The Actor's Key Showcase: International Edition

Hebrew is my first language. As a baby, my first words were "ma ze?" Hebrew for "what's that?" (I know, such a smart way to learn other words, right?).  I learned to read and write Hebrew at about the same age as I learned to read and write English, thanks to a special Hebrew school for Israeli-American kiddos that my parents schlepped me to twice a week. My mom proudly marked on my public school registration forms that English was not my first language...and I had to take an ESL test in 6th grade to prove to the Los Angeles Unified School District that I was proficient in English alongside some peers who were not too proficient...

I guess it was all worth it. Besides all of the usual benefits of being bilingual, lately, my Israeli side has played quite a role in my career prospects. I've auditioned for some projects in Hebrew and even for some roles that require an Israeli accent. I must say, I have a newfound respect for foreign actors who have to worry about learning material in another language on a daily basis (in addition to all of the other things we worry about before an audition). Even though it's my first language, it's not the language I'm used to auditioning with! With so much American television content coming from Israel these days (um, Homeland!!) it's a skill I've been working to use more and more, professionally speaking.

This Monday and Tuesday, I'll be doing just that! I'll be performing in the Actor’s Key 2013 Spring Showcase: the International Edition. This 75-minute piece directed by Carmen Aiello aims to showcase diversity in culture by featuring scenes in foreign languages and English. I will be performing a scene in Hebrew (and its English translation!) with my talented friend Rosie Moss.

All of the information can be found HERE and you can watch a promo video for the showcase HERE

If you're in LA, please come watch! I mean, look how attractive and international-looking our cast is:

Hope to see you there!

And in case you missed it, you can watch the latest episode of How Men Become Dogs HERE (I'm shooting the next installment tomorrow with a very exciting special guest star...details later!).

SHABBAT SHALOM EVERYBODY!

Comparison: The Silent Killer

Hey Party People.

As I recover from my holiday weekend, I'm feeling like I need to address this topic that is constantly burdening me...and I have a feeling some of you can relate. If, in the last 24 hours, you scrolled through your Instagram feed and felt in some way inadequate about your Memorial Day BBQ/plans/or lack thereof - i.e., looked at other people's pics of FUN and were like, why aren't I having this much fun right now?! Why didn't I think to serve sparkling lemonade in adorable mason jars at MY barbeque? Why don't I have a normal adult person job that lets me actually enjoy a three-day-weekend? And so forth - then I'm talking to you (and also am here to remind you that Memorial Day is meant to be about honoring those who have served our country - yes! - so don't feel bad if your plans weren't spectacularly manic and pixie and dreamgirlish). Well, I'm not really talking to you, but with you. Because this is the type of internal monologue that I know I have had and that is really difficult to avoid in this day and age of tweeting/liking/stalking/posting/pinning et. al.

I know I'm not the first to touch on this subject. It's kind of been beaten to death already but I'm still searching and pining for answers. When it comes to the evilest thing I can do to myself - unnecessary COMPARISON - I feel hopeless. Most of my trusted friends would advise me to simply unplug. Indeed, we are all in awe of that person who is way too cool for social media. I applaud him/her for his/her bravery. Often not having a Facebook profile sends as strong a message as having one. To me, it says, "I am way too busy living life to take part in this menial behavior," and that's awesome. But I also think they're missing out sometimes. I know I would miss staying in touch with my family and friends in Israel and elsewhere overseas if I deactivated my Mark Zuckerberg creation. And beyond that, since I am an actress, I really cannot afford to not have some kind of online presence, and I imagine that is true for many other careers as well. I rely on twitter and Facebook and YouTube to circulate content that I'm acting/singing in. To keep in touch with contacts. To approach new contacts. To invite friends, family, and industry professionals to live performances. To provide anyone interested in hiring/working with me with an easy way to politely stalk me. It goes on and on. Not all Hollywood professionals are linked in, so to speak, but many are. So unplugging is not a viable solution for me.

