debor009

One of the things I’ve been bumping up against in the past year, with great frustration, is being called to audition for a role that seems the polar opposite of the roles I’m usually cast to play (i.e. senator, judge, executive, strong women). Blue-haired granny is the one I see most frequently – small, plump, caring, no strong identity, sometimes comical. It's like when you get older you become a ghost; just the faintest impression of a person. The only apparent fit for these roles is the age range. I’m not plump. I don’t have gray hair. I'm 5 ft. 8 inches tall. Nothing in my posted head shots or reels gives me any clue as to what the casting director might have been thinking of in asking me to audition. Blue-haired Granny? Nah. I’ve discussed this with actor friends and the responses have ranged from the limited vision of American film and TV (if you’re a certain age, you’re a blue-haired granny) to the possibility that I’m “above market” in the southeast, where many of these...

I love watching old movies and television shows and every now and then I see an actor or actress that is such a standout I wonder what other roles they did and where their career went. Actress Darlene Parks This happened last night as I was watching a two-part episode of the old Barney Miller series titled "Wojo's Girl," with Darlene Parks in the title role. Parks was a willowy blonde who was pretty bordering on gorgeous. She had great comic timing (you can see a touch of Judy Holliday ) and her chemistry with Max Gail (who is still acting at 74) was perfect. (Watch her face in Part 2 when Gail asks her why she "started hooking.") Most important, she had a face that had that special something that makes a star; she was not interchangeable, she was memorable. But Darlene Parks, after this wonderful episode, had just one more role, and then she disappeared. What happened? Did she die tragically? Did she get discouraged and quit? Did she change her name and cont...

Packing and preparing to change residences. Much to do. Will resurface in a couple of weeks when I can finally take a deep breath and focus on auditions again.

Taking a quick break from doing my taxes (ugh) to give a hearty thumbs up to Ceyda Torun's charming and heartwarming documentary Kedi , which is now making the rounds of art house theaters nationwide. For centuries Istanbul has harbored thousands of street cats. They are fed and cared for by the people of the city - and look remarkably healthy! - and yet they belong to no one. The film profiles the cats of Istanbul and the people whose lives are touched and sometimes changed by them. It is a magical film. Well worth seeing. You can read a review here and an article on how the film was made here . Really, I loved it. Go see this film!

I’ve been off the grid for the past couple of months trying to figure out how to move to Los Angeles in 2018 without breaking the bank. For two years my husband and I have been making periodic trips out to LA to check out neighborhoods, apartments, acting classes, travel distances to the studios, and the feasibility of getting to auditions by driving the grid and staying off the freeways. (As Bette Davis famously said, “Take Fountain.”) We really thought we could make it work, but the more research we did the less it seemed feasible. Paramount Pictures where Gloria Swanson makes her entrance in Sunset Boulevard . Single actors may join forces with a roommate or two and romanticize the Bohemian life, but husbands frown on additional bodies in the home and I’ve reached a point in life where dirt and junkies are just…well…dirt and junkies. Last August we flew out to LA to check out apartments in a few neighborhoods we’d identified as pleasant, reasonably safe, and within easy commute to t...

We’d never thought of creating a base in southern Nevada, or of splitting the year between two (or more) locations, but the minute we got home I was online and looking into it. The distance (about 300 miles depending on the route) was about the same as from my current location to New York, so even when I wasn’t physically in Los Angeles I could still make it to scheduled call times and classes, and there was still the option of uploading audition tapes. Taxes? Nevada has no state income tax, check. Apartment costs? A two-bedroom in Las Vegas can be had for around $1,000 a month. In some of the small towns to the south, like Laughlin , it drops to $550. So rent for a whole year in Nevada is roughly equal to the cost of one or two months in Los Angeles, which eases the pain of paying rent for a year when we may be away for long periods of time. Pets? We didn’t see any massive up-front pet fees, but breed and number limits are in place in some places, but not all. Location? The desert is...

The more we thought about getting an apartment in Nevada, and taking our own mobile accommodations to Los Angeles for that prime part of the year for auditions, the more it seemed like a good idea. My husband will be polishing his three draft novels - and developing new ones - so he can work anywhere. We would be out of the desert during that part of the year when it's ridiculously hot. We could park ourselves in different locations, from beach to mountains. If neighbors nearby got noisy or unpleasant, we could move. Plus we could stay mobile for location filming and take our pets with us. We're Westerners by birth. No limits, Baby! But what kind of mobile accommodations were going to feel most comfortable and at the same time be the most mobile? We found out that with more and more employment being do-able online a lot of working-age people are ditching the 9-5 routine and opting for a place-to-place life on the road, so researching RVs and what is involved was easy (search RV...