I intended to post a long while back but it didn’t happen.  I know I don’t need to explain that but it’s my way of starting a post.  So yes, I sent the official letter to fire my agent.  She never responded so there is no way I can know if she acknowledged it.  The whole time I had her as my agent was just like working on my own and I don’t think we had a common ground.  I can’t really explain that so take my word for it.

I just joined Stage 32, an online community of people involved in film.  I’ve already connected with a filmmaker working here in Phoenix about his upcoming film.  Laura Ann Tull, who is on Grey’s Anatomy, sent me the invitation to join.  I sent her a message on the site thanking her and she sent me back a very kind note saying that my headshot looked like a blonde Sally Field.  I like Sally Field so I was very complimented.  Certain people have said I remind them of Rachel Dresch and you’ll remember that one agent I met with who thought I was middle-aged and wanted me to be Rachel Dresch.

I auditioned for PCPA Theatrefest in Tucson as that was the only location nearby that they were auditioning at.  That was last Sunday and I nailed the audition in spite of just having gotten a migraine.  I met with Eric Stein, their casting director, who remembered me from the last time I auditioned.  He was really impressed with my audition and said he was very glad I came to audition.  The last time I auditioned for them, it was an Equity Principal call so being non-union, I had to wait for them to squeeze me in.  This time I had an appointment and got to do a monologue and a song, which is the way that I prefer.  The migraine then kicked in after the audition and I was in a great deal of pain and severely ill.  I struggled home through the two-hour drive back.  I also have had non-stop allergies and sniffles.

I went to the Amazing Arizona Comic Con and I got up early to be on Fox 10 News representing the cosplay group I recently joined, The Arizona Avengers.  I have gotten a bit serious about making costumes and have once again recruited my mom to make me one.  I made up a costume on the fly from a black corset, leotard, boots, tights, gloves, bracelets, and a black wig.  I wanted a costume other than my Belladonna re-design to wear as I was at the convention for all three days.  I was supposed to be Tessa/Sage from the X-Men comics in her Hellfire Club outfit.  I also had the opportunity to be interviewed by a radio station out of Chicago.  Feel free to check out my costumes at Cosplay.com.  My profile name is emmymae.

So that’s everything I’ve done so far.  I don’t have any auditions scheduled at the moment but I am certain to soon.  I have submitted for a new agent but I haven’t heard anything.  I continue to study for the teaching certificate and substitute teach.  I wish I could be a working actress.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and whatever else you celebrate.  I have been spending the past two weeks at home and will be going back on New Year’s Day.  My parents got to see American Pastorela and they thought it was really funny especially Horney, Huppey, and El Diablo.  My cousin and his wife tried to see the show but weren’t able to make it.  I found out that I was not going to get any payment for the show and some people were surprised I thought there would be.  That’s what my fellow Sirena thought as well.  All ended on a positive note and the house was pretty full for the last matinee performance.  James was trying to put together a benefit performance in Tucson to support the Ethnic Studies Program but getting a venue didn’t work out.  Instead I will be attending the Amazing Arizona Comic Con because I love conventions and also because I am now a  member for the cosplay group, The Arizona Avengers.

I have an announcement to make regarding my first career step of the new year: I am firing my agent.  She hasn’t gotten me a single audition in the past six months and one of my castmates told me that a few of her friends had her as an agent and didn’t ever get auditions either.  I am sorry about this but it has to be done.  One of the father’s of one of the young  ladies in the show is a pro actor himself and told me about a new casting office headed up by Chris Bowe and gave me  his e-mail.  So I will get in touch with him.  I will also work on possibly doing my own production of The Go-Girls.  I successfully got in touch with one theatre about considering the play for production.  The Arizona Women’s Theatre Company is accepting plays for staged readings for their Pandora Festival but my play has already had two staged readings, one of which was in a city-wide festival, so I won’t be sending it their way.  I talked to one of the company directors and I gathered from her confused answer to producing my play that the only way they’ll produce it is if it is in the festival.  I don’t have to accept terms that I don’t agree with.  I have to remember not to let desperation guide my choices.  I’ll also put forth the plan of Taft-Hartleying myself.  I hope that I’ll be able to be involved in one of Ryan Lynch’s upcoming projects and that we’ll be able to put together an acting class.

