The Life of an Actor

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!