kristalgrace.com Blog

Whew!! Things are picking up, and I LOVE IT!

Major Points:

*I filmed my first sketch with OCTV last Tuesday, and it was fantastic fun! Be wary of playing with nerf pool toys while eating a donut on a pool deck, though. Because, trust me, if you think you can reach and hit the ball, you can!! However, you – being me – will also manage to step in a crevice between the pool deck and the cement in front of the pool house, and bail, skinning your (my) left knee, left forearm, and gauging out a chunk of your (my) left pinky knuckle. BUT then you, (I) get an excuse to buy fun bandages!

*I have now done TWO online talk show podcasts! And besides some tech difficulties (IE having callers from the UK, but my family not being able to watch from a couple of cities away), they’ve been great! www.talk-show.tv Check it out and let me know what you think.

The podcasts have been a lot of fun. My co-host is Rob Trinh, and we have good times working together. So far, we’ve brought in Brandon, whom we call our “Fashion Guru,” and Kenji, who is in charge of all the amazing things happening at www.vancouveractorsguide.com. Both shows have gone super well, and we had our first callers via skype get ahold of us! That was pretty exciting. If you watch that podcast, you’ll see me giggle about it, haha.

Ooh, if you’re watching us live, and you want to call us, click the skype button under the screen. As long as you have skype (free program!) and a microphone, you’re good to go! We love it when you call. It makes us happy. And you want us to be happy, right? Right!

I’ve got some great interviews lined up for the next 3 weeks!

Tuesday, August 29: Sergeant Andrew Shields talks to us from Iraq.

Tuesday, September 5: Tammy Morris, owner of Tantra  Fitness, and winner of Best Pole Tricks – Miss Pole Dance 2005! www.vancouverpoledancer.com

Tuesday, September 12: Roz Allen and Kate Green – hosts and producers of Vancouver’s Own Sketch Comedy Show – Off-Centre TV! www.octv.ca

If you want to email us with any thoughts, suggestions, comments – anything, email us at robandkristal@yahoo.ca! And please watch the podcasts. We want to be watched!

I don’t think respect is that difficult of a concept to grasp. But some people really make me wonder – where are their manners?!

I was on set today (well, yesterday now. I was too tired to finish this last night), as one of their hundreds of extras for a movie, and there was a guy, probably late 20’s, early 30’s (clearly old enough that he should have outgrown this a long time ago), sitting a few rows in front of me to the left. And from the first moment he opened his mouth, I knew that sitting by him would be ridiculously painful.

He spent most of his time making smart-ass remarks to people (”There’s trail mix, you want me to get you some nuts?” “No thanks.” “You sure?” “Are you getting yourself some?” “I don’t need any. I already have nuts!”) – really 5th grade humour. IMO, unnecessarily immature.

However, that, I could handle.

By the end of the day (and it was a pretty long day. We finished only because the sun was going down!), he was yelling, “Hey, where’s his moustache!? Is he going to have a moustache this time? The other guy (the stunt double) has a moustache!” at the crew, and, “Hey, turn around! TURN AROUND! Not you, YOU!”

I couldn’t believe how rude he was!! If I had had any kind of power, I would have kicked him out. Really. I didn’t think it was my place to do anything about it. He wasn’t hurting anyone. I just wouldn’t want anyone that rude and obnoxious on my set. I don’t have the patience to work with someone who’s not even trying to be professional.

It amazes me how much people don’t know how to behave in certain places. Like the people watching live theatre who answer cell phones and eat out of things that crinkle, or pop a piece of gum out. YOU CAN’T DO THAT! It’s completely disrespectful to the people who are trying to work, not to mention you souring the experience for everyone around you. That would be like being in a meeting and answering your phone, or getting up in the middle and getting a drink or water or yelling a greeting to someone out in the hall.

Honestly. Grow up.

A couple of days ago I was listening to JRFM (that would be our Country station here, for those who don’t know), and these song lyrics caught my attention:

“Talent: These days you don’t really need it, thanks to reality TV.”

This is what I’ve been saying all along! Not in those exact words, but with the same general feeling behind it.

I don’t like reality TV. I don’t watch it. The two exceptions being Season 2 of ANTM (They were doing their “acting” challenge that episode, my Mom saw that and called me over to watch it) and From The Ground Up with Debbie Travis, because my friend Ryan A from the Douglas theatre program was on it. Besides that, I’ve stayed far, far away from it.

Maybe I’m missing out on something here. What with Canadian Idol (and CNTM), So You Think You Can Dance? and various Rock Star contests, why am I not trying out for these shows, and hoping to get a break this way?

Because really, I think it’s kind of cheating. I can’t bring myself to audition for reality shows. Am I not already in my own reality? It’s slightly on the same level, IMO, as celebrities who end up going into all genres of performance (IE singer turned actor) just because they’re already in the public eye. Don’t get me wrong – it’s different if they’d always aspired to be a dancer/singer/whatever else – but it’s another thing to say, establish yourself as a singer, then decide you “might as well” become an actor too, “just because,” since people already know who you are.  It really irks me. Really.

Little bit of a tangent there. Let’s get back on track! Reality TV. Right.

There’s an audition for a reality show. You go. Line up for what probably feels like 6 years. Do your audition piece for judges who will see hundreds, if not thousands of people over the course of auditions. If you’re lucky enough to have been remembered, and to have had made an impression, you come back. Repeat as necessary. You make it as a finalist! Fantastic. And you’re an Instant Celebrity.

Before you start thinking otherwise, let me say this: I can appreciate the time and effort they put into going towards this. And I know they do have talent to have made it that far – but what happened to demo reels and casting agents and only making it if you have “it”?

Add this to the fact that reality TV is such a huge part of what some people watch, and wonder, what does this mean/what is this doing to the actors who used to be on TV during these time slots?

My point of all this? I don’t like reality TV, and I love country music.

…actually, I really hope that number’s not that high! But yes, I’m in another slump. Funny how often things rollercoaster in this industry, isn’t it? And by funny, I don’t mean funny “haha,” I mean funny “this is stupid.”

It’s been another week of seeing how far my sanity will stretch before it seems like I’ll go crazy without auditions and work. I have had a couple of auditions this week, but clearly nothing substantial enough to guarantee my sanity until the weekend!

I have things to do. I know I do. Somehow, though, they seem as though they’d be much easier to getting around TO do if I had more on the go (in terms of acting). Does that make any sense?

I love being busy with this! I think it’s amazing to have so much to do, and have it all (or almost all) be what you want to do. And the auditions that never go anywhere (HOW many times have I heard, “Your audition was fantastic! BUT unfortunately…”? too many) are a bit of an ego kick. And I know it’s nothing personal, and I know they aren’t all out to get me or anything, but always being considered Second Best is almost worse than being dead last, you know?

I need a boost. This all just means that I’ve got to make it happen myself. Not relying on others – at least not more than I can help – to get me work. No work? Make it, right? Seems simple enough.

Now, I’m off to decide just what it is I’m going to do.