Audition, audition, audition!

Yesterday felt like I was filming "Up in the Air".... I had an early morning flight from St. Louis (in which my boyfriend pointed out numerous spots filmed for Reitman's Oscar nominated movie). We were up WAY before the sun rose, which is the case for many filming schedules as to avoid big crowds in public places. Once back in New York, I was back to reality after an escape to suburbia for a week with my boyfriend and his family. We saw movies, had dinner in St. Louis' version of Little Italy the Hill and I completely demolished a malt at the legendary Crown Candy Kitchen much to the shagrin of my stomach.

After a nap and a surprisingly successful run on the treadmill I prepped for my auditions. Life as a recent acting graduate, meeting and greeting, networking and getting your face out there around the city is very exciting, but it's also exhausting. Yesterday I knowingly scheduled an ABC Pilot audition intensive at Breakthrough Studios with Matthew Maisto and Jamie Schulman knowing that I would be running on less than five hours' sleep the night before. I feel like I accomplished what I wanted to at the audition despite having little sleep and was proud for pushing myself to the limit after a long day.

The casting directors gave me some of the best feedback I've had in a while - they made me more aware of one of my acting "habits" and I'm going to take their advice and move forward to break myself of it. I then ran uptown to 57th street (spending a week in a car spoils any city dweller) to a screen test for the lead in an indie film. I nailed it and the casting director told me that - "You have an interesting look, hopefully the camera likes you." Hopefully I'll be getting a call soon, but if not, I did what I hoped to do.

Yesterday was exciting, but I definitely have a love/hate relationship with NYC. I love the feeling that something amazing could happen at any moment, knowing that I'm here pursuing my goals, yet being in the suburbs for a week and quickly thrust back into the cold, brutal city-life awakened me to the fact that in the long run, when I finally "make it," I don't want to live in the city. I'm my most relaxed in the suburbs. There's something about nature and space that refuels me and reminds me of where I've come from and who I am. It reminds me that life isn't all about acting - and this reminder informs the way I audition, perform, and create.