point. Also meeting my fabulous head animation guru tonight over dinner to go over the characters for the show...

Blessings!!!!!

It' Finially Fall

2008-10-12T08:43:00.000-07:00

The weather in LA can be...well...HOT. This weekend it was a nice turn that we've had 60 degree temps! Hurray for fall! Of course, it probably means that in a week it'll be 90 again! Oh well...I'll take what I can get;-)

On the school front...PTA has taken over...what was I thinking. I'm managing the website tulsapta.com along with all of my treasurer duties. Joey is VP so I'm also tackling some of his stuff (husbands?! HA) Our big first attempt at a Halloween carnival will be the 31st...I'm hoping the "fun" will kick into gear soon. November will be our month of rest...except for the taxes I have to complete for the good ol IRS...yes, taxes for a PTA!

Work has been great...and crazy busy. I'm almost done with all of my lead sheets for my upcoming album. It's been a learning process to say the least. Music Theory 101!!!! My guitar lessons with the awesome George Demme have literally turned into my Music Theory classes!!! It has been really fun to get back in touch with the musical side of myself. I am planning on starting to look for musicians and locking in studio time in the next two weeks. Hoping to start to record by mid-Nov at the latest. I have been running into and meeting some great contacts in the last few weeks which just makes me realize I am on the right path/track! YAY...

With me delving into my album work, I brushed some dust off a children's DVD/pilot I had put on my shelf a few years back. It's kinda like a blues clues set up with music in execution. I think it has really great potential and again, as soon as I dusted the dust off...contacts soon crossed my path to help along the way...AMAZING!!!! I'm looking to set up shooting for December-ish if everything moves along as planned.

Along the same lines as the children's DVD, I was asked to teach a class for Parents about kids & acting. Because I never let an opportunity pass me by I said "yes" and will be working out the syllabus starting this week. I'll update more on this when I have more info so I can get it out there for anyone who may be interested. I will be doing a seminar at Actor Fest for it on Nov 8th here in LA at 2pm if anyone wants to come out and hear. The seminar is free but I'm not sure if you pay to get in to the Fest or not... more to come on that.

Our loop group continues to build. (for those that don't know we merged with Grant and Jessica George late last fall) We are looping the series Easy Money for the CW network. It's a pretty good show if I do say so myself. We have stiff competition with Desperate Housewives competing at 9pm on Sundays...but hey, you can TIVO the housewives and watch EZ!!!!!! We are supposedly getting at least one more show for mid season and continue to loop films...mostly some really good Indy ones;-) It's always fun to work with the people we've been blessed to work with. I love it when we can be creative and do our stuff!!!! (improv and fun languages/voices) We also get to work individually (myself and/or Joey) with other loop groups which is great too!!!!

So, on top of all this Dylan has been going on auditions pretty much EVERY day!!!! Which is great for him, and he's been sooooo close to so many things. His last commercial was a cell south comm'l. He's surpassed us on how many auditions he gets!!!!! Pretty funny. As long as he's enjoying it, we're happy. If I become a stage parent...shoot me!!!!! they are creepy... (which is why I agreed to teach the class) One more note for Dylan....HE LOST HIS FIRST TOOTH last night...and the tooth fairy had her first visit to the Naber house...it was VERY exciting!

Cassidy gets cuter by the day. She is truly a crack up. She loves books (will "read" them to you), to talk on the phone, and to pose for the camera...just ask her to say cheese!!!!!! or Show you her teeth. How'd we get so lucky to have two ADORABLE kids? (I guess it's in their genes...HA)

that's it for now...Happy Fall Ya'll...

Back to School

2008-09-04T11:31:00.000-07:00

Yeah!!!!! School started yesterday. Now, don't get me wrong...I LOVE spending time with my son, 6 who started 1st grade this year, but the constant announcement "I'm bored...sooooo bored" that echoed through my ears on a consistent basis for last 2 1/2 months needed to end. It was that or the constant beat of the club penguin music blasting from his computer that sent me to my glass of wine each night ;-) No seriously... I do miss sleeping in that extra hour and getting to do whatever we wanted with him when Joey and I didn't have work or auditions that day but it'll be nice to get back into a routine each day...something that us actor folk already have trouble with, much less compounding it with a 6 year old who's bored! Now I only have to hear my 2o month old say Mum, Mom, Mommy daily. Yep, it's back to goal oriented weeks for me...or at least that is my intent.

