Beauty and the Peaks

Ahem.  No apologies for being gone for a year.

Hey- I moved to LA.

And since moving here six months ago, I've been a-hiking, and I've been a-thinking....

I KNOW!

The good news is, while hiking the Verdugo Mountains to a peak called Beaudry South yesterday, I made a list.  

Here's what I thought of- (well, the stuff that isn't already covered by Miley Cyrus.)

Top 5 Reasons Why Climbing (LA) Mountains is like Pursuing Your (Acting) Dreams:

A List

by Nikki Starr

Ye Gods!

1) Just keep moving- you'll reach your goal.  (Probably. If you don't pass out from exhaustion first.)

2) You may be tempted to take your top off -in the heat of the moment.  This is most likely a bad idea.  (Compromise with partial nudity.  It's more tasteful.)

3) You'll meet more Armenian seniors along the way than you ever knew existed.  This will both cheer, and worry you. (Did they bring water?? Will they share?? )

4) Climbing up feels like the hardest thing you've ever done.  Hey- don't worry! Coming down is much harder.

5) When you finally get there, dripping sweat, blurry vision and panting heavily, you'll find there's always a couple o' wierdos at the top....

...and it smells faintly of marijuana...

...but the view is worth it.

So uh...that's mah book.  

I'll write more soon.  

I missed you, Internet.

Performances, Squirt Guns, & New Jersey

Ok, so hey, it's been awhile.  Some things have happened.

Here are a few of them:

1) I got a callback for the superhero musical.  And I rocked that callback.  And I didn't book it.

BUT, I got great feedback- i.e. the guys running it shook my hand at the audition and said, "You're GREAT news!".  And then they called me afterwards to say they "didn't have a role for me, but would love to see me in the future".  So all of that is really positive.

The singing interpretation coach, Eddie Guttman, who I worked with before the audition, said to me "You can only please half the people, half the time, so go in there to audition, focus on the problem you need to solve (as the character) and have fun!"  Good advice.

More good advice.

2) I have had my first three performances playing saxophone for The Ride!  It has been a blasty blast.  Even though one was in the rain!  It's amazing what live performance does to your system. It really doesn't matter if it's theatre, film, or playing saxophone for a bus full of tourists...that "performance" feeling makes me feel oh, so alive!!!

Me and Jeanel, doin our thang for the tourists.  Not sure who's who yet.

3) Also, that's the other thing.  Jeanel, the other half of our act, is AWESOME.  She's 6'1", from Hillside, New Jersey, and a Music Education major.  And this girl can SANG.  And play the Euphonium!  And crack musical theatre jokes to rival any theatre geek I've ever met.  She's played Motormouth in Hairspray twice already, as well as Doc in West Side story(!)

And her family is amazing- her parents are from the Caribbean island of Domenica and are lovely, and  she's the same age as my younger sister.  Needless to say, we love each other.  As her Dad commented, "You guys are perfect for each other- ya both crazy!"  Thanks, Dad.

 People have already started to take cellphone videos of us on the tour, so hopefully some will pop up online soon, and I can share!

4) I woke up with this song in my head.  Haven't thought of it in a while...like 8 years kind of a while.  This is unrelated, just kinda perfect for a peaceful, rainy, lie-in-bed-for-an-extra-ten-minutes-and-listen-to-a-song, kinda NYC morning:

5) My horoscope says that June is my month.  Anything and everything good can happen! Supposedly, after June 11th,  my good luck in love, money and career is about to be on an upswing for a whole year. Jupiter's in Gemini or something.  Wahoo! I can dig it.  I bought some squirt guns for good luck (and protection, duh) on a whim at Rite Aid for $3.99 

Also met with commercial print agent Casey Ross (of Ross Talent Agency), and he wants to freelance, with me, so there's some positive career moves.

