Helpful Hint of the Day

On creating a sound bite...

If someone asks what you do, get specific. Tell them who you are, and what you do in a vague, but exciting way! Be authoritative in your telling of what you do. Speak with skilled confidence. To do this you have to shift the view of yourself, and give more credit to self. See yourself the way other people see you (hopefully it is positive). You have to believe that you are interesting and dynamic enough to make people like you and what you have to say. Your sound bite should be about what you have to offer.

make sure it includes:

1. Tell them your name and give them a unique take on what you do.
2. Tell them something interesting about you. Talk about a personal tibit in your life that makes you feel natural
3. List your recent activities and credits most proud of
4. practice role playing

In The Mean Time, Between Time: My Life As In the Corporate World Consists of Bathroom Breaks.

REPOST: In The Mean Time, Between Time: My Life As In the Corporate World Consists of Bathroom Breaks.

I like to compare adapting to the corporate world, to an elephant living in a single family home as a pet. It just doesn't fit. I don't fit in the corporate world, because I am an artist, I think like an artist and I don't have the same sense of urgency that other corporate workers-women, have about their work. Corporate worker buffs enjoy waking up and putting on full makeup, and adorning themselves with jewelry on their ears, necks, wrists and fingers. Corporate buffs also really think through what they are going to wear to work. I imagine they wake up maybe 2-3 hours ahead of schedule to get ready for their day, shuffling through the 3 inch heels that would match perfectly with their navy executive business skirt suit. Then they carefully put their make up on and grab their coffees and head out the door. I admit to seeing a few sporadic corporate buffs, appearing rushed and who are wearing flip flops and making up their faces on the subway; 3 inch heels in tote. I wonder if their jobs are their first loves or are they in the mean time in between time.
Still, those few are nothing like me. I just don't care about what I look like when I am at a corporate job. In my case, while over sleeping, I pre-think of an outfit I will wear to my dreaded corporate job in between snoozes. I get up just in enough time to take a 2 minute shower, promising myself that I'd wash the other not-so-important parts of my body more carefully later when I am back at home and fully awake and energetic. I lotion only the important parts of my body which are the ones that will show; and this can vary from day-to-day depending on my pre-thought out outfit. I grab a pair of underwear not caring if they are appropriate for the outfit I have chosen or not, because it is just too early to think about that! Then I learn that the pre-thought outfit is wrinkled. This means that I grab what ever I can find that is thrown on the dresser or over the bed or over the sofa, because I was too beat after working hard the day before to hang them up-which of course means that I never get around to washing those other less-important body parts because I am too tired for that too.
Jewelry and make-up are not even on the agenda for the day, (though I always carry a make up kit with me and an audition shirt, in case my agent calls me for an audition). My hair is brushed into a pony tail while walking to my car. Once on the train, I look around and wonder where the other corporate buffs got their coffee from and how they managed the time to make a stop before work or how they allotted time in their schedules to make coffee at home, let alone find the mugs to put them in.
When I am in the office, all the women are chatting loudly and skipping around uprightly with an exuberance that I can't muster up until late afternoon. I turn on my computer and I have about twenty five emails, well written, with the proper salutations. It is just not like this for me. I get to work and immediately take a bathroom break; in the handicap bathroom (because it is a single stall and I can lock the doors). I sit on the toilet with my clothes on, prop my elbow on the bar that helps the handicap to balance themselves and I prop my head ever so... between my wrist and the tip of my fingers and I narc out for about 15-20 minutes, after I pray for forgiveness for having little concern for the handicap. I sleep about the length of time my computer is set to lock. I return to my desk and delete all of the emails that are of no importance, and flag all of the emails that I definitely have to respond to, with a reminder for me to answer them in an hour. Then I get up and head to the cafeteria to get breakfast and coffee. I return to my desk, eat my breakfast and browse my personal emails for any audition notices and all audition breakdowns.
After about an hour, my flagged messages are alerting me that I need to adhere to them in which, then I make a decision which ones need to be answered right then and which ones I can snooze on for another hour or two. Again, I don't care!!!! I do what I have to do to get by. i take another bathroom break. Afternoon comes and the coffee has settled and now I am awake. I do a once over my appearance and hate myself for looking like a complete idiot! I question how I could have forgotten that the black pants that I am wearing had an oatmeal spill on them from two days ago. I decide that I will make an effort to prepare myself for work that night so that I can look better at work, I promise myself that I'd wake a little earlier the next day so that I can at least curl my hair and look more presentable for work. Needless to say, I repeat the same cycle over again the next day, with very little variance.
It all comes down to the fact that I think it is stupid that all these people have to dress in 7 piece suits, only to stare at each other for 8 hours. Who in the hell made that rule! It irritates me to wake so early to do something; I absolutely hate doing and could careless about. I could careless about the email I receive that says, "WACIS 2.0 will be a platform life cycle upgrade of the existing WACIS 1.0/1.1 environment with Application Platform and specific enhancements." You should know after reading an email with a message equivalent to the one above, I am in need of a bathroom break-just so that I can be rested enough to process the meaning of it all.

