Labor of Love

Well, I've reached my Saturn return (Yayy, me!)...

And another wonderful year of wedded bliss (Yayy, us!)...

 

And now it's time to prepare for the summer...

 

 

A month ago, I put into motion something wonderful.  A awesome labor of love known as Velma. 

 





Velma has been in the works for little over a year, and everytime I think about how awesome everyone is that helped me get to his point, I just get so elated and filled with joy. I would not have gotten here without the awesome people behind me.

A little background: Around the beginning of last year, there was word about the re-launch of In Living Color. Actors from all over, were uploading audition videos onto the interweb.  I saw an interesting video that someone posted on facebook, and I was like, "Sheeet, I can do that!" 

I came up with the character of Velma, who is the mixture of some interesting folk I've encountered here in Zoo York, wrote a sketch, and my awesome buddy, Bill Johnson, co-starred in it, and helped me shoot it.

As the Universe would have it, there were some hiccups in trying to get the sketch burned onto a DVD, then sent to the proper channels to be considered. Instead of freaking out, I meditated on what really was my motivation for putting this character out into the world. Did I want to just do this one audition, and be done with it, or did I want to explore, and really see where this character and her world could take me?

After doing more research on the progress of the reboot, I learned that the project had been cancelled.  I was glad that I didn't put all my hopes and dreams into one basket, and knew that the hiccups from before, was just the Universe's way of showing me that better things were coming.

I made sure to remain on the radar of the casting director, Amber Bickham, 'cause well, you never know...And I began work on what to do, and where to take Velma next.

One rainy afternoon, I met my friend, Guy Shahar, for coffee, who told me he wanted to do a project that was funny, crazy and inappropriate.  I showed him the video of the sketch, and the rest is history -- or history in the making, I should say... :-)

The pilot for the webseries is shot, we're now in pre-production, and I'm looking forward to the launch... :-)

About a week ago, I was (half) joking with a friend about how cool it would be if there was a VelmaCon in the near future, with folks dressed up as Velma and other characters from the show: A revelry of geekdom as far as the eye can see...

Ahh, my inner geeky child (I'm still a geeky adult lol) is smiling :-)

Spring Finally

Back from my weekend trip home, and I just needed one day to recover. Now it's back to business.

We've set a shoot date for Velma, and are ambitiously going to shoot two episodes. If the scripts are tight, the actors (including myself) are on point, the equipment is set up beforehand, and the crew knows exactly what they need to do from point A to B, we can knock it all out.

I feel like I'm playing a balancing act though. Money I'm putting into this project, can also go toward my package e.g. new headshots and classes with casting directors. Can I do both?  Do I want one more than the other?

I had an interesting dream last night. I'm not sure where I was, but I was talking to some young women about how I had been working, shooting promos for BET, and I wasn't sure if people liked it or thought I was good.  And one of the women said, "Don't worry about that. Don't just be good, be great at what you do."  I got this sudden burst of energy and confidence, and later on in the dream, found myself unintentionally booking a gig because someone overheard me singing Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools".

I know that once I stop worrying about HOW things are going to happen, and just KNOW that they will happen, the path will be more visible.  It's like a daily exercise, or meditation or mantra.  I see it, and I feel it, so there's no room for failure. I'm human, so I'm sure I may make some mistakes along the way.  But the goal is set and clear.

This is the first day in a few days where I've had some peace and quiet, and time to be still and reflect and refocus.  Not that I've lost focus; my business-mind has just taken a little break.  It's good though 'cause I know if I don't give myself a break every once in awhile, I'll burn myself out.

This blog entry is really about me musing and reflecting, and less about all the things I've done this past month.  All that will be listed on my website.  How-some-ever (a lovely word courtesy of my grandmother), I have been diligent in cultivating my relationships with casting directors:  After Amy Gossels's awesome class, she asked me and another actress if we'd be interested in assisting with camera work in castings or classes. I was like "Fuck Yeah!" Of course, I didn't use those exact words, mind you.  Also, Beth Melsky and Donna McKenna are now following me on Facebook, and Laura Rosenthal Casting is now following me on Twitter. I make it a deal to check the casting websites at least twice a day.

I am no doubt on a mission, and plan to bask in my achievements very soon. Man, I can't wait for bikini weather!