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February 29, 2008
Congratulations to our April 2008 Showcase WRITERS!
As you may recall, we put out the official call for comedic material for our April 2008 Showcase last month.
Yay! We love that these rockstar writers--seriously, check out the IMDB pages on some of these cats--want their material showcased, just as much as the actors want to be showcased doing great material!
(And, hey, if a talent agent in the showcase audience is inspired to go back to work the next day and tell the head of the literary department about this fantastic scene and amazing writer they should scoop up for their roster, that's not so bad, is it?)
So, THANK YOU to ALL who submitted material for the April 2008 Showcase. (Those scenes not selected will remain on our list for future showcase consideration.)
We're thrilled to announce the line-up of writers for this showcase (and THANK YOU for helping with the whole "meta-showcasing" experience)!
Anna Christopher || Annie Wood || Ato Essandoh || Brooke Stone || Cole Stratton || Eric Volkman || Etta Devine || Jack Kenny and Brian Hargrove || Kenneth Ong || Laurel Felt || Michael Proctor || Michele Karpel || Rainy Kerwin || Sean Spence
We hope you reap many benefits from the industry exposure you'll receive for having penned a great showcase scene (or three). Your amazing words are now in the hands of our kickass cast and superstar director, Chil Kong. Hope you'll come check out the finished results in April!
Congratulations and, again, THANK YOU!!
LYMI,
--Bonnie Gillespie, cruise director
Cricket Feet Showcase --> April 16th and 17th (RSVP now!)
Showcase on MySpace
Posted by bonnie at 4:05 PM | Comments (0)
February 27, 2008
I love college kids.
Two speaking engagements today. One at Pepperdine, the other at UCLA. I just love college kids. They really have fun and, perhaps more importantly, they have the whole world of their lives stretched out ahead of them, infinite choices and possibilities. Not a whole lot of crap piled up in the way.
And when I speak with them about acting and showbiz and this whole career thing, it reminds me that we all have the whole world of our lives stretched out ahead of us, infinite choices and possibilities.
Badass.
Posted by bonnie at 10:50 PM | Comments (0)
February 25, 2008
My life since 1am Thursday.
Sleep. Blow nose. Cough. NyQuil. Sleep. Blow nose. Dry heaves. Cry. NyQuil. Sleep. Blow nose. Hack up something really ugly. NyQuil. Sleep. Check email. Ignore phone ringing off hook. NyQuil. Sleep. Update showcase website. Check email. Have Keith handle as much of my job as he possibly can. NyQuil. Sleep. Blow nose. Hack up something really ugly. Moan. Cry. NyQuil. Sleep. Lose all sense of humor. Try to take a shower. Cry. NyQuil. Sleep. Cry. Try to eat. Bad idea. NyQuil. Sleep.
And now I HAVE TO leave the house for the first time since Wednesday night, still ignoring the mountain of calls and emails that have come in about casting gigs, producing issues, and even the bad-ass web series for the showcase; still relying on Keith to do most of the heavy lifting (even as he's back to work at CSI: Miami and running all over town for me and himself); and still saying NO to everything else I'm being asked to deal with tomorrow because I have TWO speaking engagements on Wednesday and no way to get out of those.
Conserving energy.
So, any of you who own stock in Puffs Plus with Aloe or NyQuil, be happy. I've gone through so much of your product in the past four and a half days that you are certainly very rich because of me.
I am the worst patient on the planet!!!!!!!!!!!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Hollywood Crud, be gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[Edited to add:]
Bonus! On endless loop in my head: "Boys in the Hood" by Dynamite Hack in a mash-up with "Buy Me a Rainbow" from that episode of The Family Guy in which Meg gets a makeover and the family starts up a singing-in-prisons tour. Niiiiice.
Posted by bonnie at 3:51 PM | Comments (4)
February 22, 2008
April 2008 Cricket Feet Showcase Cast Announced!
Congratulations to our April 2008 Cricket Feet Casting Actors Showcase CAST!
Let's meet 'em, shall we?
Andrea Russell
Brooke Stone
Carey Linnell
Christina Blevins
Cole Stratton
Craig Pearman
Cristina Cimellaro
David Boyd
Doug Dezzani
Edelyn Aubrey
Eitan Loewenstein
Elena Muntean
Etta Devine
Haskell Vaughn Anderson III
Jackie Joyner
James Jolly
Jennifer Betit Yen
Jeremiah Peisert
Jonathan Strait
Jordan Liddle
Julie Inmon
Karen Forman
Keith Johnson
Kimberly Demarse
Lauren Aboulafia
Leila Perry
Lindsay Katai
Louie Millican
Marc McTizic
Mark Wood
Mary Passeri
Nia Jervier
Regina Palian
Renée Spei
Shawn Lockie
Sheila Daley
Shelley Delayne
Stacey Healey
Tamika Simpkins
Tim Worley
Yoyao Hsueh
Links to actors' official actor profiles (with resumés, demo reels, and all that good stuff) will be coming soon at the Cricket Feet Showcase website. Congratulations, everyone! And THANK YOU to all of the amazing actors who auditioned for our April showcase. We hope to work with you in the future!