I will also be working on my writing and at long last completing my screenplay, La Famille.  I have an excerpt on the blog so please read that.

And in the boring files: I am now earning my teaching certificate to teach drama and I’ll still be substitute teaching of course.  Off to work.

Opening night has come and gone.  American Pastorela has begun at the Phoenix Center for the Arts.  The space used to be a church and the stage isn’t so large nor the house for that matter.  It has the shortest backstage I’ve ever seen, which makes for some awkward backstage manuevering with props and people.  We are also our own stage crew and there isn’t even a stage manager.  The performance for today was cancelled, which makes me sad.  But my parents are in town again so it gives me a full day to have fun with them.  I really enjoy my Jan Brewer scene, but the protest scene that I am in gives me a lot of frustration.  That scene was added at the last minute and then changed again.  I’m one of the Nativist protesters and we’re all supposed to yell a bunch of lines at once, which was never clear in the script as they were all just clumped together and not given to individual characters.  There’s a playwrighting method of doing this and I don’t know why it wasn’t written like that.  They also gave me a heavy sign for the scene at the last minute that proved to be a safety hazard.  I insisted on having a smaller sign and so I now have less of a safety hazard on my hands.

We’ve all done well working with a confusing, typo-laden, incomplete script that keeps changing and there are some excellent comic performances.  There was also a lack of communication between producer/playwright and director, which makes for having to weigh two different opinions in your mind about what you’re supposed to do onstage.  We have four more performances to go.

My friend and her boyfriend came to the show and she gave me a rose!  I was so honored that she came to the show.  I really appreciated her support and she loved seeing me onstage.  I received numerous compliments on my Jan Brewer performance and my Halleluiah’s.  I should explain that last bit.  Another lady and I have to sing Halleluiah every time someone says certain lines onstage.  We didn’t get to thoroughly rehearse them so we had to work on the fly with sparse direction on that.  There were also songs that required a musical director and that didn’t happen either.  Neither did procuring a choreographer for the Angel vs. Devil dance off.  We all managed with our awesome skills to make this show work.

This will make for a long post but, guess what?  The Huffington Post has an article on the show!  Here it is:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-biggers/ethnicstudiesarizona_b_1139236.html#access_token=AAAAACuIpepUBAEf3lc7htwhwj0LWk6Ky1XaitdWnbsbuJke4N732k0002HJPiwM7RmG0kQIgqzqk2vZCGJrDljo7JaZB5UFaU0NypLZAwZDZD&expires_in=6481

And also the Phoenix New Times:

Nativity Ploy

By Wynter Holden

Though each version of the traditional Hispanic pastorela is unique, there are a couple of things you can always expect to see: shepherds, angels, farm animals. Somehow, Sheriff Joe and ousted senator Russell Pearce don’t fit into that scenario.

But there’s always room for politicians among the pigs in New Carpa Theater’s annual American Pastorela, opening on Friday, December 9, at Third Street Theater. This year’s show finds protagonists Hoopy and Horny biting the big one after a strip poker game against Arpaio. Enter Satan, who makes some sweet promises in exchange for his new minions giving Tucson’s ethnic studies program the finger.

Why target local politicians Tom Horne and John Huppenthal? “Because they’re right-wing, bigoted, and the closest thing to fascism America has to offer,” quips playwright James Garcia. “They not only need to be formally and publicly denounced, but mercilessly mocked.”

I took too long to post once again.  Happy Thanksgiving!  It’s Tuesday but I might as well post in advance.  I get to spend Thanksgiving with my cousin and his wife who live nearby.  I was worried that I would be alone as I can’t afford to fly home for Christmas and Thanksgiving.  That’s alright, here’s the latest news in the acting life of Anna.

