Dancing

I haven't watched Oprah in years.  I've made this little pledge to myself to not turn on the TV during the day - it's my way of trying to stay productive.  Of course, the sneaky internet tends to steal my time in other ways but not having the TV on during daylight hours is my little promise to myself.  So when I heard that her show was ending it seemed a little sad but not like there was going to be a hole in my life...like some people I know felt like.  But I'm not immune to the power that is Oprah, so I dvr'd her farewell show and finally took the time to watch it last night.

I finished watching the show and I felt inspired.  The entire episode was a pep talk.  And it is one that I am glad I heard.  If you haven't gotten a chance to watch it, it is worth checking out.  Here are some quotes that struck a chord with me:

“Nobody but you is responsible for your life. You are responsible for your life. What is your life? What is all life? What is every flower, every rock, every tree? Energy. And you’re responsible for the energy you create for yourself, and you’re responsible for the energy that you bring to others.

“Everybody has a calling, and your real job in life is to find it.”

“Start embracing the life that is calling you. Find your calling—know what sparks the light in you so you in your own way can illuminate the world.”

I feel like I am called to do so much and I feel like these past few months I've been languishing in the in-between.  Not really sure which direction to take and wondering if my choices have been the right ones. Did I have any major epiphanies on which direction to go in?  No, not really.  But I did think, it is time to stop floating.  It is time to start taking steps.  I feel I am called to act.  To write.  To mother.  To listen. To sing.  To dance.  To teach.  To comfort.  To laugh.  To paint.  To read.  To explore.  To take chances.  There is so much to do.  And each moment a chance to do it.  Every moment is a step in the dance that brings us to where we already are going.

And I'm a heckuva dancer.

Laughing

Last night we got to go Baron Vaughn's album taping at UCB.  Baron is a stand up comedian who currently stars on USA's Fairly Legal and he is also a friend.  We shot a commercial together years ago in New York and have managed to stay in touch ever since.  I've never seen Baron's stand up before but I did see a one-man-show that he did in a theatre festival in NY.  I knew he was going to be good last night but I didn't realize how good.  He was hilarious.  Like, deep belly laughs and hand-clapping funny.  Definitely worth getting his comedy CD when it is available.  You know, if you like laughing.  If that is your "thing."

It is always inspiring to see my friends succeed...gives me some fuel when things are tough.  Dreams do come true - I know this, because I see it happen all the time.

Idol Finale (or the night I turned back into a teenager)

I had a ridiculously fun time at the American Idol finale last night.  If you watched the show, then you know they had some incredible guests.  I knew Bono was going to be there before I got to the show, so I was already excited for that.  Then, before the show started, I heard that Beyonce and LADY GAGA (!!!!) were going to be there and I was excited enough for them.  Then, when TIM MCGRAW came out........let's just say, I lost it.  I was screaming like a twelve-year-old girl and singing at the top of my lungs.  I felt a little bad for the people around me. But not bad enough to stop.  When Lil Jon came out, I jumped around and then when TLC followed his exit, I felt like I was in high school again.  Lady Gaga rocked my world and I really wish I had gotten to see her on her tour.  And when Steven Tyler sang??  He hasn't lost it, that's for sure.  He rocked it!  The show was a blast.


The after party was so much fun too!  The food was amazing, I ran into a friend, did some star spotting - Mary Murphy, Gordon Ramsey, Sarah Hyland, Nikki Reed and, of course, the Idol contestants - had fun in the photo booths, drank some beverages and, all in all, had a really entertaining night.  Thanks again, M., for inviting me!!

Mary Murphy and me.
Hot Tamale Train!  Choo choo!

Rolling along

It's been awhile.  Sorry for the lack of posting....I've been doing a lot of writing lately and coming to post here is just one more set of writing.  So, I've been a little burnt out.  I mentioned it before but I'm working on a feature, have sketches to write for my sketch comedy class, we're developing a webseries so I'm helping write episodes, I also freelance blog for a marketing company and yesterday I turned in my first script reading coverage.  I've been looking for a job as a script reader and a screenwriter gave me my first shot over the weekend.  I'm hoping it leads to more opportunities because I really enjoyed the entire process.  I'm nerdy.  What can I say?

