so, it's been a little while...

Sorry about that! I would love to say that it's because I'm just so interesting and busy that I simply didn't have a spare moment to sit down and write a blog post, but that would by lying.

Truthfully, things have felt pretty quiet around here. In a way it's a good thing because it indicates that I'm really starting to feel comfortable with my life here. That's not to say I haven't been doing things, because I have! I finally got some new headshots that I'm so very, very happy with, and that enabled me to really get set up on Actors Access! Now this question has been asked to me a couple of times, so I thought it might help to give a teensy bit of extra information.


In some way or another, people have wondered how exactly one embarks on this whole acting thing. Everyone's heard of an agent, so the first question I'm often asked is whether or not I have an agent. It's true, agents are extremely important because they have access (hopefully) to auditions that you, the actor, wouldn't. However, in my experience you want to attract a really great agent who's going to be able to get you in places but isn't so huge that you would get lost in space and forgotten about. Because my resume isn't super impressive by LA standards (90% theatre, not much film/television) and I don't have a professional reel I'm not necessarily at my best place to get an agent that I really think would work. So, what to do in the meantime?

Well, there are websites like Actors Access which enable the actors to submit themselves for auditions! Granted, the auditions are mostly student and short films, but at this point what I (and actors like me) need to do is acquire enough material to balance my resume out more in the favor of film/television and to create an impressive reel. That's where I am right now. Since I signed up for AA (I realize how that looks, but I'm tired of typing it out) less than two weeks ago I've had seven auditions offered to me (of those there is only one I won't be attending and three that have yet to happen) and gotten one callback. I have no idea what this looks like compared to the experience others might be having, but I know I'm pleased! What this says to me is my headshots are working to get my foot in the door, which is their inherent purpose! Soon I should have a little reel up on my profile that will hopefully help shoot me up the lists and get me even more auditions. This is the place I am right now in my career, just moving forward steadily to help polish and create an impressive (hopefully) and marketable brand.

I also made a website! I'm super proud of it, but it's also the first time I've ever done anything like that before so I welcome any (constructive) criticism or thoughts anyone has! I'll post the link to it after this post. The nice thing about my website is that I will work very hard to keep it constantly updated with what's going on with me professionally, so if you're interested in that it's a good way to keep up with me. There's also a direct link to my blog from the website, so you can start there and move straight here!

In other news, I have an interview tomorrow to potentially add another job a few nights a week. Although I do want to be as available as possible for auditions/workshops/classes/what-have-you, I also need the peace of mind afforded by being able to afford LA a little bit more than I can right now.

I'm going to focus on updating this blog more regularly as well. I love reading blogs and check my favorites every day for new posts and it's always disappointing when they disappear for a while. Not to say that I think this blog fills that spot for anyone, but I still want to be more accountable with it. At the very least, it allows me to hash through exactly what's going on with me and see how far I've come!

the website address is fairly simple:

www.shelbyannelee.com

don't forget the 'e' on the anne!

surviving versus thriving

It's funny. I think I was expecting myself to be more disappointed in Los Angeles than I am. Like I was prepping myself to hate it, and in this way giving myself a little protective coat so that if I did dislike it, well. I was ready. I knew it would be like that. No big surprise. I can always move to Europe.

Here's the thing, though. I don't hate it. I actually really like it. Sure, there's way too many people. I don't know that I ever really comprehended there could be this many people existing around me before. And yes, they drive like maniacs. They give me funny looks when I say "yes ma'am" and "no sir". A "y'all" slipped out the other day and the customer I was speaking to looked at me like I'd lost my mind. But still, I see so much potential here.

At this moment though, it's all potential. I feel stuck. I'm still dealing with things that happened because of the wreck, and it definitely pushed me back a good month from the track I was on. It's also just so. dang. EXPENSIVE here. I mean, I knew that. Everyone knows that. Los Angeles ain't cheap. There is a difference between knowing and experiencing. There's also a difference between surviving and thriving. Right now, I'm surviving. And even that is iffy. Here's the thing, I don't want to survive here. If I'm just going to live somewhere to work and pay off my loans and figure out the next step in my life, it sure as heck isn't going to be Los Angeles. It wouldn't be California. It likely wouldn't even be the US.

That's not why I'm here. I'm here to act. To audition. To fully pursue this desire I have. To thrive. It's sad, but right now all I can do is hold on and hope I get to that point soon. Stresses happen for everyone, and sometimes you just have to buckle down and survive the storm.

worst follow through EVER

And no, unfortunately I'm not talking about the few horrible seasons I thought I'd try my hand at basketball.

I'm talking about this. The blog. The big thing I wanted to do because I love reading them and seeing about other people's lives and I thought maybe someone reading mine would get something nice out of it.

Well, hopefully that person didn't check for the MONTH I didn't post anything.

I do have some excuses though, if you want to hear them.

