Guess what! I've been cast as a mom in a commercial. This gig is a result of the audition with the crying child. I cannot believe it and yet I'm so excited! The spot is slated to shoot in a few days with a fitting beforehand. There will be another blog entry to come on this matter, I'm sure of it. In the meantime, I've got to wash the outfit I wore to the audition last week! I'm sure wardrobe will want to see it...
I had been told there could be a print campaign as part of the Massachusetts Lottery commercial series, but I didn't know if it would actually happen. Now I know it's official. Yesterday morning someone gave me page A6 of the Boston Globe and who was on the bottom half of the page? Me! Oh, and the little white convertible and the massive Billion Dollar Bonanza ticket, as well as Anthony in the attendant's booth. I was quite surprised. Here's a photo of the ad:
As you may recall, recently I auditioned for the Boston Lyric Opera. Today I received the following email message. Curt? Not really. Concise and forthright? I think so. At least the BLO made the courteous gesture of responding in some fashion. I typically receive no response at all from most auditions. That is unless the client is interested in my talents. I'm used to not getting the gig. In fact, one has to be inured to it in this crazy industry. At least I have a gig later this week to look forward to.
Now that the MA lottery spot is airing, this is the cute photo I'd been keeping to myself. (Oh, and there are more photos from the commercial shoot at my Flickr feed.)
Dear AIG:
Seeing as you seem to have plenty of wealth to distribute and seeing as some Americans (including performing artists) may be facing challenging financial times, I thought I would take this moment to ask you for money. Not much in the scheme of things, really. Simply put: as an artist I could function well for quite some time with $60,000 post-tax dollars, no strings attached. Just think of this as an artist grant that will greatly enrich the cultural quotient of these United States. Based on what you've been able to apportion in recent days, this amount is only 0.0036% of the $165,000,000 you shared as bonuses. See? A mere fraction of the many funds afforded you by hardworking American taxpayers.
This entire bonus amount, $165,000,000, when divided into equal $60,000 grants could actually be used to promote the creative lives of 2,750 American artists, thereby keeping funds in America, fostering American cultivation and motivating our sluggish national economy. Or halved, these funds could be shared amongst 5,500 American artists, which works out to 110 artists in every state!
What will these funds do?, I hear you asking. A sensible question, indeed. I am an active, established professional working in the performing arts community, as evidenced by my web site and this blog among other things. These grant funds will enable me to further my own professional development of specific areas such as acting, singing, dancing, improvisation, and other similar disciplines, as well as recitals, concerts, one-woman shows and other like performances. As a fiscally-savvy girl, I can make these $60,000 last at least five years and I'll be glad to share quarterly budget reports with you that will detail--transparently--where every cent is responsibly spent.
To learn how you might take advantage of this opportunity to sponsor me as a performing artist, please send an email message to publicrelations@aleciabatson.com with a request for more information. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Alecia
Well, maybe not catfish, but something yummy. I numbered yesterday's comments in sequence from oldest to most recent. I can say with certainty that ellen is the lucky recipient of the swag bag, including the gift certificate to Legal Sea Foods where she may pick whatever meal she likes. Congratulations!
Yep! It's Wednesday, March 18 (at least where I am it is), and it's swag bag give-away time!
I can hear you asking, "What's so great about this swag bag, Alecia?" Well, let me list a few of the fabulous items you'll find should you be the lucky recipient of this bag:
Yesterday I performed "Ich folge dir gleichfalls" from J.S. Bach's Johannes Passion as part of the worship services at Boston's Old South Church. The other members of the ensemble were good friend Sam Ou, cello, and young parishioner Will Palmer, flute. It went well, I think. I was confident in my performance, had a good time while singing and feel the piece was well-received by the members of the congregation, including an interactive baby in the second pew that freely gave commentary. Minister Nancy Taylor thanked me for my contributions at the end of the service with kind compliments. Nice!
postscript: I neglected to mention that our ensemble performance was preceded by a ringing cell phone prelude. Most apropos of a church service, don't you think?
Recently I booked an audition and yesterday I hopped in a cab to go give it my best shot. The spot this time is for a straight-to-web industrial, showcasing the functionality of a web site's services. When I walked in I was directed to a very hip conference space (with small windowboxes filled with plastic wheatgrass and galaxies printed on the table) where I found a friend rehearsing the same copy. (Hi, Margot!)
I had a few minutes to myself to walk about and mumble my lines. I'm sure some of the folks walking through the conference area thought I was a bit odd, but that's nothing new. Anyway, after a ten-minute wait I was called in to read. I had my own copy in hand, but the text was written out in large form on a flip chart as well. The client asked me to take my hair down. I'd worn it up specifically and was hesitant to take it down, knowing it would have that rumpled, been-crammed-in-an-updo look. But, as the client is always right, I happily complied and tried to tame my mane with my fingers. The read itself went quite well, actually, and I did several takes with direction in between. The client and I got along well and I think I was able to execute what was desired.
I'm not sure how I might feel if I actually got the gig. I've done web work before and one particular video project I have in mind, while a good learning experience, was lacking in a variety of professional aspects and wasn't the most fun. Nevertheless, I made a new and good connection, and I look forward to see what comes of the audition.
These past two weeks, Fate Scores has been piling up the film fest acceptance letters. (As a reminder, I was AD on the project and I also recorded the vocal track of the original score, which was composed by Christian Coleman.) Here is a listing of upcoming screenings of our little live action short. Hopefully you can make one of them!
Sunday, 5 April 2009: Fate Scores will screen at the Wisconsin Film Festival (as previously reported) at 1 PM at the Chazen Museum of Art in Madison, WI. It is also part of a series called Disparate Voices: Asian American Film, which is presented by the UW Asian American Studies Program.
Sunday, 5 April 2009: The Southeast New England Film, Music and Arts Festival screens Fate Scores at 4:30 PM at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Auditorium in Providence, RI.
Saturday, 25 April 2009: Fate Scores screens at the Boston International Film Festival as part of Session 37, from 6:00-7:50 PM at the Loews Theatre/AMC Boston Common.
23-26 April 2009: Fate Scores will be shown at On Location: Memphis International Film Festival. The schedule hasn't been announced yet, but I'll post the details once they're published.
Earlier this week I had the good fortune to work with Picture Park on a new TV spot for the Massachusetts State Lottery. The featured game seemed to be Billion Dollar Bonanza and I think the final, edited spot will be quite cute.
It was an early day for me, with a call time of 7 AM at a location about an hour away. However, there was another spot for the same campaign shooting before me. I can't imagine the call time for those guys! Jean was the make-up artist on set and the gregarious Vern was in charge of wardrobe. Both made all the talent look first-rate.
The spot I worked on told the story of a girl driving into a parking garage. The temperature was rather low in my little, top-down convertible:
