Ohhh its Halloweenie again.

Unfortunately my parents decided to conceive me 9 months prior to all hallows eve, which left me in the most unfortunate birthday celebration circumstance. 

Every year my birthday is linked to Halloween, leaving me no other choice than to unleash all of my creativity and come up with a clever AND flattering outfit. 

And the montage begins. 

Age 18

it said slippery when wet on the back! heh heh  

Alright, so perhaps senior year of hs as a bunny and freshman year as a cat wasn't really chipping away at the creativity block, but my zoro?  and the skunk?  and the mime! classics!  Which leads me to year 2012.  The year of the dragon.   And I am awash of creative genius.  So here is my word vomit of potential costume outfits (mind you I ONLY make my own - even though it always cost me more than buying them).

circus ring leader 

dolphin trainer 

penguin

robin hood

usa gymnast 

skeleton

peacock

canvas/famous painter

beetlejuice

knight

chaquita banana lady

pop eye

cruella de ville

oscar the grouch 

i dream of genie

Gumby

eskimo 

planters peanuts guy

watermelon

Strawberry

Miss Piggy

gypsy  

tin man

randy savage 

I dare you..

Who were my parents kidding when they declared my 160k in debt for a degree in Psychology and Spanish was a waste of hard earned money!  Por favor!

Lets back up.  I've been taking classes at Aaron Speiser acting studio.  More so as an escape from the hectic reality of agent life than for acting chops, but nonetheless the classes are enjoyable.  A natural student at heart, I over-study for everything, would take up residency in a library for fun, and always raise my hand obnoxiously high (I've even been known to do the throat clear while I bounce in my seat and silently beg to be called on - I know, so bad).  I'm an academic over-achiever, and damn well proud of it (not to brag but I graduated with a 3.9gpa.  Would have been a 4.0 if I weren't a baller and didn't take all honors classes).  Anyways, back to the point. 

So Aaron's philosophy is modeled after Uta Hagen's novel "Respect for Acting".  I'll go into depth on this fascinating approach later, but basically the actor needs to identify with their character and make sense of his or her scene and script objectives through an understanding of common humanity.  People are all similar in their drives, wants, desires, motives and needs. The actor must use his or her past experiences, sense memory and understanding of human nature to become his character on stage (or set). 

These past few weeks I've tried to really keep my eyes open to human behavior and I've become nearly addicted to analyzing it.  Everything from the feeling of waking up from a deep sleep to watching children at the playground interact to seeing a hierarchy at the office makes me more and more eager to delve into a script and put some real work into developing a character.  

My challenge to you is to observe how you interact when you are out drinking at a bar or club.  Take note of your mood, body language and inner thoughts.   

Now go out again, but without a drink in your hand (or anything in your hand) and no cell phone.  Now how different do you feel?  

I rode my bike to Octoberfest.  Not because I'm trying to give off the granola-chic vibe (which I am) but because my boyfriend gave away the car he was letting me drive to his 17 year old brother.  A dead cell phone and no cash for beers, I felt like a circus freak.  I cannot believe how much of a security blanket my cell phone is.. and how uncomfortable chatting up someone new without a drink in your hand can be.  

What does this teach us about acting?

The power of props?  The power of social norms?  Sense of belonging?  Alcohol as a clutch?  I'm not quite sure yet, but I wanted to throw my challenge out to the hundreds of zillions of dedicated blog followers (ok fine I don't have any followers yet, but this isn't twitter! Its hard!) and see if this is a common phenomenon or if I am alone in my overdependence on my cell and a vodka soda with lime. 

Trust issues

From the decades (2.5) of infinite wisdom I've accumulated from observing human nature (better known as stealth people watching), I've formulated the trustworthy test*


*Patent pending.


You cannot trust someone if:

1. They eat the American cheese that comes individually wrapped in plastic

2. It says "sexy" or "baby" across the ass of their sweatpants

3. They have a pet ferret

4. They chose to plaster a close up picture of their face put on their debit card

5. They live in Hollywood.  By choice.

6. They have a Canadian accent but don't play hockey

7. They don't high five you for a teenage mutant ninja turtles reference

8. They drive a hybrid hummer

9. They don't have a middle name

10. They don't get their fries animal style at in n out


This is all based on my keen human observation expertise and should not be taken lightly.  You're very welcome for this gift.   More to come.

Observations from the agents desk

I thank God at least twice a day that I'm not working as a fashion model agent.  And here's why.

As a fashion agent in Beverly Hills you scrutinize every detail of underage girls bodies and faces.  And then tell them their flaws. 

You're right, they're supermodels they don't have flaws.  So you find some.  Here are the most common:  

"have you considered having your nose done?"

"who does your hair? fire them"

"your skin is just retched, you need to clear up your acne" 

"are you going to the gym?  are you really? it doesn't look it"

"girl, I hope you're being serious about starving yourself" 

"I know someone who does great boob jobs" 

"what are you doing later? hm, why not the gym instead? cardio! cardio! cardio!"

"what happened to the rest of your eyebrows? throw out your tweezers"

"you look pastey girl, get some sun!"

"your skin is soo orange, it's going to be leather by like yesterday. stay out of the sun."

"your outfits... different"

"when you tilt your head down your forehead looks massive"

"when you tilt your head up your nostrils look massive" 

and it goes on and on and on.  These girls are 14-19 years old. More to come later this was just a brief complaint while I scoff down peanut butter cookies and fret over my growing out roots.