And I met some sexy, interesting people at the bar the other night, going out after an acting workshop ..including a charming Irish bartender, a dancing Puerto Rican yogini, and a New Jersey-ian theatre head.  I may or may not have slept on the floor for 3 hours, post-bar, cuddled next to one of these "interesting" people in his friends' apartment (which was actually smaller than some bathroom stalls I have been in recently).  So...ya know.  Grain of salt with that horoscope.

The good news is, I didn't leave my squirt guns behind.

Get ready, Brooklyn...

Sidebar: Does Jerz qualify as an ethnic group?  I would like to say yes.  Not because of any racial lines, but because everyone I've ever met from New Jersey shares common traits:  They tell is like it is. They're real, no attitude, no bullshit.  And you can take it or leave it. 

All my love for New Jersey.

Ray Bradbury, Love Life!

I'm on a Joy Binge.

Don't need urbandictionary.com for this one.  Though I might have to add an entry:

Joy Binge (n): is where I feel like running around the office, screaming, singing, and possibly running into things headfirst, just because I have so much energy/ excitement/ joy for life.  

   ex: 

     Dude: "Nicole, what was that kartwheel near the Kopy Machine for? Are you like, happy it's Friday or something?"

     Me:          "

   !"

JOY BINGE!!!

  
Why am I so psyched to be alive, you (and the dude in the copy room) might well ask?

First of all, MY VOICE IS BACK!!!!!!!!!  And I have a singing audition tomorrow!!!!!  Cue more joyful music!!!!

All the voices in my head wear office apparel!

I took a singing lesson yesterday with the amazing, incredible, light-filled Alba Quezada.  She is a Linklater singing teacher, that Andrea (remember, the lady who originally told me I might have nodes?) recommended to me.

Because yes, my friends, I have a musical theatre audition tomorrow.  WAHOO!!  I am so excited to be singing again!

The lesson was all about keeping it simple when singing.  Just taking a small amount of information (a slight yawn in the back of the throat, and supporting the breath in your lower back/ butt) and then trusting yourself.  To not get negative, or down, or think too much about technique, but just to have fun!

Or, in the words of the great Ray Bradbury: "Jump off the cliff... and build your wings on the way down!"

(Speaking of Ray, if you want to watch an amazing, zany interview with him about books, joy, Mars, and doing what you love, watch this:)

See, tonight, after my first shift playing saxophone on The Ride (WHAT!! I got hired!!)  I will not be going out to the bar, or to drink magical cocktails at a bar called Ghost (where my friend Rajiv is bartending).

Instead: I will sleep for as long as possible..and then get up early to warm up on the roof (my new music studio) because yes, my friends, I have a musical theatre audition tomorrow.  For a childrens' musical.  To play a Princess.  ( Did I mention I get to sing tomorrow?)

I will sing a peppy, funny Judy Garland song. My voice will be clear, strong, connected, and beautiful. And I will figure out how to solve a very specific problem....with this song: 

subtitled: "... (And Raise a Little Hell Tonight)"

I have the urge to write more, about Eddie Guttman, the spectacular accompanist/ composer that I worked with after Alba, who also reminded me how to thing of singing as problem solving (and all my vocal issues clear up!)

  But I think I will save it...plus an update after my first shift on "The Ride".  I'm so excited to be getting paid to perform for tourists... it's the most incredible sense of validation New York has ever given me, I think.

Saxophone, singing, dancing, or acting- I want it all!  And sometimes I want it in Spanish.  Que lindo este mundo!  Gracias to the world!!

(I feel happy.  Know why?  'Cuz I don't gotta show Nobody Nothing...to be Somebody.)

 And that's what it's all about!

Sweet Banana Crepes, Batman!

So, yesterday, I got an agent.  And a callback from The Ride (see Channeling Lisa Simpson).  And booked a commercial!

The commercial ended up not working out (they cast someone else and didn't tell me), the callback is with someone else (more on that later), I'm only freelancing with the agent, not a signed contract. But still- WTF, The Universe??  All in one day?  That's insane, even for New York.  Oh yeah, and I also got up at 6am, worked, went to the gym, and had a student film audition (nailed it).  Life is so camping, sometimes.

