Posts Tagged ‘busy-ness’

Give Me Summer!

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012

Busy, busy few weeks. I like it. My condo here in Toronto is about 3 blocks from the lake, so that means lake swimming! I’ve already been in the water this year – I was in up to my neck, and a macho/douchebag looking guy came by, stuck his hand in, and visibly jumped back. When I was in high school I started swimming in Lake Erie in April, so I guess you can say that I’m acclimatized to it. Anyway.

windchocombe night
one of my favourite-ever night-shoot photos

Lots of acting and creative projects as of late. Summer is always the industry busy-time. Right now, I’m involved in about five webseries in various stages of production, and have some script and project ideas of my own bubbling away. In terms of projects, I finally shot the last of the last coverage for Windchocombe, and I am so excited to see how the film looks when it’s through post. I just finally saw and got my copy of the full-length version of Park Enforcer – anyone who’s into gore, I challenge you to watch it and not puke! I also shot a rather emotionally-charged cameo role for the new webseries, Season of the Plague, and am waiting for another recent project, My Screaming Neighbours, to debut online. I’ve recently shot for a couple of pilots, and as per usual, there’s other news I can’t disclose yet. Let’s just say I’m one step closer to working on a film that has needed to be made for a long time.

Also! I’m super-excited to be working with a queer performance group: Kitchen Party Nervous Breakdown.I see how easily and how often I am perceived as hetero-normative, and I am SO excited to change and challenge that. Gender and sexuality will be a topic for a more serious and in-depth post, but needless to say that I’m more than meets the eye when it comes to that department. (But I’m not a robot in disguise, either.)

Improv-wise, I have a kickass new ITC team and Pandora’s Toybox have been doing a few SHAMEBOOK! shows recently, and I am pretty proud of both the format and the people I jam with. There’s nothing quite like exposing your soul via teenage diary readings, let me tell you.

I really wish sleep came in pill form, because there’s so much I want to do. I did actually get to relax(!) a bit over the long weekend, which included a trip to the beach and some TV watching sans simultaneously working on my laptop. The other awesome thing has been watching fireworks from my condo window – I can see about half the city and there were a lot of pretty flashy lights in the sky tonight.

One thing I’ve come to realize how much I enjoy as an actor is that no matter what projects I work on for money, there’s a certain thrill that comes from working with your friends. I was watching David Tennant (you know, the Tenth Doctor) talk about how nervous he was to be working on Doctor Who at the start – I guess that feeling never goes away no matter how far you go. In a weird way, it’s refreshing; working with friends and with people you’ve worked with before, you already have a comfortable bond and you know how the other person works, which means you get amazing results. Or more amazing. Or you just have a ton of fun.

Counting film projects has become a bit like counting exes for me – the significant ones end up on your resume, but there’s often a bunch of one-night stands here and there that you’re not sure whether to include on ‘the list.’ That said, I know I’m well over 50 acting projects, all told, and possibly actually somewhere close to 100. What an amazing thought that I’ve achieved that much in just a few short years! July will mark my two-year anniversary of working solely as a professional actor.

For the moment, though, I am going to achieve some sleep… Summer is bad for making me an insomniac. And here, have some Moby:

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I never live by halves.

Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

Sorry for the long, unintended hiatus. August has been a RIDICULOUSLY busy month (in a good way) for me, and September and on is looking to be the same. I’m not complaining, I like living at full speed. Things have been Very Good overall. And yeah, capital letters necessary there. ;)

I started August with a bang, working on the webseries Clutch.

You all should check it out – great cast, great crew, and I love where they are taking the storyline. In terms of empowerment, it’s also a very feminist-positive outlook (despite/to his credit the series having been conceptualized and directed by the talented Jonathan Robbins.) I had a blast and would happily work with anyone from set again.

Next up in my acting adventures: Batman. Yes, that Batman. Travelled all the way to Pittsburgh to be a part of The Dark Knight Rises. I had to sign an NDA, and even though others have not honoured that and have been leaking photos and videos of the scene I was in, I am choosing to respect the integrity of the project. I will say that I had a blast on set, Tom Hardy is a sexy man in person, and I got to keep a nifty Gotham Rogues bandana as a souvenir of my time as a Hot Football Fan.

The week after, I found myself back on set for One Week in Windchocombe. You can take the girl out of the haunted estate, but you can’t take the bucket of kitten eyes out of the girl. (Yay inside jokes!) I am pretty darn impressed with the new stuff we shot – and yes, this includes the bucket of blood that got upended over my head – and once the final bits and bobs are done I am excited to see this project go through post and get finished.

