Tonight is for Wilma

We sink into the couch with belly’s full of sweet potato fries, white bean salad, puttanesca pasta, sweet bread and caramels dipped chocolate. And this, ladies and gentleman, is only the beginning. What causes this all-American gorge fest at the New York Pope household? The much anticipated Brooklyn Trader Joe’s finally opened their doors today. And like good TJ fans, Elisa and I were there with bags in hand and our old grandma push cart, named Wilma (image below), by our side.

While previously using the Manhattan store, the new TJ’s is located 3 blocks from my law school in Brooklyn. The new stores marvelous renovation was done inside an old style bank building. The shelves were stocked to the brim with amazing foods at amazing prices. After over an hour of fighting crowds, dodging kids, and filling out cart to the brim… we checked out and started home.

Elisa and I made it home in one piece. However we are sad to report this may have been Wilma’s final voyage. She held up well, like the little champ that she is, with well over $200 in delicious can goods aboard. Yet, with a mere three blocks under her belt, Wilma’s left wheel buckled under the immense weighed pressure of enough TJ’s food to feed a small army of raccoons. “Man down… man down,” Elisa proclaimed (seriously!) as the cart crashed to its side. After composing ourselves, Elisa and I were able to jimmy up the broken axle and continue home. Elisa proudly proclaimed a little duct tape will put Wilma back together. On the way back, we lost the wheel about 5 more times. Yet, we made it home.

Thus, we gorge ourselves tonight of the sweet nectar that is Trader Joe’s food. We eat not for nourishment. Not for enjoyment. Not for necessity. Tonight, we eat for Wilma. God speed little cart.

Finishing up the Week (6 and 7 of 7)

Thanks to those of you who read through my “Week in the Life” entries, I know they were long. I know I listed that there would be seven total entries, but last weekend was not exciting enough for a play by play entry, instead I’m going to give you a summary update.

As you may remember, on Friday I received a call from Central Casting letting me know that they wanted me to be an extra for Law and Order on Monday. So Monday morning I woke up at 5am to get ready and was on location for my 7am call time. We filmed a few scenes in an office downtown set up to look like workers on Wall Street (where the victim worked) then we moved in the afternoon to Chelsea Piers where all the Law and Order sets are located. The remainder of the day was court room scenes in which I played two different background characters. I was finally released at 7:45pm after 13 long hours on set. As a non-union member still I am paid $80 for up to 10 hours of work but then get time and a half after that.

Tuesday was a big day because not only was I trying to recoup from the previous day of filming but I found out I would be filming for Law and Order: Criminal Intent on Wednesday! Not only that but I received a call from Theatreworks inviting me for a callback to their production of “Max and Ruby!” This was great news for me because I have been called in by this company three times before and last week (the morning I got to the audition at 6:15am) I went to their open call where over 250 people showed up to audition. To be called back from the cattle call was definitely a boost to my confidence and I excitedly scheduled my callback for Friday. This company would be the next step up for me since they not only tour around the country but also perform in NYC at the Off-Broadway Theatre, The Lucille Lortel. To jump ahead, Friday’s callback went great and they asked me to come again on Monday for another callback! Its crazy how many rounds of callbacks there are for shows over here but I’m happy each time I make it one step further …

I promise to give more info on all the Law and Order shoots soon, as well as this Tuesday I’m filming all day for the new ABC Series, “Life on Mars” and for this one I get to be costumed by the wardrobe department because I’m playing a hippie at a club scene!!! But with my second callback tomorrow I want to get some sleep (especially since I just babysat today for 11 hours straight!) More to come soon … I promise!

PS: Read Cali’s great comment and added Lyrics to the entry from Tue September 9th … so true … thanks Cali, I forgot about that song!

Zoka Movie

A Week in the Life ... (Friday 5 of 7)

Friday is finally here!

9:00 – wake up and take Zoka to the park

9:45 – Work for my internet job

12:45 – start getting dressed and packing my dance bag

1:15 – leave for dance

2:00 – Arrive in Times Square area and run into Capezio Dance store to buy dance knee pads. Last week in the jazz class I take on Fridays we did a combination that was hard on the knees and I realized it was finally time to go and buy myself a pair of knee pads!