Okay, okay, we get it.

Needless to say, in the middle of the afternoon, low on blood sugar, (after gym/work/callback/agent meeting success, but before the commerical re-cast letdown) I saw a sign for "French Crepes".  Word.  Clearly, a Strawberry-Bananna-Nutella "Classic" was in order:

For Visual Celebration Purposes Only.  Mine was twice this big.

Not all the Nutella melted, so accordingly, I had to lick my fingers/ the knife/ the whole plate clean after. (Love being a fat kid!) 

So yeah, the callback for The Ride is cool, actually.  I get to play sax with this amazing, belt-your-face-off, take-em-to-church-voice..all coming from a very sweet girl named Jeanel. They want us to work out a "bit" together..you know, white girl with soulful sax, black girl with soulful pipes.  What's not to love? And you know, the more I think about it, the more "The Ride"  feels like the modern evolution of Vaudeville...except that in this case, the audience travels to the stage, instead of the performers.  I could get down with that.

The future looks swell, kid!

  I actually auditioned for "The Ride" right after Jeanel, and got to hear her sing while I was waiting.  Literally, people were coming OUT OF THEIR OFFICES and CLAPPING HYSTERICALLY when she was singing in the room.  She is that good.  If at least she doesn't get this gig, they are idiots. 

We've been texting back and forth, trying to figure out a piece we can work on together for the callback...and she told me this is the first thing she's auditioned for out of college.  She just graduated this spring, is fron New Jersey, and she's a Music Education Major.  The fresh-faced newbie and the old disillusioned hag, working together, in showbiz, in New York..Someone should make a tv show or something!  Oh wait:

They did.

Anyway, should be on Monday or Tuesday.  Maybe I'll get my broken sax fixed in the meantime.

*Wish us luck!

Other news to report- the agency that I'm freelancing with is called Metropolis Artists Agency.

  They are a pretty newly established, legit agency. They are franchised by the unions, though, and Marius Bargielski, the adorable Polish man who is my agent seems to:

 1) know what he's doing,
b) be very business savvy, and
thirdly) call me on my BS..

...which is a necessary component in any of my relationships. (As my friends well know.)

If you'd like to check out Metropolis Artists Agency's website, it's here. The only problem is, he doesn't want me to move to LA..they are only New York based.  Argh.  Well.  We will cross that bridge when we come to it!


Okay, I think that's all, for now.  It's a gorgeous day in New York, and I have San Francisco wedding photos to stalk on Facebook.

Love and music!  <3

Yin Yangs and Sun Flares: Highlights Edition

My life is always nutso.  17 Million things happening at once..on an easy day.  With little time, and a lotta happenings, here's some highlights:

No, not THAT Highlights! You crazy kids...

Ahem!  My Life, In Reverse Chronological Order:

1) Tonight I'm going to a photography exhibition where Eve Ensler is talking (!!!) And Coco Rosie (well, at least half the band) is playing.  (!!!):

It's this photography exhibition called "Self Evident Truths"- a collection of beautiful/sad/ugly/real portraits of people who have "come out" all over the world..and are sharing their stories in this giant exhibition.

Is this a new concept?  Nah.  But the photos sure are great.  Check out some samples here.  And any place where the author of The Vagina Monologues is gonna be talking...well, just sign me up.

PS- AND it's at a venue called The Hole!  Hahahahaha. I'm 12.

2) Tonight is also the night of a phenomenon called "Manahattan-Henge".  It's where the sun aligns just perfectly over Manhattan for TWO DAYS, so that as you look from East to West Across the Avenues, you get a God-Like Blinding Solar Flare:

Whooooaaa... that's like...bright, man...

 Gotta love that sun.  Who's ready for creative cursewords from cabbies caught in the crosstown crush?


3)  I saw the first of my best friends from home, Sierra June, get married this weekend...in San Francisco.  Dear God...what a magical joy filled place that city is!  It was a BEE-YOO-TIFUL ceremony in City Hall.  That place is so goergeous, and EVERYONE looked so elegant and joy filled (especially the bride)...I fell in love with the world, with my friends, and wanted to get married on the spot.

