Tag: actors

Which Writing Competitions To Submit To.

Chasing The George

For my fellow screenwriters and TV writers out there who are interested in submitting content to writing competitions, but don’t know where to start, I hope that my blog entry will help. I have been submitting to writing competitions this year (and in previous years.) And let me make it clear that because the writers strike is still going on, the information I’m providing is done with respect and support to their cause. The information provided does not go against the writers strike rules.

I read a great interview for pre-WGA writers titled, “Writers Strike Dos and Don’ts for Pre-WGA Writers, Explained by the WGA” that has confirmed and shaped how I’m writing today’s blog entry around writing competitions. Keep reading below 🙂

As with film festivals, there is a PLETHORA of writing competitions. It can feel daunting when looking at the myriad choices out there. For example, when I logged into my Coverfly account today, the dashboard listed 194 writing competitions. 194?! What?! By the way, “Coverfly is the industry’s largest screenwriter talent-discovery platform, connecting emerging screenwriters with literary managers, agents, producers and development executives.” It’s a central, convenient hub that contains a huge listing of different writing competitions. Keep reading below 🙂

Submitting to writing competitions as a way to get your work out there, to get noticed by the industry, and to receive feedback or coverage, can become expensive. Don’t just blindly submit because submission fees add up quickly. The best advice I can give you before you begin your journey is to do your homework and research. Aim for the big ones (because why not?) and aim for the ones geared to the type of script you have written for a more specific, bullseye approach. Not all competitions are equal and built the same way. Some have been around for a while and are highly-regarded and respected. Others are brand new and have only been in the game for a year. Some competitions come and go. Keep reading below 🙂

Some factors to consider: how long the competition has been in existence, its mission statement, its end goals for the writers who enter and win, the judges involved in the competition, the sponsors behind the competition, whether it is a genre-specific/niche competition that matches your script, etc. Do the research and decide for yourself. Listen to your instincts and use your common sense. Also, read the WGA interview at the end so that you understand the do’s and don’ts of writing competitions while they are on strike. Keep reading below 🙂

Below, I have listed 10 established, industry-recognized writing competitions that I have been submitting to this year (and in previous years.) Plus, I included a link to Coverfly. I found these writing competitions based upon industry colleague recommendations and through my own research. There may be a lot more established, industry-recognized writing competitions, but at least this list will get your wheels going. And with the exception of the Academy Nicholl Fellowships which only focuses on screenplays, the other competitions listed below accept both screenplays and TV scripts. If there is an asterisk (*) in front of a particular competition, it indicates that they have put out a written statement that they support the WGA’s strike efforts and will not go against their strike guidelines. For those competitions below (or any not listed here) that haven’t put out a written statement regarding their support of the writers strike, reach out to them directly. And before you submit, read what the WGA recommends in their interview below. Keep reading below 🙂

WGA Interview: https://www.moviemaker.com/writers-strike-rules-pre-wga/

1) Academy Nicholl Fellowships: https://www.oscars.org/nicholl

2) *Austin Film Festival: https://austinfilmfestival.com/submit/screenplay-and-teleplay-submissions-2/

3) *Final Draft Big Break: https://www.finaldraft.com/big-break-screenwriting-contest/

4) Page Awards: https://pageawards.com/

5) *ScreenCraft: https://screencraft.org/screenwriting-contests/

6) Scriptapalooza: https://scriptapalooza.com/

7) Script Pipeline: https://scriptpipeline.com

8) *Shore Scripts: https://www.shorescripts.com

9) *The Black List: https://blcklst.com/

10) Tracking Board Launch Pad: https://tblaunchpad.com/

11) Coverfly: https://www.coverfly.com/ “At Coverfly, we proudly support the rights of writers and the WGA’s efforts to ensure fair compensation for their work. Coverfly stands in solidarity with the WGA and its efforts to ensure fair, livable compensation for the work of writers. For information on how you can stay within the WGA strike rules and procedures while submitting for competitions, please contact the competition organization directly.”

My Major Revelation About Career Policies!

Chasing The George

Hello fellow artists! Here’s to another week of moving my acting and writing careers forward. My goals for this year are to continue booking theatrical and commercial work and to sign with a new literary agent. These goals are tied to a larger postulate of mine within my DOIN (Declaration of Independence aka business plan.)