After all that, I was on set a couple days later for Talio, a dustpunk short film set to the music of Abney Park. From what I’ve seen there were some great visuals, and I got to choreograph and perform a fight scene which is always A+ in my books. Still waiting on the full set of photos from that but they’ll be along and up soon enough. There are some stills on the website there, so we all have to be content with them for now. Also, the location we shot at was a lovely Victorian home… the owners are attempting to live a year as Victorians would, largely without electricity or modern conveniences! For those interested, you can read their blog of their adventures here.

Side note: at this point in time, we were not quite halfway through the month. That same weekend, I got the pleasure of attending the wedding of two very dear friends of mine, set at Casa Dea Winery in Prince Edward County. August has been the month of driving long distances for me, to say the least! It was an amazing wedding, though, and I got to see some beloved folks I hadn’t seen for far too long.

Next up, I was in Waterloo again last weekend for a fun short film called “Clit 101″. Lots of sexy-times, and an utterly hilarious yet touching script (ooh, how punny of me) that was originally a monologue piece by a very lovely lady I know. This one was directed by Femme Fatale Creations. It was nice to see some old familiar faces on set (one of the ASSF alumni, actually, as well as local Waterloo artists I know) and fun to meet some new and up-and-coming talent. The wrap party is tomorrow, but we’ll see if I can make it after being on set for Total Recall. Seeing as how I was playing a “kitty lover”, I’m pretty sure I was typecast. ;)

Aside from that, I’ve got a voicework gig booked for later this week, a few more auditions coming up, pre-production fight choreography hopefully gearing up soon for another newish project, and last but not least, I’ll be at Dragon*con this year at the Binary Soul booth. If you’re coming, swing by and say hi. I’ll have BOOB Show swag for sale and am looking forward to the parties and meeting tons of great new folks.

So yeah, that’s where I’ve been this month. Mostly. There’s also someone new in my life and that makes me pretty darn happy. It’s just a matter of finding the time to balance everything out, you know?

Oh, and pee ess: if you do the Twitter thing, follow The BOOB on Twitter. She’s also got a Facebook fanpage going. See you all soon hopefully!

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News, projects, fundraisers, Polaris 24 post-mortem… the usual…

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

Summer seems to be the busiest season for everyone, hands down!

First off, if you take a peek at the website, you’ll notice there’s been a few updates – some new photos are up from The Witching Hour and Stiffs on the Green. There will be some photos from the Constellation Awards going up soon, too! (But have a couple in this post, for now.)
Though it’s still being edited and revised, I’m expecting to have my ebook out by the end of the month. Unfortunately, that’s had to take a back-burner to auditions, photoshoots, and film projects. And sleep, sometimes. Sleep is necessary at times. ;)


Me with Robert J. Sawyer

Not sure if I mentioned this, but I recently signed with a great new agent, JC at Just Canadian Talent. They haven’t quite updated the website yet, but it’s nice to be represented again and to have a second pair of eyes looking for auditions for me. One common misconception it seems a lot of people have is that when you have an agent they find you work – it’s not like that at all! Agents can often help you get more auditions and to be seen by more prominent casting director, but as an actor you should always be working for yourself regardless.

And speaking of work, I have a few exciting new opportunities coming up that I’m pretty stoked for. I’m doing some modeling for Metal Star Fashions – Mila Starr, the designer, is the same brilliant costume designer from Black Eve. I’ve been promised photos soon, so I’ll share them when I have them. And throughout August, I’ll be working with Department 7 Films again, this time on a feature film. I’ll be playing the principal role of Ivette in One Week in Windchocombe, and we are shooting on location in a beautifully derelict old farm. (link) Check this place out, is it not beautifully creepy?

Before you get scared off, I wanted to point you all to some great fundraisers I’ve been helping out with, ran by some awesome people. Please take some time to check these out, and contribute what you can. I think it’s very important to give back to the community and to help out those who need it – as an artist, as an animal lover, as a fellow human being.
First off, my friend (and fabulous Toronto actor) Carlos Diaz donated his birthday to charity and is fundraising for Chile (link), to help them build new homes after the devastating earthquake in Chile.
My best friend Kimi is running a similar idea, to donate money towards helping Bengals in need (link) also in lieu of presents for her birthday. This just makes her that much more awesome!
Another good friend of mine (and fabulous photographer) Tanya is hosting a barbeque fundraiser for North Toronto Cat Rescue (link). Even if you can’t attend, I know she would appreciate any donations you can make!
In other words, I’ve got some great friends doing some great and unselfish things, and I would really appreciate anyone who can helping them along!