See y'all at The Colony Theatre!
LYMI,
-Bon.
(on behalf of Chil Kong, Eitan Loewenstein and the whole showcase team)
MySpace.com/CricketFeetShowcase
Posted by bonnie at 12:11 AM | Comments (0)
February 18, 2008
I don't like it.
There is one thing in this world my husband loves more than me. That's his son, Quinn.
So, when Quinn's mom and Keith divorced seven years ago, they worked out all sorts of neat things like "reasonable visitation" (which will, within the next couple of years--thankfully--mean Quinn comes to live with us and then goes to see his mom every summer for a few weeks) and weekly phone calls.
Weekly. Phone. Calls.
And one of the things Keith looks forward to more than anything in the world is his every-Sunday chat with his growing son. They talk about everything from what Quinn is doing in school to what's on TV, from the weather to pets, from responsibility to tough choices.
And Keith hasn't had a conversation with his son in a month now.
Yup. A dozen unreturned phone calls.
Messages left, week after week, "Hi, this is Keith. Just calling to talk to Quinn. Have him call me when he gets in. Thanks."
And nothing.
NOTHING.
I get it. I know it's gotta be tough to manage a family and work and life. And Quinn's getting old enough that he may not even want to talk to his dad anymore. Fine. Let him tell his dad that. When Quinn is here and doesn't want to call his mom, we tell him it's the right thing to do... that she misses him and he needs to call her even just to say hello. That's good parenting. A nine-year-old is not in charge of things.
So, today, when Keith called and was told by--not sure--either a babysitter or Quinn's teenage step-sister that Quinn was in the shower and that he should call him back in 15 minutes, Keith did as instructed.
And when the next call went unanswered... repeatedly... Keith became sad. Not mad. Sad. Depressed. I encouraged him to call again. He did... repeatedly... and finally the teenager on the phone clicked over and said, "I am ON THE PHONE with my driving instructor! He will CALL YOU BACK!"
Guess what?
Tick-tock, tick-tock, it's getting more and more past Quinn's bedtime and no one is calling back.
So Keith calls again... repeatedly... and no one answers. No one clicks over. No one but me gets to witness the emotional torture Quinn's father is enduring.
Sadder still, I don't think anyone else fucking cares.
Sorry, Quinn's mom. I know you hate it when I blog about you or your family or your choices, but this is getting ridiculous. And it HURTS ME, as an adult child of divorce who CRAVED to know that her non-local parent even thought about her, ever.
So, I am blogging to make sure that when Quinn is ready to read about it, he can be sure--100% sure--that his father thinks about him every day, talks about him every day, fights to spend MORE time with him, is desperately sad that no one bothered to send us school photos this year, and CALLS HIM EVERY GOD DAMNED WEEK, whether he ever gets the message or not. Whether he is ever *parented* in such a way that calls are returned because THAT IS THE DEAL or not.
I remember being nine. I remember not wanting anything to do with my dad. And I remember how much it fed my soul to get to know that he loved me so much it made him ache to be away from me.
I don't want to think about Quinn, 30 years from now--crying like I am right now as I write this--because he was robbed of knowing how much his father missed him.
Posted by bonnie at 11:11 PM
February 17, 2008
4 Things About Me
Damn you, AnnaVo, for not only sending this to me, but for predicting in your responses that I would blog my responses. Damn you, brilliant goddess woman!!!!!!! ;)
4 jobs I have had:
1. hand model
2. Improv comedy traffic school instructor
3. instructional technology coordinator for a pre-K through 12 private school
4. records room attendant at Athens Regional Medical Center (room located next to the morgue. I lasted exactly one hour and 15 minutes in that position)
4 places I have lived:
1. within a mile of Hartsfield-Atlanta Airport
2. all over Athens, GA (the finest college town on the planet)
3. Hollywood Tower (yes, that cool building by the 101 with a spectacular view of the Hollywood sign)
4. seven blocks from the beach
4 TV shows I watch:
1. ANTM (with support reading material)
2. Heroes
3. Free Radio
4. Iconoclasts
4 places I have been (other than where I live):
1. Hawaii
2. Madrid
3. NYC
4. Vegas, baby
4 people who email me regularly:
1. Google Alerts
2. Keith
3. Yahoo Groups notification bots, MySpace notification bots, The Biz notification bots, etc.
4. Some guy named "g!ganT1c fU*#$ticK" just started emailing me 60+ times per day this past week with all sorts of wonderful offers to buy \/!@gRa and C1@Li$. Yay. Lucky, lucky me.