What does this have to do with acting on cameras and the word, "cut" and auditions and "alpha 1, take 4, camera's rolling, and...Action!" Those words are music and melody to my ears they get me fired up. Those words make me walk upright with a sense of urgency. The thought of hearing those words each day gets me to talking loud and chipper in my upper voice register. And even if my call time is at 5 am in the morning, I can still come to work in my pajama's if I choose, because they have someone at my job that will dress me and do my hair an makeup and prepare my jewelry and make sure through the day that my lipstick is reapplied and my face is powdered. They will feed me and bring me coffee if I need it and walk me to my exact location when it is time to work!
Now that's life. This is how work should be. But that's not even the best part about work, the best part is, while I am waiting to work, if I choose to lie on a sofa and sleep because I am tired, I can. I can kick off the carefully chosen shoes I have on and prop my feet up, lean my head back and sleep-while at work-without getting fired and without hiding in the bathroom.

My advice to all: Spend time daily searching for a job that you love to do that you can get paid for. My advice is also to daydream about the perfect job so that you don't get trapped into doing something you hate. You should never give up dreaming. Like me, use sometime at your job, running your lines with the computer (acting as substitute for the other person in the scene). or take a bathroom break and do mirror exercises using your eyes as the eyes of the other person while reciting your lines or monologues. And definitely research online auditions that you can go on the next day or week. But DO NOT BECOME CONTENT, because this job is just a means to an end- the mean time, in between time.

Helpful Hint of the Day

On your next audition, try locking eyes with your reader for like 3 seconds before speaking. Especially if you have the first line. 1. The eyes are the window to the soul. The camera will love you. 2. It will slow you down and allow you to get a sense of the energy coming from the reader, and 3. You will control your read, not the reader! Pace and vitality....

Marjuan Canady's, Girls, Girls, Girls..written by Squeaky Moore of XI Magazine

Sitting in the audience, watching “Girl’s, Girl’s, Girl’s,” a craftily written and candid satire by Marjuan Canady, is like sitting in my living room during a get-together, dialoguing with a bunch of girlfriends. It is sidesplitting deliberation, reflecting on the latest and greatest topics including celebrities, entertainers, fashion, news and politics…but with an angle. Aside from amusing recreation, you don’t immediately feel as if you have absorbed much from the exchange as its depth is less obvious. But, if you listen longer, you would realize the profundities spoken throughout the hysterical commentary.
In her first ever written, comedic, one-woman play, Canady uses pop culture as the basis of her social commentary regarding the media. Canaday does this from varying perspectives; men, women, White people, Black people and Latinos, just to name a few. She transforms herself into ten diverse and relatable characters through which she tells the story of how the public – her main focus being black women - are controlled by the media. She draws from her various life experiences to play all of these different characters, in which she questions what it means to be a black woman.
The fictitious story revolves itself around the life of a girl named Rihanna who is preparing to audition for the lead role in the new music video of rapper, 40 Ounce’s new hit, “Gutta Money, P**** and Rim Chicks.” Using witty lines like “encouraging fathers to leave their daughters so they can develop strength at an early age,” Canady catches your attention and keeps it. From playing a prostitute turned author, who tells what it is like being a ‘hoe’ in her new book, “Confessions of a Super-throat,” to playing a girl who is trying to prove she can be the hottest white girl on the set of a music video, Canady uses these and other brilliant characters to express herself through her writing, which stemmed from her anger at women in mainstream hip-hop and leadership positions.

