MARCH MADNESS..

Franceli Chapman as Brittney Green and Deron Campbell as James Rojo

 

Back Stage with Cast mate and President of the Black Latina Movement Apryl Lopez

What a month! The title says it all. It has been a month full of all sorts of joys and obstacles. The month began with the opening of  “The Colors of Love” produced by the Black Latina Movement. A play that stretched me. Playing a young woman torn between the man she loves but is no longer IN love with her feelings for her female best friend. I also had to get really comfortable with extensive kissing scenes. (LOL) I had an amazing time working with such a talented and loving cast.  We laughed and even cried together.  I want to thank Crystal Roman and Apryl Lopez for putting together such a great ensemble to work with. I hope to work with them again in the future.  Check out the Black Latina Movement!

Spring semester as a volunteer teacher for Youth Onstage began this month as well. This semester I’m assistant teaching movement with Brittney Jensen and Eileen Haugh. I really enjoy teaching movement. I hope we are able to show the young artists  the importance of movement and body work in the craft of acting is. We do Yoga, Ballet, Stretching, and much more. Being able to give back to inner city young kids who can not afford to go to an acting conservatory continues to be very important to me as I embark on my second semester with YO! The Young  Playwrights Festival Part 1 premiered this month with an all Youth Onstage graduate cast with YO teachers as the directors. The plays were written by YO! Alumns. I’m very excited that my play will premiere during Part 2 of the festival this June! I’ve been editing all month. (Re-writes galore)

 

Scene Study classes at the New Federal Theatre with Alice Spivak continued this month. Working on the classics. I’m doing a scene from The Glass Menagerie and Othello,  as well as  monologues  from Twelfth Night and Tell Pharaoh.  (Whew!) In May, the class will have a showcase… Stay tuned for that.

I went outside of my comfort zone and went to a “cattle call.” On March 18, I stood online for 5 hours to audition for RENT.  Much love to my Colors of Love cast mate Katya whom joined me on the journey. (Couldn’t have survived without her!) Ironically, we had both picked the same song to sing for the audition. Singing in front of people terrifies me.  (Although I’ve done two musicals in college) Surviving this audition, I was able to prove to myself that it can be done. I got a great compliment from the judge. He said I looked great and he enjoyed my performance and to keep singing. I didn’t get a call back, but I was proud of myself. I’m glad I went. The fear of going to these type of big auditions has been kicked. The subtext I read, Keep honing my craft, get a vocal coach and come back and rock harder!

#624- I will keep this forever!

Katya and I waiting in line to audition for Rent!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During this past month, working with award winning director Yasmin Shiraz as her Production Assistant for her film company, Still Eye Rise Films has been a joy. It is so great to work with someone you are on the same page with. Her short film “They Call Me Dae” has gotten great attention and in April will kick start fundraising for the feature film Reataliation, based on her book. What began as a casting assistant gig last December to get some exposure on the film side has grown into such a developmental experience for me. Check out the trailer to the short film here —> http://youtu.be/QDdaiNWxg8U

For the coming month of April, I will be making some big decisions and changes in my life. I am very thankful for the support and blessings of those I love and respect whom support my “jump of the cliff” (more on this in a later post)  I will leave you with these quotes…

“Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.”– Pope John XXIII, was the 261st Pope of the Catholic Church

“I’ve come to believe that all my past failure and frustration were actually laying the foundation for the understandings that have created the new level of living I now enjoy.”

“People who fail to achieve their goals usually get stopped by frustration. They allow frustration to keep them from taking the necessary actions that would support them in achieving their desire. You get through this roadblock by plowing through frustration, taking each setback as feedback you can learn from, and pushing ahead. I doubt you’ll find many successful people who have not experienced this. All successful people learn that success is buried on the other side of frustration.”– Tony Robbins, best-selling author and peak performance coach.