I am still working on my 10 songs for my album. There may be a bit of a wrinkle in my first song that was recorded but I'm hoping to resolve that by the end of the month and enter business much smarter and with goals in mind for all parties for the next 9 songs;-) I am still very excited about the process, even though sometimes I feel a bit overwhelmed by the process of lead sheets, guitar lessons, learning music theory, and dealing with finding the right people and contracts. It's all new to me and has been a real learning process.

The PTA treasury position has taken over my week...I have been dealing with budgets, pictures, welcome wagon, and mtgs for the new school year. I'm wondering, "why did I volunteer for this?" I'm telling myself that after next week...the back to school picnic is tomorrow and the first association meeting is next week...it will all settle into a comfortable rhythm and not take over my life this year!!!! Lord knows I don't have time for it too!!!!!

On other career notes...I just decided to work with a new manager...Denise Fisher at Candy Entertainment. I'm very excited about the new relationship and hope that it will help open some doors for me in the next few months. That compounded with my music and the shows Joey and I are going to start producing (some of which will be promotional packages only until we get a partner involved) round out my goals nicely... I am very happy going into the last part of 2008 with a renewed outlook on life!!!!! YAY

August News

2008-08-15T11:38:00.000-07:00

How time flies. I apologize for not blogging but I can blame it on my old web designer who never figured out how to incorporate this into my site. I decided to figure out how to design my site myself (thanks Heather for your help!!!) and here I am...new site...new blogs...YAY!

What's new...wow! SO MUCH. On the career front I'm working on my first album. Already recorded the first single called Pretty Young Sweet Thing (a love song for my daughter). I have 9 more original songs in the works and am hoping to complete the album by the end of the year. (great Christmas gifts!) By the way- people always ask what the genre is...I'd say it's inspirational pop with a disney-esque sound. More career news: our loop group merged with another to form the new group 3 Beeps at the end of last year. We've been lucky enough to keep busy through the strike and the crazy year! Also been working with a few other groups too (thanks for the work!!!) It's been a fun year for looping so far. I've also got several tv shows written, ready to produce and three reality shows as well as a feature in the works...hmmm...on camera it's been pretty slow for me. I'm hoping to change that in the next few months. I just shot new headshots and will actively start looking for new theatrical rep when they are ready. (next week I hope!)

On the home front, my kids are now 6 (Dylan turned 6 this month) and Cassidy is 19 months. They are fun and a handful all at the same time! Life is never dull here that's for sure. My husband Joey and I decided to be active in the PTA and if you can believe it I'm the treasurer and he's the VP for next year...how funny is that! (like we have so much time too huh?) We also bought a second house that we were gonna flip but the market was so crappy at our closing-only 1 month later- that we decided to hang onto it and rent it out. So far so good! Our next home project will be to re do 2 of the bathrooms in our house. Demo will likely start next week now that our outside BBQ area is all finished with granite...looking good! Come over for some grub (you bring the grub...we'll supply the grill...LOL)

Gotta run! too much to do today...I'll be back soon. I REALLY PROMISE THIS TIME.

UPDATES

2006-09-12T11:31:00.000-07:00

Wow! So it's been a while since I've written. LOTS has changed. Yes, Dylan's episode of West Wing aired (he was so cute and the girls who played his twin sister looked EXACTLY like him!!!) and the box cover that Dylan & I are on for Western Digital's hard drive My Book came out at Walmart stores nationwide...but big news...I'm pregnant with number 2! Yep, that's right and this time it's 95% a girl. Right now I am 6 months pregnant and busy as ever. I did my last Murder Mystery show(until the baby is born)at the beginning of August - where I definately looked pregnant so we worked that in...people thought it was part of the show!!! How fun!!! I'm currently working at production/management company Epigram Entertainment for friends of mine to try my hand at producing and to get my feet wet. If I could only muster up enough energy to get through most days now it would be mighty helpful!

