Acting amidst Snowmageddon and the 4' of the Snowpocalypse
Clip from a rehearsal for my next show, "The Amazing Interactive Adventure!", video by Allison Lepelletier
Well, seeing as how I'm one of the lucky ones with power and a lot of time on my hands, I thought it'd be worthwhile to write an update!
On January 24th, I performed in a staged reading of "The South Overlook Oaks," a play based on a children's book by John Reardon and adapted for the stage by Young Playwright's Theater teaching artist, Miriam Gonzales and directed by Imagination Stage teacher Matt Ripa. It was held at the Sidwell Friends Middle School Drama Studio thanks to the gracious Tim Reagan. We performed for a full house of adults, children, and even the author, his family, and his neighbors! It was such a great experience and there was much contribution made by the audience (young and old alike) during the talkback.
Afterwards, I had the pleasure of meeting the author and his children-- all of which were characters in the play! I haven't been involved in a performance where I play characters that actually exist in real life or are based on real people since I performed as a Chinese peasant in David Hare's "Fanshen" at UMBC in 2004. I know there's always the need for an actor to create a character that is real for themselves and truthful in every respect, but somehow it rings a much deeper chord within me to be told these characters are actually real people-- let alone MEET these people face to face. It's just different and gives me so much respect and perspective on playing a part than anything else ever could. The fact that you are truly representing someone else and delving into their personality, hopes, fears, strengths, and insecurities. You can only hope that you're doing them justice.
Right now I'm inside staying warm, but really this week I was supposed to be in tech for my next show, "The Amazing Interactive Adventure" at the Maryland Ensemble Theatre. We were scheduled to open this weekend, but opening has been pushed back to next Saturday, Feb. 20th. It's... absolutely for the best, considering we've only had 2 evenings of running the show fully thanks to the snow keeping us from gathering to rehearse. You can catch a clip from one of our pre-snow rehearsals at the top of this entry. We're coaxing the audience to blow some wind into our sails! :)
I've got a few auditions coming up this month and I'm hoping I won't have to do much crazy rescheduling because of the weather, but I've had some time with staying indoors to prep myself, so that's a plus!
Take care everyone,
Vote for my Dorito-encrusted FACE!
UPDATE! - apparently I was mistaken and a panel of judges have already chosen the top 6 commercials. We didn't make the cut, but you can certainly still watch the commercials by following the links below! Thanks again to those of you who stopped in to check them out. :)
So... those two Doritos commercials I did in fall '09 that I linked up here?
It's time for viewers to actually vote for their favorites! Voting opens today (1/5/10) so please swing by and check out my two commercials and give them your votes. If one of them wins, then our commercial gets featured on the half time show at the Superbowl (and the cast and crew gets a nice chunk of change as well).
"Roommates" features an adorable dog licking Dorito-dust off my face, while the "Chip Fumble" consists of a group of friends tackling each other for the last chip... so take your pick or vote for both!
Here are links that'll lead you directly to my two commercials:
(Please feel free to skip through the flash intro as it will take you directly to the video)
<http://www.crashthesuperbowl.com/#/video/3209
“Chip Fumble:”
http://www.crashthesuperbowl.com/#/video/3324
Drawing to a close
Hi friends,
You know, I always intend to update more often than I'm able, but I usually find I'm kept busy with work and acting and personal projects, so I neglect to take the time to sit down and blog about my accomplishments. I figure being busy isn't too bad a thing, but I always want to be sure those of you that check up here have an idea of what in the world is keeping me so busy!
Earlier this month, I performed some excerpts from the shows I've been in with Deviated Theatre at their first annual Storyteller's GALA at the American Dance Institute in Rockville. On the second night of the GALA, we had our first snow of the [fall] season, which may have affected our audiences, but we still had a good amount of attendees who were very responsive! My friends Dean and Sutisa Storm showed up, as well as Mary and Regan Garcia. They drove all the way from Baltimore in the hazardous weather, which I appreciated tremendously!! The two-night GALA was great fun, with catered food from the Ambrosia Grille Restaurant and Whole Foods, a wine ring-toss, and silent auction, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and got to go home with some awesome prizes and presents.
Since then, I've been working a lot before winter break- and just recently I've worked a few events with Carbone Entertainment. It seems there's a lot going on this time of year with the holidays, so already I've had quite a few gigs in the past three weeks! I'm definitely looking forward to doing more work with her company as it's really creative and engaging, which two things I enjoy about this business.
I'm still auditioning for shows around the area and I just accepted a role in a staged reading by Miriam Gonzales of Young Playwrights' Theater that's going to be happening in January at Sidwell Friends school. I can run more information on that once I've had more time to take in the script, but check back here for further details.
On the visual arts side, I'm working on illustrating a children's book for Joann McKinney of the Greater Homewood Community Corporation in Baltimore. I'm still in the early stages, working on a storyboard of sorts for the book, but perhaps I'll post some work in progress here later on down the line.
