A LONG OVERDUE Update

So it's been a MINUTE since I last posted. So much has been going
 on in my life up to this point. First of all the show "Miles of Styles" did not pan out. Let's just say I got my first taste of dealing with an unscrupulous "director". I was down about that for awhile, but then I threw myself back into training and recovered.

Eric and me :)

I booked a big model gig! My good friend, Eric Sanchez, sent me a casting notice to be a dancer and hair model for Clairol. I immediately sent in all my information and waited to see if I would be invited to the call. FINALLY I heard back from the agency and I went to the casting call. When I arrived at the studio (Milk Studios in NY) I was amazed at how gorgeous the place was. The waiting area had more than a few chicks waiting from boutique agencies who were clearly "models". I began to feel a little insecure. Here I was, with no representation, barely a portfolio and no model credits whatsoever. All the other girls looked chic, and I had on a hoodie and sneakers. However, I learned from previous auditions to always be prepared, so I changed into a pair of heels I had in my bag. That helped a little. The call was more of a go-see than an audition. I could see into the space that they were asking the girls to dance to the radio. My confidence went back up. Most of  the models couldn't move! When it was my turn, I kicked off my heels and went for it. The casting group was very excited. I ended up in a line with all the girls and they narrowed it down to 4 girls and 2 guys, including me. Needless to say I left feeling very optimistic! A few days later I got a call from the agency saying that they were interested in possibly using me for TWO shows! Wow! I thanked God for his blessings right then and there. In the end, I only booked the one that I originally auditioned for, but the money is awesome and I get a work vacation in Atlanta! God is good!

I haven't been auditioning much, but one audition really lifted my spirits. I auditioned for "The Color Purple" tour and got the furthest I ever have in an audition. I made it through two dance cuts and then was let go right before the singing. My ballet has improved alot since being in NY, and it showed when we had a short center barre. The choreographer made it feel more like a workshop than an audition which really helped to ease my nerves. Another thing that happened that isn't common was that once you were cut, she invited you to speak with her about why you were cut and what you needed to work on. I need to be more specific in my movement, meaning understand exactly what the choreographer is asking you to do and do it that way. It has more to do with placement than technique. That's why some people who may not be as technical make it through to the end. Although I didn't make it, that audition really helped me, and she will see me again at the next audition!

H-Town Visit and Miles of Styles

First off, I apologize for the gap in between posts, but I've been busy. After I finished "Steal Away" at the Paul Robeson Theatre I went home to have some dental work done and visit. I spent most of the week hanging out with Cameron and my family. I had a blast hanging out with my friends and enjoying simple things I missed like driving, the heat  and how CLEAN everything was.And yes I got my Blue Bell ice cream, lol. While I was in Houston I got a nice surprise. I had auditioned for a concert called Miles of Styles back in early March and I totally bombed the audition.

RECAP OF AUDITION....

It was a tap/jazz audition and I came in hip hop clothes.The tap was way more advanced than what I remember from 5th grade and one tap class sophomore year in high school. One girl left without saying anything. When it came time to do the combo in groups of three, I stepped to the side and slowly began getting my stuff together. I was hoping the choreographer would ask me to stay for the jazz. Sure enough he did! So I'm thinking, "Okay, I got this now." I pull out my hip hop sneakers and wait. After tap he tells us to put on our HEELS and get ready for jazz. I had never worn heels for jazz, or anything for that matter. I thought we were doing... I don't know what I thought we were doing. So once again I look out of place. The combo wasn't too hard and I did it the best I could wearing sneakers. After the audition I thanked him and left, mortified. Needless to say, I didn't get a callback. I learned alot at that audition.
1) I learned that jazz in NY is not the same as jazz in Houston or at least how I remembered taking it. I needed to take a cue from the title of the show and research all the different styles there were of not just jazz but everything.
2) When I decide to attend an audition, read the notice carefully and look at any references or resources it gives you. For instance, this audition had a website with videos of the previous year's show.
3) Bring ALL shoes (and sheet music if musical theatre) no matter what they say and dress according to the show auditioning for.