As I pursue these goals, it’s important that I have policies in place. With any business, policies are essential to keep it running and operating on a high level. Policies keep it afloat and on track to achieving their various short-term and long-term goals. Here’s the definition of policy: a definite course of action adopted for the sake of expediency, facility, etc. a document embodying a contract of insurance. I’ve always understood this definition on an intellectual level and have had various degrees of success with implementing policies to keep my business (aka Jorge Ortiz Inc.) alive, healthy, and on track. Keep reading below 🙂

At the beginning of each year, I create a postulate DOIN for that year (A sub-DOIN from my main DOIN, if you will.) It’s a way for me to choose one postulate from the list and focus on it for the year. When I got to the policies section, I couldn’t help but feel uninspired and disconnected from what was there the year before. I had several policies listed that I wasn’t executing or honoring. These policies weren’t a contract of insurance. They weren’t things I had to do. Let alone, I didn’t even understand why I had to do them. For example, consume at least 50% organic food every day. Okay, I love organic food. I like being healthy. But WHY is this a policy? How is this policy connected to WHAT I’m trying to achieve as an artist? Why is this policy here in my DOIN? Keep reading below 🙂

And then, I had a major revelation. I realized that policies are connected to a specific postulate! BOOM! I am on a journey to achieve a postulate. A postulate sits at the very top of the mountain. So, what policies do I need to establish to help me get there? BOOM! It all made so much sense to me. Of course! Armed with this revelation, I identified five policies that I felt would support my journey towards my postulate. I understood the WHY behind these policies. I understood WHY I needed to do them. These five are enough for now. If I add a few more arbitrarily, I will set myself up for disappointment. I need doable, tangible, executable policies that SERVE my postulate. Below, please see the postulate I’m focusing on for this year and the five policies attached to it. Keep reading below 🙂

Postulate: I am one of the top, consistently working, bankable, and respected actors, writers, & executive producers in Hollywood. Keep reading below 🙂

  1. Execute at least one item of career administration Monday through Friday. Administration means the actions I’m taking to achieve my acting and writing goals. I know when to execute these actions each day. I know what these actions will consist of because I pull them from the administration plans written within my DOIN (On Sundays, I look over my DOIN and write out my administration for the week in my calendar.)
  2. Use social media as a platform to engage with others and to share about myself at least once on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Pretty self-explanatory! I’m consistent about the times I post on social media and what exactly I post on it.
  3. Practice and memorize sides once a week. I know which day of the week I do this on. This is important to keep my mind sharp.
  4. Return communications within 24 hrs. In terms of how I want to be seen and respected in this industry, this is a must.
  5. Take Lion’s Mane Mushroom supplements every morning at 8am. Healthy brain regiment so that I can operate at the highest level possible as an actor and writer. Keep reading below 🙂

Those are my policies! And here’s the other thing that I realized about the power of policies. For the last two weeks, I’ve felt somewhat uninspired and discouraged. I felt like I wasn’t accomplishing anything. And then I remembered what Richard Lawson once said about policies: “If you don’t do your policies, you take a loss on them…Policies also determine the quality of the trip and the consistency of it. These things help to sustain the effort of the trip when they are applied, and when you start breaking policies–policies are directly connected to statistics. If you keep statistics of certain things, you will notice that your statistics will drop when your policies deteriorate.” Keep reading below 🙂

Of course! I fell off my policies for the last two weeks. That’s why I felt uninspired. My administration statistics went down because I got off track with my policies. DUH! That being said, the beauty of this is that I can quickly get back on my policies. (My apologies to anyone if I didn’t return communications to you within 24 hours over these last two weeks!) Keep reading below 🙂

What policies are keeping you on track towards your dreams? Let me know in the comments section below!

How A Teacher’s Letter Impacted My Career.

Chasing The George

Hello artists! Something compelled me recently to pull out my Vassar yearbook. Perhaps I wanted to look at my senior year photo (I did, and LOL, I had a full head of hair.) Anyway, a handwritten letter fell out of my yearbook. It was a letter from a teacher I had in fourth grade named Ms. Rosen. I totally forgot about her letter and the fact that I tucked it away into my yearbook.

