A day off is never really a day off, is it? I remember being in college/just out of college and lying in bed all day because I had nothing to do. Or rather I had things to do I just didn't care to do them.
Well here I am, late twenties, waking up naturally at 7:30am and taking care of business. The apartment's a mess, I have to see my chiropractor, I have to go over my lines and music for Gint, the gym is calling my name, we have no groceries, there's theatre to see…
Exasperating! There have been times that I wish I could just curl under the covers and disappear on days like today. And thank goodness I have a car because seriously I wouldn't be able to do any of this without a car. Or I would…but maybe I'm too lazy…maybe I'm not.
What is nice about days off in general is that when you're in rehearsal for a physically strenuous show (read: GINT) is that you can refocus, recenter, regroup. So that's what I'm doing. One cup of coffee at a time.
While I'm writing this of course I'm thinking about OMG I need to email the world about Gint, get casting directors to see it, or even just let them know it's happening….
Okay, Cindy, stop. You can't do that now, you're doing this now. You are brewing coffee and writing this blog. Stay focused.
So Gint. We just finished our first full week of blocking rehearsal and I think it's safe to say that we needed this day off. It has been so physical, there has been so much technicality involved that by the end of rehearsal I'm ready for a nap.
But I'm having a blast. I actually haven't had this much fun in a long time working on a show. Yesterday we staged this big hog/troll scene and I couldn't stop laughing, I was having so much fun. It was exhausting, sure, but I was throwing myself into it and having a blast. I can't wait to delve deeper, but I gotta say, thank goodness for days off.
Not too much to update on other than Gint. Please come see it, the cast is incredible and I think it's going to be a gorgeous show. Also there's a hootenanny that I'm arranging the music for before the show and you can have beer, cheese, and pork rinds. What more do you need?
GINT tickets and info…
Alright so now I have to go do the things that I really really need to do. Onward.
-Cindy
Monday, April 14, 2014
Friday, March 21, 2014
Keeping Focused
Hey everyone!
It's been a while since my last post. And of course I'm not going to remember all the updates but here goes…
1. The fundraiser is over and I raised $700!
While I didn't raise all of the funds I needed in order to really get a jump on distribution go my demo, I did get a jump on getting a small home studio that I can set up and take down, with amazing equipment as suggested by my coach. The only thing remaining is getting a really really good mic stand but that's easy enough to purchase. Also, with the money I am now on Master Reel, a year long subscription on PDR Voice Over Coaching's website where producers and voice seekers can listen to my reel. I had to be invited to be on there so it's an honor. What's nice is now I can set up the home studio and record record record and submit submit submit. It's difficult to find the time though because…
2. Holy hell in a hand basket, I'm busy…
I'm working at Starbucks, I'm doing SP work, I'm working out, it's audition season, I'm a part of a singing competition (more on that in a second), I'm seeing theatre, and still for some reason I'm saying yes to more projects. I need to learn to say no….again. I thought I had that down. It's hard to say no when you don't know a few months down the line how busy you are going to get! It's good to recognize and be aware of. I'm trying to figure that out. Figuring out priorities is hard. But knowing that I need the time to record my VO work is necessary for me to progress in this industry. And make a living for myself. It's getting there. I'm getting there.
3. I'm in a singing competition!
It's called Song Wars and it's hosted by Mimi Imfurst! Yes, Mimi Imfurst from RuPaul's Drag Race season 3! I must admit when I first met her I was star struck. So the first week we had blind auditions a la The Voice and I was terrified. But Cleo Phatra chose me to be on her team! This week we had a showcase and it actually turned out to be a lot of fun. I got to meet and talk with other contestants and the other two mentors. Then we all sang and it was a blast, everyone is so talented. I sang "We Can Do Better Than That" from The Last Five Years and I'm very proud of myself.
Next week the competition officially begins and I will be singing "Love Game" and the group will be performing "Bad Romance". I was talking to my boyfriend last night about my goal in the competition. My goal isn't to win. My goal is to do my absolute creative best every week until I get eliminated. Of course winning would be great but if I get ahead of myself I won't focus on what matters. Each week.
