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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Adversity

How we face pressure and adversity defines us as people but also as artists, some people rise up and some people give up when tried.
Those who succeed will find the positive even it be very small, they fight, they persevere, they focus on the positive: Coming out on the other side is the best thing one can do. Those who give up when threatened by adversity can end up embittered. 
Persevering through adversity makes one stronger and healthier. 
Through honesty and integrity one can do anything, one can be faced with anything and still end up on the other side. Concentration, commitment, compassion and conquering will alway leave one feeling better and stronger. Quitting and quarrelling will get one no where and will leave one feeling frustrated and weaker.
Things don't go always to plan, one will be faced with trials, speed bumps, ickiness, one may feel like giving up but what does that say about you if you do? And what does it say about you if you stick it out and get to the other side?

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Lost in translation

I have started teaching & coaching again and I am over-the-moon. The actors in the studio inspire me & move me.

I have found that what I hold dear (a technique that I learnt under the mentorship of Amy Werba, an actor who worked directly with Lee Strasberg and Shelley Winters on a scholarship at the actor's studio) is being lost in translation.   I have found myself righting the wrongs that have occurred elsewhere, places churning out confused and hurt actors. Be careful of your heart, actors.

Is there any way to get back to the root of this teaching with the main man no longer here?...Is this lost-in-translation-new technique hurting actors? Making them confused, absolutely. Hurting...just ask them.

I employ classical and Stanislavski exercises in my class too but I would say that Strasberg method runs deep in my work. I am a second generation Strasberg teacher and when I teach Strasberg exercises I make sure that it is clear the WHY the exercises were devised and WHY actors are doing them and WHERE they come from.   I, especially, do not take credit for them. Strasberg exercises aren't magic! It is acting work 'tis all.

Question: Why do actor's no longer read?

No matter what technique you adhere to make sure you do your homework, see if it is a right fit for you. Try everything, find what works for you. I enjoy actors who can have an open mind. An actor's tool box should be full and full with many different tools.

I continue to love doing the job I do, I am constantly changing with the time but when I teach old exercises I do not adapt them, I do not steal, I give credit where it is due.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

I am not an F'ing baby so let me go in the corner if I want to.

(written in a stream of consciousness)

Is there a point in life that people don't baby you?  Because you're the youngest, you look young, you are short, you don't know everything, you show vulnerability, you aren't rolling in money, you're an artist, you have a kid or you are a woman.

Even when you are in your 90's, people end up treating you like a baby, and I am NOT looking forward to that. I now understand my Nanny Rooney who would always say "I am not a baby, so stop treating me like one". She was right, I did treat her (at the age of 17) like she was incapable. What cheek on my behalf, she had lived a life. Definitely a harder one than I, as she lived through a war plus much more.
63 years my senior at the time, and there I was judging her. Shame on me.

Do you relate? I am sure everyone at some point in their life has baby'ed someone or thought they know best for the other person.  You know what - what gives us the right? No matter how old we are.

I was trying to think of people I do that to and only found that I have been that way with my dad, when he started smoking again. What gives me the right? Yes, concern. But why tell him what to do? He provided for me all my life, worked a job from the crack of dawn to dark so that I could live an amazing childhood and I am here judging him. I sit there and pass judgement not concern. No wonder he said it was none of my business. You are right, It isn't. Why start or end the sentence with "you shouldn't do that" or "you know what you should do". Why not just voice your concern but not tell 'em what to do.

I know it doesn't make for a good relationship. Why is it that I regret asking for advice or help in the first place? Because once you do that it never stops there. It opens the door to a constant stream.

I have had it with the constant babying, the constant I-know-best-for-you-attitude.   I hope that people give JJ a little credit when he's nearly 30.

Don't even get me started with looking young and therefore getting unwanted advice.

It is in my knowledge that people pay for advice and for good reason. I believe there is a time and place, there is the wanted and the unwanted help. If I don't get the unwanted from my folks why should I get at all really.

Or being a woman...weak right? I call BS.

I have noticed that once you get pregnant and have a kid you are constantly getting the unwanted. People telling you how it will be, how to do things, how, how, how!

Is it people who think they are better than you who do this? Or think they have more power? Why is figuring it out on your own and making your own mistakes not enough anymore? Why try to prevent things, why try and control everybody else. Has respect flown out the window?

If someone wants to be in the corner, why not let them be. If they want to jump off a small cliff into safe water but you wouldn't, why tell them they are wrong. People should wonder why they are constantly advising others.

Some people reading this may find it is pin-pointed at them. I guess those who see themselves in this note have good reason to, inside or outside my life. Be mad at me for calling a spade a spade, I guess.

I am an adult, a strong woman, a committed artist, a loving mother, I may not be financially rich, I am comfortable with my emotions, I am not scared of you, I may make mistakes but aren't those mine to make?

I want to be in the corner or I don't want to be in the corner it's ultimately my choice. I can think and stick-up for myself.