So far this pregnancy has been completely different from the last. Some good days, some bad...but I made it past the 21 week stage where I had early contractions and was hospitalized while I was pregnant with Dylan so that's good...knock on wood! I've only had one pregnancy audition on camera so far though which wasn't as good as last time! I have been keeping busy doing voice work though. I resumed my "voice of Pfizer" gig and did some voice matching in "Death and Life of Bobby Z" and have done several looping jobs with our loop group the walkie talkies. Last week I had the privledge of revoicing a girl that looked good (OK, she had nice boobs) but didn't act incredibly well so I got to revoice her screams and death scene in a film called "Big Bad Wolf". It was fun! Voice work is great cause you get to do all kinds of things you can't do on camera!!!

On the home front we've finished our back yard and "Dylan's Park" and it looks awesome if I do say so myself. Our built in BBQ is finished on our patio and we're waiting on the granite top for the counter area opposite it. Speaking of the patio, while we went to San Diego to visit Legoland & Seaworld for a long weekend, a bird had built a nest on top of our TV (on the patio) and it had 3 small eggs in it. It was so cool to watch the birds hatch and learn to fly.(because of where it was we could watch from inside where we didn't scare them) Dylan got to see it all too which was amazing to him. (They did make quite a mess of the TV though!)

That's all for now. I'm hoping my pictures will be updated soon (You know the ones I took last March!) Greg promised this time...right Greg?:-)

March Fun

2006-03-15T13:50:00.000-08:00

YES!!!! Dylan ended up shooting the Huck role on West Wing and it'll air on March 26th (check local listings for times) He had a blast (not to mention too much candy since it was a Halloween episode...he'll be in an Oriole's Uniform) Can't wait to see how it turns out!

I was just cast in a Murder Mystery Dinner Show called "Deadly Disco Cruise" with the company Mysteries en Brochette. The shows are at the Harbor House Restaurant and there are also corporate events. My first show will be March 25th!!!!! Yes that's 1 1/2 weeks from now...yikes! But it should be fun:-) I play LeeAnn, the very perky cruise activites director with a few secrets up her sleeve.

Still working on getting my headshots up on this website (Greg are you reading this? He He) and haven't looked for my print job yet. Will check Walmart this weekend and let you know if it's out there yet.

Other than that it's the daily grind. Joey & I at the Gym M-W-F, auditions and fun with Dylan. Oh yeah, my girlfriend Hollie & I went to scrapbook camp at Lake Arrowhead last weekend. Tons of fun and we even got to feel like we were back East again with the 3 feet of snow up there!!! Not fun driving, but very beautiful. Next time I'll take Dylan so he can build a snowman:-)

Pins & Needles

2006-02-24T16:46:00.000-08:00

OK...so you have to atually have auditions to get callbacks and get put on avail, so that updates you there. Dylan (my 3 year old son)and I did a print job for Western Digital a week and a half ago. We'll be on the cover of the box for their new hard drive product in Walmart in a few weeks...fun huh? Also the people at Mitchell Pictures were FANTASTIC to work with. Super nice, very accomidating and hey they even gave me my wardrobe AND copies of our pix (usually you have to try to hunt those down for a decade b4 you'll get them) I'll have to add some to my site along with a few of my new headshots I shot last week.

Why the title Pins & Needles you ask? Well, because as I'm writing this my son is on the set of West Wing with my husband (we drew straws and HE got to take him) and we're not sure if it's gonna be him or the other kid they hired to play HUCK (Toby's son) since I'm not there...I'm sort of silently freaking out!!!! Sending good vibes, sending good vibes :-) Man I hope I'm never a stage parent...aren't those people SCAREY!!!!?

Updates when I know more...

