On-Camera
Thanks to Kelsey Edwards for taking such ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS photos in her beautiful Atlanta studio. The natural light in there is incredible, you guys. And the studio is so cool, I just want to live there. If you want to work with her, click here to check out her work and schedule.
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As actors, we are selling ourselves. Our persona is what people connect to. Trying to tailor yourself to different audiences, you run the risk of diluting the essence of who you are, and being too bland to really interest anyone. Perfection doesn't sell like it used to…transparency is more relatable.
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Two weeks ago, I spent a day shooting a dance hall scene for the upcoming WWII feature film titled The Adventures of Ben Keller and Christoph Schulz, about two German POWs who get into hijinks in Minnesota. I play the role of Betty, a friend of the main female character, who meets Ben and Christoph and is completely oblivious to the fact that they are poorly disguising their German-ness (German-ity?)
It was only a slight change from the usual…I get cast in lots of period pieces, and frequently I’m playing a German. See: Jarnsaxa Rising (where I played Himmler’s mistress), the play Hauptmann (Anna Hauptmann), short film The Pardon List (Eva Braun), and doing entertainment for the Saint Paul Saints German Night, where I played a dirndl-wearing fraulein and interacted with the crowds.
It was a fun day of shooting with a great group of people, including my close friend Adri Mehra, who plays Christoph in the film, and the other two main actors in the scene, Colleen Thul and Trevor Simmons.
From Left: Colleen, Trevor, Adri, me
Thanks to Benjamin Drietz and director Bryan Steenerson for the opportunity to work on such a fun project! Can’t wait to see how it turns out!
We had a band!
And swing dancers!
Why isn’t the payphone working?
No, it’s Iowa!
WIND FARMS!
Your intrepid actor-adventurer here, reporting in from the Quad Cities (that’s Iowa, for you not from…Iowa), where I am here on assignment. Tomorrow brings an on-camera shoot for a hospital, and I have done my due diligence in looking into the local scene.
This must be the place…
After getting into town early, I checked out the art museum, the sculpture garden, the Iowa state capital building, and Raygun (a well-known local store known for their irreverent t-shirts and other gift-y things), all within two hours. It helps that nothing is very far from anything else!
The capital building is made of gold…shhhh!
I wouldn’t mess with her…
A person made of letters
Sculpture that ran away from the sculpture park
Egg-shaped art sculpture
I also got dinner (or I guess it was more accurately an extremely late lunch), checked into my hotel, had a bath, gave myself a pedicure, and watched an episode of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Highly recommend!), and worked on some cross stitch all in the past few hours. It’s easy to get a lot done when there aren’t any distractions.
Any who…where was I?
Oh, yeah. It’s been a while since I’ve posted. I promise to be better at that next year. And SO MUCH has been going on!
Since my last post: I went to Iceland. I went to Atlanta. I did voiceover work for Hershey, Great Clips, Traditional Medicinals, Yoplait, some random other stuff, and just this past week I did another spot for the Pillsbury 49th Bake-Off!
Somewhere in Iceland! Volcanic rocks and stuff!
Whale shark at the aquarium in Atlanta
I also finished my work on the fictional podcast I’ve been working on for almost two years, Au: Earth Under Gold which should be released sometime next year.
Is he still there?
I shot a short film with my friends at Urban Mountain Media for the 100 Hour Film Race (spoiler alert: we got disqualified because of computer issues keeping the team from meeting the deadline, but the film will still get finished eventually).
The new year approaches! What will it hold? Who knows! But I hope it’s at least as awesome as this year has been!
Accurate pictorial representation of how I feel after this fall
Last week we finally got one of my two days on set for Christopher Mihm's next film "Queen of Snakes" in the can. I'm so excited to be a part of his most recent homage to 1950s monster movies. Only one more shoot day left, and then the whole movie will be wrapped!
Christopher Mihm, Stephanie Mihm and myself on set (Photo by Mitch Gonzalez)
This is Christopher's second addition to the Mihmiverse this year, with "Guns of the Apocalypse," a sci-fi western, already in post-production.
