Enchantments through the eyes of others :)

     So over the last couple of months I've been working crazy overtime writing, filming and now editing my first feature film Enchantments.  It's been a pretty wonderful experience and I've been very lucky to get to work with such a talented cast and crew.  If you haven't already read it, check out this blog by John Painz our DP and Producer about his experience here: EnchantmentsShoot

     

     We also had our first article written about us for New York Magazine's Bedford + Bowery section.  Yay! :)  Check that out here: NYMag B+BEnchantments

     I look forward to sharing a lot more about Enchantments in the coming months.  So far, amongst other things, I've learned I just haven't had much time to blog. ;)

Luv, Kelsey :)

Spotlight on Me for TAC and Dallas Travers :)

     This month I was picked to be in the member spotlight for the Thriving Artists Circle and Dallas Travers.  I'm so very honored and excited about it!

     Check out what I have to say and what Dallas had to say about me here: Dallas Travers Blog 

  
Be sure to check out the rest of her site too and find out how you can work with Dallas and become a member of the Thriving Artist Circle. :)

Luv, Kelsey :)

Writing and Reading and Reading and Writing :)

     Last Sunday I had a reading for the feature film I'm working on called Enchantments.  I'm happy to say it went really well, and this week I've been working on rewrites.  That brings me to the writing.  I've heard people say they've written entire scripts that required minimal rewrites in one weekend.  I'm not one of those people.  I first started working on Enchantments in October, actually, I first came up with this idea of women working in a magic shop for a script in 2011.  I've written and re-written and added and cut and put back in sections of this script more times than I can count.  I did loosely base it on the novel Emma by Jane Austen, so at one point I cut a lot to have it fit the novel better.  Then I felt I was loosing much of the feel and themes I was going for with the film, so I put a lot of it back in.  After each write and rewrite session I also find I need a little time to step back and think about it before I make any final decisions.  It's true I write in solid super long day clumps, but I spend hours outlining and figuring out what it is that I want to say.  Even then I usually need a solid week of 14 hour days to write, a long weekend wouldn't do it for me.  When I used to write short stories, I stuck to the "let it all flow out at once and be done in a day" formula, but with a screenplay I need more time.  Since this is my third screenplay, I was hoping it might go faster.  Nope.  At first I was disappointed in myself for taking so long.  Then I realized no one's going to care how long I spend writing it, people will only care if it's a good movie.  By taking the extra time I've been able to pay more attention to detail, and in my opinion, that's what makes a good movie.  So as I finish my rewrites this week I have to say it's been a very long journey, but also a wonderful one. :)

Luv, Kelsey :)

The very talented actors and my Enchantments team at our reading! :)

from left to right: La Rivers, Lisa Peart, Micah Khan, Assistant Director Jennifer Silverman, Deborah Unger, Ronn Burton, Jen Ponton, Me, Producer Sibyl Santiago, Executive Producer John Gallagher & Associate Producer Cat Cabral. 

Such an Awesome Group! :) XO

Fund Raising Isn't My Favorite Part Of Movie Making :)

     So if you're reading this, you've probably heard I'm working on a new movie called Enchantments.  Enchantments is a feature film that I wrote and I'm really excited about filming it now and seeing it come to life.  Here's the thing, in order to do this I need to raise money.  This is the part of filmmaking that I shy away from and don't really like.  It involves constantly putting yourself out there on a daily basis in a business way.  I like to put myself out there in a creative way and take risks in a creative way.   I know this is how it's done now, but I don't like asking people for money.  So far, I'm not loving the fundraising part, but I'm going for it anyway.  I think this movie has an important story to be told, and it's a fun feel good movie.  And there are a number of wonderful people who have already contributed and I'm so very grateful to them!  Thank You! :) I will make this movie! :)  Maybe I just need to change my mindset, my new mantra is: "I love fundraising!"  Hmmm, that's better :)

Check out my new movie Enchantments and help make it possible by donating and spreading the word.  Click Here: ENCHANTMENTS. 

Thank You!!! :)

Luv, Kelsey :)

Celebrating Sonora Chase's Success and her How I Met Your Mother episode :)

     Last month I shared my most recent successes in the film world.  In the spirit of celebrating success, this month I'd like to share someone else's, so I asked my friend and very talented actor/ producer/writer/director Sonora Chase to be a guest blogger.  Sonora is appearing on How I Met Your Mother on CBS this monday, so it's definitely something to celebrate! :) Here's what Sonora had to say about her experience on How I Met Your Mother from her audition to the set:

     "Pilot season was a furious storm for some people, but not for me. Roz Coleman Williams’ voice rang in my head: “I don’t go out a lot, but I work All the Time. You have to Go for it.”

