Rockford rockin' and London calling

In which our Diva is getting out of the house in a major way

Whoops! Been neglecting the blog again. As I'm sure you can guess, it's because I've been all kinds of busy, mostly with Resonance, Scarlet X, and Elgin OPERA. I'm proud of my work on the opera website (and had fun writing the trivia quiz you'll find in your program if you go to the February 12 gala), and we're getting ever closer to when I'll be able to start pointing you to the results of all our work on those first two.

In the meantime, I'm told there are only a few spots left at the VIP after-party for the Raymond Did It premiere in Rockford next Friday, February 11. They might even be sold out by now, but if so, you can still get your ticket to the premiere at the Aegis Studios online store.

I had a great time on set last summer, and am looking forward to getting back together with the cast and crew and seeing the finished movie in all its big-screen glory. It's unapologetic in its unrated old-school slasher-flick-ness, so if that's not your bag, I totally understand. But if it is, and you're in the area, it would be fantastic to see you there too!

After that, things get even more exciting, as I'll be packing to jet off to London the following week! I'll be meeting up with lots of Resonance folks I've thus far only communicated with by email, social media, and/or Skype. Which has been good enough to facilitate collaboration on loads of very cool storytelling (which really will be going live in the near future -- believe me, I can't wait either!), but there's no real substitute for face-to-face human contact. I'll be in the UK for a whole week, which will (I hope, at least!) be just barely enough time to visit with several friends I haven't seen in years, and a couple I've yet to meet in person at all. Our small, small world seems dauntingly big sometimes, so there's nothing like the chance to shrink it down again for a little while.

To keep abreast of Resonance developments, be sure to sign up for the email newsletter on the official website, follow it on Twitter, or "Like" the Facebook page. The Chicago "cell" (where we're developing US-based storylines) also has its own Facebook page and Twitter feed. Something is happening... Will you help?


In the midst of all this, I've finally gotten around to reading The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson's bestselling history of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. The book is billed as a sort of parallel-track account of visionary architect Daniel Burnham and serial killer H.H. Holmes, and it does focus primarily on these two men, but along the way there's a complex mosaic of other figures and events linking the Fair to all manner of things going on in the world at the time, some of which resonate rather startlingly with current events. It's a cracking read, and I wish I'd gotten to it years ago when everyone was still talking about it!

Insta-mom

In which our Diva has acquired a teenage son

Casting has just been announced for a couple more roles in Raymond Did It, including Alex Smeltzer as my character's son Edgar. I had a great time reading with all the young actors at callbacks, and was very glad I didn't have to choose among them! I remember a couple points of really "clicking" with Alex in our reading, and I'm looking forward to being his onscreen mom. (Even if it is a little weird to suddenly have a teenager the first time I really play a mom!)

It's always exciting when the words on the page get attached to a living, breathing person, and you can really start working on creating the relationship between characters. Especially with Edgar's dad out of the picture in the movie -- just having a face for our kid gives me all kinds of new insights to work with in figuring out who he was and what our lives were before the movie.

Song for Today: "Sink 'n' Swim" by Plumb. I know this is the third song of hers I've plugged, but I've been listening to her a lot lately, and it's just what's in my head today so I thought I'd share.

En-title-ment issues

In which our Diva probably should have done better than that pun

Oops, nine days since my last post. I'm basically over being sick, so I think I'll blame the Olympics. Who wants to blog when they can watch Evan Lysacek? (YAY LOCAL BOY YAY!)

In the midst of the sick, I had a very busy January, and one of the projects I shot during it was Ken Cohen's Tasting the End, which is slated to be released this spring. When I auditioned for my role as a home hospice nurse, the title on my sides was Smelling Anosmia. By the time we shot, that had been truncated to Anosmia, which was evocative but perhaps a bit literal? With the new title, Ken has hit on a memorable ring, and I can't wait to see the finished film. I've done several offbeat comedy projects lately; this one probably fits most properly in the "black comedy" category. I shot one day on it, and had a great time.

Movies commonly go through several title changes even after they're wrapped, for a variety of reasons. A little birdie told me last week that business wheels are turning behind the scenes, and there should be release news on Cyrus before too terribly long. Since a comedy by the same name got a fair amount of attention at Sundance, I'm guessing that news will come with a new title. I'm curious to see what it will be!

And then there's Raymond Did It, the first feature from horror writer/director (not to mention comics writer and RPG designer) Travis Legge, which I'll be shooting in Rockford this summer. One of my audition sides came with the draft title The Revenge of Ray-Ray still attached, but Travis had moved on to the punchier title by then. It's already getting attention in the horror blogosphere, and you can get in on the ground floor of support and news at its IndieGoGo page.

Looking forward to that one, as I get to play my own age for a change -- the mother of a teenager! Plus, how can I not love the first-ever design for a real movie poster with my name on it?