I started working full time! It was just for the month of December and this is my last week of 8 hour days, but for a little while I was a real high-faluootin' adult! I think that's maybe a real phrase but also I think I just liked writing it. I'm really enjoying my job and I get to speak that French erryday.

Two weeks ago I got into a really horrifying car accident! 

This lovely chickadee ran her red light and just smashed my little car to pieces. I never saw her coming. The moment I realized I had been in an accident was also the same moment I thought I might explode. My car smelled like fire ( the EMTs told me this was the airbags) and I could see there wasn't much left of my front end. I also couldn't get out of my car, because she messed up my door. However, my fear of exploding was SO MUCH BIGGER than my desire to stay in the car, so I adrenalined that lil' sucker open. And promptly fell on the ground and just looked at my car for a bit. So if it had been in danger of exploding, I didn't actually help myself all that much.

But I was okay! They put me in a neck brace (yuck)

HOT DANG Y'ALL I am just extra cute and my face is all raggedy red because I had all these lovely abrasions that were bleeding. They were bothering me so I wiped them off. Hindsight I should have left it for insurance purposes but all I could think at the time was I MAY NEED TO POST THIS ON MY BLOG!

Not really. It's just super bothersome to have blood on your face.

Also, look! -----> 

Yum! I definitely thought my wrist was broken. And that burn was super nasty y'all. But it was probably the worst of my injuries. The sum of that accident was 1 totaled car, 1 neck brace, 1 back board, 1 gurney, 3 police cars, 1 police cycle, 1 ambulance (and ambulance ride! so fun, why even go to six flags?), 1 fire truck, 3 fire fighters, 2 EMTs, 1 CAT scan, 4 X-Rays, and 1 extremely unhappy Shelby.

I'm still bruised and sore, but it could have been so much worse, so mostly I'm thankful. At first the lady lied and said she had a red light, but her insurance company called me today and told me they wanted to settle. And I said whoo! But also let me get some advice on this because this is a totally new experience for me!

Anyways.

Those are my excuses. I feel like we need something to cleanse our palates

OKAY HOW DID THAT PIECE OF UTTER PERFECTION GET HERE?

Palate cleansed?

Good. In all seriousness, I am still loving LA. I wish one of my big welcomes hadn't been something so stinking awful. It did definitely knock all my plans back and derail me, but I'll be all right. For right now, I'm going to eat some chili and watch some Netflix.

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas (mine was grand!) and that they take advantage of all 2014 has to offer.

DON'T RUN YOUR RED LIGHTS. JUST DON'T.

and now i'm employed

My dad is actually the one who reminded me of this. Before I moved to Los Angeles, I talked about the job I would have to support me while I began to pursue my career. At various times, I said different things that would be nice to have in a future job. I wanted something I could do early in the morning so I would have my afternoons free for auditioning and my nights free for events and class. After a not so great experience at an extremely corporate restaurant, I craved something small. And, in a sort of pipe dream, I talked about how nice it would be if I found a job where I could speak French.

Never once did I think that I would find a job that I did. It's funny, and I didn't even realize it until my dad pointed it out, but it fits everything I had talked about. The things I talked about were not things I had hoped to find all in one job. I thought maybe I'd find a job that fulfilled one of the things I wanted, maybe two. Right now I work as a sort of cashier/hostess/server at a French cafe/crêperie in a town called Sierra Madre. I go to work at 6:30 and am home before noon five days a week. I get to speak French everyday with the multiple French people who work there, including the Parisian owner. It's small, and there aren't many people who work there. I'm so content.

Of course, it's not perfect. It does, however, have the potential to be wonderful. This job alone is not going to be enough, and I'll be looking again for a second job come the new year until I am getting enough auditions that turn into jobs. For now, I'm feeling much happier. I've got a job I don't dread going to everyday. It allows me the freedom to pursue what I came here for, while still getting to work on my love of languages and be immersed in the culture I miss. 

I'm still getting used to things here, but much less surprises me. Last friday was my monthiversary with LA! It's not as terrifying to drive into Hollywood anymore. (Nobody's lying to you when they say the traffic is awful or the people are ridiculous drivers. It's all true, and my least favorite part so far!) It's fun that on my way back home from the bible study I go to I get to see the Hollywood sign. My apartment is almost finished and soon I'm going to put up Christmas decorations! Things are clicking. Things are great.

Thanks for reading! Sorry for the hiatus, these past couple of weeks have been a bit tumultuous. Sometime this week I'll have a post full of pictures so you can really see what I've been up to. 

a few days ago in an apartment far far away...

Wow. It is really hard to come up with things to write for a blog! But I really want this to be a thing, so I'm working to actually write something that might be interesting to more than just my mom.

So. This blog is going to be about an online submission I sent in a few days ago!

