Acting

A Sprinkle In Time: Defining Moments

by Monica September 18, 2012

I blame the fairy dust. When I was a wee lass, I was so shy I could barely string two sentences together. An only child, my closest companions were characters in books, of which I devoured voraciously. When forced to meet new people, my blond ringlets would peek out from behind my parents’ legs, which [...]

A Matter Of Importance

by Monica August 15, 2012

Bad acting is painful to watch. The actress who cries through every line of the play to prove the character is sad. The actor who yells and pounds his fists in every scene of the movie to show the character is angry. When bad acting happens, the audience tunes out. The message gets jumbled and [...]

The Story Of A Small Town Girl

by Monica July 26, 2012

This post is part of a Blog Hop created by Brigitte Lyons of Unfettered Ink. In her Story Crafting Practicum, Brigitte asked each participant to answer a prompt regarding the journey of our own stories, specifically in regards to our careers. The following is an attempt at sharing my story. :: Once upon a time there was [...]

The Secret Super Power of A Stand-In (And Every Good Storyteller)

by Monica June 5, 2012

Standing-In for Kate Winslet in “Revolutionary Road” while DP Roger Deakins works his magic Of all the pay-the-bills jobs I’ve had over the years, the one that people seem most curious about is my history as a stand-in for actresses on television and film sets. In case you’ve never heard of this occupation, the sole [...]

First Times & Taking Nothing For Granted

by Monica October 26, 2011

“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson Last week I attended Meet Plan Go here in NYC, and [...]

The Letting Go. . . Every Ending Is A New Beginning

by Monica June 1, 2011

When I was in elementary school I won first place in a poetry contest. The title of the poem read Every Ending Is A New Beginning. The truth is, endings have always been difficult for me. I hate goodbyes. But I love hellos. And as in much of life, to have one we have to [...]

All The World Is A Stage (So Act the Shit Out of It)

by Monica April 6, 2011

“A correctly functioning actor should, ideally, be the healthiest, least neurotic creature on earth, since he is putting his emotional and sensory life to use by expressing it for an artistic purpose.” ~ Acting legend Uta Hagen I am a big believer that in this day and age there is no need to suffer for [...]

Acting With Intention

by Monica December 17, 2010

The first thing most actors are taught in a scene study class is to identify the character’s Intention in the scene and then decide what Actions the character will do to accomplish it. In other words: “What do I want?” and “How am I going to get it?” This is often easier said than done, [...]