In Days of Auld Lang Syne

Hey everyone!

Again, sorry for the radio silence but my life is busy. Well here I am to write my favorite post, my New Year's wrap up. It's really nice to look back at my year and see all the things that I have done. I get to look at pictures and old posts from the year. Here we go.

2014 was a big year for me. It was the year I graduated collage and made a huge move down to Atlanta for the apprenticeship. As a kid, I never would have imagined that this would be happening. Hell, in 2013, I didn't know this was going to happen!

Well here's my list!

1) Graduated from college with a Bachelor of Arts in Drama!
2) Passed my senior comps with Honors
3) Auditioned for RADA, LAMDA, and Guildhall
4) Was in my first and only mainstage of college, Etiology
5) Went to RADA for the summer and did Measure for Measure again
6) Traveled to New York City alone for the first time and actually had a very good time regardless of the fact that I was terrified to go.
7) Went to the Ford's Theatre Gala, the most VIP event I've been to in my life
8) Took the train up to New York for the first time in a very long time. People bitch about it but I loved it.
9) Experince the snowyest DC I've ever seen
10) Had quite the Saint Patrick's day
11) Saw great plays in DC, New York, London and National Theatre Live
12) Saw my first show at the Globe, Antony and Cleopatra, standing right in the front
13) Did my first speaking role in a Shakespeare play (a bit abridged) Triolus and Cressida
14) Helped work on Gilbies
15) Had my first paying work, The Art of Dress (I was modeling, not well though)
16) Went to Baltimore for the first time
17) Lived in DC for the two months after graduating from college
18) Worked at Meeps and Ford's Theatre
19) Finished my seven grad school applications and am gearing up to knock those out of the park
20) Got accepted into the Horizon Theatre acting apprenticeship
21) MOVED TO ATLANTA!!!
22) Got jobs within 48 hours of living in Atlanta: Dogwalking and Escorpian
23) Babysat the craziest identical twin boys for four months
24) worked on Madeline's Christmas, Horizon's childrens Christmas show. I started out dreading having to work on it but it ended up being quite a great experince
25) Saw a lot of new things in London even though it was third massive trip to the best city in the world
26) Done lots of dogsitting in the past four months
27) Spent thanksgiving at a fellow apprentices home and had a great time
28) Had my family come and visit me for Christmas
29) Went to the Botanical Gardens to see the amazing Christmas lights show
30) Owned my first car, a 2002 VW Bug!
31) Moved into my own house for the first time
32) Went to my first Pride (I say went but was really watching from inside the restaurant)
33) Particapted in the Little 5 Points Halloween Parade for Horizon
34) Rang in the New Year in style (for which I am now paying for)

Wow, a lot happened this year! Like a lot happened! I hope that every year is as full and exciting as this year was for me! Happy new Year everyone and have a great 2015!

Bye-Bye!

Keep him off the cart because he's not yet dead!

So, hey guys. I'm not dead, just busy.

I thought I would write something briefly just to keep you up to date on my life. Seeing as it's almost 1 in the morning, nothing long for the time being.

RADA and London were phenomenal. Seriously, such a great experience for me.  I miss it so much and just want to go back to my little Shakespeare world in Fitzrovia. I'll get way more into the details of this trip at a later date.

Then I moved to Atlanta about two weeks ago and started my apprenticeship around that time. I'll get more into that at a later time, it's still a bit early to understand how I feel about it yet. My time in Atlanta has been interesting but i still feel like there is so much more for me to see before I can get really into it.

I really feel guilty every time I do not post on this page, but honestly, I'm not sure what I want the content of this blog to be. I feel like my life is not thrilling enough to fill a whole blog. I always wanted to create a fashion blog but seeing as half the time, I'm wearing restaurant blacks, that would be kind of difficult. We'll see what happens, if I'm regimented enough, maybe I can get what I want.

Well, that's it for now

Bye-Bye!

And yes, I'm quoting Monty Python because today in class, I ended up doing a "Ministry of Silly Walks" sort of move.