2:30 – Make it to dance just in time! (Jazz class)

4:00 – sit in the hall catching my breath and taking a break before ballet

4:30 – ballet starts

5:25 – happen to glance at my cell phone in my bag during class (while the other group is doing floor work) and see I have a missed call from Central Casting (registered with them yesterday) Hmmm how can I check my message and call them back? They called at 5:15, its now 5:30 and class isn’t over until 6:00 … its ballet so I’m scared to step out for a minute… But my problem is that one time I missed a call to be an extra on Confessions of Shopaholic movie and when I called them back 45 minutes later they didn’t need any more people.

5:35 – We’re doing a long combination on the floor so as soon as the other group goes and discretely grab my phone and head out like I’m running to the bathroom. I crouch down in the hall and quickly call back Central Casting … yay they want me to be an extra for Law and Order on Monday. I tell them I can do it but can I call back in 30 minutes to get the rest of the details. They say ok and I sneak quickly back into class.

6:00 – class ends and I head out quickly to call back to get the rest of the details (more about law and order later)
7:15 – get home and take a shower

8:00 – eat some dinner and chat with Mike

10:15 – leave the house again and head into Manhattan with Mike

11:00 – Arrive at the Laurie Beechman Theatre for “The After Party” this is a cabaret theatre/restaurant that every Friday night has a few Broadway stars perform and also is an open mic to sing showtunes. This is our second time coming (the Central Park Musical I did had a special appearance here a month ago) and I’m meeting up with a few fellow Central Park cast members. We’re at a table in the front row and get to see three of the final cast members from “Rent” perform as well as a guy from “In the Heights” and the guy who wrote and is starring in “Title of Show”. Its always a really fun night and its great to see such amazing performers that close. But its always a really late night too, we left at 1:45am and the show was still going strong (apparently it lasts until 4am!!!)

2:45 – finally home to go to sleep!

A Week in the Life ... (Thursday 4 of 7)

*If just reading this series for the first time, make sure to start at Monday September 8th.*

7:30 – alarm goes off, time to get ready for another day

9:00 – leave the house

9:10 – just miss the subway – begins an entire day of horrible subway luck…

10:15 – arrive at the studio for webisode filming again

10:30 – filming begins, but today I’m just an extra pretending to be reading the paper at an audition so I literally just sit and really read the paper doing the entire shoot

11:20 – done filming for the day (short and sweet this time)!

11:30 – Stop by Staples to buy … staples! Although I’m disappointed to find that the smallest box I can buy still weighs quite a bit when I consider having to carry it in my bag the rest of the day.

12:05 – Arrive at audition for The Flea Theatre (best off-off broadway theatre), happy to see the wait shouldn’t be too long. While sitting and waiting I read the info sheet about what I’m auditioning for (to be in their resident acting company) and find out that over 1,000 actors audition for this every year! Wow! So as usual the odds are ridiculous … oh well every audition is good practice!

12:30 – Finally called in to the theatre to audition. Perform my contemporary monologue (get a few little laughs) then perform my Shakespeare monologue from Othello. During the Shakespeare monologue I can see the artistic director nodding along … not sure if it’s a “she’s doing good nod” or he just knows the monologue really well and is thinking it along with me in his head. I finish and say thank you, it feels weird now to me to do an audition where I don’t have to sing!

1:00 – Get to a Starbucks in mid-town and sit down for a few hours to do some work for my internet job.

3:15 – Begin touching up my make-up while still sitting in Starbucks ( I never would have done this in Seattle but in New York you don’t have much of a choice). I then use the Starbucks bathroom to change back into my audition clothes and fix my hair.
3:45 – Arrive at Central Casting office and wait in the hall with the other non-union folk waiting for the 4:00 registration time

4:00 – Taken into the Central Casting office with about 20 other people. Let me explain a little bit about Central Casting: it is a casting office that cast background actors/extras for tv shows such as Law and Order, Fringe, Gossip Girl, as well as various films being shot in NYC. Once you register with them you are put into their database and once they have a role that you fit they call you up and see if you are available for the shoot date. At the registration they go over the details of how casting works, get our info for payment (non-union rate is $85/day – up to 10 hours), and take our picture.

