Super Spectacular 7th HPAG Workshop on Dec. 9, 12

 INTROS
Skipped the Kelly Mullis intro since all the people at the Workshop had heard it already!

Got everyone on stage in a circle and had each person say their name and three things about themselves or how they were feeling, etc.  A lot of people said they were happy and excited to be there at the workshop.  Aww, thanks guys for the warm fuzzies. :)

STRETCH & VOCAL WARMUP
After the intros, we did a big stretch to get limber.  Then we did a big face stretch.
We took deep breaths, held it for 5 seconds and then let it out.  We did some Blah, Blah, Blahs, some Lalalala's, and some da, da, da's.

We followed that with some A.E.I.O.U.s going up the scale. Then I asked everyone if they knew the words to DOE-A-DEAR from "The Sound of Music" and they did....so we all sang "Doe a Dear" and it was awesome!

AFFIRMATIONS
These were from my head, I had everyone repeat after me:

"I embrace who I am."
"I can play any part."
"There are no small roles."
"I will shine in my life."

EXERCISES
I had everyone collect all their energy into a tight little ball and then when we were ready, we all threw our energy ball into the center of the circle. You could feel the energy blast back at us! Super cool.

Circle Story Exercise:  Someone starts with a word and then throws it to someone else who adds another word and we begin to weave a story together.  It was a short story about a bird and some dragons.  Fun exercise.

Attitude Exercise:  I had everyone walk around with three different attitudes.  The first was "COCKY".  I said they could talk, so people were saying stuff like "What's up?" "What's your problem?" "What are you looking at?"  That was fun!

Second attitude was:  SCARED.  We all walked around the stage being scared.  Looking at each other with fear in our eyes. Then Andy Wasif pointed to the ceiling and gasped, then we all gasped!!

Third Attitude:  HAPPINESS!!! This was great because we were just so giddy and happy and hugging each other and laughing and smiling.  The room was full of love and joy! I loved that attitude the best!  Good way to break the ice for sure!!  Yay, happy shiny people.   

IMPROVISATIONS
The night before the workshop, I brainstormed and came up with different improvisations for the group.

The first one was based on a story that a recent headshot client, who was also at the workshop, told me about that had happened to her.

"HOLD UP" starring Bivas Biswas, LarJayne Blackwell, Andy Wasif, Ardes Armstrong, & Rebecca Hirshfeld.   Bivas played a young man who comes into a Hallmark store and starts flirting with Ardes. There is another couple in the story, Andy and Rebecca. LarJayne plays the store clerk. After some time, Bivas pulls out a gun and holds up the store.  He tells everyone to go in the back. They don't listen to him. He tells them to get on the floor. LarJayne plays it cool and goes and gets the money from the safe in the back and gives him $735.  Rebecca is dialing 911 on her cell.  Bivas is getting nervous thinking that the cops will show up.  He finally leaves with the money and everyone is safe again.  LarJayne warns Ardes not to be so friendly to strangers because you just never know! Haha!

"THE GREAT ESCAPE" starring Carl Rolle, Jim McCaffree and Andy Wasif.  The three men are serving very long sentences in prison and they are making a plan to escape.  Carl is the leader, Jim is the brain of the group, and Andy is a sleazy Ladies Man.  They discuss how they will escape. Jim says he's going to put a virus in the computer system with a memory chip he's designed that will open all the gates in the prison.  Andy says he has a 'lady friend' who can get up to the main guard tower and seduce/distract the guard up there and help them escape. Every few minutes Andy mentions another girl he knows and Carl is just amazed with how many girls Andy has in his pocket.  Jim confesses that he has 23 Million dollars in a Cayman Island account that he stole before he got locked up and now the plot has thickened, they each want a piece of the pie. The improv was great. Good job guys!

"THE HOLLYWOOD PARTY" starring LarJayne Blackwell, Kelly Mullis and the entire group.  
LayJayne comes to my office. I'm a fixer of people. If someone wants to be a certain way, they come to me and I give them a 'magic pill' and their dream comes true.  LarJayne comes to me with a wish to be more beautiful, fun, & popular.  I tell her about the 'fee' and she agrees. I give her a magic pill and tell her that I'm throwing her a special "Hollywood Party" that night and to take the pill 15 minutes before she shows up.  LarJayne shows up. Her name for the evening is ANISTASIA.  Everyone loves her. Producers and directors want her in their next movie. The ladies want to be friends with Anistasia. I as the hostess introduce her to ToPac LaRoc, a famous female rapper (Kareema) who wants to have Anastasia in her new buddy movie. Everyone admires her hair, her clothes, her face. They are enamored. I'm sure it was a bit overwhelming for Anistasia, but after that party, she will forever be changed!