So I’m in the midst of rehearsals for American Pastorela.  The link for tickets is http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/213163.  There are too many ideas going on at once with this production and we just got a new version of the script and are still missing a scene.  They want to have musical and dance numbers as well but there hasn’t been enough time allotted or personnel to do that effectively.  I will be the best Jan Brewer I can so look forward to that scene.  I also play one of Satan’s homegirls, part of an angelic choir, and a back-up singer in a little girl’s imagination.  We also have Che Guevara, Emiliano Zapata, Janet Napolitano, and other famous political figures.  Oh, and Obi Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker show up too.  We move into the space on Nov. 28.  I’ve only gotten to rehearse my main scene once.  Wish us luck!

And on top of that, I got an audition for an animated VO project with the famous CD Helen McCready.  She has a production company called Helen Wheels.  I will be leaving rehearsal early so I can go to my appointment.  I couldn’t let this opportunity slip by and yes, I made sure that I fit the specifics before submitting.  I look forward to meeting her.  I am hoping that if I am cast, I don’t have to change my flight home for Christmas and that it doesn’t conflict with the rehearsal/performance schedule or the two future jobs I got through the schools.

With Halloween happening yesterday I couldn’t help but use the title of an Ann Rice book.  It’s All Saints’ Day and today in the Catholic church we celebrate all holy men and women.  Yesterday my friend, Lawannah, who played my mom in The Rite of Exorcism, invited me to come see PoeFest from Arizona Currriculum Theatre.  She had an extra ticket so I saw the show for free.  Basically, five actors each enacted a story from Edgar Allen Poe so it was like short one-person performances.  And they were all supposed to be inmates in an asylum.  The performances were awesomely creepy and the three men I saw perform made me jump out of my seat at times.  Lawannah was in their production of Salem:1692, which was about the Salem Witch Trials.  They also have an on-going school program to teach literacy and share the arts with children who don’t otherwise have the opportunity.

So I saw The Rite of Exorcism and it was so awesome to see myself on the big screen.  I hung out with the director, Frank Di Bugnara, and other gentleman who were involved in the film, before the showing.  I told the ladies I was sitting next to that I was in the movie and they were thrilled.

The rehearsal and performance schedule has been set for American Pastorela.  There were some delays in getting things settled for the show.  The show is playing Dec. 9, 10, 16, and 17 at 7:30pm and Dec. 11 and 18 at 2pm.  All performances are at the Phoenix Arts Center in downtown.

I filled in for a high school English teacher today.  Some of the classes were studying Romeo and Juliet.  The teacher had a student teacher responsible for the class and she recruited me to read Juliet when the class read the play out loud.  The students were pretty impressed.  I was glad to show off my skills.

The Rite of Exorcism has opened it’s theatrical run.  The venue was changed again to Harkins Shea 14 in Scottsdale.  Same run and same website.  I’m going to see it twice; once with the cast/crew and once with my buddy.

I attended the first get-together for the Rebel Film Actors Alliance and Rebel Film Consortium at Manuel’s Fine Mexican Food.  The RFAA helps support paying projects for actors and provides free resources.  You have to pay for membership but that’s cool.  I got a discount because I hadn’t yet received my refund for the Rebel Film acting competition.  I had a good time and got myself talked into writing a feature-length script for a guy new to filmmaking.  He didn’t give me any specifics as to what he wanted, other than not too many locations and no more than six people, so I came up with a random idea.  I don’t think it’s shaping up to be a good script.  It’s just weird.

I went to audition at the callbacks for American Pastorela as I wasn’t able to make the audition date and there was no one there.  Well, I messaged the director and he got back to me and offered me a role!  I accepted but have yet to hear the specifics other than the first read date.  I had auditioned for New Carpa Theatre before and he remembered me.  I didn’t even get a callback for the play Milk Milk Lemonade.  I think my luck just might have changed.