I am not telling you what to do as that would be hypocritical. Do what you want, but I have had enough of being hurt by this very thing. This blog could have very well been called WHY, I have used the word a lot.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Time to be a mum

It has been a while that I haven't blogged but for good reason. I had a son.

I was contemplating whether or not I'd share my labor experience here but decided, it is rare to have purely private moments only shared with family anymore, so I am keeping it.  Just know, it was the most exhilirating experience I have ever had and I am not scared to do it again.

Now time to be a mum, which means "Mum you have no time."
Time takes on a whole new meaning when you have a little one, you literarly time everything from breast-feeding to sleep, and it is exhausting.
It is only now that I have the time to write this blog, tidy the house and have not-rushed showers. It is nice to be able to take a breather.

JJ is everything. We are lucky to have such a happy baby who slept through the night pretty much from the beginning.

Major things have happened in our lives since moving to Toronto and apart from missing friends and family from Vancouver, it is our home now.

We just bought a beautiful semi-detached home in Corso Italia and are going to do renovations as soon as we move in, in November.
Adding a 1 Bedroom + Den basement apartment suite with walk-in closet to rent out starting February 1st 2012.
Relocating laundry to main floor.
Painting walls
Carpeting a bedroom
Redoing the main kitchen

Tomorrow I am teaching a three day acting intensive.

Life is pretty good for us right now.

I will post again soon, this blog was just to warm you up.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Big Mac versus Filet Mignon Acting

The word Calibre is often used to identify a hardworking, powerful and talented actor but I am going to steer clear of the weapon terminology so often used in the film industry. I am going for a beefier option using food as my analogy. After all everyone loves to eat but not everyone loves to bear arms.

Warning : Vegetarians and non-beef lovers please find your adequate substitutions.

There are so many McDonalds and so little haute cuisine in the film industry nowadays. The fast-food actors heavily out-weigh the Filet Mignons.

Let us start with the rudimentary ingredients you Big Mac actors...
A frozen patty, a standard bun of processed white bread with sexy tasteless sesame seeds on top, iceberg frozen lettuce, artificially sweetened ketchup & mayo, onions and a pickle to show you off.

So Big Mac's, you look good in photos and on film but you are processed and sometimes you look and taste awful in person. Mind you, you will always find your audience though, those who enjoy a bit of junk from time to time and those who are junk addicts. Think U.S.
You are far more successful than your counterpart because you are quick, cheap and can be replaced very easily by a carbon copy.

Now comes preparation...
Your local high-school drop-out can cook you up. Fast-food training is all that is needed so, sign up to your local money grabbing establishment and get your two hours of training a week. It's all you need to succeed, promise. Hit that processing machine because God forbid your patty measures slightly thicker than the norm. Thinner can be tolerated because it means people get less than what they pay for, so the corporation makes a profit. Just like not stacking the fries up to the top or giving 1 packet of ketchup for the extra large, semi-filled, fries.

As long as you have the basic ingredients you are on your way to the audience; but wait!
Common practice at McDonalds: When the restaurant is busy you get cooked up even if no one orders you and if you sit without an audience for too long (15min.) you are thrown in the trash!!! gasp.

But, Big Mac, I am sure you enjoy yourself. Well done, you look like every other Big Mac, you get gobbled up, you rarely get burnt and the corporation makes a lot of money off your bun. Congratulations, with a minimum preparation, basic ingredients and false good looks you will blend into the crowd quite nicely. You are bland.

How about being you? How about being a gourmet actor?

You, Filet Mignon actor, look good too in photos and on film but you are unique. Your grain is individual, your garnish is never identical and sometimes you don't look that appealing but, oh my, you still taste so good.

You can get cooked up in many different ways...
Blue, bloody, rare, medium rare, medium, medium well, well. You can be grilled, stewed, stir-fried, panfried, oven cooked, spiced, sweetened, covered in chocolate, mushroom, pepper, blue cheese sauce...The list goes on and on and on.

You need the best preparations and are taken on by the best, trained, committed Chef's out there because they have the guts and love to prepare and cook you up,  unlike your average fast-food joint.
When you get a complex order like cooked rare, you might fail miserably because you have to be cooked at the right temperature, but you are willing to take that risk.

Now, I know you are only available in high end restaurants nowadays, especially in the U.S., but in Europe, some areas of North America and other worldly destinations one can find a gem like you at a local butcher, brasserie, bistro.

You are ready to work hard to be found, you will always fight for your inclusion in the industry and you will be ordered by those who don't enjoy junk and aren't into you solely for the money, because you may not be a sure-thing but you are certainly better tasting than your counterpart.

I have seen Filet Mignon actors quit and grind themselves up into a standard patty, freeze and go get fast-food training to be a Big Mac, but I believe you can be better than a processed piece of meat. How about being a Filet Mignon burger? Don the sesame bun from time to time but you will be meatier and far tastier. Don't grind yourself up and add trans fat & MSG to be like everyone else.