In elementary school, I wrote several short stories where I reimagined/adapted existing movies or TV shows like “Nightmare On Elm Street” and “The Bionic Woman”. There was something so wonderful about writing these worlds and being able to escape into them. As soon as I finished a short story, I shared it with Ms. Rosen. After sharing several short stories with Ms. Rosen, she wrote me a letter. Keep reading below 🙂

As we know, teachers can play a pivotal role in our lives. And sometimes, it can be for better or for worse. Teachers can make or break us at any point in our educational journey. They can make or break our dreams, our confidence, our ability to see further, our sense of possibilities and havingness. I’ve met many students with a deferred dream or failed purpose because they had teachers who discouraged them and tore them down. Fortunately, Ms. Rosen’s letter was uplifting and encouraging. She praised my writing and challenged me to tap into my point of view and imagination moving forward. She knew that I had more interesting, original stories to tell. What does JORGE have to say? What is UNIQUE and PERSONAL to him? What is in Jorge’s IMAGINATION? Create new worlds, don’t be derivative. Ms. Rosen’s letter wasn’t a “make wrong”. Her letter impacted me and laid the groundwork for writing about things that are personal to me, compelling, different, and a little dangerous. Her letter also laid the groundwork for the type of teaching and instruction I respect and admire (it’s why I have studied with Richard Lawson for so long. He he draws out my voice, uniqueness, and imagination by asking the next question.) Fun side note: I attended Vassar because of my guidance counselor. I knew nothing about the college application process. I didn’t know what colleges to research. I walked into my guidance counselor’s office one day during my junior year with all these brochures I randomly picked up at a college fair my high school was hosting. My guidance counselor looked through the brochures, put them aside, and said, “No. You can do better than these. You’re going to Vassar.” She saw something in me. She knew I was worthy of something higher. She added Vassar to the list and helped me identify other great schools that best fit me and what I wanted. Thank you so much, Ms. Ham! Keep reading below 🙂

Below is the front and back of Ms. Rosen’s letter. In case you can’t read her handwriting, I transcribed her message below the pictures. Thank you so much, Ms. Rosen! Time to keep moving forward with the first draft of a feature film I’m currently writing with my friend and colleague. Keep reading below 🙂

Dear Jorge, First of all, let me apologize. I am so sorry it took so long for me to get your story back to you. I hope it didn’t upset you or cause you any inconvenience. I also hope you will continue to share your work with me. I promise I will not delay in returning anything else to you. It gives me such pleasure to see how your writing is developing and I hope you will trust that I won’t let such time elapse again. As always, your descriptions and use of details are marvelous. You create vivid images, which all good writers in any genre need to do. You use powerful verbs which give your writing an energy-one that keeps the reader’s interest. Let me explain my feelings about gore and scary stories. It’s not that I don’t particularly like them. It’s more to do with my feelings that gory is not as original as other types of works. “Freddie” and “Bionics” are not new to literature. I believe that with your talent, your gift, you can, might, explore other avenues for where and how your writing may excel. I’m happy to learn that you are indeed branching out and have written a soap opera. It’d love to see your character development on that. I’m also interested in seeing your essays. Are you writing any for school? Is the soap opera for you or for an assignment? Please keep me posted. I wonder, have you given thought to writing news editorials or book reviews? Keep up the good work! Keep in touch. I have enjoyed speaking with you tremendously! Fondly, Ms. Rosen.

Time To Recap My 2023 Blog Entries!

Chasing The George

Hello fellow artists! I wanted to take this opportunity to recap all of the blog entries I’ve done so far in 2023. Why? Because Chasing The George is about the journey I’m on to carve out the career I want as an actor and writer, and this is a cool way for everyone to catch up or revisit past entries that document and reveal this pursuit. And personally, I get to see where I was when the year started, where I am now, and where I need to go next. From my celebrity friends dispensing practical advice to taking headshots to being back in class to what to do during the writers’ strike, I’ve listed them all in chronological order:

The Journey Continues: https://chasingthegeorge.com/2023/02/12/the-journey-continues/ Keep reading below 🙂

Advice From My Celebrity Friends: https://chasingthegeorge.com/2023/02/19/advice-from-my-celebrity-friends/ Keep reading below 🙂

One Of The Best Meetings I Didn’t Win: https://chasingthegeorge.com/2023/02/26/one-of-the-best-meetings-i-didnt-win/ Keep reading below 🙂

