Down in the Meat

SEPTEMBER and OCTOBER, 2011

Recurring as Martha Reed on The Good Wife
December 4th at 9/8c on CBS.
Oh, goodness. Oh, Martha!

a festive apple pie, baked by the only other Martha with which I'm familiar

PREMATURE wraps! Post begins!
It happened on an itty bitty budget. We called in a lot of favors. We owe a lot of people a ton of thanks. Now, on to the editing. A website will be launched in a few weeks as well as some fun trailers. I couldn't be more proud of what we've made so far.

paul perroni, me, and dave dastmalchian

Go BZRK
For the past several months I've been acting in an alternate reality game created by writer Michael Grant and ARG masterminds The Shadow Gang. I remained anonymous for the duration of the game which made me feel really cool and mysterious, as most secrets do.

The game is a promotion for BKZR, a novel by Michael Grant (writer of the oh so popular Gone series for teens). I couldn't put the damn thing down. Pre-order the book. You will just eat it up. I know it.

I'd never heard of an ARG before I was asked to be in one, and I'm still having a hard time explaining what it means to be an inhabitant (in my case two - I played twin sisters) of a fabricated online universe that real people interact with and participate in. It's waaayyy over my head, incredibly complex, and I'm still in awe of the number of devised characters, websites, organizations and events that are constantly colliding in this violent world. What fun it was to watch all the story lines unfold!

video #1 from Sophie and Sylvie Morgenstein's website


A couple of other BZRK websites that are pretty sweet, featuring some terrific Chicago actors:
nexushumanus
deathormadness

ALIAS:GRACE reading at Ball State University
I had the honor of returning to BSU for the first annual Playwrights Week held by the Department of Theatre and Dance.

A handful of diverse plays written by faculty members were presented in workshops throughout the week. I was fortunate enough to read the title role of Alias:Grace, a piece based on the novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood and adapted by my tremendously talented former professor Jennifer Blackmer. I feel more fortunate than ever to have training from a program whose faculty is still putting thoughtful and necessary work into the world. Students have the opportunity to see first hand that a life in the arts is just that, a life. Create, create, create forever! It was an uplifting reminder for me, as well. Plus, I think I learned as much from my fellow visiting guest artists as the students did. Several seasoned actors, playwrights, and industry folk joined me in taking part in readings and seminars. I listened to them, wide-eyed, and tried to follow with whatever sound, coherent advice I could muster.

I also had a chance to see Circus in Winter, a musical based on the novel by writer and BSU professor Cathy Day, conceived by Ball State students, and directed by the unstoppable Beth Turcotte. It was moving. The set. The singing.The MUSIC. OH MY GOSH THE MUSIC. I cried. Tears of joy. I mean, they MADE a giant circus elephant. I believed it. I believe!
oh, I don't know. Here's an elephant.

try, try again

AUGUST, 2011

I will be guest starring in episode 305 of The Good Wife opposite Julianna Margulies. I used my math skills to figure out that it will air Sunday, October 23rd, at 9/8c on CBS.

I know I always say "I had the best time ever filming this", but seriously, I HAD THE BEST TIME EVER FILMING THIS. Everyone - Felix the director, the cast (Oh, that every actor is as brilliant and kind as Julianna Margulies), the crew, the amazing and hilarious makeup/hair artists, the drivers - seemed genuinely thrilled to be going to work everyday. I could tell they were a close-knit and loving family, and yet they were so welcoming and supportive of me. I feel like I need to put an image with every subject I wax about but I wasn't about to be that annoying person with the camera on set so...this is a very nice television.*
Contagion opens in theatres this Friday, September 9th
i'm so emotional. in the movie, I mean. in real life I'm fine.
let's celebrate by looking at pictures of germs.

*

Say When wraps...again

I returned to New York last evening from Los Angeles where Greg Fitzsimmons, that masterful craftsmen of color and light, has been tinkering away on his second, much anticipated feature film, Say When. Actor David Dastmalchian and I were more than pleased to step back into familiar shoes, put Greg's recent revelations to work, and add some final shape to the film. This thing just keeps evolving. It's been many months in the making, and it's coming your way this Fall, so you just better be ready!

greg directed this photograph

The Comedy, a drama

Writer and director Rick Alverson is making another wonder of a feature. He let me play for a day in an abandoned hospital in Flushing, Queens.

Rent his other films, The Builder and New Jerusalem, on Netflix. This guy's got something to say.

Colm O'Leary, The Builder


*

PREMATURE, a mighty web series

An optimistic germaphobe. A self-proclaimed entrepreneur of wax kitsch. A wide-eyed sprite no longer in Kansas. The city of dreams will bring them together! The internet will bring them to you this Fall! Just you wait. Oh, just you wait.

The Middle of the Beginning

JULY, 2011

Casual Encounters

Spent some time pretending to be on the other side of the table. Don't try and tell me it's hard to judge people and sip a latte while you're doing it. I'm being naive because I can. That's Matt Dellapina right there next to me. Funny, funny dude.


