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!

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