If you are in Philly on Wednesday nights, please come and see my perform at Voyeur. The shows start at 11pm. They are bound to be fantastic nights of entertainment. $3 drinks from 10-11.
That's about what I got for ya so far. I'll be updating about the competition and more in the next few weeks. Until then….
xox
-Cindy
It's been a while since my last post. And of course I'm not going to remember all the updates but here goes…
1. The fundraiser is over and I raised $700!
While I didn't raise all of the funds I needed in order to really get a jump on distribution go my demo, I did get a jump on getting a small home studio that I can set up and take down, with amazing equipment as suggested by my coach. The only thing remaining is getting a really really good mic stand but that's easy enough to purchase. Also, with the money I am now on Master Reel, a year long subscription on PDR Voice Over Coaching's website where producers and voice seekers can listen to my reel. I had to be invited to be on there so it's an honor. What's nice is now I can set up the home studio and record record record and submit submit submit. It's difficult to find the time though because…
2. Holy hell in a hand basket, I'm busy…
I'm working at Starbucks, I'm doing SP work, I'm working out, it's audition season, I'm a part of a singing competition (more on that in a second), I'm seeing theatre, and still for some reason I'm saying yes to more projects. I need to learn to say no….again. I thought I had that down. It's hard to say no when you don't know a few months down the line how busy you are going to get! It's good to recognize and be aware of. I'm trying to figure that out. Figuring out priorities is hard. But knowing that I need the time to record my VO work is necessary for me to progress in this industry. And make a living for myself. It's getting there. I'm getting there.
3. I'm in a singing competition!
It's called Song Wars and it's hosted by Mimi Imfurst! Yes, Mimi Imfurst from RuPaul's Drag Race season 3! I must admit when I first met her I was star struck. So the first week we had blind auditions a la The Voice and I was terrified. But Cleo Phatra chose me to be on her team! This week we had a showcase and it actually turned out to be a lot of fun. I got to meet and talk with other contestants and the other two mentors. Then we all sang and it was a blast, everyone is so talented. I sang "We Can Do Better Than That" from The Last Five Years and I'm very proud of myself.
Next week the competition officially begins and I will be singing "Love Game" and the group will be performing "Bad Romance". I was talking to my boyfriend last night about my goal in the competition. My goal isn't to win. My goal is to do my absolute creative best every week until I get eliminated. Of course winning would be great but if I get ahead of myself I won't focus on what matters. Each week.
If you are in Philly on Wednesday nights, please come and see my perform at Voyeur. The shows start at 11pm. They are bound to be fantastic nights of entertainment. $3 drinks from 10-11.
That's about what I got for ya so far. I'll be updating about the competition and more in the next few weeks. Until then….
xox
-Cindy
Monday, February 3, 2014
Asking people for money is...weird...and other tales from a contemplative snow day
Today, work was cancelled. So I wrote a to do list and I'm trying to crack away at it. Some of it I like doing, most of it I don't. Today, I overhauled my website to make it simpler and cleaner, smaller and more streamlined and "user friendly" (www.cindyspitko.com). So there's that. I've also reached out to specific groups of people in my life and said HEY! I'M DOING THIS FUNDRAISER PLLEEEAASSEE HELP!
Oh yeah so I'm doing this fundraiser thing.......
Okay so I have some money that needs to be raised...rather, funds that should be collected...that is...ugh this is not my forté.
"I don't make a lot of money and someday I'd like to. Click here to donate"
That's what I should put on my fundanything.com website instead of the long paragraphs about my training and a complete breakdown of where my money is going. Yeah. That'll work...right?
I don't know what will work, but understand when I tell you that I was terrified to launch a fundraiser for a bit of monetary help with my voice over career. After I launched it and sent it haphazardly to about 80 people in my contacts list, I went to work at Starbucks and barked at my friend. He called me out on it. And then I felt bad.