So far, the only answer I've come up with to help me not slide down the slippery comparison slope and die a slow death by comparison is to compare myself only to...myself. It's great to compare yourself to others when it helps...but when all it does is hurt you...not so helpful. Day to day, I may not feel particularly satisfied with my current success. But when I compare it to where I was a year ago, the picture gets a little brighter....usually. And sometimes, a lot brighter. This time last year I wasn't even in the union. What?! What was I even thinking?! I was probably thinking, "look at that other person who is in the union. Why aren't I in the union yet?!" If all else fails, I just compare myself to my grandmother and where she was at my age. You know what she was busy doing while she was my age? Surviving the Holocaust. Yeah. So shut up, Gilli. Your life is not that bad. It's fabulous. And people worked pretty hard to stay alive so that in turn, you could have the privilege of being alive, so really, show this comparison bullshit who's boss. YOU.

Wow, sorry, that got a little dramatic.

I'm happy to report that even though I do maintain the occasional social media profile, that I have been busy living life lately and haven't had that much time to necessarily document and hashtag all of it online, which is refreshing. But I think it's high time to share some of it!

Here's a VIDEO my friend Stephen and I made, featuring an original bluegrass-y song that he and his buddy wrote. We've been rehearsing together a lot over the past six months and have our first full set coming up at the end of June! I got to sing with him at a really fun gig last Saturday night as well.

Next up, I've updated my REEL a bit. Check it out if you're bored!

I've also been working on a really great webseries and EPISODE 6 which I'm in premiered today! Woohoo! Watch it. Share it. Comment on it. You know what to do. And get ready for Episode 7.

I've also been rocking it out in acting class with Mary Lou Belli for the last three months, and have met some amazingly talented people along the way. As the self-appointed "Avail Princess," I've been on avail for many exciting projects and though I didn't book them, I'm feeling myself inch closer and closer to booking some good stuff. Finally, I'll be performing in the Actor's Key International Showcase later in the month with my friend Rosie. We will be doing a wonderful Woody Allen scene - get this - first in Hebrew, then in English. Like the Holiday Showcase I performed in last December, the amazing Carmen Aiello will be directing. Cool. I think A-Year-Ago-Gilli would be very impressed with Right-Now-Gilli. She might even try to compare herself to her. At least that's what I tell myself.

Okay. Unplugging now.

Gilli

IF WE WERE ADULTS

IT'S THE DAY OF THE SHOW, Y'ALL! Well, not really, but 'tis the day/evening of the premiere, rather. Tonight marks the first (of what I hope will be many!) screening of IF WE WERE ADULTS, the short film I shot back in September and October. Normally, I confess, I get a little snarky on this blog...one might even venture to say, complain-y, at times? Really, I'm just trying to keep it real and not take myself too seriously by being one of those actors who constantly hashtags how #blessed they are to be living their dreams. I'm all for positivity...I'm an optimist who wakes up on the right side of the bed most mornings confused as to why animated blue birds aren't landing on me as I sing good morning to them (thanks for the unrealistic expectations, Disney). But I'm not gonna lie and pretend I always feel #blessed. To be candid, sometimes I feel #cursed that I have this powerful drive within me to constantly do things that are difficult and seemingly impossible...okay, fine, let's say my ambition and sometimes ridiculous willpower is a #mixedblessing. My point is, normally I'd make some silly jokes about stuff that happened on set, but truly, IF WE WERE ADULTS was one of those magically fun projects where I have absolutely no silly commentary to offer. Rather than say I'm feeling #blessed to have worked on it, I'm gonna say I feel super #satisfied. Because though we all know "luck" is a huge element in a biased business like entertainment, luck is truly "opportunity meets preparedness." I'm gonna toot my own horn right now and just say that I was prepared and ready for this opportunity when it came my way, and luck was on my side as well. TOOT! (That was me tooting my own horn).

The serendipitous thing is that this movie is kind of about these types of feelings...of the uncertainty we 20-somethings and 30-somethings face as we get older and realize that decisions are hard and we try to figure out what is normal on our terms for the kind of life we want. It's a really funny script but it doesn't sugarcoat real issues (specifically, marriage) or tie them up in a neat, #blessed package with a pretty, perfect bow. And that really works for me. I'm excited to watch and be part of tonight! I have this feeling that a lot of people involved with the project are going to keep producing amazing work, and that this is only the beginning.

