Personalized Link on Facebook

Last week facebook announced that on Friday, June 12th at 9:01pm PST all facebook users can choose a personalized link. I told Stephen that we have to be on the computer when the clock strikes 9pm so we can grab our names before someone else will take it. If there are over 200 million facebook users, the chances are going to be pretty big that someone will want to have the same user name as you.

We arrived at home at 8:45pm and I was waiting by the computer with anticipation, ready to choose Enci, the single name I like to go by. As soon as the clock hit 9:01pm, I clicked on the button that said to choose a username and I typed in Enci. And here is where my excitement went right into frustration. The user name had to be at least 5 characters long. Bummer! I ended up choosing my married name that is also my facebook profile name enci.box. But I was not happy!

It is so important for me to maintain my brand, and facebook screwed it up already when I signed up and now it continues screwing it up by requesting a certain number of characters. For artists it is a very complicated issue, more then one would realize.

As artists, we need to maintain our identity and we need to strengthen the brand that we built on years ago. Through Facebook, I lost that identity and I lost my brand, I feel because everybody calls me Enci Box, my full married name, not my artist name. I have to tell directors and producers all the time, that I only use one name, when I’m performing in their film or in their theater production. I will have to make sure that the credit is correct in newspapers, reviews, end credits, any footage, etc. It is a constant hassle now.

So, even though my facebook profile link is http://facebook.com/enci.box, I still only want to be credited everywhere as Enci. One name only! Thank you for listening!

June 16, 2009   Posted in: brand, facebook, name  2 Comments

I Don’t Have an Accent in ASL

american sign language

Today, it was very difficult to get up. I only had about 4 hours of sleep and it was Sunday and one was supposed to sleep in.

But I had to get up! I’ve been planning this class for  three weeks and nothing was going to keep me from it. If I had been in an accident, I would have crawled out of the hospital to attend this class.

See, Voices From Chornobyl had a performance at the Deaf West Theatre on April 26th, the 23rd anniversary of the Chernobyl accident. I was playing Anna again and we met a couple times with actors who were hard of hearing and who were talking in American Sign Language. It was totally inspiring! It, meaning the sign language and they, the actors.

They created their character and the words to be able to perform opposite us, who were speaking the lines at the same time as they were signing it.

I was so inspired that I wanted to learn American Sign Language. And I have been planning on taking this class since our performance. So nothing was going to keep me from going!

And I’m so glad that I did get up and went. I learned so much! And my mind was tingling from being visually, mentally and physically challenged at the same time.

We are used to talking and thinking and using our mouth muscles. But in ASL I had to use my eyes, my brain, my hands and also coordination. This was a new challenge. Every sign is very specific and you have to hold your hand in the correct position, so that you don’t “misspeak”.

Cindy, the director of Voices From Chornobyl, came to the class, so did Aaron, Kappa, Amy, and Shawn. Two of my friends who saw the play and Stephen attended the class also.

First we were introduced to Sonya Wilson, our teacher. She doesn’t speak, only does sign language and that intimidated me. I thought I would never understand her. But she immediately made us feel comfortable and at ease. She was funny and she slowed things down for us, she repeated for us, moved our hands and fingers where it needed to be for correct spellings.

After she introduced herself, we, the students, introduced ourselves and learned to finger-spell our names. Then we all talked about why we wanted to learn ASL. And we had to speak with hands and feet and Caitie, who hooked us up with this class, was helping us.

Today I learned to sign these words:

fine home cute
change nice to meet
you simple doesn’t matter
later no, thank you long
time enjoy cool
company member Pippin (the play)
learn mother if
depend misunderstood try
deaf I love you expression
culture hearing not
like bug good
bad actor lawyer
right fight for your right what
email man woman
question cousin Germany
Mexico America Friend
language Australia working
horse dog farm
racoon snake question

This class was amazing! Sonya was amazing! She made us feel like real champs and she was so happy that we wanted to learn.

I can’t wait for next Sunday! I already bought a book that she recommended, “The Everything Sign Language” book by Clayton Valli.

I have my week pretty much carved out for me to study ASL and I’m very much looking forward to next Sunday!

May 17, 2009   Posted in: ASL, Auditions, Bike Ride, Rehearsals, Voices From Chornobyl, studies  No Comments

Interview for Voices From Chornobyl Promo

On Saturday I was interviewed for the project Voices From Chornobyl. I was nervous. I tried to imagine in my head what the interview would be like. What I would look like on the screen once the interview was cut. I pictured my movements, when I would bring my hand up to my face or when I would flip my hair to the back.

It was nerve wrecking. Nobody gave me my lines, I had to make everything up myself. I had to sound good and smart and knowledgeable.  I had to look good.

When I got to the interview location, I checked myself in the mirror, adjusted my hair and sat down on the sofa. I brought one leg up underneath me to be comfortable. I shifted myself to the right a bit so I wouldn’t be square to the camera. I drank some water and some hot tea to clear my throat and to wet my vocal cords.