For now though, I think I'll actually take a break from all this busy-ness and enjoy my [SNOW!] day off with a little bit of retro gaming. :)
Deviants & Doritos
I wanted to write and let you all know what's been happening in the past few weeks with my career, as I've been shifting gears very quickly as fall changes to winter! Plus, I have a special event coming up the first weekend of December that I'd like to let you all know about.
The third weekend of October, I opened and closed "LORE" with Deviated Theatre at my alma mater, UMBC. I had been working and rehearsing non-stop through most of September and October, so I did not get the show announcement out as timely as I'd hoped, but regardless, we had a wonderful audience all three nights; I believe Friday we may have been at 80% capacity, Saturday was possibly sold-out and I know Sunday we over-sold-out! The show itself had evolved since it's run in June '09 and was like an entirely new experience with new moments as well as new cast members.
I spent a day shooting two 30-second commercials for the Doritos "Crash the Superbowl" contest in late October. The winner of the contest gets their Doritos commercial shown during the Superbowl. Viewer voting doesn't begin until January 5, 2009, but if you'd like to check out the commercials themselves, they can be found at the following links, since garnering views and some positive comments certainly can't hurt our chances! :)
(Please feel free to skip through the flash intro as it will take you directly to the video)
"Roommates:"
"Chip Fumble:"
Up next for me is Deviated Theatre's first annual fundraising event called the "Storyteller's Gala:"
[The Gala will] be held at American Dance Institute on December 4th and 5th, 2009. The GALA will include highlights from several of Kimmie Dobbs Chan and Enoch Chans' stories: Aspiro-step into curiosity and LORE- A MYSTERY AWAITS, as well as an exciting new version of their 30 minute short TOKEN-the stakes are altered, and a preview of an entirely new piece entitled SWAY. Silent auction, games, and prizes accompany the performances, along with a strolling violinist, life-size cutouts of the Chans' original and
adapted characters, a full gallery display of Enoch Chan's photography, food and wine.
(((By the way, the items we've collected for the gala auction range from chic dinnerware and restaurant gift cards to high-end makeup kits and museum tickets; so be sure to come and check out the auction!)))
Friday December 4th: Gala party 7-10pm, with a performance at 8:00 pm
Tickets can be ordered by calling 301-984-3003 or by downloading a ticket order form from http://www.deviatedtheatre.org
Until November 20th: $25 general admission, $15 students.
Dress is semi-formal.
You can also find DEVIATED THEATRE'S Storyteller's GALA on Facebook:
Take care, and hope to see some of you at the gala in a few weeks!
http://www.crashthesuperbowl.com/#/video/3209
http://www.crashthesuperbowl.com/#/video/3324
Saturday December 5th: Gala party from 5-10 pm, with performances at both 5:30 pm and 8:30 pm.
November 21st and after: $32 general admission, $15 students.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=174816693727&ref=ts
A Day Off for Recovery & Reflection
Crowne Plaza Hotel in Timonium - this year's locale for the Mid-Atlantic Actor/Model Expo.
'Afternoon ladies and gents!
I've had a pretty busy October already and it seems my body's paying for it today. Thankfully it's not any kind of flu as I don't have a fever or any aches or chills and I've already gotten the basic flu shot (woohoo!). This article here may give you an insight to how I (and perhaps you) may be feeling as of late.
Today's my day off to recover and catch up on some acting-business work that I need to attend to. I spent this past weekend doing several things. On Friday night, I caught "The Game of Love and Chance" at 1st Stage Spring Hill in McLean. I've been watching this company grow since last August and I have to say every show has consistently impressed me. Some of the best acting and directorial work I've seen in the area. If you haven't been by there for a show, I highly recommend it.
Saturday I spent rehearsing for Deviated Theatre's "LORE," which went wonderfully. We decided to experiment with running the show whilst incorporating a bit of mask work, something we hadn't done yet as a cast. The results were quite interesting and forced everyone to become more innovative in their physical approach and creative in their roles. In our end of rehearsal pow-wow we shared our experiences and everyone seemed to benefit from "hiding" themselves and letting their character fully take over. It's moments like that when performers are 100% absorbed and dedicated to being someone else that puts me intoa rapture or zone of sorts; whether I'm watching or participating. It's what I do this for. We open in 2 and a half weeks and it's thrilling to still be able to discover new things a year into the process.
Sunday I spent about three hours at the Mid-Atlantic Actor/Model Expo hosted by Brian Dragonuk at the Crowne Plaza in Timonium. I had been hearing about the event for the past month and thankfully my Sunday was open and I was able to attend. I prepped a bunch of resumes, cover letters, and packed a chunk of flyers for LORE as well as a stack of business cards. Let me tell you, because I was ready, I had an extremely productive three hours! I met with several casting agencies and handed them my materials; something I would probably not have been as comfortable with three years ago when I just graduated from UMBC. Since I've been doing my research and have a better grasp on the DC/MD/VA scene, I was happy to be able to submit myself and meet these casting directors in person.
