The Business of the Actor - Audition Update

The Dailies

Mar 11

Last week was SUPER hectic. I was notified of 2 auditions within minutes of each other, both on the same day. I also had to go in-person to renew my passport for my upcoming trip to Turkey, had my on camera commercial technique class and had a financial planning meeting on the same day as the passport renewal & class. Add my regular job, and I felt like all I was doing was coming & going with paperwork in tow. I said YES to both auditions without reading all of the details. Turns out, 1 audition overlapped the other. So if I thought I could do both, that idea soon evaporated. I had to make a career decision based on my 6-month acting goals. In the end I chose the longer, overlapping audition which was for an improv/sketch comedy conservatory. I did a sketch comedy (think SNL) about a year or so ago. It was a lot of fun and consequently I added "Get cast on SNL" on my long-term goals list. LOL I did audition well though, it lasted from 11:30-2pm and the next day in my email was my invitation to join the conservatory!!!

On Sunday I went to the library to check out some fashion related coffee table books. I ended up going to the Brooklyn Public Library. They're currently running a Silent Film Series and were showing The Goddess, unfortunately the trains were on some bull-shit and I missed the film. Though I missed the film, I did check out some great books and discovered the work of a couple of artists like:

Winold Reiss

Both of these portraits are from 1925. Funny, the hairstyles and outfits look so modern compared to the average image of women from the 1920's. At least all the ones I've ever seen.

I also saw this lovely piece by Archibald J Motely Jr called Cocktails!! This was done in 1926.

All of the images are from the compilation book Rhapsodies in Black: Art of the Harlem Renaissance I highly recommend checking out the book, its packed with a lot of information and beautiful artwork.

After leaving the library I was still obsessed with seeing the film The Goddess staring Ruan Ling-yu and of course YouTube didn't disappoint. The film came out in 1934 and is about an unnamed woman that supports herself and her infant son as a prostitute. Every-time she saves a little change and makes an escape (I felt like I was watching Good Times) her douche-bag pimp finds her and puts her back in the hole. The film, though silent was acted beautifully and at times I felt like going into the computer and beating down her pimp. Thankfully, the story ends well. Being an actress with a love for fashion I find it EXTRA fun watching movies. Not only am I observing the acting, I am also watching the fashion with every scene.

The Goddess did not disappoint with the looks; from the arched eyebrows to the hair variations I was in awe. The wardrobe consistently of roughly about 3/4 pieces, they were different in terms of fabrication and embellishment. The service men seen variously throughout the film also had awesome neck adornments on their uniforms. It made me so inspired to play with my own jewelry and try to re-create some of the looks.

Below are some stills from the film and a scene which opens with the mothers now school-age son being accosted by other students because of his mother's profession. The film is very intriguing, it made me consider how often as a society we are so quick to not only label someone, but often that persons off-spring as well. Here this woman is, doing work she doesn't want to -- to make sure her son has a good education despite the shame that will undoubtedly be thrust on him.