About a week ago a link was posted to the Baylor Theatre facebook page that had to do with an open casting call for Disney. This sounded très sketch, but I checked it out anyway. Lo and behold, it seemed to be a legitimate open casting call for the new Star Wars movie! Completely random, but as my unemployed butt didn't have anything better to do my roommate and I decided we would film each other's auditions and send them in. Thankfully he has a tripod and a camera or it could have been a little more interesting. The description of the character I was reading for is as follows:

Seeking: Young woman to play 17-18 Years old. Must be beautiful, smart and athletic. Open to all ethnicities (including bi- and multi-racial).

Yikes. Hey Hollywood, great to see ya. Beautiful, smart, and athletic? Really? Okay, no fatties or uglies or dumbies allowed. The heck? It was kind of sad for me to see that but it also reminded me of where I am and what I'm doing. This is Los Angeles. This is Hollywood. Only the beautiful need apply.

Beautiful? Thankfully I have great self esteem, so I slopped on some maquillage to make myself a convincing 17. Which is funny because without makeup I look about 15, so I didn't really need it to look young. However, I did want to be able to fulfill the beautiful requirement. And as long as my mama says I'm beautiful that's what I'm going with.

Athletic? Ehhhhhhhno. Do I want to be? Yes! In fact I went to my first spin class today (it was heated like hot yoga) and it was awesome and kicked my butt and I can't wait to be back. But at this point I've had a few too many croissants to be considered Athletic. How did I solve this problem? Well, for the full body shot I stood up straight and maybe took a really deep breath and held it. Worked out okay for me.

Smart. This is the one that made me laugh because SERIOUSLY YOU GUYS I could be the dumbest person in the room but as long as I can read the script in front of the camera you have no way of knowing my level of thinkingness. I could be the next Stephen Hawking. Plus, it's ACTING. Acting is pretending to be something. It may be something you are and it may be something you're not. THAT'S THE POINT.

Anyway. John and I recorded our auditions and sent them in! Woo! Do I expect anything to come of it? Certainly not. But I did get to audition for Star Wars and that's extra fun. I'll include some pictures of my make up transformation just because I'm not that good at it and it might be funny for someone to look at. Also it was fun for me to do and that's the whole reason I did it.

Disclaimer: I am not a beautiful, smart, and athletic 17 or 18 year old. My race is if the light hits me wrong the reflection of my paleness could blind you. Nor am I a make up artist. I'm an actor. I'm a girl who likes to have fun by auditioning for things that might be slightly ridiculous and experimenting with my makeup because someone gave me a reason to.

...So don't judge these pictures too harshly!

no makeup

highlighting/contouring

blending! also one eyebrow.

finished! one eyebrow looks darker because of the light from the window.

So? Did I look like a beautiful 17-18 year old?

Here's the website if you want to audition! http://opencastingcall2013.com

welcome to [north]hollywood!

Dang. I'm here! I actually made it here with all of my limbs and some money in the bank. I'm fairly impressed with myself.

I decided I really want to try to update this blog on a regular basis, at the very least for my family to be able to sort of keep up with the shenanigans I'm getting into. So today's post is going to be about the move, and on Thursday I'll write about what it's actually like a resident of Los Angeles (in my limited experience) and what I've been up to since Friday!

So, the trip! My parents and I left my (practically) childhood home of Haslet, Texas at the lovely hour of 5 on Wednesday morning. My dear old dad drove our moving van and mama was stuck driving my little Insight. The first day we made it all the way to the edge of New Mexico and stayed in a town whose name I can't remember. But it was nice because I love NM. There was a wonderful surprise waiting for us the next morning in the form of snow! And ice! Which we had to defrost off of our cars! Seeing as I moved from extra hot Texas to just regular hot Los Angeles, that might be the only bit of winter I experience this year. And I would be okay with that.

Thursday we drove from that one town in New Mexico to Los Angeles. The whole drive was just great and simple right up until we hit the outskirts of LA. Typically we slowed immediately down to about 20 mph and enjoyed the wonderful gift of driving with crazy LA drivers in rush hour. We did make it to our hotel in North Hollywood, (where some parking hijinks ensued) and collapsed gratefully into our beds at the end of that night. Friday morning after a bit of scary will-we-fit-in-these-narrow-lanes-or-not tomfoolery with the Budget, we arrived at my little apartment. And happily began to unload my and my roommates things for the next FIVE HOURS. Let's have a hooray for extra fantastic parents. If yours suck you can just add a hooray in for mine.

Yikes. This is likely the most boring blog post ever, but I really wanted to get going and before I did an actual LOOK AT ME HERE I AM HOLLYWOOD YAHOO post I wanted to do a OH THIS IS SAD BUT ALSO AWESOME AND STRANGE AND OH MY HEAVENS LOOK SHE MADE IT post. I'll add some pictures to spice it up.

 [gallery link="none" type="rectangular" ids="149,150,154,151,152,155,153"]



Okay. So there's that update. Get ready for the equally thrilling Thursday update where I talk about applying to work at the 24 hour Subway. Oh, but I get ahead of myself.