Want more while you're waiting for "Queen of Snakes" to be released next year and "Guns of the Apocalypse" to come out in September? Check out all of the other Mihmiverse movies on Amazon Prime!
Helloooo!
Once again, I got so busy with all the exciting things I've been doing that I forgot to update…. What’s been happening? Here’s the quick rundown of everything since January 1st:
In January, I did a VO for Traditional Medicinals…as soon as it’s released, I'll post it. I can't wait to share it, because it's really delightful.
The same day, I shot a short film called Old Media Studies, written and directed by Stephan Clark. I play a New Media Studies professor with a pretty, ahem, exciting wardrobe.
A few weeks ago, I voiced a really inspiring piece for Cambia Health. I’m not sure if I’ll get to share this one or not, but it was a great experience. I love reading copy that has that edge of wonder to it.
Last weekend, I shot a training video with Best Buy, and learned a lot about what it takes to install washers and dryers.
I’m currently taking an online VO class with the fabulous Tina Zaremba…can’t recommend her enough! Click here to check her out!
And I registered to attend VO Atlanta for the first time! I’m so excited to attend this conference, meet other VO artists and industry people, fill my head with knowledge until it explodes, and get inspired!!!
Other fun and exciting things:
1. A client told me my voice was “magical.” How does one even begin to accept that compliment? By stuttering, that’s how.
2. I can’t prove it, but it actually happened: Ben Folds told me I was a good singer. I’ll accept that compliment as well, but once again, not without stuttering.
3. I did a self-tape audition with my cat (they asked for him to audition as well, I didn’t just include him of my own accord).
4. BONUS! I have wanted to see The Killers for years...and they were as AMAZING as I'd hoped
Auditioned for a Regis industrial Tuesday, did the shoot Wednesday! Leona did a fabulous job on my graduated bob, and I got to hang out with the sweet studio dog, Bear, who unfortunately was a little camera shy.
Before: no makeup and my hair wants cutting
After: Gorgeous makeup by Julie Martin, fab cut by Leona Mundt
Last week was a whirlwind of auditions (four on-camera, four VO, two theater), and rehearsals for Unsung, and the fundraiser for Candid Theater (I am on the board, plus I MC'd the event and performed at it as well), so I'm finally getting around to posting about my shoots. I started my week (last week) coming back from two shoots... One in Minneapolis, and one in Ely, Minnesota.
On Saturday, I got to channel Joan from Mad Men on a shoot for a Kickstarter for Bim Bam Boo bamboo toilet paper, in a costume complete with Moschino vintage heels. It was a really fun shoot, very Poo-pourri in style.
Keeping the lipstick intact while staying hydrated. V. important!
Vintage heels that fit me perfectly? It must be a dream!
The whole team on the Bim Bam Boo shoot! How cool is this 360 photo courtesy of Kari Jo Skogquist?!??
After that, I drove up north to Ely, Minnesota to play a nurse on the short film "Nobody's son." I can't post any photos from set, so here are a few pics from the trip up there...I spent about twice as much time driving as I did on set, so it's probably just as well that I show you glorious Northern Minnesota.
Lake Superior
Me. Lift Bridge. Cold. Wind.
Not many options.
The Actors Workout is still on hiatus while Raye is off galavanting in London doing Nice Fish (which only runs through Feb 11, so if you are in London, get tickets now!!), so meanwhile, I've decided it's time to face my fears of watching myself on camera and take another class.
I started Michele Hutchison's on-camera class last Sunday, and I'm super excited that it's going to inspire me to create more of my own work and start writing for myself more. Can't wait to see what the next few weeks bring!
Now, excuse me while I go work on my lines for the scene I've got to prepare for next week...and the scene I'm prepping for Raye's first day back...
I shot a Best Buy training video this week. If you're a Best Buy employee, you might be lucky enough to see it. Otherwise, you'll just have to imagine me in the blue polo shirt. I look good in blue!