from one of the most unbelievable months of our lives. It was a roller coaster ride, with some very exciting "highs" and very disturbing "lows." Now March has arrived and we are still recouperating, but it looks as though we will be glad we took the ride...
when we watch TV is all we needed to make our apartment complete. So we finally decided on a sofa with a pull-out bed so that the "Hotel Flenner" could accommodate more guests. When the delivery men brought it up to our apartment, it became clear that this sofa would not fit from the hallway around the tight corner into our living room. Eric's quick thinking solved this problem: since the hallway leads straight into the bedroom, he removed the large bedroom window which leads out onto the balcony, and the sofa was safely brought into the living room thorugh the double doors that lead from the balcony into the living room. It was well worth the hassle, and now our apartment feels more like a home!
is not how we expected to spend our Valentine's Day. We had made reservations to see 2 "romantic" plays. The first was called Idle Time, written by a playwright who won an honorable mention in the Pittsburgh New Works Festival. Eric directed this play when it was produced in Pittburgh, and so we were anxious to see this production in LA. The writer, David Johnson, is making a living in LA working on screenplays. After the show, David introduced Eric to some of the other audience members, including Kadeem Hardison from the TV sitcom spin-off of the Cosby Show called A Different World, as well as a few other recognizable faces.
The second show was a Broadway Revue playing at the church we started attending called Broadway Bouquet. After this show there was a champagne reception where we had a chance to chat with the pastor and his wife. It turns out that there are many members of the congregation who are working in Hollywood, and Eric was introduced to a few. If it can't hurt to know a few people in the business, then this weekend was extremely helpful!
you need to find your first "gig." Or two, as it turns out. Eric
went to his first audition in LA for the 
Knightsbridge
Theatre's production of Henry IV. This is considered a "semi-professional"
theatre, with the designation of being an Actor's Equity Association 99-seat
theatre. He was cast in the role of the Earl of Worcester, a good supporting
role at a place where he has a good chance of being seen by agents. The show
runs April 21- May 27. We were terribly excited when he got the call. This was
followed very closely by an offer to do a television documentary called Mysteries
& Miracles of the Holy Grail. Eric plays a Templar Knight fighting for
the Grail in the Cruades with a few speaking lines. It will be shown on cable
around Easter. We will let you know when you can catch him in his debut on cable
TV!
was the news that Laurie got the last week of February, informing her that she was no longer employed with Productivity Point International. They shut down their operations for the entire West Coast as part of "restructuring" the company. This took us completely off guard. Although there are other training companies in LA, Laurie had already researched them (before we moved) and found they were not places where she would want full-time employment. So, she has decided to be independently employed. She is now working as a contract instructor-for-hire. PPI has provided her with some contract work, and she is working on a deal with Sony Pictures as well. Although it is risky, we hope it will be even more profitable in the long run. Now we just have to find a good accountant!
was shown here in LA at the Santa Monica "Moxie" Film Festival, titled The Bread, My Sweet. Produced by a good friend, Adrienne Wehr, it starred Scott Baio and was about a man who gives up his corporate day-job to run the family bakery (the actual Enrico Biscotti in the Strip). It was a beautifully told, touching story and won the award for the Best Dramatic Feature. Congratulations to everyone involved! It was good to see our "hometown" on film and see many familiar faces in the production.
Mamma Mia,the musical filled with songs by ABBA, was just the lift we needed after Laurie's last official day of work for PPI. Our friend, Lill (short for Inga-Lill, a real Swede) offered us the tickets at the last minute and we had a great time at the Shubert Theatre clapping our hands to the music of one of our favorite pop-rock groups! |
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