Living the Dream Acting

I am really interested in the ways artists "give back" to their communities. I think the payoff is cyclical. Many artists have been known to vacillate between narcissism and debilitating insecurity. When we put others first, it can center and ground us. Our focus shifts from competition, commerce, and presentation of the self to the joy, well being, and inspiration of others. This past year, I became involved in BookPALS: Performing Artists for Literacy in Schools . It was founded by the non-profit Screen Actors Guild Foundation. This is a great way to get started, and you don't have to be a member of SAG to volunteer. Artists are needed for reading stories in the classroom, recording stories on community phone lines, and writing letters to students through programs like PencilPALS. To find out more, go to: www.storylineonline.net www.bookpals.net www.sag.org - (go to the Divisions and Branches drop down list to locate your area and get more information) I taught ...

I spent my last night in Hollywood with my friend Anat and her new room mate Ariel. Ariel is a musician in his early 20's who is also beginning his artistic adventures in L.A. The three of us sat outside the apartment building eating dinner by the pool. We had a few glasses of wine, great conversation, and watched as the colorful characters from the building came and went. "Freaks" by middle America's standards - bald women, pink haired men in drag, and I think they weren't used to anyone sitting by the pool enjoying a meal. As they walked by, some of them made jokes about crashing our party and seemed surprised when we invited them to join us. None of them took us up on the invite, but they seemed to appreciate the opening. The rest of the evening was spent talking about art, perfection, and the question - when is the right time to put our work "out there". At one point in the conversation, my teacher/mother hat went on. I was concerned that these two...

At least the beach had some nice views:

L.A. has many nicknames. One that I heard recently and that continues to stand out in my mind is the "City of Lost Souls". After the insanity of the long drive to L.A. on Friday night, Saturday was turning out much better. I slept in, took a long relaxing shower, took a walk down to Hollywood Boulevard from my friend's apartment, and enjoyed a relaxing breakfast at a quiet restaurant. After breakfast I met my friend and we decided to spend some time at the beach. We drove down to Santa Monica and enjoyed a beautiful day by the water. This is what I love about California - the Ocean. We left the beach, decided to cook a nice dinner, and stopped back at the house to change, before heading to the store. As we climbed the steps into my friend's building, we noticed two people sitting in the corner of the dirt parking lot next door. They were somewhat hidden but their conversation was fairly loud. We entered the apartment, and my friend's roommate shared that for t...

I'm just about to leave Phoenix for my trip to L.A. The mission of the trip - to help a friend move. Boxes check. Suitcase check. Water check. Road food check. Gas check...okay, time to leave, one more stop at the bank and we're out of here. Suddenly no air conditioning. Its 108 degrees outside!! We drive to the bank before we can head out of town, crossing our fingers that the air conditioner in my '97 Ford Ranger pickup is just experiencing a glitch. Bank...longest line in the history of the world! Wait, wait, and wait some more......Finally! Head out to the truck ready to go, still no air...did I mention its 108 degrees outside!! and did I mention its a Friday afternoon, and I'm exhausted from the work week, and a bit hormonal, and we're pulling a trailer so we can only go 55 mph max in a 75 mph zone? 108 degrees!!! and nothing I can do about it. 108 degrees for 9 hours.....

In my last entry I promised I would write about my "adventures" on my trip to Hollywood, then as often happens with me, life got in the way of Art. This is when the Single Mom Me and her challenges, gets in the way of the Artist Me and her desires. I've been reluctant to spend too much time talking about this part of my life. I wanted to keep the Artist Me out front as much as possible for the sake of this blog, and for the sake of my career. And as I write this, it occurs to me that there might be someone else out there having the same struggles I am as a Mother and Artist. This endeavor is also about creating community, and because of that I realize I should absolutely share. Sharing may not solve all of our problems, but at least we won't feel alone anymore on the journey. So the short answer is that my son goes to his Dad's house two weekends a month, and this is the time I'm able to recuperate and create. This month my ex went on a trip and I had my son...