“I became upset at women like Ophra Winfrey and a few others…not so much upset [at them], but the limitations they have as women in the public and

having so much power. What they can talk about, what they can’t and even how politics plays a part in the type of news they deliver.”

Being of mixed race, Canady says her own politics has influenced her to write this play as well. As an Afro-Caribbean American, she is comfortable in her skin. She doesn’t choose one race over the other, she says. However, she relates more to being black, but often questions what it that means.

“It’s a lived thing, a cultural thing. Another element in the play that is thrown in your face [is] particularly what it means to be a black woman and the politics that go along with that. What it is to be a darker skinned black women, and a lighter skinned black woman, you know, and what comes with that. As a browned skinned women with ‘good hair, ’ I get certain privileges or certain [acting] roles. I get asked all the time ‘what are you?’ Having my identity always questioned and on the table, I decided to write about it in the play. Everyone’s identities are questioned. All of the characters and how they relate to black women are all very different. Some are negative and some are positive. Some use black women to justify their own actions. It’s a play that looks at where black women would be ten years from now if we keep going the same way we are going in the media. It focuses on the image of black women throughout history and how we all play a role in it.”

In crafting what I feel is a well-written play, Marjuan Canady used television and people-watching on the subway to help her form her characters. In addition to that, Director/playwright Noelle Ghoussani, simply, but brilliantly staged this production and helped with developing the through-line of the story to connect all of the characters. The production also integrates multimedia videos, allowing smooth transitions and aiding to the commentary of women in the media by allowing the audience to see young women in the act; making women question why they objectify themselves.

“I used a lot of social gazing and improv; asking myself a lot of questions. I also used a lot of material that came from actual women auditioning for rapper/producer Diddy and Plies. Even from my own experiences of some of the things they ask in the audition room. [Requests] like ‘do your tricks’ or ‘take your shirt off,’ … just the degradation that goes with putting yourself out there as a woman.”

Marjuan’s future plans are to target three main audiences: the community centers-to foster more dialogue for people who can’t really afford to get into theater; colleges – to go on a college tour to perform for students and have dialogue in hopes that young people will be a little more active in talking about issues that are important and stand out to them; and going to different festivals to continue receiving commercial appeal. Marjuan also plans to work with the Bronx Brotherhood project, a small non-for-profit organization that works with Black and Latino male teenagers. Her hope is to perform the play and open discussions about what it means to be a man and have relationships play a part in their identities, as well as to discuss sexism.
From the writing and media, to the directing and acting, Marjuan Canady’s play, “Girl’s, Girl’s Girl’s,” delivers engaging storytelling with wonderful characters that we are all probably very familiar with and can most assuredly relate too. All of these things definitely make for first rate theatre experience.
You can learn more about Marjuan on her website, “LIKE” her on Facebook and follow her in Twitter!

Antoine Dodson--Can teach us all a lesson on acting for the camera!

Let me say that if Antoine Dodson can become world re-known by his realities, then the reality is there is absolutely no way we shouldn't be re-known from ours.... acting skills that is!

Probably the best way to become known from the craft of acting is by just being yourself! As actors we spend so much time trying to "be" a character, whom we know nothing about, that we get caught up in the "creative process". What we forget to do is bring ourselves to each role to humanize the character. Bringing yourself to the role, allows for your character to live through your natural essence. The character may be living through certain situations that you are unfamiliar with, but in these instances, you should draw from who you are. Asking yourself questions like, "what would I do in this situation", "If I lived in this environment, how would I talk, walk, dress?" or "how would I feel if this were to happen to me?" These are just a few ways to humanize your characters you play. Let's take Antoine Dodson for instance, his circumstances were that his sister had been attacked by a would-be rapist who tried to come through her window, but she was a fighter and fought off the attacker. Antoine and his sister lived in the projects, in Alabama. Now if we were to get a script with the the same exact circumstances that brought Antoine to speak to the news reporters, would we automatically assume this script was a comedy? Would we play the comedy in it? How would we talk, dress, or deliver his famous speech, "Hide your wife, Hide your kids...."! More importantly, what emotional state would we live in? Because in Antoine's world, he was 100% serious! For Antoine, the stakes were high and he didn't find this situation funny one bit. Although I'm sure now that he is in his new home and is looking back in retrospect, he finds some delight in what would seem a tragic situation, but still for him this was tragic at that time.
For me, watching Antoine was a reality check. We have to embrace characters the same way we would in our real world. The person watching your work should relate to the human side of you as they are watching your perform; how you endow your circumstances and personalize them. We shouldn't want to simply mimic what we "think" our character is feeling, but believe it or not, this happens way too often.