Filmstock went well and I got a lot of compliments on Pick Me!  The films were even better than the last Filmstock and I really liked the work I saw including one film that looked like something on the F/X or Syfy Channel.  I met a reporter for an indie film newspaper and he gave me his card.  It was pretty cool seeing myself on the big screen though I sat there critiquing my performance.  It was such a good opportunity.  I was over the moon and I got to pose for a photo in front of the promotional screen like they do at Hollywood film premieres.  I want to make another film but I’m not sure what or how I’ll pull it off.  My magnum opus, La Famille, is a long ways from completion.  I have been telling people about it but I feel silly doing it.

That’s the definitive report so far.  I got 13 views.  How about making it triple digits?  Come on now.

I have another film engagement involving my work coming up this Thursday.  My film, Pick Me!, will be playing at the Filmstock Festival, this Thursday, October 13 at the Pollack Tempe Cinemas.  Doors open at 6:30pm and the show begins at 7pm.  Tickets are available now at http://www.filmstockfilmfestival.com/

In other news, the venue for The Rite of Exorcism has changed to the Harkins Cinemas at Tempe Marketplace and Arrowhead Junction.  The site is still http://theritephoenix.com   And the dates have changed to October 21-27, a bit different than the original run.

I didn’t get into The Man in the Black Pajamas.  It would have been a great show to be part of.  I didn’t get into Good Night Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) either.  Coming up, I am auditioning for another play from New Carpa Theatre.  I wasn’t able to make the audition this Thursday because of Filmstock, but they are allowing me to come to their callbacks to audition on Sunday.  I am very glad that they could accommodate me.

My Masquerade debut at Saboten Con went great.  I was dressed up as an original character from the Bleach anime series and I performed a skit.  There was a challenge with my audio as I didn’t know how to record a viable CD voice-over.  So the head ladies introduced me to Audacity, a free program that does audio recording, and they were able to fix it.  Anyhow, the crowd loved my skit.  Then the next day, I met up with a friend of mine for the Anime Voiceover Competition.  She loves to record anime voiceovers.  For the competition, they choose many of the contestants from video auditions and some by random choice from the crowd via raffle tickets.  Well, they called my ticket number and I got to compete.  The event was hosted by the famous duo of Rice and Haggis and they have you dub over lines from an actual anime just like they do in the studio.  I was the runner-up for the ladies and I was in complete shock when they announced my name.  And I won awesome prizes and all the winners got a photo with Rice and Haggis themselves!  Now that was a great weekend!

I just joined the Rebel Film Actors Alliance, one of the groups that Friars Lantern Entertainment oversees.  They have a filmmakers consortium in which members pay monthly dues for access to equipment and film resources and fellowship as well.  The RFAA is similar for actors and exists to support paying work for actors and proper treatment.  I might have the biggest breakthrough of all coming just around the corner.

Here’s a quick update on what’s been going on.  My meeting with Good Faith Casting went great.  I met with the head, Faith Hibbs-Clark, and she was very nice.  I read a bit of commercial copy on-camera for her and she was impressed with my skills.  I am now in their casting database.  I haven’t gotten any auditions from my agent yet and I don’t know why.

I auditioned for The Man in the Black Pajamas, an interesting scientific drama by local playwright, Charles Hinckley, last Monday and I got a callback yesterday.  I would love to be in a play again.  It’s a stipend-paying production.  I have another audition tomorrow for Good Night Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) with Class 6 Theatre.

I have been getting a lot of days of work through the school districts and I have a three-day assignment starting tomorrow.  They use an automated phone system for assignments, which is a serious annoyance since it can call you beginning at 5am and you have no idea when it will call you for an assignment that day or for another day.  It calls for future assignments and daily assignments.

Sabotencon is this coming weekend and I’m excited!  Get your tickets at http://sabotencon.conmagick.com/.  I’m going to be in the Masquerade.  I will be dressed up as an original character shinigami from Bleach and I made my costume myself.  You have to pre-record your dialogue so I’ll have to record it on my computer.  It’s Saturday night of the convention at 7:30pm.  So please come.

Off to bed as I must get up for work tomorrow.  I wish it was on a film set.