4 favorite foods:
1. lobster from The Palm or Dan Tana's
2. cheese plate from Il Moro
3. Reese's peanut butter eggs (yes, they taste different than regular "cups")
4. 101 Salad from the 101 Coffee Shop (holy, hell, I may go get in the car for that right now)
4 places I would rather be right now:
1. Copperwynd
2. La Costa
3. some really beautiful home I own in the future a few blocks from here
4. sitting atop an enormous pile of tax-free cash money
4 people I think will respond:
1. AnnaVo (no, not because she wants to do it again, but because she believes pets deserve treats for doing their tricks correctly)
2. CoCo if she's bored or looking for some way to take a mini break from work
3. Keith, but he'll do it verbally
4. my cool-ass sister-in-law Liz
4 things I look forward to this year:
1. traveling internationally for a casting gig
2. publishing the third edition of Self-Management for Actors
3. seeing the actors get a good deal without having to go on strike at all
4. Quinn's annual visit
Thanks, Anna. :) That was fun. Now I have to get back to writing my column!
Posted by bonnie at 4:57 PM | Comments (2)
February 16, 2008
Mortified
And it's all Mercury Retrograde's fault.
(Well, that's not true. I'll take some of the blame, as I certainly know well enough by now that I'm to double-check and triple-check everything communicated to me during Mercury Retrograde.)
Okay, so on the 5th, I agreed to speak at the Musical Theatre Competitions of America event at Fullerton College today. I was told I could have 1pm or 2pm, and I chose 2pm. Even put it on my calendar.
Had received two follow-up emails from the coordinator going over things like parking and day-of cell phone numbers for emergencies... and flagged those emails to print out today, before hopping in the car for our drive to Fullerton ('round 12:30pm or so, to get there a little early).
Guess what time my talk was? 12:30pm.
Guess what time I realized that? 12:10pm, when I printed out the emails we'd need in the car on the drive over to Fullerton for "my 2pm talk."
Son of a FUCK!
I am mortified and bummed and pissed and all that other good stuff.
Good one, Mercury Retrograde. I thought I was going to escape your wrath this time out, as I've been soooooo on top of everything these few weeks (and not without a huge expense of energy, patience, diplomacy, and grace). Nicely played, waiting 'til your last hours to be sure I got a good ass-kicking.
Now, go away. Thank you.
Posted by bonnie at 1:22 PM | Comments (2)
February 12, 2008
12 of 12 for Feb08
Another "didn't leave the house" edition of 12 of 12 (but this one was due to WORK, baby, not the other thing).
(New to 12 of 12? Visit Mr. Chad Darnell for the details, rules, and links to all of the other 12 of 12ers out there participating. And leave comments. 12'ers love comments!)
12:59am: Pass/consider time. We get some really amazing submissions of comedic scenes for the showcase. We have to decide what's best. So, there's a team of readers (need some new volunteers, actually) and we all score "pass/consider" for each scene and writer. Then we cast the show. ;)
1:35am: Up from a half-hour nap (yes, really) and back to work... but first... leftover sushi from Houston's. Yummmmmmmm. I seriously get four meals out of this thing... and could eat it every day. Delish!
3:09am: Thwok has decided to come help with my "To Do" list. She's very helpful that way. And pushy, for a ten-pound critter.
4:00am: I have a splitting headache that just came over me FAST. Cannot seem to shake it. Gonna try an Excedrin and a half (yes, that's my limit. I know. Wimp) and some pistachios. And water. Lots of water.
5:33am: Showcase scenes. See? Lots of 'em. I have now emailed all of the showcase auditioners who have answered their Cmail questionnaires (Q: What is WITH the huge number of actors who don't check Actors Access Cmail? Crazy!!!!), put Eitan's pass/considers into the grid, updated Ulmer Scale numbers on The Quest pitch spreadsheet, and analyzed the first breakdown and treatment on those above- and below-mentioned two upcoming films. Time to email a bid and get a nap before sun-up.
6:10am: Turning the page on the "Common Errors in English Usage" calendar. Who the hell would ever spell "holistic" "wholistic" anyway? (Some entries are better than others, I tell ya.) And NOW off to bed for a sleep cycle.
8:40am: Yup. That's how much email has come in, in 90 minutes while the world is sleeping. Up to make sure an actor got an email from me, canceling his meeting with the creative team behind The Quest (because if he didn't, I'm up and on the phone, now). Yup. He got it. Phew. Back to sleep.
10:32am: But not for long. The phone won't stop ringing. So, up I am. :) Pilot season is officially back on, and the agents are hopped up on caffeine and calling all of their favorite CDs about everything that had been back-burnered for a few months. Today four deal memos go out. Finally. :)
11:45am: I've never filled up a call log book this quickly. Keith just ordered six more online. Amazing what casting so much at once will do.
