No Small Roles

It is, today, my little sister's birthday. I believe Angela is turning about 25 though at one point in our lives we were only four years apart in age. However, I believe I am aging faster and she is aging backwards :) Today is also my daughter's birthday. Faith is turning 10. She has mixed emotions about leaving single digits behind but over all she is looking forward to CAKE. A lot of cake.

At the end of this musing blog there are some important announcements about the pretty big changes on the website. Before anyone emails, calls or texts us in a panic, please read the information below the * * * even if you don't want to wade through the rest of the blog :)

Growing up with a beautiful and talented little sister was not easy. She was working hard, stealing the show in commercials and on film and stage while I was still trying to figure out how to stop my hair from frizzing just from hearing a forecast of rain. Even when I had published my first -- and then my first ten -- novels, touring nationally and winning lots of fun awards, I always felt like something of a mutt compared to her silver-green eyes, olive skin and overall awesome Italian look. I cannot count how many times people said to me, "You're sisters? Really?! Wow. I just don't see the resemblance!" Gee. Thanks.

But when something isn't easy, you learn a whole lot more than when it is.

It was my little sister who taught me some of the most important film and theatre lessons I've learned. She proved them true by living them and now, all these years later, almost two dozen actors working on "Ghost Sniffers" have proved them true as well.

1) There are no small roles. You can't make a good episode with just principle actors. Let's be more blunt: Everyone can't be The Star. But guess what? Often, it is the supporting actor (the one playing the smaller part) who stands out the most to the audience... and to the director.

Over the course of shooting Season 1, I have continued to audition every actor I worked with. Sometimes it took me more than one scene, or more than one episode, to determine if I ever wanted to work with that person again. Did they bring 110% to their single line? Did they ask questions about their character? Did they never complain about the reality of "hurry up and wait"? How did they treat the other actors around them? Did they "joke" about how their role was too small, or someone else had a role that was so much bigger? You were right, Angela, there are no small roles. There are only a few actors who simply don't love this show, and the message of this show, as much as I do. And I will only surround myself with people as passionate as I am.

2) Never be afraid to ask questions. I have said this before and I will continue to say it again: Ask, ask, ask! When someone has questions about their character, that tells me they're thinking about their character. I would rather have someone have written fanfiction about their character and created a whole back story for them, than have an actor perfectly memorize their lines, spend thousands on a costume, or never need another take.

3) Good acting is subjective. You may have a favorite actor... who your brother hates. You may have a favorite book... that your best friend set on fire and then stomped on the ashes in glee. Art is subjective and that includes acting. Having a long resume and lots of acting lessons, does not mean I will like the way you speak, twitch your nose, box, ride a horse, or act opposite a cat with a leading role. It doesn't mean you're not great! You may go on to win lots of fun awards... but not by working with me. You want to find someone who loves your style, your brand of talent.

I am not a big television watcher. At all. I've walked away from shows I love just because they take so much darn time to watch them... when I could be writing, for instance. And when and if I do watch television, it is scripted television. If I wanted to watch a reality show filled with drama, I would video tape the next time my big Italian extended family has a meal together. But there is a show I watched the entire first season of that I adored and am currently watching the second season of. It's on Oxygen. Do you know what show it is already? It's "The Glee Project." The show is about the casting process that the co-creators of "Glee" and their unbelievably superhuman team of producers, coaches, and choreographers go through to cast special roles on "Glee" (which is on Fox). Last season Ryan Murphy shocked me with every decision he made as he narrowed down contestants in a reality competition-style format. This season, I am equally amused and stunned at the bottom line that Murphy and his team hammer home:

Be yourself. Your real self. Your hidden self.

I think the undercurrents to that theme are:

Believe passionate in "Glee" and its message, and... check your attitude at the door.

I wish I could make Season 1 and 2 of "The Glee Project" required viewing for every actor who ever auditions for me.

Now for the fourth vital lesson:

4) Always be nice to the director. Now, hopefully, you all laughed or smiled a little. But let me explain the serious part of this lesson. I really mean to say: Be helpful. Be willing to run and get a prop. Move a curtain. Chase away a stray cat. Hand another actor a cookie. Pass out flyers. Hush when I call, "Action!" Cheer when I say, "Perfect take!" Be friendly. Not just to me. But to the other actors who have "bigger and better roles." To the many moms and dads who are exhausted but trying so hard to be supportive. All of these things make my job so much easier and so... it makes me want to work with you again.

See how it all comes back to me recasting you for Season 2? :) But enough of the musing...

* * *

On Sunday, June 10, we secured 75% of the footage needed to complete Season 1 of "Ghost Sniffers." I have six days of shooting left and all of it is with actors with my last name :) Actors who performed on Sunday were patient and good humored, impressed me (some of them -- beautifully! -- for the first time) with their talent and drive, and, most of all, were able to last the long eight-hour day. I appreciated all the actors as well as the moms present who help hang sheets, gather props, and pick up more snacks; we are not funded by a single corporate sponsor and so we don't always have the tons and tons of food we'd like to have. I also felt blessed by our excellent crowd of cheering actors, fans, family and friends who helped bring the baseball battle to life :)

In celebration of being so close to the wrap of Season 1, I have began the redesign of the website. You will now find the first wave of new images -- five at the top of the first page and six below. PLEASE understand that my choices of which actors will be featured where had nothing to do with talent or even who I am recasting in Season 2. My final decisions regarding Season 2 will be sent out the last week of July. My decisions were based on the images I had that were the right composition and emotion; the theme of an episode; how many times an actor appears in the series; my favorite character that they played... etc.

For instance, you will notice that Mau of the Four is shown as the icon for Episode 6. Why not the Monster Bunny? Because Mau (all of the Four, actually!) are also seen as the bad guys in Episode 6, and Catie was giving the camera just the right look that showed the haunting emotion I wanted for the icon without giving too much away.

The icons for Episodes 7 through 12 will be posted this month. They will be:

EP7: Harley
EP8: Sphinx
EP9: Moonlight
EP10: Papercraft Jack
EP11: Maxo
EP12: Forge

There are many excellent actors -- and yes, actors I want to work with again in Season 2 -- who are not featured at all on the first page. Where will they be?

We are finally going to start to build the wiki! This will be the comprehensive one-stop location for all things "Ghost Sniffers" including profiles of every single character -- even the tourists in Episode 3, the actors who supplied voice recordings for the recorder ghost at the start of each episode, the puppets, the cats and the dogs. When creation of the pages begins in earnest, I will be sure to tell everyone here in the blog.

In my next blog, I'll be covering the general format for Season 2 and I'll also be making an announcement about the the premiere of the second six episodes. I'll talk with you again in a few days!