Good News -
* Corey actually got cast in two of the shows he auditioned for! Life is about to get hectic again with rehearsals.
* I've got an interview with a talent agent tomorrow(they were looking for Hispanic people) and an audition for Woman's singing showcase tonight. Cross your fingers for me!
* My name is getting spread around The Knot to brides who want their hair and makeup done for their weddings. I've already booked two through there and have another two or three quotes out there. Cha Ching!
* We're going home for the KC Improv Festival and this weekend should be a blast!
* Apparently Madrids get lucky. I just found out my Grandfather's sister won $50,000 in the New Mexico lottery in November and then his other brother just won 1 Million dollars in the California lottery! I'm gonna buy my ticket tonight.
Bad News -
* I auditioned for the same shows that Corey did. I got nothing.
* Now Corey has to admit I'm Hispanic. If I get the vocal showcase, he'll also have to admit I'm a woman.
* I'm getting booked with big wedding parties and need an assistant. Corey is not willing to learn how to curl hair.
* Going back to KC means having to deal with the likes of the DuPonts.
* We didn't have the foresight to invite my new millionaire relatives to our wedding.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Friday, March 23, 2007
Fun Stuff
OK, so this post is long overdue. We've been busy, so sue us. In the interest of getting this posted quicker, I'll be using the time-honored tradition of bullet points! Here we go, in no real particular order:
- We went to the KU game. Me, Monique and my cousin Anne went to the Jayhawks second round game at the United Center. Anne and I were able to get some sweet, below-face-value tickets from a dude outside the arena last Friday night so we all saw the Kentucky game in person on Sunday! It was a ton of fun. There was a nice big KU contingent in attendence, and doing the "Rock Chalk" chant at the end was pretty sweet. We had a great time at the game. KU played fantastic. In fact, the only complaint that Mo and Anne had were that the KU cheerleaders were pretty lame compared to the Kentucky cheerleaders. What was I thinking? Taking girls to a basketball game. My bad. Fun True Fact: This was the first time Anne had ever seen KU play live! Fun False Fact: Monique scored 4 points and had 1 assist in 3 minutes of mop-up time.
- We have blinds. Mo's dad was in town and we were able to take advantage of his expertise. Now, we are like actual adults and have windows with actual blinds purchased from an actual Home Depot. Fun True Fact: We used to have towels covering the windows. Fun False Fact: Spongebob towels.
- I have been cast in a show. I auditioned for a group called Theater Momentum. They're casting for 3 improvised showcases that will be happening this summer. It was a unified audition for all three directors and I was actually called back for 2 of the shows. The initial audition was Tuesday. Callbacks for a show titled "Missed Connections" was Wednesday and callbacks for "Moniker" were Thursday. While I was in the callback for "Moniker" I got a message on my cell phone offering me the part in "Missed Connections". So that's cool. I'm not entirely sure what the show will be like, other than it explores those Missed Connections type postings on craigslist and such. Rehearsals start next week and the show runs for 8 weeks starting in June. I'll keep you posted when I know more. I'm still waiting to hear about callbacks on the 3rd showcase, so we'll see.
Fun True Fact: The director of "Missed Connections" is named Cholley. Fun False Fact: Even though the show is entirely improvised, it has a script written by John Malkovich.
OK, that's all I got for now. KC Improv Festival is coming up next week. I'm looking forward to that. KU is now in the Elite 8. We play UCLA on Saturday at 6pm CT. Don't nobody call during that.
- Corey
- We went to the KU game. Me, Monique and my cousin Anne went to the Jayhawks second round game at the United Center. Anne and I were able to get some sweet, below-face-value tickets from a dude outside the arena last Friday night so we all saw the Kentucky game in person on Sunday! It was a ton of fun. There was a nice big KU contingent in attendence, and doing the "Rock Chalk" chant at the end was pretty sweet. We had a great time at the game. KU played fantastic. In fact, the only complaint that Mo and Anne had were that the KU cheerleaders were pretty lame compared to the Kentucky cheerleaders. What was I thinking? Taking girls to a basketball game. My bad. Fun True Fact: This was the first time Anne had ever seen KU play live! Fun False Fact: Monique scored 4 points and had 1 assist in 3 minutes of mop-up time.
- We have blinds. Mo's dad was in town and we were able to take advantage of his expertise. Now, we are like actual adults and have windows with actual blinds purchased from an actual Home Depot. Fun True Fact: We used to have towels covering the windows. Fun False Fact: Spongebob towels.
- I have been cast in a show. I auditioned for a group called Theater Momentum. They're casting for 3 improvised showcases that will be happening this summer. It was a unified audition for all three directors and I was actually called back for 2 of the shows. The initial audition was Tuesday. Callbacks for a show titled "Missed Connections" was Wednesday and callbacks for "Moniker" were Thursday. While I was in the callback for "Moniker" I got a message on my cell phone offering me the part in "Missed Connections". So that's cool. I'm not entirely sure what the show will be like, other than it explores those Missed Connections type postings on craigslist and such. Rehearsals start next week and the show runs for 8 weeks starting in June. I'll keep you posted when I know more. I'm still waiting to hear about callbacks on the 3rd showcase, so we'll see.
Fun True Fact: The director of "Missed Connections" is named Cholley. Fun False Fact: Even though the show is entirely improvised, it has a script written by John Malkovich.
OK, that's all I got for now. KC Improv Festival is coming up next week. I'm looking forward to that. KU is now in the Elite 8. We play UCLA on Saturday at 6pm CT. Don't nobody call during that.
- Corey
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Update: It's so Upgreat, so don't Uphate
So here's the latest happenings: Corey just got back from a quick trip to KC to do a little Jew-prov over the weekend. For me, Saturday was jam packed with hair clients. I didn't realize that don't have the stamina I used to for standing all day long without breaks. I'm sure I'll build it up again, but it's not fun after a full week of also working at the first job. On the plus side, I did got to spend Saturday evening with Dan Walsh. He was in town for work, so we were able to meet up for dinner. It just reminds me what good friends we have back in KC. I miss you all and I wish we could just move you all here.
I picked Corey up from the airport at 11:30pm Sunday and poor thing just hasn't had a chance for a full night's sleep since. And it's not even what you think. First the late flight in from KC, then last night Blackpool Lights arrived in town again. There are 5 boys sleeping in our little condo right now. Tonight they play a concert here in town opening up for the Ataris. They'll stay with us again this evening and then head out early tomorrow (Wednesday)morning.
After that we have a quick turn around to get the house in order for my dad and company to come in from KC fom Thursday to Sunday. And do I need to mention that its tournament time? The March Madness has hit Corey in a big way as usual and besides the multiple bracket pools he's participating in, it looks like on Sunday he and his cousin Anne (also a KU alum) will be going to the Jayhawks second round tournament game being played here in Chicago. I'd like to go, too, but will probably have to work, so we'll see.
All this, then we go back to KC at the end of March for the KC Improv Festival (see the big orange button on the right of the page). Apparently, we won't get to stop and catch our breath until April. As tired as we are, I'm mostly okay with that as long as the weather stays nice. The last 3 days have been gorgeous. It put me in such a good mood yesterday that all I could think about all day was going for a walk in the evening. Unfortunately I was hit with a migraine and spent the evening with a tie around my head under a blanket. I'm doing much better now, but I still owe myself a walk.
- Mo
I picked Corey up from the airport at 11:30pm Sunday and poor thing just hasn't had a chance for a full night's sleep since. And it's not even what you think. First the late flight in from KC, then last night Blackpool Lights arrived in town again. There are 5 boys sleeping in our little condo right now. Tonight they play a concert here in town opening up for the Ataris. They'll stay with us again this evening and then head out early tomorrow (Wednesday)morning.
After that we have a quick turn around to get the house in order for my dad and company to come in from KC fom Thursday to Sunday. And do I need to mention that its tournament time? The March Madness has hit Corey in a big way as usual and besides the multiple bracket pools he's participating in, it looks like on Sunday he and his cousin Anne (also a KU alum) will be going to the Jayhawks second round tournament game being played here in Chicago. I'd like to go, too, but will probably have to work, so we'll see.
All this, then we go back to KC at the end of March for the KC Improv Festival (see the big orange button on the right of the page). Apparently, we won't get to stop and catch our breath until April. As tired as we are, I'm mostly okay with that as long as the weather stays nice. The last 3 days have been gorgeous. It put me in such a good mood yesterday that all I could think about all day was going for a walk in the evening. Unfortunately I was hit with a migraine and spent the evening with a tie around my head under a blanket. I'm doing much better now, but I still owe myself a walk.
- Mo
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Inconvenient truths
Corey and I have learned a few things about ourselves that aren't necessarily good. Still, it is what it is and we must accept these truths and adapt to them.
Mo - I am apparently 5 years old. Over the last month, I have literally lost one of the gloves from four, yes four sets. Clearly the only way to handle this truth is to buy some yarn and connect the pair of gloves together so that they don't get lost. Once I'm out of the cold safely with both gloves, I will take a big safety pin and attach it to my coat. I am now down to my last pair of thin, oversized set. With spring just around the corner it's pointless to buy new ones, so I will freeze for a few more weeks, but that's the consequences for being careless. That and a time out in the corner.
I've also recently accepted that I am a walking magnet for shit to happen. Yes, I know Corey's the one that fell recently, but somehow that was the universe being altered for that one day. That regular role belongs to me. Yesterday I was waiting for the train to come. I was leaning against a wall at the Belmont el stop and as I got up I hear the distinct sound of leather peeling off of wet paint. It's not like I leaned up against a pole or there were signs up. There was literally one small space, inside an empty frame that probably used to hold a poster or ad. Somehow I found this small area and plastered my back right against it. Ruined my good coat. I was of course upset and apparently distracted because when I got off the train, just a couple stops later, I left my hat on the El. What is going on? Oh yeah, I'm 5 and not old enough to handle the responsibilites of owning winter gear.
Corey - He is apparently blind oh and a little retarded. It's a cliche really. Most wives would tell you that their husbands aren't good at looking for stuff.
"Where's the aspirin?"
"In the cabinet on the left side."
"No it's not..."
and the wife gets up from what ever she was busy doing to go to the cabinet and get the aspirin from the left side, RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIS FACE. Well, Corey took this to a new level today.
I usually wake up right as he's leaving for work. This morning I woke up to him frantically cussing and looking all around the bedroom. He couldn't find his wallet. I woke up and we continued to tear the house apart, checked his pockets on the clothes he was wearing the night before, looked in his coat and even checked weird places like the fridge, just in case he accidentally put it in there ala a Cosby Show episode (remember when Vanessa left her report in the freezer? Anyone? No? Well, it was a good episode, trust me). The last he remembered having it was at the grocery store the night before, from there he came straight home. We called the store and no one had turned it in. At this point, he was starting to get nauseous. He's also going to be late for work. I'd pretty much given up on getting to work on time myself. So, we headed outside because we figured the only place it could be was in between the car and the house or the store and the car. Of course it snowed again last night, so we swept our feet across the sidewalk, pretty much shoveling the sidewalk looking for this thing. Then we drove to the store, because even though when we called they hadn't seen it, we thought we'd take a look ourselves. At this point Corey was at a "level 5 1/2" on a scale of 1-10 of "i'm going to vomit." We got out of the car and walk up to the front door and suddenly Corey stops. With his hands casually placed in his coat pocket, I see the look on his face and all he does is turn around 180 degrees. "It's in your pocket, isn't it?" And of course it was. All along, it was in his pocket, where he had "looked" several times.
I guess I shouldn't give him a hard time. It's hard having a disabililty and clearly the only way to handle this truth is to get a seeing eye dog or like me, safety pin his wallet to his coat. As a supportive wife I need to encourage him to reach for the stars and that even with his special needs he can be anything he wants, just not on time for work.
- Mo
Mo - I am apparently 5 years old. Over the last month, I have literally lost one of the gloves from four, yes four sets. Clearly the only way to handle this truth is to buy some yarn and connect the pair of gloves together so that they don't get lost. Once I'm out of the cold safely with both gloves, I will take a big safety pin and attach it to my coat. I am now down to my last pair of thin, oversized set. With spring just around the corner it's pointless to buy new ones, so I will freeze for a few more weeks, but that's the consequences for being careless. That and a time out in the corner.
I've also recently accepted that I am a walking magnet for shit to happen. Yes, I know Corey's the one that fell recently, but somehow that was the universe being altered for that one day. That regular role belongs to me. Yesterday I was waiting for the train to come. I was leaning against a wall at the Belmont el stop and as I got up I hear the distinct sound of leather peeling off of wet paint. It's not like I leaned up against a pole or there were signs up. There was literally one small space, inside an empty frame that probably used to hold a poster or ad. Somehow I found this small area and plastered my back right against it. Ruined my good coat. I was of course upset and apparently distracted because when I got off the train, just a couple stops later, I left my hat on the El. What is going on? Oh yeah, I'm 5 and not old enough to handle the responsibilites of owning winter gear.
Corey - He is apparently blind oh and a little retarded. It's a cliche really. Most wives would tell you that their husbands aren't good at looking for stuff.
"Where's the aspirin?"
"In the cabinet on the left side."
"No it's not..."
and the wife gets up from what ever she was busy doing to go to the cabinet and get the aspirin from the left side, RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIS FACE. Well, Corey took this to a new level today.
I usually wake up right as he's leaving for work. This morning I woke up to him frantically cussing and looking all around the bedroom. He couldn't find his wallet. I woke up and we continued to tear the house apart, checked his pockets on the clothes he was wearing the night before, looked in his coat and even checked weird places like the fridge, just in case he accidentally put it in there ala a Cosby Show episode (remember when Vanessa left her report in the freezer? Anyone? No? Well, it was a good episode, trust me). The last he remembered having it was at the grocery store the night before, from there he came straight home. We called the store and no one had turned it in. At this point, he was starting to get nauseous. He's also going to be late for work. I'd pretty much given up on getting to work on time myself. So, we headed outside because we figured the only place it could be was in between the car and the house or the store and the car. Of course it snowed again last night, so we swept our feet across the sidewalk, pretty much shoveling the sidewalk looking for this thing. Then we drove to the store, because even though when we called they hadn't seen it, we thought we'd take a look ourselves. At this point Corey was at a "level 5 1/2" on a scale of 1-10 of "i'm going to vomit." We got out of the car and walk up to the front door and suddenly Corey stops. With his hands casually placed in his coat pocket, I see the look on his face and all he does is turn around 180 degrees. "It's in your pocket, isn't it?" And of course it was. All along, it was in his pocket, where he had "looked" several times.
I guess I shouldn't give him a hard time. It's hard having a disabililty and clearly the only way to handle this truth is to get a seeing eye dog or like me, safety pin his wallet to his coat. As a supportive wife I need to encourage him to reach for the stars and that even with his special needs he can be anything he wants, just not on time for work.
- Mo
Monday, March 05, 2007
My first time
First and foremost, Corey's coccyx is feeling much better. Thanks for all your well wishes. It's still bothering him if he sits for a long period of time, but overall he's OK. Of course he couldn't be totally pain free as he went and turned his ankle playing basketball on Saturday. My gimpy husband, with his irritated coccyx limping around on his swollen foot, lovely. Usually I'm the clutzy one.
Anyways...
Last week was super busy with fun, new experiences. I talk about these not to be boastful, but rather because I'm excited about them, since they were a blast and thank God something finally hit.
Chicago is great, and I have so many opportunities here, but along with opportunity comes competition. When it comes to acting, you have to get used to the rejection. You can go on 10 auditions, feel that they all went great (in a perfect world - this never happens in reality, of course) and only get cast for 1 thing, if any. I understand it, I'm prepared for it, but sometimes it can get a little daunting to continue to strive for something that just isn't happening.
Finally, last week I made some progress. Surprisingly, a bunch of stuff all at once. I already told you about the rock album and the music video (more on that next week) for my styling business. Last week I also booked some really cool acting gigs.
First I shot a commercial for HumanaOne Insurance. I'm still unclear if it was a step-commercial, something for them to use internally, or an actual national or local spot, but either way, it was my first. Oh yeah, no more pink hair, had to cover it up. Damn! I only got to keep it for 8 days.
There was no script, basically I was just given a character breakdown. I played a woman in her early 30's (WTF?) looking for independent health insurance. I went in and just talked to the director on camera. Since there was no official script, they asked us (there were a lot of people of various ages and with different storylines and character needs) to talk about our situations. Why did we need insurance, why were we hesitant, etc. I had a chance to watch a couple people before me, so when it came to my turn I was ready. The shoot went perfectly. They LOVED me. Again, not bragging, but man with all the rejection from auditions lately, I just needed something to go well, for my own self-esteem more than anything. Sometimes you just feel it and you know you're "on". I was making them laugh off camera, they loved my character and how I looked on camera. I looked at the whole thing as a way to make contacts for acting AND for styling. I was even hitting it off with the lighting guy who's done a lot of feature work. Everyone on that set ended up with my card in their hand. The director even hinted at actually working with me again as a stylist since he didn't have many hair and makeup contacts, not just losing my card after I left.
Funniest part of that shoot was when this older fellow shooting before me was asked to talk about how he wanted good quality insurance, and wasn't looking for a bargain because he's used to high end things, and that he prefers "top shelf" items. I understand that he was trying to go with the flow and use his own words, but the poor guy clearly wasn't comfortable improvising as he ended up saying, "I worked my way up.... I want a steak, not a hamburger and that's why I need health insurance." It was hilarious, David (the lighting guy) and I did our best not to laugh at loud because it sounded like this guy needed insurance because he eats steak. Who knows when I'll get another on film gig like this again, but I'm feeling much better and it'll at least tie me over for a couple more months.
Then on Friday, I woke up at 5:00am to be a on-air character for a "major" Midwest radio show (Another first!). Supposedly, rather than have the actual listeners who write the shock jock crazy emails call in themselves, they hire actors to portray these listeners and of course embellish and trash them up. I had to be on the phone from 5:00am - 10:00am ready to talk at any point. I played a dancer turned prostitute who wanted to give her daughter away to the host or a listener for a few years so she could clean up her life. Really it was some of the most sophisticated work I've ever done. It was crazy, but a lot of fun, I'd probably do it again if given the chance. Of course being a fast paced radio show, I was only on for a couple minutes throughout the whole time. I even got to talk to Ron Jeremy since he was in the studio. The downside besides being up at 5:00am was this: You know how a morning talk radio show is loud with crazy sounds going off and it's repetitive and very ADD? The main reason is of course because people only listen for a short amount of time, usually in their car and the producers want to get as much in as possible. Well imagine listening to that, intently, phone against your ear, actually paying attention because they could say "your name" at any minute.... FOR 5 HOURS! By the time it was done, I was jittery from all the caffeine and my brain felt like it had been scrambled. This probably isn't going to lead to anything big, but it's nice on the resume, and was fun. Besides how else would I have talked to Ron Jeremy. OK, besides the times he's hanging out at our house...I'm talking in a non-professional way people, geez.