I was sick for over a week now.  My cough stopped for the moment. I was sucking on some lozenges before we started with the interview. I asked the DP to please make me look healthy. We both laughed.

The lights were adjusted. Finally the lawn mower outside stopped and the camera started rolling. The first question came from Lysandra Petersson, who is the Director of this Documentary and who conducted the interview.

She had a smile on her face. She was pretty and she had a very open comforting look about her. No judgment. I opened my mouth, said something and her face changed. She listened with her eyes, she nodded, and I could read everything I said on her face.

I relaxed. All of a sudden I didn’t think of anything else except the questions and I was looking to see if Lysandra listened, if she believed what I was saying, if she cared. And she did all of the above. And I started talking like a waterfall.

Memories came back about the project, about the process, about the actors and the rehearsals and the performances and my preparation, and everything that happened with Voices From Chornobyl in the past 3 years.

It felt good. It felt good to be connected with this project again. It’s been forever since I’ve spoken Anna’s words, since I read the script, since we shot the promo in February of ‘08.

I’m looking forward to the next phase of Voices!

January 19, 2009   Posted in: Interview, Voices From Chornobyl  No Comments

Shakespeare Outreach in Brentwood

Antaeus Company

I became a member of the Antaeus Academy last September, when I passed my company audition. I had no idea what to expect and what was ahead of me. And sometimes it’s better not to know and be surprised.

I participated in a 3 month vigorous exercise in classics. I studied Shakespeare, the Greeks and the “new classics” like Shaw, Coward and Wilde. It was a crazy 3 months, while I was also performing in “Death and the Maiden” at the Sidewalk Studio Theatre in Burbank.

At the end of the 3 months, all the actors got together with some of the Companies finest directors  to create a brilliant evening of classic scenes that was free and open to the public. We had a full house, the energy was high and the evening was electric.  I was proud to be part of this ensemble and part of the Academy.

After a month break, I received the great news, that a school in Brentwood was interested in doing Shakespeare Outreach to their students and my scene from “Measure for Measure” was one of the chosen scenes that they wanted to have presented in their classrooms.

So on the morning of January 26th, 4 actors, 2 scenes and 1 director will head out to the Brentwood School to present a Shakespeare scene and do a short q&a with the students afterward.

I’m very excited about this opportunity! I never dreamed that I would present a scenework in a school and I never dreamed that I will perform Shakespeare. I hope that there will be many more schools and many more opportunities that will challenge me as a performer and as an artist.

January 10, 2009   Posted in: Antaeus, Death and the Maiden, Outreach, Performances, Shakespeare  One Comment

The New Year Brings a New Me

Last year, the doctor diagnosed my coughing and wheezing and shortness of breath with allergy induced asthma.

I’ve had a rough few months and my rehearsals were badly affected, especially because I was doing a very intense play DEATH AND THE MAIDEN.

I was on medication for a couple months and two weeks before performances opened, I quit taking any medicine. I didn’t like being on drugs and I didn’t like being affected by them.  So I decided to just work on my breathing and just focus.

The first day that I could breath and yell without coughing was a very powerful day for me. I felt alive again and I couldn’t stop raising my voice and screaming everything that I said. It was an awesome feeling to be able to breath without anything holding me back.

I performed for 8 weeks without any incident, though I kept my emergency inhaler in the desk drawer on stage and Eric and Benton and the Stage Manager Charmaine were very aware of it and were ready to “rescue” me if needed.

The asthma incident, not being able to breath, the shortness of my breath was a horrible experience. I was afraid that I was going to die.

Therefore I’m starting out this year with a fast and a cleansing. I  want to get rid of all the toxins that are in my body so I won’t get any allergies or anything else.

I started 3 days ago and I’m on my 4th day. It’s a new year and it’s going to be a new me. I’m looking forward to it.

January 5, 2009   Posted in: Death and the Maiden, Goals  One Comment

The Rehearsal I Feared Most

Today we had our fourth rehearsed for X (TEN) a play written by Cindy Marie Jenkins.  The audition was already nerve wrecking for me (more about that later) but todays rehearsal I really dreaded.  Oh, how I dreaded it.  Today was the day that I was going to sing solo in front of the whole cast…

Singing is for me a phobia that I want to face this year and being cast in a play where I have to sing is the best thing that ever happened to me in my theater life! But this date just came too fast for me and I didn’t even get to rehearse with Tom and Brian, who help me to overcome this fear.

So for a week now I have been listening to the songs on my computer and on my iPod. Stephen GC composed the music to the songs and wrote CDs for each cast member to rehearse.

I have been singing for two days straight, while I rode my bike, while I walked to the grocery store, at home, and everywhere else where no human ear that could hear my voice. I was so scared about this rehearsal, I even started to get a headache and a stomach ache.

But I wasn’t going to chicken out! I wasn’t going to let Cindy and the cast down but most of all I wasn’t going to let myself down. This was my chance to overcome my fear.

So I arrived at rehearsal, we received our revised scripts and we started reading. I had no idea when my singing was going to come up because the script was new. I was sweating and my heart was beating like crazy.  I could feel it in my throat. I was getting more and more nervous as we flipped the pages.