A Road To Taking Headshots: https://chasingthegeorge.com/2023/03/05/a-road-to-taking-headshots/ Keep reading below 🙂

It’s The Little Things That Count: https://chasingthegeorge.com/2023/03/12/its-the-little-things-that-count/ Keep reading below 🙂

7 Story Ideas in 7 Days. Part 1: https://chasingthegeorge.com/2023/03/19/7-story-ideas-in-7-days-part-1/ Keep reading below 🙂

7 Story Ideas in 7 Days. Part 2: https://chasingthegeorge.com/2023/03/26/7-story-ideas-in-7-days-part-2/ Keep reading below 🙂

The Final Chapter: 7 Story Ideas in 7 Days: https://chasingthegeorge.com/2023/04/02/the-final-chapter-7-story-ideas-in-7-days/ Keep reading below 🙂

What Are Your 1st Quarter Wins: https://chasingthegeorge.com/2023/04/08/what-are-your-1st-quarter-wins/ Keep reading below 🙂

What To Do If The Writers Strike: https://chasingthegeorge.com/2023/04/16/what-to-do-if-the-writers-strike/ Keep reading below 🙂

What Is Your Artistic Reason For Existence: https://chasingthegeorge.com/2023/04/23/what-is-your-artistic-reason-for-existence/ Keep reading below 🙂

Like A Virgin (Again) https://chasingthegeorge.com/2023/04/30/like-a-virgin-again/ Keep reading below 🙂

A Song & Dance Creates The Keys To My Success: https://chasingthegeorge.com/2023/05/07/a-song-dance-creates-the-keys-to-my-success/ Keep reading below 🙂

Writers Strike: FAQs Answered By SAG-AFTRA: https://chasingthegeorge.com/2023/05/14/writers-strike-faqs-answered-by-sag-aftra/ Keep reading below 🙂

Let’s Get Personal (Monologue) https://chasingthegeorge.com/2023/05/21/lets-get-personal-monologue/ Keep reading below 🙂

My (Unholy) Improvisation In Class: https://chasingthegeorge.com/2023/05/27/my-unholy-improvisation-in-class/ Keep reading below 🙂

How I Celebrated My Recent Wins: https://chasingthegeorge.com/2023/06/04/how-i-celebrated-my-recent-wins/

How I Celebrated My Recent Wins!

Chasing The George

Celebration is one of the cornerstones at the Richard Lawson Studios. As a student and teacher there, I understand the importance of it. A celebration means to observe (a day or event) with ceremonies of respect, festivity, or rejoicing. Why is celebration important? Because, hopefully, whatever dream you are pursuing, you are doing so for the long run. And as you embark on this journey and continue on it, it’s vital to mark your wins and achievements through celebration. A celebration cements the work you are doing. It’s a pat on the back that reminds you that you have accomplished something and moved forward in your journey. It’s a ceremony of respect for yourself. Look, it can be easy to give up and quit. We can get so focused on what’s ahead that we forget to acknowledge all the steps we have taken. When we do that, we lose perspective. Celebration is your moment to check in, realize what a great job you have done, and stay in gratitude so that you can tackle the next steps of your journey with more energy, confidence, and enthusiasm. Keep reading below 🙂

Celebrations come in all sizes, and you get to decide what celebration goes with which win you have. Celebrations should be personal and specific to you. Something that you really give to yourself. I love being in my office and seeing various celebrations either on my wall in the form of paintings or on my desk in the form of cool ballpoint pens and coloring books. My DOIN (Declaration of Independence aka my business plan) contains a list of diverse celebrations. It’s almost like a menu: I get to open it and pick a celebration for my wins. And celebrations don’t have to cost you an arm and a leg, by the way. They can be free. Keep reading below 🙂

Below are pictures of the celebrations I recently gave myself for a series of wins I’ve had in my scene study class. I purchased a lovely ballpoint pen by Parker to feel like the executive I am. I also acquired a fabulous 8×10 work on paper from a contemporary artist I follow on Instagram named Braxton J. Fuller. He is based in Kansas City and recently mailed the work on paper to me. Check out his exciting, visceral, and thought-provoking work at: https://www.instagram.com/braxtonjfuller/ Keep reading below 🙂

Here are the pictures of my celebrations:

AND OMG! When I received the above work on paper on June 3rd, Braxton included a surprise: Another 8×10 work on paper! I am still so blown away by this unexpected gift! That was really thoughtful of him to do that. And I love this work on paper too. See below 🙂

My (Unholy) Improvisation In Class.