Avail

2006-02-07T10:13:00.000-08:00

Will 2006 be the year of avail for me? I certainly hope it will become the year of booking instead!!! For the 2nd time in 3 weeks I was put on avail for a commercial but no booking!!! Third time is a charm right? I'll let ya know in my next post...

Oh, by the way the superbowl party was FAB, can't say much for the game(I've despised the Steelers since toddlerhood)...but the party was fun! :-)

Other carreer news...I'm shooting new pix for my new commercial agent next week (of course I'm hoping for some terrific shots theatrically for my manager too!)and I'm looking to get back into sketch/improv again.

Until next time...

Promises, Promises

2006-01-31T08:51:00.000-08:00

OK....so promises are made to be broken right?

I guess when I said I'd blog once a week back in August what I meant to say was "I'll blog when I darn well feel like it :-) "

Things as always are crazy. The holidays were nutty as we went on yet another wonderful Disney Cruise the day after Thanksgiving and after being home for 5 days Joey went to Dubai for the Film Fest there. Christmas was spent with the whole Naber clan here and New Years was spent at a Murder Mystery party and then sitting in a down pour at the Rose Parade. Hey we made history there...1st time in 50 years it rained for the parade...lucky us!

January started off on a great note, while "crashing" (Ok I actually "asked" to audition so technically it wasn't crashing) my son's Toyota audition I got a callback and was put on avail. Nope, didn't book but realized I should really be going out more, so I got off my lazy butt and got new commercial representation that I am VERY excited about. (Not that I didn't love Sam but our working relationship just didn't work) I'm now with Mike & Brandon over at BBA and we're working on a new look...perhaps "funny goth Mom" HE HE. New pix are in the works so watch for new ones in the next month!

OH!!!!! How can I forget...Joey & I did the Master Cleanse for 10 days. If you know nothing about this then check out www.themastercleanse.com . I lost 10 pounds and Joey lost 20...not that you do it to lose weight, but rather toxins- which I can ateast I definately lost!!!! It was hard at times (you just drink this lemon concoction for 10 days) but well worth it. I'd definately do it again, but I don't know if Joey would. He wasn't as enamored about it as I was.

That pretty much catches you up to date.

Things to watch for: Dylan is on avail for West Wing (as Richard Schiff's kid), My new pix, My Pfizer voice over jobs, Joey was on "Las Vegas", & our deck is FINALLY done and we're having a super bowl party this sunday. Wanna come?

Long time, no see

2005-08-19T12:21:00.000-07:00

WOW

So I just finished typing a blog entry that explained in detail about what I've been doing for the past year... and lost it trying to spell check the darn thing!!!! Many curse words are running thru my mind as we speak! Which brings me back to the 1st line of the blog I lost...

"it's been so long since I blogged I almost forgot how to do it!!!" (I guess I DID)

What have I been doing since last Nov? CONSTRUCTION on my house. Now anyone who has ever done this knows what true hell really is! Not that there is much alternative in LA if you want a bigger house (it's much too expensive to actually BUY a bigger house here) We started construction on Nov 8 and ended May 1. We added a master bedroom, complete with fireplace and surround sound projection TV; a master bath with jaquizi tub; an office; remodeled the kitchen to open to the family room; and expanded the family room. Now we are re-landscaping the outside: adding stamped concrete, for master bedroom patio with hot tub, for patio on side yard with veggie garden, for pathway to packyard and for expanding the driveway; building a deck off the family room; and putting in new sod, palm trees, and playground area for Dylan. I'll be sooooo glad when it's done (and so will Joey!!!!)

Career wise I've been able to get a lot more done now that Dylan turned 3 on Aug 3 (we had a big party at travel town for him with Mr & Mrs Mouse). I've been still doing my VO loop group stuff and the occassional other VO work, a film I shot last year- a small supporting role-"Little Athens" started the film festival circuit last month, and I re-discovered my passion!!!! (something I have been lacking due to few audtions and separation from work...due to lack of auditions) I actually found it on a Disney Cruise of all places when I decided to be the next Walt Disney...why not?! He knew how to entertain from a child's prespective (and what adult doesn't long to re-live it!) I've been working on some children's project ideas and decided that this is where I want to focus my own production endeavors. (of course I'll take other opportunities that come to me acting wise as long as they are contributing to the good of society...sorry no slasher pics!!!) I also have a potential MOW in the works with my cousin Karen and long time mentor Val. Not a children's theme in general, but definately something worth making!!!! (and there are children in the story who are effected!)

