A day in the life.
©Aphrodite Camello
Being an actress in Los Angeles can be a tough gig (cue the violins).... but it's also a daily adventure. I never know what each week really looks like- which is mostly fun, sometimes scary, and always a shit show ;). And I am one of the lucky ones! I know what I am good at, what I am bad at, and I'm not trying to be something I can't be. And I've got an amazing man by my side who supports and encourages me everyday to chase my dreams. We really do make each other better, and for this I am really grateful. Ok...enough of the sappiness...
People think that being an actress is super glamorous, and sometimes it can be...
2015 Unicef Snowflake Ball, NYC. Me and my handsome hubby, Mike Camello.
©Aphrodite Camello
But more times than not, it's a lot of super hard work with little to no recognition.
It's endless hours of classes and auditions. It's being able to look yourself in the mirror and feel proud of who you are after being told you didn't book the job because you were "too ethnic" or "not ethnic enough." Or "she is hilarious, but we went with a blonde." After hearing an exorbitant amount of excuses (including "she's too pretty" or "she's not pretty enough") I really have learned that me not booking something has very little to do with my acting, and more to do with them putting the pieces of a puzzle together. Luck is preparation meeting opportunity, so for this reason my job is to always keep my acting tight and sharp- like an athlete would train in the off-season. And sometimes, I am the missing piece to the puzzle!
Being a woman in this business leaves me open to more scrutiny and less pay than my male counterparts. I don't wear my wedding ring to auditions and don't volunteer my age because these things give a lot of people reasons to not cast me. I mean, how could these life experiences make me a better actress?!? (Please sense my sarcasm). So you can imagine what is has been like since I found out my husband and I are expecting! For the first 6 months, you couldn't tell I was pregnant. So now I was going to auditions and callbacks, without my wedding ring, not telling my age, AND hiding the fact that I am pregnant...and it was exhausting! I even did a 6 week improv class at the Groundlings without a single person knowing I was pregnant! That's a whole other story, LOL. Since I got my little baby bump (I am now 7 months)... the appointments are dwindling. Sure, everyone says they are happy for me, but the truth is the majority of people believe I will now be "distracted" and my job won't be a "priority." If I were a man, they would be patting me on the back and handing me a cigar in my trailer while I run lines for my next scene. It started to really anger me...but I always believe that it's better to not get angry... it's better to get even! I will be a better mom because I have drive and and work hard. Will it be easy once my munchkin arrives? No... But nothing in life that is worth it is easy. I know I will make it work, and that I will be a better actress in spite of what Hollywood thinks I should be. And guess what... there's going to be a TON of stories for the blog ;)