I would...Would you?

There was also a beautiful giant lotus (an installation from the Asian Art Museum) right oustide after we exited the light palace of City Hall. The giant red petals sway in the (freezing) San Fran Winds.

You know. As a reminder to be flexible. And that flowers DO grow out of the mud.

It's a metaphor!  Finally, right?

Then we took a party bus to the reception!!  I was worried about my voice for a while... and it WAS indeed, too difficult not to talk.

Then after a bit, I said, "Fuck it."   I just talked. And drank. And sang! And enjoyed my life.  You know?  Because if I'm gonna lose my voice, it's gonna be because I had a great time at my best friends' wedding, in a gorgeous city with amazing people.

And know what else?  My voice didn't disappear!  It's still crackly, but I can talk.  Now I'm babying the voice again, and not drinking again, or talking outside on a cellphone.

But MAN was this weekend worth it. Great food, friends, dancing, music..and life.  I even met someone..that I actually like!  (Gasp. I know, right?)  He's a pharmacist.  We went on several dates. One of them was to buy Plan B.  Hooray!

Not THAT Plan B!  You crazy kids...

4) Anway, for Nikki's Final Moment, I guess I'll just wrap with the whole Life is a Balancing Act /Swaying Lotus Flower/ Bowl of Cherries thing.  I mean, it's a cop-out, but it's true, too.  Me not talking makes my friends uncomfortable.  I see this happening.  All the time, but at a wedding especially.  And I HATE making people uncomfortable...especially my best friends.  It's really the worst feeling in the world.  They don't know what to say, or how to treat me, or what to expect from me when I can't verbally express myself.

But at the same time my voice is like a saxophone reed...strong and flexible- til I misuse it, and it cracks.

In yin-yang conclusion... Here's some heavy:

It's a metaphor!

With some light:

Just plain awesome.

Stay tuned...

Channeling Lisa Simpson

Hey Kids!

Today we're gonna talk about the saxophone.  Specifically, MY saxophone, which I am playing for an audition today, for the first time in a whiiiiiilllle.

Yup, it's a Yamaha.  Student Model.   Deal with it.

Today I have an audition for this thing called "The Ride".  [Insert Ye Olde "Towne Bi-cycle" jokes here.] 

This is their website: http://www.experiencetheride.com

Basically what it is, as far as I can tell, is an NYC  tourist bus where the seats face horizontally- as in towards the large side windows instead of out front.  REVOLUTIONARY, you say??  Well just you wait, little ones. There's so much more.  Oh yes, you and 25 German senior citizens will tour New York City from 42nd St. to 59th/ Columbus Circle (Midtown! Or as I call it- Satan's Asshole!). And as you're traveling through this charmingly traffic-ridden tourist trap, actors and performers will pop out on the streets and do little mini performances on the sidewalk.  Liiiike THIS (thanks youtube!):

As my roommate remarked, "Wowwww. The Ride, huh? Art is not dead, Nicole."

Shut up, Joe.

So, they're auditioning me to be Lisa Simpson, methinks.  I'd be the girl who would pop out and play like, "New York State of Mind" or "Autumn Leaves" on one of the stops, while Japanese tour groups took pictures of my blond pointy hair.  Haha. Should be a fun day either way.  And playing sax, I don't have to talk/ yell!!  Wahoo!!  Bonus.

So, right, story: Lily From The Ride calls me at 5pm yesterday, as I was coming home from the gym.  Please bear in mind that I submitted for this audition on Backstage.com for this THREE MONTHS AGO.  Not expecting anything when I put through my headshot and resume and claimed to be great at sax. Just thinking: "That bus looks silly, and hey, it's paid!" Also, mind you,  I'm not supposed to even be talking outside AT ALL, much less talking above ambient street noise on my cell (horrors!).  So, listening to Lily From The Ride leave a message on the vm (that's "voicemail", for all of you who don't live at an office), I duck into a bodega to call her back.