I've donated money to a lot of friends' fundraisers, I've gone to many fundraisers. I never realized how unabashedly stressful they are. I was so afraid that people would be just angry at me for simply asking and I found myself reiterating you know you can donate as low as $1!!!.
I had to convince myself that I was worthy of this fundraiser, that my project is a business and is just as worthy as my friends' fundraisers and projects. I'm not a bad person for setting up a fund raiser and I'm not a bad person if I don't meet the goal. I'm just a human looking for a little financial help, I'm a businesswoman starting a business, I'm a career-oriented actor. And I've budgeted and I did, in fact, lay out all the ways in which the money would be spent.
There's less than 45 days left and that's a lot of time to really reach out to people and say hey, I need your help, we knew each other once, how about a few bucks?
Here's the link...
https://fundanything.com/en/campaigns/home-voice-over-studio-beginning-vo-career?col=-36418
_________________________________________________________________________________
Also...Philip Seymour Hoffman.
I'm...not devastated, not bereft. I didn't know him though I do know people who knew him. I'm sad. I'm sad, for the first time ever, really, about a celebrity death. Heath Ledger was tragic as well but I didn't feel like I knew him. I didn't know Philip Seymour Hoffman but I felt closer to him.
He was in NYC, a city I frequent. He was at his peak in terms of doing theatre and film work when I was a teenager and I was really REALLY into it. I saw every movie he was in at that time. I waited backstage for him at "Long Days...."and instead met Brian Dennehy (who was LOVELY) and I asked him about PSH and he said he snuck out another door. There's a little known gem written and directed by Mamet called "State and Main" that I watched over and over and over again just so I could see him and Rebecca Pidgeon fall in love. The strangest yet most honest relationship I've seen in a movie. Normal people, falling in extraordinarily normal love. And it made me melt.
I guess his death is surprising in that I really didn't know much about his drug problem. I knew he had struggled with it when he was younger but I didn't know to what extent. I didn't want to hear about the bathroom and all that because he seemed above that. I don't want to remember him in that image. And I'll try my best not to.
There isn't much more I can say other than, be kind to one another. Celebrate one another, cherish the opportunities around you, and try to think positively.
Good bye, Philip Seymour Hoffman. A triumph of an actor. I'll miss him so so much.
Oh yeah so I'm doing this fundraiser thing.......
Okay so I have some money that needs to be raised...rather, funds that should be collected...that is...ugh this is not my forté.
"I don't make a lot of money and someday I'd like to. Click here to donate"
That's what I should put on my fundanything.com website instead of the long paragraphs about my training and a complete breakdown of where my money is going. Yeah. That'll work...right?
I don't know what will work, but understand when I tell you that I was terrified to launch a fundraiser for a bit of monetary help with my voice over career. After I launched it and sent it haphazardly to about 80 people in my contacts list, I went to work at Starbucks and barked at my friend. He called me out on it. And then I felt bad.
I've donated money to a lot of friends' fundraisers, I've gone to many fundraisers. I never realized how unabashedly stressful they are. I was so afraid that people would be just angry at me for simply asking and I found myself reiterating you know you can donate as low as $1!!!.
I had to convince myself that I was worthy of this fundraiser, that my project is a business and is just as worthy as my friends' fundraisers and projects. I'm not a bad person for setting up a fund raiser and I'm not a bad person if I don't meet the goal. I'm just a human looking for a little financial help, I'm a businesswoman starting a business, I'm a career-oriented actor. And I've budgeted and I did, in fact, lay out all the ways in which the money would be spent.
There's less than 45 days left and that's a lot of time to really reach out to people and say hey, I need your help, we knew each other once, how about a few bucks?
Here's the link...
https://fundanything.com/en/campaigns/home-voice-over-studio-beginning-vo-career?col=-36418
_________________________________________________________________________________
Also...Philip Seymour Hoffman.