5:00 – All done registering … head to the subway to go home.

5:10 – My bad luck subway day continues as I just miss a train. The express train comes and I hop on it hoping to catch the local train I just missed. Now I have a few options when going home, I could stay on the express train and transfer to the R train which will get me home as well but then I have to walk up hill. I decide to get off the express and wait for the F train, which I usually prefer, because it is rush hour so the trains come frequently. BAD IDEA! Waiting on the platform for the F train when an A train arrives … I figure the A must be running on the F line and I can transfer in Brooklyn back to the F. Get off the A in Brooklyn and notice the platform for the F is more crowded than I’ve ever seen it! (Also note it had been cold out early so after my audition I just put on jeans and a turtleneck … another BAD IDEA!) Even though the weather outside has cooled down, the subway station is still an oven! As I wait way too long for the F to come (15 minutes!) I’m getting hotter and more frustrated with every minute. The train finally arrives to an overpacked platform at rush hour and some people actually start clapping and cheering. I know its going to be a fight to get on … the train stops and everyone madly rushes the doors, I have no control and am literally pushed onto the train with the mob. I’m happy to at least have gotten in but now … oh crap … no air conditioning!!! Not only is the subway car jam packed and swelteringly hot, but it smells like severe b.o.! I stick my nose on my arm and pray that the ride goes quickly!

6:15 – Finally get off the train and take in a nice fresh breath of air!

6:30 – Take Zoka to the park and debate if I want to go to another audition that is 5 stops south of me in Brooklyn

7:15 – Convince myself I should go to the audition and so start getting my stuff ready

8:00 – Arrive at audition for a community theatre production of “Joseph … Technicolor Dreamcoat”. Find out there is a dance audition in addition to singing (why didn’t they put that in the audition notice?!?) Sign in and told it shouldn’t be too long of a wait and after I sing they may ask me to stay and dance.

8:15 – Sing (16 bars) and am asked to go learn the dance combination (good thing I brought my character shoes)

8:30 – Learn the dance combo – an easy 4 counts of 8 and then wait to perform it for the artistic staff

8:45 – Perform dance combo in group of three other girls

9:00 – All done at audition, head back to the subway

9:10 – Just miss the subway … again …!

10:00 – Finally back home. Do some more work and get ready for bed.

12:30 – Nighty Night!

A Week in the Life ... (Wednesday - 3 of 7)

*If just reading this series for the first time make sure to start at Monday September 8th*

9:30 – “beep … beep … beep” as I wake up realizing its 9:30 I’m saddened to think that this feels like sleeping in to me now but very relieved to have actually gotten a decent night’s sleep

10:00 – take Zoka out for a nice run at the park

11:00 – sit down at my desk to get a bunch of work done for my internet job

3:00 – take a little break and try to decide if I want to go to an audition later that evening

4:00 – decide to go to audition so start getting myself ready and take Zoka out to the park again

5:30 – leave the house

6:00 – arrive at audition – theatre is located in Greenich Village and I literally have to walk right through the middle of a major movie being filmed to get to the door of the theatre

6:05 – sign in (I’m #3) and sit down to wait for an hour (audition starts at 7:00). While sitting I work on my blog since I can’t get any internet connection and stare at the other girls slowly arriving for the audition. Most auditions in New York are during the day, so I have not been to many evening auditions. I notice that it is definitely a different crowd here, I see very few of the same people I always see at the morning auditions.