I also started working with a new manager Kenn Kingsbury whom I met doing Mark Sikes' Spring Workshop at the end of May. We've been working together since mid-July and I'm really excited about the new relationship. Watch this space for new career updates!

That's about it for now. I promise to keep writing here atleast once a week!

Groovy!

Yay & Nay

2004-11-04T15:20:00.000-08:00

Yay! Dylan & I booked an Aftra infomercial together for 911 Beacon that shoots on Monday.
Nay! Joey & I think we have the flu from the flu shots we got on Monday. Remind me to never do that again!!!!!

Election, Neglection, Selection...

2004-11-03T15:21:00.000-08:00

Ok. I can honestly say even though I'm not crazy about the outcome...I am glad this election is finially over. Now we can only hope the next four years are healing for our nation. I have been wanting to write here for the last few weeks about many thoughts on my mind but today I figured I could get some thoughts out of my head and onto the page.

I think many of us wanted to see change and I hope that can still happen. I am very sad for the state of our healthcare as I'm not sure that is an issue we will see examined in the next four years, but I am still hopeful we can make a difference. Speaking of making a difference...isn't that a decision all of us make everyday. To act on it though is not something we all do. To change things or to accept them as they are. What do you do? If you hear something or see something you don't agree with do you help the cause or "let it slide" after all, it probably doesn't affect you anyway right? Or does it? I think too often we are lazy, especially in the US. I see it all the time in the Entertainment industry on the smaller scale. One persons view point tends to "speak for the masses" when in reality that is far from the truth. Agism, equality, and quality programming sometimes takes the back burners for the minority. I for one hope to change what the media portrays and favors. It bugs me people need to struggle to find the actual truth. Even in this election most of my friends and family who voted, voted based on false accusations and slander. I found a great website called factcheck.org that summed up the real issues with real facts and not slander. Unfortunately not everyone took time to study the issues and make an educated decision. Look, I don't care how you vote if you vote form the educated standpoint. Show me your motives! Every Bush supporter that I spoke to made silly statements like "I'm voting for Bush because he stopped Saddam Hussein who caused 9/11" WHAT? This is what I'm taking about...Yes, I'm a Californian who is a union member (so naturally most would wrongly say I'm a democrat...again with the non facts) I am actually a registered independent who truly wants change in this country. I wish we could abolish the 2 party system. I hate the fact people vote for the good of the party and not the good of the country. I also hate the fact that people like Bush say exactly what he thinks he should say...like in his speach today thanking his family and saying how much he loved his wife...Come on!!! I'm an actor and I can tell when someone is bad at it. I didn't believe for one minute that is what he felt. He was saying that for show everyone he is a very moral, churchgoing individual. Well I just hope God will Bless America because we're gonna need all the help we can get!

I went a little off here, so I will step down off my soap box. Thanks for reading if you got this far:-) I don't normally talk politics. I am more into spirtitual issues, but I feel today may have effected some of those issues. I guess we'll see in the next four years right? I for one am taking a vow TODAY to not accept things as they are anymore...but to always try to stand up for what I believe is the right and just thing to do. Any one care to join me?

Rainy Days and Mondays

2004-10-18T16:53:00.000-07:00

What an icky day. I'm not really much for rain myself. I know we "need" it, but can't it just rain when we're sleeping? Maybe that's why I feel like sleeping today!!! On days like today I have to really PUSH myself to get anything done. My two year old gets very antsy too, and he's hard to entertain inside all day. We went to the YMCA for his creative movement class today which was fun, but it only lasts 1/2 hour...then what do we do?

