Curtain Up...

Stephen Spielberg with some Cainiacs

Oh boy.

 

Since I last posted a blog entry, my company has COMPLETELY exploded... And I mean that in a good way. It has been absolutely insane. Once we finished shooting "St. James Place" with Tom Hanks, directed by Stephen Spielberg, things just got bigger and bigger and BIGGER... Since August, my talent has appeared in 49 television shows and 23 feature films. Plus, there are countless commercials, industrials, web series, print campaigns...the list goes on and on. It is really exciting for me to watch the success just snowball. It's a lot of fun watching and listening to the reactions of people that are cast and working. Some of the parents are just amazing, and their gratitude is humbling.

 

I wouldn't be able to do any of this without my trusty sidekick, Shannon. She is absolutely my foil, my counterpart, my sanity.  She lets me bounce ideas off of her every Saturday morning, and has really helped me shape what my company has become. It's thanks to her husband, Joe, that Shannon and I have been working together so well. Joe, whom I've known since age 11, was the first to approach me and tell me that he wanted to work with me. Joe is calm and warm and approachable... Just like Shannon. The three of us comprise the core of  Cain Talent.

 

I've recently added Alena for all of the resume services and Kevin to work with me AND Shannon when we get inundated with work. Stephanie and Heeral are joining on as our very first interns, with the hopes that we will open Cain Talent - LA in August of 2015.

 

Cainiacs working on St. James Place

If not for the talent roster, Cain Talent wouldn't be doing as well as we are. We have 270 people on our talent roster, and we still  run out of people to submit for projects. Over the past year, our talent has collectively earned over $333,000. It is exciting for me to watch the college funds of the young kids on my roster grow. (Including my own 6 year old twins, who have both earned quite a lot of money over the past two years!) I have plenty of room on my talent roster for people that want to join. If you are interested in learning more about Cain Talent, you can just visit the Cain Talent website. We actually introduced a bunch of different services in addition to joining the full roster: Background services for adults; background services for kids, even a Test Drive to see if you like what Cain Talent has to offer.

 

Something that we currently have in development is COMKWAT: Creative Opportunities Managed for Kids with Amazing Talents. This is a non-profit organization (we are currently applying for 501c3 certification) that helps kids further their endeavors in arts and entertainment. One of the things that COMKWAT does is raise money for the $3000 SAG-AFTRA initiation fee for the kids that become must-join status while on the Cain Talent roster.  (A must-join is someone that worked enough union jobs to not only become eligible to join SAG-AFTRA, but actually MUST join in order to work any union - or, in layman's terms, "big" - jobs.)  $3000 is a LOT of money for people to pay for anything, let alone for their child to join a union.

 

HOWEVER, there are so many benefits to join SAG-AFTRA. I have personally been a member of SAG-AFTRA since 2002. That's 12 years! The great thing about SAG-AFTRA is that once you're in, you're in for life-- As long as you pay your dues. It's sort of like the Mafia in that respect. Members can become vested and earn a pension, qualify for health benefits, etc. Plus, we get better treatment and higher pay rates when working on a production.  Furthermore, SAG-AFTRA members have a better chance of landing principal roles. (To people not in show biz, that's speaking roles.) AND a better chance of getting an agent. The list goes on and on.

 

Isabella L., age 10

Today is Christmas Eve. One of our kids, Isabella, received her "Must-Join" letter. She is the very first person on my talent roster to get one of these letters. Honestly, I didn't even realize that she was in her OK-30, and now she just has until January 15 to work as many SAG-AFTRA jobs as she can before she HAS to join. (OK-30 is the time period of 30 days from the time you work your first union job after receiving your SAG-eligible letter that you are able to work SAG-AFTRA jobs without joining. Once the 30 days is up, you have to join SAG-AFTRA in order to work union jobs.) Think about this: You're a parent that wants to encourage your daughter to follow her dreams. You just finished the most expensive season of the year. Your kid can't work because production comes to a stand-still between December 21 and January 5, so she isn't earning any money toward her initiation fee. Your child only has 10 days total that she can work in order to earn money toward the $3000 initiation fee that she MUST pay in order to continue following her dreams. And, yeah, your kid is just 10 years old.

 

That is the situation that Isabella's parents find themselves in. It's the situation that so many other parents of kids on my talent roster are going to find themselves in very, very soon. If we all pull together, we will be able to raise the $3000 for Isabella very quickly and get her into SAG-AFTRA.

 

If you are able to contribute, even if it is just $1, then please click the link below. Merry Christmas!

 

 

And We'll Have A Real Good Time,

The title of this entry is ironic. Today would have been the eighth or ninth shooting day for me in "the Nest." It was going to be a good time; a "real good time." I had worked a few days already, and it was pretty damned awesome. The people I was working with were awesome. Tina Fey took time to chat with me. It was a lot of fun, and I was looking forward to having an exciting summer with them.

