Unscripted - A Blog for Actors - Backstage

Lemon's Lurve List: Pete's Candy Store

What's better than being buzzed, with a beer in your hand, in the back of some bar in Billyburg, watching a boy sing some songs he wrote, 'bout his life and love thus far?  Buh buh buh best feeling ever.  At least, in that moment, it's the best feeling ever...and one the best things about living Brooklyn.  

Why I Have A Love/Hate Relationship With Weddings

It's summertime and everybody I know is getting married and/or having babies.  I'm a fan of love and the white stork is my best buddy, but I never know if I should check the "Yes" I will be attending box or if I'll be able to scrounge up the money for more gifts.  

Who can plan that far ahead in this business?  And who can afford to go to all of these destination weddings?  

If I have to hear, "But don't you and your boyfriend want to have a nice vacation?" in relation to somebody's destination wedding one more time, I may scream.  Better yet, I'll suggest that they pay for my "vacation" if they want me there.   Anybody else having a flashback to the Sex and the City episode where Carrie registers for a pair of Manolo Blahniks in retaliation?  Anybody?  

What is . . . Asian.

Another audition - this one held by a reputed theater company in NY who is producing "The Seagull" in the fall - one of my favorite plays by one of my favorite playwrights.

They were seeking Asian and Asian American actors and into parenthesis was written - (East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian, Pan-Asian, etc.) - great, so that covers me! Or does it?

When I went in, all the other actors were Asian, and I mean, the non-brown, non-South Asian ones for the exception of yours truly. Part of me wanted to run! But I stayed and did my thing lots of questions floating around in my head. Did they change their casting requirement and I just didn't know about it? Is it just this particular time of day where I just happen to be the only 'different' one there? Did I misread the breakdown?

And then something happened - I don't know if it was being wiser from my last few experiences, but the voices stopped as soon as I walked into that audition room. I made some big, bold choices and got some great feedback from the director. I walked out feeling good with no more questions as to what kind of 'Asian' they might be looking for. It didn't matter anymore.

-- Farah Bala

Taking a break

Don't be fooled by the title of this blog dear readers. Contrary to my dour mood in my last post, I am not quitting acting. Foolish! It would be foolish! Do you hear me? Foolish!

However, I am contemplating a little summer break. But the more I roll it around in my head, the more it really shrinks in significance. Or rather, it becomes totally clear that I’m not that good at taking breaks.

Essentially it boils down to this: I will put relaxing and enjoying my summer ahead of acting projects for next two months or so. But I will keep working on my own projects(my screenplay, tv pitch and web project), of course, and go on all the auditions my agents get me out for, and I will keep pushing to get my law and order episode that I'm obviously overdue for. That's what a break is for me. A slight shift from 5th gear to 4th gear. For a little while, so I can sip some summer cocktails and enjoy what might be my last summer in NYC.

No Longer A "Yes (Wo)Man"

I did something really stupid last week.  I mean, it was just plain idiotic.  I've been beating myself up about it, sleeping restlessly and wishing I hadn't been so ambitious.  How many times can I slap myself on the head in penance?  Answer:  not enough. 

Turns out, that stupid thing I did? (And believe me, it was dumb.)  It may have been the smartest stupid thing I've ever done!

Moving and Shaking

Have you ever wondered how tours get around? I just found out.

Open: Play w/ Audience

An Inspector Calls opened this Wednesday, and during each energy filled evening since I'm reminded and taught more clearly than ever that the work on a play is only beginning when the 1st curtain goes up, and an audience rides on the story for the first time. We performed our best show yet last night, not because it was clean or glossy, but because we were taping into the real life of the play and bouncing things hard off one another. If I was aware of one thing in addition to what was happening moment to moment on stage, it was what was happening moment to moment from stage to audience. 

Searching for 'Asian' Debra Winger...

The other night I finally watched a documentary film that I've been wanting to watch for years, 'Searching for Debra Winger'.

It's a documentary by Rosanna Arquette about the challenges working women in the entertainment business face; while aging, being full-time mothers, etc.

I remember the buzz about this film when it was premiering back in May 2002. I didn't quite have those concerns back then.

After about the first hour, where every actress that is interviewed in the film has been seen and has voiced her opinion on why Debra Winger would have left the business in her prime; I wondered, how exactly does this pertain to me?

There was not one single Asian female celebrity actress featured in that entire documentary.

