Well, it’s been a while! I don’t have an excuse, other than that I am apparently terrible at keeping up a blog. But I am determined to try!

It’s been a busy year! A brief recap: I’ve done a lot of traveling, which has been wonderful (I went to London and Santorini in April, and then to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda in July, where I finally ticked off my top bucket list item, gorilla tracking. It was every bit as unbelievable as I expected it to be!). I’ve been auditioning like crazy, and taking lots of new classes–right now I’m working on technique with Ken Schatz, and on-camera technique with Joseph Melendez at Matt Newton Studios. I feel like I’m learning a lot, and like my acting is definitely improving (which is a fantastic feeling!).

I’ve also been focusing on writing lately. I grew up writing, everywhere, constantly–poetry, novels, plays, essays, anything I could think of. As a kid, I would write insanely long, incredibly detailed novels in tiny little notebooks (mostly, um, about the Olympics. You know). But as I grew up, I stopped writing quite so much–and lately, I’ve started wondering why.

As an actor, I’ve found creating my own content incredibly intimidating. There’s the artistic aspect–how do I know if what I’ve written is any good? Am I writing roles I want, or roles that I’d actually be suited for? Does my dialogue sound real? Are my characters individuals, or do they all kind of sound the same?

And then, of course, there’s the logistical and technical aspects–you need money to create a webseries or a short film! How do I raise money? My technical skills do not extend very far beyond turning on my iPhone or changing a lightbulb–how am I supposed to create a film? How do I find a cameraman? What on earth is the “sound guy,” and is that the technical term for that position, and how do I find one? How do I edit the video once someone has filmed it?

These are definitely obstacles, but I feel like I’m finally finding ways to overcome them. I took a couple sketch writing classes at The PIT this year, which were fabulous–and made me feel like I do know how to write. Every week, we’d get an assignment…and every week, I’d sit down and think, I can’t do this! I have nothing to say! I’m not funny! And somehow, I’d end up with five pages on my computer, each and every week. Then, I’d bring it to class thinking, this isn’t funny! Nobody’s going to laugh! Why am I so bad at this? And each week, miraculously, people laughed! Now, I’m taking a TV screenwriting class at Gotham Writers’ Workshop and working on developing my ability to create better, more natural dialogue. I was pretty nervous going in, but I’m having a great time–and I think my pages just might not be so bad!

I’m also working with a really cool group of writers and actors I met at the Actors’ Green Room to create our own webseries. Being part of a group relieves some of the pressure of having to figure out every little thing (and having to do the things I’m not good at, like figuring out all the logistics!). We’re just getting started, but it’s been a lot of fun so far, and I’m really excited to see where everything goes.

So hopefully there’ll be some new, original work coming in this space soon!