And If You're Real Good...

Okay, so I suck at keeping New Year's Resolutions. I said my resolution was to keep up my blogs. Well, that sort of didn't happen. But, I've got a really good reason for it... Lots of reasons, actually. I can just sum it all up by saying that I've been really busy. Not your normal, everyday mom type of busy.. I've been busier than Obama. At least he gets to play gold every now and again. (Not that I even like golf, but you catch my drift.) With working from home, running three companies, keeping up with my kids and getting in front of the camera every now and again, I have barely had time to breathe. I even started an eBay venture, trying to declutter my home and make some money for a Disney vacation. (So far, we bought the plane tickets...) Yeah, I've been inhumanly busy. The only person that I can think of that might be as busy as I am is my best friend Mechelle, but she doesn't have kids. She knows what it's like to be a business owner, though.

Okay, so I digress... This blog is supposed to be about me and the entertainment industry.  Today, I once again worked as the double for Camryn Manheim. I love Camryn Manheim. I think she's a great actress. I hope that I get to meet her some time. I need to get my 76 SAG days (or $18,000 for the year) so that I get my vested credit, which is why I'm doing some on camera stuff.

But, I've got a secret...

I like casting better.

There, I said it. 

I LIKE CASTING BETTER!!!!!!!!!

No, I actually LOVE casting. And I'm actually really, really good at it. For example, I cast eleven kids and one adult to work on Monday. I've got nine of those kids on a movie with Sarah Silverman, and the other three people are on a network TV show. They're thrilled. And seeing them thrilled makes me ridiculously happy.

To me, casting is like a puzzle. I'm given a list of different parts that I have to fill. I go through my roster to see who can fill what, then submit it to the casting director. The casting director sees if they agree with me, then they pass it on to the director. The director selects who the final cast is. I got 11 people cast to work paid jobs on Monday.

Excuse me while I pat myself on the back...

But, that's not just it. I've gotten a LOT of people a LOT of work. I'm teaching people about the industry that I love. I am helping kids build their college funds. I'm having a really good time doing it all, too. Whether it's for TV or film or even print work, I'm having a blast getting people work, giving kids experiences, and watching it all unfold in the final projects. For example, I cast a TON of people on Investigation Discovery's Deadly Sins. It is so cool to watch my talent on screen. And I know how exciting it is for them, too. That just makes it even better for me.

Someone sent me an email tonight saying, "I'm impressed with how much work you are getting your talent." Isn't that what a talent manager is supposed to do? I don't know why people are so surprised when others get cast. It's my JOB to get my talent cast. That's what they pay me for. Why would I take their money and run? That's what a lot of scam companies do, but certainly not me.

So, that's it. My bragging blog post. You can take a look at Cain Casting & Talent Management, if you'd like. And, if you want to work in the entertainment industry, you can also register and give it a shot.

Some Old and then Some New Tricks

Back in 1983

When I got involved in the entertainment industry, I was just a kid. I'd be lying to you if I told you that I remembered everything about it-- I really don't. My earliest memory is watching my father playing Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, then jumping up and yelling, "Don't you hurt my daddy!" when someone held a sword to his throat. I was really upset, because the lights went out - the intermission, unbeknownst to a five year old - and then my dad and all of the other people on stage were gone when the lights came back on. 

A man dressed in black with a headset on came up to me, my mom and my sister and said that he would take me to see my dad. We went backstage, and my dad was talking to the guy that had just held a sword to his throat. To this day, I remember everything about that man's face-- Brown hair, brown beard, brown eyes, wearing a blue tunic, thin, tall... You get the idea. He was a scary dude-- At least, he was to five year old me. Anyway, my dad told me how they were really friends and how they were pretending to fight on stage so that they could tell a story.

I was fascinated.

Photo by Molly Garcia

I really think that is the moment in time when I was bitten by the acting bug. I wanted to pretend, too. I believe the way that I believed. I wanted to tell people stories. I wanted people to make people clap, laugh, cry and, most of all, believe that I was the character that I was portraying.

Soon after that, I watched the original Freaky Friday with Jodie Foster. I would only use the name Annabel, and I couldn't understand why people didn't want to play make believe with me. My dad explained to me what actors are.

To be totally honest with you, I never really wanted to be a professional actor. Sure, it looked like fun, but it wasn't my dream. I wanted to have more control than that. I decided that I wanted to be the person that wrote the stories that people were acting out. I wrote my very first play - A Journey to Chocolateland - when I was in third grade. I majored in Dramatic Literature in college, at The George Washington University. Several of my plays were performed, and I even started a production company that was in action until 20011. (Technically, it's still around-- I just haven't done any productions recently.) 

Click the link to purchase my play

Right before I got married in 2005, I was published by Baker's Plays in Boston. I actually received the galleys (author's copies) the day before I got married, which was really cool since I dedicated the play to my soon-to-be husband. Last year, Samuel French bought the rights to my plays, which is wicked cool. All in all, I have four different plays published with Samuel French: The Lovesick Cat, The Woodsmen & The Fairy, The Lion & The Mouse and The Tortoise & The Hare. They are performed all around the world, and I get a nice check once a year. It's really cool.

But I've been blocked lately, and haven't written any plays. I need to get back on it, because I do have some good ideas. I'd really love to write a musical, but I don't know the first thing about writing music.

Anyway, I digress.

When I lived in Los Angeles (Jan 2001 - Jan 2004), I had an agent. My agent was awful. She kept telling me that I needed to lose weight-- Like 30lbs. Thirty pounds is a helluva lot of weight to lose! Why would you sign someone that might not lose that weight? If only I knew now what I knew then... 

Today was a good day.