BACK 2 THE FUTURE...
I got a call from the choreographer asking me to join the cast of "Miles of Styles". I was so excited and looking forward to returning to NY. Plus the show was paid AND it performs at the Lincoln Center. That was a real confidence booster for me.

May 2010 Goals

As I continue this journey, I find inspiration everyday in many different ways. I thrive off people around me, especially my peers and friends growing in their talents and careers. I love hearing news from back home that others are succeeding. That makes me only want to work harder, to make sure we reach the top together. Every month I will set goals for myself and I will definitely blog to tell you whether I achieved them or not.

These are my May goals that I want to accomplish:

May 2010 Goals

1) Find a job and begin working before May is over

2) Improve vocally and add at least 3 more songs to my book

3) Have 4 "go-to" monologues and continue to perfect them

4) Compile a short list of commercial agents to submit myself to

5) Improve eating habits and drink plenty of water daily

6) Work on clearing up skin


That is more than enough to keep me busy for the next month and a half. I plan on sticking to focusing more on training my voice and dance classes than auditioning (Unless I'm really interested in the project) and not just showing up at EVERY audition.I am also happy to say that I finally got a dance workstudy with Alvin Ailey! It happened sooner than I thought it would and now I can take class for free! That takes a load of of my mind as far as finances go, because the amount of classes I mean to take would have been A LOT of money. God truly answered my prayer on that one.

My 1st month in NY Update

So I have been in New York for a month and a half now. So far my progress is acceptable. I can be hard on myself when it comes to pushing myself to succeed simply because I know how lazy I can get and how much I love to procrastinate. However, since being in NY, I haven't really found myself doing the things I used to do in Houston. I  have been auditioning and improving my networking skills. I make sure that by the end of each week, I have filled my calendar with classes and auditions. I don't spend all day shopping with money that could be put to better use somewhere else, i.e classes, voice lessons, RENT, lol.  I guess it's because I've been talking about focusing on my career and getting somewhere for so long, it's now time to "put up or shut up". I have no excuse now. The sky is the limit!

"Unchain My Heart" Audition

So there is a new musical coming to Broadway about Ray Charles. I went to the Equity dancer call and it was PACKED. I signed in on the non-equity list and ran into this girl I met at another audition named Jennifer. She was auditioning as well. We chilled together while waiting to see if we would be seen or not. I met a couple of other black girls, some of which I had sen around before as well. Some were equity some were not, like me. Finally we get word that they were going to take all non-eq headshots and type the list down from about 120 to 16! Needless to say, I wasn't called in. Jennifer knew the guy in the holding room and asked for some tips as to why she wasn't called in. He said that the casting team were probably only skimming each resume', looking for Broadway or touring credits and he also noticed that here voice wasn't listed at the top. You would think that was a minor point, but it made sense. He said that the casting directors would think they were just looking at a dancer who couldn't sing and toss the headshot aside and type you out.

I ended up talking with a couple of ladies who had been in the game a minute and one of them so graciously helped me plan how to improve the look of my resume' and make it more readable and make the most of the credits I did have. I will forever be thankful to her. Most of the young women I met were so nice and we exchanged, cards, numbers, email etc. with the promise to hang out together sometime soon.

With the day pretty much gone I prepared to head home. As I walked out with Jennifer, one of her friends told us that Harvard was having a showcase at Theatre Row that her friend was in and asked if we wanted to tag along. Since it was free and I wasn't ready to end the day I decided to take her up on the idea. Plus it would be nice to get know both of them a little better. We ended up having a good time and seeing the showcase really motivated me to work even harder at achieving my goals.

I learned a lot that day, and I believe I'm going to have to rethink my stand on not working towards getting an agent soon and trying to become apart of the union. It's no fun waiting in line all day, just to be told that there's no time to see you. 

In the meantime, I'm still taking class and attending my voice lessons. This weekend I'm going to ATL to be a hair model in "The World Natural Hair Show" I'm so excited! I've never been to Atlanta before. Here is a picture of the flyer that my face is on. I love it!