If you haven't seen the video, take a quick look at it below, (for those of you outside of the 60 million viewers who have already viewed it), and think on this: if you were playing a character, similar to Antoine's, with a similar situation and lifestyle, but without having a you-tube video to refer too- only a script, how would you prepare and play the role? My answer is we have to draw from our reality and what we woulda, coulda, and shoulda done if we were in this situation! Just for ish and giggles let's do Antoine's monologue! Personalize this for yourself. I wonder what it would change into. Ha! It might be a powerful monologue....imagine that!

Btw, I think it is amazing that he is on Wikipedia! Seriously Wikipedia! This guy has made history. And I will too!

Enjoy it and make it your own monologue! Ha!

Here is the video:



Here is the song:

VOTE FOR ME TO ACT IN A FILM WITH NIA LONG!

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Who’s Got Next: J. Ivy

Who’s Got Next: J. IvyComments (0)

By Squeaky Moore of XI Magazine

http://www.ximagonline.com/whos-got-next-j-ivy/

Posted on 25 Oct 2010 at 11:56am

XI Magazine is all about What’s New. What’s Now. What’s NEXT! This week, What’s Next is our Who’s Got Next artist, J. Ivy. Poet and word-smith, he is all about telling the truth in his work and keeping it all positive and powerful. Not just a bland poet or cliche spoken word artist, J. Ivy is bridging the gap between hip-hop and poetry and doing a phenomenal job of it with his up-coming release “Here I Am.” Recently I sat with him and got an in-depth look at who J. Ivy is and what he’s all about!

XI: Who is J. Ivy?

A person born with a talent to speak lyrical prose and verse melodically. One who stands in a league of his own. Plain and simple, a poet from Chicago, born James Ivy Richardson III. A simple dude blessed with a great talent that is certainly being used.

XI: Compare and contrast your music to Rap music.

Hip hop was born out of poetry- The Last Poets [A group of poets and musicians] were the God father’s of hip hop. So they were the one’s doing poetry in parts of Harlem, back in the 60’s, over a drum rhythm. So for me, it was a matter of bridging the gap, and trying to remind people that this [what I do] is one of the same; though they are different, they are definitely related. Poetry has been here since the beginning of time, you know, God created the world with the Word. So for me it was always important to try and remind people of the strenght of Poetry. On the other hand, I’m a hip hop baby, that’s the style of music that I grew up on, the style of music I was always drawn too. So when it came time to put music with my work, naturally it was going to be hip-hop because that’s what I listen to on a daily basis.

XI: I want to talk about your new album, “Here I Am.” When is the release date?

October 26, 2010!

XI: The music, the rhymes and the lyrics, how did it all come together? What was the creative process like for you?

It was important to me to have a strong musical bed with this album. Also, the concepts of this album were important. I wanted to put something out there that could keep people motivated. Like with personal battles that people go through, with self-esteem issues and self- doubt; I wanted to use my music to continue to build hope and wake something up in people and try and help people remember who they are. To me, it’s just a matter of doing that and remembering who you are. We all have the ability and power to make whatever it is we want happen. Sometimes we tend to forget we have those abilities.

XI: For those that have followed your work as an artist, they’d know your poetry has evolved, and your artistry has transitioned over time. Through all the years of writing poetry and performing, what have been your transitioning points that have helped you to evolve as a poet.

The one thing I’ve always wanted was to grow and get better. From the first time I was ever on stage, [in high-school], I received a standing ovation. I wanted to find that feeling again. I started doing open mics, and hosting at Rituals, which was the biggest poetry spot in Chicago and [to me] in the nation at one time. Then, I did the first season of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, which took things to the next level; being recognized in New York. I did a show in Jamaica [with Carl Thomas] and people were recognizing me from HBO. Then I did the recording with Kanye and Jay Z on “The College Dropout.” So it’s always been a contiuous process of one thing leading to the next. But the root of it has been me just striving to do better. Like when a year has passed, I definitely like to look back and say ‘okay, I am in a better place than I was a year ago.’ Even if it may not be on a mountain top and just shooting straight up, as long as I am gradually climbing and getting better, it pleases me because I know that I am going to continue to get better.