Tanya’s beautiful Didi, adopted from NTCR

Lastly, I’ve been asked a whole bunch about Polaris, what happened to the horror makeup workshop I was supposed to do, etc. To blatantly re-use what I sent as post-con commentary: “Aside from a few small snafus, I feel my improv workshop went off very well and was quite pleased to see so many people out and having fun.
I think I had about 20 – 25 participants at peak – some people came and went as there were other panels they had, and not everyone who showed up had tickets, but overall it seemed like everyone was quite enjoying themselves…
Also, I had a great time paneling with Ajay Fry, Violette Malan, Jo Frankel, Cindy Mohareb, and Sheena Callighen. And as mentioned, I’d be happy to offer marketing suggestions for next year.”

The convention itself was pretty fun, and I got to see both a lot of old friends and make some new ones. It’s also a bit of an odd duality, as I was at Polaris to work as a professional actress, even though I am also friends with a fair number of the attendees and spent a lot of time hanging out. Helping out at the Constellations as their trophy girl was a blast, as Gavin Stephens and I spent a lot of time goofing off backstage, and I had a chance to chat and hang out with a lot of great Canadian talent. It didn’t feel like work at all! Also, Kai Owen was gracious enough to buy me a beer on Friday night – and it was pure awesome to see another actor who is very direct and honest. Sometimes I feel like we’re a rare breed – yes, there’s an ‘image’ to maintain a lot of times, but it bothers me when people are insincerely nice or just passive instead of speaking what’s on their mind. I also didn’t get much sleep throughout the weekend, which means everyone who dealt with me is that much more of a saint. ;)


The talented folks at the Constellation Awards!

Yes, my horror makeup workshop did get cancelled due to ‘lack of registration’, which was admittedly disappointing. From what I understand, there were three people registered to do it when they decided to cancel it, and the minimum they have ran workshops with in the past was four (a yoga workshop, last year.) My only real issue was that the workshops weren’t really adequately promoted ahead of time as other aspects of the convention were – even friends of mine who were attending didn’t know I was a workshop guest – and it’s hard for people to express interest in something they don’t even know exists. (If you were one of those registered for the horror makeup workshop and happen to see this, let me know and we’ll see what we can work out – I’m still happy to teach you!)
I see this as a learning experience, ultimately, and I’ve since offered to share my marketing knowledge to make next year more successful… so we’ll see what happens there!

One last PS: The Streets of London is my amazing new improv team, and we do shows at Comedy Bar. Check out the website, and come see us be silly!

Happy Friday!

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Quick Update…

Saturday, May 23rd, 2009

Acting stuff: is going reasonably well; I’ve borrowed “Acting For The Camera” from a friend to read, to brush up on a few things, and I’ve decided to try and read a play a week to keep my brain active. Aside from the local/Toronto auditions I’ve been attending, I’ve sent one off to a fellow in Montreal for his very intriguing project.
I will be on set tomorrow to film a trailer/early test for a film called “143″. I’m looking forward to it, even with a call time of “oh my god o’clock.”
As well, I took part in an interview on May 21st, with the folks at ThatChannel. You can check out the interview here.

Photography: well, I shot a wedding on Monday. I’m pretty happy with the way the pictures have come out initially – have I mentioned I’m not a fan of people who use photoshop excessively? I’m trying to define my style more and more, and I’m realizing that I’m all about colour. Vibrant colours where they’re appropriate, and shaping the absence of colour where that’s appropriate. And I LOVE natural light best. Studio lighting has its place, of course, but the way I shoot, I prefer to use what’s there as much as possible.

Life in general: As some of you know, I was in a car accident at the end of April. My car was totalled, but I’m mostly okay. There’s definitely some days where I’m more stressed than usual, and some days where various parts of me hurt a fair bit… but such as it is. I’m getting over it, and got my new car on Friday. So, baby steps there, I guess?

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This Week in My Life…

Friday, March 20th, 2009

I’m having a busy but productive day (or week, or month) so far… this morning, I managed to get caught up on my accounting from the last month and a half (oops, for leaving it that long!) and got my hard drive backed up too. Yep, I’m entertaining and exciting.

Anyway, the Sunday gala and the screening of The Ticket both went well, and I was absolutely thrilled to see a lot of friendly faces in the audience last night. I hope everyone who came out enjoyed what they saw… and there will be a final version of the short sent out to more fests. As well, another short I was in, Justice will be making the festival rounds as well. When I have screening details, I’ll be sure to share them!