I'm...not devastated, not bereft. I didn't know him though I do know people who knew him. I'm sad. I'm sad, for the first time ever, really, about a celebrity death. Heath Ledger was tragic as well but I didn't feel like I knew him. I didn't know Philip Seymour Hoffman but I felt closer to him.
He was in NYC, a city I frequent. He was at his peak in terms of doing theatre and film work when I was a teenager and I was really REALLY into it. I saw every movie he was in at that time. I waited backstage for him at "Long Days...."and instead met Brian Dennehy (who was LOVELY) and I asked him about PSH and he said he snuck out another door. There's a little known gem written and directed by Mamet called "State and Main" that I watched over and over and over again just so I could see him and Rebecca Pidgeon fall in love. The strangest yet most honest relationship I've seen in a movie. Normal people, falling in extraordinarily normal love. And it made me melt.
I guess his death is surprising in that I really didn't know much about his drug problem. I knew he had struggled with it when he was younger but I didn't know to what extent. I didn't want to hear about the bathroom and all that because he seemed above that. I don't want to remember him in that image. And I'll try my best not to.
There isn't much more I can say other than, be kind to one another. Celebrate one another, cherish the opportunities around you, and try to think positively.
Good bye, Philip Seymour Hoffman. A triumph of an actor. I'll miss him so so much.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
...Oh...HERE'S Our White Christmas...
Happy Snow Day!
It is indeed snowing COPIOUS amounts in Philadelphia. Our mayor declared it a snow emergency. All my jobs were cancelled the rest of today and tomorrow as well. So I have a lot of time to do the things I didn't believe I had time for.
I'm in the midst of transcribing audio-recordings for a theatre in Trenton. I've done this sort of thing before, transcribing hours and hours of dialogue that may be used in an upcoming production....which is super cool. I've learned so much about, just, people and the way they live.
The other company I transcribed for interviewed elderly people that were in an acting troupe together. The interviews were mainly about their memories and I must admit I found myself seeing their stories in my head while they talked. Some of them painted pictures with their words. They spoke romantically of the first time they met their husbands. One woman talked about how she basically forced her way into going to UPenn for her Masters and Ph.D., it was empowering. A man, a previous dog owner, talked about how he almost shoved a homeless guy in front of a moving bus in Manhattan, on purpose. The homeless man walked away with the dog while it was tied up in front of a pharmacy while the man was inside. When the man walked out and saw that his dog was missing he snapped. And then...he almost pushed a homeless guy in front of a moving bus in Manhattan....on purpose.
This round of transcriptions is about very different things, but still about life experiences. I'll talk more on that later.
Also today I researched how to set up a quick and affordable home recording studio. I have a mic that isn't the best quality but it's what I have for now and I need to find a way that I can set up the mic really quickly and go. Tomorrow will be the day...that I conquer the mini home studio. Or at least I'll get partially there...you know, because of the snow and all...
Because my work was cancelled I'll have time to work on my construction project and the transcriptions. Crossing my fingers that I can get to Bikram tomorrow (LOVING IT, by the way). And just getting rest and taking care of myself. Looking forward to a super recharge tomorrow. More good news is on the way........
Alrighty, it's time to make some dinner and then transcribe!
Love and peace,
-Cindy
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
New Year, New Me?
Greetings all!
I'm in Starbucks right now, with the scent of mocha wafting through the air. The floor-to-ceiling windows fogged from the humidity of the air. The rain gently misting over the city. It's peaceful. After working at this Starbucks for a month I can officially say that this Starbucks in particular breathes through the day. There's a constant flow of people but the flow of people varies, lines form and then they order and drift away. It's like being inside an organ, a beating heart almost.
Well it's 2014. I can say that I'm happy the holiday season is over, even though I was looking forward to it all month and then it came and went so quickly I barely had time to acknowledge that it was in fact Christmas time in the first place. The holidays are over, I ate all the turkey stuffing, Santa's back taking a nap, and I am preparing for 2014.