 

This is a picture of me and my new friend Jennifer at the audition:

Here I am at Theatre Row. I really liked the colors and design of this sign. Oh, and I found these fresh flowers in the trash and I clipped one off and put it in my hair. Had the girls rolling! I was cute though! lol

Here is Jennifer. Cute pic!

Happy Easter! and a mini Update...

So I am sitting at my apartment, getting over a day of homesickness. I didn't think to find a church to go to for Easter because I planned on attending my church back home via the internet. Well, the program decided not to work at all, even after I tried for 3 hours. I was frustrated and mad that I missed church today. I started missing my family and friends, especially after I called and spoke to my son, Cameron. And that's not all. I've been here for one month and I can't help but start to feel a little exasperated. I  haven't been as productive as I would like to and need to be. I haven't been going to as many dance classes as I need to, and when was the last time I looked for new material and monologues or worked on the monologues that I do have? I'm worried about my financial situation since I do not have nor am I looking for a job right away. I wanted to focus on taking class and auditioning first. I am going to rig something up to keep track of the auditions and classes I take, besides the posts I write. This way I can evaulate my productivity regularly. Be on the lookout for that.
As the day went on, I pulled myself together, cooked some comfort food and a home favorite, seafood gumbo and watched a little TV. I'm going to wash my hair and get ready for TWO auditions tomorrow. Needless to say I will be going to bed earlier than usual tonight. But before my head hits the pillow, I will do a little scripture reading. I know that will ease my mind to read the word of God and draw strength from his words. This week will be a great week for me! I am claiming it!

Dance Recap: First two classes

So yesterday I started my dance classes at Broadway Dance Center (BDC). so far I've had positive feedback and I'm excited to see what the future brings. God willing, I'll be able to get workstudy by the end of next month to cut down on the cost of training or I'll have to cut back on the amount of classes I can take : (
Dollie Henry's jazz class was the perfect class for me to start off with. I enjoyed Dollie's energy and her philosophy on dance. She's from the UK and only here to teach five sessions. Her warmup was very thorough and interesting. I really liked the across the floor combination. The actual routine she taught us was my favorite part. I really felt liek I was at a party rather than just doing a combo. There were only six students since it was the forst class, but I liked the intimate feel of it. I'm pretty sure the class will grow from word of mouth as the sessions continue. I will deinitely attend when I don't have rehearsal.
Today I took hip hop with Valentine. Luam was supposed to teach but he subbed in. I was a little apprehensive because hip hop isn't what I would consider one of my strengths and the class was huge. There had to to be between 30-40 people taking the class. Some of them obviously were hip hop dancers and weren't afraid to let it be know by doing combos before class and during the stretch. I decided to just go for it and be myself. I really enjoyed the combination and the energy and personality Valentine had. I appreciated the time he took to correct a move I couldn't get. Suprisingly when it came time to chose the dancers that spoke to him and "got it", so that they could show the rest of the class, he choose me first! I was very humbled and flattered. Here I was thinking that I would look a mess and intimidated by the other dancers and I was chosen to show what I could do.
That led me to realize that I need to stop doubting my talent. Although New York is definitely a bigger market for dancers and actors, talent is talent. Now I know I need to keep training and improving , but I'm not at square one. I am having a great time exploring my talents and finding out my strengths and weaknesses in the dance world. I can't wait to meet more choreographers and continue training on a regular basis. Stay tuned for more dance recaps!

Actress Revelation: Working with Other Actors

Seems like a pretty basic concept? Well, in my case it wasn't. It's been awhile since I've acted professionally. So when I came back to the stage as an actress, it didn't dawn on me that I'd have to readjust. As a dancer, I learn steps and perform them to the best of my ability. Of course character and emotion are still apart of dance, but to a certain extent. I recently approached a show thinking that I'd be surrounded by actors who thought and processed information just like me. Who would interpret the script like me, learn lines like me and we'd all be one happy family with no problems. WRONG. After every rehearsal I would complain about how things weren't progressing at the pace I would like and how some people were making choices that just didn't make sense. Ridiculous right? That's when I started to realize a very important factor. From the cast members who can't seem to learn lines to the member whose EVERY acting choice seems to rub you the wrong way, we actors are unique and have many layers. I can not expect everyone to have the same thought processes as me, because they are not me. The truthfulness that comes about when different personalities come together to form an ensemble is one of the main things that make theatre a real experience. I will approach every rehearsal with this information and be more sensitive to an actor's right to explore THEIR OWN character. Nevertheless, in true "Ashley fashion", I believe it is also fair for me and any other actor to question and challenge a cast mate's choice, especially since they ultimately affect the heart of the ensemble. Hmm, what do the rest of you actors think?

