Unscripted - A Blog for Actors - Backstage

Sue Me

So, apparently I’m being sued. Here’s the whole dealio:

A day or 2 before I jetted off for NY to participate in the Industry Showcase, I researched some headshot printing places in Los Angeles. Reproductions seemed quite expensive and I needed something really fast.

Low and Behold “Noho Prints” comes along. I placed the order and an hour later I got a call that they were ready. Scratch that – I got a text message that they were ready. I should’ve known something was up when I received the text, but no. I hopped in the car and drove to North Hollywood to pick these pictures up.

It took me 20 minutes to realize that the dinky little store I kept passing by was actually this place. It was a whole in the wall. Not professional at all. But the website looked so professional! Hmmmm. I look at my pictures. Everything looks great, except for the fact that the paper that he printed the pictures on is only slightly better than regular paper. Where’s the photo paper? He claimed that his paper was up to industry standards. I calmly told him that no, this was not. This flimsy paper would never hold up to what’s out there.

He allowed me to go home and compare my picture. He also gave me the option of providing him with the paper that I wanted to print the pictures on and he’d reprint them on that. I went home quite unhappily. I decided to go with Reproductions in NY. They are reliable and worth it.

I got a call from my mom yesterday telling me that she signed court papers for me. I’m being sued for $500 the pictures. Is this dude out of his mind? He’s running a bogus headshot printing service and he’s suing me because I was unsatisfied with his product? I think not.

I emailed him last night and offered to pay for the pictures - $67. He has yet to respond. We’ll see what happens. In the meantime, all you LA folks - beware!

 

-- Dominique

Thanks, Julliard! Love, NYU

Our showcase went great. It was short and sweet. Brilliantly staged and we had the audience laughing for most of the hour. We were on performing on 42^nd street in front of people who could potentially help us get work – casting directors from NBC and CBS, agents from Abrams Artists, Henderson Hogan, and managers.       

Unfortunately, our showcase was also the same night as Julliard’s 4^th year show, so our reception afterwards was empty. Everyone had to peace out to catch the 8 pm Juilliard show! We were all a little bummed about that, sitting there eating a Dean and Deluca hor dourves platter all by ourselves. Who was the genius who scheduled our showcase on the same day as our competition's? We figured that instead, we get phone calls and emails in the days to follow.

Well, it’s Thursday and I have not received a phone call nor an email. My 3 close friends who also did the showcase have received emails – from Abrams Artists Agency. Hmmmm. Okay, patience is my friend. I will be patient. It’s not the end of the world if I don’t get any response from this, but boy does it make me feel like s***.

New York, I Love You

It looks like I am officially bicoastal. Since being here in New York, I have lined up a staged reading (paid!) and who know what will come of the showcase. We had our final dress rehearsal tonight and it felt pretty good!

The cool thing about having graduated from NYU is that I took class with several directors and other people in theatre who are movers and shakers. They always need actors and always have projects lined up. And everyone is so supportive about me being back. 3 times I’ve been told, “boy, do I have some work for you.” Who doesn’t want to hear that?!!!!

Sassy Black/Sassy and Black

This is my first time participating in a showcase, and let me tell you – the showcase hasn’t even started, but I can already tell that you definitely have to put the work in to see the results. Nothing is ever just handed out for free. "Hey, do this industry showcase and get handed an agent!" Umm, I think not.

First off, we were instructed to pay a materials fee. I suppose this will be used for the folders they put our headshots in and the programs? Not entirely sure. Then, we were asked to put together 80 headshots and resumes. Not stapled to the back, but glued. I went on a mad hunt trying to get these together. It was quite tedious, and expensive.

Hello From New York!

I think I can officially call myself bi-coastal. Last week I was searching carmax for cars and today I am reading plays for my industry showcase in New York. It’s all so funny how things work. Here’s what went down before I left.

I needed to take a leave of absences with my internship and job. The agents at my internship were very happy for me and said they’d see me  when I returned. My job didn’t take it so well at first. My trip went from being 2 weeks long to 5 weeks long in the matter of a day. I don’t think he liked that, at all.

A Good Dilemma

Like any theatre arts school, New York University has an industry showcase every semester. Recently they held auditions for the graduating class of 2009 – my class! Seeing as I was not in new york to attend the audition in person, I sent in a snazzy Dvd. I wasn’t able to attend the callbacks as well, so I released my expectations into the universe and patiently waited to hear the results. And guess what...

Going On Instinct

This week was a huge eye opener for me. In my quest to really follow my passion and be really committed to that, I was hugely inspired by two friends I met up with. Let's take friend #1 who on a whim decided to move out to LA in only 2 weeks! Within 5 days of being here she purchased a car, has a meeting with a top talent manager, and is aggressively searching for apartments. Wow. She'll be here for 6 months and is searching for representation. I was amazed at her "get up and go" attitude.
Friend #2 has been a busy bee this summer. She was in 3 shows this summer, a commercial, and most recently did the ABC diversity showcase, in which the folks at ABC told her that she should come out to LA, to which she replied, "Sure, if you can get me some meetings." And boy did they ever. She auditioned for "Brothers and Sisters" and "Glee" this week. And this talented actress just happens to be in a wheelchair, but you would never know it. She rented a car for the week and drove me around LA like she's been living here all her life!

Understanding What "College Grad" Means

So here it is - I am not happy with where I currently am in my life. Instead of sitting in gloom, I am going to follow in the footsteps of one of my smartest friends. Only 3 weeks ago she wrote down that she wanted to get out of Los Angeles and now she has a one way ticket to Chicago. I am not ashamed to say that I broke down and sobbed for an hour when I got the news. One of the best parts about being in LA is that she is here, and now that she is getting out, it makes me ravenous to get out as well.

As my boyfriend knows, I am an envious person. I envy other people's relationships, successes, opportunities, and blessings. I am in a rut and do not know how to get out.

I'm Getting Less Creative With These Titles, So Let's Just Call This One "My First Film"

This weekend I was on set for an LMU film. It was my first time being on set and I loveeeedddd everything about it: getting my hair and makeup done, the costumes, hearing and learning about film lingo, and last but not least, the horrible-for-my-waistline-but-damn-good crafts service table. Talk about going all out. I’m usually really good about my eating habits but when I saw the cookies and bagels and goldfish crackers and Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles (!), I went balls to the walls.

I initially auditioned for the role of the main character – a woman who is getting married but her female best friend happens to be in love with her. I was cast as one of the bridesmaids and although I was disappointed at first, I think the director cast the film really well. The actor she did end up choosing was lovely and I think I played the part of “single bridesmaid looking for a date” pretty well – I got to improv a lot of my lines and it was so much fun to be the comic relief in the story.

Type Cast Me!

In addition to my internship at the talent agency, I am now interning at a well – known casting directors office, who I actually took class with 4 years ago. He’s moved up to a deluxe office on Sunset Boulevard with a stunning view and art deco décor. I was quite impressed at his digs.

Some of my duties include confirming appointments with actors, answering the phone, and helping to run the auditions, and occasionally sitting in on auditions! The goal is to walk away from this internship a better business woman.

I was interviewed by the casting associate who kept it real with me off the bat. Here are some things I learned: