"crystallize your goals."

as mentioned in my previous post, i wanted to take some time to write out my goals for june  - august 2013.
i've always made dream boards and the like but there's something about not only writing down your goals but how you'e going to go about achieving said goals, that i feel holds you more accountable.
*holy run-on sentence, batman.
it's like paul j. myer once said:

crystallize your goals.

make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline.

then, with supreme confidence, determination and disregard for obstacles and other people's criticisms carry out your plan.

so, i present to you my goals (aka. dreams with a deadline) for june - august 2013:

1) sign with a new agent!
it's no secret that i am unhappy with my current representation.
complaining and whining about the situation i was in did nothing to better it.
i found myself in the same spot...with elevated blood pressure.
so, i've decided to start taking the steps towards finding better representation.
last month, i had a consultation with one of toronto's top acting coaches.
after our meeting, that the acting school will help me get in contact with bigger, better agents in the city.
having their support is amazing and i can't wait to start the process.

2) book my second union project!
one step closer to full union status!
**i'm just going to throw this one out there - DEGRASSIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!

3) attend the mandated workshops for ACTRA apprentices
this one's pretty self-explanatory.

4) contact YEAA and start attending meetings (network, network, network)

those are basically all my goals for the time frame mentioned above.
i just want to audition regularly!

because the relationship between the number of auditions and the number of bookings is a positive correlation - the more you audition, the greater the likelihood of you booking something...

pray for me.

xoxo,
TA

yesterday's audition?

"success has a simple formula: do your best, and people may like it."

so, how did my audition go you ask?

my audition time was 4:10 pm and i got there super early to do my hair and makeup/get in the zone, blah.

anyways, there were three other girls in the waiting room with me - two of which were "visibile minorities", which i took as a good thing for me as it seemed like casting was leaning in that direction.

the girls were in and out of the room at a rapid pace until it was just me in the waiting room.

the casting associate asked me if i was ready and i was like, you know what?

so, i went in and did my scene the way i had rehearsed it and was told to do it again several different ways.
by my count, i must have performed the scene at least 5 times.
i was told my take was wonderful and that it was always nice to see me.
the CD and i laughed at an inside joke (i love that we have inside jokes...) and i was sent on my way.
i'm not sure if i booked the job (*crosses fingers*) but i definitely booked the room.

xoxo, TA

hallelujahhhhh!

my prayers have been answered in the form of an audition for this monday.

when i saw the email from my agent entitled "audition notice - ********", i actually could have cried.
a principal role on a tv series shot in toronto is just what the doctor ordered.
go figure that it shoots around the time i'm to leave for my sister's destination wedding but i'm hoping the Lord will hear my prayers and the stars will align to help me book and shoot this.

in either case, my agent finally did her job and now it's time for me to do mine.
i'm gonna learn these sides like the back of my hand and walk into the audition room like:

*throws sides.

luck is just preparation meeting opportunity, right?

it's a good thing i'm prepared :)

xoxo, TA

"i know...it's been sooooooooooo slow."

on friday, i emailed my agent to ask her how the industry was going because i've "noticed" i haven't had an audition in over a month. i also asked her if there's anything i should do to promote myself or if she's heard of any workshops in the city worth attending.

her response:
"i know...it's been sooooo slow!"

my reaction:

28 days.
0 hours.
19 minutes.


xoxo TA

a letter to the person i will not be working for in four months...

aka. my agent:

it's a shame that i'm even writing this letter as i really had high hopes for our working relationship after our initial meeting.
okay, maybe i'm lying.

prior to meeting with you, i met with 3 out of the top 5 agencies in toronto who all had the same feedback: 

- great talent with a lot of potential

- encourage you to work on building an even larger body of work

- please focus on gaining some union status as that will lead to more opportunities to work with established professionals and gain more connections in the business

- please re-submit within six months

- wish you all the best, blah blah

so, if i'm being completely honest, i came into this relationship with every intention of leaving you once i fulfilled the majority of these requirements.
i also felt that during our initial meeting i made it perfectly clear my disinterest in doing anything in the musical/live theater world for a good while.

flash forward seven months later and here we are:
you've gotten me a total of 10 auditions - 2 of which i've self submitted for and 3 of which i had to literally beg and plead to be submitted.
(i still have a feeling that you didn't actually submit 2 of the 3 self-taped video submissions to their respective casting directors but that's another issue in itself...)
oh and, you're still constantly sending me information on theatre auditions in and around the city.

now, i'm one to give credit where credit is due.
so, i do have to mention that of the 10 auditions, 3 of which were for casting directors i had never auditioned for before.
so for that, i thank you.
but that's about all i'm going to thank you for.

i'm constantly doing my part in trying to stay on top of what's casting in the city and have emailed you a few times about projects i feel fit my specs.
responses like "saw it. didn't submit you" irritates me to no end.
but you know what's more irritating?
seeing fellow actor friends of mine with very similar specs and weaker resumes booking projects that you weren't even submitted for...
let's not forget, refusing to submit me for american projects shooting in the city because "the chances of them casting a non-american is unlikely" even after informing you that i am a DUAL CITIZEN!

i'm on casting workbook, aaaction auditions, actors access and mandy a ridiculous number of times a day and for you to send me a submissions list that contains an overwhelmingly large number of projects I submitted MYSELF for, is beyond disturbing.
being scolded for EMAILING you "outside office hours" was laughable.

i could go on but this letter slowly turning into a short story and i can feel my blood pressure rising.