I also said hello to some familiar faces and saw college friends as well as friends I've met through auditions or work in the area. Of course I made some new friends as well; I had a delightful talk with Craig Herron of Herron Designs about the 29 Days Later Film Project, animation, and puppets; including some talk about Tim Burton and Ray Harryhausen, which was awesome! I also had the chance to meet and talk with Brenna McDonough about her classes which I've been interested in taking for quite a while, my schedule (as busy as it is) be damned. Here's hoping this fall/winter will be more promising. I even got to meet Joe Ripple of Time Warp Films. I had attended a workshop of his last summer at Horrorfind Weekend at UMUC (see blog post: Tips to Solve Your Issues with HORROR). I really respect his advice not only because of his film experience, but also because of his background as a cop. He really outlined last summer what actors should expect in terms of safety on the set when it comes to filming actors in vulnerable or exposing scenes.
There seemed to be a few press people wandering around the event as well, filming things, so it seemed like the event got pretty good coverage. I ended up giving some of my thoughts to William Powell of the DC Examiner for an article of his as well as giving a filmed testimonial of me geeking out over the Dragonuk Connects mailing lists. The latter may be featured on Brian's new website and we'll see if they keep the part where I totally nerd out at the end. :)
All I can say is, if you weren't there this year, you should absolutely go next year!
Speaking of which, I'll be taking some time now to update my contacts with all of the new connections I made. Back to the grind, but I definitely feel renewed after this weekend, loving what I do and just learning that when you embrace your opportunities and possibilities, they're right there to embrace you back.
"Broken Wings" Clip
This has been up on the video page since earlier this month, but I just thought I'd bring it to your attention here. Just below is a clip from the short film I did back in July with Running Storm Productions. This clip is an interesting one because it shows some humor that we inserted into the otherwise creepy, dramatic story. We also get a good look at the bird makeup I worked on, so give it a look-see:
Scene from Broken Wings from Regan Garcia on Vimeo.
"Do Some Magic!" trailers are up
"Do Some Magic! Table Magic" Preview
"Broken Wings" & the 29 Days Later Film Project
Summer's already on it's way out and as per usual, it seems that I've been busy!
At the end of June, Deviated Theatre's production of "LORE" went up for an evening at
Bishop Ireton in Alexandria. The space was enormous and for having as short a marketing
period as we did, it worked out well: we pulled in a good crowd and turned in a good amount of donations from our ever-popular baked goods &
concessions table.
In July, I found myself as part of Deviated Theatre's Mash-up project, "Token," for the Source
Festival. The short piece revolved around several characters at a bus stop who come across a special Token that gives them everything they
ever wanted... but for each character, it gives them something that perhaps they weren't bargaining for...
Of course I won't be spoiling it for you here, as you can come check out "Token" for yourself at
UMBC this October along with "LORE".
I'll be posting more information about it here once we're closer to opening.
I also had the great pleasure this July of FINALLY being able to make it to several productions in the Capital Fringe Festival! Of the 100+
performances that were going on in the area, I caught "Please Listen: A Musical Chaos"
(Open Drawer Theatre Company),
"Headscarf and the Angry Bitch" (Zehra Fazal),
"Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead" (Nu Sass Productions)
and "Skywriter" (Angry Young Theatre Company).
Dean Storm, myself, and Sutisa Storm at the Creative Alliance at the Patterson in Baltimore
Dean contacted me and formulated a script around my makeup design for "The Birds". My character became the lead and I was happy to be able to have the opportunity to work on a longer piece of work (the abridged edit is about 22 minutes), but also I was proud to have one of my original makeup designs featured. Dean and DP Regan Garcia did a magnificent job editing and with some camera and post-production effects to make the bird look majorly creepy! Here's a before/after look at brave model Tina Martello:
"The pretty ones always make the best monsters!" - Tina Martello before (L) and after (R)
That's it on the homefront for now; please stay tuned for more updates as they come in!
Ch-ch-ch-changes!
Hi everyone,
I've been doing a lot of traveling in the past two months and have finally settled back in at home for a while.
When I wasn't spending all this time moving around from place to place, I started to re-assess my purpose and priorities
in terms of my career, the arts. One of these priorities is to change my site in order to more properly represent myself as... well, me!
Since high school, I've always been told to present myself professionally; at auditions, when submitting, everything.
I have always followed that rule, even with the creation of my professional website. However, I think it's become a bit
stagnant as I feel more like a mouthpiece and less like a person. I need to do more (or perhaps less), to allow myself to
come through personally in this site. While I am the product I try to sell, I am first and foremost myself and I believe
that has been lacking a bit in terms of this page as well as the news blog.
This can only serve to benefit me more, for all the successful artists and actors I admire are accessible to the extent that
you know what kind of person they are, but professional in such a manner that they are able to generate and receive work.
If I'm able to put more of my personality in my site online, it'll give casting directors a better idea of me while at the same
time being able to clarify for myself what kinds of projects I am drawn to, and which ones I am not.
For those of you who are keeping up, my thanks and appreciation to you as I wind through this journey. Not only of a site change,
but the journey an artist takes through all changes.