Auditions have been nonexistent the past few weeks and since I'm not in an acting class at the moment, acting has been quiet for the first time in...well, at least in the 3 years since I moved here.  It is an odd feeling and I miss it.  Hoping things pick up again soon!  It is also why I've been writing so much.  Not only because acting is slow but because acting is slow.  Let me explain:  Yes, I have a bit more downtime than usual.  But also, it is increasingly difficult to find acting jobs that I can get a shot at.  Ever since the writer's strike, the model has shifted.  The volume for what is being produced is less. Established "stars" get first dibs at most jobs and since so many "movie" stars are now transitioning to television, that narrows the possibilities immensely.  The market is so saturated with actors and the accessibility is so saturated, it is difficult to get into a room.  Since everything is online now, a casting director will post that they have a role they are trying to cast and within an hour they will literally have thousands of submissions from agents and managers.  It isn't humanly possible to carefully consider each submission.  If a casting director doesn't know you or your agent, chances are you're not getting one of the 20 - 100 slots available for seeing people. By writing, I increase my chances for my work to be seen.  That is why webseries are a popular new venue for actors. And it is also why four pilots that were picked up this pilot season were written by the actors who star in them.  Here's an interesting article from Deadline talking about the "winds of change" that this pilot season has seen.  They say that two major things happened this pilot season:

First: actors taking things in their own hands. Tired of waiting for the perfect pilot script to come along, more actors than ever went ahead and wrote a pilot for themselves this past development season. Many of the scripts went to pilot and then to series, including Whitney Cummings' Whitney on NBC, David Hornsby's How To Be a Gentleman, Chris Moynihan's Man Up and Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair's BFF.


Their success gives a little bit of hope.  So does The Working Actress who's pilot got picked up.  She has done other pilots before and this is the first time one went to series.  It's exciting to see all that hard work pay off.  I have a friend on a series that got picked up for a second season.  Another friend's show was cancelled but we all know she'll do just fine.  There are ebbs and flows to this business and you gotta keep rolling with the tide.  


So for now, I'm off to hike with C., do some writing this afternoon and then I get to go to the American Idol Finale tonight to watch someone's dream come true.  Because think about it:  This show has been around for more than half of the lifespan of these two finalists.  This really could be something they've dreamed of their whole life.  I'm excited to see it all happen!  

Start spreading the news...

Girl Parts is in post production and last night we started spreading the word at a Tubefilter event.

Kelsey is not that much taller than me.
The power of footwear: I'm in flats. She's in heels.

Tubefilter is an online news resource about all things web and they host monthly meetups for people in the world of web to network and learn more about improving their presence online.  They have a panel discussion for about an hour and then it becomes a big schmooze-fest.  This was my first event but it won't be my last.  I learned some valuable info and enjoyed meeting the people I met with.  I think what struck me the most is that there is a directness about the networking.  It's like, "Hi, what do you do with the web? A webseries? That's great. What's it about? I have one too.  Here's a postcard about it.  Check it out.  I'll check out yours. Great to meet you."  And then people move on.  They are working the room. The tweetups I've been to have a similar feel but there are a lot of people I know.  And most of them are actors.  This was a different dynamic of writers, producers, musicians, hosts, actors, etc.  A more eclectic crowd.  I dug it.

By the by, Kelsey saw the first rough cut of our first episode and things are looking good!  Mark June 28th on your calendar because that is our expected launch date!

And here we are with Jason Horton, one of our
awesome guest stars.

Snowflakes

What moves men of genius, or rather what inspires their work, is not new ideas, but their obsession with the idea that what has already been said is still not enough. - Eugene Delacroix

I think this is a challenge that shuts down many a creative person:  They have an idea, they start to work on it and then they see something or hear about something that is similar to their own idea.  And they think, "Well scratch that. It's already been done."  But therein lies the problem.  It has all been done before. Every story ever told has been told.  Every role has been played.  There is nothing unique to bring to anything, right?  Wrong.  Because there has never been another you.  We're snowflakes.  We're comprised of the same elements but shaped in our own way.  Which makes our own stories, our own ideas, our own inventions, worth telling and exploring and creating.