And then there was the page. Stephen was going to start the first chorus and then I had to jump in.  Just as I opened my mouth to sing, one of the actresses next to me started to sing my song as if there was no tomorrow.  She sang loud and confident and I sang under her cover, not knowing if I should be thankful or angry. And then the song was over.

I looked around, and nobody stared at me as I expected. They were all looking at their script, reading. The sky didn’t fall, nobody laughed. Maybe because they didn’t really hear me?  Maybe they will stare at me on Mondays rehearsal?

Now, hours later sitting here at home, I’m relieved that I didn’t sing alone and that the actress next to me was “covering” me. But I know that on Monday I will have to deliver. And even though I’m already scared at the thought of it, I’m actually looking forward to facing this monster. Wish me luck!

March 22, 2008  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: TEN, X  2 Comments

Am I Lucky?

I sometimes consider myself to be lucky that I’m a working actor.And other times I’m reminded that I’m working so hard that I should not consider anything luck but the fruit of my sweat that I put into everything I do.Anything I touch from morning to night I do for the love of acting:

  • I design websites not only to make a living, but so that I can apply that skill to promote myself and my projects
  • I photograph productions, so that I can meet other people and get to know the different theatres
  • I work with the SkyPilot Theatre not only because they are an amazing company but also so I can learn about the process of running a theatre
  • I helped out on the Voices From Chornobyl film shoot, not only because I love my director, but also so I can learn about the process of making a film
  • I teach at AFI through the SAG Conservatory, not only because I love to help actors, but also so that I can learn about myself and meet others in the industry
  • I volunteer at Women In Theatre so that I can meet people and so that I can get them excited about Theatre in LA
  • I go to plays and to see movies to learn and to support my friends
  • I promote my friends who I work with so that I can promote my projects
  • I blog to share my passion…

Everything I do has something to do with acting and the creative process.I find myself the most relaxed on set or in the theatre. That’s where I can finally breath, focus and be myself.That’s the only place, where I can feel my skin from the inside and where I can feel my heart beat. That’s where I really feel alive.I have been working monthly and weekly on one project or another and I love it. I always look forward to those few hours where I can be directed, where I can relax, where I can be amongst the creative people that feed me, encourage me and guide me.So am I lucky that I’m working? Am I lucky to know the people who cast me? Am I lucky to be cast?Maybe I’m lucky that I have the health and the energy. Maybe I’m lucky that I have a passion for something that most people are looking for their entire life. Maybe I’m lucky that I met the people who I love working with.But I don’t think I’m lucky to be working. I work very hard every day to keep in touch with the people. I work on staying in touch with my self. I work hard in promoting my shows and my projects. I work hard to support my fellow actors, directors, producers and writers. And I work hard on my craft every day!

February 22, 2008   Posted in: Performances, work  2 Comments

This Is What Inspires Me!

January 25, 2008   Posted in: One Night Kickstand  No Comments

Two Things I Love About ONKS

  1. Most of the cast and crew are urban cyclists
  2. We shopped at a “Made in America” store for wardrobe

Last Sunday the cast of “One Night Kickstand” met at the director’s apartment to go over the story board and to view the video of the test bike ride that was shot a week before.

Everybody arrived by bike and one guy arrived via the Red Line. That was way cool! Sustainable actors. Woohoo!  We talked about the shoot, the dates and our roles, ate some yummy pizza and then we watched the video which was amazing!

They shot with some high end digital camera that made everything so beautiful, so crisp and the colors so vivid, I loved it! And more then anything, I loved the fact that they were shooting from a bike trailer instead of from a car. Woohoo!

And yesterday the director, the wardrobe designer and I met at American Apparel to look at some wardrobe for me. It was pouring rain and I decided to walk instead of bike.  When I arrived,  I was very happy to see that the director rode his bike.

This production should definitely win the Most Sustainable Production of the Year Award, if there is such a thing.

January 24, 2008   Posted in: One Night Kickstand  No Comments

I Work For Plants

I shot a music video/documentary last Sunday on a very sort notice. I worked with the director, Danielle Stallings, about 8 years ago and this shoot was the result of her submitting to a competition and being one of the finalists who had to finish a short film within a couple weeks.

So she came up with a music video/documentary concept that involved some beach shots, forest scenes, a bus ride and lots of plants. Danielle also interviewed some people who started the “counter culture” in the 70s and the interviews were part of the documentary.

Danielle bought some plants to use for the filming and all the actors who were involved were given the option to keep the plants at the end of the day. To my surprise nobody took the plants home. Well that was good for me because Danielle gave me all the plants that I wanted and so I took all of the small plants and I left her with the big ones that I had no room for.

After the shoot they all looked wilted and exhausted. I put them on my patio next to each other, gave them some water and now, three days later they all look healthy and happy. If you can’t pay me for a shoot, I will work for food as any other actor but I will also work for plants or a bicycle. ;-)

January 16, 2008   Posted in: Filming, Music Video  One Comment