Chasing The George

On May 25th, 2023, I completed the fourth and final exercise that is required for returning students of the Richard Lawson Studios. This exercise was an Improvisation. After re-reading the chapter in “Acting Class: Take a Seat”, I knew that I wanted to focus on being moment to moment, to play what was in front of me, and to “discover each moment anew, fresh, using their imagination, without preconception or roadmap or censorship.” In other words, to not be driven by a blueprint and just allowing the scene to occur.

I had a blast with the Improvisation! And what made this exercise so special was that this was the first time I worked opposite another actor on stage since being back in class. Kelly Tighe taught that evening and she called me and my fellow actor (Jayne Marin) up onto the stage. The stage was already set up with a foldable partition in the center and two chairs that were placed on either side of it. Kelly walked up to me and secretly gave me my prompt for the exercise. She said that I was a priest at a confessional booth. Ah! Now I understood the setup on stage. Kelly went over to Jayne and secretly gave her a prompt as well. Jayne and I took our seats, the lights went down, the stage manager called the exercise, and the lights came back on. Keep reading below 🙂

And as the scene progressed in a patient, moment to moment way, I soon discovered that this married woman, who was confessing her strong desire and attraction for someone else, was actually talking about me. I was the object of her desire and attraction. And through her strong yes and my strong no, we created tension and humor. We created an Abbott and Costello. We created an experience where we impinged each other. We had a clear event and there was so much trust between Jayne and I. The scene ended with us kissing passionately and getting ready to make love. I had finally given in to her energy. I had finally given in to her. Keep reading below 🙂

Kelly opened it up to the class for comments about our work. I also asked for casting ideas and received quite a number of great suggestions. I’m grateful for the work I’ve been able to create through these four exercises over the last five weeks (Environmental With A Crisis, Song & Dance, Personal Monologue, and Improvisation.) I feel like I am placing my artistic stamp on the work and allowing myself to continue failing forward so that I can grow as an artist. And to also have joy and fun in the process! The next stop…SCENE WORK! Keep reading below 🙂

Let’s Get Personal (Monologue)

Chasing The George

On May 18th, 2023, I did my third exercise as a returning student of the Richard Lawson Studios. This exercise was called a Personal Monologue. This exercise helps us to understand what it means to be personal in our work as actors. You share a true story that costs you something. The definition of cost that I love the most is “whatever must be given, sacrificed, suffered, or forgone to secure a benefit or accomplish a result.” What a powerful definition! No pain, no gain. Right? So you share a true story that costs you something because it helps you connect to it in a visceral way. It evokes emotions that you allow yourself to experience. You discover what’s possible in terms of the depths of your emotional capabilities. And so the degree of personalization, emotions, and experience that you receive from this exercise is something you can then bring to your work as an actor. You can apply that same personalization to any script you pick up, and it will feel as if you wrote that script yourself. Keep reading below 🙂

The second part of this exercise is that you should be working something out in your story. You are confronting something that is personal and vulnerable, something that is holding you back from being all that you can be, and you take this journey to figure out how to get to the other side in order to be at cause with solutions. And all of this is done through the medium of art, through an artistic lens and approach. Keep reading below 🙂

I looked at the evolution of my voice. I shared six milestone moments that influenced and affected my voice over the years. And what I wanted to solve, and what I wanted to get to the other side of, was how to take my voice to the next level to continue being heard. I felt that my voice had plateaued. I felt that I wasn’t being heard anymore, particularly on social media. I got to the other side by realizing that acclamation and condemnation are the same animal on different sides of the same coin. I can’t be seduced by either. I just need to keep doing me, showing up, and doing the work. Keep reading below 🙂

I designed my Personal Monologue as the beginnings of a Ted Talk/one-man show (Fun fact: I’ve done two Personal Monologues before and they were also designed as the beginnings of a one-man show.) Utilizing Richard’s assessment from my Song & Dance exercise two weeks ago, my intention was to fail forward in this exercise. I gave myself permission to fail. Meaning, I took risks. I allowed myself to have an experience. I allowed myself to explore a full range of emotional colors. I made an artistic fool of myself. I took up space. I followed impulses that occurred in the moment. I allowed myself to take a personal and artistic ride because I wanted to get to the other side of what I was looking at. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, I HAD FUN!!!!!! Keep reading below 🙂

Kelly Tighe taught that evening and her assessment was wonderful and powerful. She talked about the power of give, letting go of the results, who to focus on, the reality of social media, and taking a look at where social media serves me. She provided guidance so that I can continue staying on the other side of what I discovered in my Personal Monologue. She also opened it up to the room so that my fellow classmates both in person and on Zoom could comment on my work. Keep reading below 🙂

The evolution of Jorge Ortiz the actor and artist continues!