So the days float through my eyes

So I really should be better at this by this point. It's not that I've been insanely busy, this blog just sometimes happens to slip my mind. Well, anyway.

So I am officially a college graduate! I have graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Drama and made Dean's list for my last semester of undergrad. It still is so strange to have actually graduated from college. I remember being six years old and would beg my parents to tell me what high school was like (that mythical place where math was not required) and was convinced that I would never make it to high school. The fact that I have graduated college is insane to me. It was a fun event, which I was not expecting with all of my pre-grad jitters.

Obviously, I had to finish classes and all before I could get to this point, so now we are going into flashback mode. The last week of classes was such a strange time for me because I finally realized that my time at CUA was coming to an end.  While trying to finish up all of my papers and work on Gilbies (our end of the year awards show for CUA Drama which the seniors are in charge of), I was as usual overwhelmed. I still managed to have some fun in there but I managed to finish everything. I even managed to get an A in my Landscape Archeology class which I did no reading for the entire semester. I did very well this last semester which I think is how one would want to end their time in college. My final assignment of college was a paper for one of my drama classes and I've decided to show you all the "final paper selfie" that I took (If you can't see the title, it says "The Theatre of Cruelty: Julie Taymor's Titus", yeah really happy subject):

And that was that, Undergrad was over! Then we had Senior Week, which was a strange journey both through elementary school (we were taking yellow school buses everywhere) and college. I tried to spend as much time with all of my different friends as I could, which was difficult because everyone was everywhere. The events we had were going to Dave and Busters in an abandoned mall (I'm not kidding, windows were boarded up and everything, super creepy) and and Orioles Game which was my first time out to Baltimore (I ended up on the Jumbo-tron, though I really was not watching the game). Then we had a casino night on campus which luckily taught me that I will never cause my family any strife from gambling debt because I'm terrible at it and get board of it easily. This was kind of a weird event because after all of the off-campus events, we were back in our student center which felt like a step back. Then the next night we had a dinner at the Sequoia in Georgetown which had the most gorgeous views of the Kennedy Center and the Potomac but was also a strange event (I've learned that school sanctioned events are never what one hopes for). Then Tursday there were no events but I went out and celebrated my friend Cait's birthday. We went to a bar in Adams Morgan and did karaoke and I finally was able to do "Total Eclipse of the Heart" as my song. Then the next day my family arrived in town for the big weekend!

A lot of my family in California flew out for the event which made the whole thing quite exciting. On Friday was the Baccalaureate Mass in the Basilica which was the first time I have gone to church in a long time. The church was packed full of people there to see their kids graduate (Or a step in the graduation process). I sat next to Christian, who had been in London with me, and we had a great time being ridiculous in the mass. Then, after the mass, my family and I went to dinner and hung out before the big day.

Saturday morning was the big graduation day. I had to get in line to process super early and waited around for awhile before we even went in. I was surrounded by people I had never met in my entire time at Catholic and still had a blast make jokes with all of these people. Phillip Rivers was our commencement speaker plus the most adorable cardinal from Manilla. The big main ceremony was long but my section of the students had a good time. Then, when the big ceremony was over, Arts and Sciences stayed in the same spot and had our ceremony with diplomas being handed out. My good friend and fellow drama major Bridget Grace Sheaff was our Arts and Sciences speaker and she did quite a good job.  Then we were given our diplomas which is when I realized a new irrational fear I could have, worrying if anyone would clap or cheer for me while I got my diploma. Luckily, this fear was irrational and I got my diploma without falling over, though I did forgot the slip that had my name on it, pissing off the woman gathering them. Then the ceremony was over and there was a small reception in the drama department. Then I moved out of my dorm in record time and was done with Catholic forever! Then we had the best graduation dinner ever at Oyamel, Jose Andres modern Mexican restaurant in DC. We literally ordered everything on the menu (clearly food was the most important part of the event). While at dinner, we had the watch the Preakness because California Chrome was slated to win, which he did. Then we drove out to Easton Maryland where I fell asleep in the car after all of the excitement. Then we spent the next few days out in Easton which was nice to have a break even for only a few days. The weather was obviously so much nicer this time around then it was at Thanksgiving.