Casual Encounters, a feature film written and directed by Will McCord, is wrapped. I came in right at the end of shooting, and thus had a relatively tiny insight into the whole of it, but even so I am totally pumped about the film's eventual release. Such an interesting project - 5 short films tell the stories of 5 people who either post or respond to online personal sex ads. Together, their intertwining experiences are a full length portrait of expectations, discovery, and desire.

Several of the 5 shorts have already screened at festivals around the country and garnered praise and press. Learn more about the project, on-going screenings, and give them some monies so they can give you a movie.

I have seen the future.

I'm not going to get all wacko about it, but Peter and I went to the premiere of Miranda July's The Future at IFC last night and had a near spiritual experience. Been waiting for that for a long time. And she was there to answer questions afterward! My well is filled to the brim with inspiration. I'm so grateful for her work. Wholly and utterly grateful.

Do as I say! Get off those steamy streets, get into a cool dark theatre and go see The Future.

On a related note, Dave just sent me this picture while I was doing my new york city ballet work out video in the living room. I peed my yoga pants. Is this what being famous feels like?

onward and upward.

August is going to be a good month. I can feel it. Gearing up to head back out to Los Angeles to put the finishing touches on Say When, making plans for a hell of a web series with Dave Dastmalchian and Paul Perroni to be shot in September here in New York (details forthcoming!), and I just snatched up a FREE vhs copy of Abs of Steel from someone's front stoop. The universe is good. The universe is great.

To refresh your memory and rev up your appetite, here is a Say When video compilation. If this isn't the moving image of summer, I don't know what is.



Stay cool, my babies.

just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not there...on the toilet seat

JUNE, 2011

(Why am I starting my first blog post in many moons with a June update? What happened to the first 5 months of 2011? I'll tell you...I was baking. The whole time. And while everything was in the oven I would periodically step outside and smell the flowers that sometimes struggle up through the concrete. Seriously, it was exhausting.)

Contagion

I hopped on over to Chicago for what felt like a little gift! A role in Steven Soderbergh's Contagion opposite Matt Damon.

I got a different little part in this flick last December and was all geared up to shoot it when my scene was sadly cut. Thank goodness they rang my bell again this summer and invited me back, and gave me some lines to boot. So grateful for this amazing experience. Truly truly truly.

I also took the opportunity to spend time with eternal friends, walk some beloved brownstone blocks in Chicago, and get all weepy about the days when I could afford a lawn.

I didn't take any pictures on this trip. I think this means I was having a good time. However, please heed this photo of a germ. Please wash your hands for a full thirty seconds. Please watch this trailer and then go see Contagion when it comes out on September 9th in them big old theatres.

a short 2010 archive

I did this awesome thing today where I deleted my last four blog posts. I love re-typing shit it is so much fun. This is old news, but by golly it's still news worthy!

Notes on some notables from 2010.

Say When

I watched November turn into December with Mr. Dave Dastmalchian, finishing up filming for Greg Fitzsimmon's ode to food, flirtation, and the wonderously vast and isolating city of Los Angeles. Look for more info on this sincerely brave and experimental feature, which should be ready and rearing by September, 2011!

The Dilemma

Only the most serious ruffles for a very serious movie.

Starbucks

If acting doesn't work out, I've decided to become a professional kite maker!

The Daft Penguin

I spent a week filming The Daft Penguin, a series of spec commercials shot as two minute mockumentaries. It's about a radical, boxing nun, her eager protege, some shenanigans in the name of all that's holy, and the priest that holds them accountable. Amen.

Zaxby's

Kicked it with Richard Karn. We can just go ahead and check that off the big list.


C'est Moi

C'est Moi, a short film directed and written by the very talented Jessica Rotondi, premiered at the Columbia University Film Fest. What a joy it was to make this!

Adam Underground

I passed a breezy spring week in Newton, MA. Adam Underground is a short film about the demise of a high school cheating ring. Fantastic cast and crew. A beautiful community.

Read more about this unique project:
wewilldoyourhomework.com

how 'bout one more title, sweets

been counting the tiny victories lately. I auditioned for a stripper a couple weeks back and really took myself quite seriously. next to making Pete run lines with me until his head explodes, the key is hair volume.

when i walk out of a solid audition I always want to buy something. it's the damndest thing. usually i settle on a fancy cup of coffee, but tonight I went a little wild. However, my purchases are for a superb cause. i bought two of Mikey's photographs in November, and my Moms had them beautifully framed. They make me think of Bloomington, and my friends, and Mikey. I bought two more stunning prints this evening. I've started a collection!

michaelmcmullenphotography.com

21. Theatre

You should buy one. Proceeds go to the Michael McMullen Photography Fund which "will provide undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships to be awarded annually to talented students who actively use photography in their research or creative work". plus they're insanely cool.

christmas cookie withdrawal and shameless self-promotion

I've redirected my website page "News" from gracerex.com to this here blog.

speaking of the old website, I updated it. woaw cool!

The Dilemma opened. I went and saw it on a Monday night and I did not poop my pants from fear or want to cry. Instead, I sat in a dark sea of strangers and I felt like I had a secret. The movie and I were in on the joke, and I snickered into my popcorn, but everyone still laughed a lot and no one seemed to feel left out.

go go go!