Old Enough to Know Better

R is for Return to NYC!

pearlcream — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:31:33 +0000

So, after my triumphant string of 4 better-and-better leading roles in a row out of town, I was fortunate enough to book an Off-Broadway show back in NYC to start immediately upon my return! It’s a supporting part in a smaller show, but I’m still grateful that I am still working! It’s actually funny how it worked out–while doing the last show, a castmate and I were both called in (and both called back) to audition against each other for parts in two different new shows. I knew going in that he was actually more the right ‘type’ for both roles (he is shorter and smaller than me and reads younger and more energetic, which was closer to the role than my tall, understated self), and as I stated in my last post, he actually ended up getting both of them(!). BUT, it turned out he could only choose one since there was a scheduling overlap, and he chose the one in California closer to his hometown, so I got the one in NYC! Score! Just goes to show what I was talking about in my last post – funny how things work out, right?

This is now 5 shows that I’ve worked back to back in a row (6, if you count the one I turned down last summer to do a film–so I guess that still makes 6 if you count the film)! Super thrilled to have steady income, and have earned plenty of health insurance through the actors’ union (you have to work a certain number of weeks per year to qualify for the union’s subsidized health plan, and I’ve got enough weeks to qualify for the next year and a half!)

The love life is great – the boyfriend I made during this last gig has endured, and he just made his first weekend trip to visit me here in NYC this past weekend (and is coming back again next weekend). This may be the real deal, guys!

Also getting back into the swing of being in NYC – booking back in with my commercial and print agents, trying to line up more NYC gigs. Still looking for an agency who is interested in working with me and my manager to get more TV/film auditions. Had some really good auditions for Spring/Summer work already – no offers yet even though I thought I did great on one in particular, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that something works out once again.

Lastly, fitness-wise I’m starting my Strength Foundation 12-week plan over again as of the New Year, and trying to follow even more closely to it than before, instead of cutting corners and skipping the cardio. Also need to get back into dance class! I’m hoping my work-study gets accepted again, as the discount is a significant incentive to go every week.

Budget memo: $+$133 and holding steady, not counting the extra month’s rent I put away as a safety cushion!

Q is for Quelle Surprise!

pearlcream — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 21:32:19 +0000

All of a sudden I have a boyfriend! We met here in the area while I’m doing my latest show just outside of NYC (he’s a local, not in the show). Alas, readers, he’s only 23!!! Same age as my immature ex! But, the new boy seems much more put together, and we also have not had any of the same problems. So we’ll see!

Other than that, things are going great professionally as well – I’ve doing well in the show and having a good time in this city and with the people. Not sure what’s going on yet after this; we’ll just have to see as more auditions come up! There was a brief bit of negative energy here because of a slew of auditions coming up for things in NYC that everyone was competing with each other for, but thankfully I think that bit’s over. I got called in and called back for a couple of those upcoming projects, and was pretty bummed for a bit that I didn’t end up getting them – one of my fellow castmates actually got two things in a row that I also auditioned for, but in retrospect it was understandable because I even knew going in that they were looking more for his “type,” which is small and peppy (as opposed to me being tall and playing the romantic leading man-type in this current show). After talking it out with myself, my boyfriend, and my team (coaches, manager, etc.), I just have to remind myself that I should just be happy that I gave really good auditions and made a good enough impression to be called back even against type; and that even though it wasn’t a fit for these particular projects, hopefully I made some fans for future opportunities. In fact, I got called in my one of the same casting directors for a different project right afterwards, so I have to think that it’s all related! Anyway, I realized that I was just being competitive for the sake of just getting work, because they weren’t even things that I thought were right for me anyway. Now a couple of other things have come up as even better possibilities, so I just have to believe that everything happens for a reason, and we’ll have to wait and see what else lies ahead!

Budget balance: +$814! That’s right, I’m in the black! Paid off a little credit card debt, treated myself to an upgrade from flip phone to iPhone 4s, and have been enjoying life (but not to excess) while still saving bit by bit. Hoping to limit my spending a in these last few weeks especially so that I have at least a month cushion when I get back to NYC in the New Year. Yay!

P is for P*****

pearlcream — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 01:50:09 +0000

Haha, I don’t want to reveal exactly what the P***** stands for, but basically it’s the first thing that came to mind since it’s the name of the city I’m in these next few weeks for my biggest show yet! Things are going great here, we just had opening night and are expecting the reviews to be really good. I’m especially proud of the work I’ve been doing, and am very happy with my part and performance in that part.

This mid-size metropolitan city is also quite fun so far, and so is the cast. I’m here for another month and a half, and hope to find more fun things to do here and meet some more new people as well. Been on a few dates, and it’s a close enough commute to NYC that I’m keeping myself open to all possibilities.

