The Not "Quite" Skinny Enough, Pretty Enough, Talented Enough Actress.

Two friends that inspire me like crazy!

I haven't written a blog in.....how long? Why? Cause I'm not often inspired to write. So when two of my closest friends not only write their own webseries/screenplay but raise money for it, produce it, and star in it....I have to take a step back and go "whoa!"

First off is Brooke Hoover. My friend Brooke has 2 adorable Pomeranian doggies. She loves them so much she decided to star one of them and all of her closest friends in a little webseries called Pageant Pom Moms (The journey of a Pomeranian, Precious and her loving mom, Rowena to pageant stardom and all the friends, foes and fiascoes they meet along the way!) I haven't had time or money to focus on my craft lately (aka acting) and I feel so lucky and honored to be a part of this show. It's kind of like Curb Your Enthusiasm meets Toddlers and Tiara's and then goes on a double date with Dance Moms. I get to practice my improve skills, my southern accent, and she even wrote in a little singing part for me. The show will be airing online in a few months and for all the latest updates and information you can check out the site:

http://www.pageantpommom.com/index.html

like the facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/PageantPomMom

or follow on twitter: https://twitter.com/pageantpommom

Next up is my dear friend Jeffrey Johns. About...3 years ago I'm talking to Jeffrey on the phone and he says to me "Laurie...I'm not very castable...I think I need to write my own movie." In my head I'm thinking "Yeah Jeffrey, whatever, you do that!" A few months later I get a phone call from Jeff again "Laurie, I'm in the middle of writing my screenplay and I shared it with some industry people and they think it's good!" Ok Jeffrey...mmm hmm. Next I get a call: "Laurie, my screenplay is complete and I just took a 2nd mortgage out on my home and borrowed $100,000 from the bank to produce it with." Shit Jeffrey! And finally I get a call "Laurie! Lee Meriwether and Sally Struthers are on board to appear in my film!".....well, finally after many more crazy phonecalls from Jeffrey he has a completed preview of his film: 

 

 

I don't live in Los Angeles so I was unable to appear in it but that didn't stop Jeffrey from including me! I did some voice over work from across the country. I also had a small featured role in his NYC pickup shots.

Jeffrey has put everything on the line for Waiting in the Wings the Musical and I believe in him so much! You can donate any amount of money to the film ($1-$100,000.00) at his crowdfunding campaign:

http://greenlightcrowdfunding.com/view/9/waiting-in-the-wings-the-musical

Visit the website: http://www.waitinginthewingsthemusical.com/

Like the films facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jeffrey.johns2?fref=ts

Or follow on twitter: https://twitter.com/WITW_TheMusical

Both of my friends have proven to me that perseverance and hard work pay off and we can make anything we want to happen...happen!

 

Fellow industry folk....please help me make an important decision!

To remain blonde...or not to remain blonde...that is the question!

Hi everyone. I am a happy highlighted blonde! I enjoy being a blonde. I feel flashier, prettier, and sexier. Lately though, it seems there are some very valid reasons for me to return to my natural brown color. I sincerely need ALL of your input in helping me reach a decision.

Here are my reasons to go Brunette:

1. I currently make my living doing mostly background/extra work on film and television sets. There are 3 projects shooting in NYC that I will simply NOT be able to work on as a fake highlighted blonde. They are: Boardwalk Empire, Lowlife, and a new period movie shooting here. I hate to change my hair color for background work...but working on set, especially period pieces, is a great way to make MUCHO DINERO!

2. I can't afford to stay blonde! Not time wise and not financially. It's about $200 every other month including tip. It usually takes a huge chunk of a day which means I cannot book work the day of my appointment.

3. My roots grow out quick and my hair starts to look a little ratty after just 3 weeks.

4. I do have some older brunette headshots which I believe to be passable until this summer when I can afford to get new ones.

HERE are my reasons to remain blonde:

1. I worked a LOT last year...as my hair is now. A lot of principles are blonde and I stood in on set..often. Right now I worry that the reason I'm not working a lot is because of my hair color...but it's slow. Perhaps changing my hair will make no difference...or even worse, hinder me as it will irritate CD's that have used me as a blonde.

2. Hundreds of blonde headshots left...that I LOVE! They cost me a ton of money...and even though I have some passable brunette shots...I'll have to spend more money as soon as possible for updated shots.

3. Again, I think being a blonde helps me stand out and look different. I see a lot of brunettes at open calls but very few blondes.

It's all so very confusing!!!! Below I posted my current shots and my brunette shots that I will use if necessary. Please either facebook me, email me ([email protected],) or call me with your honest opinion!!! I know some of you reading this have casting experience and valid idea's of why I should go one color or another. Let me know!

 

MY CURRENT FAVORITE BLONDE HEADSHOTS!!!!

 

 

 

MY BRUNETTE HEADSHOTS THAT I WOULD USE IF NEEDED:

 

 

 

My old Jonathon Larson Blog!

I have another old blog from MYSPACE that I wanted to repost. I wrote it at a time when I let depression get the best of me and used to sit around and eat rather then go to the gym and maintain a healthy lifestyle. I would make up excuses not to practice voice and sit in front of the TV for hours. Somewhere along my path I developed some discipline...but here is a blog written from when I relied solely on others to inspire me...and inspire me they did.

 

June 30, 2006

Why Can't I Be More Like Jonathan Larson?