7:00 – Called upstairs to wait for my audition

7:05 – Sing 16 bars, asked how comfortable I am with harmonies, and how flexible my schedule is

7:15 – leave audition, walk back through movie set

8:00 – home to begin preparing for another day

9:00 – do a little bit more work for internet job, check emails, figure out plan for Thursday, pack lunch and bag of clothes, print more resumes … realize I’m out of staples and make mental note to go to office supply store before auditions tomorrow (resumes are stapled to the back of my headshots)

12:00 – bed time

*These type of days I usually refer to as my “slacker days” because I feel as if I slacked off and didn’t accomplish a lot. Some of this feeling comes from the fact that when I work at home it doesn’t feel like I’m AT work … then I have to remind myself its still a job and no, I am not a slacker for having one slower paced day!

A Week in the Life ... (tuesday)

And it begins again…

4:30- alarm goes off, snooze it until 4:45, finally get up and begin getting ready

5:30- leave the house (why does it have to still be dark out???)

6:15- Arrive for audition, there’s already a line … I sign in as #21, time to sit outside on the street on the hard pavement with all the other crazy actors and wait for the building to open

While waiting I write this blog, read the paper, do my make-up, sit and think about how much it stinks to have to be sitting outside especially since I'm starting to get chilly

7:30- Building finally opens, we are let in to the 'holding room' where we will all primp, listen to our ipods, talk with friends, stretch, and sit around and wait for our 2 minute audition slot. I also am able to do some work during this time thanks to the audition studio having free wi-fi.

9:30 – Official audition monitor arrives and because this particular theatre company does not honor “unofficial sign-up sheets” (the pieces of paper we sign up on at 6am when the audition monitors are still at home sleeping) it is up to the actors to assemble ourselves in order. If there was not a list, all 250 actors crammed into a rehearsal studio would be hitting, kicking, and biting to get to the official sign up sheet first. One brave soul, a girl who had arrived at 5:45am that morning, decides to take it upon herself to read the unofficial list so that everyone can get in line to then sign up on the official list in the correct order. If you are at all confused, you are not alone. The whole audition process here takes a long time to figure out. Can you imagine what its like the first couple of auditions you go to where you see that sign-up starts at 9:30, audition starts at 10:00, so naturally you arrive a little before 9:30 only to realize you are number 230 on the list.
After mass chaos and confusion the room has been assembled into a giant line of 250 actors all carrying giant bags and quietly humming to themselves to warm up their voices. I sign up on the official list and return to my seat to get changed into my dress and heels and go over the sides (script) for the audition.

10:35 – my name is called to go and line up in the hall

10:45 – my audition: sing 16 bars then read one page of sides from “Junie B. Jones”

10:50 – say goodbye and break a leg to my friends and rush to change out of my dress

11:00- step outside in a rush to my next commitment only to realize there is a torrential downpour occurring and I didn’t bring an umbrella and I’m in flip flops! I make it one block dragging my suitcase and holding my cardigan over my head and spot one of the street vendors who magically appear selling umbrellas as soon as the first rain drop falls. I have never had to buy one of these street umbrellas, but I realize it is raining really hard, I still have quite a ways to walk, and I’m on my way to a film shoot and wet hair is not going to look too good. (If you are thinking right now that I’m from Seattle and a little rain should not bother me, let me ask you if you’ve ever been in a rainstorm so hard you can barely see in front of you AND you have to walk half a mile! Its one thing to have to go from inside to the shelter of a car in a rainstorm, its another to walk half a mile – not to mention all the puddles that instantly form in the streets!)

11:15 – I finally arrive at my destination completely soaked from the knees down, at least my hair is semi dry, just damp from the humidity and my sweat. I’m happy to report that the umbrella did make it in one piece … for $3 I didn’t have the highest hopes, but it did its job.

11:20 – arrive on set dragging a puddle of rain behind me and my suitcase. Wardrobe person tells me to take a minute and dry off and then to start showing him the outfits I brought for the shoot. A little background: this is a shoot for a webisode (tv show that is only online) that a small production company is making. I’m not getting paid but I need it for my resume and reel, plus its fun!

12:00- finally dressed for the shoot and have gotten my hair down, now just sitting around for my scene

12:30 – Filming: I am playing a casting assistant who is bored at auditions … kinda fun to pretend to be on the other side of the table for a change!

