A few hours after I posted last Monday, my grandpa passed away peacefully surrounded by our family.  It has been a surreal week filled with lots of tears but also lots of laughter and celebration.  He lived a long life; he lived a good life; and I'm so proud I got to call him mine.

Many moons ago.

This time last year.

I am going to be with family through the end of the month and focus on my writing.  I had planned on having my first draft of my screenplay done by next week but we know all about how plans shift and change.  I've got a bit of catching up to do.  Not sure how often I'll be posting here but there is a lot already on the docket for August so expect many updates in a few weeks.  Here are a few things that are coming up:

• For those of you in LA, there is a sneak peek of GIRL PARTS tomorrow night (Wed., July 20) at the Webseries Unplugged Series at El Cid.  You can see our pilot episode one month before our official online launch! It's pretty good, if I do say so myself, and we are being screened with several other fun webseries so stop on by if you get the chance.

• Also, found out the screening info for TRUE LOVE, which is an official selection of the Holly Shorts Film Festival.  It is screening on Saturday, August 13th, in the 7:30 - 9:30 program at Laemmle Sunset 5.  You can go to the Holly Shorts site to learn more and buy tickets.  

I'll keep you posted as things pop up and see you here more regularly in August!  

Ups and downs

It has been a very surreal weekend.  I arrived on Saturday in NYC to visit for a few days with my sister and found out that my grandpa's health had taken a turn for the worst while I was on my redeye flight.  We've been in a state of limbo while getting updates from my dad and wishing we could be closer to family, while also feeling grateful that we were together.  As all of this has been going on, I found out that the short film I did last year is going to be in another film festival, Holly Shorts.  This is a great festival in LA that takes place the week after the ITV Fest, where Girl Parts is premiering.  So all of a sudden I'm in two festivals back-to-back and the hard work that I've been putting in is starting to show its fruits.  The ups and downs we've experienced in the past 48 hours are just a reminder of how unpredictable life is.

I will most likely not be writing the rest of the week but will touch base when I can.  Take an extra moment to tell someone you love them today and hold them close.

Tickets on sale!

We have a screening date!  GIRL PARTS will be officially screening on Saturday, August 6, from 4:00 - 5:30 at the Laemmle Sunset 5.  Soooooo excited to see our first three episodes on the big screen!  Don't worry, our first three episodes don't total an hour and a half in length.  We screen along with four other selected series.  For more info and how to buy tickets, you can visit THIS LINK.

In other news...I'm writing a lot.  And I was part of a reading the other night for my friend's new play.  She wanted to hear it out loud so she could workshop it and invited over five friends to read through it and give thoughts.  It felt very NY and rewarding to be a part of her creative process.  I thought, am I ready to hear a group of friends read my screenplay aloud?  I mean, besides the fact that there is still a lot to write...And no, no I'm not.  I thought it was pretty brave to lay it out there.  Hoping to wrap up this first draft soon and gain a little bravery in that arena.

Webs We Weave

You guys....the web is where it's at.  Not only is GIRL PARTS already in a festival before we've officially launched online, now comes the latest news that All My Children and One Life to Live are going to continue...online.  I'll be interested to see how that works out for the actors as far as their contracts and payment.  And how it will effect the legitimacy of online content.  Will more viewers realize that original online content is worth tuning into?  Will there be more sites like Blip and Hulu to accomodate all the content?  What kind of content will resonate with viewers?  And will more people buy internet capable televisions so they can catch their favorite online series on bigger screens?  It really is like a brand new world out here.  The usual avenues for being a working actor are getting narrower on networks, since pilot season has shrunk and "name" actors are the end all be all - even for guest spots.  It's kind of exciting to be a part of the revolution.  Exciting and nervewracking.

4th and Beyond

Hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July weekend!  Our friends came up from San Diego and we had a blast.  Went and saw ASSSSCAT at UCB on Saturday. Bob Odenrick was the monologuist for the evening and Tim Meadows and Horatio Sanz were part of the improv team, so it was hilarious.  We went over and checked out the Tim Burton exhibit at the LACMA, which was inspiring and also surprising in scope.   We also checked out other priceless pieces of art while we were there, from Diego Rivera to Rembrandt.  And I saw a mummy - an actual mummy!  And mummification tools too, which was pretty neat because I did a project, I think in middle school, describing the whole mummification process and looked up the info in actual encyclopedias and shared pictures of all of that in my report.  To see it in person was a little surreal.  That evening we had a little BBQ with homemade crab cakes, pico de gallo, grilled portobellos and, of course, hamburgers and hot dogs.  The next morning we got up early to run the 4th of July 5K down in Redondo Beach and then spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach.  A packed and super fun weekend.

No auditions today - yet - so planning a day of writing.  I'm really cooking now on my screenplay so after the weekend of staycation, I'm ready to get back to work!

ITV Fest, Here we come!!

So...you know how GIRL PARTS was supposed to launch this week?  And you know how I told you some things may be in the works so we're pushing back the launch a little bit? Well, one of the "things in the works" has come to fruition:

It is official!  We are an Official Selection in the 2011 Independent Television Festival in competition for Best Comedy!!  The competition was fierce to get into the festival and we are over-the-moon excited that our series was selected.

The people of ITV Fest threw a super fun Selection Announcement party last night and we were there to hear our name called.  It was a Wild West themed party, so I rocked the cowboy boots and my dad's belt from when he was five years old.  Yes, the belt I'm wearing is over fifty years old and says "Earl" on the back!  Here are some fun pics from the red carpet and beyond:

Me, creator/producer/actor Kelsey Robinson and our music
supervisor, Melanie Deisz

Strike a pose

Half of the cast

Here we are with 3/4s of the cast, with the addition of Melanie
Molnar, and our director, Mike Drobinski.  We just found out
that we made the cut!

Happy Girl Parts Cast - just missing Corinne Becker!

The festival runs from August 5th to 11th and you can find out more about the festival at their website, ITVFest.org.  I'll keep you posted too as we find out more about what dates our series is actually screening.  Discussions are still underway about when we'll launch online now that the festival is happening.  As soon as that is figured out, I'll let you know.  For now, we're just soaking up our first breakthrough and looking forward to more!!