Then I returned to DC and moved into the sweetest place ever. A few weeks before graduation when I was in the throws of trying to find a place to live, we found out that our good friends from Tokyo and Singapore had just bought a condo in DC. They offered for me to live here this summer before I went to London in July (Right, I'm going to RADA for a month to study Shakespeare, so damn excited). It was so nice of them to offer and this apartment is amazing. I'm currently working at Ford's Theatre in their box office and at a vintage store called Meeps. Both jobs are fun and have their ups and downs.

I was lucky enough to get to go to the Ford's Theatre Gala which was this VIP event where even the Vice Preisdent was there! I wore my grandma's dress from the 1950s, my 1950s prom shoes and vintage jewerely, also 1950s. I got my hair professionally done and did my makeup all by myself and it turned out really well. I've included a picture below so you could see what I mean.

I was very excited that I got to go to this event especially because I will not be able to go next year because, drum roll please...............................................
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I'm moving to Atlanta to do an Acting Apprenticeship with Horizon Theatre Company! It's ten months long from September through June 2015. I'm so excited about this opportunity but also nervous about finding a job and a place to live because I know nothing about Atlanta. So if anyone has any advice, I will gladly take it.

So my summer in DC is starting to come to an end as well as my time in DC. It's a very nice city, not as great as others I have lived in but I will miss parts of the city. Hopefully when I'm a successful actor, I can work at some of the theaters here in DC. One day.

Now I have London and Atlanta to look forward to. I have no idea what the future will hold but I'm glad that at least I've got the next year figured out. And I was stressing out at the end of the year for nothing. I want that time back!

Thanks for reading this really long post on everything.

Bye-Bye! 

For dress has always been my strongest suit

Hey everyone!

So in the midst of finals and graduation and the death caused by house hunting (seriously, why is it SO hard!!), I thought I would share by first paid (!!) work with you. It's a short video that corresponds with a book called The Lost Art of Dress which is about the "Dress Doctors" of the 1920s through the 1960s. These women created some impeccable fashions that we have come to associate with this time period. Take a look at the video!

The Lost Art of Dress

Thanks everyone!

Bye-Bye!

We're all digging if you wanna know

Hello everyone,

So this is the reason that I have no readers because I never update this blog!! I apologize!! A lot has happened in my life since the first day of the year (well, yeah! I hear you all say). Anyway here is the rundown.

Etiology, the mainstage I was cast in, was a very interesting experience. It was a joy to work on but had such a tumultuous rehearsal process that it became quite stressful and problematic. It was a new work, so there was bound to be a bit of a learning curve for getting into the process. Learning lines was always tricky and it was always a game of "which version of the script will we do now?" Then the design was all over the map, I won't even get into it. Then we had the epic Snowpocalypse of 2014 that cut the actual run of our show to two days, Saturday and Sunday. My family was still able to see it, thank the lord, but I wished we had had Thursday and Friday. The audience though loved the play and was fully invested in the characters and the ghost plot-line and liked our acting! I remember one of my fellow classmates telling me freshman year that if people came up to you weeks later and complimented you, then you really knew you did well. I have had multiple instances of that which makes me feel really proud of myself, something I rarely feel. All in all, a good experience to have but an altogether mayhem.

Then this year, I had my British Drama school auditions. Let me preface this by saying that I did not get into any but the competition is so fierce that it is understandable. I had to travel to New York twice for these auditions, once in January and then again in March. I found that I grew a lot in these trips because at first I was terrified to travel to New York by myself because it's such a big city full of lots of people, both nice and scary. I was convinced I would get lost and die. I learned to love the train ride up and back because it gave me an opportunity to see parts of the country I had never seen before, though train stations are not the best example of America. The auditions themselves were learning experiences because I learned to not dread auditions from anxiety. I also came to understand how to get around New York and found that my childhood dream of living there had pretty much been replaced by London. I just really can't live in a place where you can't see the sky. Overall, this was a wonderful experience and I would not mind returning to New York for little trips here and there.

