So much has been happening in the last few months, I haven't had time to catch my breath...First off, I started writing a play (it takes place on a sheep ranch in West Texas during the early 1900s) and have been writing numerous comedy sketches. The encouragement, support and platform to explore my writing has come through my mentor Joan Moossy and through Mary Tierney and her Acting/Writing Workshop through TimeBanksNYC. If you don't know about TimeBanksNYC, you should definitely check it out
here
The way a Time Bank works is based on the idea that 1 hour of my time is worth 1 hour of anyone else's time. It takes capitalism completely out of the equation, encouraging people within a community to exchange services based on a 1 hour to 1 hour ratio. Many other cities have some form of this type of program, but NYC is unique in that people in the arts who perform for free can accrue Time Banks hours that they can then exchange for other services.
Writing has allowed me to create and explore roles that I don't really see popping up on any of the casting sites. As my mentor and friend Joan Moossy says, "The best role you will ever play will be a role you write for yourself." Pondering this idea has given me more confidence and grounding in who I am as a human AND an actor. It's related to another idea I think about a lot which is that we already have everything we need within ourselves. When we go seeking outside validation and approval, that's where lower self-esteem and confidence issues can arise. But, that's what actors do EVERY SINGLE time we put ourselves out there, whether in an audition or performance, we are seeking outside validation and approval from casting directors, artistic directors, our fellow actors, the audience, the commercial client and on and on and on. If you're looking for a place to start writing, I highly suggest the book
'The Artist's Way' by Julia Cameron which oddly, I found on the streets of NYC while walking around late one night.
Writing gives me the autonomy to create my own world containing characters entirely out of my experience and imagination. This is truly an act of empowerment that I believe is spilling over into my acting as well as auditions. I've been going out on several auditions a week (including film, TV and commercials which are my ultimate goal), started doing some TV, had a speaking role in an indie film written and created by
Bodine Boling, just got a callback on a webseries, and recently became a member of
The Actors Project NYC (TAPNYC) with the goal of getting an agent and/or talent manager. When I say a lot has been happening...I mean a lot. A lot. A lot. An abundance.