I want to invite all of you in the Phoenix area to see The Rite of Exorcism in theatres.  The docudrama will have a limited run from October 25-November 6 at Ultra Star Cinemas in Scottsdale and Surprise.  The website for tickets is http://theritephoenix.com and I also put the link in the blogroll.  The vignette that I’m in is towards the end of the film and I play a lady named Donna.  Veritas Pictures provided me a full copy of the film and it is fascinating with top-quality production values.

So get your tickets now!

I have decided that since it’s the 10-year anniversary of the attacks of September 11, that I need to do a tribute post.  I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do this tragedy much justice, but I’ll try.  I remember Toni Morrison’s tribute that was in Vanity Fair, I believe, in a commemorative issue and it was so eloquent and beautiful.  I wish I could write like her.

So it was a normal day.  I heard that the weather in New York was perfect and sunny that day with no clouds in the sky.  I was going to school at Loyola Marymount University in LA.  I was 19.  I had my history class that morning at 8:15am and we were going to have a quiz.  I woke up right at 6am, which is strange considering that that was 9am in New York and the time when the first plane hit the first tower.  Was it intuition or something?  I didn’t watch TV that morning so I had no idea what was happening.  I showered and dressed and went to University Hall (the former Hughes Aircraft Building) and to the coffee shop downstairs for breakfast.  When I was walking over, I overheard two construction workers, who were working on the new on-campus apartment buildings, talk about the first tower falling and something to do with increased surveillance at LAX.  I must have been half-asleep because I thought they were talking about a communication tower at LAX being down.  I had breakfast and went to class.  I got out my notebook and then the fire alarm went off and a message blared over the intercom to evacuate the building.  I had absolutely no idea what was going on.  We all went outside and people decided to smoke, which they always did during fire drills.  I didn’t appreciate it.  After a few minutes, the security officers let us back in and our professor said class was cancelled.  I still didn’t know what was going on.

I went back to my dorm and e-mailed my mom, who was on a cruise to Alaska, about the tower at LAX and class being cancelled.  I then flipped back to the homepage and saw the photo of the towers.  I thought for a moment it was from a movie and then quickly found out it wasn’t.  I read the latest information and e-mailed my mom back the news.  I never thought that that kind of thing could ever happen in real life and it still doesn’t make sense.  Why would someone use passenger planes as bombs and attack office buildings?  These were ordinary people minding their own business.  Why would anyone do this to anyone!?  I was lucky to not have lost anyone but a freshman at LMU lost his dad, who was a passenger on one of the airplanes.  All classes were cancelled that day and some the next.  I turned on the news to get the latest coverage and I desperately wanted to turn it off and undo what was happening.  But I couldn’t change the channel without seeing the coverage.  I had never before or since seen the same footage on every channel.  I decided to write a very angry poem about these horrific events and I don’t know if I’ll ever share it.  I found the terrorists’ actions to be unforgivable and I still do.  They had no justification whatsoever and may God help me for what I don’t forgive.

My mom called me to make sure I was alright.  I reassured her that I was safe, but I really needed my mommy.  Peter Jennings helmed the special evening broadcast and in the midst of chaos was like a comforting uncle.  He made me feel less afraid and I never even knew him personally.  I was devastated when he died a few years later.  They organized a memorial mass that day and being part of the church choir, I sang in the service.  I would have loved to do a solo; it was the least I could do for those who died; but not being one of the chosen lead cantors, I wasn’t allowed.  I haven’t yet been able to do a proper tribute.  I thought up a musical but it never took shape.  All I can seem to do is write about what happened to me that day.  The one thought that kept going through my mind is the line from the ending song in Blood Brothers, “Tell me it’s not true/Say it’s just a story…”  I didn’t want it to be real.  I couldn’t cry that day; I don’t know why.

It seems to be thousands of years in the past and like it happened yesterday at the same time.  I haven’t lost too many people and no one very close to me.  All I know about losing someone special is that the pain doesn’t go away and time doesn’t always help.  God bless us all and keep us from harm.