New Experiences: Korean Fashion Show

Well yesterday I was contacted by my friend Nathan who had a friend that was in a bind. She had a scholarship fashion show the next day she was a contestant in and one of her models had dropped out that day. So right after rehearsal I stopped by Parsons Design School and met with her. The job wasn't paid but I wanted to help her. I remember those days in Directing I & II where you hoped and prayed your actors would show up and show out. The show was a success. I thought it was funny how all of the Korean designers loved my hair and said they wished their hair could be like mine.  Hyeyoung, my designer, had me comb my hair out as big as it could be. (How ironic; most black women run from their natural texture and here these women with long silk hair are coveting MY hair.) I had a great time and met some amazingly talented designers and other models. Plus, although the gig wasn't supposed to be paid, Hyeyoung gave each of us $50 giftcards! That was truly a blessing because I need all the help I can get. I had my first tastes of many Korean dishes and even saw a few women in traditional dress. It was a very interesting and fulfilling experience. It renewed my desire to know more about other cultures as well as my own. All in all, I'm glad I did the show and I hope to work with or at the very least hang out with my designer again.

P.S. - Hyeyoung, If you ever read this, I would LOVE to have the leggings you made for me and the jacket you made for Ashley. ; )

Me, Hyeyoung (designer), and the other model. Her name is Ashley too. We truly were Ashley²: Ebony and Ivory edition. lol

Where do I start? My new digs of course!

The most stressful part of relocating for ME, was the process of finding an apartment on a tight budget, in a decent area, close to a train and as close to Manhattan as I could afford. My head felt like it was about to explode searching endless ads on Craigslist and the rest of the internet. Thankfully I had a friend who put me in touch with a friend of his who had an extra room she wasn't using. It took awhile to get everything settled, but it was WELL worth the wait. The area is nice and has a huge shopping center up the street and a decent grocery store around the corner. I am close to a train and it takes me 20 MINUTES to get to Times Square! I am truly blessed to have found such a place. Although the room looked super small empty, I was able to fit a full bed and two dressers in the room. I took pictures to post on my blog. Hopefully it will help someone else who is in a small space with ideas. It's not much, but I'm happy with it...

Super comfortable! Great after a long day's hustle.

My 1st dresser/workspace. Very efficient.

My vanity and storage. 

A great way to free up closet space.

I can't believe it turned out like this!

These hangers had ALOT to do with it.

Well that's about it. Now that my room is situated, I can focus wholly on grindin' in these mean streets! 

*playing "Out Here Grindin'" by DJ Khaled*

Why Did I Start This Blog?

That is a very good question. For the past few years I have scoured the internet looking for blogs to read that dal with the things I love to do and my hobbies. I've always been the sort of person interested in other peoples lives and points of view. I guess that's one of the reasons why being an actress suits me. Recently I have become addicted to reading blogs on other actor's journeys as I finally embark on my own. I have recently uprooted myself from my family and friends, quit a job I loved to pursue my passion; performing. I found solace in the reading the trials and tribulations of others like me, sort of like an online support group. I began to think that if they can do it, why can't I? Facebook and Twitter were no longer enough for me to explore and share what is going on if my life right now.

This blog will serve as public diary of my life, at least the parts I'm willing to share. It will document my progress as a black actress and dancer in New York. As I get the hang of this stuff I will expand into other interests of mine, such as entertainment, fashion, makeup and basically life in general.

If you are taking the time to read my blog, I thank you and hope that you will remain with me through my journey to become a successful, working actress and dancer. Than you for your support and God bless!