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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Scribble

When I write, I see.

Who would have thought a dyslexic Sophie Rooney would be writing a blog, let alone be writing a feature film? I am sure it would surprise Mr Hill and Miss Thornett (my favourite English teachers at school) or even the pratt Mr Young (who would probably still chuckle)!
Oh, was I ever the rebel in class, I would talk the talk but I wouldn't work the work (?!), let's say my work was - different.

I am writing a feature based on a play, I'm not going to say which one or it will give it away. It's an oldie, though. Set in 1909. I have chosen Windsor, Nova Scotia to be my setting.

My process?

When I wrote my first script, I saw a french actor as the lead character: Mr Philippe Bas, who I'd seen in L'Empire des Loups at the cinema just before writing.
I was in pre-production, a nobody, but I wanted this french star and damn it, I was going to get him in my film!

I happened to be getting headshots done by Beatrice Cruveiller the day after finishing the script.  I was looking through her portfolio awaiting my turn and BOOM there was Philippe Bas. My heart started thumping, this was my chance to be bold.
Inbetween shots I tried over and over to get on to the topic of me being a filmmaker. No dice. Then all of a sudden during a click I blurted out "Do you know Philippe Bas? Because I wrote a film for him."

Silence.

She went on to tell me that he was an amazing actor and a friend and that she would talk to him...butterflies.

Next day my phone rings, guess who? Philippe Bas.
I held it together. I set up a meeting at a cafe across from where I lived in Paris, but once the call ended I screamed with joy and jumped around with Liana my roommate.

Blvd Picpus, Mr Philippe Bas sits with me. He arrives on a motorbike, James Dean - Brando?
I pitch the script. He wants to know about me, he's nice, he's very handsome too which doesn't hurt, right? Oh my, he just said yes.
For free? "Yes." The crew are students and students that have just graduated Philippe, is that ok? "Yes."

I managed to get a famous french actor in my film for nothing. And bonus, Beatrice's daughter is perfect to play his daughter, Bea would Jeanne like to be in my film?  "OUI!"

When I write I hear music too, I heard Rami Khalife's 'Scenes from Hellek'. I was bold and he said "yes!"

Film shot. Prizes won. Festivals galore. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

I now write my feature, my heart is thumping again because I see my DREAM actors when I write.
It's a mix of established and up & comers, mostly Canadian actors and a couple Americans.

I put up a photo of them on my computer screen on day 1 to inspire me and now am putting it on my blog:
I am writing for you amazing actors, I see and hear you. I may not be lucky enough to work with you but right now you are inspiring the characters.

I hope to be lucky with my newest scribble.

Guess who they are...

Before and after and wanting the before again

Filmmaker's weight loss program:
Be happy.
Eat healthily.
Have a French diet.
Walk

I have been struggling with my weight ever since moving to Canada. Why is it that a country should affect me so? or is it that I changed along with the move and lost myself somewhere? Is there really a way to get me back?

Okay the story begins.

I was an extremely sporty girl growing up, I was always active. The sports I partook in, in and out of senior (high) school:

Field Hockey (3x a week and trained with French national team)
Netball
Tennis
Swimming
Cross country running
Basketball
Horse riding

So yes, I was skinny! So skinny that I remember this girl from school, who was older than me and quite chubby, say "Bend sideways Sophie" I had a short top on showing off my flat stomach. She then said "yep no creases or rolls of fat, but it will catch up to you, you will be fat one day" and I remember thinking- what a bitch- but you know what, she was right.

I had surgeries on my knees when I was 11 and was able to excel for quite a while until my problem came back when I was 17 and I stopped playing sports a few years later. I focused on directing and acting, which is a good thing because I love my career and would not want to do anything else.

But being chubby has prevented me from acting...

It's not just Canada:
When I was with my ex boyfriend I started putting weight on, not doing any sport and my diet was coca-cola, crisps and salad and vinegrette. I settled; a mistake.

At the end of our relationship, I started going to film school and guys would notice me and found me beautiful which sparked me into losing weight again. My ex boyfriend and I broke up. I found me again, I started dating and looked good. That's when I booked my first acting gig.

Grandstar (TV series) 2006:
Day one: 53kg
Wrap: 50kg
In love: 48kg
Wedding dress fitting: 49kg

Canada 2007
arrived at YVR weighing 49kg
Big White on set girlfriend: + 4kg
Wedding week: 53kg

and then within 4 months of moving to Vancouver I gained 10kg and have never lost it. I now am 60kg dreaming to be 50kg again.

The diet begins today. I need ME back.

When one leaves

I leave in a month and this is happening to me again...I grew up in France and went to an international school, I changed friends every 3 years because they would leave. I left a lot of friends behind in France when I moved to Canada in 2007 and now I am leaving Vancouver to go to Toronto.

check it out:

There are 2 types of people maybe 3...

1) THE SCARED FRIEND
As departure hurts, they try to make it easier for themselves by cutting ties immediately.
This often translates in no longer calling, no longer answering texts (well, when I was a child it was written messages/notes in the classroom that were no longer passed around to those that were leaving), no longer inviting you to dinner.
These people aggressively seek new friends to fill the void, so once the FRIEND has left they have someone as a back-up.
I think, this one has hurt me and continues to. They still love you but are scared.
I remember being at school and every 3 years my best friend would leave, and then finally I left when I was 18 and then again at 25.
Before the age of 19, I was guilty of being the SCARED FRIEND, my friends have/are guilty of this. It is cowardly and sad, in my opinion.
I woke-up when my granddad passed away when I was 19 - I grew up and realised that there is more to friendship than the surface stuff: there is a person under the title FRIEND.
THIS FRIEND IS A LOVING COWARD.

2) THE CLING-ON or FOREVER FRIEND
These are the nicest and most comforting. They are the ones that understand that departure is not an end just a new beginning. These friends think about your looming departure and decide to get some YOU-TIME in as much as possible. They drive or go out of their way to pop-in and check in with you. I have noticed that the more sensitive the person the more they do this. Those boisterous ones are too proud maybe?
It is nice to know someone has your back any where in the world and that friendship doesn't have to be in one place. I can only think of my family when I write this. Since the age of 18 I have lived away from my parents and my brother separated by sea and land. I know they always have my back and even if they don't call, they are thinking of me.
THIS FRIEND LOVES AND RESPECTS YOU JUST AS YOU DO THEM.

3) THE SELFISH FRIEND
You do find out when you leave who your true friends are, when you leave or announce that you are leaving some friends only think of the repercussion on their own lives. They do not put themselves in your shoes, they have no use for you anymore and completely wipe you from their lives in a mean way. There is no love in this choice just ego.
I have lost friends this way and in a way it is easier to take than FRIEND 1 as you know they probably never loved you in the first place. They are the users in life.
THESE FRIENDS HAVE HUGE DESTRUCTIVE EGOS AND DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU.

WITH YOUR FRIENDS:
What are you? Who are you? Have you been all 3 in your life? Are you making a mistake? Have you made a mistake?


Written by Sophie Ann Rooney (June 9th 2010)