Los Angeles: The Beginning

In March 2013, I received an email from Karen Carlson (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0137948/), my acting coach for two years. There was a link that explained an opportunity, a workshop opportunity that is. Jack Waltzer (http://www.jackwaltzer.com), whom Ms. Karen studied with long long ago, was holding a workshop in Los Angeles and auditions were coming up. I did not have a clue who Jack Waltzer was, so I did some research. He studied with Meisner, Stella Adler, Uta Hagen, Elia Kazan, and many more. He took their ideas of "Method Acting" and created his own version. After reading all about him, who he studied with and who he taught, I realized he is an absolute classic. I wanted to take the opportunity, but there were so many things that needed to be worked out: a place to stay, transportation, blah, blah, blah, blah! Until Ms. Karen called me to let me know that she thought this was exactly what I needed to do. She called her daughter, Robin, who lives in Los Angeles and asked if she would be willing to take me in. Robin agreed to do so without hesitating!

One Friday morning, I got up early and got on a plane to Los Angeles, never realizing how much the next few weeks were going to impact my life. As soon as I landed, I went straight to my audition, we had to audition to get into Jack's class. I performed my monologue, from Thanksgiving in the Wilderness, and held my head high. Jack looked at me and asked me to step forward. He asked me who I was thinking about while I recited that monologue.. I replied with the name that was on my lips instead of the name I was intending to think about.. He asked me questions about that person, and before I realized it I was tearing up. He asked my to say the monologue again, but this time in my real thoughts and to imagine that the person was standing right in front of me. By the end of the monologue, I felt like I was that girl and she was I; I became one with the character from the play. I was crying, as was everyone else in the room. Jack looked at me and said "You're not bad. Tell Karen she's got a good eye for talent. I'll see you on Monday at 5:30." I walked out on cloud nine. Never before had I imagined that someone with such knowledge and experience would tell ME that I was talented. 

The following three weeks was spent work-work-working and a tad bit of exploring. My class was the most amazing experience I have ever had in my entire life. Jack Waltzer is an older man, and I found myself concerned that this may be a waste of time. Only because if he is that old, is he really all there? Can he even hear? Is he so old that he's losing his mind? But the first day of class, all my previous concerns quickly changed. This man may be old in age, but he is on top of every single thing that is going on. He never misses a beat, and he is not afraid to call anyone out! I learned so much about myself and my instrument in such a short amount of time. I not only got the opportunity to learn from Jack, but I also met a ton of other people.

I was able to meet two of Robin's friends, Candy and Craig. Candy is from Texas and Craig is from Kentucky, it was nice to hear a southern accent while in this busy city. They introduced me to some friends and I was able to meet and have coffee with a friend of their's who is an actor. He gave me so much advice and influenced me that I need to be in Los Angeles studying. On top of that, I had the most amazing classmates on earth. I could give a brief description of all of them, but I could go on and on about how amazing they all were. No matter how long we all may have known each other, everyone was so supportive; happy to hold a hand or rub a back when someone was coming down from a high emotional scene. I could have stayed with these people forever.

On my last night in Los Angeles, we had a "wrap party" for the workshop. I was able to sit down and talk with some that I had not gotten the opportunity to before. There was one person who left a lasting impression on me, Jouri Smit. As I sat and talked to Jouri that night, I asked him what he did. He called himself a "story teller"; he continued to explain after seeing the look of confusion on my face. He said, "Back in the day, the indians had one particular person that they called the 'story teller' who was responsible for creating and portraying the story. I want to do just that. I write, act, direct, and produce. I am a story teller"(not an exact quote). After hearing that story, I was forever changed. I had a fire burning inside of me already, and it was as if he threw lighter fluid onto that flame. 

As I sat down with Jack Waltzer and said my goodbyes, he told me that he had faith in me. He said that Karen knew exactly what she was talking about, and he himself could see the talent in me. He turned to another classmate and said "Can you imagine what this girl will be doing a year from now? She'll be a series regular!" I tried to control my feelings and said my thanks, but inside I was screaming and crying all at once. How amazing it was for Jack Waltzer to say such wonderful things about me. 

After everything that happened those few weeks, I did not want to return to little ole Dresden, Tennessee. For the first few days, I was beaming with happiness. Waiting and hoping that someone would ask me about my time in Los Angeles. But after that first week, I was genuinely depressed. I found myself missing my friends and classmates that I became acquainted with while in Los Angeles. I was lucky enough to get all their information and had the ability to keep in touch with them after I returned to Tennessee, but it still was not the same. 

After a couple weeks, Robin happened to email me to catch up. She decided to move in with her boyfriend and informed me that Christopher was looking for a roommate. The first thing that crossed my mind was that I wanted to be Christopher's roommate. I ran to my parents and sat down with them. I confessed how I truly felt about Los Angeles and the opportunity that Robin had mentioned, and the fact that Jack Waltzer was having another workshop in September. I proposed that I was to move across the country to live with Christopher, and I wanted do it by Jack's class in September. The surprised look on their faces were enough to make me nervous, but I will never forget that they looked at each other and looked back at me and said "if this is what you want to do, let's do it." I realized how overly blessed I was with such amazing parents. 

After many emails and confirmations with Robin, Christopher, and my parents, we decided that I would leave Tennessee on August 31st along with my parents company. At first, I thought the days would never go by, then all of a sudden it was August 30th. I was running wild trying to see everyone that I possibly could before I left and getting myself completely packed. My wonderful uncle, aunt, and best friend- Alex Glisson- came to help me get everything organized. Before I realized it, I was waking up to my grandparents seeing me before I left. I cuddled with our two dogs and three kittens for as long as possible, and then I got into my car and the journey began. 

I was a nervous wreck; I felt awful. I had terrible and nasty dreams the entire trip there of every bad thing that could happen. Then all of a sudden, we were pulling up to my apartment after only 30 short hours on the road. We got things unpacked as quickly as possible, got our showers, and went out to dinner. The next morning, we went grocery shopping, had lunch at the Laurel Tavern, went to Santa Monica Pier, Hollywood Blvd, and then dinner at the Aroma Cafe. I awoke early the next morning to drop off my parents at the airport. The second time I ever saw my daddy cry was that day. It was the hardest thing to be strong and walk away, but I did. 

The hardest thing about leaving is my family; we are very close. We do everything together and see each other as much as possible. My mother is my best friend; I tell her everything and we do everything together. I truly believe that I am my step-daddy's daughter. We may not be blood, but we have lived together for as long as I can remember. And they say the more you are around someone the more you become like them. We have the same sense of humor, make the best of every situation, always smiling and laughing, and have a lot of the same interests. We talk about sports and watch Duck Dynasty together every Wednesday and Sunday night. Although my sister and I have fought for the past 15 years (her entire life), she is my little sister. We finally began to get a little closer just before I left. But hopefully the distance will make us closer. My father is my night and shining armor though. He is always to the rescue and always helps me when I need something fixed, put together, or worked on. I do not know what I am going to do so far away from him. My uncle Daniel is not only my uncle, but he is the big brother I never had and my best friend in the entire world. He told me I have to send him a picture of something every single day until I see him again. 

But here I am in Los Angeles-2,000 miles and two time zones away from home- all alone. Searching for a job and keeping myself busy is all that I can do. And things are looking promising. I start Jack Waltzer's class on Monday, and then I start a web series at the end of the month. Yay for change, learning, and work! Happiness can fade, but joy is eternal. And if you have joy, you can find happiness. 

Psalm 106:1 "Praise the Lord! Give thanks to the Lord. He is good. His faithful love endures forever!"