Gym is going great, finished my last 12-week program and have seen some great results by adding in cardio and following the schedule more closely than I had been in prior months. On to the next 12-week cycle/advanced program, and hope to keep up with it as well!

Budget memo: +$228 and growing week by week, as my salary here exceeds my expenditures!

O is for Old Flames… and New

pearlcream — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 04:26:21 +0000

…sigh… and once again, I was sucked back into the world of my ex… and once again, I find myself saying I’m going to call it quits for good! Turns out this town where I’m doing this theater gig is pretty close to the city where I went to school (and where my on-again-off-again ex) is, and we got back in contact. On my first day off I made a trip to visit him. Of course, things sparked up right away and many things were said that led me to believe that he had grown up in the 3 three years that we’ve been apart. And once again, he has not been able to follow through with actually putting any of those words into action – it’s always up to me to do all the work, to initiate communication or intimacy, to make any plans. He always responds to me, but it’s just so selfish and self-centered that he never thinks of me first to put forth any effort to do anything for us on his own. For the second time in the past few months I’ve been in the area for an extended period of time doing a show, and the only time I see him is when I drop everything and visit him. He hasn’t made any effort to come see me or see either show; it’s always me going to him when he’s not busy. I know, he’s still young (like 10 years younger than me), which entitles him to some degree of self-centeredness, immaturity and inexperience with relationships, but I’m finally realizing that despite the attraction and attachment it’s not worth the effort to keep hanging on and getting frustrated all over again – I’m swearing not to put faith in any more words, and not make the next move; if/when he actually grows up, then let him come to me!!!

Along those lines, I’ve actually met a couple of other people in the past few weeks/months that are closer to my own age, and seem interested and interesting, so we’ll see how those go! Unfortunately none of them is in NYC, but hey I gotta at least keep an open mind, right?

Anyway, the gym is going well – started following my online fitness program more rigorously (still with occasional skip days, but have been going at least 4-5x/week), and am definitely seeing results in both muscle gain and toning! I also started paying more attention to portion sizes and intake of calorie, protein and water to make sure that I am building lean muscle without getting fat. My next role is a leading man, and I think I’m going to have to be shirtless (or at least almost shirtless)!

Speaking of which, just two more weeks here, then on to the next gig, which is my biggest contract to date (LORT-A, the top regional level), and a principal role at that! Yay!

Budget memo: $-793 (Although I have my subletter’s rent and some gig money still coming in, so really it’s in the black!)

N is for No Rest, No Complaints!

pearlcream — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 23:25:00 +0000

So, this is turning out to be a fabulous latter half of the year – I’ve just booked another theatre show, which will be my fourth major regional role in a row since the summer! Between my last and current shows I literally had a one-day turnaround in NYC to repack; now I’ve just booked another principal role in a major regional theater that also starts the day after my current show ends! In fact, it actually starts rehearsals the weekend before, but they are letting me start a couple of days late to finish my current show. This next show runs through the new year, meaning, I’ll be working for a straight 6 months in principal roles at major Equity theatres! Hooray! The key has really been to have a good team of coaches to prepare for auditions and callbacks – I started scheduling quickie 30-min coachings before every appointment/callback that has sides, and it has literally changed my life!

Also, clearly that speaks well to my new manager. This next gig is just outside the city so hopefully I’ll be able to get in for some on-camera auditions; we’re looking ahead to more of that but for now we are on quite a roll!

In other news, I’ve got a new roommate in NYC but I have only been there overnight like once or twice since she moved in this summer; sounds like my subletters are not giving her too much trouble so that seems to be working out fine. My current subletter may be interested in staying longer and hopefully that works out with her staying through my next gig.

The gym is going well; am not cheating as much and have really started to notice some good muscle gain. Now of course it’s difficult to gain muscle and not gain fat, so I’ve really been trying to do the cardio on my program and count calories to try and work on getting abs. I think it’s working!

No love life to speak of here though, there is no one eligible in the current cast (not that I would anyway), nor in the neighboring towns. Alas. Well, it’s all a balance, right? Everything else is sure going swell!

Budget memo: +$450. Yay! I’m in the black again as I make a good amount on this contract, and ought to be able to put a little towards credit cards by the end; then my next contract is even better!!!

M is for Making it Work!

pearlcream — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:09:12 +0000

I’m having a fabulous time here at this upstate regional theatre, where I’m playing the lead role! I also just booked a great role in another show directly after this one! I also found a roommate! Yay yay and yay!