I walked into Marisa Ross Casting to audition for a costar (5 lines or less) simply titled Mother on How I Met Your Mother, and Justin and Jessica greeted me cheerfully like a member of the tribe. There was nobody else in the waiting room. I went in, did my magic, and said my goodbyes. Then, on my way out, I saw 12 frantic women wearing a pastel sweater set and capri pants, all racing with red faces, towards the office. There is unity in The Great Fox Lot Schlep. You may only live 20 minutes away, but you also have to park 20 minutes away.

When my agent told me I was on hold I yelled out like an American Idol finalist: Are you serious?! Best words ever: you booked it! Your contract will be in your trailer. The trailers all had our character names on them and it went in this order: Mother, Ted, Barney, Robin. Hmmmm.

We shot on location in Griffith Park by a carousal. Cobie Smolders was with her TV father doing the scene before ours, and I was sitting in a chair with the crew, watching. I had such star treatment from the warm and funny women in hair, make up, and wardrobe. Every crew member called me by my name. It was so nice to sit in the shade and watch the pros work with the chemistry of a family that had been running this business for generations. Pamela Fryman was the director and she was masterful. It was a beautiful carnival of creativity. I didn’t want to go home.

I am pouring this experience into my pilot as I develop it with my writer, Sarah Knapp. For now, we are both ridiculously excited to watch How I Met Your Mother next Monday on CBS. We might get a little rowdy up in my bungalow complex, shouting like it’s Christmas morning and we just got to the big gift."

Yay Sonora! :)  Feel free to leave comments in the box below guys and show Sonora some love!  And don't forget to watch How I Met Your Mother on CBS this Monday, May 6th at 8pm/6pm central. 

Also check out Sonora's great Blog for actors who self-produce and other fun stuff here: Sonora's Blog 

Also check out one of her self-produced episodes here: Airport Douchery 

                                                                      Thanks for being a guest blogger Sonora! :) 

    

 Luv, Kelsey :)

I'm Growing :)

     This month has been pretty exciting for me as both an actor and filmmaker.  April kicked off with the Soho International Film Festival in New York City and I was extremely honored to be a part of it.  (Sidebar- Soho Int Film Fest was just rated one of the top 50 in the world by MovieMaker magazine! Yay!)  It was the premiere of the first film that I have ever written/produced/directed and starred in, A Good Friend.  I also appeared in Uncomfortable Silence which will be screening in the Festival de Cannes next month.  As well as appearing as Principal Foster in Placebo which went on to win two best feature awards at both the Garden State Film Festival and Worldfest Houston.  Yay! :)
     After I finished my meditation this morning, I found myself thinking how lucky I am to have met so many wonderful people in this business and to have had the opportunity to work with such talented filmmakers. (John Gallagher, Gabriele Altobelli, Justin Ho and Sibyl Santiago just to name a few :)  A wise woman (aka acting biz guru Dallas Travers) once said to me my professional growth will not exceed my personal growth.  At the time I first heard this I just didn't believe it to be true.  Stubborn to a fault, I originally felt I could just keep working and pushing until I got to be where I wanted professionally and it really didn't matter how well I was personally taking care of myself.  It occurred to me today as I pondered this that perhaps it was things like my meditation, becoming vegan, taking care of myself and making time for personal growth that has helped bring my recent successes.  The funny thing is of course, that isn't why I started getting into any of it in the first place.  She was right though, and the two definitely go hand in hand.  And I feel a little "braggy" writing all this and to be referring to myself as a success, but I'm also trying to do this new thing about celebrating my success, so thanks for letting me indulge ;)

Luv, Kelsey :)