XI: Your music is different than other music that is being done today; it’s trendsetting. Have you thought about the notion that your music can possibly alter the history of music.

Yes. Like I’ve always, for whatever reason, felt like I was appointed to do different things…. Not only different, but the first to do things. Like being the first poet out of Chicago to be on Def Poetry Jam, or the first to be on a rapper’s album [Kanye West’ “Never Let Me Down”]. When it comes to the music, even though there has been other extraodinary talent to put poetry to music, I am taking things to the next level. While creating this album,“Here I Am”, that thought was on my mind every step of the way. I didn’t want to rush the moment or cheapen it [just] to have something out there. I think, ‘how do I make this the best moment and not be selfish.’ I know that this [the message] is bigger than me. It’s important to be that vessel, that instrument. It’s not about the ears that it touches in this generation but generations to come. It’s important that people hear and receive healing from it, that it saves lives, and it helps people make right decisions about life.

XI: How is your music relevant today?

It is a positive and a much needed message that’s not heard from many artists today. My music fills a void and is a reminder of who we are or who we should set out to be. It will make people try to better themselves and that is what I want listeners to take from my album.

XI: You’ve said that your influences are greats such poets as Maya Angelou, and Langston Hughes. As well as, The Last Poets and your peers that you’ve had opportunities to work and travel with like Triple Black, Malik Yusef, Brenda Matthews, Jessica Care Moore, Black Ice, Abyss and recently Thea Monyee. How do they impact you and your work?

When you see the best, it inspires you; helps to bring the best out of you. I didn’t come up around poetry…I wasn’t conscious of poetry until later on. Dr. Martin Luther King was my hugest influence because of how he spoke and the way he touched people. When I was in Highschool, I started doing poetry that other people wrote. I always wanted to perform like Martin Luther King.

XI: You have already performed with Jay-Z, Kanye and John Legend. Who, if anyone, would you absolutely love to do music with in the future?

It’s sad because the one person I really want to perform with, I will never have an opportunity to…Michael Jackson. But I would love to do something with Jill Scott, The Roots—I really appreciate their music.

XI: Some of your early hip hop influences that helped shape your musicality were Big Daddy Kane, Tribe Call Quest, NWA, Public Enemy, Eric B and Rakim, Run DMC, and Slick Rick. Who do you look at now for that same inspiration musically?

Well now its Outkast, Nas, The Roots and Common has always been my all time favorite. Not sure if it is because we are both from Chicago, or that we are both Pisces, [He chuckles], but I’ve always related to him, the way he put words together and the way he tells stories.

XI: What are some of your biggest moments thus far, aside from winning a Grammy for your participation with “Never Let Me Down” on The College Dropout album and your standing ovation on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam?

[Reminiscing on his mom coming to the first show he hosted at Rituals] My mom is super-critical. It was major to impress her. A big moment has also come with the early reactions that I have been getting from my album. They love it! The reactions have been great.

XI: What has been the process for you as an independent artist? Would you like to remain independent?

I feel like it’s going to be hard no matter what situation im in. If you’re with a label, you have a lot of cooks in your kitchen. As an independent artist, I have to maintain my kitchen. But it’s run the way I want it to run; it has my voice. I have to build a team and things have to stay moving. My budget makes things happen a little slower, but my reward will be bigger because I’m not locked in. I don’t have to answer to anybody. I would rather be on this side of the fence. Though, I would consider the right situation if it came along.

XI: Can you give advice to upcoming independent artists? Poets?

Constantly work at getting better and never stop! Don’t get thrown off by the no’s, you will get a thousand of them, but that one yes…
Stay true to yourself.

J. Ivy’s music is positive and has a much need message that he feels isn’t heard from many artists today. The words in his poetry reminds us of who we are and who we should set out to be, and are very spiritual. To stay connected with J. Ivy you can visit his website at www.j-ivy.com. Also, click here to listen to his title track on his album“Here I Am”.