Who's hungry?

In that midtown deli, next to steaming piles of General Tsao's and limp broccoli, I start to realize that the real problem with the whole "not talking" deal is that I'm so damn charismatic!  Or at least, I want to be.  Ok, I like to flirt with EVERYone, normally.  I find that people do more things for you if you smile. Also, it's fun to play with strangers! And as Grandpa Lewis used to say, "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, Squeaky Britches".  (I used to love to wear corderoy pants..therefore "squeaky britches".. ok, my family is from the South, ALRIGHT?!) 

So anyway, trying to "limit my talking" on a phone conversation with a stranger, who I'm both trying to get to schedule an appointment around my insane schedule, AND getting her to like me enough to pay me to perform is.. difficult. For me. To say the least.

Also, my saxophone is actually, physically broken (the low D key isn't sealing correctly, therefore it sounds like a goose in heat and/or labor in the lower register), PLUS I was babysitting all yesterday evening after work, then working again at 9am in the morning- (remember when I told you that the word "rest" is a foreign concept?)  In addition to that, Lily From The Ride can only see me before 1pm for an audition.  Oh, of course she can. Because I work from 9-1:30pm.

So.  You know.  You make do.

Got coverage at work from my grrrRREAT receptionist buddy, Michele. (She's hilarious, and an actor/ puppeteer.  Check out HER blog on having hip problems and being crippled for 6 weeks in New York,  it's what inspired me to complain about my problems to a larger audience!:  Food, Exercise, and Shit That Makes Me Mad)

After Michele graciously agreed to come in an hour early, I still had the problem of a broken horn and not having played, really, for like...uhh a year.  Euuugh.  So I come home from babysitting at 11pm, knowing I physically NEED to practice but of course the roomies are asleep.  Have you ever tried to play a broken saxophone quietly at 11pm?  Here's a tip: Don't.  It will only end in tears.

Chops?  What chops?

[Pause- sitting at Reception at work and OH MY GOD I just saw someone trip and stumble in her heels while strutting through the door. Hahaha yessss.  No boxes were dropped, unfortunately.]

Back to the story.  What's a girl to do with rusty major scales, sleeping roommates and a broken sax?

Go to the roof, of course:

Party of one.

From 11pm -MidnightThirty, I slowly got my chops back, playing on my rooftop in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.  Funnily enough, because I couldn't play in my low register, I kept having to work out tunes I could play in the upper register.  All these squeaky high notes set about 6 of the dogs in my neighborhood howling.  My life is a cartoon.

But, dogs, broken instrument, and all,  EVENTUALLY I figured out three different songs I can play at the audition.

And now, in about 2 hours, I'll go to audition for The Ride.  Gonna show 'em the actual range of the horn with Van Morrison's "Moondance", slow-jam 'em with "Stormy Weather", and then end it on a high note with MJ's "The Way You Make Me Feel". While wearing my sparkly shoes and lucky pink dress.  And playing my broken sax- with all my soul.  Cuz you never know where an audition will lead...

The original Soulful White Girl.

Corndogs and Milkshakes

Hoookay, so!  I'm drunk at work.  Still.   From last night.  It's 10:36 and I want to faceplant on the Reception desk.

So much for not drinking for a month.  D'oh!

"Just one glass" of white wine last night (while "not talking") turned into 5 glasses, being the last one of my friends left at the bar, finishing off my friend's whiskey, and whispering about Texas/ fundamentalist Islam/ sex positions with a Daniel Day Lewis look-alike.

His milkshake brings all the boys to the yard?

DAMN. And I usually don't go for beards.

After 2 hours of sleep (draw your own conclusions),  I woke up this morning late for work, and stumbled (literally, stumbled- I'm still drunk, remember) to the train in a THUNDERSTORM. Woman on the street next to me after epic lightening/ thunder crash: "Aww HELL naw! I'm gettin in a cab, I don't play this sh*t!"  Me either, Angry Woman on the Street.  ME EITHER.