3:15pm: Thwok is hunting. She's certain she can get that bird that's nesting in the tree outside our window. Sometimes I believe her!
4:11pm: Archie sunbathing next to a stack of showcase materials I've recently pulled back out of storage. Yup. It's that time again! Auditions next week! :) Was that a "break"? Eesh! Good thing I love this thing! :)
6:18pm: Faxing sides to Showfax.com for producer sessions on the role of MICK in Scratching the Surface before close of business. Really looking forward to meeting these actors (no, appointments haven't gone out yet) and especially the producer and director on this film! The producer and I are already committed to work on his next two feature films together this year and next, so I can't wait to hug his neck! :)
7:48pm: Making the final list of actors to invite to those sessions. One round of name actor meetings, one round of chemistry reads with borderline namey actors, and one round of good ol' producer callbacks. Love it! That's a good day!
8:33pm: Fresh out of the shower and realizing that our medicine cabinet is about the largest space for "stuff" in a bathroom ever. I don't know if we can ever go back to regular-sized medicine cabinets. (Oh, and 95% of our medicine lives in the kitchen. I know. Weird.)
Yeah, I know, that was more than 12... but let's call it 12 of 12 plus bonus kitty photos. Everyone loves kitty photos! ;) Thanks for visiting!
PS--Ding dong, the strike is dead! :) Yay! I cannot change my "in support of the WGA" avatar fast enough! Phew! Congrats, writers. So glad you got a good deal!!
Posted by bonnie at 11:23 PM | Comments (10)
February 9, 2008
The Biz
Rockstar Beau Wilson invited me to join The Biz over at Variety.com, and I did it. So far, pretty cool.
Lemmeknow if you want an invite (not sure whether you can just sign yourself up for an account without an invite, so there's the offer if you want it/need it. Otherwise, just go sign up and I'll see ya' over there).
Posted by bonnie at 1:28 PM | Comments (0)
February 6, 2008
Scratching the Surface: More Casting Announcements
Woo hoo!
Welcome to the (already amazing) cast of Scratching the Surface!
Mrs. Shifman 
(Talia Shire).
And Mr. Edelman 
(Dan Castellaneta).
(Very exciting) offer rolling out shortly on the role of Mrs. Westin. And we're going straight to callbacks on the role of MICK, coming up in a couple of weeks. Again, THANK YOU, awesome actors, for doing the YouTube Group uploads! (More on that in this week's column.)
Congratulations, everyone! I'm just so excited about this amazing film. Wish I could be there for the shoot. You KNOW it's gonna be FUN! :)
I so love my job!!! Hee!
Posted by bonnie at 6:11 PM | Comments (2)
February 5, 2008
ISO Black Boots
*sigh*
It should be so simple.
I just want to buy a decent pair of black boots with a 2" heel and square toe to replace the decent pair of black boots with a 2" heel and square toe that I've worn out.
(Long-time readers of the BonBlogs will recall I experienced a similar level of frustration when ISO Black Strappy Sandals.)
*sigh*
My momma taught me to buy ten of anything I found that fit and I fell in love with (see: my dozen black cami tank tops), but somehow I never manage to do that with footwear.
And here I am, having run all over town over the course of several days, just trying to find a damn pair of black boots...
...that aren't ridiculous.
...or flats.
...or... *shudder*
Just want a good ol' pair of boots to wear with my jeans. And I don't want to stand on stilts. Or directly on the floor. Or on a streetcorner.
*sigh*
Note: In case there is any doubt, only the first two options pictured above are actually acceptable. If only they were actually out there.
Posted by bonnie at 3:37 AM | Comments (10)
February 3, 2008
Introducing our April 2008 Showcase Director!
I am very excited to announce our new director for the April 2008 Cricket Feet Casting Actors Showcase, Chil Kong! (I mean, c'mon, can you have a more badass name than that?!?)
Chil Kong (no, I don't think I'll ever be able to say his name without saying his WHOLE name) has served as the artistic director of Asia On Stage in Boston, the director in residence with the San Diego Asian American Theatre Company in San Diego, the artistic director of the North West Asian American Theatre Company in Seattle, and the co-artistic director of the Lodestone Theatre Ensemble in Los Angeles. He has also directed the NBC Diversity Showcase, which is way damn cool for us.
Oh, and if you're thinking of submitting and haven't done so yet, you have 'til 5pm Friday the 8th. Here's the link to the breakdown. C'mon... what are you waiting for? Have you seen our new venue?
Um, hello! Colony Theatre, baby! Yeah!
Congrats, Chil (yay! I did it. First name only)! And huge thank you to all of the amazing director candidates who expressed interest, submitted, interviewed, and rocked our world. This was a really tough decision and we're so very pleased to have met so many awesome directors for our future showcase directing pool.
It is ON! :)
Posted by bonnie at 4:10 AM | Comments (0)