 "SUPER HERO MEETING" starring Kelly Mullis, Lisa-Marie, Ardes Armstrong, and Kareema.  We are four female super heros that are called upon to save the planet Earth. We all have super powers.  Kelly spins and when she spins in circles, everyone around her gets happy.  Lisa-Marie can read people's minds. Ardes can see the future when she puts her glasses on. Kareema can shoot lightening bolts out of her hands.  We all agree that we must go to the White House Oval Office and meet with President Obama. Kareema is afraid that she will get stressed out and catch the Oval office on fire.  Lisa-Marie is annoyed by Kareema negative thoughts, which she can read.  Kelly has to spin around because the situation is getting tense.  Ardes is seeing the future with her glasses on.  I convince the group that we will need money and I say I shall call in Mitt Romney to help us save the planet.  Lisa Marie thinks this is a bad idea.  The girls are having a hard time figuring out a plan, they all decide to hit a happy hour at a bar to discuss it further.  The end.

COLD READINGS

"GOODBYE TO ALL THAT" starring Jim McCaffree, LarJayne Blackwell, and Rebecca Hirshfeld.  LarJayne plays a therapist who is conducting a counseling session with a married couple. Jim plays the confused husband who isn't sure why things have gone South in their relationship. Rebecca tells him she wants a divorce and has a lawyer. LarJayne really seems to be siding with Rebecca because they are actually 'together'. The scene is funny as LarJayne in no uncertain terms tells Jim that the marriage is over.  He is getting more and more agitated by LarJayne and keeps telling her to shut up as he tries to get to the bottom of this with his distraught wife who clearly doesn't love him anymore.  Everyone did a great job!  Jim played his character perfectly. He was so frustrated. His commitment was wonderful. Rebecca was clearly upset and I think she even cried. LarJayne was the perfect bitchy professional...even though she was breaking every rule that therapists are supposed to follow. Great job guys!

"DANGEROUS LOVE" starring Carl Rolle and Andy Wasif. Carl plays a frustrated police officer who is finding that he's missing files on this important case.  He asks Andy why he's still at the station working "don't you have a life?"  Andy says he has no life.  Carl Rolle plays a craggy police man just perfectly and needs to do so on TV ASAP!!  Andy was perfect as his associate. The two guys had great chemistry together and I believed that they had history working side by side. Great work.

"JET SET" starring Bivas Biswas, LarJayne Blackwell, and Ardes Armstrong.  LarJayne plays the hostess of a cooking show that Bivas is the special guest CHEF on.  I'm not so sure how much cooking experience Bivas's character has, but he sure is trying to turn on the charm and seduce Ardes's character.  It's a pretty funny scene as they all clumsily stumble around each other in an enduring manner.  I liked the chemistry between Bivas and Ardes's characters.

"DNA" starring Kareema and Rebecca Hirshfeld.  Kareema plays a victim of rape who comes in to talk about what happened to her.  Rebecca is DA on the case and tries to convince Kareema's character to testify and then we find out that the rapist is actually her real father.  Kareema played the character very tortured and introverted.  She even got emotional.  Rebecca did a great job of not anticipating the news that Kareema was about to share with her and reacted accordingly.  Rebecca showed compassion and understanding.  They both did a great job!  :)

"ANGER MANAGEMENT" starring Ardes Armstrong and Andy Wasif. Andy Wasif plays the Charlie Sheen character in this funny sitcom scene.  Ardes plays an ex-stripper who now has a tattoo removal service called "Tramps without Stamps".  She and Charlie flirt about the past and decide to get together for old time sake!  Ardes was really funny and can really pull off a fun character like that! She'd be great to book under fives on any of these funny sitcom shows.  She's got great comic timing!  Andy is a standup comedian so he's got the comic timing down as well. They really hit the beats of this cleverly written sitcom. I was really proud of them both.  Really funny stuff guys! Yay!

"UNDERCOVER "IF"" starring Lisa-Marie  and Jim McCaffree. This was a funny scene. Jim plays the handler of another FBI agent who is on a case. Lisa calls him in to assist because the man she was there 'watch' or 'capture' has died of a heart attack. Lisa's character is scantly clad in the scene and when Jim comes in, he is confused and worried.  "Why are you dressed like that? Did you sleep with him?"  We soon find out that Jim is not just her handler, but her father as well.  Jim played the concerned father great.  They had wonderful timing and banter back and forth. Lisa-Marie was so adorable and cute as the innocent FBI agent who happened to cause this man (Carl Rolle) to die on the sofa.  I just loved these two characters and could have watched a whole movie with them both!  Great work!!!