What else has happened since January? Hmmmm........

I have finally had enough of CUA Drama. It's really time for me to graduate and move on to theaters that actually want to work with me.  I'm glad that the one mainstage I had here was a leading role and not some sad eight-line ensemble role like some people get. But Merchant, anyway..........

Ahh! DC has had a brutal winter that is still lingering. Please leave! I can't deal with you anymore!!!

This weekend, I did an intensive with Shakespeare and Company from Lennox MA. It was very enlightening and was like a return to London and the amazing training received there. I worked on a Cordelia speech from King Lear and found a way to feel quite comfortable with the speech and will most likely use it for auditions in the future. The most important thing I learned was: "When I speak prose, I speak my thoughts. When I speak verse, I speak my soul". Cool stuff right?

Little things that happened: working on the closet scene from Hamlet as Gertrude. Game of Thrones and the soundtrack of The Wolf of Wall Street are now a part of my life. Touched raw chicken, and then cooked it! Got a part time job at Imagination Stage for after graduation! Working on a paper on Julie Taymor's Titus and its super fun to do. Saw some great shows (though the best were all London-born). Enjoyed DC and all it has to offer. Laughed. Cried. Wished I was Patrick Stewart. All the usual stuff.

Anyway, I probably won't update this for a long time especially while in the midst of preparing for graduation and trying to find an apartment in DC. The real world calls me, I don't want to answer. Here gos!!

Bye-Bye!

Here's to us. Who's like us? Damn Few!

Hey everyone!

Happy New Year!! Today my family finally finished with the 12 days of Christmas (meaning parties all the time) and I can relax and work on stuff.

I know that I have been absolutely terrible this semester about ever writing on this blog but I figured that I should do my personal favorite post, which is the round-up of the past year. So without further ado, here is 2013:

1) I moved to London for four months which was my first time living outside of the country by myself. I remember that I was so nervous in the airport before my flight that I wanted to run out of the airport and hide in my bed. It turned out to be the most incredible experience of my life which I miss everyday
2) Performed Joan Le Pucelle in the Rose Theatre
3) Traveled to Paris and Berlin, my first time in Germany
4) Went to Ireland for the first time since I was two years old
5) Saw 21 British plays
6) Played my dream role, Lady Macbeth, in Leo's class
7) Mastered the Tube
8) Quit my catering job, enough was enough
9) Worked in a bar, Murphy's
10) Traveled in LA and went to the Pinup Girl Boutique for the first time (exciting for me) and met Doris Mayday, my pinup idol
11) Started my Senior Year of college, not happy
12) Participated in a new work, So Snow in which I played a hospice nurse named Yolanda
13) Took the ever-ridiculous Forensic Anthropology class, got an A- and learned a crazy amount about the human body
14) Wrote my first ever fifteen page paper for Senior Seminar about Playing Shakespeare
15) Experienced the government shutdown in DC
16) Went to Maryland for Thanksgiving at my cousin Aileen's house
17) GOT CAST IN A MAINSTAGE!!!!
18) Did not die during finals week
19) Finished my Theology and Social Science requirement forever!! 
20) Got to playing Lavina from Titus Andronicus in a directing scene
21) Finished my applications for Guildhall, RADA and LAMDA
22) Got new headshots that are pretty damn good
23) Lost two boys that I went to high school with, Stevan and Thibault 
24) Met my cousin's baby, Daniel Huckleberry, cutest baby on the planet
25) Turned 22! (what?!)
26) Celebrated the 12 days of O'Neill Christmas,  now I'm real tired

Wow, so I actually packed a lot in this year. I left out some of the more trivial ones like my addiction that I developed for Breaking Bad (maybe bad word choice). I haven't really thought of any New Year's resolutions other then losing all the weight I just gained over the 12 Days of Christmas. I have my Drama school auditions coming up soon as well as rehearsals beginning for Etiology (the mainstage). Here's to a grand 2014, hope it brings my return to London!