Then all hell broke loose.

Never wanted to give a ring to someone so badly.

My husband got sick and ended up in the hospital. He is still here, in the CCU at Brookhaven Memorial Hospital. He is on a respirator, heavily sedated. He has ben this way since last Wednesday. Today is day ten. I haven't left the hospital, really. As a matter of fact, I'm sitting by his side right now as I type this.

I pulled myself from "The Nest," as I wanted to be by his side for everything. I want to be here when he wakes up. I feel horrible that I'm not with my children, but my mom is there for them and my sister is in town. Once he wakes up and is off of the vent, I will be better. I will be able to walk away for a little while during the day. But I need to be here now.

I don't think I will ever work in front of the camera again. I am very fortunate that I am able to be here and work from the hospital. I literally got 2 kids cast on "The Blacklist" in the past hour. Talent Management is my calling. I'm good at it, and I can do it form anywhere-- quite literally.

So, my dear reader. please keep my husband and my family in your prayers. The entertainment industry doesn't stop for anyone. After all, "the show must go on." Fortunately, my show can go on by my husband's side-- Where I need to be.

I'll Make You Feel Good!

Getting my makeup done before filming

As I wrote in my last entry, I love the casting side of the entertainment industry. However, I also mentioned that I really like to be in the center of attention every now and again. I love being on set and working on different television and films-- I'm actually shooting Person of Interest on Monday as Camryn Manheim's photo double. However, there is absolutely nothing like the pull of live performances. Fortunately, I work from home for a fabulous company that has a convention every year. At this convention, there is a fantastic talent show. Last year, my dear friend Sally and I performed a comedy in front of over 7,500 people. Unfortunately, Sally isn't able to come to Convention this year. Regardless, I still submitted a couple of songs for the talent show. 

Now, I'm not used to being on stage all by myself. I work better with a partner or an ensemble-- I like to play off of people. Furthermore, I'm a big girl. I'm nearly 5'10" tall and I'm a size 16/18. AND I work from home. AND I have twin 6 year olds. I genuinely can't remember the last time that I went clothes shopping for myself.

I'm getting ahead of myself here.

Long story short, I'm performing in the talent show. I'm doing a parody (or two) to a Queen song (or two). I

don't want to give any more details than that, as I don't want to spoil it for the people that will be watching live at the convention. Bottom line is this: I am singing one or two of the greatest rock songs of all time, and I need to look like a bad ass rocker chick. 

And I have absolutely no idea how to accomplish that. I mean, look at me. Do I remotely resemble a bad ass rocker chick to you? And the fact that I'm a big girl in her 30s doesn't really help. (Oh, shut up. My twins think that I'm 17.) I need to channel my inner bad ass rocker chick and let her out. The question is... Do I actually have an inner bad ass rocker chick to channel in the first place?

I'm not one to ask for help, but I'm asking for it. I need help. I need help to look like a bad ass rocker chick. As I am typing this, I am sitting in front of my computer, wearing mismatched pajamas and my husband's robe. I'm going to be in front of about 8,000 people on a stage by myself. Singing. Rocking out. Kicking ass.

Can you tell I was bullied?

Another reason that this is so important to me is because I was bullied all throughout school, until I graduated Bellport High School. This year, I was going to plan our 20 year old reunion until some stupid meth addict accused me in a public forum of lying and stealing the money that people paid for the reunion. It was like being thrown back into high school all over again. I washed my hands of it and walked away. 

Right on the heels of that, I got an email from someone that saw my auditions for the talent show, and pretty much told me that I didn't have any "real talent" and that I "shouldn't be expected to be picked." He sent this email to me, and cc'd a few other people on it-- All men. Mind you, I'm not a feminist by any stretch of the imagination, but eff you. (Not YOU, dear reader-- him.) I'm still so irritated that this person sent me such a condescending email, telling me that I haven't got talent and that I wouldn't be picked for the show. 

Jazz hands!

Yet another person trying to make me feel as though I'm not good enough. WTF is that about? People  - artists - should SUPPORT one another, not try to break each other down. That's why I will take anyone on with Cain Casting. I know that everyone that wants to be in front of the camera CAN be in front of the camera.

especially

So, dear reader, I need your help. I need your support. I need your fashion expertise. What do I wear? How do I do my hair? What kind of shoes? What kind of accessories? Help me out!!

And, if you happen to know a stylist, beauty editor, Freddie Mercury impersonator, whatever... PLEASE share this post. Maybe someone will read it and take pity on me. The show is May 16. I leave for Utah on May 14. I need to have everything set by then. I'm all for a makeover or anything of that sort before then. 

And if you DO happen to be one of the people that can help me, feel free to call me at the office. You can get my number on my website. I would be eternally grateful.