Not sure what will happen with the boy in NYC, although due to his uncertain job prospects and possible move to the West Coast, we decided to just keep it casual. I also met someone great up here (not in the show)… But the downside is that he is up here in grad school for at least another year… :-/ C’est la vie!

The gym is going well; starting another 12-week fitness program and seeing if I can not cheat as much on it this time So far, so good!

Budget memo: $-339. I should be in the black by the time the show is over, and then I’ve got the next show lined up – yay to paying off a little credit card debt this year!

L is for Love, Lease and Life

pearlcream — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 22:47:00 +0000

Hmmm, all of a sudden I’ve met someone who is pretty awesome. Except… He is job hunting after recently finishing grad school, and if he doesn’t find something in the next month he will have to move back home to the West Coast! *sigh* Well, in any case, I’m in-between shows (the last one was fun and short, a great part and a nice little country getaway); I’m just back in NYC for 3 weeks before leaving town again for a starring role in another show all of August–so we have a couple more weeks to hang out, and then he may leave for good while I’m gone. So we said we weren’t going to get our hopes up for anything, and just to enjoy this time we have. Sounds like a plan, right? :-/

Anyway, in other news, the restaurant that was my survival job had a complete overhaul while I was gone – the kitchen staff went on strike, the owner fired everyone and completely changed the menu, so when I came back from my show it was a totally different place and they were training all new staff. So it looks like I may have to find a new survival job when I get back from this next gig in September. Or hopefully not, if I can keep getting shows!

Still trying to keep up at the gym and dance class, feeling like I’m maintaining things pretty well. Hope to step it up these next couple of weeks and over the next month of rehearsals because I will be shirtless in parts of this next musical and I want to look my best (yipes!)

Still auditioning my butt off with the great new manager, and had some nice film and tv auditions recently (as well as theater auditions too). Also taking lots of classes with TV and film casting directors, and taking meetings with agents to see if there is anyone who wants to add to the team.

All in all, things are going pretty well – except for the annoying fact that the internet in my apartment is down all week until a service technician comes on Saturday, so I have to do this at Starbucks! Blergh!

OH and I’m interviewing potential new roommates! My roommate of the past two years (my entire time here in NYC thus far) graduated from grad school this past spring and got a job in L.A. He found a subletter to finish out his lease for the summer, so I’m looking for a new roommate to start next month. Think I found someone who has turned in an application for credit check, etc. – fingers crossed!

Budget memo: -$192. Not too bad, considering I have money coming in the next couple of weeks from past gigs, as well as the show all next month.

K is for Knowing a Good Thing When I See It!

pearlcream — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 05:19:16 +0000

It’s been a busy month! I filmed that leading role in the artsy short film, which was a really great experience and I think will be a beautiful finished product. I also booked that leading summer stock role that I blogged about last month having the final callback for; I leave for that next week. Then shortly after that I go off to have the starring role in another regional musical! There’s still the downside of some other big auditions and meeting not resulting in anything, but I am trying to focus on the positive – and it does feels really good to be on a little bit of a roll here!

Of course, another down side is that I will be missing a bunch of auditions while I’m gone, but hopefully something will happen to work out audition-wise while I’m back in NYC between shows, for a Fall show. And/or when I get back things should be picking up again for TV and Commercials, and then I could even stay in NYC and still be working (which is the eventual goal anyhow).

Health-wise, I’ve been good about getting to the gym and lifting 3-4x/week now, plus adding in a bit of cardio every time, and going to dance class at least once a week. Seeing results! The next couple of weeks out of town will be hard because there is no gym near the theatre, and no daily NYC walking around, but hopefully we will all be able to stay in shape walking around and hiking, swimming, and all that other outdoorsy stuff.

Relationship-wise, still dating, have some prospects, keeping things casual for now since I’m not going to be around the rest of the summer anyhow.

Budget memo: -$916. How did that happen?! Well, I did go on a crazy spree and bought tickets to see all the major Broadway shows just before the Tonys, because I wanted to see them before I left for the summer and knew it’d be harder to get after the Tonys – I’ve seen like 6 or 7 shows this month, and have tickets to some more in July when I’m back in between shows. It was worth it; I’ve been so inspired by some of the fine writing and acting and productions I’ve seen. I also have money coming in from some print gigs and such, plus the decent money I’ll be making from the 2 summer theatre gigs, so I’m not too stressed out about finances just yet.

J is for Just in Time

pearlcream — Thu, 26 May 2011 17:30:41 +0000

Funny how this business goes! Just when I was bitching and moaning about things not happening last month, here I am in a new month shooting my first lead role in a SAG indie! It’s only a short film, but it’s big budget and the other leads are TV/movie actors of some renown so it’s been very exciting. I even had to back out of one of my theater gigs to do this one, as it will likely go to film festivals and all of that. The writer/director’s last film went to festivals and even got bought and distributed, so hooray for possibilities!