This agent did NOTHING for me. I think I got one audition from her in 3 years. Well, as a talent manager, I see a lot of breakdowns-- And there are TONS of roles for people my size!!! It's nuts. Tomorrow, I'm shooting a movie called Life Itself in Manhattan. On Monday, I've got an audition for an industrial that films in San Francisco and pays over $2000 plus travel.  And this morning, I was signed by MSF Talent - Print Division to be one of their plus size models. 

So, yeah, today was a good day in the life of Candice.

I've gotta say, I was a little nervous about signing an exclusive agreement with MSF. I've been submitting myself and landing gigs. But, they only wanted me for print work, which I really don't do all that much of. (Yes, working with Steve and Desiree was a print job, which is what I started this entire blog on... But I get more acting parts for myself than not.) So, I signed the agreement and sent it in. I will give it 6 months. If I feel that I can do a better job than they can, I will end my agreement. But, I have never had an agent in NY-- Let alone one that wanted me exclusively. They take 20% of my gross, which is 10% more than what I get from the people I manage. So, we shall see where this takes us over the next 6 months... 

Let Me Make You Smile

My headshot from 2001, my LA days.

Have I mentioned that I love the entertainment industry? I really do. Even all of the crap that comes with the people that think they're the hottest poop out of God's rear end-- I just love it. (And, yes, I wrote poop. I have 5 year old twins, remember?) Granted, I make fun of those self-important celebrity wannabes... I still love it. Those types of people give me plenty of writing material.

My maiden name is Cook. When I did my stint in Los Angeles back in 2001 - 2004, I went by my maiden name. Now I'm Candice Cain-- Yes, Candy Cain. It's my married name. I didn't choose it. My husband chose me, and I am old-fashioned so I took his last name. (Hey, it could have been worse. In college, I was friends with a guy named Cody Landis. If that led somewhere, I could have been Candice Landis.) So, when people try to do research on Candy Cain, they usually find all sorts of drag queens and porn stars-- So they think I'm full of crap. They treat me like garbage. Essentially, they have no idea who they are dealing with.

Then, when I tell them that I worked as an actress and used the name Candice Cook, and they do that research... Well, their tune changes. It's kind of comical really. I love watching people treat me like crap, knowing full well that they are going to eat crow once it dawns on them that they are looking up the wrong name. Sometimes I hand them the ketchup.

I'm nice to people that I like. I really am. I bend over backwards to help people. People I don't like? Well... That is an entirely different story. I might look sweet and people might tell you that I'm really nice, but I'm not. I'm sweet and nice to the people that I like. Otherwise, I'm incredibly condescending and sarcastic. I'm working on it, though. I really am.

In short, I've got an over-the-top personality. Everyone that knows me knows this. Other people, however, are somehow shocked. I don't know why. I'm larger-than-life to begin with. I'm 5'9" tall (plus half an inch-- but who is counting?) and I'm a plus-sized woman. (I'm working on that, too, though.) However, in the entertainment industry, this works to my advantage.

Big Hair? Check. Big Hips? Check.

A couple of weeks ago, I was going through the breakdowns for my talent roster. I saw a casting call for a woman with "big hair, big hips and a big personality." Honey, you can't get much bigger than me. That is exactly the way I started out my letter to the casting director, none other than the fabulous Desiree Kennedy. I was called that afternoon to come in for an audition the next day. I wore an orange shirt, black capris and my sandals-- And I did my hair rather big. (Take a look at the photo to the right.) I headed on into NYC and met Desiree. She's a doll-- We hit it off right away, talking about our names. (I went through a time when I was younger where I wouldn't answer to any name but Desiree, which was my great-grandma's name.)  

My go-see consisted of me pretending to bowl in front of a cool photographer. I didn't get his name, and was in and out pretty quickly. I was the biggest, baddest broad there-- All of the other women were skinny minnies. I felt like a fish out of water, and figured I wasn't going to get the part. Heck, I didn't even know what it was for-- Only that it was a paying gig for a nutritional company that could turn into a national print campaign. It was easy. It was fun. And, yes, I'd totally do it again.

You can imagine my surprise when my phone rang late the next day, and it was Desiree calling me to tell me that they wanted me for the shoot. I was going to be a "avid bowler" for a... get this... Metamucil print ad!!! 

Metamucil??? ME??? I'm 36!

Yeah, that was my thought process. However, I am certainly aware that fiber is for everyone. The majority of Americans do not have enough fiber in their diet. As a matter of fact, I actually do drink a fiber drink each day. It's good for your heart, circulatory system, digestive tract, etc.

But, I digress. 

I landed the gig and headed into NYC for the shoot on Monday. It was SO MUCH FUN!!! The photographer that took the test shots of me was the photographer-- a hysterical guy named Steve Lesnick. Not only is he a really cool dude, he's a fantastic photographer. I got into my outfit, hair and makeup, picked up my bowling ball and had an absolute blast shooting with him. I've never, ever, ever worked with such a fantastic photographer before.

As a matter of fact, the whole crew was fantastic: Marissa, Lana, Cecily, Steve and, of course Desiree. The time just flew by. We had a lot of laughs, and now need to wait and see if the pics are used by Metamucil for their national print campaign.

Me in First Magazine - March 2012

This was my first big step back in front of the camera. I mean, I did a makeover shoot in the beginning of 2012 for First For Women Magazine, but that was just using average people and unpaid. Anyone could have submitted for that and gotten chosen.  

This job was different. I was chosen from other talent that had submitted to be a part of the shoot. I worked with a casting director, producer, photographer and crew. I was paid for what I did. It was a professional job.

And I loved every minute of it.

Landing this gig gave me confidence. It reminded me of what I used to do before I had kids, and even before I got married. I'm really good in front of the camera. I also happen to be good behind the scenes. Now I'm working where I'm actually able to do both. Life is good.