photo courtesy of championeyemedia.com

Skinny Bitch

I recently saw a friend who I haven't seen in a while and she took one look at me and said, "You skinny bitch I hate you!", with a laugh and a hug of course.  A couple of weeks after that I found myself on a red carpet and when we all gathered for a group picture the woman next to me, who I had just met said, "Oh great! I have to stand next to the skinniest person here?! C'mon!".  I felt stupid, stared at the floor and promptly moved to the other side of the group for the next picture where the woman on that side exclaimed, "Really, Now I have to stand next to her?!"  Keep in mind we were actually there on the red carpet in the first place for my movie!  I felt so stupid and insecure and apologetic for making these women seemingly be so upset.  I often find myself apologizing to other women in an effort to somehow diminish myself and make them feel better.  It's true, I'm rather tall and have a nice figure, but I'd like to say here and now to all the women of the world, I did not do this to upset you!  I take care of myself for me because I want to feel good, It's about me. :)  So it also occurs to me that when people behave this way, it's not about me, it's about them.  I just wish more women would have confidence in themselves.  Be proud of who you are and how you look! Own it Ladies! :)      In a couple of weeks I will be on the red carpet again for three films I acted in as well as for the first film I wrote, directed, produced and starred in.  Feel free to join me if you can keep your negative thoughts to yourself.  I only want to see proud lovely ladies who own who they are standing on that carpet with me! :)  And yeah, guys can come too. :)       My film premieres on April 7th at 11am at Soho International Film Festival, get tix here: A Good Friend  I'm Also appearing in Uncomfortable Silence and Placebo, to find out more about those films or the festival itself, go here: Soho International Film Festival   Luv, Kelsey :)      The Official Poster for A Good Friend

NYC Film Fests Yay! :)

     I looove a great Indie Film Fest! And I'm really excited to be part of some great ones over the next couple of months and be able to share that! :)    
     Next week from March 5th to the 10th is the Queens World Film Festival.  I'm happy to say that next Friday night, the already award winning film Charred which I helped produce, will be screening as an official selection.  Charred is the first film that I ever helped produce, but I wasn't in as an actor, and it's been a great experience.  I also did the costumes for Charred, and since it's such a pretty film to watch I'm proud to say that I added to that.  I hope to see you there!
     Next is the Soho International Film Festival from April 5th to the 12th.  Soho Film Fest is my favorite NY film fest! :)  There are always such amazing films there and such talented people putting together the festival, I just find myself more impressed every year.  This will be my third year in attendance and this year I'll be appearing in three films, two short films (Uncomfortable Silence & A Good Friend) and one feature film (Placebo).  It will also be the premiere of the first film I wrote, directed and starred in, A Good Friend.  I produced it myself along with film guru and my mentor John Gallagher and 305 Media Group.  I'm soooo excited about it! :) More on Soho like dates and times to come... :)

Green Vegan! :)

     It's official, I've decided to become a 100% Vegan! :) And I'm super excited about it, and slightly overwhelmed too...  The truth is I've been a vegetarian for 23 years now, so you'd think the switch would be easy, but to give up eggs, dairy and fish all together is a little tricky at first.  And then there all of the products I use, like lip balm with beeswax and the leather shoes I own...  Then again after learning about the horrors animals are encountering for my leather shoes, I'm happy to stop purchasing them.  This is going to be a bit of a process, and yet I'm excited to go there and make a bigger difference in the world and in my own health.  The truth is that's where this new journey really started, with health.

     Someone who I love very much has been battling cancer, and she too has recently decided to become a vegan to assist her in this fight.  It's interesting, it was actually my brother (the die-hard red meat eater) who first suggested she try it.  My brother also partially pushed me too years ago to become a vegetarian when he would moo as I ate the cheeseburger in my happy meal.  Of course he wasn't doing this for my health, he was doing this to upset me, and it worked.  I realized I couldn't eat animals anymore, I loved animals too much.  As I got older in high school (much to the horror of some of the republican meat eaters in my family) I began to learn more about animal rights and write letters to congress and picket outside my local McDonalds in protest.  I was active in other issues effecting our planet as well and pushed for recycling laws spending my free time teaching elementary kids how recycling actually worked.  I was very active for a while, but the truth is I just got tired of fighting.  By the time I graduated from college although I still had my beliefs, I stopped publicizing them.  It seemed whenever I told people about my choices I was annoying or upsetting them.  I even got so sick of defending my choice to be a vegetarian that I just started telling people, "I just am one".  As if I was doing it for no reason at all.  I had stopped "up-leveling" as my genius acting biz coach Dallas Travers would say, and I wasn't "walking my talk".

     I had started doing all this research on becoming a full vegan to support my loved one and be healthier myself, turns out being a vegan can save the planet and maybe save you from cancer.  The thing is, the more I researched the more I realized I needed to also go back to my true values.  It's not just about health for me, and I do want to help save animals and our planet, and I want others to know how they can help too!  I'm ready to walk my walk and live within my values! I'm ready to up-level and be vegan! :)  And as I go through this journey, I'm going to share everything with you right here.  And of course I'd love to hear from you and any advice you might have for me :)