Hopefully there will be more screenings in the LA area in the coming months, but in the meantime, the event will be streamed live at 7:00 pm Pacific Time tonight right here:

IF WE WERE ADULTS LIVE STREAM

This is a great kickoff to my weekend which I will be spending shooting yet another short film. Details to come later on!

Love and #hashtags,

Gilli

Statistics

So, it's tax season, which for us performing artists/freelancers involves a lot of itemizing and backtracking and recordkeeping. 2012 being my first full year truly making my living as an actress (okay, fine, as an actress and a little bit as an acadmic tutor), I learned quite a bit while doing my taxes this year. If you're like me, and you try to philosophize and make meaning out of the annoying things that happen to you or that you have to do because you're an adult now, i.e.:

Oh my gosh, my car broke down! This is horrible! It's a sign telling me I'm on the wrong path in life because maybe if I'd have pursued a different career I would've had a different or better car that wouldn't have broken down today! 

...when really all it means is that my car broke down -- then doing something as menial as your taxes invokes a lot of reflection and self-assessment. I tend to look beyond the numbers and internalize and emotionalize all of the information I've gathered:

Oh my gosh, I spent how much on acting classes/headshots/online submission services etc. this year?? Was this a good investment? Did said investment pay off? What should I change? Where and how should I spend my money to invest in my career next year?

For some reason, I've always had a weird, unfounded, innate talent for Statistics. Seriously. AP Statistics was the first and perhaps only math class (besides my college Statistics class, which was actually easier than the AP version...) in which I really excelled and actually felt confident. Maybe it's because it's the type of math that is the least math-y of them all, but I understand and actually like Statistics.

This would perhaps serve me well in some situations, but after compiling all of my tax information that included bookings and all of my auditions for the year (you guys, I drove over 3,000 miles for auditions and classes...that is longer than a cross-country road trip!), my understanding of Statistics got me feeling a little down for a second. I caught myself over-analyzing my progress and measuring success using this type of math:

Out of all of my auditions, what percentage yielded a callback? What's my callback success rate? Booking success rate?

Then, of course, I remembered the central and perhaps most simple rule of Stats: significance. It is generally agreed upon that if something happens less than 5% of a time, that phenomenon is considered statistically significant. Meaning, it's out of the ordinary. It's exceptional. It's weird. I just looked up the current acceptance rate for Harvard, and it's at 5.9%. So yes, while it is quite a feat to get into Harvard, it's not statistically significant. We can all agree that it's wonderful, but not an occurrence that is unusual enough to warrant intense suspicion or awe. SAG-AFTRA boasts upwards of 165,000 members. I'm not sure of the percentage of members who are considered Hollywood A-Listers, but I'm guessing it could be statistically significant. Or maybe not. I'm not that good at math. My point is that succeeding in this business, however you define success, is usually a rare phenomenon. One that it is statistically significant. Maybe they should have these brochures at casting offices or Samuel French or places that actors frequent, like they're required to have at all Las Vegas casinos to teach you the dangers of gambling:

Haha! Just kidding. But yes, the odds are really, truly stacked against actors. But what I realized while going down my dark-thinking mathematical spiral is that while this information can be helpful in maintaining a level head and being realistic, as well as deciding which classes and materials are working or no longer working for me, it is not helpful information to bring with me into the audition room. Because yes, although my rational mind may comprehend that if they're seeing 50 girls for this commercial that I technically have a 2% chance of booking the role, that won't help me give my best shot at it. What I also believe is that this business transcends this type of math. Believing that I have only a 2% chance at booking the job is to believe that all 50 of us auditioning have an equal chance at booking the role. This business is biased, and we all know that all types of variables affect our chances of landing jobs...most of them out of our control. Maybe Auditioner A is less likely to book today than Auditioner B, because she happens to resemble the client's ex-wife whom he loathes. I dunno. Just a hypothetical.

