Hungry for Art?

Just one of the catch phases we've held onto at the Hunger Artists Theatre Company in Fullerton, California.  I've felt very fortunate to be able to do shows there since 2008.  It feels like an escape.

I was in college from 2002-2006 and didn't get to really actually do any acting since I was never good enough.   I was then unemployed, depressed and lonely from 2006-2008.  With no money, living with my parents and wanting to feel like I had something to offer I turned to the internet.

I kept trying to get involved in projects and never feeling like I was getting anywhere.  There were several projects that I found to do through Craigslist... some were super sketchy that I ended up abandoning them, and others where I have met some amazingly wonderful people.  The reason I turned to Craigslist in the first place was that commuting to Los Angeles in my old dying Volvo and then slowly imploding Corolla for auditions was just not proving to be cost effective.  I was more overweight then, I accept that, but now I am actually making an effort to look the part of a "Los Angeles Actress."  So maybe commuting to LA here in a little while will prove more lucrative than it did then.

Of course, I don't mean this...

Hahaha, man I love Skeletor!
No, no, no... I mean more the starving Ethiopian child look.

I just want to keep my boobs, ya know?  I don't want to look like I would kill someone for a cheezeburger.

Towards the end of my Craigslist ventures, I was working temp receptionist jobs at Abigail Abbott and making a little headway.  Finally, I was able to get a stable job mid 2008, which came in turn with my first principle role in a show in 6 years.  I played 2 (and some nights 3) roles in Carryl Churchill's TOP GIRLS at Hunger Artist Theatre Company under the Direction of Mary-Anne Mosher.  I was so grateful and so happy to be a part of something (even though the play itself is not my favorite.)  From then on, I just kept showing up.  (The play "Preview" for Top Girls is linked on my Youtube page.)

I went on to do small parts for a year just keeping busy in The Jungle Book and the Beyond Convention One Act Play Festivals.  Landing the role in Clive Barker's Frankenstein In Love directed by Andrew Vonderschmitt was a very larger undertaking.  While the show did well, there were definitely some flaws that could not be saved.  I felt I had done the best I could, but I still felt miserable, like I had failed somehow.

At least I looked hot ;D

It was during this show that I also got to try my hand at Burlesque with the Orange County Underground Burlesque Society with my character, Bunny Gadget.  I wish I had more opportunities to do that kind of work.  I had so much fun!

I went on to do our Greek Festival where we did Lysistrata and Oedipus in repertory.  I still did the yearly One Act Festival Beyond Convention, but I was kind of feeling low again.  I had put on weight and feeling lowly.

January of 2011 started out really well with getting a role in The Wedding Singer at the Maverick Theatre in Fullerton under the direction of Curtis Jerome.  I hadn't done a musical since high school and I was in WAY over my head.  I loved it though, even though there were so many awful life altering things happening outside the safety of the theatre - it was my sanctuary.  I still kept showing up at Hunger though... the Red Light Revue made its Debut in February and I was in love!

I think that brings us up to date on Theatrical ventures... =)