Sure Lucy Liu hadn't exactly made her splash yet in Ally McBeal and Sandra Oh hadn't sauced her 'sauciness' in Sideways either, and...who else is there again?

Other than some of the many Asian actresses I admire; Ching Valdes, Rosalind Chao, Joan Chen, and Gong Li, I can't think of any equally prominent Asian celebrity actress back then or even now. What gives?! 

Opening Night

I have waited over three months for this moment.

After two weeks of rehearsals, 7,500 miles, dozens of misplaced props and set pieces, stressful power issues, and an iron language barrier, not an ounce of Disney magic was lost in our opening of Winnie the Pooh to a crowd of 1,500.

Moments like this are what I live for.

Hello My Fellow Bloggers!

As I was driving down the 101 from an audition where I was playing daddy's perfect little 17-year-old preppy girl, I was changing into my clothes for my second appointment in Hollywood. You are now a tomboy and you are tough and don't take no for an answer!... Or something like that...

I repeated this in my head as I buried my pink sweater and heels in the backseat. I pulled up to a traffic light and tore through my oversized purse for my sides, and reached in the back floorboard and stapled a different headshot to my resume.

Fifteen minutes and counting until I would be late to my second audition, trying to get into character and change as fast as I could. I pulled up to building on the corner of Fountain and Highland, tousled my hair a little, and finally remembered to take a deep breath and said, "I gotta blog about my crazy life."

Two Bits

First Bit:  I'm so glad I offered to get my hair cut for this show.  I will admit I am super rusty.  This is my first full-length show in quite a while and watching everyone else make bold character choices and talk about wants and feelings (and in not an annoying way), I felt lost at sea.  Making the choice to alter myself has helped dramatically.  Ha - no pun intended.

Fickle Creatures

I finally got the rough cut of a project I produced and starred in October - and man oh man, it must have been a bad day for me or something. The footage of my project made me want to quit acting. It wasn't THAT bad, it looks fantastic, just like the movie we were mocking. But I didn't go there 100%. I'm tired of getting back footage where I don't totally go for it, footage that leaves me disappointed, not bowled over or excited. So after all this time, that's all it took to make me want to quit. Not a mean casting director, or a cruel agent, or loosing out on a part- it was my own disappointment with my work. Of course everyone I show the footage to loves it, thinks it's hilarious, my director friend even said with astonishment 'you have such a great face for camera, you know that right?' and it is mostly good, it's really just at the end I don't go as far as I could have.

A Real Reel

Sometimes when I think of the amount of money I have spent on my career; head shots, voice lessons for years, private coaching sessions, the tuition at NYU for crying out loud, dance shoes, make-up, audition clothes, show tickets, chiropractor visits, cab rides to auditions, gasoline now, more make-up, head shots again...it makes me want to scream!

And if I go as far back as piano lessons and gymnastics when I was a kid, my parents are going to scream with me. AH! Tax deductible, tax deductible, tax deductible...

When I was five I even started painting lessons. I think my mother really wanted me to be an artist. And as we Chinese say, "May you get what you wish for." Ha.

To be honest, I am sick with it. I am vowing to myself not to spend another dime on my career, until something big breaks. I'm not even getting my hair cut. Split Ends, bring it on!

Check Please!

I had to call my dad this morning and tell him that I overdrew my back account by nine dollars.  It's only the second time I've ever had to say that, and I hate having to do it.  Except this time, it really wasn't my fault; I got trapped.

I'd had plans with my friend Vanessa (who's in my class at UNCSA) for months to see Bruno Mars, an old friend of hers, perform at the Dakota Lounge in Santa Monica.  The show started at 9:00pm, but another girlfriend of ours, Hallie, was joining us and couldn't meet us to eat dinner until 7:30 because of her work schedule.  We were a little pressed for time, so we decided to go to Dakota, park, and find a place to eat within walking distance so we wouldn't be late for Bruno.

Weird experiences...

So its been over a week since I wrote something and here's why - I was trying to get my mind around 2 crazy auditions, the Iran situation, and close friends' wedding this past week (2 out of three for me - the last one's in July!!! Whew!).

Let's talk about these auditions - the first was for a South Asian based play - the breakdown had a couple of roles for me. The website looked very professional, the play had already had a reading last year that won some rave reviews, and it was recommended by a colleague who's work I respect. So I went in for the first audition a couple of weeks ago, felt good about it, and then for some reason forgot about it.