The actor
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Central Casting – My Turn
I woke up at 1:30 am this morning to register for Central Casting. :0 And no… I was not first in line. I was number nine. Why, do you ask, would I come out here (I’m writing this as I wait) that early in the morning to register for Central Casting? Good question. I’ll tell you. Reason number 1: I would love to have an inside perspective on what goes on on-set. Ben comes home from work with the funniest stories and he has to explain a lot to me because I have no point of reference. I’d love to be able to chat more easily with him and understand…
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Walking a Tightrope With You
I was sitting on the floor, wrestling my 18-month old as my older children were chasing each other around the room. I think they must get faster the sleepier they are (a scientific study should be done on this). Ben was shooting a commercial in L.A., and it was going late, as usual, so I was by myself getting the girls to bed. I was the only one singing our let’s-get-ready-for-prayer-by-singing-about-Jesus song. The girls were too busy tormenting each other, and they were oblivious to the fact that I was too tired to chase them. I was overworked, sweaty, sore, and just plain exhausted, with plenty of chores still to…
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More Car Trouble
I’ve been walking around town the last few days realizing that it’s a terrible idea to be independent. Terrible! With how far the girls school is, it is impossible for me to consistently be without transportation. So far we’ve only done one pick up and one drop off (a one way, three mile trip for the girls, a two way, six mile trip for me). If it were just me that would be one thing. Don’t get me wrong… I’d buy an exorbitantly priced bus pass or stay home every day. Making my little ones walk six miles every day getting to school and back doesn’t seem very kind. At…
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Car trouble
So… this happened. Ben was on his way to work on a two-day commercial. The driver in the semi truck wasn’t watching. Sadly, Ben wasn’t able to make it to the commercial he had booked. In fact… they found someone else for the job and promised they’d bring him back for something else in the future. Ben didn’t get injured at all. Well… he did end up with a tight neck and shoulders and a migraine for a few days but we’ll take that considering the alternative. We have been blessed. As happy as we are that Ben wasn’t at fault and was safe, we’re now out a car. And……
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The Audition
Auditions always have made me nervous. Funny enough… I’m not even the one having the auditions and yet, I still feel butterflies in my stomach. Go figure. Ben applies for an average of twenty five or so jobs a day. Of those jobs, Ben gets to audition for about one a week. So to be clear, out of seven hundred job submissions in a month, Ben gets to audition for maybe four jobs. No wonder I’m so anxious about them. Getting an audition is difficult enough, but then add the hundreds (or thousands) of people auditioning for the same role and suddenly it seems impossible to land any role. On top…
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House Guests
Some people are gifted at entertaining guests. You’d think that as a performer that would come with the talent like a package deal. Entertaining, entertainer. Basically the same thing. I guess not. I struggle. There’s something about inviting people to my house that suddenly makes me very aware of anything that looks non-Pinterest worthy. Yes… it’s a problem. I know… Of my four girls, I have two children that are of the age where they can help with quite a few chores with very minimal direction (finally). I have one child that needs me to watch her and tell her exactly what to do step by step. And then… I…
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A Commercial Reel
Have I told you that Ben, Jess and I are in a music video together? This past October, one of our dear friends was making a music video for a song that she had done the vocals for… and she asked us if we would be willing to be actors in it! Acting in a music video? Um, yeah! We all thought it would be super fun! How hard could it be? I thought we would be the background… you know, walk through the scene, or sit on a park bench as someone walked by. I didn’t realize that they would be zooming in on my face! I claim to…
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Whither Thou Goest…
Going into this new adventure we’ve embarked on, I never really realized what I would be willing to give up. Honestly, I probably still don’t know. Uprooting our own family, leaving other family and friends behind, sacrificing stability and financial expectations, and so on. I know that God wants us to be where we are. I know He wants me to be an actor’s wife. But each new experience shows me that I am just beginning to learn all of what that really means. I guess I thought we’d just go to California and live with my parents for five to ten years (hopefully closer to five); after the first…
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Adventures with Central Casting
Alright, just to recap, here is our to-do list. With the first four items checked off, it was time to register with Central Casting. The next big movie you watch, check the credits. Chances are, Central Casting is listed; they are the most well-known background talent agency in the country. Background actors, also known as extras, are exactly what they sound like… they are all the people you see in a movie, but probably don’t notice. In fact, a background actor who draws attention is probably not doing the job right. And in places like L.A., the entertainment industry needs thousands of them. To register to work as an extra…
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He’s Not Superman
Ben has always been Superman to me. When I was just starting to date him, I, of course, Facebook stalked him. As I looked through his photos, I found this awesome picture of him as a missionary for our church. Just going off to save a few souls. Apparently, while he was in Chile, random people who had no idea who he was would stick their heads out the front door as he walked by to shout, “Hola, Clark Kent!” Once we started dating, anytime someone asked me how my boyfriend looked, I told them, “Well… he looks like Superman.” I still describe him that way, actually. Funny enough……