"SAFE HARBOR" starring Andy Wasif and Rebecca Hirshfeld. Rebecca and Andy used to be in love and together, but that ended some time ago. Rebecca wants one last chance to prove that she still loves Andy, but it's too late.  The pain is too deep with Andy and he's actually got someone new in his life. Rebecca plays the character perfectly with just the right amount of emotion in her voice as she sounds like she's on the verge of a breakdown. Andy is kind, but strong with her, not willing to give into her pleas and excuses of the past.  The past is gone and the damage is done. There is not turning back. Andy placates her with a kiss to the head and he is gone.  Her last words to him are "I hate you!" It was scene from a Danielle Steele Movie and they played it perfectly! (the scene was so riviting....I forgot to get a photo. Sorry.)

"AFTER HOURS" starring Bivas Biswas, Andy Wasif and Lisa Marie. One of my favorites of the workshop! Bivas plays a doctor who is also training to be a fighter.  He's handsome and everyone wants him...only problem is, he's gay and won't come out.  People are starting to talk and Andy tells him this and that he really should consider 'coming out'.  He says the nurse named Kristin is hot for him.  Bivas's character says that it would ruin everything if he came out, that he can't do it! Andy has to run off to surgery.  Moments later, Lisa-Marie's character, Kristin, comes to see Bivas. She is quite flirty and suggesting that they get together that night or very soon. She totally wants to hook up with him.  He's so nervous that he keeps backing up as she gets closer and closer to him. She is pouty and begging for him to spend some time with her.  He insists that he has to train for his fight and he has to work and has no time at all to see her.  Kristin is crushed. She touches his face and he is clearly uncomfortable.  It was a great scene!! Lisa-Marie was adorable as the 'take no for an answer' nurse.  I loved it! Bivas was wonderful.  Andy played his role perfect as the understanding friend. 

"MOROCCAN DINNER" starring Carl Rolle and LarJayne Blackwell. Carl and LarJayne's characters have been married forever.  Carl never takes LarJayne out and she is bored. As she asks for clue to her crossword puzzle, she is clearly interrupting Carl's newspaper reading time.  Then LarJayne's character suggest that they go to a Moroccan Restaurant where they can watch a belly dancer and eat with their hands.  Carl is so not interested and doesn't want to spend the money or leave the house for that matter.  "Why can't you just cook dinner like you usually do?" LarJayne asks about a clue where the answer is "DIVORCE" and suddenly Carl realizes the importance of the matter at hand.  Carl played the surly hubby to a tee and LarJayne was perfect manipulative wife.  Funny chemistry between these two. Good job! 

"CANDY APPLE" starring Bivas Biswas and Kareema. Loved this scene!!  Kareema plays a young woman who goes on an interview for a job as a stripper.  She calls herself "Candy Apple".  After the initial interview where Kareema says that she's got experience dancing in an 'exotic manner'.  Bivas asks her to show her stuff!  It becomes clear that she has no experience as a stripper at all.  Kareema is so funny doing her little stripper moves. She is clearly uncomfortable. Bivas thinks he recognizes her. She plays it off. It turns out that he realizes that she is the Pastor's daughter.  She gets nervous and asks him not to tell her father about this job interview, that she's in debt and needs a job.  Bivas tells her that what he really needs is a cocktail waitress and would she be willing to do that. She agrees and is happy to have the job.  I think both actors rocked this scene. It was so funny and sweet!

And that concludes another fantastic HPAG Workshop!  I'm so proud of all the actors who come to my workshop!  They should all be working on TV and in Films!!  I encourage everyone to go for their dreams and be proactive in their own careers! 
NO ONE CARES MORE ABOUT YOUR CAREER THAN YOU DO!!!

So Get those Headshots!
Get that Agent.
Submit yourself!  Write your own webseries or short film!  Shoot it! Edit it. Put it on YOUTUBE.
Make stuff happen!!

WE HAVE ONE MORE WORKSHOP BEFORE THE CHRISTMAS BREAK.
We'll be back on January 6th!!

If you want to attend next Sunday's Workshop on Dec. 16, 2012. 
Send me a message on facebook or email me or call me at 323.428.3739. 

See you on the stage!!!
Thanks for reading!

Kelly Mullis, Artistic Director of HPAG 

 We have a lot of FUN, but we are SERIOUS ACTORS!!! Don't KID YOURSELF!!!