Writers Strike: FAQs Answered By SAG-AFTRA.

Chasing The George

“The WGAW and WGAE are on strike. SAG-AFTRA supports the Writers Guild of America in their fight to achieve a fair and equitable contract.” SAG-AFTRA has provided answers to frequently asked questions that actors have as it relates to the writers strike. Below is the link. When you click on the link, you will see the updated strike schedule for the new week, and below that, you will find the frequently asked questions. I hope these answers help my fellow actors in terms of how to support our fellow writers and also as it relates to the work we can and can not do during the strike:

https://www.sagaftra.org/get-involved/solidarity-wga

A Song & Dance Creates The Keys To My Success!

Chasing The George

On May 4th, 2023, I did my second exercise on stage at the Richard Lawson Studios. I did the Song & Dance exercise and it went great! Tension holds back feelings and emotions, and that’s not good for us as actors. Song and dance are tools that helps the actor to relax and be in a better position to be vulnerable, to access and embrace any emotional impulses, and to have an experience.

And through this exercise, I received an assessment from Richard that will be the keys to my career in this new unit of time. He said that I tend to get serious and significant. And to what end? Why? Richard has known me for years, so he has seen these qualities in me before. He’s right. I do tend to get serious and significant about my career. My thinking is, “I have to be serious about my career. I have to be serious about my career administration. I have to be serious about everything related to my career. I have to be serious about my art!” LOL. LOL. LOL. Keep reading below 🙂

Richard said that my default position is one of seriousness vs. one of being unmuted. Unmute myself, then experience and enjoy the freedom of expression that comes from that. Experience the joy of this journey that I’m on, and as a result, I will create a program of attraction. How can we “unsignify” so that I can enjoy the process? The main goal he wants me to focus on is to unmute, lead with freedom of expression, and to experience joy because I know a lot and I possess so much knowledge and skill set. I know a lot and possess so much! That is joyful! That should make me joyful and lead with joy! Keep reading below 🙂

He also asked me what percentage do I feel free to express. After some thought, I said I feel sixty percent free. And I shared with Richard why I am holding back from an even larger freedom of expression. I said, “I think I know a big part of that answer. I think being back in this environment, I have to learn to just take the fucking teacher’s hat off and be a student, and know that it’s okay to be flawed here. It’s okay to make mistakes here. I don’t want to put that pressure on myself just because I teach here, and maybe that’s where that seriousness and significance comes from. Versus, I want to take chances here. I think that’s what’s being playing in my head: ‘It has to be like this. It has to be like that because everyone’s watching.’ I’ve taught everyone in this room on some level or another, and I don’t want that pressure on myself.” Keep reading below 🙂

Richard said that in this class, I have a right to take chances and I have a right to fail. The right to fail forward because I’m taking the kinds of chances in the creation of my art. I don’t have to prove anything here. I can come here and fail. Take chances, try, and have my fun. Being in class is not office hours for me. These are my freedom hours, my student hours. Be free to fly! And take that significant face off whenever I feel it. Remove that face whenever I feel it. Keep reading below 🙂

Thank you for this caring surgery, Richard! I am empowered to do this! Your assessment will elevate my career to the next level! Below is a picture of me on stage doing my Song & Dance:

Like A Virgin (Again)

Chasing The George

On February 2nd, 2023, I officially returned as a student to the Scene Study 3.0 class at the Richard Lawson Studios. To give you some quick context, I have been a student of Richard’s for many years. Then on March 13th, 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic forced all of us to attend classes virtually. AND WE MADE IT WORK! I remained a virtual student up until August 2020. At that time, I decided I needed to unplug (figuratively and literally) and take a break. Well, it’s true what they say about “taking a break.” A one-month break turned into two, turned into three, turned into a year, turned into…you get the point. However, it didn’t mean I was not doing anything for my career. I was incredibly productive throughout the pandemic, lockdown, quarantine, and beyond. I still am. And I was still a virtual student in the Professional Development Program 3.0 class.

