Back from Cleveland

This past weekend I went to Cleveland to 'audition' to be an extra in The Avengers. (Directed by Joss Whedon)
I am a giant worry wart. So for me to take this journey (Cleveland is a four and half hour drive from where I live) was a huge task. Should I go? Should I stay home and hope for another opportunity to come closer?
It went like this for about 3 days. The odds were stacked in favor of staying home. Let me outline a few of the concerns I had:
-It's further than I have ever driven by myself.
-It's a far drive just to be an extra.
-I might not even get called to be an extra.
-All my friends would laugh at me for going so far for such a silly thing.
-My father wanted to go with me to make sure I was safe. (I love my daddy but it would've been one long drive.)
-I had to find a good outfit and I HATE shopping.


Money wasn't an issue cus I've been saving for this since I found out The Avengers was coming anywhere near Cincinnati.

What it came down to was this: I could be safe, stay home and dream about all the amazing things that could have happened to me in Cleveland or I could just do it and find out. No point in wondering 'what if' right?

I would've gone alone but my mother was having none of that. You know how it is even though you're a 21 year old perfectly capable of taking these things on now, you are still an infant in need of constant guardianship in your mother's eyes. No way was I going with my father to listen to a four and half hour lecture on how a young aspiring actress like me needs to be careful or I'll end up in L.A. selling my body for money and cocaine.
This is where my wonderful boyfriend comes in!

This man cancelled his awesome weekend plans to go to Cleveland with me because of some scatter brained idea that this could help me on the road to working with Joss Whedon.
So on Friday I went out found the perfect outfit (it was supposed to be business exec), got some road trip food, did an awful packing job, and we left around 6:30 p.m.

It's an odd thing to be proud of but I drove the entire way there :) I had booked us a room for the night at the Embassy Suites, right next door to the Holiday Inn the auditions were being held, so I could wake up and prepare myself properly. No one likes driving for four hours and then getting ready out of your car for something important.

So I was ready the next day. My hair was curled, my make up was perfect. I had done my warm ups and was prepared to be a mirror (as wonderful acting teacher Christine Jones would say). Whatever they wanted to see I was ready to give. Confidence, Soul, Wit, Energy. I had it all.

Adele Dewitt (Dollhouse) was my inspiration for the outfit. I couldn't think of any other women business executives that were fabulous enough.

I had actually bought a pair of black heels to go with it but this was at the end of the day and I was done with them.

Folks there were two scenarios that I had in mind:
A) No one had heard of these auditions because no one else thought about these things.
B) There would be a ton of actors there and I'd have to wait like an hour.

This is what i was greeted with when I got there at noon:

This is the end of the line that started in the parking lot next to the Holiday Inn. It took me four hours to get to the front!        In case you can't tell from the picture, I had no kind of shade to hide under for at least half hour! Do you know what that amount of sun could do to a partial ginger such as myself?         So again here comes my wonderful boyfriend to the rescue. He runs out and buys me the essentials: An umbrella (yellow to match the cute flips flops I was using to wait in line), a giant bottle of water, sunscreen, and a sweat towel. I had sweat dripping down my calves from all the way up on my neck. Then after I had made friends with some pleasant people in line behind me David left to explore Lake Eerie while I waited.

This is when my comrades and I finally got to the door. They took in 36 people at a time, we filled out a short resume, they gave us a speech on how awful being an extra can be, (I guess they were trying to thin the herd.) then they took our picture and sent us on our way. I didn't even need the awful shoes I had bought. The pictures were from the waste up.

But I'm not complaining. It was really fun. I got to meet some nice people like this guy:

This is Steve. He and a few others kept me great company in line. He was only there to hand in a resume for crew. The four hours went by really quick thanks to them.

And after we got done he was kind enough to drive me to a great restaurant for some grub cus I forgot to tell David to come back and get me.

He's a real gentleman and I'm glad to have met him.  Hope they give ya a call Steve!

All in all I'm glad I went. It's given me a fresh perspective on some things.

I am enough. Me as I am, is enough for this world. I don't need to mold myself to fit into the ideals of the status quo in order to get parts. I merely have to believe in myself and let my own light shine through. Whether I'm feeling like a ray of sun shine or not I have to keep positive.

I can't tell you how many people told me I was being silly in my quest to work with Whedon this weekend. "He won't even be speaking to you. You're just an extra." "It's a one in five thousand shot that they'll even call you." "You won't even be getting paid enough to stay up there while you're filming"

I know all of these things. But guess what: I no longer care. I'm going to be bold in my decisions from now on. If the choice lies between: taking a risk to give myself a tiny chance at achieving a goal and sitting at home hoping my fairy Godmother will show up to hand me things risk free, I'm choosing the former.

If you're going to be negative step off. The positive people need a little time away from your oxygen sucking selves.

And if you're a positive person do not back down. The world needs you. 

So as I conclude this post I would like to share the awesome presents I got from my boyfriend this weekend!



My yellow umbrella! I have no idea why but this thing brings me sooo much joy. It's so sunny and perky! He was very thoughtful in choosing the color and I'm very grateful.

He met some guys who were selling necklaces made of glass they had found on the beach. After the glass is tossed around in the sand for so long it rounds down to the point where it's no longer able to cut you. I don't want to take it off. I don't generally wear necklaces with such large pendants but this on is special I guess. Maybe because it's the first piece of jewelry I've ever received from a guy.... that wasn't a little creepy.


So here ends my Cleveland post. If people are reading I want to hear from you.
What are your awesome qualities that you need to let shine more? Honestly I want you to brag on yourself if you have to! There's a time and place for being humble but we also need to our worth. I found my worth again in Cleveland, and I don't plan on losing it this time.

Create On,
E.M.G.