Screenplay: 6 Days Later

My cousin's wedding was this past weekend (beautiful ceremony, incredibly happy for her) so I was home visiting with family and friends. Before that, my dog had an appointment with her primary vet. The office she goes to is nicer than my doctor's office. There are slate looking floors and a coffee machine for all the pet parents. She even had a chiropractic adjustment. It was rather bizarre to me, but she immediately stopped dragging her back foot so I will call it money well spent.

Smooshed in between all the wedding festivities and visits was me typing away on my laptop, finishing the first draft of my script. It's rough. But it's there. The next step is to take my shoddy word document and turn it into something that looks like a screenplay. This will be finagled somewhere in the midst of rehearsals and line memorization, and planning an epic itinerary for when another cousin makes her first visit to Chicago.

In other news, I finally saw Guardians of the Galaxy. I will admit that, for the first third to half of the movie, I was a little disappointed. This was the movie that I was looking forward to the entire summer and it just wasn't doing it for me. However, they hit the halfway point and I was there. I ended up loving it. I'd like to see it again just to determine if I was in a weird mood that was keeping me from falling into the movie immediately or if it really was just inconsistent.

I also caught up on Outlander. The wedding episode. Gah. That show really knows how to work the slow burn. And the costuming. And the scenery. And the Jamie.  

Burning the Midnight Oil

As I begin this post, it's 4:50. In the AM. I don't actually remember the last time I've seen 4:50 from staying up all night. Oh, yeah I do. The last time I was awake this late it was a result of subjecting myself to a horror movie featuring terrifying ghosts. I couldn't go to sleep until the sun came up. Yes, I realize that I have an over active imagination and that my emotions are easily manipulated by movies.

Today, however, I am still awake because I've been pounding out a screenplay. I'm trying to take the advice to create my own content seriously. I am posting this here because, allegedly, if I shout it out to the world I am more likely to follow through (that's what the internet told me). The story is in its very preliminary stages. I have a rough outline and some dialogue. That's not much, but it's certainly better than nothing. Hopefully, in a year or so from now, the film will be on its way to being produced. Or, I will have learned so much from the process that I wrote another, better screenplay and it's being produced. The way I see it, those are only two option. Success or success.

Here's Peter O'Toole singing "The Impossible Dream," from Man of La Mancha, to inspire us all.

In other news, I have been cast in another student film that shoots the first weekend of October.   

P.S. If there are typos please be a doll and ignore them. I'm so tired that my eyes are doing funny things.

A Couple of Redesigns

Hey All,

A little while back I decided that I absolutely hated the way that my website looked. So, I redesigned it. I also cleaned up the code. It was, to put it mildly, a hot mess.

Click here to see my new website. Tell me what you all think.

I am much happier with the way it looks. Unfortunately I'm having some issues with the CSS of my photo album. The last two pictures take the viewer back to the beginning of the slide show. I don't know how to fix it, but I'm researching solutions.

And, as hopefully you noticed, I've updated the look of this blog. I wanted something more minimalist and (can you sense a theme?) cleaner.

There are also going to be some content changes that accompany this new look. I'm getting more and more into filmmaking, so I will also be sharing resources along those lines. In short, I'm expanding beyond an entirely acting based focus. So LOOK OUT WORLD.

Voiceover Acting: Part 1

This will be an ongoing series on how to read and perform voiceover scripts as I learn more about this facet of the industry. But, to get you all started, here are some general tips.

1. Stay Consistent. According to the teacher that I studied under at Acting Studio Chicago, Dave Leffel, this is the number one "rule" of voiceover performance. If you start off with a high energy voice you need to be sure that you're maintaining that voice for the duration of the spot. This can be challenging, especially if it's 30 seconds of overly written copy. 

2. Research. You need to know what's out there. Have a habit of skipping over commercials? Stop that. It's research built into your leisure time. Actively listen to what's going on, what kind of sound certain advertisers are interested in. Does McDonald's have a certain sound? What about Plato's Closet? Start trying to determine where your voice fits in. Be honest.

3. Stay you. I know it's hard, especially after you've done lots of research and know the products that you'd like to pitch and the voices that are used for said products, but don't do impersonations of the voices you hear on the radio. Use your own unique voice.

Bad bad blogger

Soooo..... Hey guys, it's been awhile. Rest assured that I have not been idle. In fact, I got really busy and had a thousand things on my to do list. Somehow this blog didn't make it on there even though I totally could have worked it in. Procrastination, thy name is Angela.

The show I was in closed at the beginning of this month, and then I went straight into a brutal three day shoot for a short film. We didn't have a night where I got out of there before 2 AM.

After that, I got to see Chicago Shake's Seussical, which was delightful, before heading out to North Carolina for a bit.

I should be back in the city tomorrow night for an audition. (Hopefully, the time line is stressing me out a bit.)

Anyhoo, exciting days. A real post with (I hope) useful information to come this Thursday. I'm thinking it will be some tidbits I've picked up during my voiceover class.

Whirlwind

It has been quite the busy past couple of weeks.

I started a new class; The Hamlet Project Chicago opened; I auditioned for and was cast in another short film; and I had a dear friend come in from Tennessee. She had never been to Chicago before so I was playing tour guide again. I have another Tennessee friend coming in tomorrow for the second week of the show. Absolutely amazing. I am beyond thrilled that they were willing to make the trip north to see this crazy, weird, and fun show I've been working on. Seriously, you should come check it out. I will love you all forever if you do.

This post is a check in to tell you all that I haven't forgotten about this blog, and I have some things that I've learned in voiceover class that I want to share and I'll be updating my "What To Do When Friends Come to Visit" list.

When Parents, Spouses, Friends, etc. Don't Support Your Dream

I am going to preface this post with a disclaimer. I am fortunate to have a family and friends that are beyond supportive of my creative career path. However, many of my peers are not so fortunate. What follows is a wonderful video to inspire you. This video applies not only to careers in acting, but any sort of non-traditional life pursuit. I hope you enjoy and I hope it brings you some comfort.

If you follow me on twitter you'll have seen this one, but I think it's worth sharing again.