but here is where we stand:
it is tuesday march 26th, 2013 and as of this moment, i have accomplished a vast amount of the items on the "list of requirements" i was given by other agents.
i have also decided to call in some reinforcements to help make my submissions to these agencies much more effective this time around in the form of a working consultation with one of the city's finest acting coaches.
lucky for you, he's in LA until the first week of may or else i would have already started my agent search for 2013.
so, it seems like i'm stuck with you for 40 more days, 20 more hours and 41 minutes...

long story short, get your sh*t together or i'm gone.

deuces,
TA

"keep calm and be patient" - goals part dos

"people with clear, written goals accomplish far more in a 

shorter period of time than people without them

can ever imagine."

i'm well aware that i've already written a blog entry on the importance of setting goals.
but apparently, i didn't write them down effectively as i've had absolutely NO AUDITIONS this month...

*dying.

i've been checking in with an actor friend of mine who has very similar specs and she, too, has had no auditions this month.
so, i guess that's a consolation.

since i have so much downtime, i decided to re-visit my goals for 2013 and perhaps, focus my attention on the time leading up to the summer months (which i'm hoping and praying will be busy).

i present to you, my goals for (the rest of) march - june 2013:

i) book an actor or SOC role (or two) on a union project  

ii) contact ACTRA toronto as soon as i receive my first union credit and begin the paperwork needed to become an apprentice

iii) as soon as you're all set up with ACTRA toronto, contact YEAA and start attending meetings - set up connections!

iv) continue practicing and working on my craft in the downtime - get together with contacts, watch movies, practice cold reads, etc. 

v) and lastly, don't get discouraged!

until next time.

xoxo, TA

an ode to netflix

let me just take a moment to express my love for a little website named netflix.

dear netflix, 

you have single-handily changed the way i choose to spend what little spare time i seem to have.

on my bed, wrapped in my comforter, eyes glued to my macbook as i watch whatever tv series i'm currently obsessing over.

first, you brought me 90210.

albeit, i no longer have any desire to finish the series, i thank you for the memories.

i really do hope naomi finds the love she truly deserves.

then, netflix, you brought me misfits.

i never thought a show about a group of troubled youth from england would entertain and enrapture me the way this show did, but it did.

although, there were far too few episodes, i had some great laughs.

i thank you.

and most recently, sir netflix, you brought me the vampire diaries and for that, i will be eternally grateful.

i've just completed at all three seasons available on netflix and was able to locate season four episodes and am now all caught up.

now, i'm just (im)patiently waiting for the series to come off their spring (?!) hiatus.

i honestly don't know what to do with myself.

i haven't known life sans vampires diaries for a while now.

so, netflix, as i raise my figurative glass to you in a virtual toast, i ask you for a new series to obsess over.

whenever you're ready to provide me with one...

whenever you're ready.

*sips figurative champagne.

speaking of vampire diaires.

this scene (please see below) from episode 416 just sends shivers down my spine.

impeccable acting from miss nina dobrev (toronto, what what?!).

my heart really broke for miss elena.

***spoiler alert - watch at yo' own risk.

xoxo TA

full circle.

"the wheel is come full circle, i am here."

shakespeare's king lear

act v,  scene iii

we've all heard the stories of "normal" people being catapulted into fame just by being in the right place at the right time:

rosario dawson - discovered while sitting on her front stoop in NY

pamela anderson - discovered after appearing on the jumbotron at a CFL game

johnny depp - attended an audition with a friend out of sheer boredum; asked to read for a part in the film by wes craven himself; nailed it; booked it

charlize theron - discovered by an agent after throwing a fit at a LA bank

natalie portman - discovered while eating pizza in long island

jennifer lawrence - discovered while walking through the streets of NY with her mother

david boreanaz - was out walking his dog in LA; a talent manager spotted him and thought he'd be perfect for the role of "angel" in "buffy the vampire slayer"...

and, my personal favorite: 

harrison ford - while building cabinets for george lucas, he was asked to read lines for absent actors starring in his upcoming film, star wars; steven spielberg overheard these readings, loved them and hired him for the part of han solo...

i think you get the picture.
now, i am in no way demeaning the success of these actors/actresses but their respective "big break" stories is something most actors dream of.
that is why i find it so refreshing when i hear stories of successful actors whose rise to fame didn't come so easily.

one of my favorite examples of hard work and persistence is bradley cooper.
a few months ago, i watched his episode of "inside the actor's studio" and i was enamored.
he talked about being a student at the actor's studio drama school and asking robert de niro a question to starring alongside him in "limitless" (and now, silver linings playbook).
it was such an awesome feeling to watch him get emotional at the realization that he had just come around full circle.
the entire interview had me inspired and now has me longing for the moment when i realize that i, too, have come around full circle :)

enjoy the clip below!

xoxo TA

words of wisdom...

why, hello there :)

like i mentioned in one of my previous posts, i am obsessed with quotes.

so, i've decided to start sharing some of my favorite ones with you!
i'd like to call this segment of the blog 'words of wisdom'.

*corny, i know.

so, without further ado, i present to you today's 'words of wisdom' from the one and only, mark twain:

now, i don't believe that you should keep all your ambitions and goals a secret (which may be apparent by my previous post...)

i think that telling some people these things will give you the drive and determination to follow them through.

however, i do wholeheartedly agree with mr. twain  in that you should select those individuals you choose to confide in very selectively because, like another one of my favorite quote says : "few people actually care, the rest are just curious."

xoxo TA