The other day, I had a final callback for the leading female role in a great little indie feature. At this point in the process, the director was choosing between four girls for the role. Pretty good odds, statistically speaking. He called me up a couple days later to thank me for auditioning and for being so prepared and reading "like a boss" (his words, not mine) and to let me know that he had chosen another actress for the role. "You were all so good that we had such a difficult time deciding. We ended up having to rely on hunches here, because any of you could have played the part." There's no mathematical explanation for a director's hunch that one actress fits the role better than another. A chemical explanation, perhaps, but there's no use in dwelling on why something told him to go in that casting direction. Or at least I know there's nothing I could have done differently. Oh well -- if I didn't get it, it was never my role. It was during those fleeting moments in the room, but it is mine no longer. And I'm okay with that. Him going with his gut is the little spark that tells me there's no use in over-analyzing or making sense of things. There were definitely times when my performance gave a director a hunch that a role was mine, and none of the other actresses did. It's the same reason that while Jessica Chastain was perhaps (in my opinion) more deserving of the Best Actress Oscar the other night, Jennifer Lawrence won because we are all obsessed with her (*I am also obsessed with her).

So, long story, well, long, I've come up with my own Statistics that are grounded in no mathematical reality whatsoever:

• If you tell too many people about your audition, you won't book it. Stop gloating.
• If you leave for an audition half an hour earlier than you should, you will arrive 45 minutes earlier than planned with a margin of error of + or - 10 minutes.
• If you leave for an audition with the exact amount of time Google Maps tells you it should take to get there, you will arrive at the audition late by an amount greater than or equal to 10 minutes.
• If you are running late the session will be running early. If you are running early the session will be running late. 
• If you put an hour longer than you need on your meter for an audition, said audition will take less than or equal to 5 minutes.
• Conversely, if you put just an hour on your meter, said meter will expire while you are in the audition room and you will get a ticket!
• If you don't care at all about booking the role, you will book it.
• Live your life! Make plans, because then, you will book an amazing job that will interrupt these plans!
• Your dogs think you did an amazing job at your audition 100% of the time. 
• Avail streaks come in three's. If you are on avail three times in a row and don't book the job, on your fourth avail, you will book it.
• If you complain about your life more than 14% of the time, don't pursue this career.

And, finally, here's the funny video I wanted to share with you today...it's a commercial I did for the Frankfurt Airport in Germany. I do not understand what is going on in this clip 100% of the time because I don't speak German:

Frankfurt Airport Commercial

Thanks for reading and watching, as always!

Gilli

I've Found My Match...

Hope you enjoyed this little spot I did late last year!!

Happy End of Days!

It's December 21st, 2012. I have been terrified of this day, which as we all know marks the end of the Mayan calendar, since I was in 7th grade. My History teacher told us about it during our daily tradition of "News Quiz," in which he'd ask the entire class questions about current events before beginning our daily lecture. I don't think there were any prizes involved, but it was always a really competitive game. I was great at the game -- particularly when the "news" of the early 2000's had to do with arts/leisure topics, such as what Liza Minelli was up to at the time, etc (mainly, she was being dramatic). When he asked us a question about doomsday during a typical game of "News Quiz," no one could answer, and he proceeded to describe the predictions about 12/21/12, and how so many recent events pointed to how the world was definitely going to end very soon (this was 2001, right after the 9/11 attacks, mind you). Yours truly, a highly sensitive artist type for whom middle school was a fragile time, excused herself from class to hide in the bathroom for a few minutes to calm down. I simply couldn't listen to my teacher talk about these predictions without thinking he was right...

Since then, I've kept the date in the back of my mind. It's been a reminder that whatever is bothering me isn't that bad in times of desperation, because if the world's ending in 2012, then how much can it matter? This attitude has allowed me to let go of anxiety in trying moments, which is only a good thing for someone who is analytical and tends to overthink things. Now that the 21st is finally here, it's a bit anti-climactic. I'm still a sensitive artist type, but I've definitely grown up a lot since 7th grade, and now try my best to face anxiety-provoking things rather than run to a safe space to hide.

Last week, I had the incredible opportunity to perform something that I wrote. I'm a bit of a perfectionist -- okay, more than a bit -- so I've been wary of sharing my writing with an audience before it's "ready" (aka "perfect"). But hey, if the world was going to end today, what good would it serve me to keep all of my writing to myself, saved on my computer? Luckily, my talented friend Jenny read a scene that I wrote for us at the 11th hour for an audition for the first-ever Actor's Key Holiday Showcase. She loved the scene, and agreed to work with me on it and dove in with dedication and tons of ideas. The result was that we were cast in the showcase, and joined forces with an amazing team of actors and creatives. Our director, Carmen Aiello, was amazing!!