I finally decided to return to Scene Study for a couple of reasons. 1) My good friend, Lindsay Hopper, kept hounding me about when I would return. She hounded me via text, via Zoom calls, at gatherings, via smoke signals, in my dreams, via numerous languages, via songs and interpretive dances…LOL. 2) When I looked at my raison d’être (purpose, reason for existence) at the beginning of 2023, I knew that being back in class was integral in keeping it alive and thriving. By the way, if you want to read my incredible blog entry from last week about raison d’être, click on the link at the end, but only after reading this wonderful entry first 🙂 Keep reading below 🙂

Returning to class, I knew I wanted to start from scratch again. I knew I wanted this to be a reset. I knew I wanted to get comfortable with being on a stage again. I knew I wanted to use the class as a space where I exercise my raison d’être. So with those things in mind, I told Lindsay that I wanted to start with exercises before jumping back into scene work (I also have a few scene ideas based upon the research I started doing once I was back in class. I am also interested in receiving a few scene suggestions from Richard and my classmates.) So in terms of exercises, I am on the class schedule for an Environmental With A Crisis, a Song & Dance, a Personal Monologue, and an Improvisation. Keep reading below 🙂

On April 27th, 2023, I did my Environmental With A Crisis exercise!!!! I was both nervous and excited. I joked with a friend and colleague earlier during class and said, “I feel like a virgin again!” The Environmental is the first exercise that every student does at the RLS, and it teaches us how to be a person in a place having an experience (which is one of our acting principles at the school.) In this exercise, you recreate a specific part of your home on the stage. And you live within that environment by doing an activity that engages, absorbs, and involves you. Keep reading below 🙂

I decided to recreate my home office on stage. I brought many things from my office and organized them the same way on two desks that the theater provided. I wanted to bring so many other things from my office, like paintings and my Vassar degree, but I knew there was no way to hang them in the theater space. For the activity part of this exercise, I decided to color in my drag queen coloring book because that engages and involves me. It also soothes me and brings me a sense of relaxation-which is important for the second part of the exercise. Keep reading below 🙂

So, during a class break, I set up my home office environment. Once I finished setting up, I sat down and began coloring in my coloring book. I wanted to get into the reality of my home office and the experience of the coloring book as soon as possible. Once the break was over, the stage manager called the exercise, the lights went down, and then the lights came back up again. And there I was at my home office, coloring in my book. My tablet played songs that I specifically curated on Spotify because these were the type of songs that I would have played while coloring at home. Keep reading below 🙂

The second part of this exercise now involves a crisis of some sort. The actor, at ease in their enviroment and absorbed in their activity for a few minutes, receives a crisis that turns things upside down. The point of this second part is for us to receive and respond to the crisis as a person would. Does the crisis land? Does it impinge? Do we question or doubt what we’re hearing? Do we process it in a moment to moment way? Once the crisis is delivered, what happens next? How do we continue living in our environment after receiving the crisis? Do we make a phone call? Do we continue processing what we just heard? How is our behavior and life altered because of the crisis? Are we able to go back to our initial activity? What would a person do in this situation? Keep reading below 🙂

My Environmental With A Crisis went great! I was so proud of the work that I created after being away from a stage for so long. I had a specific environment. I had an engaging activity. I had a clear event within the environment before the crisis occurred. I was in a relaxed state which then allowed me to receive the crisis better and be impinged by it. I had an experience. I got emotional. I had an inner and outer life. Keep reading below 🙂

I lost my virginity on stage again, and it felt so good LOL. Equally as impinging (no pun intended) was Richard’s assessment afterward and realizing how much love and support he and that room have for me. Richard said to me at point, “You’re back home.” He also asked me what I am after in this new chapter and how I can utilize class to achieve my goals. Pedal to the metal in terms of backward thinking for forward motion with my goals. I got to share my raison d’être as well! Keep reading below 🙂

Here’s a picture of my environment:

Here is the link to last week’s blog entry about raison d’être: https://chasingthegeorge.com/2023/04/23/what-is-your-artistic-reason-for-existence/