2:30 – Done filming, pack my suitcase back up and head off to my next adventure (at least it has stopped raining by now)

3:00 – Sit at a café in Union Square and talk to my mom on the phone and do some work for my internet job

4:00 – Voice Lesson: my teacher has been gone for the last 6 weeks so it feels good to get back into training, especially since I feel like I learned a lot the past few weeks using my different songs for auditions.

5:00 - Head home for the day - FINALLY!

6:00 – Get home, take Zoka outside, and make some dinner

7:30 – Do more work for my internet job, attempt to start unpacking from the day, take a shower, etc.

11:00 – Finally get into bed … I feel like if I stay up another minute I will fall over … luckily I can set my alarm for much later the following morning…

A Week in the Life ...

When I talk to my Dad every weekend he always asks how the week went. “Good, but long and tiring,” I usually answer. I try to tell him about some of the auditions I went on, jobs I had, etc. but feel like every week is filled with so many different activities that its hard to really encompass it all in a phone conversation. So, I thought it might be interesting to blog everyday this week and give you a glimpse into a typical week here in the big apple!

I fell asleep Sunday night thinking about how this week was going to be a long one. I should have been more focused on actually getting sleep for the week ahead rather than trying to plan it in my head. Monday is usually a big audition day which means super early mornings. Unfortunately I had a matter I had to take care of at the post office first thing for my internet job. Luckily, I’ve made some great fellow actor friends over here and can rely on them to sign me up at the crack of dawn when I can’t make it myself. So I arrive at the post office at 8:00am sharp and spend 30 minutes trying to find out if a package has been delivered from Germany (ps- I hate the USPS in Brooklyn)! By 8:30 I’ve given up on the package and am on the subway into the city. The next part of the day was broken down as such:

9:00 – arrive at audition studio and thank my friends profusely for signing me up at 5am so that I’m number two on the list (more about the list to come)

10:00- Audition: (sing 16 bars) for Annie National Tour

10:05- realize I got done early enough to go home for a few hours and go to dance later instead of staying in the city all day. I hang around audition for a bit being indecisive and chatting with my friends

11:30 – get home, work for a few hours(internet job), take a 20 min powernap, take Zoka out for a quick run, re-get ready for the remainder of the day

3:30- leave house again

4:30- training session for the tutoring company I’ve been hired by, unfortunately tutoring won’t start till end of October

5:30- training session is over … debate whether or not I should go home or go to dance… decide to go to dance

6:00- stop by post office again and pick up supplies for work, then go sit at a coffee shop and do work for my internet job

7:30-9:00 theatre dance class (we learn a combination from Thoroughly Modern Millie so I’m happy I came)

10:00 – on subway home Mike and realize we’re both on the same train (yay)!

10:15- home at last! Begin preparing for another day: shower, pack suitcase of clothes for webisode that I am filming and audition in the morning, do work for internet job, eat dinner (I know its kinda late), Yay for Mike making my lunch to help me out

12:30- in bed at last … oh shoot, I have to get up in 4 hours! Luckily, I have no problem falling asleep very quickly tonight!

Zoka's New Toy

Zoka loves his new toy. Here is a video of him chasing it in the park behind our apartment. He always has to shake it and "kill it" a few times before giving it back. Funny little dog.

Watch for me on the Rachel Ray Show: Mon Sept. 8th

Last week I got paid big bucks to be part of the "audience" for the Season Premiere of the Rachel Ray show which will air next week. I can't give out the details of the episode but look for me riding around on top of the double decker tour bus throughout the episode! It was a loooooong day (10 hours of filming) but I was getting paid and got to meet some fun people and spend the day driving around the city.

The show airs next Monday, September 8th so mark your calendars! If you live in NYC the show is on WABC Channel 7 at 10:00am, if you're in Seattle its on Kiro Channel 7 at 3:00pm. Or if you're somewhere else check out the website to find out when it airs in your city: http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/show-info/showtimes/