Bye-Bye!

Please don't you cry when the time to part has come

Hello everyone,

So I'm aware that I have not updated this blog in an exceptionally long time and that I should be better about that. News Update: I am currently working on a collaborative project and have just been cast in one of our mainstages (!!!). Very exciting stuff but the thing I plan on writing about today is far heavier.

Today, at about 5 pm my time, a nineteen-year-old boy named Steven Rodriguez passed away from a very rare Stage III Brain Tumor. He had been diagnosed back in February and had a very hard time going through his cancer. Throughout his treatment though, he stayed positive and tried to make the best of the situation on Facebook by saying that Chemo made him look like Walter White. He got support from Bryan Cranston, Arron Paul and Pablo Sandoval and thousands of messages a day on Facebook telling him to stay upbeat and that he would beat this. Today, October 17th, Steven finally decided that it was time for him to enjoy another world and left this one.

Why am I writing about this boy? Heres why:

When I was a Junior in high school, I directed Steven in a One-Act called Manhattan Tales (one of my favorites that I ever directed). Steven was always full of energy and had the magical ability to make you laugh no matter what. He was creative and hard-working and never ceased to make me feel happy. I got to watch him grow as an actor the next year and once I graduated, I still watched his process as he decided that he wanted to be an actor. I had not seen him in quite some time but if anyone asked how I felt about him, I would tell them that Steven was a great and sweet kid who I was very fond of. Steven was the kind of person who was easy to talk to and had a genuine interest in anything you would say. I always lived to see him succeed at life.

It is unfortunate that bad things happen to good people. Steven did not deserve to have cancer but handled his time with grace and bravery that must have been incredibly hard to muster. I regret that I never visited him in the hospital and naturally feel some guilt about that. But Steven would not have judged me, he was a kid without judgement.

I know that dying has a tendency to make saints out of people but I just wanted to celebrate Steven's life. A kid so generous and so kind should know that people will miss him and remember him always.

I did not know you long Steven but I loved you nonetheless. I hope you keep everyone rolling with laughter up in Heaven and (as cheesy as it sounds) I will now know that thunder is just the angels laughing at your jokes.

Rest in Peace Steven. You deserve it after your hard journey. You will be missed.

Lights Will Guide You Home

Hello everybody!

This is the point where I assume that everybody consists of one person and their cat. This is the problem I have with blogging is that I write one post and then leave the blog for so long that it turns into a ghost town with tumble weeds rolling down the abandoned streets.

So I'm sorry about that. Please bear with my sporadic nature. My summer was very straightforward. I worked at Murphy's, read a lot, and hung out with family. But it was nothing special. In fact, when people at CUA welcomed me back to the country, I almost entirely forgot that I had been home for four months and instead felt like I had just gotten off the plane from Heathrow. If only that were the case.

So, I'm back at CUA and just finished my first week of classes which in my humble opinion is the absolute worst! I'm still in shock to be in DC and not London and am trying to reconcile my life that exists right now. This means a lot of looking at pictures from the spring, reading Shakespeare, listening to Johnny Flynn and looking at all of my bits and bobs gathered in England.  It also doesn't help that I'm a Senior in college and things are getting serious. Anyone? Any advice on how not to totally die in an emotional wreck this year?

Luckily we have a three day weekend so that gives me a shorter week coming up on the horizon. But as usual, its full of auditions and Forensic Anthropology and mini papers EVERYWHERE!!! It also is stressful to think about my applications for (drum role please) British Drama Schools which I need to start working on.

As you can see, there is a lot happening in my life right now. I'll try to write a bit more but I'm not promising any miracles. But you, big announcements could be in store or a rant or two may be needed.

Well thanks for handling my flakiness.

Bye-Bye!