Prize Winner

Hi all,

I’m glad to see I had 27 views yesterday. I would love to have 100 or more views per day. I know of a local PR firm that aggressively markets their talent. I’d like to try that, but I’m not sure about the price or if it’s worth it in a smaller market.

I have great news to share. I adapted The Go-Girls into a screenplay and submitted it to the 8 Sided Films 8X8 Screenwriting contest in August. The script is one of four finalists in the contest, and is eligible for a large monetary prize and mentorship and resources to get the film produced. I will be submitting a statement of vision to share with the members of their forum and the indie film community. They will be interviewing all the finalists. They are based in LA and have produced a number of excellent independent films.

I auditioned for Fiddler on the Roof last Sunday and I was hoping I would get at least a callback. I had a sudden attack of nerves at the audition even though I was well-prepared. I can’t afford to have that happen. I just scheduled auditions for two other productions at another theatre. I’ll be auditioning for a student film at ASU, which is a really good school. And I auditioned for two really nice guys today for a film under a SAG contract. It went really well.

One thing I’ve been trying to cement for my career is not working for free anymore. I thought I was done doing that. There are far too many casting notices that say things like, “compensation in the form of copy, credit, and meals” and “no pay, but great exposure.” Acting, and other arts, require training and dedication. Couldn’t we all find money to pay? Copy and credit is not pay. One thing that really ticks me off is something they mostly pull in LA. They note on the casting notice, “pay for Equity only, non-union roles unpaid,” or “pay for SAG only, gas stipend for non-union.” Why would I have less need for money than a union person? My friends in SAG-AFTRA and Equity still have day jobs. No one deserves to get away with not paying people because they don’t have a paper card. I have heard of different rates, but providing nothing, a gas stipend, or some education stipend in place of normal pay for the non-union is ridiculous. I found a really great article about one author’s advocacy of not working for free anymore. It’s called “Slaves of the Internet, Unite.”   He even includes a response to send to anyone who wants your services for free.  Here’s the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/27/opinion/sunday/slaves-of-the-internet-unite.html?_r=0

I started my Cactus Flower Pictures page on Facebook and I hope we can get some projects started soon. We just have to find a mutual time to meet.