Here are some pictures from the showcase:

And our scene:

https://vimeo.com/56076357

It doesn't look like the world is ending today, but even so, I'm glad we got to perform our scene before the 21st, just in case!

Tiny Dreams

Woooosh! That was onomatopoeia for the year flying by! Seriously though, doesn't it sometimes seem unfair that everything (tons of work/holidays/copious amounts of food/weather/sickness/happiness/joy/depression/Lifetime Christmas movies or Elizabeth Taylor biopic ones) is crammed into a small chunk of the year? It's like, hey, stuff that takes up my time/energy: spread the wealth, and maybe go situate yourself in February when absolutely nothing happens? I guess having everything at once/it pouring when it rains (can I do that? Re-word an aphorism?) isn't what's crazy -- it's how fast it seems to go by. Chanukah is in, like, a week (what?)! I went on the Snapfish website today to order personalized holiday cards, and they had stopped advertising them already, as if to say that if you want to send out cards on time you should have already ordered them. And according to the ancient Mayans, the world is ending so soon! Clearly, the ancient Mayans/a lot of legit old civilizations that predicted this event didn't realize that the Game of Thrones season 3 premiere is in March 2013. Ergo, Armageddon shall have to wait.

Though the tryptophan level in my blood has been at an all-time high this November, I've had lots of energy. A couple weeks ago, I played a stewardess in a commercial for the Frankfurt Airport in Germany. Ever since I flew on Emirates Air to Africa five years ago (side note: it is geographically inefficient to stop in Dubai "on the way" to Africa), I've had a secret desire to be a flight attendant (the Emirates ones are all supermodels that speak multiple languages). Well, mainly, I've just been dying to play dress up with a stewardess outfit. So this shoot was a mini-dream-come-true. I know they say to "dream big," but I have a lot of miniature-bite-sized dreams that are a little more realistic to conquer, this being one of them. I will post the footage as soon as I have it as the spot will only be running overseas in Europe, and potentially at those little kiosks at the actual airport in Deutschland. In the meantime, here are a couple of stills from the shoot. It was a fun day -- I always love working with foreigners because they are so direct when talking to you because of the language barrier.

Not merely a mini-dream, but more of an overall continuous feeling I have is the need to work with/be around animals. If you follow me on Instagram and have any experience with statistical analysis you know this since about 90% of my photographic material showcases one or both of my dogs. I had the gall to take them both to a Petco commercial audition last year and it was incredible! They didn't book the job, but still: 'twas a mini-dream-come-true. Occasionally I get to act with animals, and this is always SO COOL. Seriously, when animals are on set, everyone seems to revert to their childhood selves (which is pretty funny because I think a lot of people in this business were once really bizarre/awkward children). Here's me working with some animals in the past (one is a stuffed dead one, sadly):

So, imagine my surprise at my own feelings when I was terrified to work with an animal on set during one of my latest gigs. Due to having signed multiple NDA's, I can't say what this was for or really what kind of animal it was...okay fine, it was the male version of a cow. The kind with the horns, that doesn't like the color red, and is associated with the country of Spain. Yup, one of those. When I was signing release forms, it dawned on me that this animal could potentially hurt slash kill someone, and that that someone could be me. After much deliberation and in-depth conversations with production, I stuck with the shoot. The animal was a pro and did his job like a seasoned thespian. So, continuous mini-dream of working with animals? Check! When the time is right, I shall reveal the details/footage from this foray into episodic television.

In other news, I just shot a national commercial for a popular dating site, which will begin airing in January. Having a consistent commercial booking track record is another mini-dream of mine that I have been fulfilling over the last few months. And finally, I am proud to announce on this here blog of mine that I have just signed with a manager. For those of you who are (un)fortunate enough to hear me talk about career-related and existential things like "what am I DOING?!" this should come as wonderful news! I have been wanting a manager for quite some time now and am feel really good about this new business relationship. Another teeny tiny dream, accomplished!

So basically, the moral of this post is that you can't really fulfill bigger dreams without knocking out and enjoying the little ones along the way. I know that's obvious and cheesy but this is the holiday season so I have permission to be cheesy and obvious. Because before you know it, it'll be 2013...woooooooosh!!!