Guest-Star, Here I Come! Week 9. 'Don't Be Afraid To Be Authentic"

Hi World.  Hi Everyone!

I had quite an eventful week.  A chain of miraculous events to be exact.  Check out pics to see what I mean.  

(Wednesday) Steven Pressfield and me.  Uhh...yup.  God/The Universe is truly funny and amazing, yes?  

I'm helping him shoot and edit a small video.  I got to meet my favorite author/writer.  Shiet.  ;)

(Two Sundays ago) Suzanne Whang and me.  Right after her one-woman show, 'Cracked Open'.   Click here for some of her videos.  Met her for the first time.  Holla!!  P.S. BRILLIANT and RAW show.

(Friday) Suzanne and me, after lunch.  Crazy!  We had lunch!  Thank you Bryan.  :)   She was full of great energy and insight.  

P.S.  took this pic in front of the back of her car because her license plate says, 'A yellow girl needs a yellow car.  CRAZIAN (Crazy Asian)'.  Can't you just feel her through the pic?!

(Saturday)  I booked another commercial ya'll!  And when I got there, I found out I had my own room. It had a plushy couch and bathroom...aaaalllll for me.  I used to wonder what it would feel like to have your own room or trailer...I've had both now.  For those of you who are curious, it feels a bit like solitary confinement once the novelty wears off.  But, I'm not complaining!  ;)

It was for PNC Bank.  

What a week right?!  I know...I'm still processing all the miracles in my life and appreciating them wholeheartedly.  And discovering all the ways I can give back.

This is my 9th or 10th commercial in the last year and half.  Wondering how I got the commercial?  Here's my hunch.

Don't Afraid To Be Authentic.

The audition was at the Ocean Park Casting place.  Instead of getting too much in my head, I read my essence statements that I got from my Sam Christensen workshop.  Click here for the post about the Sam Christensen workshop. 

Here's what the breakdown looked like:

Role Name:	Designer
Attire:	Hip Casual
Role Details:	Female, Asian, 27-33 years old.  Interesting looking, but still hip.  She owns her own dress shop, that carries her own label.  It's a trying time, but she's never been happier.

My Marketing/Business Approach

Here's what I wore...because I do believe it was a factor.

They asked for interesting and hip.   

I wore a beige/stone colored turtleneck with one of my chunky necklaces, jeans, and black boots.     Many fellow auditioners wore dresses or skirts with bright colors and lots of accessories...trendy and hip.  I wanted to get more hip but, I stuck to my style.  I figured, 'Hey, I'm already hip, no need to 'look' hip."  It could have been totally wrong but, I'm branding ME so, I'm just gonna keep doing me.  Know what I mean jelly bean?  ;)

And did you know that if what you're wearing is close to the color palette of the brand/logo of the client for your audition, your chances of getting a callback is a little higher?  I read or heard that somewhere so I keep that in mind for commercial auditions.  Their logo colors are pretty muted so I did stay as close to their color schemes. 

Guess what?  I actually wore MY turtleneck for the shoot!   After trying on different outfits at the fitting, the director and clients vetoed them all and wanted to stick with how I looked at the audition.  They decided they liked what I brought in.  Word!

Ok, so 'She's never been happier...she's never been happier'.  Does this mean I have to be smiling and happy looking?  My actions were to design/fix a shirt on a mannequin.  Does this mean I have to be smiling while I'm fixing/designing a shirt on a mannequin?  

I said, 'Eff it.'  I'm gonna do what I'm gonna do no matter how hard I try to control it beforehand.  I know this so, I just stuck to reading my essence statements.  Pretty soon, it was my turn.  I went in and did my thing.  Did I smile, you ask?  Nope.  A natural smile didn't come up so I didn't force it.  I just concentrated on the work (fixing/designing) the shirt on the mannequin.  And the funny thing is...the camerperson or director actually liked my no smile.  He said it was thoughtful and real.  Word?  Word!

I get a callback.  I wore the same thing.  Whenever I get a callback, I wear what I wore to the first audition.  I've heard from casting directors that it's safe...actually, it's probably a good idea to wear the same thing.  

This time, the clients and director were in the room.  I did my thing again.  The director immediately stops me and gives me directions.  Got the notes and I go again.  He stops me again.  I got a bit annoyed...plus, I wasn't in the best of moods that day...I was feeling run down and irritable.  I felt like I wasn't doing perfectly what he was asking of me and I was getting politely frustrated.  And out of my frustration and impatience, the no fuss, no muss New Yorker came out...I just wanted to get it done and get out of there.  I walked out of there a little pissed.  I was sure I blew that one because I thought I revealed too much of myself.  I revealed my frustration and impatience.  According to the breakdown, I have 'never been happier'.  Oh great.  

I'm On Avail.  What?!  Who would have thunk it?  Then I booked it.  Holler.

The shoot went extremely well.  There was another actress in the scene with me.  She was my assistant.  When the camera started rolling, I went into happy designer mode.  Cut.  The director asked for more quicker pacing.  Action.  I did everything a little faster.  Cut.  The director wanted more impatience.  Action.  I did everything a little more impatient.  Cut.  The director wanted me to be more bitchy.  'Bitchy?', I asked.  He said, 'Yes, not really bitchy but, you know.'  I knew exactly what he meant.  They wanted the Alex that was at the callback.  The no fuss, no muss New Yorker.  Chop chop.  So, that's what I gave them.  We were done after a couple takes.  ;)

My Spiritual Approach

As soon as I was put On Avail, I set my intentions.  I told God/The Universe what I would do with the money when I booked the commercial.  I see everything and everyone as energy.  Money is a form of energy.  And energy must always be flowing.  The money isn't meant to stay in my bank account but, I'm meant to use it and give it in ways that are aligned with what I want.  And so I decided how I am going to give the money back to The Universe.  Of course, I'm saving some of it too...I ain't that cray cray.  ;)

What's the moral of this looooooong story?  Kekeke. 

Don't be afraid to be authentic.  

If there's anything I'm learning from branding myself in a conscious way, I'm learning that....

There's no need to look more of anything.  

You are complete as you are.

There's no need to act more of anything.  

You are complete as you are.

Don't be afraid to be yourself and show yourself.  That's our job as actors...to bring to life what's hidden beneath every one of us.  And just loving all of you, accepting all of you is the best way to brand yourself...in my opinion.  

So, hope you have a week full of being YOU.  With all the ups and downs..because that's life and YOU are ALIVE.  :)

with LOVE,

Alex