As I write this, I’m on the bus to a final callback for another regional theater gig to fill my June/July slot, and then I’ve still got that other regional gig (in which I have the starring role!) in August! Wowza.

Career-wise, the manager is great; still meeting with many legit agents on my own but feeling less and less “in need” of one; now I’m more waiting for the right fit to come along. The manager has also set up a couple of meetings for me upcoming with legit and commercial agents, so maybe one of those will work out.

Health-wise, making it to the gym a couple of times a week, starting to get some pecs, and trying to add in some more cardio to get the abs to match. Have been making it to dance class about once a week, which is not enough but I’m enjoying it and hoping to slowly ramp up. I had to let the martial arts slide, but maybe I’ll check it out again when I have some time, along with acrobatics/tumbling which is also on my to-do list.

Finally, personal life: unfortunately things fell through with funny guy I had started dating last month. Things were going fine, nice and casual, then suddenly he disappeared. Best I can guess is that an ex resurfaced or something. Been going on a few dates, but not finding much time to get serious with anyone anyway, so I guess it’s all for the best!

Budget memo: $-425. Boo. But I do have lots of money coming in from print jobs and this film too so I should be good again next month!)

I is for Impatient

pearlcream — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 02:20:27 +0000

I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately; despite the fact that I *should* be on a high after booking two high-profile regional theatre gigs this summer, I hate not getting other things that I think I should have gotten. To explain: I got back from my last out-of-town show at the end of February (3rd in a row!), and immediately began doing a somewhat high-profile reading here in NYC, and booked those two shows that I have lined up later this summer (June and August). Since the reading ended a couple of weeks ago, I’ve had a ton more auditions – for other theatre (for various things in May or July that would fit around my current show lineup), TV/film, a bunch of new agents, etc., but none of them have resulted in anything. I know I should be happy about the things that are going well, but I can’t help but be a little frustrated about all the other stuff that I *didn’t* get, especially one or two shows that I really thought I was perfect for and maybe even kind of expecting due to connections and such. Usually it doesn’t bother me, but for some reason a couple of times a year it does get to me – I was wondering if anyone out there believes in astrology? Someone once told me about ‘mercury in retrograde’ being bad for me, and when I jokingly posted this on facebook my friend actually pointed out that it is indeed mercury in retrograde this month! Spooky. Funny that looking back on my old blog post I was so excited about the positive, and now I’m just brought down by the negative. Just getting this all out there is cathartic, though, and I just gotta remind myself to focus on the positive, find the silver lining, things happen in the way they are meant to, and cream rises to the top – I just gotta be patient and persevere until the right time comes! ..And to keep learning and improving; a recent slew of disappointments has also got me thinking what can I do proactively other than just wallow in pity, and the answer of course is to keep training! Back to dance class (my dance studio work study just kicked in again, yay!). Schedule coachings and lessons. Take acting classes and master classes with casting directors (am doing work study at an acting/networking school in exchange for free classes, yay!). And this week have been having a lot of internal dialogue about audition type and presentation – clothes, attitude, affectation… I’m thinking this could lead to some big changes.

Anyway, to follow up on the remaining loose threads running through my blog posts – things with the manager are going very well. I like communicating with him and he seems to believe in my potential as well as understand where I am now as a newbie; he is helping me to focus all these wandering thoughts and audition energy and come up with goals and a direction. Unfortunately things seem to have lapsed again with the agent; it seems that they just aren’t the type of agency to spend energy on developing talent, and are just focused on getting the job and who gets the jobs. Which is a fine business model, but not my cup of tea. So as I mentioned, I have been auditioning with smaller agencies, and hopefully will find a fit that gets me, gets along with me, and can work with my manager to get me on more and better auditions than I can get on my own.

Slowly trying to build the gym routine back up, as it helps take my mind off my free time. Going to be adding dance classes back into that as well, which I think will also help with seratonin and hopefully getting some ab definition since I hate doing cardio at the gym LOL. Did my first martial arts lesson which was fun; just now have to find the time to go back to the studio (didn’t realize the schedule and location were quite as inconvenient as they are, but I keep putting it in my schedule only to have it always get bumped for auditions or such)…

Finally, personal life: the funny guy is still fun! Still not sure where this is going, but I must say it is nice to not feel any pressure and feel like we are getting along and seeing where it goes naturally.

Budget memo: +$403! Yay for a little tax refund!