So, you know, I left everything except my hangover and sunburn at home.  I thought I was gonna throw up on the train- ohhh, 3 separate times.  Then the dude next to me sneezed- ON MY HANDS.  Gross.  I mean, my tolerance for subway germs/ behavior is pretty high, but dude, seriously?  Seriously.  That's what the crooks of your elbows are for.  Do not sneeze without covering your face!!!  By the way, winning at Monopoly on your phone doesn't make you a good human.  It just makes you a good button pusher.

Anyway, whatever Monsoon Monday- you can can suck itttt!  I'm over this bad mood. I'm just gonna bump some Jay-Z in my headphones and watch white girls carry boxes in heels.

That's me in the corner...

ANYWAY - Yesterday was such a great day.   Actually the whole weekend was marvelous.  Basically I've been doing activities that are free, where I don't have to talk to people.  Because I'm broke! And on vocal rest. And New York is a city for wandering adventures- IF it's nice out. And this weekend was a beauty.

Met with a possible agent at The Network on Saturday... so we will see where that goes. And saw my AMAZING co-worker in a show on Saturday night.  It was a musical about orphan musicals, called Unamed Broadway Musical: The Musical!  (Due to copyright issues, they couldn't say it was based on and inspired by the idea of an all-adult cast doing "Annie" or "Oliver" but it totally was, dude!)

Cast of UBM:TM!

 The show took place in a really lovely space (The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts), and the show itself was funny, sweet, and moving.  Big ups to Brian Dunlop- and the whole cast- for making some brave, bold and hilarious choices.  It was inspiring to watch that kind of commitment on stage!  For more info about the show (and unique concept), check here.

Then- I took my yearly solo trip to Coney Island on Sunday morning! .

Ahhh, corndogs. 

So you know, I'm climbing all over the jetty (no lifeguards!  SWAG), watching kids play in the freezing water, contemplating how awesome my life is, when I have to go to the bathroom.  After answering nature's call, I start to wander down the boardwalk, eating trail mix, watching European tourists wear funny hats. (It is not cold enough for fur, Germany.) Then I pass a sign slapped on the side of a wall.  It's a bright orange posterboard that says "ART SHOW" in a graffiti tag. 1949 Macdonald Ave, Brooklyn. 2-8pm, Sunday May 20th. "Ohcool...ilovegraffiti.......... heythat'srightnow!" go the thoughts in my sun-addled brain.

But then... WherethehellisMacdonaldAve?

I grab a delicious, 9,0000 calorie meal at Nathan's and contemplate my next move.  Do I follow this sketchy, hand-lettered sign to a place I don't know how to get to, and have never heard of, alone?  Or do I stay at my beloved Coney, dodging tourists, seagull poop and sandstorms?

Welp, I truly can NOT turn down a dare. Ever. Especially from myself.

And a corndog and a Google Maps search (from a friendly Puerto Rican couple at Nathan's) later, I take the F train to:

...which I follow to this place....

...which has like, a DJ bumping hiphop and 6 pieces of art INside, when you walk through the fire exit, you find it's really about these guys...

..doing this on the wall in an alley OUTside.

None of this is visible from the street, of course. Yeah.  My brain says: iLoveNewYork.

Then I left BK, to travel to Central Park- to film a promo for the play I'm in at the end of the summer.

On the train to Manhattan, I look out the window while we're stopped, and see written either "Joy" or "Oy" (or possibly loy?):

Subway wall of Joy/Oy.  And yes, those are 3 Hasids sitting across from me.

 The play we are trying raise money for is Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead. It follows the Peanuts characters as they move through angsty, painful, hilarious high school shenanigans.  I'm playing Marcie: the nerd-turned-party-girl, (A leeetle too close to home).  She's sidekick to Peppermint Patty (who now goes by Trish).    More on this soon, as rehearsals start!

For now, I'll leave you with the view looking up as we were filming in Central Park:

Thanks, The Universe. Great job.