In terms of photography (mine), I’ve got a few shoots booked in the next few weeks – some portrait sessions, and a footy game for sure, and more urban exploration when I can get around to it. Went and did a previously-explored location with Alex the other week, and I’ll be sharing the shots from that as soon as I can sort through them.
In terms of photography (not mine) I shot more headshots on Wednesday with the fabulous Tanya O, so once those are back in my hands they’ll be up here on the site as well.

On the acting front, I’ve got a few more auditions coming up in the next few weeks, and as of now, have about five projects that will be shooting in the next few months. The first one coming up is some dark, twisted humour with Yard Sale From Hell’s The Dark Show, and that’ll be starting the first weekend of April.
With FBN Multimedia, there’s a film adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft story in the works – a different sort of dark and sinister, and one I’m really looking forward to!
As well, I’ll be working with Small Crew Productions on a project shooting in and around the GTA, called 20 Something Summer. My character in that promises to be challenging in all sorts of good ways, and again I’m looking forward to starting production!
As if that isn’t enough, I’m also going to be doing some work with another local KW company, and as well, there’s another project that I can’t talk about yet, but suffice to say it will be 32 flavours of awesome when it’s released. So yeah, that’s a start to my spring/summer, and I’m eager to add more as it comes my way!

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A Sort of Summary…

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

This next little while is happily busy for me. Two upcoming auditions, three film festivals, and a performance Sunday night. (I’d especially love to see you all at She Speaks, which is this Sunday at Kitchener City Hall, as I will be performing live!) Plus, a few other potential film and photoshoots, both in front of and behind the camera.

As well, I’ve decided that “general website maintenance” will usually be done on Sundays… so look for a few new links appearing then.

In the mean time, I would love for YOU (yes, you!) to check this out.

And I guess the biggest news is that I’m now a redhead again. *grin* Headshots should be up Sunday as well.

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From Bangkok to Calgary…

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009

I am still trying to catch up on sleep from this past weekend! Friday night to Sunday morning, I got about two hours total of sleep… there were the two FASS shows on Friday, the afterparty, work at 9:30 in the morning on Saturday, booting off to Toronto for two auditions, coming back to do the Saturday FASS, and then the strike/party… so yeah, I slept most of Sunday for sure. The auditions went fairly well, I think, and I’m looking forward to hopefully getting lots more soon with my agent, Jeff.

Now that FASS is over, I’m a little sad (hey, it’s like a month-long party with about 100 of new and old friends) but I’m sure I’ll find new projects to distract me soon. Right now, I’m trying to get info out to musicians for A Shadow Shall Fall. At this point in time, most of the work falls to the editing/SFX team and the composers… so there’s little for me to do other than sit on my thumbs and twiddle them. Working as a production manager, I definitely have a wider, bigger, and more varied commitment than if I were “just” acting… but it’s still frustrating for me to not be able to do anything and just leave it up to other people.

I am impossible, I guess! I do, however, have a photoshoot planned for next weekend, so perhaps I’ll be sharing some new headshots soon. I’m also waiting to see if there are any decent photos from FASS this year… I played an enthusiastic, over-protective mother, who wore a lot of pink. =P

I don’t have anything terribly insightful to say, so I guess I’ll leave off for now.

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New & Noteworthy!

Thursday, February 5th, 2009

This week is scary.

Scary as in super-busy, and potentially stressful for me. Nothing I won’t survive, but I’m anticipating not getting enough sleep (I know it’s coming) and everything that I need to cram into the next 48-odd hours… and yeah. Calm blue ocean, calm blue ocean.

First off, I got the last of the photos from my January special done and off to the respective clients, and Twice as Nice photography has finally finished the brochure. So, that’s something, at least… and we’re in the process of booking a wedding already. Some new photos are up on my Flickr from a couple other shoots I did this month.

I’m also in the middle of updating my stills page… soon, there will be a few snaps from a commercial I recently did for TA Appliances. If you scroll down past the Film & TV section, you will find the newly-added commercials section!

More timely, though… FASS opens TONIGHT. I’m doing formal photography at the after-party, and then tomorrow, I’m supervising the food between shows. Eeep. Saturday, I have two auditions in Toronto… and then there’s closing night of the show.
I still need to find time in the near future to get more headshots done, too! And, sadly, my taxes aren’t going to do themselves this year, so there’s that, too.

One day at a time, I suppose.

Off to get ready for tonight!

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