As an experiment I am going to cook up a frozen patty and a Filet Mignon and see which one my dog eats first.

I know some of you out there would choose a Big Mac over a filet Mignon or would want to be junk rather than premium...Has today's consumerism really killed our taste buds?

I asked a question on my facebook, not many responded... scared maybe?... But of the new faces out there in the industry these have been voted your beefy gourmet actors:

Ryan Gosling, James Franco, Andrew Garfield, Paul Dano, Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy, Amanda Seyfried, Natalie Portman, Amy Adams.

Mature Beef: Meryl Streep, Daniel Day Lewis, Forest Whitaker, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Kate Winslet, Christian Bale, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, Blu Mankuma, Colin Firth, Michael Pena, Holly Hunter, Benicio Del Torro, Sean Penn, Hillary Swank, Ralph Fiennes, Cate Blanchett, Robert DeNiro

Keep them coming...I might disagree with your nominations but that's life.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Been a long time

Oh yes, I started a blog. Posted some topics but then gave up for a while- actually I found out I was pregnant and then my main focus became about updating my facebook page with pregnancy pictures.

Man, I am going to have a son. JJ is what I call him now, we hesitated for a long time about the name:  We knew we liked John for the middle name (my dad's name, Kyle's dad's middle name and Kyle's real name Johnathan). Then we went from Jackson to Jameson to Jonas to so many it's ridiculous back to Jaxen...but then not confirmed.

Jaxen John Labine, sounds like a badass. I wouldn't mess with him, actually you really don't because he kicks really hard sometimes. But AGAIN not sure it will be Jaxen/Jackson...it's so hard picking a name.

So, I didn't know I was pregnant for a whole month. I hadn't planned to be pregnant but then boom I peed on a stick and it was positive.

I started this blog to journal our trip across the country but I didn't realise just what an adventure we had embarked on. We were moving from British Columbia to Ontario and had packed our life in a 10X10 cargo trailer and were couch surfing saying goodbye to friends and family and then I got a craving for ice cream! A sign!

For those of you who don't know me I am not the dessert-kind-of-girl, give me a bag of crisps and you'll make me the happiest girl in the world. So this was a big event for Mr sweet-tooth Kyle Labine, he was very excited to take me to Marble Slab. And it was good, oooohhh so good.

We didn't twig right then however, not until the next morning when I woke up and thought I had breast cancer (yes, I can get a little carried away with diagnostics) My boobs killed, I sleep on my stomach so I woke up that morning in sheer agony and then we twigged "do you think we could be pregnant?"

Off we went and bought a test, went to our friends Brett & Edana and guess what? Pregnant +

Wow.

We were to leave 2 days later on our cross-country trip...wow, tears...panic...happiness...hugs..."we are going to be parents!"...Holy poop. (I like that word poop- very Canadian).  My son will be Canadian, British and French. oh la la, tres sophisticated, eh?.

We embarked on our road trip, had the best time ever. We ate healthily, we slept in our tent, in our car, drove an average of 12 hours a day and then on the 5th night we stayed at a Spa hotel with a luxury pool.

Canada is beautiful and it will be JJ's home.

More blogs to come, this is just a little refresher blog.

Much love and happy 2011 everyone.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Role Models, Heroes & Mentors


As you get older it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary.
Ernest Hemingway


"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I do not believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they cannot find them, make them." George Bernard Shaw

"Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I shall have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it, even if I may not have it at the beginning." Mahatma Gandhi

"Inside of a ring or out, ain't nothing wrong with going down. It's staying down that's wrong." Muhammad Ali


“What is important to me is not the truth outside myself, but the truth within myself.” Konstantin Stanislavski








I think it is important to look up to people, get inspired by them, learn from their successes and their failures and most of all learn from their experience.
This person may even be younger than you as they may have gone through more life than you.

There are so many times in my life that a Hero/Mentor/Role Model has helped shape me, helped me find the truthful me and has seen through the hard exterior or bullshit to see me and my potential. 

One of the main criteria of a mentor is to believe in and protect it's protege. The definition of a MENTOR is a wise and trusted counselor or teacher or influential patron.

In my opinion it can be family, teachers, friends or people you know, not those you don't know! Maybe those are what we call heroes or idols but remember they cannot hear you!

My shout outs, past and present.

MY MENTOR
Amy Werba

FAMILY
Dad
Mum
Jim
Grandad
Uncle Terry
Justine
Auntie Margaret
Kyle Labine
Cam Labine
Tyler Labine

FRIENDS/PEOPLE I KNOW/TEACHERS
Liana Saleh
Lori Triolo
Lynne Stopkewich

SCHOOL TEACHERS
Miss Thornett
Mr Hill
Mrs Hontanx
Mr Murphy
Mr Peary
Mme LeMaire