Preparing you may ask? Almost like I'm nesting. Like 2014 is my baby and I'm creating a happy home for it to be birthed into. 2014 is my year. To re-imagine my career, to reach those tough life goals that I was too chicken-poop to do in my early twenties.
First of all, tomorrow is a big, important day for me. I am going to NYC and recording my demo with Peter Rofe. I am THRILLED. Beyond...anything emotion I can quantify. I am looking forward to working on my craft all day tomorrow. Really digging deep and finding my voice even more so. You never stop learning. I always have to remind myself of that.
Secondly, I'm proud to announce that I am in a show with EgoPo in May called GINT. Based on Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt. I am playing The Woman. Any other actors have "woman" or "girl" or "performer" listed a bunch of times on your resume? I certainly do. That aside I'm working with a fantastic cast and director. Again, I can't wait to dig deep.
I had to take a break from going to NYC for classes for a bit because of paying for Peter's class and how busy my schedule was. But now that I'm in the clear I can start going back up there and spending more time getting back into meeting people and getting feedback. It's hard to have your finger on the pulse all the time. You get caught up in one thing and then you lose track of the various other things. It ebbs and flows. Like a beating heart. Or, if you will, a Starbucks.
I'm happy, I'm starting bikram yoga which is terrifying and rewarding at the same time. I'm on an unlimited first month so I can try it out and see how I like it. So far I'm liking it a lot. I think mixing it up with my weight lifting and walking I could really get healthy. Which is all that I really want to do. I just want to be healthy. The holidays wore me out, so again, it's part of the nesting process. My 2014 baby.
I must finish up some work before heading to yoga in a bit. You never stop learning and you never stop achieving.
In love and creativity,
-Cindy
I'm in Starbucks right now, with the scent of mocha wafting through the air. The floor-to-ceiling windows fogged from the humidity of the air. The rain gently misting over the city. It's peaceful. After working at this Starbucks for a month I can officially say that this Starbucks in particular breathes through the day. There's a constant flow of people but the flow of people varies, lines form and then they order and drift away. It's like being inside an organ, a beating heart almost.
Well it's 2014. I can say that I'm happy the holiday season is over, even though I was looking forward to it all month and then it came and went so quickly I barely had time to acknowledge that it was in fact Christmas time in the first place. The holidays are over, I ate all the turkey stuffing, Santa's back taking a nap, and I am preparing for 2014.
Preparing you may ask? Almost like I'm nesting. Like 2014 is my baby and I'm creating a happy home for it to be birthed into. 2014 is my year. To re-imagine my career, to reach those tough life goals that I was too chicken-poop to do in my early twenties.
First of all, tomorrow is a big, important day for me. I am going to NYC and recording my demo with Peter Rofe. I am THRILLED. Beyond...anything emotion I can quantify. I am looking forward to working on my craft all day tomorrow. Really digging deep and finding my voice even more so. You never stop learning. I always have to remind myself of that.
Secondly, I'm proud to announce that I am in a show with EgoPo in May called GINT. Based on Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt. I am playing The Woman. Any other actors have "woman" or "girl" or "performer" listed a bunch of times on your resume? I certainly do. That aside I'm working with a fantastic cast and director. Again, I can't wait to dig deep.
I had to take a break from going to NYC for classes for a bit because of paying for Peter's class and how busy my schedule was. But now that I'm in the clear I can start going back up there and spending more time getting back into meeting people and getting feedback. It's hard to have your finger on the pulse all the time. You get caught up in one thing and then you lose track of the various other things. It ebbs and flows. Like a beating heart. Or, if you will, a Starbucks.
I'm happy, I'm starting bikram yoga which is terrifying and rewarding at the same time. I'm on an unlimited first month so I can try it out and see how I like it. So far I'm liking it a lot. I think mixing it up with my weight lifting and walking I could really get healthy. Which is all that I really want to do. I just want to be healthy. The holidays wore me out, so again, it's part of the nesting process. My 2014 baby.
I must finish up some work before heading to yoga in a bit. You never stop learning and you never stop achieving.
In love and creativity,
-Cindy
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