-Mo
Anyways...
Last week was super busy with fun, new experiences. I talk about these not to be boastful, but rather because I'm excited about them, since they were a blast and thank God something finally hit.
Chicago is great, and I have so many opportunities here, but along with opportunity comes competition. When it comes to acting, you have to get used to the rejection. You can go on 10 auditions, feel that they all went great (in a perfect world - this never happens in reality, of course) and only get cast for 1 thing, if any. I understand it, I'm prepared for it, but sometimes it can get a little daunting to continue to strive for something that just isn't happening.
Finally, last week I made some progress. Surprisingly, a bunch of stuff all at once. I already told you about the rock album and the music video (more on that next week) for my styling business. Last week I also booked some really cool acting gigs.
First I shot a commercial for HumanaOne Insurance. I'm still unclear if it was a step-commercial, something for them to use internally, or an actual national or local spot, but either way, it was my first. Oh yeah, no more pink hair, had to cover it up. Damn! I only got to keep it for 8 days.
There was no script, basically I was just given a character breakdown. I played a woman in her early 30's (WTF?) looking for independent health insurance. I went in and just talked to the director on camera. Since there was no official script, they asked us (there were a lot of people of various ages and with different storylines and character needs) to talk about our situations. Why did we need insurance, why were we hesitant, etc. I had a chance to watch a couple people before me, so when it came to my turn I was ready. The shoot went perfectly. They LOVED me. Again, not bragging, but man with all the rejection from auditions lately, I just needed something to go well, for my own self-esteem more than anything. Sometimes you just feel it and you know you're "on". I was making them laugh off camera, they loved my character and how I looked on camera. I looked at the whole thing as a way to make contacts for acting AND for styling. I was even hitting it off with the lighting guy who's done a lot of feature work. Everyone on that set ended up with my card in their hand. The director even hinted at actually working with me again as a stylist since he didn't have many hair and makeup contacts, not just losing my card after I left.
Funniest part of that shoot was when this older fellow shooting before me was asked to talk about how he wanted good quality insurance, and wasn't looking for a bargain because he's used to high end things, and that he prefers "top shelf" items. I understand that he was trying to go with the flow and use his own words, but the poor guy clearly wasn't comfortable improvising as he ended up saying, "I worked my way up.... I want a steak, not a hamburger and that's why I need health insurance." It was hilarious, David (the lighting guy) and I did our best not to laugh at loud because it sounded like this guy needed insurance because he eats steak. Who knows when I'll get another on film gig like this again, but I'm feeling much better and it'll at least tie me over for a couple more months.
Then on Friday, I woke up at 5:00am to be a on-air character for a "major" Midwest radio show (Another first!). Supposedly, rather than have the actual listeners who write the shock jock crazy emails call in themselves, they hire actors to portray these listeners and of course embellish and trash them up. I had to be on the phone from 5:00am - 10:00am ready to talk at any point. I played a dancer turned prostitute who wanted to give her daughter away to the host or a listener for a few years so she could clean up her life. Really it was some of the most sophisticated work I've ever done. It was crazy, but a lot of fun, I'd probably do it again if given the chance. Of course being a fast paced radio show, I was only on for a couple minutes throughout the whole time. I even got to talk to Ron Jeremy since he was in the studio. The downside besides being up at 5:00am was this: You know how a morning talk radio show is loud with crazy sounds going off and it's repetitive and very ADD? The main reason is of course because people only listen for a short amount of time, usually in their car and the producers want to get as much in as possible. Well imagine listening to that, intently, phone against your ear, actually paying attention because they could say "your name" at any minute.... FOR 5 HOURS! By the time it was done, I was jittery from all the caffeine and my brain felt like it had been scrambled. This probably isn't going to lead to anything big, but it's nice on the resume, and was fun. Besides how else would I have talked to Ron Jeremy. OK, besides the times he's hanging out at our house...I'm talking in a non-professional way people, geez.
-Mo
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