In reflecting upon the past year, I started to think about the films and work I really appreciated by other actors. Admittedly, I don't watch nearly enough films, but for 2012 I plan to change this because I feel it's important for me as an actor to know what is out there. However, the following films are some of my favorites for 2011. Check it out!


1. I Melt With You (2011). Directed by Mark Pellington. Written by Glenn Porter. Starring Thomas Jane, Rob Lowe, Jeremy Piven, Christian McKay, and Carla Gugino.

I had the opportunity to watch I Melt With You at AFI Fest this past November. It was a mind blowing film, not what I had expected at all. Very dark yet humorous and just brutally honest and real. Following the screening, AFI held a panel with the director and some of the actors. Amazingly enough, these A-list actors were not paid a cent in doing the film but were drawn to the script because it's nothing like what the major studios are producing and it really pushed them as actors. I totally recommend I Melt With You but I also know it may be hard for some to watch.

2. Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011). Directed by Glenn Ficara and John Requa. Written by Dan Fogelman. Starring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, and Emma Stone.

I've been drawn a lot more to comedy this year than ever before. I dated a stand up comedian, befriended a bunch of comics, performed in the dark comedy Distracted, and started taking improv classes with UCB, so I think my perception of comedy has changed and my appreciation has grown that much more. With that being said, I absolutely loved the film Crazy, Stupid, Love. The writing is really strong with these interweaving story lines and unpredictable developments. The actors did an amazing job bringing it to life. There was just really great chemistry and strong performances across the board. And I think the story is very relatable... I mean, anything about love and how crazy and stupid it can be is surely relatable for me at least!

3. Bridesmaids (2011). Directed by Paul Feig. Written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo. Starring Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, and Rose Byrne.

Oh wow, I just realized that the lead actress is actually one of the writers! Mad props to Kristen Wiig! Just more motivation for me to pursue comedy and writing. Okay, so Bridesmaids -- I love this film! It's a female driven comedy that is just ridiculously hilarious. You know those moments when you can't even watch because of how embarrassing and humiliating it is for the character on screen? Yeah, there are definitely multiple moments like that in this film. If you haven't seen it yet, just go watch it. Seriously.

I shot a commercial for Skinny Cow today via Turn Here Productions! I'm rather exhausted but the shoot went really well. My fellow actresses (Adriana Sotelo and Kasturi Anderson) and the director (Blyth Kemp) were all a pleasure to work with. The commercial will be featured on the Skinny Cow website and Facebook page. Can't wait to see the final cut!

I had a family gathering this evening since my cousin from Maui is in town and I haven't seen him in about... twelve years! He builds and repairs guitars and ukuleles for a living. The last time I saw him he gave me my first electric guitar -- it has a Fender Strat neck with a Telecaster body. Anyway, I had the opportunity to catch up with him as well as his brother who happens to work in animation. He's done work for Disney, Dreamworks, etc. I found it really interesting because he's involved in a very different area within the industry, but he asked if I had thought about doing voice over work. Recently, I've been considering getting into that. With my background in spoken word/slam poetry, I feel I read copy well. I may be looking at classes soon to pursue that...

In other news, I sent in a bunch of submissions to agencies regarding theatrical representation. My main goal is to break into film and TV and I feel that I need to focus on building relationships with casting directors as well as obtaining awesome representation in order to get there. I'm planning to be more proactive with this so I can progress as a self-sustaining artist.

Additionally, the last week of 2011 is looking pretty exciting! I have two auditions lined up for tomorrow -- one is for a commercial and the other is for a music video. On Wednesday, I'll be attending an improv class at iO West and watching a show at Upright Citizens Brigade. Thursday, I'll be shooting a Skinny Cow commercial all day and re-connecting with artist/organizer friends I haven't seen in a while. 

I updated my reel! Take a look and feel free to give me feedback!

Next week I'll be shooting a commercial for Skinny Cow! I get to play a bored alien who comes to Earth and is enthralled by my discovery of Skinny Cow products! I'm so down to play an alien...

Last week I shot a commercial for a company I was hesitant to mention but screw it -- it's Adam and Eve and yes they are an online distributor of adult products. The shoot was quite innocent and I met some really awesome strong young women. What I found most interesting though on the shoot was the client representative's explanation to us on how the company came to be in the first place. The man who owns Adam and Eve has a graduate degree in public health and was focused largely on contraceptives during the 1960s. He originally started the company to make condoms available for purchase via mail because they were not easily available to the general public. And what's even cooler is the fact that a good sized percentage of their profits goes into a foundation which focuses on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in third world countries. It strangely makes a lot of sense in promoting positive, healthy, and safe sexual behavior.

I just got my copy of Truth in Comedy: The Manual of Improvisation and I am determined to figure the Harold out! My UCB instructor suggested we read it and it's actually really helpful for me in understanding long form improvisation. I don't know, sometimes reading about stuff and getting some sort of theoretical background and history just fills in the gaps that I'm not getting in class. I found a similar experience in reading Truth: Personas, Needs, and Flaws in the Art of Building Actors and Creating Characters to supplement my Actor's Intensive classes in exploring need-based acting. I think also I'm just kind of a nerd at heart and reading excites me so yeah... anyway, improv is challenging and scary and I'm interested to see where it takes me as an actor and just as a social being.

Every Sunday afternoon, I've been participating in fight rehearsals for the upcoming theatrical production of A Basket Full of Miracles. We open February 2012 at Elephant Theater in Hollywood. Check out the video for more information!

Rebellious Truths! So I shot a promo for Rebellious Truths a few weeks back and it just went live on YouTube. Check it out! 

They also asked me to be in the next video, so keep an eye out for me!

Today I started improv classes with Upright Citizens Brigade LA! Jill Donnelly is my instructor. So far the class seems really good - positive, safe, supportive. Improv has always scared me a bit, but I'm wondering if it's because I've mainly seen short form versus long form and UCB happens to be long form? I don't know... but I'm looking forward to the next 4-5 weeks of making a fool of myself!

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After class, I rushed to Little Tokyo for my audition as Fudge for Three Year Swim Club being produced by East West Players in February/March. I worked all night and day on my pidgin, which is basically Hawaiian Creole, because the play takes place in Hawai'i. The audition seemed to go well! I'm hoping my beginner status with hula doesn't deter them from seriously considering me. Either way, I'm confident that I can pull off pidgin pretty naturally if there is a need in the future for any projects so that's cool. :)