Once I wrapped work on The Madres, I gotta admit that I was pretty wiped. It is a demanding role and that was a demanding production. I left town for a minute to clear my head (and ended up clearing the property line at my sister's ranch in Texas - talk about a change of scenery!) But before I did, I had the wonderful opportunity to work with director Maya Albanese who was participating in the first annual Commercial Directors Diversity Program by the Director's Guild of America.
The commercial world is notoriously a white boy's club. I'd actually not thought about it much but upon reflection realized that I had only ever worked with white male directors in commercials. And only auditioned for a woman once and a Latino male once!
I mean...it's kinda crazy to find yourself on a set one day, surrounded by mostly women and led by an astounding young female director and realize that the experience was brand new!
And I gotta tell you...it's a gorgeous spot. Maya was SMARTLY signed by the production company that mentored her. The woman knows what she's doing.
You can watch ALL the great spots from the program at www.cddprogam.org.
After that, I shot an episode of a very funny show on TV Land called "Teachers". Silly stuff!!
Then, playwright Jennie Webb asked me to play the protagonist in her new play "Footprint" as part of the Road Theater Company's wonderful New Works Festival.
BOY, this was a tricky play to tackle in just a few days. But thankfully, we had a strong cast and director and the audience loved it! Yay! With new play readings, you are just doing your best to bring the work to life as much as possible to help the playwright and move them closer to production. It's a great festival and I highly recommend it!
Enjoying this busy summer!
Arianna