Current mood:anxious

Did anyone see the movie RENT? Yes, I know, not a great movie but of course I had to go out and buy it (dont worry, previously viewed.) After owning the thing for 3 months I decided to pop in the "special features" section a few days ago. Included on the 2^nd disk is a feature-length documentary called "No Day But Today." I turned it on thinking it was going to be a short half-hour documentary about the making of the crappy movie, but instead found myself glued to a 2 hour movie about the life of Jonathan Larson.

If you dont know this already, I am a musical theater fanatic. I have been lucky enough to see RENT on Broadway with the original cast, and twice more after that with replacements. The show has grown on me. I didnt enjoy it so much the first time I saw it. Jill, if you are reading this, Im sorry. Jill Keyishian took me when I was sixteen years old and we sat front row mezzanine. I think this show is way to advanced for a spoiled little white girl from Long Island, NY to really comprehend. However, after seeing the show, I purchased the CD and started playing it religiously. As I grew up, saw the show twice more, went to college in Philadelphia, lived in the East Village right near Ave. A, and moved to Los Angeles, the lyrics and music really started making more sense to me and their true genius smacked me right in the face and continue to do so constantly. I mean seriously:

"Dont breath too deep

Dont think all day

Dive into work

Drive the other way

That drip of hurt

That pint of shame

Goes away

Just play the game."

How often at how many crappy day jobs do I have to run this through my head just to get through the day?

Or whenever Im feeling that I really fucked up, or crappy about what Ive done with my life I remember:

"No other road

No other way

No day but today."

Yeah, I really like RENT.

But I never knew the real story behind the musical. I hardly knew anything about Jonathan Larson until I saw this documentary. To say that Im in utter awe of him is an understatement.

Jonathan Larson went to Adelphi college on Long Island (20 minutes from my NY home) for acting. When finished he decided to move to NY and write music. He lived in a crappy apartment with a bathtub in the kitchen in the Village and wrote music using a CASIO keyboard! He worked at a diner Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and spent the rest of his week sitting in his shitty apartment with his cat writing music! Before RENT hed written 2 unsuccessful musicals, SUPERBIA and TICK TICK BOOM. Stephen Sondheim was his role model and he used to send Sondheim copies of his new music for approval or advice. RENT took 3 years for him to write. Then finally, after the final dress of the show off broadway, he drops dead at age 36 from some rare muscle tissue disease that he supposedly suffered from his entire life! The cast finds out opening night and they go on with the show anyway! Its a smash success, moves to Broadway and ends up winning Tonys and the Pulitzer.

What impressed me about the life of Jonathan Larson, was his commitment to his art. From the time you graduate college until age 36 is a long time. To stay in the same place, living in poverty, without even proper equipment (I own a Casio keyboard and its a piece O'shit) is something that I cannot even comprehend. He never even got to partake in the success that he achieved! He died! Immediately after watching it, I felt inspired! But, Im finding it nearly impossible to stay alone in my dark, hot apartment and practice my art. I should be memorizing monologues, or working on my voice. Hey, I used to play the piano, I should re-teach myself! I should write, dance, read books about acting, watch old movies, watch musicals, stretch.and do whatever else concerns theater. But the moment I find myself with free time on my hands I make up mental excuses. "Oh, the apartment is messy, I cant focus until I clean it!" "Im hungry, let me make food just before I do anything else." "Let me just watch this one more stupid mindless celebrity driven show on the E! channel!" And after coming up with all these excusesI find that Ive wasted ANOTHER day! Why dont I want to practice my craft? I do LOVE doing it! Or am I practicing it right now by writing this blog? Maybe Jonathan Larson saw a light at the end of the tunnel that Im having trouble visualizing right now. Either way, every artist should watch this documentary. Whether you like musical theater or not!

 

All I Ever Needed Was The Music And The Mirror???

I took my first dance class in a long time yesterday. It wasn’t a “real” dance class, meaning it was cardio dance and at my local Long Island Equinox as opposed to a studio in the city. Nevertheless, like a “real” class, the teacher teaches a combination which we perfect throughout the class. There is less warm up and more repetition in a gym dance class. Also, there is less teacher “critiquing” and more doing because the purpose is for cardio and not technique. The teacher was really good and taught a nice easy level but long jazz/hip hop combination. Being that it was the first dance class I’ve had in quite some time I thought I would be flying! But…I got bored of the combination very quickly and found myself marking it half the time. Also, I had minimal drive to perfect it. There were a few parts where we were on the ground, or throwing our bodies one way or another. After all the injuries I’ve acquired over the years I get no joy out of throwing my body all over the place. In fact, I felt like I had whiplash at one point!  I ended up leaving the class 5 minutes early when she announced that we would be doing the combo 3 more times. I just…didn’t want to do it. Now I’m worried that I lost my passion for dance! I hope that the reason I did not enjoy myself was due to the style. I’ve never been a big “hip hop” person. Also, throughout class my goal as a dancer has been to get the combo perfectly in order to impress the teacher and get feedback. In a gym atmosphere, the teacher does not care about perfection. It’s solely about the exercise.  Well, ballet and musical theater dance were always my loves. In ballet everything is turned out and graceful. In Musical Theater dance, you can really perform! I’m not throwing in the dancing towel just yet! I m on a mission to find a great advanced beginning ballet and musical theater dance class!