Speaking of snowflakes, here's a blast from the recent past.  Past Christmas, that is:

All the Shiny New Shows

Just spent the better part of my morning watching the trailers for the new shows on NBC and FOX.  Checking to see which shows are going to be good for me to target and seeing which shows I want to watch - regardless of whether I'm on them or not.  So far, the ones that I really want to watch are Up All Night, Prime Suspect, Bent, Allan Gregory, The Finder and New Girl.  ABC's trailers should be released later this afternoon.  If you want to check out some fun new shows, besides the ones I linked to, I watched all of them over at The Futon Critic.

Ok. Now that the rain has stopped and I've watched the trailers, it's time for a run.  Ah, the life of an actor.  Holy moly!  The sun just came out as I typed that....gotta go.

I definitely posted yesterday

I know I wrote and posted a blog yesterday about the upswing in female-driven pilots that are being picked up.  But it's gone.  And I don't know what happened.  I do know that I went to blogger later in the day and the entire site was down.  But I'm pretty perturbed that it deleted a post that I did.  Okay. Rant over.

Basically....the networks have started to announce the shows that they are going forward with and there is a majority of female written and/or starring comedies.  Which is great news for an actress like myself, with the debut of GIRL PARTS on the schedule for next month.  Another awesome series written by a woman, starring women.  There is an article about the Sexual Revolution over at Deadline, if you want to check it out.

As for me, I'm treating myself to a matinee showing of BRIDESMAIDS.  Definitely crossing my fingers for this movie to do well so that more female-driven movies will be made.  Feel free to see it this weekend too - a strong opening weekend at the box office will definitely help in getting more funny ladies out there. And I just saw that Entertainment Weekly gave it an "A"...woohoo!  Excited!

**UPDATE** Thanks, Red for letting me know that things were going to get reposted.  Crazy blogger. So my original post about this is back up now.  AND...I just got back from seeing BRIDESMAIDS and I kind of loved it.  I really laughed.  Loudly.  And I'm still kind of giggling.  So do I recommend it?  Yes.

Comedy isn't just a man's world

FOX and NBC have already started rolling out some of their series orders and there is an interesting trend developing:

Pilots written by women, starring women, are the big order of the day.  Especially comedies.

Check out this article from Deadline which breaks down "TV's Sexual Revolution," as they are calling it.  This is awesome news for a woman like myself.  I love comedic acting, my sketch class is going well, GIRL PARTS is debuting next month and you just never know where all this can lead.  Hopefully to a series regular part on a network sitcom....am I right??

And with Bridesmaids coming out tomorrow, things are about to get interesting.  I think I'm going to go see a matinee to do my part in helping ensure that a female-centric comedy has a strong opening weekend.  So that more movies like it will be made.  Because it's about time.

Transitions

Writing writing writing.  That has been a big part of my life lately.  Writing for sketch class.  Writing for our webseries that we're developing.  Writing my own romantic comedy feature.  Writing writing writing.  May is often a quiet month as everything starts to transition.  Most shows have finished shooting their season and are on hiatus.  Pilots have been shot and we'll start to find out next week which ones will be picked up.  GIRL PARTS is being edited so we can debut next month.  So we wait.  And while the landscape shifts, I write.  Creating my own opportunities.  Creating to create.

I opened up The Artist's Way just now and turned to these two quotes:

I don't have a lot of respect for talent.  Talent is genetic.  It's what you do with it that counts. - Martin Ritt

Trust that still, small voice that says, "This might work and I'll try it." - Diane Mariechild

And with that in mind, I'm off to write.

My mom is pretty great

Late last night I checked my phone and I had a message from my friend F. on a new messenger app I downloaded.  She had sent the message around 5:30 that afternoon but I didn't get it until late because I forgot to turn on the notifications for it.  She was letting me know that my site wasn't popping up.  Huh?  It was fine yesterday morning.  So I went to check it and sure enough, it was down.  Nothing I could do about it since it was around midnight and my friend that helps me with web stuff is on the east coast.  I sent him an email and it was fixed by the time I woke up.  Thank goodness for good friends.  Thanks to F. for letting me know and thanks to C. for fixing the problem so quickly!

Hope Steven Spielberg wasn't trying to check me out online yesterday evening...that would be a real bummer...

