Ya down with CESD? Yeah you know me!

Time: November 16, 2007

So, I just signed an exclusive contract with Cunningham, Escott,Slevin and Doherty or CESD. I've been meeting with several of the top commercial agencies over the past couple of weeks, and although it was a tough decision, I truly feel that CESD is the agency for me. The on-camera agents, Adrienne, Dedra and David are professional, fun and friendly, and it's obvious that they know the business. CESD has a strong presence on both coasts, so when I'm in NYC working on a film or a play, I can keep on auditioning.

I started my acting career doing TV commercials, and I've always enjoyed them. I can still remember the first acting class I took in Houston, Texas. I was 10 years old and Lee Duran, my acting teacher, handed me a piece of paper. On it were the words to the Oscar Mayer jingle we all now know and love. The song that taught kids and adults around the country the proper spelling of that funny smelling circular piece of meat often found slapped between two pieces of white bread and slathered with mayo and mustard:

"Myyyy bologna has a first name, it's O-S-C-A-R.
My bologna has a second name, it's M-A-Y-E-R.
Oooooohh I love to eat it every day
And if you ask me why I'll saaaaaaaaaaaaay
Cuz...
Oscar Mayer has a way with B-O-L-O-G-N-A!"

(Applause)

I remember how much fun I had in that class. Acting should always be that fun.

I worked on several commercials as a teenager and in college, but while in Paris and NYC, I decided to take a break from actively auditioning for them. I needed time to be fully immersed in my process work and that required me to back away from the smiley, lighthearted acting many commercials call for. Over the years I've learned that although commercial acting, film acting and acting for the stage each call for a very different set of of skills, all them, ideally, are based in truth.

It's kind of like speaking different languages... When in France, you speak French. When in Spain, you speak Spanish. But in either country, you still have to listen to what the other person is saying to respond truthfully. You still have to speak clearly to be understood.

Right after signing my contract, I got my L.A. Casting account up and running by going to the office and scanning in my headshot. Much to my surprise I received an email two days later notifying me of first L.A. audition the following day. Nice! I know that commercial auditions are a numbers game, so I hope to be going out very often. I'll keep you posted!