Actor Hurdles and a Premiere Date

Exciting news!

Dark Winds will be premiering on June 12th on AMC+.

I’m so excited to see how it turns out. And on that note, I now’s a perfect opportunity to share with you how many hurdles an actor has to dodge to actually make it onto the screen.

From audition to air date, there are so many places where an actor’s role can just evaporate and no one will even get to see the thing they’ve been working toward with all of their heart.

For example:

  1. Getting the audition. To get into a room (or these days to get a request to send in a self-tape) is HARD. Actors need the perfect combination of materials (headshot, resumes, acting reel) and relationships (either directly with the casting director or via their agent/manager) to even get asked to audition. If that all doesn’t fit the character being cast ➜ back to square one
  2. Auditioning: Many actors are called in to audition for every single role. Even 1-liners. A good and show-appropriate performance in the audition is basically the only thing actors have any control over. If the casting team and producers have thoughts about your look, vocal tone, height, etc that don’t match how they picture the role ➜ back to square one
  3. Yay! You get the call from your agent that you booked the role! Happy dance time! But whoops, they rewrite the script and now your character’s gone ➜ back to square one
  4. You’re on set! You shot the thing and are heading home happy as can be. Now it’s all up to the editors. If they decide your part isn’t intricate to the story and need to shorten the run time, you may end up being cut from the project ➜ back to square one.
  5. Ok, your part is so integral to the show that there’s no way you’ll be cut. You act with the lead for heaven’s sake! Oh… but because you were with the lead, they only used that person’s coverage and your role is basically just voice-over now. ➜ back to square one.
  6. Or you shoot the thing, are SURE you’ll be featured, and now are just waiting for the project to premiere. Waiting… and waiting… the project gets stuck in post-production purgatory. ➜ back to square one

There are SO MANY actor hurdles on the way to public, visible success. This is why it’s so important for actors’ mental health to celebrate each tiny win along the path. Because they aren’t tiny. Not really. They just aren’t visible.

Kate peers over a film slate clapper board
There are so many actor hurdles on the way to visible success!

 

A romantic comedy about romantic comedies…

Come join me on March 18th or 19th only for a night of laughs, love, and wit all from the comfort of your own (surely pantsless) living room. It’s live theater… on zoom! What an interesting mix between film and theater.

Presented by PlayZoomers, Backstage Fairytale by Michael John McGoldrick is a romantic comedy about romantic comedies. I star in this absolute charmer alongside Roy Stanton and it’s directed by Duchess Dale. I can’t wait to share it with you! Grab your tickets here. 

 

 

Want to ee an interview with the cast? Well…. as you wish.

 

New ABQMom contributor

I am so pleased to announce I am a new ABQMom contributor! ABQMom is a blog that connects and supports Albuquerque moms while helping them enjoy all there is to offer in this wonderful city. You may recall that I did an Instagram takeover for them a while back.

Now I’m joining the team as a monthly writer and content creator!

As an ABQMom contributor, I’m so looking forward to meeting some new Mama writer friends and getting to know my new hometown.

Make sure you’re subscribed here and then check out my very first blog post, “This Hike is a Hug from Nature”.

Kate reads…

There are two things that I have always wanted and known myself to be: an actor and a mother. Before I had kids, I scratched the maternal itch as a teacher, a nanny, a children’s theater director. I am very grateful to now have both things enriching my life.

When I was young, I was the kid curled up all day Saturday with a new book. I was the kid who brought home a grocery bag of library books and who could endlessly browse in a bookstore (ok, I’m still that kid). Reading, storytelling has a special place in my heart. I LOVE reading to my children. And as an actor, (and just general believer in sillyness) I am PRO doing voices. 🙂 So! I decided to put that joy and passion to use with a simple project, reading some of my kids’ favorite stories and sharing them with other families. This is “Kate reads…”

If you have children in your world, please enjoy this story-time with them (or use it to buy yourself a bathroom break alone! What a thought!) If you do not have kids in your life currently, I’d so appreciate you passing it on to friends who do.

Please enjoy one of my son’s favorites. Kate reads,,, The Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen

Weirdest. acting challenge. ever!

Q: What’s the weirdest acting experience you’ve ever had?

A: I’m sure there are a few that I could throw in the running but as I’ve been reviewing footage to update my drama reel (see the new version here!), I was reminded of this little doozy. A number of years ago I played the romantic lead in this super cool, black and white noir film called “The Invisible Man Departs”. Perhaps you can see where this is going already. Romantic lead… Invisible Man…

The team did a great job making the scene look believable. BUT! I had the very weird job of kissing no one… In front of the entire cast and crew. And taking it very seriously (NOT a comedy.)

It was… a bizarre and ultra specific challenge, lol.

Try it. Do it right now, I dare you. Try to kiss the air in front of you in a romantic, saying goodbye sort of way with nothing to press your lips against. Pursed lips is sorta juvenile. Open mouth is sorta gross… Surely not with tongue? WHAT DO YOU DO!?

 

You’re doing it too right? I’ll wait…

Wanna watch the whole short film? Check it out here!

A Mommy and Me Milestone

Last week we crossed a major milestone in my overlapped parent/actor life. My 4 year old daughter #BabyABC was in a movie with me! In fact the whole family was, but #OBaby is voiceover only and Joe’s been there, done that. I must say, one of my proudest moments was this one right here: ABC highlighting her own lines. 

Ugh! Heart explosion! She has been watching me work on scripts her whole life and around 3 years old even started “writing scripts for Mama” to work on. *swoon* So to see her with her very own script, highlighting her lines like a little pro really moved me.

In the weeks leading up to the shoot she would often resist working on her lines (she actually had quite a lot to learn!) but then I’d find her wandering around the house muttering them… along with whoever’s lines she found funniest.

Pretty much from start to finish, she identified as being “excited but also worried about acting”. I, Daddy, and the director assured her this is exactly what prepping for a role feels like!

I shot most of the script, the parts that didn’t include the family, earlier in the week.

 

When Sunday rolled around, it was on. ABC did great. But let me tell you, the shoots that were me only were a loooooot easier on me. Ha! It’s pretty hard to focus on acting when you’re also trying to wrangle 2 kids as both a parent and acting coach.

Imagine that! Plus the fantasy of “being in a movie” didn’t appropriately prepare her for doing the scene over and over. After about 3 takes, she announced “I’m done with this scene”. Ah, 4 year olds. Guess you’ll have to become a director, sweetie!

I’m so glad we shot this film together. It was really cool having my daughter “at work” with me (We actually shot from our home), to experience what I do. Afterwards she asked “So am I an actor now?” I told her that was completely up to her. If she’s interested in doing more, I’ll support her. And I’m happy for us to work together but I’m certainly not pushing her. I sure am proud though! I’ll have more details about our comedic short film, “You’ll Be Doing Alright” over the next few weeks.

 

 

Meditation on Meditations

I created the short film “Meditations By Shadow” a few years ago now, but I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently. 1) (Obvi) Because Halloween is upon us and 2) because this is a short that could have been created under COVID circumstances. I shot it in my own apartment, using my own props, lights, sound, and my husband as my Director of Photography. I recorded the voiceover in my clothes closet and edited it all on my home computer. We made do with what we had and had a lot of fun doing it! Of course, at that time I didn’t have littles running up and down the halls. (I was actually pregnant with my first at the time.) I just had a curious kitty photobombing the shoot. 

Another reason I’m revisiting this project is I know a lot of us are turning to meditation and other methods to retain as much calm and sanity as we can in these tough times. As I’m trying out new apps and streaming meditations, I am reminded again how something so relaxing can really be blown by the wrong voice, lol. 

So Happy Halloween! I hope you are finding some time to enjoy the pretend scary season amidst the real scary stuff. And I hope you find time to laugh. May “Meditations By Shadow” help with all of the above.

Click the pic!