It's Mother's Day this weekend!  Thank you to my amazing mom for always believing in me and taking me to those (probably) embarrassing community theatre auditions and then to rehearsals when I got in a show and for supporting me every step of the way.  And for reminding me, when I would cry after dance class because it was hard and I wanted to quit, "But Meagan, just remember how much you love the recital."  This business is hard.  And there are many frustrating moments.  But remembering how much I love doing what I do, how those moments lead me to where I want to be, is what keeps me going.  Thanks, Mom.  For everything.

Ode to Optimists

Playing the role of "Lettice" in the St. Lucie Community
Theatre's production of Murder at the Vicarage,
circa 10th grade.

I did a lot of community theatre when I was growing up.  My first mainstage play was Hello, Dolly!, which I did in middle school.  My role was "townsperson" and I was part of the chorus.  I sang my little heart out.   My high school did not have a drama department so I auditioned for plays at our local theatre whenever there was a part I was right for.  Ok.  Who am I kidding?  I would also audition when there weren't any parts for me. Because I was an actress - I could do anything, right?  In fact, my very first audition was for the production of Nunsense.  As memory serves, I was ten years old.  I think I had just gone to theatre camp the summer before and I was ready to shake up my little town with some jaw-dropping acting skills.  Well, if you're familiar with the musical Nunsense, you know there are no roles for ten year olds.  There are five women in the cast but none of them are children.  A small little detail that wasn't going to stop me!  Thinking back I wonder why they even let me audition.  Surely it was because they were amused by my spunk and they wanted to entertain it - even encourage it.  Or maybe they worried I was a little..."slow."  I was especially tall for a ten-year-old.  In fact, I was practically at my adult height of 5'6".  So maybe they thought was older than I actually was and maybe they suspected I was...special.  As in short-bus-special.  NOT amazing-actress-special.  Whatever their reasoning was, I climbed up onto that stage and sang the song I had prepared.  It went like this:

I'm so excited. 

I'm so excited.

I'm about to lose control and I think I like it.

Uh-huh.

I sang my four verses of the popular Pointer Sisters eighties tune and I stopped and smiled.  The director said, "Is that it?"  And I responded, "That's all I know."

I seem to remember hearing a little chuckling (which I interpreted as appreciation not as mockery - some people are just born optimistic) and then they asked if I could sing "Happy Birthday" for them so they could hear a little more of my voice.  So of course I did, with zeal!  With zest!  With conviction!  And then, just like that, my first "real" audition was over.  I didn't get the part but that didn't break my spirit.

Ten-year-old Meagan knew what she wanted.  And she hasn't let up.

Updated Reel

So I updated my reel...all by myself!  I added in a clip, so it is basically the same except for the addition of another scene from Every Other Wednesday in the middle.  I felt very tech-savvy splicing that clip in there.  Of course, I don't know if "splicing" is the correct terminology, but you get my point.

Check it out :)

History

I need to leave soon to go read to my 3rd graders. Just now I started thinking about what last night's news about Osama Bin Laden being killed means to them.  They were born into a world where there were no Twin Towers.  They've never gone through an airport without taking off their shoes.  There was never a time when OBL wasn't a figure of malice.  Which is strange to think because there was a good twenty years when I didn't have the slightest clue who OBL was.  And I started to think about when I was in third grade.  And we had to do a report on countries all over the world.  We pulled country names out of a hat, which determined who was going to report on what.  And I was so jealous of the kids that got cool places like Italy or the Bahamas.  Because I pulled Germany out of the hat.  And that seemed b-o-r-i-n-g.  But then, the week my report was due, the Berlin Wall came down.  And I didn't really know what that meant but I knew that it was a big deal because it was all over the news.  So I got to add that to my report at the last minute with newspaper clippings and I felt really cool.  And it wasn't until much later that I understood how significant that event was.  Really, it wasn't until senior year of college, when the last class I took in college went abroad to study in Germany for two weeks. And I stood in Berlin and looked down at the ground, where the wall used to stand, and it all became very real.  I finally understood why that week my report was due in 3rd grade meant so much.

And now I'm headed to an elementary school, where I'll start reading to two young classes a fun chapter book about a boy who comes up with a new word for the word "pen" and I wonder what last night's news will come to mean to these kids down the line.