I don't think I mentioned I'm on the hunt for a new agent. (My old one closed her doors and I had a manager that I just fired a month ago)I've actually been pursuing one for a few months, but I'm trying to go the referral route since drop offs and mailings never seem to work for me. (I tried that too!!!) My friend had put in a good word for me at a few places and I got some good responses. It seems to always come down to me being too much like one of their existing clients...blah, blah, blah. I'm beginning to feel that I'm gonna need to book something big on my own before I get a good agent. But doesn't that just make you wanna say..."HA HA...sorry, ya should have been interested before!!!"? I have a great idea for a children's show that I am gonna start to write. Heck we may even shoot it ourselves and try to get distribution. (the heck with everyone else!!!) Hmmm...maybe the rain has gone to my brain today:-) Well, The sun will come out tommorrow right?

On a fun note, we were contacted by Design on a Dime and they are coming on Friday to look at our living room and to get my testimonial to redo it! Now that's some exciting rainy day news!!!

Crazy Day of Fun

2004-10-09T23:39:00.000-07:00

So today I really felt the tug of family and Hollywood all-in-one. After a fun "family" bout of Bronchitis, I was ready to move on and get back to business. The first agenda for the day was to take my 2 year old son to the zoo for a toddler class there. By 10:20am we were face to face with a tarantula (mind you two years ago I would have still been face to face with my pillow at that time on a Saturday) and had fun learning about how different animals move. (It was actually informative even for me!) By 11:45 I was back in the car as my son dozed off on the ride home (perfect timing). Just enough time to do the parent "tag" (since my husband Joey is an actor too-this is our usual "game" as we switch off to audition/work,etc.) and I was getting ready for a Casting Director workshop at The Actors Group. Scott Lairson, associate at Junie Lowry Johnson's office was the guest of the day. All in all it was a fun workout. Scott gave out good material, gave good adjustments and there was a lot of good work in the room. I was pretty reved up as I drove home. On a side note I should mention that I was never really a huge fan of the Actor CD workshops. I did them before my son was born and really never saw any "results" from them. After a two year hiatus I thought i'd give it another go 'round, but this time I'm taking a different approach to it mentally. I do get a good "work out" from them so no matter what, I feel like I'm benefitting. Plus, right now I have no Theatrical Agent so I figure it's a good way to put my face in front of the CD's. The industry has changed SOOO much in the last few years, even my friends who used to work ALL the time have really had a hard time getting auditions and work! OK, enough of my side note... After the workshop I got home to see the end of a Big Bird movie my husband and son were watching, again...not the kind of thing I would have been watching 2 years ago! I was even happy to watch that since I had a good "workout". I'm making a note...happy "actor" person = happy mom. And I'm much more eager to do the eating battle that always seams to ensue with my Toddler at dinner time. Tonight we decide to try out the Pizza Cookery down the street from our house. It had a cute atmosphere with wood chips on the floor, that my son Dylan found very exciting, and the food proved to be on the average side. We ordered some pizza and pasta to share. Now my son, who was very eager to eat the pizza before it came, decided it would be more fun to jump up and down on the booth's seat and flirt with the women at the other tables when it atually arrived. Not even the "ice Cream" bribe tactic would work this time. Nope, we ended up giving in at the end and getting the ice cream anyway...because WE really wanted it too. The day ended with a bit of avoidence from my son at bedtime, but we settled him down without too much trouble and we were able to do some "business" before bed. (yes...most of my work for my carreer and the house, gets done during sleep hours!)

Welcome

2004-10-07T10:01:00.000-07:00

Wow. My first entry! How exciting (atleast for me) So I guess I should tell you a little about myself. I'm a famous actress, hip partier, world traveler...I WISH. Well, maybe sometime soon...but for now I'm a working actor, young wife and mother who is trying to juggle the crazy world of Hollywood and start a young family. Normally I wouldn't tell you that I'm a mother because you would already have preconcieved notions of my age and who I am, but hopefully while reading this...that will change. Welcome to my world:-)